JPS5835338B2 - How to fill mercury into a tube - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of filling mercury into a bulb of a fluorescent lamp or the like, which ensures that a predetermined amount of mercury is filled in the bulb of a fluorescent lamp or the like without any variation.

Conventionally, a device as shown in FIG. 1 has been known as a device for discharging impure gas from within a fluorescent lamp tube and filling rare gas and mercury into the lamp tube.

In other words, the lamp tube is attached to the exhaust head 2 at the lamp tube attachment part 3.
The lamp tube is attached to the exhaust system through the lamp tube, and is sent to the heating section 4 while evacuating the inside of the lamp tube, where impurity gases from the phosphor on the inner wall of the lamp tube are exhausted.

Next, the lamp tube is sent to the electrode processing section 5, where impurity gas generated from the electrodes attached to both ends of the lamp tube is exhausted.
In addition, mercury is dripped in the gas discharge promotion section 6, and the degree of vacuum inside the lamp tube is increased due to the diffusion effect of this mercury, and in the mercury dripping section 10, mercury necessary for the lamp is dripped from the exhaust head 2 into the lamp tube. .

After the lamp tube is isolated from the exhaust system, a rare gas such as argon gas is sealed in the lamp tube in the rare gas filling part 11, and the exhaust capillary of the lamp tube is sealed in the exhaust capillary sealing part 8. The lamp tube is taken out from the exhaust head 2 through the lamp tube take-out section 9.

However, when the lamp is manufactured in this way,
The mercury sealed in the lamp tube is simply dropped into the lamp tube by natural fall, so when this dropped mercury is led into the lamp tube, it passes through the exhaust passage and sealing passage of the exhaust head 2 or the lamp tube. There is a high possibility that some or all of the mercury will adhere to the mercury introduction path to the bulb, such as the exhaust capillary, and the amount of mercury required for the lamp will not be sealed in the lamp tube. Because mercury was dripped into the lamp tube, the mercury sealed inside the lamp tube evaporated and came out of the lamp tube.

Therefore, if the amount of mercury sealed in the lamp tube is small, the lighting life will be significantly shortened, so in the past, mercury in excess of the amount necessary for the function of the lamp was weighed and dripped into the lamp tube.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the weighed mercury particles are sealed in the bulb at the same time as the noble gas sealed in the bulb of a fluorescent lamp, etc., and the function of the lamp is improved. To provide a method for filling a tube with mercury, which can reliably contain only the required amount of mercury and can also seal a predetermined amount of mercury into the tube as it is.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on FIG. 2. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a turntable that rotates intermittently in a counterclockwise direction, and a plurality of exhaust heads 2 are provided at equal intervals around the periphery of the turntable. It is being

3 is a lamp tube attachment part where the lamp tube is connected to the exhaust system via the exhaust head 2, and 4 is a lamp tube mounting part that heats the lamp tube to around 400°C and contains a phosphor coated on the inner wall of the lamp tube. 5 is a heating section that discharges impure gases such as water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide; 5 is an electrode processing section that heats carbonate, which is an electrode material, by applying electricity to the electrode filaments at both ends of the lamp tube to activate its decomposition; 6; is a gas evacuation promotion part that quickly discharges impurity gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon oxide, and oxygen generated from the electrode material in this electrode processing part.For example, a small amount of mercury particles is dropped onto the inner bottom of the lamp tube. The vaporization effect promotes gas discharge inside the lamp tube and increases the degree of vacuum.

7 is a mercury/rare gas simultaneous filling section that seals weighed mercury particles and rare gas such as argon gas into the lamp tube at the same time after isolating the lamp tube from the exhaust system. and seal it into the tube.

8 is an exhaust capillary sealing part for sealing the exhaust capillary of the lamp tube; 9
is a lamp tube take-out part for taking out the lamp tube from the exhaust head 2.

In the structure as described above, the lamp tube connected to the exhaust system via the exhaust head 2 at the lamp tube attachment section 3 is sequentially exhausted from the inside of the lamp tube by the heating section 4, electrode processing section 5, After passing through the gas discharge promotion section 6 in the electrode processing section 5 and exhausting the impure gas to increase the degree of vacuum, it is isolated from the exhaust system and weighed into the lamp tube in the mercury and noble gas simultaneous filling section I. A predetermined amount of mercury particles and a rare gas are sealed at the same time, and the exhaust capillary of the lamp tube is sealed with an exhaust capillary sealing section 8, and the lamp tube is taken out from a lamp tube take-out section 9.

In addition, in the mercury/rare gas simultaneous sealing section, when a predetermined amount of mercury particles weighed into the lamp tube are simultaneously filled with rare gas, the surface of the mercury particles is covered relatively easily and the mercury particles are sealed inside the bulb. Zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, and
After coating a predetermined amount of weighed mercury grains with one or more chemically stable powders such as titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, yttrium oxide, and magnesium oxide, the coated mercury grains are exposed to a rare gas. At the same time, the coated mercury particles are sealed inside the lamp tube, and even if the coated mercury particles come into contact with the mercury introduction path into the bulb, the contact angle is small, so they will not adhere to the mercury introduction path at all, and the above implementation This further enhances the functionality of the example.

As described above, this invention coats the surface of a predetermined amount of weighed mercury with a chemically stable powder, and coats the surface of a predetermined amount of mercury within the tube at the same time as filling the rare gas for sealing into the tube. By dropping the mercury particles into the tube, even if the mercury particles come into contact with the inner wall of the mercury introduction path due to the jet of the noble gas for sealing, the mercury particles will not adhere to the inner wall of the mercury introduction path into the tube. Moreover, since the vaporized mercury sealed inside the tube is prevented from coming out of the tube, it is possible to ensure that the same amount of weighed mercury particles is sealed inside the tube.

Therefore, it is sufficient to fill the bulb with a uniform amount of mercury and to weigh the minimum amount of mercury necessary for the lamp.
Since there is no need for extra mercury as in the past, environmental pollution caused by mercury from discarded lamps can be reduced, and since mercury does not adhere to the exhaust tubes of bulbs, the working environment in lamp factories is significantly improved. It is something.

Note that the evacuation process inside the tube is not limited to the above example; in short, after the evacuation inside the tube is completed and the tube is isolated from the exhaust system, mercury coated with a chemically stable powder is removed. It goes without saying that if a rare gas and a rare gas for sealing are simultaneously filled into the tube, the same function will be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a conventional exhaust system, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 2 is an exhaust head, and T is a simultaneous mercury and rare gas enclosure part. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The surface of a predetermined amount of weighed mercury is coated with a chemically stable powder that does not affect the characteristics of the mercury when the bulb is used for lighting, and the powder is sealed in the bulb. A method for filling mercury into a tube, characterized by dropping mercury into the tube at the same time as filling a rare gas. 2. The bulb according to claim 1, wherein the chemically stable powder is one or more of zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, yttrium oxide, and magnesium oxide. How to encapsulate mercury into.