JPS62103957A - Discharge display element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce fluctuation of the discharge characteristic with reduced size and improved brightness of the element stated in the caption, by arranging more than two, in total of either one or both, of short tubular electrodes having different inner diameter and a conical electrode deprived of its top at the outer circumference of an electrode having a multi-layer coaxial structure. CONSTITUTION:A multi-layer coaxial structure electrode having its endfaces positioned respectively at the inside and the outside of an outer tube 1 and a double short tubular electrode 8 are arranged in a transparent outer tube 1 with discharge gas 2 encapsulated therein. The double tubular electrode 8 is passed through the multi-layer coaxial electrode and arranged at the outer circumference of the multi-layer coaxial electrode while the central axes of both electrodes being matching each other where a lead wire 9 led outward and also serves as a supporter from the electrode 8 is connected to the bottom face of the electrode 8, thus enabling power supply to be carried out from the outside. First short tube 8a, second short tube 8b and a coupling disc 8c constituting the double short tubular electrode 8 are made of electrically conductive material where they are maintained at the same potential upon application of voltage and serve as a set of electrode. When driving such display elements, the central electrode 5 and the double short tubular electrode 8 are employed respectively as an anode and a cathode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a discharge type display element used in an electronic display device or the like.

[Prior Art] Conventional discharge type display elements (DCHDC Colerad Illigh-Brig
htnessDischarge) tube (Japan)
Display 83.

11 No. 3) (2) Display discharge lamp with conical cathode (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-20
(No. 960) (3) Coaxial cylindrical electrode type display discharge tube (Patent application No. 11 filed by the present applicant).

Among these, the CHD tube (1) has a green luminance of 11,
It has a brightness of 500cd/rf, which is sufficient for outdoor display. However, because the dimensions are large with an outer diameter of 34 g + m,
For example, when configuring an electric display device of 6 m in height and 8 m in width, which is suitable as an outdoor display device for displaying traffic information on expressways, destination and time display at airport terminals, large image display at stadiums, etc. The number of elements in the vertical direction is approximately 210,
The number of displays in the horizontal direction is small, about 280, and the resolution is poor for a display device of this size, making the display difficult to view. CHD tubes are discharge-type display elements that apply the principles of fluorescent discharge lamps, so if you try to make the outside diameter of the tube smaller than the current one, part of the energy consumed in discharge will be lost due to gas particles colliding with the glass tube. It is difficult to reduce the outer diameter because the energy lost increases and the brightness and efficiency characteristics deteriorate. Therefore, overall, it can be said that there is little hope for improvement in resolution.

Furthermore, the conical cathode display discharge lamp (2) has a brightness equivalent to that of an incandescent light bulb, and is therefore suitable for outdoor display purposes. However, as shown in FIG. 6, in this display discharge lamp, an anode 11 is provided in a light-transmitting airtight envelope 1 containing a discharge gas 2 and penetrating through the center of the bottom opening of a conical cathode 4.
9i3 is located, changes in the distance between the anode and the conical cathode end in this area have a large effect on the discharge characteristics.
For this reason, especially when producing small-sized display lamps, it is difficult to produce a large number of display lamps with the same discharge characteristics. In addition, in order to make effective use of the discharge, it is necessary to generate the discharge only inside the conical cathode 4 shown in FIG. It is necessary to prevent discharge from occurring outside of 1ii4, and it is difficult to adjust the positional relationship of the electrodes and the drive voltage for this purpose.

In addition, the coaxial cylindrical electrode type display discharge tube of (3) above has the seventh
As shown in the figure, it has a multilayer coaxial structure in which an insulator 6 is placed around a rod-shaped center electrode 5 and an electrode 7 is provided around the outer circumference of the transparent outer tube 1 in which a discharge gas 2 is sealed. By having the #i pole, it is possible to realize a compact, high-intensity discharge type display tube with uniform discharge characteristics. However, the current brightness is insufficient for outdoor display, and an improvement has been desired.

C Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, conventional discharge type display elements have insufficient brightness and resolution to be used for outdoor display devices, and have difficulty adjusting the positional relationship of electrodes and driving voltage. The disadvantage was that it was difficult to adjust.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and to provide a compact design for high-resolution outdoor display devices.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel gas discharge type display element that has high brightness and has less variation in discharge characteristics.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The display element according to the present invention has an electrode with a multilayer coaxial structure, and a short cylindrical electrode with different inner diameters or a conical electrode with the top removed on the outer periphery of the electrode. Either one or two or more of both are arranged.

[Example] The present invention will be explained below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of a gas discharge type display element showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Electrodes having a multilayer coaxial structure and double short cylindrical electrodes 8 are disposed with end faces located on both the inside and outside of the cell. The electrode with the bipedal multilayer coaxial structure has an insulator 6 tightly coated on the outer periphery of the central rod-shaped electrode 5, and the double short cylindrical electrode 8 has a first short cylinder 8a and a diameter smaller than that of the first short cylinder 8a. The short cylinders 8b are concentrically superimposed and their respective negative side end surfaces are connected by a donut-shaped connecting disk 8c, so that the connecting disk 8c is located on the side far from the display surface 1a of the outer tube 1. First, a double cylindrical electrode 8 is passed through the multilayer coaxial electrode and placed around the outer periphery of the multilayer coaxial electrode, with the central axes of both electrodes aligned. Therefore, the double short cylindrical electrode 8 has a U-shaped cross section with an open surface on the display surface 1a. A lead wire 9 that also serves as a support from the electrode 8 is drawn out to the bottom of the double short cylindrical electrode 8.
is connected so that power can be supplied from outside. The first short cylinder 8a, the second short cylinder 8b, and the connecting disk 8C that constitute this double short cylindrical electrode 8 are made of an electrically conductive material, and when a voltage is applied, these are kept at the same potential. Used as a pair of electrodes.

