JP2729997B2 - Manufacturing method of mercury-filled discharge lamp - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a small-sized discharge lamp in which mercury is sealed, such as a mercury lamp or a fluorescent lamp.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

Discharge lamps such as mercury lamps and fluorescent lamps in which mercury is sealed have low power consumption and excellent luminous efficiency, and are therefore widely used in various applications. In particular, small discharge lamps such as small fluorescent lamps used as backlights of pocket liquid crystal televisions and small low-pressure mercury lamps which are inserted into small food packaging containers and sterilized on the inner surface thereof have attracted attention. By the way, in order to seal mercury in the arc tube of the discharge lamp, conventionally, a mercury reservoir was provided in the arc tube, and metallic mercury was put into the mercury reservoir to seal both ends of the arc tube. Since it is difficult to apply the method to small discharge lamps, recently, as one electrode, for example, mercury and a getter material are applied to a nickel plate and sintered to obtain a mercury release action and a getter action to absorb impurity gas. A mercury getter electrode is used and is fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap. The mercury released when the mercury getter electrode is heated is sealed in the arc tube.

Such a mercury getter electrode may be mounted as a simple plate at a right angle to the inner surface of the metal cap. However, since the distance between the tips of the two electrodes, that is, the light emission length, may be shortened, the mercury getter electrode is particularly suitable for a small discharge lamp. In this case, the electrode is fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap in a state where the electrode is bent into, for example, a U-shape or a R-shape, and the length of the electrode in the axial direction is shortened to increase the light emission length. However, when the electrode plate on which the mercury getter material is sintered is bent and formed, the sintered layer is partially released from the metal plate, and the released sintered layer may separate and fall off. For this reason, the amount of mercury released when the mercury getter electrode is heated is reduced, so that it is difficult to accurately fill a small amount of mercury with a predetermined amount, and there is a problem that lamp characteristics vary.

[Object of the invention]

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method suitable for a small-sized mercury-filled discharge lamp, in which it is easy to accurately fill a small amount of mercury by a fixed amount.

[Configuration of the invention and its operation]

The configuration of the present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing a mercury-filled discharge lamp in which a mercury getter electrode having a mercury releasing action and a getter action is fixed to an inner surface of a metal cap. After applying a mercury getter material to the plate and sintering to produce a mercury getter electrode,
This mercury getter electrode is fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap, or a metal plate fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap is formed into a predetermined shape, and a mercury getter material is applied to the formed metal plate and sintered. And manufacturing a mercury getter electrode.

That is, in any case, the metal plate is formed into a predetermined shape such as a U-shape or a U-shape, and a mercury getter material is applied to the formed metal plate and sintered, so that the metal Thus, an electrode having a predetermined sintered layer formed can be obtained without releasing or falling off of the sintered layer when molding. For this reason, the amount of mercury released when the electrode is heated does not decrease, and even if the discharge lamp is small and the amount of mercury sealed is small, it can be sealed exactly by a fixed amount, and the lamp characteristics vary. Will not occur. In addition, since the electrodes are formed in a predetermined shape such as a U-shape or a R-shape, the ratio of the length of the light emission length to the entire length of the lamp is increased, so that an efficient small discharge lamp can be obtained.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a small fluorescent lamp as an example of a mercury-filled discharge lamp. The arc tube 1 is a small one having an outer diameter of, for example, 6.2 mm and a length of 60 mm, and a dish-shaped metal cap 2 is welded to both ends and hermetically sealed. A phosphor 5 indicated by a dotted line is applied on the inner surface of the arc tube 1 for convenience, and a predetermined amount of mercury is sealed together with an inert gas such as argon having a gas pressure of about several tens of torr. A mercury getter electrode 3 to be described later is fixed to the inner surface of one metal cap 2, and zirconium, titanium,
It is made by mixing powder such as nickel and sintering it.
A sintered electrode 4 having a getter function and an emitter function is fixed. Note that a mercury getter electrode 3 may be fixed to the inner surface of any of the metal caps 2. Further, if necessary, a band-shaped trigger electrode (not shown) may be provided in the axial direction of the outer periphery of the arc tube 1. It may be provided along.

