JP2685404B2 - Mercury filling device for exhaust head in tube making machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exhaust head used for injecting a predetermined amount of mercury into a tube after exhausting air from the tube in a tube manufacturing machine for manufacturing a tube for a fluorescent lamp. The present invention relates to an improvement of a mercury filling device for a car.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a tube manufacturing machine for manufacturing a tube for a fluorescent lamp, a mercury filling device is generally used for injecting a predetermined amount of mercury into the tube after exhausting air from the tube. . As a conventional device for such a filling device, for example, (1) Japanese Patent Application No. 55-168361 (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-187361)
No. 92128) "Mercury head", (2) Jpn.
For example, there is a "mercury filling device for producing tubes" of No. 192271 (No. 58-95556 Jitsukai).

As shown in FIG. 6, the "mercury head" of the above (1) has a plunger d in a hole c of a hollow shaft b vertically movable in a mercury tank a relative to the hollow shaft. The hollow shaft b is provided with a through hole e for communicating the hole c with the inside of the mercury tank a so that the mercury in the mercury tank is introduced into the hole c and the hollow shaft b is first moved downward. The thin tube f formed at the lower end of the hollow shaft is inserted into the exhaust pipe p of the bulb, and the annular groove g formed at the outer periphery of the hollow shaft is communicated with the port h, and then the plunger d is pushed down to remove the mercury in the hole c. Is dropped from the thin tube f into the exhaust pipe p, and argon gas is injected into the exhaust pipe from the port h through the annular groove g and the nozzle i.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the above-mentioned (2) "mercury filling device for producing a bulb" is arranged inside a mercury tank on the outer periphery of a plunger m which is vertically movable. A concave portion n for accommodating mercury is formed, and with the plunger m raised, the mercury in the mercury tank is accommodated in the concave portion n and the plunger m is pushed to move the concave portion n into the chamber o. Mercury is dropped into the chamber o, and argon gas is introduced into the chamber so that the mercury is introduced into the exhaust pipe of the bulb communicating with the chamber.

However, in any of the above cases, since mercury falls freely from the hollow shaft or the plunger, even if the mercury particles are broken and argon gas is injected, the mercury adheres to the wall surface of the passage and enters the tube. There is a problem that a proper amount is not injected. Further, in any of the above cases, since the plunger for dropping the mercury has a linear movement in the vertical direction, the inside of the filling device is discharged from the bulb through the exhaust pipe during the evacuation of the bulb before the filling step of mercury. There is a problem that the powdery fluorescent material that is drawn into the plunger and adheres to the plunger enters between the plunger and the bush that slidably supports the plunger, wears their contact surfaces, or immobilizes the plunger.

[0006]

The problem to be solved by the present invention is, in a mercury filling apparatus for an exhaust head in a tube manufacturing machine, a control member for controlling the supply amount of mercury is rotated and free of mercury. The purpose is to prevent dropping and thereby preventing defective operation of the control member, defective sealing due to wear, and cracking of mercury so that an appropriate amount of mercury can always be supplied into the bulb.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in a mercury filling device for an exhaust head in a tube manufacturing machine, a head main body having a rod hole extending in a lateral direction, and mercury arranged on the head main body. A tank, a fixed shaft arranged in the mercury tank and extending vertically, a hollow shaft rotatably arranged around the fixed shaft in the mercury tank, and inserted into a rod hole of the head body, and A push rod in which a nozzle hole for filling mercury into the exhaust pipe of the bulb is formed; and a bottom wall of the mercury tank, a shaft hole for receiving a lower end of the fixed shaft, a shaft hole, and the inside of the mercury tank. And a gas passage that communicates with the shaft hole at a position different from the mercury passage, and a through hole that communicates the gas passage and the nozzle hole is formed at the lower end of the fixed shaft. Hollow shaft Has a sleeve portion inserted into the shaft bore outside the serial fixed shaft, the said sleeve portion has to be constituted by forming the metering hole communicating selectively with mercury passage and gas passage.

