JP2001068028A - Gas discharge tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas discharge tube capable of more surely isolating the spaces of a plurality of light emitting chambers from each another. SOLUTION: A gas discharge tube has a flat space divided into a plurality of light emitting chambers 12, by fitting the circumferential walls 24 to barrier ribs 22 through mutual engagement of grooves 42 formed in them. because the circumferential walls 24 and the barrier ribs 22 intersect at the peripheral edge of the flat space, no gaps will be produced resulting from lower degree of perpendicularity of the circumferential walls 24 according to a conventional arrangement, in which they are butted to each other. Here, the grooves 42 formed in the barrier ribs 22 and circumferential walls 24 have an opening dimension of around 250 μm substantially of the same order as the thickness of the other, being around 200 μm, no gaps will substantially be produced, resulting from the grooves 42 formed in their mutually fitting part. Since this suppresses mutual communications of the light emitting chambers 12 via the gaps between the circumferential walls 24 and the barrier ribs 22, the spaces of the chambers 12 can be isolated from one another still more certainly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved peripheral wall and partition structure for partitioning a discharge space of a gas discharge tube into a plurality of light emitting chambers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A gas discharge tube of a type in which light generated by discharge in an airtight space (discharge space) formed on one surface side of a transparent or translucent light-transmitting wall is emitted through the light-transmitting wall. It has been known. For example, a discharge tube for lighting, such as a flat fluorescent lamp, or a plasma display panel (Plasma Display Panel: P) utilizing a glow discharge region.
A display discharge tube or the like used to display a desired image, such as a fluorescent lamp for display utilizing a DP) or positive column discharge region, is such. The former discharge tube for lighting etc. is made thin, so
It is suitably used for lights and space-saving lighting devices. Further, in the latter display discharge tube, since it is a self-luminous type, a high luminance can be obtained at a low voltage and a wide viewing angle, so that not only can it be used alone as a display device, but also a plurality of display discharge tubes can be formed on one plane or By forming a large-area display surface by arranging it vertically and horizontally (that is, in a matrix) on one curved surface, a large display device for a stadium or the like that displays images for a large number of viewers indoors or outdoors can be easily formed. There is an advantage that can be configured.

[0003]

When the light emission area of the above-described gas discharge tube becomes large, the discharge space is vertically and horizontally defined by a peripheral wall and a partition wall provided on the inner peripheral side thereof. It is often divided into a plurality of light-emitting rooms arranged in a row. For example, a flat-type discharge tube for lighting or the like is provided with a plurality of light-emitting chambers that are independent from each other or communicate with each other for the purpose of adjusting the brightness by making the brightness uniform over the entire surface or selectively emitting light. . In addition, in the case of a display discharge tube, the amount of information that can be displayed per unit area, that is, the definition of the display, is increased as much as possible, or the required number is reduced when a plurality is used in a matrix to reduce the work efficiency. A plurality of light emitting chambers (discharge chambers or cells) capable of selectively emitting light are provided in the discharge space for the purpose of increasing the light emission as much as possible.

However, in a conventional gas discharge tube, for example, as shown in the case of a fluorescent lamp for display in FIG. 7 (a), a peripheral wall 60 and a bottom wall 62 are integrally provided and the light transmitting wall side is provided. A plurality of light-emitting chambers 68 are formed by fitting a lattice-shaped partition 66 into a box-shaped container 64 having an open surface.
Was formed. The box-shaped container 64 has a band-shaped portion 70 having a uniform width corresponding to the peripheral wall 60 as shown in FIG. 7B, for example, provided on the peripheral edge of the central rectangular portion 72 corresponding to the bottom wall 62. The thin plate part 74 is formed by bending the thin plate component 74 so as to be perpendicular to each other, or by squeezing the thin plate material. Therefore, it is difficult to secure the perpendicularity between the peripheral wall 60 and the bottom wall 62 in any of the forming methods. Therefore, a gap 76 is formed at the abutting portion between the partition wall 66 and the peripheral wall 60 designed on the premise of the perpendicularity. There was a problem that occurs. In the display fluorescent lamp, between the anode 78 provided for each light-emitting chamber 68 and the cathode provided in a cathode chamber (not shown), a cathode hole 80 commonly formed in the plurality of light-emitting chambers 68 is formed on the bottom wall 62. Since the discharge is performed through the passage, if the space 76 is formed and the space separation between the light emitting chambers 68 is incomplete, an erroneous discharge may occur along the path through the gap 76. Such a change in the discharge path caused by the gap 76 similarly causes problems such as erroneous light emission of a display cell and a decrease in luminance in other types of display discharge tubes and illumination discharge tubes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gas discharge tube in which a plurality of light emitting chambers can be more reliably separated from one another in space.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the gist of the present invention consists of a transparent wall and a bottom wall which are parallel to each other, and a peripheral wall arranged between them. By partitioning the flat space by partition walls, a plurality of light-emitting chambers arranged and formed in a plane parallel to the light-transmitting wall are provided in an airtight container, and light generated in the plurality of light-emitting chambers is transmitted therethrough. In a gas discharge tube of a type that emits light through an optical wall, (a) the peripheral wall and the partition wall have an opening dimension substantially the same as the width dimension of the other at the fitting position or the upper end on the one surface side or the opposite side thereof Have been fitted to each other by notch grooves formed from the lower ends of the respective members.

