JPH10199451A - Panel structure of display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a panel structure of a display device by which two panels can be accurately assembled and which is suitable for high volume production. SOLUTION: A flat panel 10 is constituted of a cathode panel (a front panel) 11 and an anode panel (a front panel) 12. The cathode panel 11 is constituted of a plate like glass substrate. On the other hand, the anode panel 12 is formed as a spacer integrated structure, and is constituted by preforming plural atmospheric pressure resistant spacer parts 12b and an airtightly sealing spacer part 12c on a plate-like panel body 12a. A height of the spacer parts 12b is formed in the size adjusted to the size of a clearance between the cathode panel 11 and the anode panel 12, and a height of the spacer part 12c is formed in the same as the atmospheric pressure resistant spacer parts 12b or lower than the spacer parts 12b. A clearance between the spacer part 12c and the cathode panel 12 is sealed by using frit glass 13, and when evacuation is performed, the plural spacer parts 12b function as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a panel structure of a display device which is constituted by two panels such as glass substrates and has a structure in which the inside is kept in a vacuum. And a panel structure of a display device having a plurality of spacer portions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, research on flat displays replacing liquid crystal display devices has been actively conducted. Among them, for example, a field emission display (FED) is a self-luminous type that forms an image by causing electrons emitted from a field emission type electron source (cathode) to collide with a phosphor coated on an anode side to form an image. It is known as a display element. A flat display using such an electron source irradiates a phosphor with an electron beam to form an image, so that the flat display uses 10 ⁻⁸ Torr.
It is necessary to build an electron source (cathode), a phosphor, and other components in a flat panel (vacuum container) in the following vacuum atmosphere. For this reason, a flat panel is required to have an atmospheric pressure resistance structure.

FIG. 6 shows a specific structure of a conventional flat panel for FED. This flat panel 1
Reference numeral 00 includes a cathode panel (back panel) 101 and an anode panel (front panel) 102. Each of the cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 102 has a thickness of 1 m.
It is constituted by a glass plate of about m. Cathode panel 1
Although not shown, a cold cathode is provided in a planar shape on an opposing surface of the anode panel 01, while a phosphor is provided on the opposing surface of the anode panel 102 together with an anode (transparent electrode).

The cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 10
2, two types of spacers are interposed. That is, a large number of ceramic spacers 103 are interposed in the effective area (display screen area) at the center of the panel, and the same ceramic spacers 104 are arranged in the invalid area at the periphery of the panel.
Is interposed. The space between the spacer 104 and the cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 102 is bonded by frit glass 105, thereby keeping the inside vacuum. Each of the plurality of spacers 103 and the cathode panel 10
1 and the frit glass 10 between the anode panel 102
5 are adhered. The shape of the spacer 103 is determined by the panel size and resolution,
It is 0 μm × height 1.0 mm × length 5 to 50 cm. The spacer 103 maintains atmospheric pressure resistance after evacuation. The area provided for arranging one spacer 103 on the panel depends on the screen size and resolution.
The maximum width is 100 μm.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional flat panel 100, a plurality of spacers 103 are interposed between the cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 102. When the panel 101 and the anode panel 102 are configured, a large number of spacers 103 must be arranged at specific, very narrow locations at specific intervals and fixed vertically to the panel in order to maintain atmospheric pressure resistance. For this reason, there is a problem that alignment of the spacer 103 is not easy, and it is difficult to assemble the panel.

Usually, spacers 103 and 104 are formed after the cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 102 are processed.
However, extra adhesive or dust generated during the attachment of the spacers 103 and 104 causes deterioration of the panel quality. Further, if the thermal expansion coefficients of the glass forming the spacers 103 and 104, the cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 102, and the frit glass 105 serving as a bonding material do not match, the glass is easily damaged when heat treatment is performed during assembly of the panel. Become. It is difficult to completely match the thermal expansion coefficients of the members, and if they are different, the degree of freedom of heat treatment is reduced.

Further, in such a flat panel structure, the distance between the cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 102 is determined by the height of the spacer 103. Usually, the interval between the cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 102 is 0.5 mm to 3 mm.
mm, so that the height of the spacer 103 is 0.5 to 3.0.
mm. The absolute value accuracy of the height of the spacer 103 is required to be on the order of several μm.
The variation accuracy of the height between 03 is also required to be on the order of several μm. If the accuracy of height variation is poor, when two panels are overlapped and evacuated, a higher spacer is weighted and the spacer may be damaged. Also, the flatness of the panel is strictly required. Further, the spacer 10
3, 104, cathode panel 101 and anode panel 102
Is sealed using the frit glass 105, so that when the distance between the cathode panel 101 and the anode panel 102 increases to 0.5 mm or more, the thickness of the frit glass increases to 0.5 mm or more, During the heating, there is a problem that the adhesive is dripped or sucked and airtightness cannot be obtained. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a panel structure of a display device which has a simple processing process, can assemble two panels with high accuracy, and is suitable for mass production. It is in.

