Fluorescent tube with light emitting diodes

Details Fluorescent tube with light emitting diodes Fluorescent tube with light emitting diodes

2001-10-23

2003-06-24

Patel, Vip (Department: 2879)

Electric lamp and discharge devices

With luminescent solid or liquid material

With gaseous discharge medium

C373S017000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06583550

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluorescent tube in which a fluorescent tubular body emitting light in response to irradiation with ultraviolet rays is irradiated with ultraviolet rays of a plurality of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (hereinafter also abbreviated to “ultraviolet LED”) inserted in the fluorescent tubular body. Thus, the fluorescent tube can make various kinds of illumination or light expression in place of a background-art fluorescent lamp.
Incidentally, in this specification, an LED chip itself will be referred to as “light emitting device”, and the whole of a light emitting unit including a resin package mounted with such an LED chip or an optics such as a lens system or the like will be referred to as “light emitting diode” or “LED”.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. 2000-324129 and 2001-091960, which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some fluorescent members emitting light in response to irradiation with ultraviolet rays emit light in various different colors. In the background art, as an illumination system using such a fluorescent member, there is a fluorescent lamp emitting white light or daylight color light. The fluorescent lamp is a low-pressure mercury discharge lamp in which a glass tube having electrodes in its opposite ends is coated, on its inner wall, with a fluorescent material emitting light in response to irradiation with ultraviolet rays. Discharge is produced between the opposite electrodes in the state where the pressure of the inside of the glass tube is reduced to a level close to a vacuum. Thus, ultraviolet energy generated by this discharge is converted into light by the fluorescent material. Since bright white light can be obtained stably, such fluorescent lamps have come into wide use in a wide variety of fields such as general household interior illuminations, illuminations for offices, streetlights, etc.
However, in such a background-art fluorescent lamp, the inside of the glass tube coated with the fluorescent material has to be degassed and sealed. In addition, a complicated lighting circuit using a glow starter lamp is required so that the manufacturing process becomes complicated. Further, the end portions of the fluorescent tube deteriorate due to repeated discharge so that the fluorescent lamp becomes difficult to be lit. As a result, the fluorescent lamp lasts for a relatively short period of time so that the fluorescent lamp has to be exchanged into a new one relatively soon. Further, since the glass tube is used, the fluorescent lamp cannot be deformed desirably. Therefore, there is a problem that the fluorescent lamp cannot make a free light expression.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an illumination system which takes the place of a background-art fluorescent lamp, which is manufactured easily, which can entertain a user with light emission in the user's favorite colors, which has a long life, and which can be deformed desirably to thereby make a free light expression.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluorescent tube constituted by: a fluorescent tubular body including a body having a transparent tubular portion, the body having an inner surface and an outer surface, one of the inner and outer surfaces being coated with a fluorescent layer containing a fluorescent material composed of one or more inorganic or organic materials emitting light in response to irradiation with ultraviolet rays; an ultraviolet light emitting diode substrate in which a plurality of ultraviolet light emitting devices inserted in the fluorescent tubular body are disposed on a substrate; a support means for supporting the ultraviolet light emitting diode substrate in the inside of the fluorescent tubular body; and lead wires for supplying electric power to the plurality of ultraviolet light emitting devices.
Here, as the material of “the body having a transparent tubular portion”, glass, transparent resin such as acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, or the like, may be used. Further, as the diameter of “the tubular portion”, various diameters in a range of from a small diameter of about 5 mm to a large diameter of 10 cm or more may be used. Further, as the shape of “the body having a transparent tubular portion”, various shapes such as a straight tube, a curved tube, a circular shape, a spiral shape, a diverging tube, a bottle, a plastic bottle, and so on, may be used. Further, as the sectional shape of the “body having a transparent tubular portion”, various sectional shapes such as a circular shape, a semicircular shape, a triangular shape, a quadrangular shape, a polygonal shape having sides more than four sides, a star-like shape, etc. may be used. As the “substrate”, not only a rigid substrate such as a glass epoxy substrate but also a flexible substrate such as polyimide film substrate may be used.
In a fluorescent tube having such a configuration, if the plurality of ultraviolet light emitting devices on the ultraviolet LED substrate inserted in the fluorescent tubular body are supplied with electric power through the lead wires, ultraviolet rays are emitted from the plurality of ultraviolet light emitting devices. If the emitted ultraviolet rays strike the fluorescent layer applied onto the fluorescent tubular body, the fluorescent layer emits light in its own fluorescent color. In such a manner, the fluorescent tubular body as a whole emits light and the surroundings are illuminated with the light. Thus, the fluorescent tube can be used for illumination. There are fluorescent materials having various emission colors including light's three primary colors of red, green and blue. In combination of such fluorescent materials, not only white but also an emission color near white can be produced. Further, as illuminations for illuminating, the fluorescent tube can entertain a user with various emission colors other than white.
Such a fluorescent tube can be manufactured very easily by a simple process in which a fluorescent layer is applied onto a body having a transparent tubular portion and an ultraviolet LED substrate is inserted in the body. Accordingly, the process of degassing/sealing or the attachment of a complicated lighting circuit required in a background-art fluorescent lamp is dispensed with. Thus, the fluorescent tube can be manufactured extremely easily. Further, since the ultraviolet light emitting devices are long in life, exchange into new ones can be avoided for a long period of time. Accordingly, unlike a background-art fluorescent lamp, the fluorescent tube can be used semipermanently.
In this manner, an illumination system which takes the place of a background-art fluorescent lamp, which is manufactured easily, which can entertain a user with light emission in the user's favorite colors, and which withstands use for a long time, is realized.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluorescent tube constituted by: a fluorescent tubular body obtained by processing a transparent synthetic resin material into a tubular shape, the synthetic resin material including a fluorescent material composed of one or more inorganic or organic materials emitting light in response to irradiation with ultraviolet rays; an ultraviolet light emitting diode substrate in which a plurality of ultraviolet light emitting devices inserted in the fluorescent tubular body are disposed on a substrate; a support means for supporting the ultraviolet light emitting diode substrate in the inside of the fluorescent tubular body; and lead wires for supplying electric power to the plurality of ultraviolet light emitting devices.
Here, as the “transparent synthetic resin material”, transparent resin such as acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, or the like, may be used. As a method for processing the synthetic resin material into a tubular shape, a mold

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