This application claims priorities of No. 112202729 filed in Taiwan R.O.C. on Mar. 24, 2023 and Nos. 112208125 and 112208126 both filed in Taiwan R.O.C. on Aug. 1, 2023 under 35 USC 119, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
This disclosure relates to a lamp sleeve and an electrodeless lamp illumination device using the same, and more particularly to a single-side stopping and vibration absorbing lamp sleeve having a buffer characteristic and an electrodeless lamp illumination device using such the lamp sleeve.
Today's illumination technology is progressing day by day and developed from the conventional ordinary incandescent light bulb and energy-saving light bulb to the light-emitting diode and the electrodeless lamp, so that the brightness is constantly increased, the consumed energy is decreased, and the generated heat is decreased.
The electrodeless lamp (or induction light) has no electrode and no filament, and mainly emits light using a magnetic ring to generate electromagnetic waves to excite substances in the lamp. For example, the mixture of mercury vapor and rare gas is filled into the low-pressure gas electrodeless lamp. Upon operating, mercury atoms are ionized and excited to release ultra-violet rays to irradiate fluorescent substances on the wall of the lamp tube, and the fluorescent substances output visible light. Because no filament and no electrode are provided, the lamp can be made to have various shapes, and have the service lifetime approaching 100,000 hours, so that the electrodeless lamp becomes gradually favored.
However, because no electrode is present, the electrodeless lamp is typically directly mounted on metal members of a lamp holder. In a conventional example, the metal members are formed with through holes, and lamp posts on two ends of the electrodeless lamp are inserted into the through holes. In this case, the electrodeless lamp tends to rotate or vibrate due to the oscillation effect when the electrodeless lamp is working because the electrodeless lamp emits light using the oscillating microwaves, and loose gaps are kept between the lamp posts and the metal members to achieve loose fitting. When the electrodeless lamp rotates or vibrates, mutual friction/collision tends to occur between the lamp post and the metal member, and the lamp tends to become damaged.
It is therefore an objective of this disclosure to provide a single-side stopping and vibration absorbing lamp sleeve and an electrodeless lamp illumination device using the same to decrease vibration, movement and rotation generated when the electrodeless lamp is operating, and to increase the service lifetime of the electrodeless lamp.
To achieve the above-identified objective, this disclosure provides a single-side stopping and vibration absorbing lamp sleeve for fitting with an end part of an electrodeless lamp and being partially disposed in a mounting hole of a metal member. The lamp sleeve includes: a large-diameter part; and a small-diameter part coaxially connected to the large-diameter part. A through hole is formed in the large-diameter part and the small-diameter part, the end part fits with the through hole, an aperture of the through hole ranges between 2.9 mm and 3.1 mm, and an outer diameter of the small-diameter part ranges between 3.2 mm and 3.6 mm.
This disclosure also provides an electrodeless lamp illumination device including: a first lamp sleeve and a second lamp sleeve each being the single-side stopping and vibration absorbing lamp sleeve; and the electrodeless lamp having a light-emitting part and a second end part connected to the end part of the light-emitting part, the end part being defined as a first end part, wherein the first end part fits with the through hole of the first lamp sleeve, and the second end part fits with the through hole of the second lamp sleeve.
According to the above-mentioned aspect, the single-side stopping and vibration absorbing lamp sleeve may further include a bottom part. The bottom part seals one end of the small-diameter part away from the large-diameter part.
According to the above-mentioned aspects, the small-diameter part has an outer peripheral surface, which is conical.
With the above-mentioned aspects, no direct contact is present between the electrodeless lamp and the mounting holes of the original metal members, and the lamp sleeves are used to mount the lamp posts of the lamp to decrease the condition that the lamp is damaged by the rotation (vibration) generated upon usage. In addition, the mounting accuracy and consistency can be further increased to avoid any difference caused by different operators. Furthermore, the conical buffer characteristic can further keep the substantially horizontal state of the electrodeless lamp, maintain the stability of the lamp source, and prevent the two lamp sleeves from having the nonuniform wear.
Further scope of the applicability of this disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of this disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The electrodeless lamp 10 has a light-emitting part 13 and a first end part 11 and a second end part 12 connected to the light-emitting part 13. The first end part 11 and the second end part 12 may be referred to as lamp posts of the electrodeless lamp. The light-emitting part 13 receives oscillating microwaves from the magnetron 120 and emits light.
