High pressure discharge lamp and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract: A high pressure discharge lamp comprises a ceramic tube (4) with axial ends and forming a closed inner space which is filled with an ionizable light-emitting material and a starting gas. Non-conductive members (9) are inserted into the respective ends of the ceramic tube. A conductive member (8,10,11) has one end which protrudes into the inner space of the ceramic tube. The non-conductive member and the conductive member are tightly joined with each other by a joining means which includes at least two thermal buffer layers (5a) stacked between the non-conductive member and the conductive member in the axial direction of the ceramic tube. The non-conductive member, thermal buffer layers and conductive member have respective coefficients of thermal expansion which change gradually from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the non-conductive member to that of the conductive member.

Description: Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high pressure discharge lamp comprising a ceramic tube having a non-conductive member and a conductive member which are inserted into each end thereof, as well as a method of manufacturing such a high pressure discharge lamp. Background Art Conventionally, such a high pressure discharge lamp has non-conductive members and conductive members tightly jointed on the non-conductive members, respectively, at both ends of a ceramic tube. When the high pressure discharge lamp is heated, for example during the operation of the lamp, a thermal stress and thus a strain by a thermal expansion occurs in a junction between the non-conductive member and the conductive member due to significant difference between the coefficient of thermal expansion of the non-conductive member and that of the conductive member, Owing to such strain, there may be formed a gap in the junction. An ionizable light-emitting material and a starting gas in a discharge space of the ceramic tube may leak from the gap to outside of the ceramic tube. To eliminate such a drawback JP-A-5-290810 discloses a high pressure discharge lamp including a conductive member in the form of a support shaft, a non-conductive member in which the support shaft is inserted. The non-conductive member is made of a plurality of layers formed of a mixture of alumina paste and tungsten paste, and arranged to cover one above the other over the surface of the support shaft in the radial direction of the ceramic discharge tube. In this case, as the layer comes closer to the central axis of the ceramic discharge tube, the volumetric percentage of the tungsten in the layer becomes higher and so does the coefficient of thermal expansion of the layer, in order to minimize the strain arising from the thermal expansion. However, such an arrangement of the high pressure discharge lamp serves only reduce the strain of the thermal expansion in the axial direction of the ceramic discharge tube. Strain due to the thermal expansion is three dimensional and, hence, occurs also in the radial direction of discharge tube. Therefore, when the high pressure discharge lamp is heated, an internal stress occurs at the ends of the ceramic discharge lamp. Because such an internal stress occurs repeatedly, a fatigue occurs in the ceramic discharge tube and causes cracks and chips to the ceramic discharge tube. Disclosure of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a high pressure discharge lamp capable of mitigating a thermal stress at an axial direction and a radial direction of a ceramic discharge tube efficiently, as well as a method of the manufacturing the same. According to the present invention of the high pressure discharge lamp, there is provided a high pressure discharge lamp according to claim 1 herein. With the above-mentioned high pressure discharge lamp according to the invention, for tightly jointing the non-conductive member and the conductive member with each other, at least two thermal buffer layers are successively stacked between the non-conductive member and the conductive member in the axial direction of the ceramic tube. The non-conductive member, thermal buffer layers and conductive member having respective coefficients of thermal expansion which change gradually from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the non-conductive member to that of the conductive member. In an example outside the scope of the present invention, when the non-conductive members are composed of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) and the conductive member is composed of molybdenum (Mo), a coefficient of thermal expansion of Al 2 O 3 is higher than that of Mo. That of Al 2 O 3 is the highest among those of Al 2 O 3 , the thermal buffer layers and Mo, and that of the thermal buffer layer directly jointed on Al 2 O 3 is the second highest among them, the coefficient of thermal expansion gets lower as the thermal buffer layers get nearer to Mo, the coefficient