Optics: image projectors – Temperature control – Blower
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-08
2002-12-17
Adams, Russell (Department: 2851)
Optics: image projectors
Temperature control
Blower
C353S052000, C353S057000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06494581
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lamp house, and more particularly, to a lamp house which makes a lamp having high-pressure gas filled therein emit light and a projector device thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lamp house is a housing in which a discharge lamp is attached for making a lamp with high-pressure gas such as mercury and xenon filled therein emit light. Light emission from a discharge lamp provided in a lamp house is for use as a light source for experiments. The lamp may be used for: (a) an instrument for analysis; (b) printing a semiconductor; (c) a fluorescence microscope; (d) a blood analyzer; (e) curing ultraviolet rays; and (f) projecting a picture and as an interferometer, a refractometer, or as a microfilm enlargement device. In addition, for use as a light source for these purposes, the lamp house is often attached to a projector device which conducts floodlighting, projecting and profile projecting for relevant purposes.
As a discharge lamp, when used as a light source, generates great heat (e.g. higher than 700 degrees centigrade of a surface temperature) and has a high-pressure gas filled therein (e.g. about 10 atmospheres at room temperature and 40 atmospheres at operation), if the lamp breaks for some reason, it may be very dangerous.
A lamp house therefore has two functions: (a) housing a discharge lamp used as a light source to emit light while reducing the likelihood of harm caused by a possible lamp breakage; and (b) preventing overheating of the discharge lamp by cooling the lamp with outside air. Moreover, being provided in a lamp house, a discharge lamp is protected from breakage due to mechanical shock and being cooled; the lamp will have its deterioration suppressed to maintain brightness and life.
FIG. 10
is a perspective view showing a structure of conventional lamp house
1
d
and projector device
2
d.
With reference to
FIG. 10
, the lamp house
1
d
has in its housing a lamp bulb
40
serving as a light source and an attached reflector
33
provided around the lamp bulb for reflecting and converging light, thereby converging light toward a window
70
to emit light to the outside of the lamp house
1
d.
For the window
70
, dissolved quartz (fused quartz) or the like having a high ultraviolet ray transmissibility is used.
Also provided, for ventilation and for cooling the lamp bulb
40
, are two openings, an air inlet
10
and an air outlet
20
.
The lamp house
1
d
directs outside air sent from a sirocco fan
18
of the projector device
2
d
from the air inlet
10
to the lamp bulb
40
to cool the same and externally exhausts the air heated inside the lamp house
1
d
through the air outlet
20
.
The air inlet
10
and the air outlet
20
of the lamp house
1
d
are covered with metal meshes
19
and
29
(wire netting) to prevent broken pieces of the lamp (generated when the lamp bulb
40
breaks) from exiting the housing. The metal meshes
19
and
29
prevent relatively large fragments from scattering outside the device.
Also provided is a static pressure meter
50
which detects a difference between external and internal pressures of the lamp house
1
d
in order to check whether the lamp bulb
40
is currently being cooled by ventilation from the sirocco fan
18
.
The higher the temperature becomes, the higher the possibility becomes for the lamp bulb
40
to break (i.e., high temperatures enhance a deterioration rate and shorten bulb life). Therefore, it is necessary to check whether the bulb is being cooled to avoid this danger.
When the lamp bulb
40
is being cooled, a large difference is generated between internal and external pressures of the lamp house
1
d
because air is sent into the lamp house
1
d
at high pressure to cool the lamp bulb
40
. Accordingly, measuring the pressure difference by the static pressure meter
50
leads to determination as to whether the lamp bulb is being cooled.
The static pressure meter
50
for checking the cooling is connected to a control circuit or the like of the projector device
2
d.
The control circuit executes processing to start ventilation, to stop light emission (to stop power transmission to the lamp bulb
40
), and to notify a user when there is no ventilation, thereby preventing overheating of the lamp bulb
40
.
Inside the air inlet
10
, attached is a guide metallic part
60
for directing cooling air from the sirocco fan
18
to appropriate parts of the lamp bulb
40
.
The lamp bulb
40
has its cap parts
41
and
42
cooled (e.g. 200 degrees centigrade or less) for maintaining brightness and life while its central part emitting a light is maintained at a high temperature (e.g. 750 degrees centigrade or less). Accordingly, in the lamp house
1
d,
the guide metallic part
60
provided therein targets a part at which ventilation from the air inlet
10
hits at the cap parts
41
and
42
to intensively cool the cap parts.
In a conventional lamp house, an opening for cooling a lamp bulb is thus open all the time. Even if the openings are covered with the metal meshes
19
and
29
, small broken pieces might scatter to the outside of the lamp house. In addition, a static pressure meter for checking whether a lamp bulb is being cooled is expensive.
As described in the foregoing, conventional lamp houses have the following problems.
First, because an opening is open all the time, when a lamp bulb breaks up, there is danger of scattering of broken pieces to the outside of the lamp house through a space between metal meshes covering the opening and the like.
Secondly, an expensive static pressure meter is necessary to detect whether ventilation is conducted to cool a lamp bulb.
Thirdly, a guide metallic part should be specially provided for appropriately directing ventilation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
First object of the present invention is to provide a lamp house which appropriately prevents danger in a case of break-up of a lamp bulb and efficiently cools the lamp bulb, and a projector device thereof.
Second object of the present invention is to provide a lamp house realizing a function of detecting whether cooling is conducted or not by a simple structure manufacturable at low costs without requiring an advanced function such as a static pressure meter and a projector device thereof.
Third object of the present invention is to provide a lamp house enabling a unit for adjusting a direction of ventilation for cooling a lamp bulb to be effectively structured and a projector device thereof.
According to one aspect of the invention, a lamp house comprises,
at a vent hole for cooling a light source provided in a housing by ventilation, a movable plate which is movable only toward the inside of the housing.
In the preferred construction, the movable plate is attached to the inner side of the side surface of the housing by means of a hinge provided at the upper part of the movable plate, and
when the lamp house is not attached to a projector device, the movable plate closes because of its own weight.
In another preferred construction, when the lamp house is attached to a projector device,
the movable plate disposed on the side of an air inlet of the vent hole opens inwardly upon receiving ventilation from the projector device, and
the movable plate disposed on the side of an air outlet of the vent hole opens upon insertion of a duct of the projector device into the housing through the air outlet.
In another preferred construction, the movable plate is attached to the inner side of the side surface of the housing by means of a hinge provided at the upper part of the movable plate,
when the lamp house is not attached to a projector device, the movable plate closes because of its own weight, and
when the lamp house is attached to the projector device, the movable plate disposed on the side of an air inlet of the vent hole opens inwardly upon receiving ventilation from the projector device,
and the movable plate disposed on the side of an air outlet of the vent hole opens upon insertion of a duct of the projector d
Adams Russell
Esplin D. Ben
NEC Viewtechnology Ltd.
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