[0008]

In the mercury filling device having the above structure, when the measuring hole formed in the sleeve portion of the hollow shaft communicates with the mercury passage, a predetermined amount of mercury in the mercury tank enters the measuring hole through the mercury passage. When the hollow shaft rotates about the fixed shaft by a predetermined angle to align the metering hole with the gas passage, the inert gas is fed into the gas passage. Therefore, the mercury in the measuring hole is sent into the through hole of the fixed shaft by the gas, and is filled in the exhaust pipe from the through hole through the nozzle hole of the push rod.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an exhaust head (hereinafter simply referred to as an exhaust head) in a tube manufacturing machine equipped with the mercury supply device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3, an exhaust head 1 of this embodiment is shown.
The exhaust head 1 has a head body 2 having a mercury tank 3 arranged above, a vertically extending fixed shaft 4 arranged in the mercury tank 3, and a rotation around the fixed shaft 4 in the mercury tank. It comprises a hollow shaft 5 arranged possible and a push rod 6 which extends laterally in the head body at right angles to the fixed shaft.

On the upper part of the head main body 2, a notch-shaped attachment sheet portion 21 for installing the mercury tank 3 is formed. The head body 2 is further formed with a rod hole 22 penetrating in the lateral direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1), and has a large diameter portion 23 at the front end (the right end in FIG. 1) and the rear end (the left end in FIG. 1). ), A large diameter portion 24 is formed. A land portion 25 is formed on the inner periphery of the rod hole 22 of the head body 2 substantially at the center of the mounting sheet 21, and a through hole 26 extending between the upper surface of the mounting sheet 21 and the rod hole 22 is formed in the land portion. Has been done. As shown in FIG. 3, an exhaust passage 27 and a gas supply passage 28 are formed in the head body 2 in parallel with the rod hole 22.

The mercury tank 3 has a base portion or a bottom wall 30 installed on the mounting sheet portion 21 of the head main body 2,
It has a cylindrical portion 31 extending upward from the bottom wall. The bottom wall 30 has a shaft hole 32 penetrating at substantially the same position as the shaft center of the cylindrical portion 31, and one end is open to the bottom surface of the tank at a position deviated from the shaft center of the shaft hole 32 and the other points are opened to the shaft hole. And a mercury passage 33 (FIG. 5) that extends in the circumferential direction around the axis of the shaft hole and has one end opening to the shaft hole 32 and the other end being a recess on the lower surface of the bottom wall 30. A gas passage 35 opening to 34 is formed. A flange portion 36 extending in the radial direction is integrally formed with the cylindrical portion at the upper end of the cylindrical portion 31, and the tubular bearing portion 3 is formed at the center of the flange portion 36.
6a is formed integrally with the flange portion 36. The flange portion 36 is formed with a plurality of openings circumferentially spaced around the bearing portion 36a. A cover 37 is arranged on the flange portion, and the cover 37 is fixed ring 3 screwed to a screw 31b formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the cylindrical portion 31.
It is fixed to the cylindrical portion 31 and the flange portion 36 by 8.

A concentric fixed shaft 4 and a hollow shaft 5 are arranged in the mercury tank 3 with the fixed shaft inserted in the hollow shaft. The lower end of the fixed shaft 4 is the shaft hole 3 of the bottom wall 30 of the tank 3.
It is in 1. At the lower end of the fixed shaft, one end is fixed shaft 4
Of the shaft hole 31 which is open at the tip of
A through hole 41 that opens to the periphery is formed at the same position as the opening position of the mercury passage 33 inside. The upper end of the fixed shaft 4 is attached to a support plate 45 fixed to the cover 37, and is held by the support plate so as not to rotate. At the lower end of the hollow shaft 5, a fixed shaft 4 and a thin-walled sleeve portion 51 to be inserted into the shaft hole 32 are integrally formed, and the sleeve portion 51 has a mercury passage formed in the bottom wall 30 of the tank. A measuring hole 52 is formed which connects 33 or the gas passage 35 with the through hole 41 formed in the fixed shaft 4.