of the thermal buffer layer directly jointed on Mo is the second lowest among those of Al 2 O 3 , the thermal buffer layers and Mo, and that of Mo is the lowest among them. By changing the thermal buffer layers and the conductive member gradually from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the non-conductive member and that of the conductive member, difference of the coefficients of thermal expansion between neighboring members (between the non-conductive member and one of the thermal buffer layers, between the thermal buffer layers, and between one of the thermal buffer layer and the conductive members) is smaller than the case where the conductive member is directly jointed on the non-conductive member, so that strain arising from the thermal expansion at the axial direction and the radial direction of the ceramic tube is reduced. Consequently, when the high pressure discharge lamp is heated, the thermal stress at the axial direction and the radial direction of the ceramic tube can be mitigated efficiently. Preferably, the thermal buffer layer which is directly jointed on the non-conductive member is composed of a material from which forms the non-conductive member, the thermal buffer layer which is directly jointed on the conductive member is composed of a material from which forms the conductive member. By composing the thermal buffer layer directly jointed on the non-conductive member with a material from which forms the non-conductive member and composing the thermal buffer layer directly jointed on the conductive member with a material from which forms the conductive member in such a way, roughness of surfaces of the non-conductive member and the conductive member is buried, so that a conformability effect is obtained. More preferably, each of the thermal buffer layers is composed of a mixture of the material from which forms the non-conductive member and the material from which forms the conductive member, the volumetric percentage of the material from which forms the conductive member in the thermal buffer layer becomes higher as the thermal buffer layer comes closer to the conductive member. By changing the volumetric percentage in such a way, the coefficients of thermal expansion can be easily inclined, so that the thermal stress can be mitigated more efficiently. According to the method of manufacturing a high pressure discharge lamp of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a high pressure discharge lamp, according to claim 4 herein. With the above-mentioned method according to the present invention, firstly, non-conductive members are inserted into respective end of a ceramic tube which forms a closed inner space filled with an ionizable light-emitting material and a starting gas. Secondary, at least two thermal buffer layers successively stack on an outer face of the non-conductive member in the axial direction of the ceramic tube so as to tightly joint on the non-conductive member. Lastly, a conductive member is jointed to the thermal buffer layers such that one end of the conductive member protrudes into the inner space of the ceramic tube to thereby form a structure wherein coefficients of the thermal expansion of the non-conductive member, the thermal buffer layers and the conductive member change gradually from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the non-conductive member to that of the conductive member. These steps may be performed in any appropriate order. By manufacturing the high pressure discharge lamp in such a way, it is possible to manufacture the high pressure capable of mitigating a thermal stress at an axial direction and a radial direction of a ceramic discharge tube efficiently. Preferably, the thermal buffer layer which is directly jointed on the non-conductive member is composed of a material from which form the non-conductive member, the thermal buffer layer which is directly jointed on the conductive member is composed of a material from which forms the conductive member. In this case, it is possible to manufacture the high pressure discharge lamp capable of obtaining the conformability effect. More preferably, each of the thermal buffer layers is composed of a mixture of the material from which forms the non-conductive member and the material from which forms the conductive member, the volumetric percentage of the material from which forms the conductive member in the thermal buffer layers becomes higher as the thermal buffer layer comes closer to the conductive member. In this case, it is possible to manufacture the high pressure discharge lamp capable of inclining the coefficients of thermal expansion easily and thus mitigating the thermal stress at the axial direction and the radial direction of a ceramic discharge tube more efficiently. More preferably, each of the thermal buffer layers is formed by printing a paste or a mixture of pastes. As the thermal buffer layers is formed with one or more flexible soft pastes, the conformability to the non-conductive member and the conductive member is improved, so that the thermal buffer layers can be easily formed. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a view showing a first embodiment of the high pressure discharge lamp according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view for showing, in an enlarged scale, surrounding area around an end portion of the first embodiment of the high pressure discharge lamp according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a sectional view for showing, in an enlarged scale, surrounding area around an end portion of a second example of the high pressure discharge lamp outside the scope of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a sectional view for showing, in an enlarged scale, surrounding area around an end portion of third example of the high pressure discharge lamp outside the scope of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the process for manufacturing the high pressure discharge lamp of the present invention. Description of the Preferred Embodiments The first embodiment of the high pressure discharge lamp according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, same reference number refers to same member. Fig. 1 is a plain view for schematically showing one embodiment of the entire structure of the high pressure discharge lamp. A ceramic discharge tube 2 is placed in outer tube 1 made of quartz glass or hard glass, and the center axis of the outer tube 1 is accurately aligned with that of the ceramic discharge tube 2. Both ends of the outer tube 1 are tightly sealed with respective caps 3a, 3b. The ceramic discharge tube 2 comprises a tubular vessel 4, and a thermal buffer portions of multi-layer 5a, 5b having at least two thermal buffer layers (two thermal buffer layers in Fig. 1) at both ends of the vessel 4, respectively. The ceramic discharge tube 2 is held by the outer tube 1 via two lead wires 6a, 6b. The lead wires 6a, 6b are connected to the respective caps 3a, 3b via respective foils 7a, 7b. The upper wire 6a is welded to a collar electrode unit-holding member 8a, white the lower lead wire 6b is welded to a collar electrode unit-holding member 8b. Here, a ceramic tube in claims corresponds to the vessel 4 in the specification, the ceramic discharge tube in the specification means a combination of vessel 4, an electrode unit or the like. Fig. 2 is a sectional view for showing, in an enlarged scale, surrounding area around an end portion of the first embodiment of the high pressure discharge lamp according to the present invention. In Fig. 2, the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a is inserted into a through-hole in a non-conductive disc 9 as the non-conductive member at the end of the vessel 4. To the electrode unit-holding member 8a is tightly connected an electrode shaft 10 by welding. A coil 11 is wound around the electrode shaft 10, thereby constituting an electrode unit as the conductive member. A variety of metals having a high melting point can be used as a material of the electrode unit composed of the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a, the electrode shaft 10 and the coil 11. As the metals having a high melting point, one or more kinds of metals selected from the group consisting of molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W) and rhenium (Re), and their alloys are used. Niobium and tantalum have coefficients of thermal expansion almost meeting those of ceramics constituting the vessel 4, particularly that of aluminate ceramics, niobium and tantalum are likely to be corroded with the ionizable light-emitting material or the like in the vessel 4. Therefore, in order to prolong the service life, the electrode unit is formed from a metal selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, tungsten, rhenium and their alloys. However, the metals having high corrosion resistance against the ionizable light-emitting material generally have small coefficients of thermal expansion. For example, the coefficient of thermal expansion of aluminate ceramics is 8 × 10 -6 K -1 , that of molybdenum is 6 × 10 -6 K -1 , those of tungsten and rhenium are not more than 6 × 10 -6 K -1 . The embodiment described as following, the electrode unit is made of Mo. In the case where molybdenum is used as a material of the electrode unit, it is particularly preferable that at least one kind of La 2 O 3 and CeO 2 is contained in molybdenum in a total amount of 0.1 to 2.0 percentage by weight. The vessel 4 is made of alumina or cermet, and the non-conductive disc 9 is composed of MoSi 2 +Al 2 O 3 . In the example described as following, the non-conductive disc 9 is made of alumina and is therefore outside the scope of the present invention. At both ends of the ceramic discharge tube 2, for example, a sealing method may be employed as described in JP-A-6-3188435, however, at one end of them or at the side of the collar electrode unit-holding member 8b (Fig. 1), as the ionizable light-emitting material and the starting