JP2902618B2 - Gas discharge display panel and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas discharge display panel for performing display by using discharge light generated by discharge generation in a discharge cell, and a method of manufacturing the same.
The present invention relates to a gas discharge display panel provided with a getter material for removing an impurity gas generated during a manufacturing process or operation, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 5, a conventional gas discharge display panel 50 has a back substrate 54 made of an insulating material such as glass having a plurality of strip-shaped cathodes 52 arranged on one side, and a strip-shaped transparent board formed on one side. A front substrate 58 made of a transparent insulating material such as glass in which a plurality of anodes 56 are juxtaposed, and the cathode 52 and the transparent anode 56 are opposed to each other so as to be substantially orthogonal to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. It is hermetically sealed via a sealing material 60 to form an envelope 62, and a discharge gas such as a rare gas is sealed in the internal space of the envelope 62.
The internal space is equally divided via a front-side barrier rib 64 and a rear-side barrier rib 66 formed in a lattice on the facing surface of the front substrate 58 and the rear substrate 54, and the cathode 52 and the transparent anode 56 are separated.
A large number of discharge cells 68 are formed in a dot matrix at each intersection with. On the top surface of the front side barrier rib 64, spacers 70 are formed at predetermined intervals,
As a result, a gap having a width corresponding to the height of the spacer 70 is provided between the front side barrier rib 64 and the rear side barrier rib 66.
72 are formed, and the respective discharge cells 68 communicate with each other via the gap 72.

By selectively applying a voltage between the transparent anode 56 and the cathode 52, a discharge is generated in a desired discharge cell 68, and discharge light based on the discharge is generated by the transparent anode 56 and the front substrate 58. And is radiated to the outside. As a result, arbitrary characters, figures, and the like are displayed on the front substrate 58 as a display surface.

During the manufacturing process and operation of the gas discharge display panel 50, impurities contained in the material of the members (the back substrate 54, the front substrate 58, the cathode 52, the transparent anode 56, etc.) constituting the gas discharge display panel 50 are used. And other impure gases (carbon dioxide,
Oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) are released. This impurity gas accumulates,
When mixed with a discharge gas, the components and pressure of the discharge gas change, resulting in deterioration of discharge characteristics. Therefore, an impurity gas is adsorbed and removed using a getter material.

In the conventional gas discharge display panel 50 shown in FIG. 5, on the outer surface of the rear substrate 54, the through hole 74 formed in the rear substrate 54 communicates with the internal space of the envelope 62. A getter material storage section 76 is formed, and a ring getter 78 is stored in the getter material storage section 76. The getter material storage section 76 utilizes an exhaust pipe used in the process of manufacturing the gas discharge display panel 50, and has a ring getter inside.
After connecting one end of a glass exhaust pipe containing 78 to the outer surface 54a of the back substrate 54 so as to cover the through hole 74, the envelope 62 and one end of the exhaust pipe are heated at a temperature of 400 to 450 ° C. After evacuating the components of the gas discharge display panel 50 to release the impure gas, the discharge gas is sealed in the envelope 62 through the exhaust pipe, and then the exhaust pipe is exhausted. Can be formed by sealing off the middle part of

The ring getter 78 has an opening above the metal ring 80 and a barium 82 as a getter material adhered to the inside thereof. The ring getter 78 is heated by a high frequency coil 84 at a high temperature of several hundred degrees. By heating and emitting barium particles, the impurity gas in the envelope 62 was adsorbed and removed.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional gas discharge display panel 50, a ring getter is provided.
A special process is required to heat the 78 at a high temperature of several hundred degrees, and the envelope 62 and the ring getter 78 are used to prevent the envelope 62 from being deformed by the high temperature at the time of heating the ring getter 78. The distance between the ring getter 78 and the ring getter 78 itself must be relatively large, and since the ring getter 78 itself has a relatively large solid shape, it is necessary to ensure a large getter material storage part 76 for storing the ring getter 78. Therefore, when forming the getter material accommodating portion 76 using the exhaust pipe as described above, a specially prepared large-diameter and long exhaust pipe having a diameter or length greater than that required for exhaust is provided. I had to.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to eliminate the need for a high-temperature heating step of the getter material and to reduce the size of the getter material storage section. And a method of manufacturing the same.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a gas discharge display panel according to the present invention comprises: a back substrate made of an insulating material having a plurality of strip electrodes arranged on one surface; A front substrate made of a transparent insulating material in which a plurality of transparent electrodes are arranged side by side is arranged so that the electrodes of each substrate intersect with a predetermined gap therebetween, and the outer edges of both substrates are hermetically sealed. In a gas discharge display panel in which a discharge gas is sealed in the envelope, a getter material accommodating portion communicating with the envelope is formed, and the getter material accommodating portion is provided with an inorganic material in the getter material accommodating portion. A getter material configured by impregnating with a barium chloride solution is enclosed.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a gas discharge display panel according to the present invention, there is provided a back substrate made of an insulating material having a plurality of strip electrodes arranged on one surface, and a transparent substrate having a plurality of strip transparent electrodes arranged on one surface. A front substrate made of an insulating material is disposed so as to face each other so that the electrodes of each substrate intersect with a predetermined gap therebetween, and the periphery of both substrates is hermetically sealed to form an envelope. After sealing the getter material accommodating portion communicating with the vessel to the envelope, a getter material configured by impregnating the inorganic substance with a barium azide solution is sealed in the getter material accommodating portion, and then the envelope is sealed. After heating and evacuating, the discharge gas is sealed in an envelope.

