JP3722284B2 - Plasma display panel exhaust system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an exhaust apparatus for a plasma display panel in which a plasma display panel is placed in a heating furnace and the panel is evacuated while being heated.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of a plasma display panel (hereinafter simply referred to as a panel), two glass substrates are stacked and sealed, and the sealed and sealed panel is put into a heating furnace. There is a step of evacuating the inside of the panel through the exhaust pipe while heating. The exhaust pipe is made of a glass tube having a diameter of about 6 mm, and one end of the exhaust pipe is previously attached to the panel with a frit material. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-21832, a plurality of panels each provided with this exhaust pipe are collectively put into the heating furnace, and the exhaust pipe protrudes outside the heating furnace at the time of charging. Connect the vacuum exhaust system to the other end of the pipe and perform vacuum exhaust. After exhausting, switch the vacuum exhaust system to the discharge gas introduction system, introduce the discharge gas into the panel, and connect the exhaust pipe using a gas burner. The panel is manufactured by cutting off the chip (chip-off).
[0003]
A configuration of a conventional panel exhaust apparatus used in the above-described exhaust process will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a conventional exhaust apparatus 10 includes a heating furnace 7 that exhausts while heating the input panel 2, and a vacuum exhaust system 8 that is connected to the exhaust pipe 1 provided in the panel 2 in advance. The evacuation system 8 is provided with a turbo pump for evacuating the panel 2 and a discharge gas introduction system for introducing a discharge gas into the panel 2 after evacuation. The exhaust pipe 1 provided in advance in the panel 2 put in the heating furnace 7 projects out of the heating furnace 7 through a notch opened in the opening / closing door 6b, and is connected to the vacuum exhaust system 8 through the exhaust port 4b. ing.
[0004]
When the panel 2 is put into the heating furnace 7, first, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 4, a plurality of panels 2 having exhaust pipes 1 are arranged vertically in parallel with a pitch interval a, and the exhaust pipes are arranged. It is placed on the loading carriage 3 so that 1 is directed in the loading direction of the panel 2 (the arrow direction in FIG. 3), and is fixed by the support member 9. The charging cart 3 is lifted by the lifter 5, the lifter 5 is brought close to the exhaust device, the opening / closing door 6 a is opened, and the panel 2 is put into the heating furnace 7 together with the charging cart 3. At this time, the other end of the exhaust pipe 1 provided on the panel 2 protrudes outside the heating furnace 7 through the notch opened in the opening / closing door 6b when the opening / closing door 6b is closed, and this protruding exhaust The panel 2 is connected to the vacuum exhaust system 8 by connecting the other end of the tube 1 to the exhaust port 4b.
[0005]
Thereafter, the temperature of the heating furnace 7 is raised, the inside of the panel is evacuated while heating the panel 2, and after the evacuation is completed, the evacuation system 8 is switched to the discharge gas introduction system to introduce the discharge gas into the panel. After the introduction, the exhaust pipe 1 is chipped off and the exhaust operation is completed.
[0006]
In the conventional exhaust apparatus 10 configured as described above, the number of panels 2 that can be put into the heating furnace 7 at a time maintains the work space required for the operation of the gas burner when performing the tip-off work of the exhaust pipe 1. Therefore, the number of sheets is determined by the volume of the heating furnace 7. Therefore, in order to increase the number of inputs, the heating furnace 7 is increased in size, or the arrangement pitch interval of the panels 2 is narrowed and many panels 2 are mounted on the input cart 3. The equipment cost increases, and the narrowing of the pitch interval makes it difficult to maintain the work space when the chip is turned off, making the operation difficult, both of which are not realistic.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the conventional panel exhaust apparatus 10, there is an operation for stopping the heating furnace 7 for a long time, such as a connection operation between the exhaust pipe 1 and the exhaust port 4b or a tip-off operation of the exhaust pipe 1, Since it takes a long time to lower the temperature of the heating furnace 7, the operating rate of the heating furnace 7 is poor, and as a result, there is a problem that the productivity of the panel does not increase.
[0008]
For this purpose, it is required to increase the number of panels that can be put into the heating furnace at a time to increase productivity. However, if it is attempted to increase the number of inputs at one time, the heating furnace 7 is enlarged as described above, or the heating furnace 7 is kept in the same size, and the pitch interval of the input panels is reduced to be necessary for the chip-off operation. There is no choice but to narrow the work space. As a result, problems such as increased equipment costs or reduced work efficiency have arisen as new problems.