A flange 53 is formed integrally with the hollow shaft 5 at the base of the sleeve portion 51. The lower surface of the flange 53 contacts the bottom surface of the mercury tank 3 to prevent mercury in the mercury tank from leaking between the hollow shaft 5 and the bottom wall 30. A hole 54 is vertically formed in the flange at the same radial position as the radial position where the mercury passage 33 opens in the mercury tank (the radial position around the rotation axis of the hollow shaft). The lever 5 is attached to the upper end of the hollow shaft 5.
6 is fixed. A support shaft 57 is provided at the end of the lever 56.
Is fixed, and the roller 58 is rotatably attached to the support shaft 57. When the roller 58 is moved by an external actuator (not shown) such as a push rod or a lever, the lever 56 is rotated within a range of about 90 ° between the X position and the Y position shown in FIG.
When the lever 56 is in the X position, the metering hole 52 formed in the sleeve portion 51 of the hollow shaft communicates with the mercury passage 33, and the hole 54 formed in the flange 53 communicates the mercury passage 33 with the inside of the tank. When the lever is in the Y position, the measuring hole 52 communicates with the gas passage 35 and the through hole 41 of the fixed shaft 4. A thrust bearing 46 is arranged between the upper end surface of the hollow shaft 5 and the support plate 45 to prevent the hollow shaft from rising.

A nozzle hole 61 is formed in the push rod 6 and extends in the axial direction and opens at the tip (right end in FIG. 1). The nozzle hole 61 communicates with the through hole 27 formed in the land portion 25 in the rod hole 22 through the opening 62 that widens toward the outer periphery. Therefore, the nozzle hole 61 communicates with the through hole 41 opening at the lower end of the fixed shaft through the opening 62 and the through hole 27. One end of the gas supply passage 28 is connected to the tank 3 as shown in FIG.
The bottom wall 30 has an opening on the upper surface of the head body 2 at a position facing the recess 34. The gas supply passage 28 is connected to an argon gas supply source (not shown) via the control valve 8b. The exhaust passage 27 is the tip of the head body 2 (the right end in FIG. 1).
In the vicinity, that is, at the tip side of the land portion 25, the rod hole 22
I understand. The exhaust passage 27 is also connected to a vacuum source (not shown) via the control valve 8a.

An exhaust pipe seal device 7 is mounted in the large diameter portion 23 of the head body 2 on the tip side (right side in FIG. 1) of the rod hole 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust pipe sealing device 7 includes a sealing member 71 made of rubber or the like inserted into the large diameter portion 23 of the rod hole 22 of the head body 2 and the hole 23.
The guide plate 72 fitted to the open end of the
A cover 73 that is screwed in 4 and holds the guide plate 72
And The holding member 71 has a U-shaped cross section as shown in the figure, and is adapted to receive the exhaust pipe B of a fluorescent lamp or the like at its central portion. The guide plate 72 is formed with a conical surface 75 to facilitate insertion of the exhaust pipe. A seal member 76 that seals the outer periphery of the push rod 6 is provided in the large diameter portion 24 at the rear end of the rod hole 22.

In the exhaust head 1 having the above structure, the tube V
Exhaust pipe B of the exhaust pipe seal device 7 as shown in FIG.
It is held in a state of being inserted in the seal member 71 of the above. The exhaust heads 1 are arranged at both ends of the bulb V for exhausting the interior of the bulb and injecting mercury from both sides of the bulb V, but both have exactly the same structural function, so only one will be described. First, the tip of the exhaust pipe B and the tip of the push rod 6 (the right end in FIG. 1) are separated as shown in FIG. When the control valve 8a is opened in this state to communicate the exhaust passage 27 with a vacuum source (not shown), the air in the bulb V is exhausted through the exhaust pipe B, the rod hole 22 and the exhaust passage 27. At this time, the lever 56 attached to the hollow shaft 5 is in the X position in FIG. 2, and the measuring hole 52 of the sleeve portion 51 of the hollow shaft 5 has the mercury passage 33 formed in the bottom wall 30 of the tank 3.
At the position aligned with the opening end of the shaft hole 32 side of the through hole 4
1 and the gas passage 35 are blocked by a sleeve portion 51. Therefore, the range of the exhaust action extends to the nozzle hole 61 of the push rod 6 and the through hole 41 of the fixed shaft 4. On the other hand, the measurement hole 52 of the sleeve portion 51 is
3, the mercury passage 33 has its mercury passage 33 through the hole 54 formed in the flange 53 of the hollow shaft 5
0 communicates with the inside of the mercury tank.
4 and the mercury passage 33 to flow into the measuring hole 52.