gas need to be poured into the ceramic discharge tube through the through-hole of the collar electrode unit-holding member 8b (Fig. 1), the collar electrode unit-holding member 8b (Fig. 1) has a tubular shape. After the ionizable light-emitting material and the starting gas are sealing charged into the inner space of the vessel 4, the end of the collar electrode unit-holding member 8b (Fig. 1) Is sealed by laser welding or TIG welding. One or more kinds of material selected from the group consisting of Y 2 O 3 , Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , Dy 2 O 3 and MoO 3 are used as a frit seal 14. In the example, the thermal buffer portion of multi-layer 5a consists of a thermal buffer layer 5a-1 which is composed of 40 volumetric percentage of Mo and 60 volumetric percentage of Al 2 O 3 , and a thermal buffer layer 5a-2 which is composed of 60 volumetric percentage of Mo and 40 volumetric percentage of Al 2 O 3 . As the coefficient of thermal expansion of Al 2 O 3 is higher than that of Mo, the coefficient of thermal expansion becomes higher in order of the non-conductive disc 9, the thermal buffer layer 5a-1, the thermal buffer layer 5a-2 and collar electrode unit-holding member 8a. In this case, each of the thermal buffer layers 5a-1, 5a-2 has a thickness of not less than 10 µm. By changing the coefficients of thermal buffer with an inclination from the non-conductive disc 9 to the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a or in the axial direction of the ceramic discharge tube 2 in such a way, differences of the coefficients of thermal expansion between neighboring members (that is, between the non-conductive disc 9 and the thermal buffer layer 5a-1, between the thermal buffer layer 5a-1 and the thermal buffer layer 5a-2, and between the thermal buffer layer 5a-2 and the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a) becomes smaller, so that strain arising from the thermal expansion in the axial direction and the radial direction of the ceramic discharge tube 2 reduces. Consequently, it is possible to mitigate the thermal stress in the axial direction and the radial direction of a ceramic discharge tube 2 efficiently when the high pressure discharge lamp 1 is heated. Also, by changing volumetric percentage of Mo and Al 2 O 3 in the thermal buffer layers 5a-1 and 5a-2, the coefficients of thermal expansion can be easily inclined, so that it is possible to mitigate the thermal stress in the axial direction and the radial direction of the ceramic discharge tube 2 more efficiently. Fig. 3 is a sectional view for showing, in an enlarged scale, surrounding area around an end portion of the second example of the high pressure discharge lamp outside the scope of the present invention. In Fig. 3, an electrode 12a which is wound around an electrode shaft 10 thereof is inserted into the through-hole of the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a, thereby constituting an electrode unit as the conductive member. In the embodiment, a thermal buffer portion of multi-layer 5a' is constituted by a thermal buffer layer 5a'-1 which is made of Al 2 O 3 , a thermal buffer layer 5a'-2 which is made of 30 volumetric percentage of Mo and 70 volumetric percentage of Al 2 O 3 , a thermal buffer layer 5a'-3 which is made of 50 volumetric percentage of Mo and 50 volumetric percentage of Al 2 O 3 , a thermal buffer layer 5a'-4 which is made of 70 volumetric percentage of Mo and 30 volumetric percentage of Al 2 O 3 and a thermal buffer layer 5a'-5 which is made of Mo. In this case, the coefficients of thermal buffer thereof become higher in order of the non-conductive disc 9, the thermal buffer layer 5a'-1, the thermal buffer layer 5a'-2, the thermal buffer layer 5a'-3, the thermal buffer layer 5a'-4, the thermal buffer layer 5a'-5 and the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a. According to the example, the thermal buffer layer 5a'-1 is made of a material from which forms the non-conductive disc 9 and the thermal buffer layer 5a'-1 is jointed on the non-conductive disc 9, and the thermal buffer layer 5a'-5 is made of a material from which forms the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a and the thermal buffer layer 5a'-5 is jointed on the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a, so that roughness of the surfaces of the non-conductive disc 9 and the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a is buried and thus conformability effect is obtained. Fig. 4 is a sectional view for showing, in an enlarged scale, surrounding area around an end portion of the third example of the high pressure discharge lamp which is outside the scope of the present invention. In Fig. 4, an electrode 12b which is wound around an electrode shaft 10 thereof is jointed to a thermal buffer portion of multi-layer, thereby constituting an arrangement of an electrode as the conductive member. In the example, a thermal buffer portion of multi-layer 5a" is constituted by a thermal buffer layer 5a"-1 which