Further, another method of manufacturing a gas discharge display panel according to the present invention is characterized in that a back substrate made of an insulating material having a plurality of band-shaped electrodes arranged on one surface and a plurality of band-shaped transparent electrodes arranged on one surface. And a front substrate made of a transparent insulating material, and disposed opposite each other so that the electrodes of each substrate intersect with a predetermined gap therebetween, and hermetically seal the periphery of both substrates to form an envelope.
Furthermore, after sealing the getter material accommodating portion which communicates with the envelope and accommodates an inorganic substance therein to the envelope, a barium azide solution is injected into the getter material accommodating portion,
The inorganic material is impregnated with a barium azide solution to form a getter material. After that, the envelope is heated and evacuated, and then a discharge gas is sealed in the envelope.

As the inorganic substance, for example, activated alumina or glass wool is desirable.

Barium azide (Ba (N ₃ ) ₂ ) is in the form of powder, but is easily dissolved in water or ethanol, so that it is easy to form a solution. In the gas discharge display panel of the present invention, a getter material formed by impregnating an inorganic substance with a barium azide solution is used, and the barium azide exhibits a chemisorption effect even at a relatively low temperature. Therefore, the impurity gas can be adsorbed without heating the getter material at a high temperature. In addition, since the getter material can be formed by impregnating the inorganic substance with a liquid barium azide solution, a small getter material can be easily formed by reducing the size of the inorganic substance impregnated with the barium azide solution. Therefore, the getter material storage portion for storing the getter material can be reduced in size.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a gas discharge display panel according to the present invention and a method for manufacturing the same will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a gas discharge display panel according to the present invention.
2 and 3 are schematic cross-sectional views showing a process of manufacturing a gas discharge display panel. This gas discharge display panel 10 has a rear substrate 12 made of an insulating material such as a flat glass and a front substrate 14 also made of a transparent insulating material such as a flat glass opposed to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. Is hermetically sealed via a sealing material 16 such as a low-melting glass to form an envelope 18, and Ne, Ar,
The basic configuration is to fill a discharge gas mainly composed of a rare gas such as He or Xe.

A plurality of strip-shaped cathodes 20 made of silver, palladium (Ag, Pd) or the like are arranged on the opposite surface 12a of the rear substrate 12. In addition, a rear side barrier rib 22 is formed on the opposite surface 12a of the rear substrate 12. The rear-side barrier ribs 22 are formed by printing and baking low-melting-point glass, etc., and a plurality of first partition walls 22a that partition between the cathodes 20 and a plurality of second partition walls 22 that separate the cathodes 20 by a predetermined length. And a partition 22b.

A band-shaped transparent anode 24 made of a transparent conductive film such as a NESA film (SnO ₂ ) or an ITO film (In ₂ O ₃ .SnO ₂ ) is formed on the facing surface 14 a of the front substrate 14. . Although not shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of transparent anodes 24 are actually arranged in parallel on the facing surface 14a of the front substrate 14. On the opposite surface 14a of the front substrate 14, a front-side barrier rib 26 is further arranged. This front side barrier rib 26 is
Similarly to the back side barrier ribs 22, the first partition walls 26a are formed by printing and baking low-melting-point glass to partition between the transparent anodes 24, and partition the transparent anodes 24 into predetermined lengths. It has a lattice shape having a plurality of second partition walls 26b. The first partition 26a of the front side barrier rib 26 and the second
A spacer 28 made of an insulating material such as glass is protruded from the end face of the intersection with the partition wall 26b.