[0009]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the heating furnace has the same size as the conventional one without increasing the volume, and the panel when the panel is put into the heating furnace is used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a panel exhaust apparatus that can increase the number of panels to be input at a time by devising the arrangement method and the arrangement of exhaust ports corresponding to the exhaust pipes of the input panels.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention includes a heating furnace for evacuating a panel while charging a plurality of panels and heating, a vacuum exhaust system connected to the input panels, and an exhaust pipe provided on the panel in the vacuum exhaust system. In a panel exhaust system having an exhaust port for connection, when the panel is input to the heating furnace, the panels are alternately arranged so that the exhaust pipe provided on the panel is on the panel input side of the heating furnace and the opposite side. This is a panel exhaust device that is arranged and placed on a loading cart, and is loaded into the heating furnace together with the loading cart to evacuate the inside of the panel.
[0011]
Further, according to the present invention, when the panels are alternately arranged on the input carriage, the pitch interval of the panels is arranged at a / 2 so that the pitch interval of the exhaust pipes provided on the panel is a, thereby the heating furnace The number of panels to be added to the heating furnace is increased while keeping the volume of the same.
[0012]
Further, the present invention is configured so that the exhaust pipe of the panel charged into the heating furnace penetrates the furnace wall from both the panel charging side and the opposite side of the heating furnace and protrudes out of the heating furnace. Exhaust ports for connecting the tubes to the vacuum exhaust system are provided on both the panel input side of the heating furnace and the opposite side corresponding to the arrangement of the exhaust pipes projecting outside the heating furnace. The exhaust port provided on the panel input side is provided with a vertical movement mechanism that can be retracted downward so as not to prevent the input cart from entering and exiting.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the panel exhaust apparatus of the present invention. Moreover, FIG. 2 is a top view which shows the arrangement | sequence state of the panel when throwing into a heating furnace. Note that the same parts as those in the prior art will be described using the same reference numerals.
[0014]
First, as shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement state of the panel at the time of charging into the heating furnace, which is a feature of the present invention, is that the exhaust pipe 1 provided on the panel 2 is the charging side A of the heating furnace 7 and the opposite side. The orientation of the panels 2 is alternately changed so as to be B, and the panels 2 are arranged vertically in parallel on the input carriage 3. That is, when the panel is placed, the pitch interval of the exhaust pipe 1 is arranged by arranging the panels 2 so that the exhaust pipe 1 penetrates the furnace wall from both sides (A and B sides) of the heating furnace 7 and protrudes out of the furnace. While maintaining a, the pitch interval between the panels is halved to a / 2, and the number of panels 2 input is increased.
[0015]
The structure of the exhaust device 10a of the present invention for evacuating the panels arranged in this way will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust device 10 a of the present invention includes a heating furnace 7 that exhausts the inside of the panel while heating the input panel 2, and a vacuum that is connected to an exhaust pipe 1 provided in the panel 2 in advance. The evacuation system 8 includes a discharge gas introduction system (not shown) connected to the evacuation system 8 so as to be switchable. After the evacuation of the panel 2 is finished, A discharge gas is introduced inside.
[0016]
Opening and closing doors 6a and 6b that open and close in the vertical direction are provided on the panel loading side A and the opposite side B of the heating furnace 7, and each door is notched so that the exhaust pipe 1 does not hit when the door is closed. Is provided. Further, the exhaust pipe 1 protruding from the door to the outside of the furnace is connected to the vacuum exhaust system 8 through exhaust ports 4a and 4b, respectively. Flexible piping is connected to the vacuum exhaust system 8 side of each exhaust port, and an O-ring is provided on the exhaust pipe 1 side of each exhaust port, so that thermal stress and connection applied to the exhaust pipe 1 that is a glass tube during heating. It is designed to absorb the distortion caused by the time misalignment, and each exhaust port itself can move in the horizontal and vertical directions.
[0017]
Here, the exhaust port 4a installed on the panel loading side A of the heating furnace 7 obstructs the loading cart 3 when the panel 2 is put in and out of the heating furnace 7, so that the lower side when the panel 2 is loaded and unloaded. A means to evacuate is needed. Therefore, a vertical movement mechanism (not shown), for example, an air cylinder is installed below the exhaust port 4a, and the exhaust port 4a is lowered when the panel 2 is loaded and unloaded so as not to prevent the loading cart 3 from entering and exiting. It is raised during vacuum evacuation to enable connection with the exhaust pipe 1 of the panel 2.
[0018]
Further, the evacuation system 8 is constituted by a turbo pump or the like, and a discharge gas introduction system provided with a switchable pipe between the evacuation system 8 includes a discharge gas cylinder such as neon or xenon. It has been. The evacuation system 8 is installed in two places in FIG. 1, but may be collected in one place.
[0019]
Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, in order to exhaust the inside of the panel 2, a panel 2 in which an exhaust pipe 1 is provided in an airtight container formed by sealing two glass substrates in advance is provided on the input carriage 3. 1 are alternately arranged so as to be on the input side A and on the opposite side B, and are placed vertically and in parallel, and fixed by a support member 9. This panel arrangement state is as described in FIG.
