JPH1125862A - Thermal treatment device for plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce cost by placing a far infrared radiation panel opposite to a plasma display panel, blowing hot air to the rear surface of the far infrared radiation panel to heat it and to radiate far infrared ray and heating a plasma display panel. SOLUTION: Hot air supplied by gas combustion is blown into an inlet side chamber 15 of a far infrared-ray radiating device 4 from ture ducts 20, 20 through a hot air inlet. The hot air blows to a double-wall panel from a slit- shaped air inlet, while its pressure is uniformed in a longitudinal direction of the inlet vestibule 15. The air-infrared radiation panel is heated by the hot air 38 flowing in the double-wall panel of the far infrared-ray radiating device 4, and far infrared ray is radiated towards the plasma display panel 3. A recessed and projecting parts are formed on the far-infrared radiation panel 2, and a radiation angle of far-infrared ray from the far-infrared radiation panel 2 is widened, in order to uniformize the radiation angle to the plasma display panel 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for a plasma display panel.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned plasma display panel (hereinafter, referred to as PDP) is a display device using plasma discharge of a rare gas such as Ne. Various PDP structures have been proposed. The front glass substrate on which row electrodes are provided and the glass substrate after column electrodes are provided are separated by a discharge space (for example, a space of about 0.1 mm). Typically, the above rare gas is sealed to emit light at the intersection of the row and column matrix electrodes. PDPs are roughly classified into AC (AC driven) PDPs of indirect discharge type, in which electrodes are covered with a dielectric layer and a protective film, and DC (DC drive) type of direct discharge type, in which electrodes are exposed to a discharge space. Is done.

[0003] In any of the above-mentioned PDPs, it is the same that the peripheral portions of both glass substrates having a discharge space are sealed to each other with an adhesive, the interior is evacuated, and a rare gas is introduced. It is. The sealing process and the evacuation process using the adhesive are performed while heating both glass substrates. In this heat treatment, it is necessary to heat both glass substrates uniformly so as to prevent foreign matter such as fine dust from adhering to the glass substrates.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the heat treatment accompanying the PDP sealing treatment and vacuum evacuation treatment is performed by accommodating a PDP in a batch in a heat treatment device and circulating hot air heated by an electric heater in the heat treatment device. A device for heating a PDP is known.

[0005]

However, the configuration of the conventional heat treatment apparatus has the following problems (1) to (4). (1) Since hot air is heated by an electric heater, equipment having a large electric capacity is required, which increases the equipment cost and the running cost. (2) Since the temperature of the electric heater is usually heated to 600 ° C. or more, oxides are generated on the surface of the electric heater, and the oxides are circulated in the heat treatment apparatus on hot air. Therefore, filter equipment for keeping hot air clean is required, and equipment cost increases.

(3) In order to reduce the cost, a configuration in which the gas heated by combustion is directly circulated in the heat treatment apparatus without using an electric heater may be considered. It is not realistic because it adheres to (4) Since it is a batch-type heat treatment apparatus, it is necessary to carry in, heat, slowly cool, and take out the PDP for each batch. Therefore, in order to mass-produce PDPs, the temperature control of each heat treatment apparatus becomes complicated, and the management for each batch becomes complicated.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a PD capable of solving the above problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus for P. An example of a specific purpose is as follows. (a) Compared to the conventional configuration in which hot air is blown directly to the PDP,
Foreign matter adhering to PDP is greatly reduced. (b) The surface of the PDP can be uniformly heated. (c) At least one of the heat treatment and the cooling treatment of the PDP can be performed as a continuous system. (d) Reduce equipment costs and running costs. It should be noted that the problems of the invention other than those described above and the means for solving them will be described in detail in the means for solving the problems described below, the operation, and the embodiments of the invention.

[0008]

The present invention will be described below with reference to, for example, FIGS. 1 to 7 showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the first invention, the far-infrared panel 2 is disposed corresponding to the PDP 3, and the hot air 38 flows through the back surface 2 a of the far-infrared panel 2, thereby heating the far-infrared panel 2 and the front surface of the far-infrared panel 2. PDP 3 is heated by emitting far infrared rays from 2b.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a transport device 40 for transporting the PDP 3 is provided, and the PD transported by the transport device 40 is provided.
It is characterized in that the far-infrared panel 2 is arranged in parallel with the transport direction 5 of P3. The third invention is characterized in that the irregularities 23 are formed on the surface of the far infrared panel 2.

