JPH0518846Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) This invention relates to a flat fluorescent lamp used as a backlight for a liquid crystal panel, etc., and more particularly to a flat fluorescent lamp with an improved getter arrangement position.

(Prior Art) As shown in a cross-sectional plan view in FIG. 6 and a vertical cross-sectional view in FIG. Mercury vapor and argon gas are sealed in the discharge space 14 formed, and two glass substrates 13, 1
A pair of electrodes 1 are arranged in parallel at both ends in the discharge space 14.
The fluorescent films 15, 15 are caused to emit light by the ultraviolet rays generated by causing a discharge to occur between the mercury vapor and the mercury vapor.

In the prior art described above, the mercury getter 17a generates mercury vapor in the discharge space 14, and the surfaces of the electrodes 16, 16, the glass substrate 13,
The getter 17 is provided with an adsorption getter 17b that adsorbs impurity gases such as O ₂ and N ₂ released from the inner surface of the fluorescent lamp 13, and the getter 17 is provided into the discharge space 14 approximately at the center of the long side wall of the flat fluorescent lamp. It is known that the exhaust pipe 18 is disposed in a communicating manner (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-264654).

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the flat fluorescent lamp as described above, since the suction getter 17b is disposed inside the exhaust pipe 18, which has the lowest temperature during use, the suction getter 17b As a result, the amount of impurity gas remaining in the discharge space 14 increases, shortening the life of the flat fluorescent lamp, and causing the getter 17 to remain in the exhaust pipe 18. The exhaust pipe 18 requires a predetermined length dimension, which poses a problem in that it is inconvenient to handle the flat fluorescent lamp.

The present invention was made to solve such problems, and its purpose is to solve the problem in the discharge space 14.
To provide a flat fluorescent lamp whose life can be extended by increasing the adsorption amount of impurity gas released into the lamp, and which is convenient to handle by reducing the length of an exhaust pipe 18.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides at least one of the opposing electrodes arranged in the discharge space.
The gist is that a getter including a mercury getter and an adsorption getter is fixed or installed on the non-opposing surface side of two electrodes.

(Function) Because the getter, which has a mercury getter and an adsorption getter, is fixed or installed on the non-opposed side of the opposing electrodes, the adsorption getter is heated by the heat generated in the electrode during use, promoting activation, and impurity gas The amount of adsorption increases. Therefore, the amount of impurity gas remaining in the discharge space is reduced, and the life of the flat fluorescent lamp is extended.

Further, since no getters remain in the exhaust pipe, the length of the exhaust pipe can be made as small as possible, making the flat fluorescent lamp extremely convenient to handle.

(Embodiment) A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a flat fluorescent lamp;
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a flat fluorescent lamp.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a front glass substrate that constitutes an irradiation surface, 2 is a rear glass substrate that is a non-irradiation surface, and 3 is a spacer frame for sealing between the glass substrates 1 and 2. A discharge space 4 is defined by the glass substrates 1 and 2 and a spacer frame 3, and fluorescent films 5 and 5 are formed on the inner surfaces of the glass substrates 1 and 2.

Reference numerals 6 and 6 are electrodes, which are arranged in parallel at both ends of the discharge space 4, and 7 is used to exhaust the air in the discharge space 4 during the manufacturing process and later fill it with argon gas. This is the exhaust pipe.

9 is a getter, and the getter 9 has a mercury getter 9b formed on one surface of a substrate 9a and an adsorption getter 9c formed on the other surface of the substrate 9a, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. Mercury getter 9b
has a function of generating mercury vapor in the discharge space 4, and the adsorption getter 9c absorbs O ₂ and N ₂ released from the surfaces of the electrodes 6, 6, the inner surfaces of the glass substrates 1, 2, etc. during use. It has the function of adsorbing impurity gases such as. Further, the adsorption getter 9c has a characteristic that as the temperature of the adsorption getter 9c increases, activation is promoted and the amount of impurity gas adsorbed also increases.

In this embodiment, the getter 9 includes the electrodes 6,
It is welded to the non-opposing surface side of one of the electrodes 6 (the electrode disposed on the right side in FIG. 1).