[0007]

According to this configuration, the flat space is divided into a plurality of light emitting chambers by fitting the peripheral wall and the partition wall into each other with the cutout grooves provided in each. Therefore, at the peripheral portion of the flat space, that is, at the boundary between the flat space and the external space, the peripheral wall and the partition wall intersect, so that the perpendicularity of the peripheral wall is low as when they are simply butted. No resulting gap occurs. At this time, since the notch groove is formed to have an opening dimension substantially similar to the width dimension at the other fitting position to be fitted with each other, the notch groove provided in the fitting portion affects the discharge. Such a gap does not occur. Therefore, since the plurality of light emitting chambers are suppressed from communicating with each other via the gap between the peripheral wall and the partition wall, the space separation between the light emitting chambers is further ensured.

When the flat space is divided into a plurality of light emitting chambers arranged in two or more directions both in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, a partition wall for partitioning the light emitting chambers in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is formed by a peripheral wall. Form a lattice shape that intersects on the inner circumference side. Such a lattice-shaped partition wall has been constituted by, for example, fitting a plurality of long plate-shaped components extending along the vertical direction and the horizontal direction to each other in cutout grooves provided respectively. Therefore, in the inner peripheral portion of the flat space, the light-emitting chambers were surely separated from each other by the intersecting partition walls, but at the peripheral edge portion, the peripheral wall and the partition walls were configured in an abutting structure. The spatial separation was inadequate. The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a difference in the space separation structure, and the light emission quality is improved by applying the separation structure on the inner side to the peripheral portion. When the partition wall and the peripheral wall have a fitting structure, the end of the partition wall protrudes toward the outer peripheral side of the peripheral wall, so that a non-light emitting portion due to the protruding portion is formed on the outer peripheral side of the plurality of light emitting chambers. The overhang required for the composite structure is sufficiently small. Therefore, the length of the partition wall can be kept substantially equal to the displacement width of the peripheral wall position due to the bending angle error between the peripheral wall and the bottom wall in the conventional structure involving bending, so that the partition wall end is located closer to the outer peripheral side than the peripheral wall. , The enlargement of the non-light emitting portion does not pose a problem.

[0009]

Another aspect of the present invention, in the gas discharge tube described above, preferably, the bottom wall is formed of a member independent of the peripheral wall. This eliminates the need for bending as in the case where the peripheral wall and the bottom wall are integrally formed, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process. In addition, since there is no decrease in dimensional accuracy due to the bending, the peripheral wall and the partition can be easily fitted together, and the dimensional variation among the plurality of light emitting chambers is reduced, so that the uniformity of luminance is improved.

[0010] Preferably, the partition wall fitted to the peripheral wall at the peripheral edge portion divides each of the plurality of light emitting chambers into a plurality of small chambers communicating with each other, and forms a meandering discharge path in the light emitting chamber. It includes an internal partition to be formed. According to this configuration, since the internal partition for forming the meandering discharge path is also provided in the cross structure fitted to the peripheral wall, the internal partition and the peripheral wall may have a butt structure. There is no gap. Therefore, the plurality of small chambers defined by the internal partition walls are spatially separated from each other, and the discharge is performed only through the predetermined communicating portion, so that the intended brightness can be reliably obtained.

Preferably, in the peripheral wall and the partition wall, the upper end on the side of the light-transmitting wall and the lower end on the side of the bottom wall are substantially aligned with each other when they are fitted. With this configuration, since the upper and lower end surfaces of the plurality of light emitting chambers formed by the upper and lower ends are substantially flat, the inner surfaces of the translucent wall and the bottom wall are formed substantially flat, so that the upper and lower surfaces of the light emitting chamber are The generation of a gap at the end can be suppressed. Therefore, there is an advantage that the processing of the translucent wall and the bottom wall is not complicated as compared with the related art.

Preferably, in the partition, a plurality of independent partition plates are provided at a plurality of locations in a longitudinal direction of the partition in each of portions extending in one direction and the other direction intersecting each other. The peripheral wall is formed in a lattice shape by being fitted to each other by the notch grooves, and the peripheral wall is formed of a plurality of peripheral wall independent for each portion extending along one direction and the other direction along the partition wall. The plates are fitted to each other by notch grooves provided at both ends, so as to surround the plurality of light emitting chambers as a whole. If you do this,
Since both the peripheral wall and the partition wall are formed by long plate-shaped components extending in one direction, the component configuration is simplified and downsized as compared with the case of using a frame-shaped component. There is an advantage that the handling and management of the component parts are easy.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a whole of a display fluorescent lamp 10 for color display, which is an embodiment of a gas discharge tube of the present invention, with a part thereof being cut away. In the drawing, a display fluorescent lamp 10 is used as a display element for forming a large display surface by arranging a plurality of fluorescent lamps vertically and horizontally, and includes a plurality of light emitting chambers 12 therein and has a substantially square planar shape. A hermetically sealed container in which a plurality of flat box-shaped cathode chambers 16 each containing a hot cathode (not shown) are fixed by a low softening point glass such as lead-containing glass below the flat box-shaped light emitting chamber housing section 14 to be formed. The discharge space such as mercury vapor is sealed in the internal space, that is, the discharge space.

The light emitting chamber accommodating portion 14 has a flat box-shaped front side container 18 to which the above-mentioned cathode chamber 16 is fixed and an open bottom surface, and a low softening point glass or the like having a peripheral edge at its open end. And a bottom plate 20 which is fixed and closes the opening. The front side container 18 is made of, for example, substantially transparent soda lime glass for windows, etc., and has a translucent wall portion 18 parallel to the bottom plate 20 located on the upper side in the figure.
a, and an outer peripheral wall portion 1 extending from the entire periphery of the peripheral portion downward, that is, toward the bottom plate 20 side so as to be substantially perpendicular thereto.
8b. On the other hand, the bottom plate 20 is, for example, 42
It is composed of a thin plate made of a metal material having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially similar to that of a low softening point glass such as 6 alloy (Ni 42, Cr 6, balance Fe).
Both surfaces are covered with an insulating film made of borosilicate glass or the like. In the present embodiment, the bottom plate 20 corresponds to a bottom wall.

A flat space is formed in the light emitting chamber accommodating portion 14 constituted by the front side container 18 and the bottom plate 20, and the plurality of light emitting chambers 12 are provided with a grid-like partition wall 22 provided therein. And is formed in the space by a peripheral wall 24 surrounding the periphery. That is, the peripheral wall 24 is disposed between the translucent wall portion 18a and the bottom plate 20, and the flat space formed by the peripheral wall 24 is arranged in a plane parallel to the translucent wall portion 18a by the partition wall 22. Are divided into a plurality of light emitting chambers 12. Both the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24 are made of a 426 alloy or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the entire planar shape of the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24 is substantially square, and the planar shape of each of the plurality of light emitting chambers 12 is approximately eight. , 64 light emitting chambers 12 are arranged. FIG.
In FIG. 2, “R”, “G”, and “B” described in each of the light emitting chambers 12 represent light emission colors.
In each of the light-emitting chambers 12, a phosphor layer 50 is provided on the side surface of the partition wall 22 and the like, as described later, and the light-transmitting wall portions 18a
Is provided with a color filter 44 and the like inside.
Each light-emitting chamber 12 emits light in any one of the three colors defined by the light-emitting chambers.

The plurality of light emitting chambers 12 are each formed of four small chambers 26a, 26b, 26 each having an elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape.
c and 26d. As shown in FIG. 1, an end of one of the four divided small chambers 26 is provided with an anode 28 that is discharged between the cathode and the cathode. However, the partition for partitioning the small chambers 26 is an imperfect partition having the opening 30, and the four small chambers 26 are communicated with each other. For this reason, each of the light emitting chambers 12 has a bent planar shape formed by the four small chambers 26 communicating with each other, and the internal space thereof is an elongate space meandering and having an anode 28 at one end. .

Although the overall shape of the cathode chamber 16 is not shown, the cathode chamber 16 is formed in a substantially flat box shape with one surface on the bottom plate 20 side open, and is made of the same glass material or bottom plate as the front container 18. It is made of an enameled thin plate of 426 alloy or the like in which insulating films are formed on both sides similar to 20. Therefore, the inner wall surface of the airtight container facing the discharge space is entirely made of an insulator. The display fluorescent lamp 10 is provided with, for example, an exhaust pipe for evacuating the interior and filling in a discharge gas, for example, on the lower surface of the cathode chamber 16. The details of the configuration of the cathode chamber 16 and the like are described in this embodiment. Since it is not necessary for understanding, it is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2 showing the overall structure of the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24, the partition wall 22 has a plurality of X-direction partition portions 32 and Y-direction partition portions extending in two directions perpendicular to each other. The light-emitting chambers 12 and the small chambers 26 in each of the light-emitting chambers 12 are separated from each other. However, among the partition portions 32 and 34 extending in these two directions, all the X-direction partition portions 32 substantially completely separate the light emitting chambers 12 from each other, but the Y-direction partition portions 34 substantially completely separate the light emitting chambers 12 from each other. The incomplete wall portion 34 having the partitioning complete wall portion 34a and the opening 30 described above.
b. That is, the luminous chamber 12 is divided by the X-direction partition wall portion 32 and the Y-direction complete wall portion 34a so that each of the luminous chambers 12 is arranged vertically and horizontally, and the complete wall portion 34a
Each luminous chamber 12 is divided into small chambers 26 by an incomplete wall portion 34b disposed between each other. In the present embodiment, “substantially completely dividing the light emitting chamber 12” means that the light emitting chambers 12 are electrically separated to the extent that erroneous discharge does not occur.
It does not mean that they are airtightly divided.

As described above, the peripheral wall 24 surrounding the partition wall 22 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral wall 24 intersects the partition wall 22 at both ends. That is, the partition wall 22 is provided such that a part of both ends thereof protrudes outside the peripheral wall 24 which is outside the light emitting chamber 12. The peripheral wall 24 has an overall planar shape of a rectangular frame.
And four peripheral wall portions 3 extending along the longitudinal direction of the Y-direction partition wall portions 34 and being parallel to each other and perpendicular to each other.
6. The four peripheral wall portions 36 intersect at both end portions, and both end portions are provided so as to protrude toward the outer peripheral surface side, although both are perpendicular to each other. In FIG. 2, only a part of the incomplete wall portion 34b provided at both ends in the width direction in the figure is shown, and the one provided at the center is omitted. In addition, one picture element of the display is composed of four light-emitting chambers 1 of R, G, G, and B which are adjacent to each other.
A non-light-emitting region having a fixed width between the X-direction partition portions 32 adjacent to each other (a section in which none of R, G, and B is described). Is provided. This non-light-emitting area is for arranging all picture elements at a uniform interval when a plurality of display fluorescent lamps 10 are arranged.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view for explaining an essential part of the light emitting chamber 12 with the front side container 18 and the cathode chamber 16 removed in FIG. As shown in the figure, the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24 are placed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 20 at a position slightly inside the outer peripheral end thereof. Each of the X-direction partition 32, the Y-direction partition 34, and the peripheral wall 36, which constitute the partition 22, has a thickness of 20.
It has a length of about 0 (μm) and a height of about 3 (mm) in the direction from the bottom plate 20 toward the translucent wall portion 18a. The X-direction partition wall portion 32, the Y-direction partition wall portion 34, and the peripheral wall portion 36 have notched grooves 42 at a plurality of locations in the longitudinal direction, respectively, from the upper end 38 on the light-transmitting wall portion 18a side or the lower end 40 on the bottom plate 20 side. Is provided. Partition part 3
2, 34 and the peripheral wall portion 36 extend in two directions perpendicular to each other, and are fitted into each other in the cutout groove 42 to form a lattice shape as a whole. Is substantially constant in each of the X and Y directions except for the non-light-emitting portion.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4 showing a portion corresponding to a cross section taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3, when the light emitting chamber accommodating portion 14 is assembled, the upper end 38 and the lower end 40 of the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24 are They are all located at substantially the same height. Therefore, the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24,
No gap is formed between the translucent wall portion 18a that forms the upper end surface of the light emitting chamber 12 and the bottom plate 20 that forms the lower end surface of the light emitting chamber 12 such that the discharge path is short-circuited. In addition,
A color filter 44 is provided between the light-transmitting wall 18a and the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24, as shown in the figure. 44. That is, in the present embodiment, the color filter 44 corresponds to the translucent wall described in the claims. The color filter 44 is, for example, a plate glass or the like having a thickness of about 1 (mm) painted in three colors of RGB for each section corresponding to each of the light emitting chambers 12. It is provided for the purpose of enhancing The RGB and grid-like black patterns 45 shown for each of the light emitting chambers 12 in FIG. 1 are obtained by projecting a color-coded pattern on the color filter 44 and a black mask between picture elements, and The light wall 18a is not color-coded at all. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 43 denotes a sealing glass, and the bottom plate 20 and the outer peripheral wall portion 18 are provided.
The gap between b and b is closed by the sealing glass 43.

Returning to FIG. 3, the bottom plate 20 is provided with a common discharge hole 46 for each pixel constituted by four light emitting chambers 12 adjacent to each other. This discharge hole 46
The light-emitting chambers 12 are provided at the intersections of the partition walls 32 and 34 that divide the four light-emitting chambers 12, and each of the light-emitting chambers 12 communicates with the cathode chamber 16 fixed below the bottom plate 20 through the discharge hole 46. I do. Further, since the discharge holes 46 are provided in such a size as to open only in the four small chambers 26 (see FIG. 2) sharing the intersection, the other three small chambers 26 of each light emitting chamber 12 are separated from each other by partition walls. It communicates with the cathode chamber 16 through an opening 30 provided in the section 34. For this reason, the end of the bent light emitting chamber 12 composed of four mutually communicating small chambers 26 on the opposite side to the discharge hole 46, that is, the opening 30 of the small chamber 26 located at the most distant position from the discharge hole 46.
The anode 28 provided at the opposite end is discharged between the cathode in the cathode chamber 16 through the meandering discharge path 48 shown in the figure. The side surface of the partition wall 22, the side surface of the peripheral wall 24, and the bottom plate 2 that constitute the inner wall surface of each light emitting chamber 12
On the upper surface, the phosphor layers 50 are applied with a thickness of, for example, about 200 (μm), respectively. Therefore, when a discharge is caused between the cathode and the anode 28, the ultraviolet light generated thereby causes the inside of the light emitting chamber 12 to emit light. Phosphor is excited and emits light, and the light is
The light is emitted through the filter 44 and the translucent wall 18a to display an image. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the imperfect wall portion 34b corresponds to an internal partition for forming a meandering discharge path 48 in the light emitting chamber 12.

FIG. 5 is a view showing in detail the shape and mutual fitting of the X-direction partition 32, the Y-direction partition 34, and the peripheral wall 36 in a separated state. In the drawing, the partition walls 32, 3 and 3 are arranged in accordance with the fitting order when the components are sequentially arranged on the bottom plate 20 and fitted from above.
4 and the peripheral wall portion 36 are depicted as being divided into four layers. Located in the lowermost layer (first layer) is a partition A for separating the light emitting chambers 12 from each other in one picture element of the X-direction partition 32, and all the notches 42 are formed from the upper end 38. Is provided. Although only one partition A is shown in the figure, it is provided at a constant center interval equal to the pixel pitch diagonally upward to the right in the figure. Above (2nd layer)
Is a partition B for separating the light emitting chambers 12 from each other in one picture element of the Y-direction partition 34, and the cutout groove 42 is fitted with the partition A located in the first layer. Everything except the one for matching is provided from the lower end 40.
8 are provided. A plurality of partition walls B are also provided at a constant center interval equal to the picture element pitch and arranged diagonally upward and to the left in the drawing.

The third layer is located in the X-direction partition 32.
And the partition wall C provided between the picture elements, and the X-direction peripheral wall D provided in parallel with the peripheral wall 36. These are provided with notches 42 from the lower end 40 for fitting with the partition B located in the second layer, but all other notches 42 are provided from the upper end 38. Then, the remaining Y is placed on the uppermost layer (the fourth layer).
A partition E provided between the picture elements and between the small chambers 26 in the light emitting chamber 12, and a Y-direction peripheral wall provided in parallel with that of the peripheral wall 36. Section F. In these, notch grooves 42 for fitting with the partition portions A and C of the first and third layers and the peripheral wall portion D in the X direction are all provided from the lower end 40. The partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24 are configured by fitting the plate-shaped members configured as described above into each other by the cutout grooves 42. Therefore, as described above, both ends of the partition wall 22 are smaller than the peripheral wall 24. They protrude outward and form an intersecting plane shape.

The partition walls 32 and 34 and the peripheral wall 36
Each of the notched grooves 42 has an opening dimension w of about 250 (μm) and a depth dimension d of about 1.5 (mm).
That is, the notch groove 42 has a width dimension about 50 (μm) larger than a thickness dimension of about 200 (μm) of the partition 32 or the like, and about 1/2 of the height dimension of about 3 (mm). It has a depth dimension. Since the depth dimension d of the notch groove 42 is set to be deep as described above, even when the partition walls 32 and 34 and the peripheral wall 36 are fitted to each other, as described above, the upper and lower ends of the partition 22 and the peripheral wall 24 are formed. Height positions match,
No gap is formed between the upper and lower ends of the light emitting chamber 12.
As described above, the phosphor layer 50 is fixed to a side surface of the partition wall 32 or the like with a thickness of about 200 (μm), and the side surface thereof has a glass layer (not shown) having a thickness of about 10 (μm). The phosphor layer 50 is provided on the glass layer so as to avoid the vicinity of the cutout groove 42 as shown in a part of FIG. Therefore, since the actual thickness of the partition 32 and the like at the fitting portion is about 220 (μm), a gap having a width of about 30 (μm) may be generated at the fitting portion. However, since the phosphor layers 50 are all fixed to the side surfaces of the partition walls 32 and 34 and the peripheral wall 36 constituting the inner surface of the light emitting chamber 12, the gap is substantially formed by the mutual contact of the phosphor layers 50. Is closed. Therefore, the above gap 30 (μm) has an effect of facilitating the fitting, but a gap that can cause erroneous discharge is formed in the fitting portion between the partition walls 32 and 34 and the peripheral wall portion 36. Since it does not occur, the light emitting chambers 12 are completely separated from each other in an electrical sense. In addition, since the small chamber 26 in each light emitting chamber 12 is also electrically divided in a portion other than the opening 30 in the same manner, discharge of a short-circuited path passing through the gap cannot occur.

As described above, both ends of the partition wall 22 protrude outward from the peripheral wall 24, and the protruding portions fit the peripheral wall 24 into the cutout grooves 42 provided at the end of the partition wall 22. It is caused by things. Therefore, the amount of protrusion is substantially equal to the length s from the longitudinal end of the partition wall 32 or the like to the first cutout groove 42, for example, is only about 0.5 (mm). In the drawings, for convenience of explanation, the notch 4
The width dimension of No. 2 and the length s of the protruding portion are exaggerated.

FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (d) are views for explaining a main part of a method of manufacturing the light emitting chamber accommodating portion 14 of the display fluorescent lamp 10 described above. Note that this diagram is for the sake of simplicity.
As shown in (d), the number of the light emitting chambers 12 provided in the lamp 10 was 2 cells × 3 cells, that is, a total of six. In manufacturing the lamp 10, first, a through-hole corresponding to the notch groove 42 is provided in a predetermined position by etching, punching by a press, laser processing, or various kinds of mechanical processing on a thin metal plate, and a glass coating process is performed on the through-hole. Etc., so that the partition walls 2
2 and a longitudinal thin plate member 52 for forming the peripheral wall 24
A thin plate component 54 provided with portions corresponding to a and 52b is prepared, and a phosphor layer 50 of a predetermined emission color is applied to the surface thereof. Similarly, the bottom plate 20 provided with the anode hole 56 for inserting and arranging the discharge hole 46 and the anode 28 is prepared, and the phosphor layer 50 is applied to a predetermined position on the surface thereof. FIG. 6 (a) shows the thin plate component 5 thus manufactured.
4 and the bottom plate 20 are shown.

In the subsequent step, the long thin plate members 52a and 52b are separated from the thin plate component 54 by cutting or punching. FIG. 6B shows the thin plate members 52a and 52b thus separated one by one. In addition,
The thin plate member 52 is provided with a notch groove 42 as shown in (b), but this is omitted in (a). Then, the thin plate members 52a and 52b are fitted into each other by the cutout grooves 42 as shown in FIG. 5 to produce a component in which the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24 are combined in a lattice shape. (c) illustrates this stage. Then, as shown in FIG.
0, and the front side container 18 prepared separately is covered from above, and glass sealing is performed at the peripheral edge of the bottom plate 20,
The light emitting room accommodating part 14 is obtained. Therefore, according to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, since the peripheral wall 24 is prepared as a separate component from the bottom plate 20 and is merely mounted thereon, no bending is required at all, and the individual Since the peripheral wall 24 can be configured only by fitting the member 52 separated into the peripheral wall 24, there is an advantage that the process is simplified.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Notch groove 42 provided with peripheral wall 24 and partition wall 22 respectively
The flat space is divided into a plurality of light emitting chambers 12 by fitting each other. Therefore, since the peripheral wall 24 and the partition wall 22 intersect at the peripheral portion of the flat space, that is, at the boundary between the flat space and the external space (that is, the gap between the peripheral wall 24 and the outer peripheral wall portion 18b),
Perimeter wall 24 as if they were just butted
There is no gap due to the low verticality of the slab. At this time, the notch groove 42 provided in each of the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24 has substantially the same thickness dimension as the other about 200 (μm).
Since it is formed to have an opening dimension of about 250 (μm), a gap caused by the cutout groove 42 provided in the fitting portion does not substantially occur. Therefore, the plurality of light emitting chambers 12 are
Since the communication between the light emitting chambers 12 and the partition wall 22 is suppressed through the gap between the light emitting chambers 12, the space separation between the light emitting chambers 12 is further ensured.

In addition, as described above, the peripheral wall 24 and the partition 22
As a result, the relative positions thereof are determined by the position and the dimensional accuracy of the notch groove 42, so that the relative positions in a case where a grid-like partition is simply fitted inside the box-shaped container are determined. No displacement can occur. Therefore, since the mutual shape and dimensional accuracy of the light emitting chambers 12 are increased, there is also an advantage that the uniformity of the light emitting intensity is enhanced.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the peripheral wall 24 is formed as a separate component from the bottom wall 20, the bending process as in the case where they are integrally formed is not required, so that the manufacturing process is omitted. It is simplified and the perpendicularity between the bottom wall 20 and the peripheral wall 24 is enhanced. In addition, since there is no decrease in dimensional accuracy due to the bending process, the peripheral wall 24 and the partition wall 22 can be easily fitted together, and the dimensional variation among the plurality of light emitting chambers 12 is reduced, thereby improving the uniformity of luminance. There are advantages too. By the way, in the conventional structure that involves bending as shown in FIG. 7, since it is difficult to make the bending angle vertical,
There is also a problem that it takes time to process and assemble.

In this embodiment, each of the plurality of light emitting chambers 12 is divided into a plurality of mutually communicating small chambers 26, and the imperfect wall portion 34b for forming a meandering discharge path 48 therein. And the incomplete wall portion 34b is also provided in a crossed structure fitted with the peripheral wall 24, so that there is no gap between them as in the case of a butt structure. Therefore, each light emitting room 12
Since the spatial separation between the four small chambers 26 is enhanced and the discharge is performed only through the predetermined communication portion, the intended brightness can be reliably obtained.

In this embodiment, the peripheral wall 24 and the partition wall 22 are provided at the upper end 3 of each color filter 44 side.
The lower end 8 on the side of the bottom plate 20 and the lower end 40 on the side of the bottom plate 20 are substantially aligned with each other in their fitted state. Therefore, since the upper and lower end surfaces of the plurality of light emitting chambers 12 are substantially flat,
Only by disposing the color filter 44 and the bottom plate 20 whose inner surfaces are substantially flat on the upper and lower sides, substantially no gap is formed between the upper and lower ends of the light emitting chamber 12. Therefore, since there is no need to perform special processing on those inner surfaces, the peripheral wall 24 and the partition 2
The steps and processing are not complicated due to the fitting structure of 4.

In this embodiment, the partition 22 is
A plurality of independent X-direction partition portions 32 and Y-direction partition portions 34 are independently provided at respective portions extending along the X direction and the Y direction that intersect with each other through cutout grooves 42 provided at a plurality of locations in the longitudinal direction. The peripheral wall 24 is formed in a lattice shape by being fitted.
The four peripheral wall portions 36 independent of each other extending along the X direction and the Y direction along the partition wall 22 are fitted to each other by the cutout grooves 42 provided at both ends thereof, so that the whole is obtained as a whole. It is configured to surround the plurality of light emitting chambers 12. Therefore, the peripheral wall 24 and the partition 2
2 is a long plate-like part 32 extending in one direction,
Since the components 34 and 36 are used, the component configuration is simplified and reduced in size as compared with the case where frame-shaped components are used, so that there is an advantage that handling and management of the components in the manufacturing process are facilitated. .

While the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention can be embodied in still another embodiment.

For example, in the embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the display fluorescent lamp 10 has been described. However, if the gas discharge tube has a plurality of luminous chambers in an airtight container, it is possible to use a PDP or the like. The present invention is similarly applied to fluorescent lamps and the like, which are discharge tubes for other types of display discharge tubes and illuminations or illuminations such as LCD backlights. In addition, the light emission method using discharge includes a method using glow discharge and a method using positive column discharge, and the present invention can be applied to any of them, and the driving method also has an exposed electrode. The direct current (DC) type may be an alternating current (AC) type covered with a dielectric material. Further, the cathode is not limited to the hot cathode described in the embodiment, and may be a cold cathode.

Further, in the embodiment, the flat space in the airtight container is divided into a plurality of light emitting chambers 12 and small chambers 26 arranged in a matrix by partition walls 22 in a grid shape. It is appropriately determined according to the size, configuration, application, and the like of the tube. For example, only the partition wall extending in one direction may be provided in the peripheral wall 24, and the flat space may be divided into a plurality of light emitting chambers arranged in only one direction.
Further, the planar shape of the airtight container is not limited to a substantially square shape as shown in the embodiment, but can be appropriately changed depending on the use and the like.

Further, in the embodiment, the case where the phosphor layer 50 is provided in the light emitting chamber 12 has been described, but the phosphor layer 50 is not necessarily provided. The phosphor layer 50 is not required when the display is performed directly by gas, ions, plasma or the like generated by the discharge.

Further, in the embodiment, the bottom plate 20 and the peripheral wall 24 are formed as separate parts, but the box-shaped container 64 formed by bending the thin plate part 74 shown in FIG.
Similarly to the above, the bottom plate 20 and the peripheral wall 24 may be configured as a box-shaped container integrally provided. Even if you do this,
If at least the partition wall 22 and the peripheral wall 24 have a fitting structure with the cutout groove 42, the effects of the present invention can be enjoyed.

In the embodiment, the peripheral wall 24 is formed into a frame shape by fitting four thin plate-like peripheral wall portions 36, but the peripheral wall portions 36 are continuously and integrally provided. The present invention can be similarly applied to the case where the frame-shaped peripheral wall 24 is used.

In the embodiment, the partition 22 is formed of a plurality of thin plate-shaped X-direction partition portions 32 and Y-direction partition portions 34.
Are formed in a lattice shape by fitting each other, but the present invention is similarly applied to a case where a lattice-like integral partition wall 22 is used by etching or press working.

In the embodiment, the incomplete wall portion 34b functioning as an internal partition also has the cutouts 42 at both ends and is fitted with the peripheral wall 22 having the corresponding cutouts 42. The wall portion 34b may have a structure in which the wall portion 34b is abutted against the peripheral wall 24. Even in this case, the problem of erroneous discharge of at least the adjacent light emitting chambers 12 can be avoided.

In the embodiment, the peripheral wall 24 is disposed inside the hermetic container. For example, if the fitting between the peripheral wall 24 and the fitting portion with the partition 22 are air-tightly joined by glass or the like, the peripheral wall 24 is air-tight. An outer peripheral wall of the container may be formed. That is, the gas discharge tube does not have to be configured in a double structure in which the outer peripheral wall portion 18b is provided outside the peripheral wall 24 as shown in the embodiment. Incidentally, in the conventional structure as shown in FIG. 7, since the peripheral wall 60 is not supported at both ends at all, if the peripheral wall 60 is used as it is as the outer peripheral wall, the internal space is decompressed. Can fall into Therefore, in such a structure, a double structure is indispensable, but according to the present invention, the peripheral wall 24 can be used as it is as the outer peripheral wall. In this case, both ends of the partition wall 22 are exposed outside the airtight container, and the light-transmitting wall is formed of flat thin glass or the like, but there is no problem in function. .

Although not specifically exemplified, the present invention
Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an entire display fluorescent lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement state of a light emitting chamber of the display fluorescent lamp in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part for describing the configuration of a partition wall and a peripheral wall of the display fluorescent lamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to a section taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the partition wall and the peripheral wall of FIG. 3 separated from each other.

FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (d) are diagrams illustrating each step of a manufacturing process for explaining a method of manufacturing the light emitting room collecting section of the display fluorescent lamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7A is a view for explaining the internal configuration of a conventional airtight container body, and FIG. 7B is an exploded view showing a partition member for partitioning and forming a light emitting chamber therein.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Fluorescent lamp for display (gas discharge tube) 12: Light emitting chamber 18a: Translucent wall (translucent wall) 20: Bottom plate (bottom wall) 22: Partition wall 24: Peripheral wall 42: Notch groove

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Jun Hirose 3-36 Noritakeshinmachi, Nishi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi F-term (reference) in Noritake Company Limited 5C040 GF03 GF06 GF14 MA20 MA22

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A flat space defined by a light-transmitting wall and a bottom wall parallel to each other and a peripheral wall disposed therebetween are partitioned by a partition wall so that the flat space is formed in a plane parallel to the light-transmitting wall. Equipped with a plurality of light emitting chambers formed in an airtight container,
In a gas discharge tube of a type in which light generated in the plurality of light-emitting chambers is emitted through the light-transmitting wall, the peripheral wall and the partition have substantially the same opening dimension as the other width at the fitting position. A gas discharge tube, wherein the gas discharge tubes are fitted to each other by notches formed respectively from the upper end on the light-transmitting wall side or the lower end on the bottom wall side. 2. The gas discharge tube according to claim 1, wherein said bottom wall is formed of a member independent of said peripheral wall. 3. The partition according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of light-emitting chambers includes an inner partition for dividing each of the plurality of light-emitting chambers into a plurality of mutually communicating small chambers and forming a meandering discharge path in the light-emitting chamber. 2 gas discharge tube.