Electric lamp and discharge devices – With envelope – Having base and connector
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-15
2003-12-02
Patel, Ashok (Department: 2879)
Electric lamp and discharge devices
With envelope
Having base and connector
C313S113000, C313S318080, C313S318090, C313S315000, C362S229000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06657369
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lamp with a reflector used in optical equipment or the like and to a method of manufacturing the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, a lamp with a reflector having a configuration as shown in
FIG. 11
has been known. In
FIG. 11
, numeral
1
indicates a high-pressure mercury lamp having a light-emitting portion
1
a
with a pair of electrodes
4
and sealing portions
1
b
and
1
c
provided in continuation of the respective ends of the light-emitting portion
1
a
. A metal base
2
provided with a threaded portion
2
a
at one end is fixed to the sealing portion
1
b
with an adhesive
22
a
such as cement or the like. Numeral
40
indicates a reflector. The reflector
40
has an opening portion
6
, a reflecting surface
7
that is a paraboloid or an ellipsoid, and a hole
39
. The sealing portion
1
b
of the lamp
1
is inserted into the hole
39
and the lamp
1
and the reflector
40
are combined into one component using the adhesive
22
b.
One electrode
4
is connected to the base
2
. To the other electrode
4
, a lead wire
5
b
is connected by welding. A front glass
9
is fixed to the opening portion
6
of the reflector
40
by a fixing clamp
10
.
In turning on this lamp, a lead wire
5
a
connected to a power supply (not shown in the figure) is connected to the threaded portion
2
a
of the base
2
by thread fastening of a nut
2
b
and a lead wire
5
b
is connected to a power supply (not shown in the Figure).
In such a lamp with a reflector, a method of fixing the lamp
1
to the reflector
40
has been as follows. After the insertion of the sealing portion
1
b
into the hole
39
, the hole
39
is filled with the adhesive
22
b
and then the position of the lamp
1
is adjusted so that the lamp is positioned at the focal point of the reflector
40
. After that, the adhesive
22
b
is dried to fix the lamp
1
inside the reflector
40
. Then, the front glass
9
is fixed to the opening portion
6
. In this connection, the step of adjusting the position of the lamp
1
is carried out with the lamp
1
being oriented horizontally and being turned on (hereinafter this state of the lamp
1
is referred to as a “horizontal turn-on state”) as in the case where the lamp is used practically. The reason is that an arc bending phenomenon, i.e. a phenomenon in which an emission center is shifted slightly depending on the orientation of the lamp
1
when it is turned on, occurs in the lamp
1
.
However, in such a conventional lamp with a reflector, since the lamp
1
is fixed to the hole
39
simply with the adhesive
22
b
, the adhesive strength between the lamp
1
and the adhesive
22
is lost when strong force is added to the base
2
in thread fastening of the nut
2
b
to the threaded portion
2
a
or the like. As a result, the lamp
1
cannot be fixed inside the reflector
40
, which has been a problem.
When the lamp
1
is fixed to the reflector
40
, a process for drying the adhesive
22
is required and the process takes a long time of at least 30 minutes. This also has been a problem.
Furthermore, there have been the following problems. Since the drying process is carried out by batch processing, it is difficult to obtain the consistency with a mass production line, thus complicating the manufacturing processes. In addition, when the mass-production volume is increased, the size of the drying furnace equipment is increased.
Moreover, in the horizontal turn-on state in adjusting the position of the lamp
1
, the adhesive
22
b
moves to one side or flows out due to gravity. Therefore, after the lamp
1
is fixed inside the reflector
40
temporarily by drying a part of the adhesive
22
b
for temporal fixation, the reflector
40
is set again in a direction in which the adhesive
22
b
does not flow out and then the adhesive
22
b
is dried for finishing. Since such two drying steps are required, the process is complicated, which also has been a problem.
In addition, there also has been a possible problem of causing defects due to the accidental adherence of the adhesive
22
b
onto the reflecting surface
7
or the like when the hole
39
is filled with the adhesive
22
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to solve such problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lamp with a reflector in which a lamp can be fixed firmly inside a reflector by fixing the lamp inside the reflector without using an adhesive.
It also is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a lamp with a reflector in which the position of a lamp can be adjusted easily inside a reflector by fixing the lamp inside the reflector without using an adhesive, no process for drying an adhesive and no equipment for the process are required, and further the occurrence of defects caused by adhesion of an adhesive can be prevented.
The lamp with a reflector of the present invention includes a lamp having a base at one end and a reflector. The reflector has, at one end of its reflecting surface, a hole into which the base of the lamp is inserted and an opening portion at the other end. The base is maintained in the hole, so that the lamp is positioned inside the reflector. A hollow metal fitting is fit into the hole, the base is inserted into the metal fitting, and the base and the metal fitting are combined into one component by welding. According to this configuration, the lamp can be fixed firmly inside the reflector without using an adhesive.
In the above-mentioned configuration, when the base and the metal fitting are welded at their boundary portion, they can be welded easily and reliably.
Preferably, the metal fitting has at least one slit formed by being cut from an end on the opposite side to the opening portion and has a flexible tongue portion that is formed by the slit. According to this, the tongue portion is deformed elastically and therefore the lamp can be tilted easily in any direction, thus facilitating the position adjustment of the lamp inside the reflector. Further, by providing the hole with a projection or a rib that is engaged with the slit, the length of the metal fitting to be inserted into the hole can be controlled, and when the metal fitting has a cylindrical shape, the rotation in the circumferential direction can be suppressed further securely. In addition, by providing a projection on the side face of the metal fitting and bringing the projection into contact with the inner face of the hole, the metal fitting is allowed to be fit tightly in the hole. Preferably, the above-mentioned slit is formed to extend to the vicinity of the end positioned on the reflector side.
When the hole has a tapered shape with the side of the opening portion of the reflector being wider and the metal fitting is inserted into the hole, the tongue portion is deformed to have its tip closer, thus deforming the metal fitting into a tapered shape. Therefore, the contact force between the base and the tongue portion increases when the base is inserted. In addition, the base seeks to press and expand the tongue portion and therefore the further intimate contact between the metal fitting and the hole also is attained.
It is preferable that a stopper to be caught by the end of the hole on the opening portion side is provided at one end of the metal fitting on the opening portion side. This can prevent the metal fitting from being inserted into the hole beyond a predetermined length.
Besides the above-mentioned slit, by providing the metal fitting with at least one slit formed by being cut from its end of the opening portion side, the difference in thermal expansion between the reflector and the metal fitting is absorbed, thus preventing damages.
Further, when a projection formed of a part of a spherical body is provided on the side face of the base and a top part of the projection is brought into contact with the inner face of the metal fitting, a constant sliding frictional force between the base and the inner face of the metal fitting can be obtained, thus facili
Tamaru Syuji
Tatsuta Ken
Tsutatani Takashi
Merchant & Gould P.C.
Patel Ashok
Roy Sikha
LandOfFree
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