The first lamp sleeve 20 has a first small-diameter part 21 and a first large-diameter part 22 coaxially connected together, and a through hole 23 is formed in the first large-diameter part 22 and the first small-diameter part 21. In this example, the through hole 23 penetrates through the first small-diameter part 21 and the first large-diameter part 22. The first end part 11 passes through the through hole 23, and a diameter of the first small-diameter part 21 is smaller than a diameter of the first large-diameter part 22.
The second lamp sleeve 30 and the first lamp sleeve 20 have the same structure. Some characteristics will be described with reference to the first lamp sleeve 20 only. These characteristics are also applicable to the second lamp sleeve 30. The second lamp sleeve 30 has a second small-diameter part 31 and a second large-diameter part 32 connected together. A through hole 33 is formed in the second small-diameter part 31 and the second large-diameter part 32. The second end part 12 passes through the through hole 33.
The electrodeless lamp illumination device 100 having the above-mentioned elements (the electrodeless lamp 10, the first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30) may be sold as a single product. The first end part 11 and the second end part 12 may be respectively directly mounted to or detachably fit with the through holes 23 and 33. When multiple electrodeless lamps 10 are packed, the first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30 as well as a base matching with the first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30 may be used to position and protect the electrodeless lamp 10.
Optionally, the electrodeless lamp illumination device 100 further includes a first metal member 40 and a second metal member 50, which are two opposite members, for mounting the electrodeless lamp illumination device 100. The first small-diameter part 21 passes through a mounting hole 41 of the first metal member 40, and the second small-diameter part 31 passes through a mounting hole 51 of the second metal member 50, so that the first small-diameter part 21 is disposed between the first end part 11 and the first metal member 40, and that the second small-diameter part 31 is disposed between the second end part 12 and the first metal member 40. Thus, the first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30 can be used to mount the electrodeless lamp 10 in a dual-axial manner, to decrease the degree of freedom of vibration or movement, and thus to provide the buffer characteristic. On the other hand, the wear is designed on the lamp sleeves, so that the wear between the metal members and the electrodeless lamp can be reduced, and only the lamp sleeves need to be replaced for maintenance. In addition, the first metal member 40 and the second metal member 50 have the appropriate elasticity, so that the metal members can be properly moved when the electrodeless lamp 10 is being mounted.
Because the electrodeless lamp 10 is mounted between the first metal member 40 and the second metal member 50 through the first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30, the first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30 have the isolation effect. So, the first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30 are made by the heat-resistant and non-metallic buffer material. In one example, the lamp sleeve has a one-piece structure, and may be made of a material including polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is also referred to as a Teflon material having the good heat resistance (up to 300° C.), the good stability of the finished product after processing (cannot easily deform), the proper elasticity of the finished product, the self-lubricating property, the stable plastic molecules (cannot easily deteriorate), the low cost and the like. The buffer material also can provide the vibration proof effect. Because the first large-diameter part 22 and the second large-diameter part 32 are disposed between the first small-diameter part 21 and the second small-diameter part 31, and certain friction is present between the lamp sleeve and the electrodeless lamp, the lamp sleeve can fasten the electrodeless lamp 10, so that the position of the electrodeless lamp 10 can be limited and the electrodeless lamp cannot move significantly rightward and leftward when the vibration is generated. In addition, in order to avoid the vibration, the first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30 may be designed to have the hardness smaller than the hardness of the first end part 11 and the second end part 12, and preferably have slight elasticity to absorb the vibration and provide buffer effects. Thus, the risk that the lamp post gets broken due to the vibration or rotation caused by the loose fitting between the lamp post and the mounting hole of the metal member in the environment of oscillating microwaves can be decreased.