In the first aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the arrangement direction of the far-infrared panel 2 is parallel to the PDP 3. This is because when the PDP 3 and the far infrared panel 2 are parallel, far infrared rays can be uniformly emitted to the PDP 3 and the surface of the PDP 3 can be uniformly heated. Further, it is preferable that the disposing direction of the PDP 3 is a horizontal direction (a direction orthogonal to gravity). In addition, far infrared panel 2
Preferably, the PDP 3 is surrounded by a predetermined heat insulating means, for example, a heat insulating wall 7 or the like. Further, the flow of the hot air 38 flowing through the back surface 2a of the far infrared panel 2 and the flow rate distribution of the hot air 38 are such that the far infrared rays emitted from the far infrared panel 2 are PD.
It is preferable to set so as to be substantially uniform over the entire surface of P3. Further, it is preferable to provide a hot air flow control unit 43 for controlling the flow of the hot air 38 in such a manner.

The transport device 40 in the second aspect of the present invention
It is preferable to provide a supporting means 51 for stably supporting the DP3, and the supporting means 51 is configured to support the PDP 3 with a contact area as small as possible, or
It is preferable to adopt a configuration in which it is supported by a portion other than the display surface 42. The transporting method and the shape and structure of the transporting device 40 are not limited as long as the transporting device 40 can transport the PDP 3 stably. The transport device 40 is provided with the support means 51
In the case where the supporting means 51 is provided, examples of the structure of the supporting means 51 include those having the mounting table 8, those having the holding means, those hanging, and those having the hooking means. Third
In the present invention, it is preferable that the concavo-convex portions 23 are provided periodically and repeatedly in the far infrared panel 2.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the hot air does not directly hit the PDP 3 as in the prior art, but is heated by the radiation of far-infrared rays.
The foreign matter does not adhere to P3. Further, since the back surface 2a of the far infrared panel 2 is heated by the hot air 38,
Surface 2 of far-infrared panel 2, which is the side on which PDP 3 is located
b need not be heated to the extent that oxides are generated. Therefore, the generation of oxides is extremely small in the atmosphere in which the PDP 3 is provided, and the scattering of foreign substances and the adhesion of foreign substances to the glass substrate due to heating can be significantly reduced.

Further, since the infrared rays are radiated by circulating the hot air 38 on the back surface 2a of the far infrared panel 2, an inexpensive heating source for generating the hot air 38 can be used. In comparison, equipment costs and especially running costs can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, since the far-infrared panel 2 can efficiently absorb the heat radiation when it is received on the surface, the heat treatment apparatus 1 using the far-infrared panel 2 can be used for radiation cooling as needed. That is, by setting the far-infrared panel 2 to an appropriately lower temperature than the heated PDP 3,
DP3 can be gradually cooled by radiation cooling uniformly and more rapidly than conventional equipment.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the transport device 40 for transporting the PDP 3 is provided, and the far-infrared panel 3 is disposed in parallel with the transport direction 5 of the PDP 3 transported by the transport device 40. Unlike this, PDP 3 can be continuously heat-treated. That is, it becomes possible to continuously heat the plurality of PDPs 3 along the transport direction 5 or to gradually cool them.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the irregularities 23 are formed on the surface 2b of the far-infrared panel 2, the irregularities 23
The far-infrared radiation angle radiated from the panel increases, and the far-infrared rays radiated from the surface of the far-infrared panel 2 can be averaged, so that the heating state of the PDP 3 can be made uniform.

[0016]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, compared with the conventional configuration in which hot air is directly blown to the PDP, the P
This has a unique effect that foreign substances adhering to the DP can be significantly reduced, and equipment costs and running costs can be reduced. According to the second invention, in addition to the effect of the first invention, PDP can be continuously heat-treated, and has a unique effect that it is suitable for mass production. If it is the third invention,
In addition to the effects of the above inventions, the radiation angle of far-infrared rays radiated from each concavo-convex portion has a wide range, and has a unique effect that heating of the PDP can be made uniform.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view for explaining a first embodiment of a PDP heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a continuous heat treatment apparatus constituted by the above heat treatment apparatus. In FIG. 1, at least one far-infrared panel 2 is provided in a heat treatment apparatus 1 with a glass substrate 26 of a PDP 3.
・ It is arranged in parallel with 27. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the member including the far-infrared panel 2 is a far-infrared irradiation device 4.
Shows an example where. The heat treatment apparatus 1 has an internal space 6 that extends in a cylindrical shape in the same direction as the PDP transport direction 5 (see FIG. 2), and the internal space 6 is configured by surrounding four sides with a heat insulating wall 7. .

Two far-infrared panels 2 are arranged in a horizontal direction above the in-device space 6, and are parallel to the two far-infrared panels 2 below the in-device space 6. The mounting table 8 as the support means 51 is provided so as to be opposed to. Below the lower wall 9 of the heat-insulating wall 7, a conveyor device 10 as the transfer device 40 is provided.
A support member 11 erected from the conveyor device 10 supports the mounting table 8 via a band-shaped opening 12 formed in the lower wall 9. The conveyor device 10 is configured to be able to transport the mounting table 8 in the transport direction 5 by a predetermined drive mechanism (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, supporting pins 13 of the same length are erected on the upper surface 8a of the mounting table 8 at predetermined intervals, and the PDP 3 is placed on the supporting pins 13 by point contact, whereby the mounting table is mounted. 8 so that the PDP 3 can be supported in parallel. With this configuration, the PDP 3 can be placed parallel to the far infrared panel 2. If necessary, a reflector 4 for reflecting far infrared rays on the upper surface 8a of the mounting table 8
4 may be provided. In the configuration in which the reflecting plate 44 is provided, far infrared rays emitted from the far infrared panel 2 above pass through the front glass substrate 26 and the rear glass substrate 27 and are reflected by the reflecting plate 44, and are reflected from the rear glass substrate 27 side of the PDP 3. Plate 44 and PDP so that a sufficient amount of far infrared
3. The distance from the rear glass substrate 27 is set.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of the heat treatment apparatuses 25 are arranged side by side in the transport direction 5 of the conveyor apparatus 10 to constitute a continuous heat treatment apparatus 25. Examples of the heat treatment performed in the manufacturing process of PDP3 include, as described above, preheating before sealing the adhesive, heating for sealing the adhesive, and heat treatment accompanying vacuum evacuation when sealing a rare gas. It is listed as. In addition to these heat treatments, PD
Most of the heat treatment performed in the manufacturing process of P is performed by the continuous heat treatment apparatus 25.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the far-infrared radiation device as a member including the far-infrared panel 2. The far-infrared irradiation device 4 includes a double-wall panel 14 in which at least the panel (lower side in FIG. 3) where the PDP 3 is located is constituted by the far-infrared panel 2, and an entrance-side chamber 15 communicating with the double-wall panel 14. , An outlet side chamber 16. An air passage 37 through which hot air 38 flows is formed in the double wall panel 14, and the air passage 37 has a slit-shaped air inlet 17 and an air outlet formed at an end position of the double wall panel 14. It is in communication with 18. The inlet chamber 15 communicates with the air supply port 17, and the outlet chamber 16 communicates with the exhaust port 18. The far-infrared panel 2 is provided with
3 is a corrugated wall 24 formed.

Each of the inlet-side chamber 15 and the outlet-side chamber 16 is formed of a prismatic duct, and the inlet-side chamber 15 has at least one hot-air inlet 19 opened therein.
9 is connected to an air duct 20. Each of the ventilation ducts 20 is provided with a damper 45 or an orifice for adjusting the amount of hot air. At least one hot air outlet 21 is also opened in the outlet side chamber 16, and the hot air outlet 21 communicates with an exhaust duct 22.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, two hot air inlets 19 are provided, one at each end of the inlet side chamber 15, and a total of two hot air outlets 21 are provided at approximately the center of the outlet side chamber 16.
The example of the configuration provided is shown. Further, as shown in FIG.
The ventilation ducts 20 are provided on the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 1 and the exhaust duct 22 is provided on the center side.

The operation of the heat treatment apparatus having the above configuration will be described. In FIGS. 1 to 3, hot air supplied from a hot air generator (not shown) that generates hot air by burning gas is supplied from two air ducts 20 via a hot air inlet 19 to a far-infrared irradiation device 4. Flows into the inlet side chamber 15 of FIG.
The hot air flowing into the inlet-side chamber 15 has a uniform pressure distribution in the longitudinal direction of the inlet-side chamber 15, and the uniformed hot air blows into the double wall panel 14 from the slit-shaped air supply port 17. In the double wall panel 14, as shown in FIG. 3, the hot air 38 flows over the entire area of the double wall panel 14 along the uneven portion 23 and reaches the exhaust port 18. The hot air that has reached the exhaust port 18 flows into the outlet side chamber 16, and is returned from the hot air outlet 21 to the hot air generator via the exhaust duct 22.

As described above, the hot air 38 flows through the inside of the double wall panel 14 of the far-infrared ray irradiating device 4, so that the far-infrared ray panel 2 is heated, and the far-infrared ray is directed toward the PDP 3 shown in FIGS. Radiated. Further, since the uneven portion 23 is formed on the far-infrared panel 2, the radiation angle of far-infrared rays radiated from the far-infrared panel 2 can be widened, and the degree of irradiation can be made uniform even for a PDP 3 having a large area. it can. Further, the provision of the concave and convex portions 23 has an advantage that the degree of irradiation with far infrared rays can be made uniform even when the parallelism between the PDP 3 and the far infrared panel 2 is not good.
Further, since the hot air 38 flowing in the double wall panel 14 is branched by the uneven portion 23, the hot air 38 can flow evenly over almost the entire area of the double wall panel 14, and the far infrared rays radiated from the far infrared panel 2. Is also advantageous.

Further, since the far-infrared irradiation device 4 using the double wall panel 14 is disposed as a unit in the inside space 6 of the apparatus, it greatly affects the state of the inside space 6 constituted by the heat insulating walls 7. The arrangement and replacement of the far-infrared panel 2 can be easily performed without receiving the above. In other words, if the heat insulating wall 7 is used for a long period of time, the surface may be damaged or the surface may be disturbed. Back side 2a
Can be flushed.

Next, the operation when this heat treatment apparatus is applied to the sealing treatment of the adhesive will be described with reference to FIG. In the continuous heat treatment apparatus 25, the temperature of the heat treatment apparatus 1 in which the PDP 3 enters first is set relatively low, so that a rapid temperature rise is prevented. Each of the heat treatment apparatuses 1 constituting the continuous heat treatment apparatus 25 is set to a predetermined heating temperature. As the PDP 3 moves in the continuous heat treatment apparatus 25 by the conveyor apparatus 10, the predetermined heating temperature and the stay of the PDP 3 are set. In relation to time, the temperature can be raised to the temperature to be heated.

Then, an adhesive is applied to the peripheral portions of the glass substrates 26 and 27 that have been subjected to a predetermined pretreatment, and a pair of the glass substrates 26 and 27 is overlaid on the support pins 13 of the mounting table 8. 2, and as shown in FIG. 2, the continuous heat treatment device 25
The adhesive is solidified and sealed by heating in the inside. When a plurality of PDPs 3 are continuously heated, it goes without saying that the mounting table 8 is successively put into the apparatus 25. The continuous heat treatment apparatus 25 can also perform radiation cooling after sealing the adhesive, if necessary.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4 which shows an example of the configuration of a heat treatment apparatus for performing a vacuum exhaust process and a rare gas filling process. This heat treatment apparatus 1 has, in addition to the configuration described in FIG. 1, a vacuum exhaust device 28 housed in a conveyor device 10 that supports the mounting table 8, and a PDP 3 placed on the mounting table 8 from the vacuum exhaust device 28. The exhaust pipe 29 is extended so as to reach the vacuum exhaust port 30 provided at a predetermined position of the PDP 3.
Further, a rare gas introduction device 31 is accommodated in the conveyor device 1, and an introduction pipe 32 is extended from the rare gas introduction device 31 to reach the PDP 3, and a rare gas introduction port 33 provided at a predetermined position of the PDP 3. It is made to communicate with.

While the PDP 3 moves in the continuous heat treatment apparatus 25 as shown in FIG. 2 and is heated, by driving the vacuum exhaust device 28, the discharge space in the PDP 3 is evacuated. Almost simultaneously with the evacuation operation or after the evacuation operation, the rare gas of the noble gas introduction device 31 is charged into the discharge space through the introduction pipe 32. In the above operation, the heating process and the slow cooling process can be performed by a series of continuous heat treatment devices, so that the operation efficiency can be improved.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the third embodiment and the first embodiment is that the P on the mounting table 8
The point lies in that not only the far infrared panel 2 is arranged above the DP 3 but also the far infrared panel 2 is arranged below the PDP 3. In the configuration shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the far-infrared irradiation device 4
Are shown as a pair. In the third embodiment, since the far infrared rays are radiated also from the lower side of the mounting table 8, the mounting table 8 is configured by a net-like member 34 assembled in a large lattice as shown in FIG. Yes, support member 1
The upper end of 1 is also formed of a thin rod member 35 so as not to hinder the irradiation of far infrared rays.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a mounting table used for supporting a large-area PDP. In this configuration example, a substantially V-shaped rod-shaped receiving portion 36 is formed on the support member 11 when viewed from the front, and the rod-shaped receiving portion 36 is used to form the mesh member 3.
4 is supported. Also, the mesh member 34
In the position of the intersection, a support pin 13 facing upward is erected. FIG. 7A is a longitudinal sectional view of a heat treatment apparatus for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
It is a BB arrow line view in (A).

The features of the fourth embodiment are mainly as follows.
Is a point. First, the first feature is that the far-infrared ray panel 2 is provided as it is above and below the internal space 6 of the heat treatment apparatus 1 without using the far-infrared ray irradiating apparatus 4 shown in FIG. The point is that the air passage 37 is formed to supply the hot air 38. A second feature is that a support arm 39 that supports the mounting table 8 is provided in a horizontal support structure in a horizontal direction, and the mounting table 8 is moved in a horizontal direction by a predetermined transfer device 40. Further, in this embodiment, the mounting table 8
Has an open bottom surface structure that supports at least two peripheral portions of the PDP 3 so that the radiation state of far infrared rays from the far infrared panel 2 above and the radiation state from the far infrared panel 2 below are exactly the same. It is configured so that it can be set to.

In FIG. 7, as an example of the above-described open bottom structure, the mounting table 8 is constituted by a square frame 41 on which the peripheral portion of the PDP 3 is mounted. The square frame 41 is the display surface 4 of the PDP 3
The configuration is such that the PDP 3 is placed on the outer peripheral portion of the PDP 3. The far infrared panel 2 and the PDP 3 are disposed in parallel, and the distance d1 from the upper far infrared panel 2 to the front glass substrate 26 of the PDP 3 and the distance d1 from the lower far infrared panel 2 to the rear glass substrate The distance d2 to 27 is set the same. In this manner, the support arm 39 for supporting the mounting table 8 is provided in the horizontal direction, and the mounting table 8 has an open bottom surface structure, so that the lower far infrared panel 2 can irradiate the rear glass surface 27 of the PDP 3 with infrared rays favorably. It can be carried out. In addition, P is set at a peripheral portion outside the display surface 42 of the PDP 3.
Since the mounting table 8 supporting the DP3 is employed, the PDP 3 can be supported without affecting the display surface 42 at all. Note that, also in this embodiment, the far-infrared ray irradiation device 4 shown in FIG. 3 may be used.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Hereinafter, such an embodiment will be described. As described above, the hot-air flow control unit 43 that controls the hot air 38 flowing on the back surface 2a of the far-infrared panel 2 is provided so that far-infrared rays emitted from the far-infrared panel 2 uniformly heat the surface of the PDP 3. Can also. As such a hot air flow control unit 43, a configuration in which the above-described inlet side chamber 15 and outlet side chamber 16 are provided, and the hot air 38 flowing from the hot air inlet 19 or the air supply port 17
For example, a configuration in which a control mechanism such as a bumper 45 or an orifice or the like for uniformly flowing the fluid into the nozzle a is provided. The above-mentioned uneven portion 23 can also make the flow in the double wall panel 14 into a preferable state, and functions as the hot air flow control unit 43.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration has been described in which the far-infrared panel 2 is provided in each of the upper region and the lower region of the in-device space 6, but it is also possible to provide it in the side region. In the above embodiment, the PD accommodated in the heat treatment apparatus 1
Although the case where the number of P is one is illustrated, it is also possible to heat-treat a plurality of PDPs at once by using a mounting table having an open bottom surface and appropriately setting the mounting interval of the PDPs. For example, when heating two PDPs, a mounting table having an open bottom structure is used, a double-sided reflection plate is provided between the two PDPs, and far-infrared panels are disposed above and below the internal space of the apparatus. For example, two PDPs can be heat-treated in the same state as the apparatus shown in FIG.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a schematic configuration of a heat treatment apparatus for a PDP showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a continuous heat treatment apparatus using a heat treatment apparatus for a PDP according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a far-infrared irradiation device as an example of a far-infrared panel.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a schematic front view for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a plan view showing a configuration of a mounting table.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of the mounting table.

7A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken on line B-B of FIG.
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

2: Far infrared panel, 2a: Back surface, 2b: Front surface, 3: P
DP, 5: transport direction, 23: uneven portion, 38: hot air, 40
... Transport device.

Claims (3)

[Claims] A far-infrared panel is provided corresponding to a plasma display panel.
The far-infrared panel (2) is heated by flowing hot air (38) on the back surface (2a) of (2), and the far-infrared panel (2) is heated.
The plasma display panel (3) is heated by radiating far-infrared rays from the surface (2b) of the plasma display panel. 2. A far-infrared panel which is provided with a transfer device (40) for transferring a plasma display panel (3), and which is parallel to a transfer direction (5) of the plasma display panel (3) transferred by the transfer device (40). The heat treatment apparatus for a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein (2) is provided. 3. The heat treatment apparatus for a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein an uneven portion is formed on a surface of the far-infrared panel.