The rear substrate 12 and the front substrate 14 are arranged so that the cathode 20 and the transparent anode 24 of each substrate are substantially orthogonal to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. A large number of discharge cells 30 surrounded by the barrier ribs 22 and the front-side barrier ribs 26 are formed in a dot matrix. Since the end face of the spacer 28 is in contact with the end face of the rear barrier rib 20, a gap 32 corresponding to the height of the spacer 28 is formed between the barrier ribs 20 and 26. The connection is made through the gap 32.

When a DC voltage equal to or higher than the discharge starting voltage is applied between the transparent anode 24 and the cathode 20 from a power source (not shown), discharge occurs between the transparent anode 24 and the cathode 20 in the discharge cell 30. The generated light having a predetermined emission color is transmitted to the outside through the transparent anode 24 and the front substrate 14. By selectively executing this voltage application via a control / drive circuit (not shown), discharge light emission is generated in a desired discharge cell 30, and an arbitrary character or figure is displayed on the display surface 14b of the front substrate 14. be able to. At the time of discharge, the flow of ions between the discharge cells 30 is ensured through the gap 32.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 34 denotes a getter material storage portion formed by using an exhaust pipe described later. The getter material storage portion 34 is formed on the rear substrate 12 on the outer surface 12b of the rear substrate. It is formed so as to cover the through hole 36 and communicates with the internal space of the envelope 18 via the through hole 36. A getter material 38 and a stopper 40 made of glass wool are sealed in the getter material storage part 34 to prevent the getter material 38 from entering the envelope.

The getter material 38 is formed by impregnating an activated alumina as an inorganic substance with a barium azide solution, and is a member (a component constituting the gas discharge display panel 10 during the manufacturing process and operation of the gas discharge display panel 10). Rear substrate 12,
This is to adsorb and remove impurity gases (carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) released from impurities and the like contained in the material of the front substrate 14, the cathode 20, the transparent anode 24, and the like. Barium azide (Ba (N ₃ ) ₂ ) is in a powder form, but is easily dissolved in water or ethanol, so that it can be easily formed into a solution, and exhibits a chemical adsorption action even at a relatively low temperature. Also,
Activated alumina, due to its porous structure, is 250 m ² /
It has a specific surface area of g and is activated by releasing a gas component or moisture physically adsorbed in the pores by heating at about 200 to 700 ° C. to exert a physical adsorption action.

A method for manufacturing the gas discharge display panel 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the back substrate
In a state where the cathode 20 of FIG. 12 and the transparent anode 24 of the front substrate 14 are substantially perpendicular to each other, the end face of the rear-side barrier rib 22 and the front-side barrier rib 26
After the stopper 40 is disposed on the through hole 36 of the rear substrate 12, the exhaust pipe 42 is covered so as to cover the through hole 36 and the stopper 40. Next, while being heated at a temperature of about 450 ° C., the peripheral edges of both substrates are hermetically sealed via a sealing material 16 such as low-melting glass to form an envelope 18.
And one end of the exhaust pipe 42 is connected to the outer surface of the rear substrate 12.
Seal on 12b.

Then, the getter material 38 constituted by immersing the granular activated alumina in a barium azide solution obtained by dissolving powdered barium azide (Ba (N ₃ ) ₂ ) in water or ethanol was dried. After that, the other end of the exhaust pipe 42 is sealed in the exhaust pipe 42 and placed on the stopper 40 (FIG. 2). Since barium azide ignites and decomposes at a temperature of about 219 ° C. in air, the getter material 38 needs to be sealed after sealing the exhaust pipe 42 onto the outer surface 12 b of the rear substrate 12. is there.

The stopper 40 is provided on the through hole 36 of the rear substrate 12.
Further, after the granular activated alumina is placed on the stopper 40, the exhaust pipe 42 is covered so as to cover the through hole 36, the stopper 40 and the activated alumina, and the exhaust pipe 42 is After sealing on the outer surface 12b, the getter material 38 may be formed by injecting a barium azide solution into the exhaust pipe 42 from the other end of the exhaust pipe 42 and impregnating the activated alumina. At this time, even if a part of the injected barium azide solution does not impregnate the activated alumina, the barium azide solution not impregnated into the activated alumina is
Because it is absorbed by the stopper 40 made of glass wool,
The barium azide solution does not enter the envelope 18 through the through hole 36. Although not shown, the stopper 40
If the position of the activated alumina placed thereon and the position of the through hole 36 are arranged so as not to overlap with each other, the barium azide solution not impregnated in the activated alumina passes through the through hole 36 and the envelope 18 passes. Intrusion into the inside can be further prevented.