[0020]
Next, the input carriage 3 on which the panel 2 is placed is lifted by the lifter 5 and moved toward the exhaust device (in the direction of the horizontal arrow), the open / close door 6 a is opened, and the panel 2 together with the input carriage 3 is placed in the heating furnace 7. throw into. At this time, the exhaust port 4a is lowered to the lower side so as not to come into contact with the input cart 3, and rises after the input cart 3 passes and returns to the original position. Then, after the panel is inserted, the door is lowered, the exhaust pipe 1 on the input side A protruding from the opening / closing door 6a to the outside of the heating furnace 7 is connected to the exhaust port 4a, and the opposite side protruding from the opening / closing door 6b to the outside of the heating furnace 7 The exhaust pipe 1 on the side B is connected to the exhaust port 4b.
[0021]
Next, while the panel 2 is heated by the heating furnace 7, the inside of the panel 2 is evacuated by a rotary pump or the like of the evacuation system 8, and after the evacuation is completed, the evacuation system 8 is switched to the discharge gas introduction system. Then, a discharge gas such as argon is introduced, and then the exhaust pipe 1 is chipped off to complete the vacuum evacuation operation. After the completion, the exhaust port 4a is lowered and the panel 2 is carried out together with the input carriage 3.
[0022]
Thus, when the panel 2 is mounted on the input carriage 3, the present invention is alternately arranged so that the direction of the exhaust pipe 1 is the input side A to the heating furnace 7 and the opposite side B, for example, As shown in FIG. 4, in the past, five panels 2 were arranged at a pitch interval a, but in the present invention, five more panels 2 were added, and the orientation of the panel 2 was changed. By arranging the exhaust pipes 1 so as to face the opposite side by 5 at a pitch interval of a / 2 in an alternating manner, a total of 10 panels 2 can be mounted. As a result, it is only necessary to add the exhaust port 4a to the panel input side without changing the size of the heating furnace 7, and the pitch interval a of the exhaust pipe 1 can be maintained as it is. It won't interfere. In addition, the number of panels can be doubled in a heating furnace having the same capacity, and productivity and power consumption can be improved without increasing the size of the heating furnace.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when a panel is charged into the heating furnace, the panels are alternately arranged so that the exhaust pipe of the panel is on the panel charging side and the opposite side. Since it is arranged, the pitch interval of the exhaust pipes is kept as it is, and the number of panels put in at once can be increased by halving the pitch interval of the panels.
[0024]
As a result, the heating furnace can be the same size as before without increasing the volume, and the pitch interval of the exhaust pipe remains the same as before, so the work space required for tip-off work is not reduced. The amount of input can be increased, so that the panel productivity can be improved without increasing the equipment cost and without reducing the work efficiency.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an exhaust device showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an arrangement state of panels to be put into the exhaust device of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional exhaust device.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an arrangement state of panels to be put into a conventional exhaust device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exhaust pipe 2 Panel 3 Input cart 4a, 4b Exhaust port 5 Lifter 6a, 6b Open / close door 7 Heating furnace 8 Vacuum exhaust system 9 Support member 10, 10a Exhaust device

Claims (4)

A heating furnace for evacuating the inside of the panel while charging a plurality of plasma display panels and heating, an evacuation system connected to the input panel, and an exhaust pipe provided on the panel in the evacuation system In an exhaust apparatus for a plasma display panel having an exhaust port for connecting the exhaust panel, when the panel is put into a heating furnace, the exhaust pipe provided on the panel is on the panel input side of the heating furnace and the opposite side thereof the panel placed on the charged carriage are arranged alternately, the line stomach the panel inside the evacuated charged by the furnace as it turned dolly,
Exhaust ports for connecting the exhaust pipe of the panel to the vacuum exhaust system are provided on both the panel input side and the opposite side of the heating furnace corresponding to the arrangement of the exhaust pipes protruding outside the heating furnace,
An exhaust device for a plasma display panel, characterized in that an exhaust port provided on the panel input side of the heating furnace includes a vertical movement mechanism that can be retracted downward so as not to prevent entry / exit of the input cart .   2. The pitch interval of the panels is arranged at a / 2 so that the pitch interval of the exhaust pipes provided on the panel becomes a when the panels are alternately arranged on the input carriage. The exhaust apparatus of the plasma display panel as described.   2. An exhaust apparatus for a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the heating furnace is kept as it is, and the number of panels put into the heating furnace is increased.   2. The plasma according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust pipe of the panel charged into the heating furnace penetrates the furnace wall from both the panel charging side and the opposite side of the heating furnace and protrudes outside the heating furnace. Display panel exhaust system.

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