When the exhaust of the bulb V is completed, the control valve 8a
2 is closed to disconnect the communication between the exhaust passage 27 and the vacuum source, and then the push rod 6 is first pushed to the right in FIG. 1 so that its tip comes into contact with the end of the exhaust pipe B, and then the lever 56 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Is rotated about 90 ° in the clockwise direction to the Y position. Then, the measuring hole 5 formed in the sleeve portion 51 of the hollow shaft 5
As shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a circumferential opening of a through hole 41 formed in the fixed shaft 4 and an opening end of the gas passage 35 on the shaft hole 32 side in a state where a predetermined amount of mercury is contained therein. Come between the edges and be aligned with them. Then, the control valve 8b is opened and the argon gas from the gas supply source (not shown) flows through the gas supply passage 28, the recess 34, and the gas passage 35. For this reason, the mercury in the measuring hole 52 is fixed to the fixed shaft 4 by the argon gas.
Through the through hole 41 of the nozzle hole 61 of the push rod 6
Is sent to the inside of the tube V through the exhaust pipe B from the nozzle hole.
It is filled with argon gas. When the filling of the tube with mercury and argon gas is completed, the control valve 8b is closed, and the lever 56 is returned to the original position of 90 ° to the X position.

Thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated to exhaust the air in the tube and fill the tube with mercury and argon gas. Reference numeral 91 is a seal member that seals between the head body 2 and the tank 3 around the sleeve portion 51 of the hollow shaft, and 92 is a seal member that seals between the head body and the tank around the bottom wall of the tank. Reference numeral 93 is a seal member that seals between the fixed shaft 4 and the hollow shaft 5, and 94 and 95 are seal members that seal the cover 37.

[0019]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Almost no free fall of mercury can be eliminated, and insufficient filling due to cracking of mercury can be eliminated. (2) Since the filling control of mercury is performed by the rotation of the hollow shaft, there is no fear that the hollow shaft is worn or malfunctioned by the fluorescent material. (3) By passing an injection gas through the mercury passage, it is possible to perform cleaning by removing the mercury particles attached to the wall surface of the passage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an exhaust head provided with a mercury filling device used in the tube manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the exhaust head of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

4 is a plan sectional view of the tank, which is a sectional view taken along line C-C in FIG. 5. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a conventional mercury filling device.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another example of a conventional mercury filling device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 head body 22 rod hole 26 through hole 27 exhaust passage 28 gas supply passage 3 mercury tank 30 bottom wall 31 cylindrical portion 32 shaft hole 33 mercury passage 35 gas passage 4 fixed shaft 41 through hole 5 hollow shaft 51 sleeve portion 53 flange 6 push Rod 61 Nozzle hole

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mercury filling device for an exhaust head in a tube manufacturing machine, a head body having a rod hole extending in a lateral direction, a mercury tank arranged on the head body, and a mercury tank in the mercury tank. A fixed shaft that is arranged and extends vertically, a hollow shaft that is rotatably arranged around the fixed shaft in the mercury tank, and a mercury that is inserted into a rod hole of the head body and that has mercury in an exhaust pipe of a bulb. A push rod in which a nozzle hole for filling is formed, the bottom wall of the mercury tank, a shaft hole for receiving the lower end of the fixed shaft, a mercury passage that communicates the shaft hole and the inside of the mercury tank,
A gas passage communicating with the shaft hole is formed at a position different from the mercury passage, a through hole communicating the gas passage and the nozzle hole is formed at a lower end of the fixed shaft, and the hollow shaft is formed of the fixed shaft. A mercury filling device for an exhaust head, comprising a sleeve portion that is inserted into the shaft hole on the outer side, and a measuring hole that selectively communicates with the mercury passage and the gas passage is formed in the sleeve portion. 2. The mercury filling device for an exhaust head according to claim 1, wherein an exhaust pipe holder for holding an exhaust pipe of a bulb is provided at one end of a rod hole of the head body. Mercury filling device. 3. The mercury filling device for an exhaust head according to claim 1, wherein the hollow shaft has a flange that contacts the bottom surface of the mercury tank, and the mercury passage communicates with the inside of the mercury tank in the flange. A mercury filling device for an exhaust head in which holes are formed.