is made of Al 2 O 3 , a thermal buffer layer 5a''-2 which is made of 30 volumetric percentage of Mo and 70 volumetric percentage of Al 2 O 3 , a thermal buffer layer 5a''-3 which is made of 50 volumetric percentage of Mo and 50 volumetric percentage of Al 2 O 3 , a thermal buffer layer 5a"-4 which is made of 70 volumetric percentage of Mo and 30 volumetric percentage of Al 2 O 3 and a thermal buffer layer 5a''-5 which is made of Mo. In this case, the coefficients of thermal buffer thereof become higher in the order of the non-conductive disc 9, the thermal buffer layer 5a''-1, the thermal buffer layer 5a"-2, the thermal buffer layer 5a"-3, the thermal buffer layer 5a"-4, the thermal buffer layer 5a"-5 and the collar electrode unit-holding member 12b. Next, a method of manufacturing the high pressure discharge lamp is described about the first embodiment. Fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the process for manufacturing the high pressure discharge lamp of the present invention. First, cermet powder granulated by a spray dryer or the like is press molded under pressure of 2 to 3 N/m 2 (2000 to 3000 kgf/cm 2 ) thereby obtaining a molded bodies for the non-conductive disc 9 (Fig. 2). Preferably, the molded bodies are dewaxed under heating at a temperature of 600 to 800 °C, and calcined at a temperature of 1200 °C in a hydrogen-reducing atmosphere. Some strength is given to such a molded bodies and that handling of the non-conductive disc 9 (Fig. 2) may be facilitated by this calcining. Machining and assembling of an electrode unit are effected in parallel to the molding, dewaxing and calcining of the non-conductive disc (Fig. 2). In forming the collar electrode unit-holding member 8a (Fig. 1 and 2), a collar made of Mo powder is jointed to a pipe made of Mo at a temperature of 1700 to 1900 °C using a powder metallurgy. Also, the vessel 4 of the ceramic discharge tube 2 (Fig. 2) is molded, and a calcined body for the ceramics discharge tube 2 (Fig. 2) is obtained by dewaxing and calcining the molded body. The calcined bodies for the non-conductive member 9 (Fig. 2) are inserted and set into the ends of the calcined body for the ceramic discharge tube, respectively. Next, the thermal buffer layers 5a-1 and 5a-2 is successively applied by printing a paste or a mixture of pastes, the electrode unit is provided on the thermal buffer layer 5a-2, and finish firing is effected at 1600 to 1900 °C in a reducing atmosphere having a dew point of -15 to 15 °C, thereby obtaining the high pressure discharge lamp shown in Fig. 2. According to the method of the high pressure discharge lamp, it is possible to manufacture the high pressure capable of mitigating a thermal stress at the axial direction and the radial direction of the ceramic discharge tube efficiently. Also, as the thermal buffer layers are formed with one or more flexible soft paste, the conformability to the non-conductive member and the conductive member is improved, so that the thermal buffer layers can be easily formed. While the present invention has been described above with reference to certain preferred embodiments, it should be noted that they were presented by way of examples only and various changes and/or modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the ceramic discharge tube may take a cylindrical form, a barrel form or the like. The vessel of the ceramic discharge tube may be made of other heat resistant material. The collar electrode unit-holding member may be formed by the hot (warm) working, the cold working, shrinkage fitting, casting. Also, the thermal buffer portion of multi-layer may be formed by the multi-layer press molding process or the doctor blade process. When the multi-layer press molding process is used, a binder is added to the ceramic component. The binder is preferably a binder which is likely to be thermally decomposed and easily pressed. As the binder, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and acrylic binder are preferred. The binder and a given amount of a solvent are added to the above ceramic component, and the mixture is granulated by a spray dryer or the like, thereby producing granules. The thermal buffer portion of the multi-layer is obtained by process molding the granules under pressure of 2 to 3 tons/cm 2 . On the other hand, when the doctor blade process is used, a binder such as acrylic binder, ethyl cellulose or the like, and a solvent such as ethylcarbitol acetate, butylcarbitate acetate or the like, are added to the ceramic component, thereby obtaining slurry, and a sheet molding is subsequently carried out. Further, the number of the thermal buffer layers may be not less than 2, and the component of the thermal buffer layers (in the above embodiment, volumetric percentage of molybdenum and alumina) may take any component as long as the volumetric percentage of molybdenum in the thermal buffer layer changes gradually. The joint arrangement of the invention may be applied at one or both ends of the ceramic tube.