After the getter material 38 is sealed in the exhaust pipe 42 by the above method, the other end of the exhaust pipe 42 is connected to a vacuum exhaust device (not shown), and one end of the envelope 18 and one end of the exhaust pipe 42 are connected to 400 to 45.
By performing vacuum evacuation while heating at a temperature of 0 ° C., the constituent members of the gas discharge display panel 10 are evacuated to release impurity gas, and then the discharge gas is discharged into the envelope 18 through the exhaust pipe 42. Encapsulate. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the exhaust pipe 42 is heated and melted by a burner 44 and sealed off, thereby forming the getter material accommodating section 34, as shown in FIG. 3, and the gas discharge display panel shown in FIG. Ten are manufactured. As described above, one end of the envelope 18 and the exhaust pipe 42 are
Even when heating is performed at a temperature of 50 ° C., since the inside of the exhaust pipe is made substantially vacuum by the vacuum exhaust performed in parallel with this, barium azide does not ignite and decompose.

The impure gas released from the constituent members of the gas discharge display panel 10 can be adsorbed and removed by the chemical adsorption of barium azide impregnated in the activated alumina constituting the getter material 38. Further, as described above, since one end of the envelope 18 and one end of the exhaust pipe 42 are heated at a temperature of 400 to 450 ° C., the activated alumina forming the getter material 38 also releases water and gas components in the pores to activate the activated alumina. And
Impurity gas can be adsorbed and removed also by the physical adsorption action of the activated alumina.

FIG. 4 shows another gas discharge display panel 10 according to the present invention. In the gas discharge display panel 10, a glass plate 46 is disposed above the rear substrate 12 so as to cover the through hole 36 formed in the rear substrate 12, and the periphery of the glass plate 46 and the rear substrate 12 Are sealed with a sealing material 16 such as a low-melting glass to form a getter material storage section 34. In the getter material storage part 34, a getter material 38 configured by impregnating glass wool as an inorganic substance with a barium azide solution is stored. Further, a through hole 48 is formed in the glass plate 46 of the getter material accommodating portion 34, and a residual exhaust pipe portion 50 that covers the through hole 48 is disposed on the outer surface 46 a of the glass plate 46.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 52 denotes a stopper for preventing the getter material 38 from moving.

The gas discharge display panel 10 is manufactured by the following method. That is, in a state where the cathode 20 of the rear substrate 12 and the transparent anode 24 of the front substrate 14 are substantially orthogonal, the end surface of the rear barrier rib 22 and the end surface of the spacer 28 of the front barrier rib 26 are brought into contact with each other. Then, a stopper 52 made of an insulating material such as glass is formed on the outer surface of the rear substrate 12 so as to protrude, and glass wool is arranged. Further, a glass plate 46 is arranged above the rear substrate 12 so as to cover the through hole 36 of the rear substrate 12, and an exhaust pipe is covered so as to cover the through hole 48 formed in the glass plate 46. Next, while being heated at a temperature of about 450 ° C., the periphery of both substrates is hermetically sealed through a sealing material 16 such as low-melting glass to form an envelope 18, and the periphery of the glass plate 46 is formed. The back substrate 12 is hermetically sealed to form a getter material storage section 34, and the exhaust pipe is further connected to the outer surface of the glass plate 46.
Seal on 46a.

Thereafter, a getter material 38 is formed by injecting a barium azide solution from the other end of the exhaust pipe into the getter material storage 34 and impregnating the glass wool with the barium azide solution. The glass wool is on the back substrate
Since the glass wool is partially impregnated with a part of the injected barium azide solution, the barium azide solution that has not been impregnated has a through hole because it is arranged at a position that does not overlap with the through holes 36 of the twelve holes. Intrusion into envelope 18 through 36 is prevented. ,

After the getter material 38 is dried, the other end of the exhaust pipe is connected to a vacuum exhaust device, and the envelope 18 and the getter material storage section are connected.
34 and one end of the exhaust pipe are evacuated while being heated at a temperature of 400 to 450 ° C., so that the gas discharge display panel 10
After the constituent members are degassed to release the impure gas, the discharge gas is sealed in the envelope 18 through the exhaust pipe and the getter material accommodating section. Thereafter, the gas discharge display panel 10 shown in FIG. 4 is manufactured by heating and melting the middle part of the exhaust pipe with a burner and sealing it to form a residual exhaust pipe part 50.