[0009]

A panel structure of a display device according to the present invention comprises a first panel having an effective area at the center and an ineffective area at the periphery, and a same panel as the first panel. A second panel having a second panel disposed opposite to the first panel while maintaining a predetermined gap with respect to the first panel;
At least one pre-integrated in the effective area of at least one of the first panel and the second panel
And a sealing means for sealing the space between the first panel and the second panel in the ineffective area and keeping the inside in a vacuum state. .

A panel structure of another display device according to the present invention has a first panel having an effective area at the center and an ineffective area at the periphery, and has the same area as the first panel, and A second panel opposed to the first panel while maintaining a predetermined gap, and at least one integrated in advance in an effective area of at least one of the first panel and the second panel; A first spacer for atmospheric pressure resistance, and a second spacer for hermetic sealing previously integrated in an invalid area of at least one of the first panel and the second panel. ,
There is provided a structure including a sealing means for sealing between the first panel and the second panel via a second spacer portion and for holding the inside in a vacuum state.

In the panel structure of the display device according to the present invention,
Since the spacer section for atmospheric pressure resistance is integrated in advance with at least one of the first panel and the second panel, the position of the first panel and the second panel is different. When performing the alignment, the alignment of the spacer portion is also performed at the same time.

In another panel structure of a display device according to the present invention, the first spacer portion for atmospheric pressure resistance and the second spacer portion for hermetic sealing are at least one of the first panel and the second panel. Since the first panel and the second panel are integrated beforehand, when the first panel and the second panel are aligned, the alignment of the first spacer portion and the second spacer portion is also performed at the same time.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a flat panel 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
0 represents a state before assembly. The flat panel 10 is, for example, an FED (Field Emission D).
and a cathode panel (back panel) 11 as a first panel and an anode panel (front panel) 12 as a second panel. Each of the cathode panel 11 and the anode panel 12 is formed of, for example, a glass substrate having a square planar shape. The central part is an effective area (display area) A, and the periphery is an invalid area (non-display area). I have.

The cathode panel 11 is formed of a flat glass substrate as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the anode panel 12 has a spacer-integrated structure, and a plurality of atmospheric pressure-resistant spacer portions 12b and one airtight sealing spacer are provided on the flat panel body 12a. The portion 12c has a configuration integrally formed of the same glass.

The spacer section 12b for anti-atmospheric pressure is formed integrally with the effective area A of the panel main body 12a, and has a columnar shape as shown in FIG. 5A, for example. The thickness of the panel body 12a is, for example, 1 mm. The height of the spacer portion 12 b is, for example, 1.5 to 3.0 m in accordance with the size of the gap between the cathode panel 11 and the anode panel 12.
m, and its diameter is 50 μm. here,
In order to prevent the load from being concentrated on a specific spacer portion 12b due to the atmospheric pressure, the height variation accuracy of each spacer portion 12b needs to be within ± 5 μm. The position of each spacer section 12b in the effective area A is determined according to the screen size and the resolution.

On the other hand, the airtight sealing spacer portion 12c is integrally formed along the peripheral area of the effective area A of the panel. The height of the spacer portion 12c is the same as or lower than the spacer portion 12b for atmospheric pressure resistance. A peripheral portion between the cathode panel 11 and the anode panel 12 is sealed with, for example, frit glass 13,
As a result, a vacuum atmosphere is formed.
c has a function of reducing the thickness of the frit glass 13. When the distance between the spacer portion 12c of the anode panel 12 and the cathode panel 11, that is, the height difference d between the spacer portion 12b and the spacer portion 12c becomes larger than 0.5 mm, the thickness of the frit glass 13 also becomes 0.5 mm. As described above, dripping or suction of the frit glass may occur during the heating, and the airtightness of the panel may not be obtained. Therefore, it is desirable that the difference d in height between the spacers 12b and 12c is less than 0.5 mm.

The anode panel 12 having the spacer portion 12b and the spacer portion 12c with respect to the panel body 12a is obtained by selectively etching a glass substrate as a base material using a mask having a desired pattern formed thereon. Can be formed. Further, as another method, it is also possible to form using a mold.

Although not shown, cold cathodes are provided on the opposite surface of the cathode panel 11 in a planar manner.
A phosphor is provided together with the anode on the opposing surface of No. 2 as in the prior art.

When assembling the flat panel 10 of the present embodiment, the anode panel 12 and the cathode panel 11, on which the spacer portions 12b and 12c are integrally formed, are arranged in parallel and aligned. Frit glass 13
Is used to seal the gap between the spacer portion 12c and the cathode panel 12. When the inside of the flat panel 10 is evacuated, the plurality of spacer portions 12b function as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

As described above, in the flat panel 10 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of atmospheric pressure resistant spacer portions 12b and one airtight sealing spacer portion 12c are integrally formed with the flat panel body 12a. It has a structure with. Therefore, in the assembly process, the cathode panel 11
Since the alignment between the spacer and the panel does not need to be considered only by performing the alignment between the
It is possible to assemble with higher accuracy than before, and mass production becomes easy.