Claims: A high pressure discharge lamp comprising: a ceramic tube (4) having axial ends and forming a closed inner space which is filled with an ionizable light-emitting material and a starting gas; non-conductive members (9) inserted into the respective ends of the ceramic tube; a conductive member (8a,12b) having an inner end which protrudes into the inner space of the ceramic tube; having, outside said inner space of said tube (4), a laterally projecting collar; and being composed of molybdenum, tungsten, rhenium or alloys of molybdenum, tungsten or rhenium; and joint means (5a; 5a', 5a") sealingly joining the non-conductive member and the conductive member with each other, said joint means including a stack of layers (5a'-1, 5a'-2, etc.) successively stacked between the non-conductive member and said collar of the conductive member in the axial direction of the ceramic tube; said tube (4), non-conductive members (9), conductive member (8a,12b) and said joint means (5a; etc.) having been co-fired to form a co-fired assembly in which said stack is bonded to said collar and inwardly of said collar there is a gap between said conductive member and said stack; characterized in that the non-conductive members (9) are composed of cermet; said stack of layers (5a'-1, 5a'-2, etc.) is co-fired with said tube (4), non-conductive members (9) and conductive member (8a,12b), the layer (5a-2, 5a'-5, 5a"-4) closest to said collar being directly bonded by said co-firing to said collar, and said non-conductive member, said layers and said conductive member having respective coefficients of thermal expansion which change gradually from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the non-conductive member to that of the conductive member. The discharge lamp according to claim 1, wherein the number of the layers (5a-1, etc.) is not less than four, the layer (5a-1, 5a'-1, 5a"-1) which is directly bonded to the non-conductive member is composed of a material from which the non-conductive member is formed, and the layer which is directly bonded on the conductive member is composed of a material from which the conductive member is formed. The discharge lamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the layers (5a-1, etc.) is composed of a mixture of a first material from which the non-conductive member is formed and a second material from which the conductive material is formed, the volumetric percentage of second material in each layer increasing as the layer is closer to the conductive member. A method of manufacturing a high pressure discharge lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3 comprising the steps of: (i) inserting precursors of non-conductive members (9) composed of cermet into respective ends of a precursor of a ceramic tube (4) which is to form a closed inner space filled with an ionizable light-emitting material and a starting gas, said precursors being ready for firing; (ii) successively stacking precursors of at least two layers (5a-1, 5a-2, etc.) on an outer face of the precursor of one of the non-conductive members in the axial direction of the ceramic tube; (iii) providing a conductive member (8a,12b) composed of molybdenum, tungsten, rhenium or alloys of molybdenum, tungsten or rhenium and having a front end and a laterally projecting collar rearwardly of said front end thereof, and assembling said conductive member (8a,12b) with said precursors of said layers so that said collar is outsider said precursor of the tube (4) and is directly on the outermost of said precursors of said layers; and (iv) after steps (i), (ii) and (iii), co-firing said precursor of the tube (4), precursors of the non-conductive members (9), conductive member (8a,12b) and said precursors of the layers (5a-1, etc.) to form a co-fired assembly. The method according to claim 4, wherein the precursor of each of the layers is formed by printing a paste or a mixture of pastes.

Inventors: NIIMI NORIKAZU, NIIMI, NORIKAZU
Applicants: NGK INSULATORS LTD, NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: H01J61
IPC codes: H01J9, H01J61