In order to optimize the mounting and working states of the lamp sleeves, experiments have been performed to discover that the gap between the lamp sleeve and the metal member is preferably greater than or equal to 0.5 mm (more preferably greater than or equal to 0.6 mm) at the room temperature (25° C.) in order to facilitate installation or mounting. In this case, the operator can pass the lamp sleeve through the metal member rapidly, and the mounting speed of the electrodeless lamp can be increased. The prior art fails to provide the further research on the mounting speed. In addition, in order to reduce the vibration, the gap between the lamp sleeve and the metal member at the working temperature (200 to 250° C.) of the electrodeless lamp is preferably smaller than or equal to 1.15 mm (more preferably smaller than or equal to 1.25 mm) because the too-large gap cannot provide the effect of effectively reducing the vibration. In one example, when the diameter D41 of the mounting hole ranges between 4.2 mm and 4.5 mm and the outer diameter of the end part of the electrodeless lamp is equal to 3 mm, the aperture D23 of the through hole 23 ranges between 2.9 mm and 3.1 mm to provide the tolerance of +0.1 mm, so that the lamp sleeve can fit with the end part (having the outer diameter D11) of the electrodeless lamp. In order to satisfy the above-mentioned condition, a try and error method is adopted to determine the optimum outer diameter D21 of the first small-diameter part 21 as ranging between 3.2 mm and 3.6 mm, so that the gap at the room temperature ranges between 0.6 mm and 1.3 mm. In another example, the outer diameter D21 ranges between 3.3 mm and 3.5 mm to achieve the better vibration reduction and mounting effects. In still another example, the outer diameter D21 ranges between 3.35 mm and 3.45 mm to achieve the much better vibration reduction and mounting effects. In addition, PTFE and the iron material of the metal member have the expansion coefficients respectively equal to 11×10−5 and 12×10−6 (/° C.). At 200° C., the determined gap ranges between 0.55 mm and 1.25 mm. At 250° C., the determined gap ranges between 0.53 mm and 1.24 mm, and the above-mentioned requirement (>0.5 mm) is satisfied. In addition, after analysis and experiment, it is found that the outer diameter D22 of the first large-diameter part 22 ranges between 4.6 mm and 5.6 mm, and is greater than the diameter D41 to provide the stopping function. When the axial length of the first large-diameter part 22 is equal to about 1 mm, the outer diameter D22 is smaller than or equal to 6.0 mm. Because the outer diameter D22 greater than 6.0 mm will weaken the structure of the first large-diameter part 22, the damage rate during storage and shipping is increased. In one example, the outer diameter D22 is smaller than or equal to 5.8 mm, so that the structure of the first large-diameter part 22 is further strengthened. In one example, the outer diameter D22 is smaller than or equal to 5.6 mm, so that the structure of the first large-diameter part 22 is further strengthened.
In this embodiment, the first large-diameter part 22 is disposed outside the mounting hole 41, and stops the first metal member 40 to prevent the electrodeless lamp 10 from movement and rotation relative to the first metal member 40; and the second large-diameter part 32 is disposed outside the mounting hole 51, and stops the second metal member 50 to prevent the electrodeless lamp 10 from movement and rotation relative to the second metal member 50.
Optionally, when the light-emitting part 13 does not emit light for a predetermined time, the overall structure of the electrodeless lamp 10 is cooled down, a gap is present between the first large-diameter part 22 and the first metal member 40, and a gap is present between the second large-diameter part 32 and the second metal member 50 to facilitate the installation and replacement.
Optionally, when the light-emitting part 13 continuously emits light for another predetermined time, the overall structure of the electrodeless lamp 10 expands due to the temperature rise, and there is no gap present between the first large-diameter part 22 and the first metal member 40, and between the second large-diameter part 32 and the second metal member 50, so that the vibration and movement can be further reduced.
The first lamp sleeve 20 and the second lamp sleeve 30 are configured to completely or entirely cover the first end part 11 and the second end part 12, respectively, so that two end parts of the electrodeless lamp 10 are mounted between the first metal member 40 and the second metal member 50 to form two buffer end parts. At this time, each buffer end part has no step (the outer diameter thereof has no sudden decrease), so the electrodeless lamp cannot be skewed and can be kept stable in the working period.
With the lamp sleeve structure of this disclosure, the lamp sleeves are added to the lamp post parts of the electrodeless lamp without modifying the original apparatus structure, so that there is no direct contact present between the lamp posts and the mounting holes of the original metal members. In addition, the lamp sleeves are used to mount the lamp posts of the lamp to decrease the condition that the lamp is damaged by the rotation (vibration) generated upon usage. Also, the mounting accuracy and consistency can be further increased, and there is no error caused by different operators, so that the operational difference between different devices cannot be generated. In addition, the conical buffer characteristic can further keep the substantially horizontal state of the electrodeless lamp, maintain the stability of the lamp source, and prevent the two lamp sleeves from having the nonuniform wear.
While this disclosure has been described by way of examples and in terms of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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112202729 | Mar 2023 | TW | national |
112208125 | Aug 2023 | TW | national |
112208126 | Aug 2023 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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20090134805 | Ogasawara | May 2009 | A1 |
20100171436 | DeVincentis | Jul 2010 | A1 |