The impurity gas released from the constituent members of the gas discharge display panel 10 can be adsorbed and removed by the chemical adsorption of barium azide impregnated in the glass wool constituting the getter material 38. is there.

In the gas discharge display panel 10 of the present invention, since the getter material 38 which is obtained by impregnating inorganic alumina or glass wool with a barium azide solution is used, the getter material itself is used. The impurity gas can be removed by adsorption without heating at a high temperature. Also,
Since the getter material 38 can be formed by impregnating the activated alumina or glass wool with a liquid barium azide solution, if the size of the activated alumina or glass wool impregnated with the barium azide solution is reduced, a small size is obtained. A getter material can be formed, and the getter material storage section 34 for storing the getter material can be made smaller. Therefore, even when the getter material accommodating portion 34 is formed using the exhaust pipe 42, an exhaust pipe having the minimum diameter and length required for exhaust can be used. It is not necessary to specially prepare a large-diameter and long exhaust pipe unlike the conventional gas discharge display panel shown in FIG.

[0032]

According to the gas discharge display panel of the present invention, since the getter material constituted by impregnating an inorganic substance with a barium azide solution exhibiting a chemical adsorption function even at a relatively low temperature is used, the getter material is used. Impurity gas can be adsorbed without heating the material to a high temperature. Also, since a getter material can be formed by impregnating an inorganic substance with a liquid barium azide solution, a small getter material can be formed by reducing the size of the inorganic substance impregnated with the barium azide solution. It is also possible to reduce the size of the getter material storage section for storing the getter material.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of a gas discharge display panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the gas discharge display panel.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the gas discharge display panel.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the gas discharge display panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing a conventional gas discharge display panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Gas discharge display panel 12 Rear substrate 12a Rear substrate facing surface 12b Rear substrate outer surface 14 Front substrate 14a Front substrate facing surface 16 Sealing material 18 Envelope 20 Cathode 22 Rear barrier rib 24 Transparent anode 26 Front barrier rib 28 Spacer 30 Discharge cell 32 Gap 34 Getter material storage 36 Through hole 38 Getter material 40 Stopper 42 Exhaust pipe 44 Burner 46 Glass plate 48 Through hole 50 Remaining exhaust pipe 52 Stopper

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01J 17/24 H01J 11/02

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A back substrate made of an insulating material having a plurality of strip-shaped electrodes arranged on one surface thereof, and a front substrate formed of a transparent insulating material having a plurality of strip-shaped transparent electrodes arranged on one surface thereof. Are arranged so as to intersect with a predetermined gap therebetween, and the outer edges of both substrates are hermetically sealed to form an envelope, and a discharge gas is sealed in the envelope. A gas discharge display panel, wherein a getter material accommodating portion communicating with the envelope is formed, and a getter material formed by impregnating an inorganic substance with a barium azide solution is sealed in the getter material accommodating portion. . 2. The gas discharge display panel according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic substance is activated alumina or glass wool. 3. A back substrate made of an insulating material having a plurality of band-shaped electrodes arranged on one surface thereof, and a front substrate formed of a transparent insulating material having a plurality of band-shaped transparent electrodes arranged on one surface. Are arranged facing each other so as to intersect with a predetermined gap therebetween, and the peripheral edges of both substrates are hermetically sealed to form an envelope. Further, the getter material accommodating portion communicating with the envelope is provided in the envelope. After sealing, a getter material formed by impregnating an inorganic substance with a barium azide solution is sealed in the getter material storage section, and then the envelope is heated and evacuated, and then the discharge gas is surrounded. A method for manufacturing a gas discharge display panel, wherein the gas discharge display panel is sealed in a container. 4. A back substrate made of an insulating material having a plurality of band-shaped electrodes arranged on one surface thereof and a front substrate formed of a transparent insulating material having a plurality of band-shaped transparent electrodes arranged on one surface. Are arranged to face each other so as to intersect with a predetermined gap therebetween, and the outer edges of both substrates are hermetically sealed to form an envelope, and further communicate with the envelope to store an inorganic substance therein. After sealing the getter material accommodating section to the envelope, a barium azide solution is injected into the getter material accommodating section, and the inorganic substance is impregnated with the barium azide solution to form a getter material. A method for manufacturing a gas discharge display panel, wherein a discharge gas is sealed in an envelope after heating and evacuating the envelope. 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the inorganic substance is activated alumina or glass wool.