Further, the step of bonding between the spacer and the panel, which is conventionally required, becomes unnecessary, and the risk of quality deterioration due to dust or an adhesive (frit glass) can be reduced. Further, since the structure is provided with the spacer portion 12b for atmospheric pressure resistance, a thin glass plate can be used for the panel, and it is not necessary to use a specially thick glass plate for atmospheric pressure resistance. Therefore, the overall weight can be reduced and the material cost can be reduced. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the spacer portion 12b and the spacer portion 12c and the panel body 12a are integrally formed, that is, made of the same material, the thermal expansion coefficient between the panel, the spacer, and the frit glass as in the related art is reduced. The problem of breakage caused by the difference is eliminated, and the degree of freedom of the heat treatment is increased.

In this embodiment, the spacer portion 12
b, 12c and the anode panel 12 are integrally formed,
In the working process, for example, the anode panel 1
In the case of manufacturing 2, only one mold is required. Therefore, it is easy to grasp the processing accuracy.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be variously modified. For example, in the above embodiment, the spacer portions 12b and 12c are provided integrally on the anode panel 12 side, but as shown in FIG. 3, the spacer portions 12b and 12c are provided on the cathode panel 11 side as the spacer portions 22b and 22c. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, a configuration may be adopted in which the spacers 33 b and 33 c and the spacers 34 b and 34 c are provided on both the cathode panel 11 and the anode panel 12 by half.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the display device to which the present invention is applied is an FED (Field Emission Discharge).
play), but it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other display devices. Also, the spacer portion 12
The shapes of b, 22b, 33b, and 34b are not limited to columnar shapes, but may be lattice-shaped spacer portions 44 as shown in FIG.
b, or a blind-shaped spacer portion 45b as shown in FIG. 5 (c), or a combination of these shapes, and the shape is arbitrary depending on the configuration of the display device to be applied. .

[0026]

As described above, according to the panel structure of the display device according to the present invention, the spacer for atmospheric pressure resistance is previously integrated with at least one of the first panel and the second panel. Since the first panel and the second panel are aligned at the same time, the positioning of the spacer portion is also performed at the same time, so that it is possible to assemble with high accuracy, to facilitate mass production, and to achieve the conventional structure. This eliminates the need for the step of bonding between the spacer and the panel, thereby reducing the risk of quality deterioration due to dust or adhesives. Further, since there is no need to make the panel thick and maintain the atmospheric pressure resistance, a thin glass substrate can be used, and the handling becomes easy and the cost becomes low. Further, since the spacer portion and the panel body are formed integrally, that is, made of the same material, the problem of breakage caused by the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the panel, the spacer, and the joining material as in the related art is eliminated. At the same time, there is an effect that the degree of freedom of the heat treatment is expanded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a flat panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state before assembling the flat panel of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a flat panel according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a flat panel according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating an aspect of a spacer portion applied to the flat panel of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a conventional flat panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 flat panel, 11 cathode panel (first panel), 12 anode panel (second panel), 12a panel body, 12b, 22b, 33b, 34b, 44b,
45b spacer part (for atmospheric pressure resistance), 12c spacer part (for hermetic sealing), 13 frit glass

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Mori 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Katsutoshi Ohno 6-35-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A first panel having an effective area at a center portion and an ineffective area at a peripheral portion, and having a same area as the first panel and maintaining a predetermined gap with respect to the first panel. A second panel opposed to the first panel and the at least one of the first panel and the second panel; And a sealing means for sealing between the first panel and the second panel in an ineffective area thereof and holding the inside in a vacuum state. 2. The panel structure of a display device according to claim 1, wherein the panel and the spacer are formed integrally by selectively processing the same substrate or by using a mold. 3. A first panel having an effective area at the center and an invalid area at the periphery, and a predetermined gap with the first panel having the same area as the first panel. A second panel disposed opposite to the first panel for at least one of the first panel and the second panel, and at least one first for atmospheric pressure resistance integrated in advance in an effective area of at least one of the panels. A spacer portion, a second spacer portion for hermetic sealing previously integrated in an invalid region of at least one of the first panel and the second panel, and the first panel and the second panel. And a sealing means for sealing the space between the first and second panels through a second spacer portion and holding the inside in a vacuum state. 4. The panel, the first spacer section and the second spacer section are formed integrally by selectively processing the same substrate or by using a mold. 4. The panel structure of the display device according to 3. 5. The panel structure of a display device according to claim 3, wherein the height of the second spacer is set to be equal to or lower than that of the first spacer. 6. The first spacer portion has a pillar shape, a grid shape,
The panel structure of a display device according to claim 1, wherein the panel structure has a shape of a mat or a combination thereof.