Next, the manufacturing process of the mercury getter electrode 3 will be described.
First, for example, a nickel plate having a plate thickness of about 0.02 mm is punched into, for example, a substantially feather plate shape as shown in FIG. 1 (A). The part where the width of the punched metal plate is l ₁ is the discharge part 31,
The portion having a width of l ₂ is the fixing portion 32 fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap 2. Here, it is important that l ₂ > l ₁ . That is, since the area of the fixing portion 32 is larger, the electric conductivity and the heat conductivity between the metal cap 2 and the mercury getter electrode 3 when fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap 2 are good, and the power loss during lighting is reduced. Overheating of the mercury getter electrode 3 can be suppressed. Then, the punched metal plate is bent into a substantially U-shape as shown in FIG.
The mercury getter material 6 indicated by a dotted line in FIG.
Is applied. The mercury getter material 6 is obtained by suspending mercury alloy powder, zircon alloy powder, titanium alloy powder and the like in an alcohol solution, and is applied to a predetermined thickness by a dipping method or a brush coating method. After that, 15 parts of mercury getter material 6
After drying at a temperature of about 0 ° C. and sintering by heating to about 800 ° C. with a burner B, a mercury getter electrode 3 having a mercury releasing action and a getter action is completed. Then, as shown in FIG. 1 (D), the fixing portion 32 of the mercury getter electrode 3 is fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap 2 by spot welding or the like.

FIG. 2 shows the steps of another embodiment. First, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), the fixing portion 32 of the stamped metal plate is fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap 2 by spot welding or the like. ,
Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), the metal plate is bent, for example, in a L-shape to raise the discharge portion 31 in an inclined state. And the first
When the mercury getter material is applied to the discharge portion 31 in the same process as the process shown in the figure and sintered, the mercury getter electrode 3 fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap 2 is completed, and is the same as FIG. 1 (D). Results.

When the mercury getter electrode 3 fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap 2 is completed in any process, the metal cap 2
Is welded to the end of the arc tube 1 by induction heating or the like. As described above, when the mercury getter electrode 3 is heated after the both ends of the arc tube 1 are hermetically sealed, mercury is released into the arc tube 1 and sealed therein, thereby completing the fluorescent lamp shown in FIG. In addition,
Obviously, even if the mercury-filled discharge lamp is a low-pressure mercury lamp, it can be manufactured in the same process.

As described above, in any process, the metal plate is bent into a predetermined shape and molded, and then the mercury getter material 6 is applied to the discharge portion 31 and sintered, so that the sintered layer containing mercury is formed at the time of molding. Does not peel off. Therefore, the amount of mercury released when the mercury getter electrode 3 is heated is accurate,
Even if the discharge lamp is small and the amount of mercury sealed therein is small, it can be sealed only in a fixed amount, so that variations in lamp characteristics due to variations in the amount of mercury sealed are eliminated.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the metal plate is bent into a predetermined shape and then molded, and then the mercury getter material is applied and sintered. It is easy to accurately fill a small amount of mercury only by a fixed amount without falling off, and a manufacturing method suitable for a small-sized mercury-filled discharge lamp can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process explanatory view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a process explanatory view of another embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a mercury-filled discharge lamp. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Emission tube, 2 ... Metal cap 3 ... Mercury getter electrode, 31 ... Discharge part 32 ... Fixed part, 4 ... Sintered electrode 5 ... Phosphor, 6 ... Mercury getter material

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing a mercury-filled discharge lamp in which a mercury getter electrode having a mercury releasing action and a getter action is fixed to an inner surface of a metal cap, wherein a metal plate is formed into a predetermined shape. After applying a mercury getter material to the substrate and sintering to produce a mercury getter electrode, the mercury getter electrode is fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap, or the metal plate fixed to the inner surface of the metal cap is formed into a predetermined shape. A method for producing a mercury-filled discharge lamp, comprising the steps of molding, applying a mercury getter material to the molded metal plate, and sintering to produce a mercury getter electrode.