10, 10 are terminal pieces fixed to one ends of the electrodes 6, 6, and a power source 11 is connected to the terminal pieces 10, 10.

Based on the above configuration, the flat fluorescent lamp causes a discharge to occur between the electrodes 6 and 6, and the heat generated in the electrode 6 during the discharge heats the mercury getter 9b and releases mercury vapor into the discharge space 4. At the same time, the generated mercury vapor is excited to generate ultraviolet light, and the ultraviolet light causes the fluorescent films 5, 5 to emit light, which is used as a backlight for a liquid crystal panel.

According to this embodiment, since the getter 9 is welded to the side of the non-opposing surface of the electrode 6, the adsorption getter 9c is sufficiently heated by the heat generated in the electrode 6 during discharge, promoting activation, and adsorbing impurity gas. The amount of impurity gas increases, and the amount of impurity gas remaining in the discharge space 4 decreases. Therefore, the life of the flat fluorescent lamp can be extended.

Furthermore, since no getter 9 remains in the exhaust pipe 7, the length of the exhaust pipe 7 can be made as small as possible, making handling of the flat fluorescent lamp extremely convenient.

In this embodiment, the getter 9 is welded to only one of the electrodes 6, 6, but it is also possible to provide two getters 9 and weld to both of the electrodes 6, 6. . Further, the getter 9 can also be installed on the non-opposing surface side of the electrode 6 without being welded to the non-opposing surface side of the electrode 6.

Next, modified embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

4 and 5 are views showing a modified embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a flat fluorescent lamp, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 4. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the same components as in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

As shown in the drawing, a transparent conductive film is formed on the opposing surfaces of the front glass substrate 1 and the rear glass substrate 2, and on this transparent conductive film, a fluorescent film 5,
5 is formed.

A part of the spacer frame 3 is cut out to form an attachment part 12 for the getter 9, and an end of the getter 9 is attached to the attachment part 12.

Then, the front glass substrate 1 is placed on the spacer frame 3.
When the rear glass substrate 2 is fixed with a frit, the end of the getter 9 is also fixed to the mounting portion 12 with a frit.

In addition, the getter 9 can also be directly fixed to the spacer frame 3 with a frit without forming the attachment part 12 on the spacer frame 3. Further, the getter 9 can be fixed using a breathable insulator, and the getter 9 can be bent or the glass substrate 1 can be fixed.
The getter 9 is arranged between the getter 9 and the inner surfaces of the glass substrates 1 and 2, and the getter 9 is
It is also possible to prevent the movement of

Furthermore, since the discharge path becomes shorter at the location where the getter 9 is provided, partial discharge is more likely to occur.
In order to prevent this, it is desirable to remove the transparent conductive film formed in this portion.

(Effect of the invention) As is clear from the above explanation, according to the invention,
In flat fluorescent lamps, the getter, which includes a mercury getter and an adsorption getter, is fixed or installed on the non-opposed side of the electrode, which reduces the amount of impurity gas remaining in the discharge space and extends the life of the flat fluorescent lamp. At the same time, the length of the exhaust pipe can be made as small as possible, making the flat fluorescent lamp extremely convenient to handle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 show a flat fluorescent lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view, and FIG.
The figure is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, the third figure is a cross-sectional view of the getter, and the fourth figure is a cross-sectional view of the getter.
5 and 5 show a flat fluorescent lamp according to a modified embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are An example of a conventional flat fluorescent lamp is shown, with FIG. 6 being a sectional plan view and FIG. 7 being a longitudinal sectional view. In the drawings, 1 is a front glass substrate, 2 is a rear glass substrate, 6 is an electrode, 9 is a getter, 9b is a mercury getter, and 9c is an adsorption getter.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] Two glass substrates, opposing electrodes disposed between the two glass substrates, a mercury getter that generates mercury vapor on one surface, and an impurity on the other surface. In a flat fluorescent lamp comprising a getter having an adsorption getter for adsorbing gas, the getter is directly fixed on the non-opposing surface side of at least one of the electrodes and between the frame of the fluorescent lamp. A flat fluorescent lamp that is characterized by: