JP2010190481A - Heat treatment device for plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat treatment device for a plasma display panel (PDP) performing heat treatment on a large-size glass substrate without needing a long roller conveyor. <P>SOLUTION: In this heat treatment device for a PDP performing heat treatment singly to the glass substrate 36 configuring the PDP or while conveying the glass substrate in a loaded state on a glass substrate support member 35, a plurality of roller conveyors 32 are extended into the inside of the heat treatment device 31 respectively from both sidewalls 31b of the heat treatment device for the PDP in a rotatable state and facing to each other in the conveying direction. The roller conveyors 32 respectively have a hollow structure, and are constituted to jet gas passing through the roller conveyors 32 from tips 32a of the roller conveyors 32 and to blow to a bottom surface of the glass substrate 36 conveyed by the roller conveyors 32, or to a bottom surface of the glass substrate placed with the support member 35 placed with the glass substrate 36. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for a plasma display panel used when manufacturing a plasma display panel, and more particularly to a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a large glass substrate such as a 42-inch size 16 chamfer.

  A plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as PDP) has a structure in which peripheral portions of a front panel and a back panel arranged opposite to each other are sealed by a sealing member, and a discharge space formed between the front panel and the back panel. Is filled with a discharge gas such as neon and xenon.

  The front panel includes a plurality of display electrode pairs formed of scan electrodes and sustain electrodes formed in a stripe shape on one surface of a glass substrate, and a dielectric layer and a protective layer covering these display electrode pairs. Each of the display electrode pairs includes a transparent electrode and an auxiliary electrode made of a metal material formed on the transparent electrode.

  The back panel has a plurality of address electrodes formed in a stripe shape in a direction perpendicular to the display electrode pair on one side of the other glass substrate, a base dielectric layer covering these address electrodes, and an address electrode for discharging space. Stripe-shaped partition walls that are partitioned every time, and red, green, and blue phosphor layers that are sequentially applied to the grooves between the partition walls.

  The display electrode pair and the address electrode cross three-dimensionally, and the intersection becomes a discharge cell. These discharge cells are arranged in a matrix, and three discharge cells having red, green, and blue phosphor layers arranged in the direction of the display electrode pair become pixels for color display.

  The PDP sequentially applies a predetermined voltage between the scan electrode and the address electrode and between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode to generate a gas discharge, and the phosphor layer is excited by the ultraviolet rays generated by the gas discharge to emit light. An image is displayed.

  Here, as a manufacturing method of the front panel and the back panel, components such as a display electrode pair and a dielectric layer are formed on the front glass substrate, and an address electrode and a base dielectric layer are formed on the back glass substrate. Components such as barrier ribs and phosphor layers are arranged in a predetermined shape and pattern.

  These constituents are formed by applying each material (precursor material) on a glass substrate, performing a predetermined patterning by a photolithography method or a sandblasting method, if necessary, and then solidifying by firing.

Here, in the process of forming a material layer by applying a predetermined material (precursor material) on a glass substrate, and forming each component on the glass substrate by firing and solidification, firing is performed. -When solidifying, place the glass substrate on a glass substrate support plate (so-called setter), put it into a heat treatment apparatus together with the glass substrate support plate, and the charged glass substrate is placed on the setter, A so-called roller hearth type heat treatment apparatus is used in which heat treatment such as baking is performed by a process according to a predetermined temperature curve while being conveyed by a conveyance means such as a roller conveyor provided in the heat treatment apparatus (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-322472 A

  Recently, since the PDP to be manufactured is becoming larger in screen, the apparatus width is increased in the above-described heat treatment apparatus for heat treating the glass substrate, and as a result, the length of the roller conveyor used is also increased. It's getting on.

  However, since the roller conveyor is made of ceramics, it is possible to produce a long roller conveyor because the roller conveyor may bend or break because the bending moment at the center portion increases. There was a problem that it was difficult. In addition, when maintaining the device, it is necessary to remove the roller conveyor from the side of the device, and it is necessary to secure a space for it, but if the roller conveyor is long, the space From the viewpoint of effective use of factory space, there are cases where it becomes a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a PDP heat treatment apparatus capable of heat-treating a large glass substrate without requiring a long roller conveyor.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a heat treatment apparatus for PDP that performs heat treatment while conveying a glass substrate constituting a PDP alone or in a state of being placed on a glass substrate support, Are extended from each side wall of the heat treatment apparatus for PDP to the inside of the heat treatment apparatus, a plurality of them are opposed to each other in the conveying direction, and are rotatably arranged, and the roller conveyor has a hollow structure, The gas that has passed through the roller conveyor is jetted from the tip of the roller conveyor and blown to the bottom surface of the glass substrate transported by the roller conveyor or the bottom surface of the glass substrate support material on which the glass substrate is placed It is.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the heat processing apparatus for PDP which can heat-process a large-sized glass substrate, without requiring a long roller conveyor.

  Hereinafter, although the heat processing apparatus for PDP by one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using drawing, the aspect of this invention is not limited to this.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a PDP manufactured using a PDP heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the PDP 1, a front panel 2 made of a front glass substrate 3 and the like and a back panel 10 made of a back glass substrate 11 and the like are arranged to face each other, and the outer periphery thereof is hermetically sealed by a sealing member made of glass frit or the like. Yes. A discharge gas such as neon (Ne) and xenon (Xe) is sealed at a pressure of 400 Torr to 600 Torr in the discharge space 16 inside the sealed PDP 1.

  On one main surface of the front glass substrate 3 of the front panel 2, a pair of striped display electrodes 6 and black stripes (light-shielding layers) 7 made up of the scan electrodes 4 and the sustain electrodes 5 are arranged in parallel to each other in multiple rows. ing. Furthermore, a dielectric layer 8 made of Pb-B glass or the like is formed so as to cover these display electrodes 6 and the light shielding layer 7, and a protective layer made of magnesium oxide (MgO) is formed on the surface thereof. Layer 9 is formed.

  A plurality of stripe-shaped address electrodes 12 are arranged in parallel to each other in a direction orthogonal to the scanning electrodes 4 and the sustain electrodes 5 on one main surface of the rear glass substrate 11 of the rear panel 10, and this is used as a base dielectric. The body layer 13 is covering. Further, a partition wall 14 having a predetermined height is formed on the base dielectric layer 13 between the address electrodes 12 to divide the discharge space 16. A phosphor layer 15 that emits red, green, and blue light by ultraviolet rays is sequentially applied to the grooves between the barrier ribs 14 for each address electrode 12. A discharge cell is formed at a position where the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 intersect with the address electrode 12, and the discharge cell having the red, green, and blue phosphor layers 15 arranged in the direction of the display electrode 6 is used for color display. It becomes the pixel of.

Next, a method for manufacturing a PDP will be described. First, the scan electrode 4, the sustain electrode 5, and the light shielding layer 7 are formed on one main surface of the front glass substrate 3. Scan electrode 4 and sustain electrode 5 are configured by a transparent electrode made of indium tin oxide (ITO), tin oxide (SnO ₂ ), or the like, and a metal bus electrode made of silver paste or the like formed thereon. These electrodes are formed by patterning using a photolithography method or the like. These electrode material layers are fired and solidified at a desired temperature. Similarly, the light shielding layer 7 is formed by screen printing a paste containing a black pigment or by forming a black pigment on the entire surface of the glass substrate, patterning it using a photolithography method, and baking and solidifying it.

  Next, a dielectric paste is applied on the front glass substrate 3 by a die coating method or the like so as to cover the scan electrode 4, the sustain electrode 5, and the light shielding layer 7, thereby forming a dielectric paste layer (dielectric material layer). After the dielectric paste is applied, the surface of the applied dielectric paste is leveled by leaving it to stand for a predetermined time, so that a flat surface is obtained. Thereafter, the dielectric paste layer is baked and solidified to form the dielectric layer 8 that covers the scan electrode 4, the sustain electrode 5, and the light shielding layer 7. The dielectric paste is a paint containing a dielectric material such as glass powder, a binder and a solvent. Next, a protective layer 9 made of magnesium oxide (MgO) is formed on the dielectric layer 8 by a vacuum deposition method. Through the above steps, predetermined components (scanning electrode 4, sustaining electrode 5, light shielding layer 7, dielectric layer 8, and protective layer 9) are formed on front glass substrate 3, and front panel 2 is completed.

  On the other hand, the back panel 10 is formed as follows. First, the composition for the address electrode 12 is formed by a method of screen printing a silver paste on one main surface of the rear glass substrate 11 or a method of patterning using a photolithography method after forming a metal film on the entire surface. An address electrode 12 is formed by forming a material layer and baking and solidifying the material layer at a desired temperature.

  Next, a dielectric paste is applied to the rear glass substrate 11 on the surface on which the address electrodes 12 are formed by a die coating method so as to cover the address electrodes 12 to form a dielectric paste layer. Thereafter, the base dielectric layer 13 is formed by firing the dielectric paste layer. The dielectric paste is a paint containing a dielectric material such as glass powder, a binder and a solvent.

  Next, a partition wall forming paste containing a partition wall material is applied on the base dielectric layer 13 and patterned into a predetermined shape to form a partition wall material layer, and then the partition wall 14 is formed by baking and solidifying. Here, as a method of patterning the partition wall paste applied on the base dielectric layer 13, a photolithography method or a sand blast method can be used.

  Next, the phosphor layer 15 is formed by applying a phosphor paste containing a phosphor material on the base dielectric layer 13 between the adjacent barrier ribs 14 and on the side surfaces of the barrier ribs 14 and baking and solidifying the phosphor paste. Through the above steps, the rear panel 10 having predetermined components on the rear glass substrate 11 is completed.

  The front panel 2 and the back panel 10 having predetermined constituent members from the above-described steps are arranged so as to face each other so that the scan electrode 4, the sustain electrode 5, and the address electrode 12 are orthogonal to each other, and the periphery is sealed with a glass frit. Then, the discharge space 16 is filled with a discharge gas containing neon, xenon, etc., thereby completing the PDP 1.

  As described above, in the PDP manufacturing process, the metal bus electrode (not shown) on the front glass substrate 3, the light shielding layer 7, the dielectric layer 8, the address electrode 12 on the rear glass substrate 11, and the base dielectric The body layer 13, the partition wall 14, and the phosphor layer 15 are formed by applying a precursor material for each constituent member on the front glass substrate 3 or the back glass substrate 11 and forming a predetermined pattern as necessary. It is produced by baking and solidifying. The firing step is performed at 500 ° C. to 600 ° C. for each constituent member, and at least twice for the front panel 2 and four times for the rear panel 10 are necessary.

  Next, a heat treatment apparatus for PDP used in the above-described heat treatment process, the firing and solidifying process, will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a general roller hearth type heat treatment apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, the heat treatment apparatus 22 is a tunnel furnace type heat treatment apparatus in which a plurality of ceramic roller conveyors 20 are arranged at a constant pitch through the side wall 22a.

  Each roller conveyor 20 is rotated in the same direction by a driving device 21 provided outside the heat treatment device 22. And in the state which mounted the glass substrate 24 on the glass substrate support material 23, the glass substrate support material 23 is mounted on the said roller conveyor 20, and the glass substrate 24 is conveyed with the glass substrate support material 23 together. .

  The inside of the heat treatment apparatus 22 is divided according to its temperature profile, such as a pre-tropical zone, a dry zone, a firing zone, and a cooling zone, along the conveyance direction of the glass substrate 24. Further, it is formed by a heating means such as a burner or a heater.

  That is, the glass substrate 24 is transported in the furnace length direction by a large number of roller conveyors 20, and thus passes through the pre-tropical zone, the drying zone, the firing zone, the cooling zone, etc. A temperature history is given and heat treated.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration by cutting out a part of a heat treatment apparatus for PDP according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3A is a plan view of a part of the PDP heat treatment apparatus 31 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above, and FIG. 3B is a heat treatment for PDP according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the device 31 as viewed from the front with respect to the conveyance direction of the glass substrate 36.

  The heat treatment apparatus 31 is composed of a floor surface 31a, a side wall 31b, and a ceiling wall 31c made of a refractory material or a heat insulating material, and has a tunnel shape. A heating means is provided inside the heat treatment apparatus 31. Examples of this heating means include a ceiling heater and a floor heater.

The roller conveyor 32 has a cylindrical shape and is made of, for example, a ceramic material, which is a heat resistant material, and examples thereof include alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) and silicon carbide (SiC).

  A plurality of roller conveyors 32 pass through both side walls 31b of the heat treatment apparatus 31 and are arranged at a constant pitch along the conveying direction of the glass substrate 36, and the tips 32a of the roller conveyors 32 extending into the heat treatment apparatus 31 are mutually connected. Opposite.

  The above-mentioned “tips 32a are opposed to each other” is not only the case where the axial centers of the roller conveyors 32 extending from the both side walls 31b into the heat treatment apparatus 31 coincide with each other, for example, they are staggered. Such a structure is also included.

  As described above, the roller conveyor 32 is disposed through the side wall 31b from the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 31. A base end 32 b of the roller conveyor 32 is rotatably supported by a roller conveyor support member 33 disposed outside the apparatus 31. The roller conveyor 32 is rotated in a fixed direction at the same speed by a driving means 34 such as a servo motor or an inverter motor.

  Here, the roller conveyor 32 has a hollow structure, and a gas supply pipe 37 is attached to the base end 32b of the roller conveyor 32. The supplied gas passes through the roller conveyor 32, and the hole 32 is formed at the tip 32a of the roller conveyor 32. Gas is ejected from (opening).

  And the glass substrate support material 35 which mounted the glass substrate 36 supported and conveyed by the roller conveyor 32 is formed by the roller conveyor 32 so as to form a gap 31d of about 2 to 3 mm between the bottom surface 31a. The floor surface 31a is provided with a groove portion 38 having a circular arc shape along the shape of the roller 32 at the portion where the roller 32 is disposed, and the gas ejected from the tip 32a. Is blown upward along the cross-sectional shape of the groove portion 38 and then blown into the gap 31d, that is, the gas blown from the tip 32a is blown toward the bottom surface of the glass substrate support member 35.

  With the configuration as described above, the bottom surface of the glass substrate support member 35 on which the glass substrate 36 is placed can be pushed up by the gas ejected from the tip 32a to the extent that it does not float up.

  As a result, the bending moment applied to the roller conveyor 32 due to the load between the glass substrate 36 and the glass substrate support material 35 that acts when the roller conveyor 32 conveys the glass substrate support material 35 on which the glass substrate 36 is placed is made of glass. The degree of the increase in the size of the substrate 36 increases, but the bending moment can be reduced, and in the worst case, the roller conveyor 32 is prevented from being damaged. can do.

  Then, in the state as described above, the roller conveyor 32 is rotated in a certain direction, and the glass substrate support material 35 on which the glass substrate 36 placed on the roller conveyor 32 is placed by this rotation is converted into a heat treatment apparatus 31. Carry in. The glass substrate 36 placed on the glass substrate support 35 is heat-treated while being transported through the heat treatment apparatus 31, and for example, a material layer formed of a precursor material is fired and solidified. Yes. Note that the heat treatment includes, for example, a treatment such as drying in addition to firing and solidification.

  In the configuration described above, the amount of gas ejected from the tip 32a is such that the bottom surface of the glass substrate support 35 on which the glass substrate 36 is placed is pushed up to the extent that it does not float up, and the temperature state in the heat treatment apparatus 31. From the viewpoint of control, it is preferable to reduce as much as possible.

  Further, a collar 39 for preventing leakage may be attached so that the supplied gas does not leak from the penetrating portion of the roller conveyor 32 with respect to the both side walls 31b.

  In the above description, an example in which the glass substrate 36 is placed on the glass substrate support material 35 is shown when the glass substrate 36 is transported. However, the glass substrate 36 is used alone without using the glass substrate support material 35. Thus, it may be a form that is directly conveyed by the roller conveyor 32. That is, according to the heat treatment apparatus for a PDP according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the load caused by the weight of the glass substrate 36 acting on the roller conveyor 32 is reduced by the ejection of gas from the tip 32a. As a result, the frictional force acting between the glass substrate 36 and the roller conveyor 32 is reduced, and therefore, the glass substrate 36 may come into contact with the roller conveyor 32 during conveyance, and may be generated on the glass substrate. Can be greatly reduced.

  In particular, the large-sized glass substrate 36 targeted by the heat treatment apparatus for PDP of the present invention has its own weight, and if it is a normal heat treatment apparatus, its own weight acts on the roller conveyor as it is. In the contact surface of the glass substrate 36 with the roller conveyor, the occurrence of “scratching scratches” becomes prominent. According to the above-described heat treatment apparatus for PDP according to one embodiment of the present invention, such scratches. It is possible to greatly reduce the occurrence of.

  The gas supply pipe 37 is connected to a gas supply means such as a blower (not shown). The gas supply pipe 37 is supplied with a gas such as air or nitrogen in a pressurized state. It has come to be.

  The gas that has passed through the roller conveyor 32 from the gas supply pipe 37 is preheated by the heat in the heat treatment apparatus 31, and is ejected from the tip end portion 32a.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a part of a PDP heat treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 4A is a plan view of a part of a PDP heat treatment apparatus 41 according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above, and FIG. 4B is a heat treatment for PDP according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the apparatus 41 as viewed from the front with respect to the conveyance direction of the glass substrate 36. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as FIG.

  A characteristic point of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is that the shape of the floor surface 41a is a portion where the roller conveyor 32 is disposed, and is provided along the shape of the roller conveyor 32. The tip 48a of the groove 48, which is a shape further extended from the tip 32a of the roller conveyor 32, allows the gas ejected from the tip 32a to be more effectively compared to the structure shown in FIG. It is possible to spray the bottom surface of the glass substrate support material 35 on which the glass substrate 36 is placed, or the bottom surface of the glass substrate 36 in the case of the glass substrate 36 alone. It is possible to effectively reduce the acting bending moment.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic structure of the tip 32a of the roller conveyor 32 in the PDP heat treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. A cone shape in which a hole 32c as shown in FIG. 5A is formed, an orifice shape in which the hole 32c is processed as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for providing a large-screen, high-definition PDP.

Sectional perspective view which shows schematic structure of PDP manufactured using the heat processing apparatus for PDP by one embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the heat processing apparatus of a general roller hearth system The figure which cuts out one part of the heat processing apparatus for PDP by one embodiment of this invention, and shows schematic structure The figure which cuts out a part of heat processing apparatus for PDP by other embodiment of this invention, and shows schematic structure The figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the front-end | tip of the roller conveyor in the heat processing apparatus for PDP by one embodiment of this invention

1 Plasma display panel (PDP)
2 Front plate 3 Front glass substrate 4 Scan electrode 5 Sustain electrode 6 Display electrode 7 Black stripe (light shielding layer)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 Dielectric layer 9 Protective layer 10 Back plate 11 Back glass substrate 12 Address electrode 13 Base dielectric layer 14 Partition 15 Phosphor layer 16 Discharge space 20 Roller conveyor 21 Drive device 22 Heat treatment device 23 Glass substrate support material 24 Glass substrate 31 Heat treatment Device 31a Floor surface 31b Side wall 31c Ceiling wall 31d Clearance 32 Roller conveyor 32a Roller tip 32b Roller base end 32c Hole 33 Roller conveyor support member 34 Driving means 35 Glass substrate support material 36 Glass substrate 37 Gas supply pipe 38 Groove portion 39 Color 41 Heat treatment device 48 Groove 48a Groove tip

Claims (1)

A plasma display panel heat treatment apparatus that performs heat treatment while conveying a glass substrate constituting a plasma display panel alone or in a state of being placed on a glass substrate support material, wherein a roller conveyor is used for the plasma display panel. Extending from each side wall of the heat treatment apparatus to the inside of the heat treatment apparatus, a plurality of them are opposed to each other in the conveying direction and are rotatably arranged. The roller conveyor has a hollow structure and passes through the roller conveyor. The plasma display panel heat treatment apparatus is configured such that the gas is ejected from the tip of the roller conveyor and sprayed to the bottom surface of the glass substrate conveyed by the roller conveyor or the bottom surface of the glass substrate supporting material on which the glass substrate is placed. .

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