Further, when driving this display element, the center electrode 5 is used as an anode, and the double short cylindrical electrode 8 is used as a cathode.

FIG. 2 shows a gas discharge type display element showing a second embodiment of the present invention. This display element is different from the display element of the first embodiment, in which two short cylindrical electrodes are overlapped to form a double short cylindrical electrode 8, and an external lead wire 9 for connecting to a power source is provided to the electrode. On the other hand, two conical electrodes are stacked to form a double conical electrode 10, and a power source can be connected to this electrode 10 without providing an external lead wire 9.

In this second embodiment, two hollow cone-shaped electrodes with their tops removed are used as the electrodes 10 arranged on the outer periphery of a multilayer coaxial electrode, and the positional relationship between the two is such that the directions of the tops of the conical electrodes are opposite to each other. so that the outer conical electrode 10
By connecting the inner edge of a and the outer edge of the inner conical electrode 10b, a double conical electrode 10 having a V-shaped cross section is formed. Further, the means for connecting this electrode 10 to an external power supply circuit is to connect the outermost layer of the multilayer coaxial electrode to the conductor electrode 7.
The electrode 7 and the double conical electrode 10 are connected by a lead wire 11 which also serves as a support for the electrode 10, and power is supplied to the double conical electrode 10 through the electrode 7. ing.

It goes without saying that the external power supply connection means in this second embodiment can also be applied to the double short cylindrical electrodes in the first embodiment (see Figure 1) and other shapes. be.

Next, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a gas discharge type display element showing a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the short cylindrical electrode 12b and the top part are removed as electrodes arranged on the outer periphery of the multilayer coaxial electrode. This is a case where a cylindrical/conical electrode 12 is used in combination with a hollow conical electrode 12a. In this third embodiment, a cylindrical electrode support 13 is used to securely fix the cylindrical/conical electrode 12. This electrode support stand 13
If the material can be mechanically supported firmly,
It can be made of any material.

It goes without saying that this electrode support 13 can also be applied to the double short cylindrical electrode 8, the double conical electrode 10, and other shaped electrodes.

Although each of the embodiments described above is a case of a discharge type display element having two sets of electrodes, it goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied to a case having three or more sets of electrodes.

FIG. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention having three sets of electrodes. In this embodiment, the multilayer coaxial electrode is composed of three conductor electrodes 5.7.1 each insulated by an insulator 6 and 14.
5, and the outermost layer electrode 15 is connected to the double conical electrode 10 by a lead wire 11. and an outer conical electrode 10a.

The double conical electrode 10 consisting of the inner conical electrode 10b is used as a cathode, the center electrode 5 is used as an anode, and the middle electrode 7 is used as an auxiliary discharge electrode. By inducing an auxiliary discharge and utilizing this, effects such as lowering the driving voltage can be obtained.

Further, the auxiliary discharge electrode may be provided as the cylindrical electrode 7 on the multilayer coaxial electrode as in this embodiment, but it may also be provided at a position away from the multilayer coaxial electrode, or may be provided at a location other than the auxiliary discharge electrode provided in the multilayer coaxial electrode. It goes without saying that the auxiliary discharge pole may be connected to another auxiliary discharge pole provided at any location of the auxiliary discharge pole using a lead wire.

Historically, in each of the embodiments of the present invention described above, a short cylindrical electrode or a hollow conical electrode with the top portion removed is used as a component of the electrode installed on the outer periphery of the multilayer coaxial electrode. Although U-shaped or V-shaped electrodes are used,
There is no problem in implementing the present invention even if an electrode with a cross section including a curve such as a U-shape, an S-shape, or a semicircular shape is used, and it is of course possible to use an electrode with such a shape. .

Furthermore, in each of the embodiments of the present invention described above, a double cylindrical electrode or a double conical electrode is provided on the outer periphery of the multilayer coaxial electrode, which is structurally completely separate, and in some cases, a lead wire is connected to the outermost layer of the multilayer coaxial electrode. However, the present invention can also be practiced even if part of the electrode structure provided on the outer periphery of a multilayer coaxial electrode such as a double cylindrical electrode also serves as the outermost conductor electrode of the multilayer coaxial electrode.

FIG. 5 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which the short cylindrical electrode with the smaller inner diameter of the double short cylindrical electrodes 8 also serves as the outermost conductor electrode 7 of the multilayer coaxial electrode. This shows an example.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a discharge type display element having a large cathode area and a small size, so that the following remarkable effects can be obtained.

That is, when using visible light or ultraviolet rays generated by DC glow discharge for display, increasing the cathode area will cause
Cathode glow located in front of the cathode.

The cathode dark area and the area where the negative glow spreads can be enlarged. Therefore, visible light is emitted from the cathode glow and negative glow, and ultraviolet rays are emitted from the dark part of the cathode, so increasing the cathode area can increase display brightness regardless of whether visible light or ultraviolet rays are used for display. The area of the double cylindrical electrode arranged on the outer periphery of the electrode of the multilayer coaxial structure of the present invention is larger than that of the conventional "coaxial cylindrical electrode display discharge tube", so it can be used as a cathode. If used, it is possible to display a display with higher brightness than conventional ones.

Another way to increase the cathode area is to increase the length of the multilayer coaxial electrode to increase the area of the outermost layer electrode used as the cathode, but this will not display the visible light or ultraviolet rays generated near the cathode. Considering that the cathode is used in front of a display element, it is clear that the shorter the distance between the cathode and the front surface of the display element, the higher the utilization efficiency.From this point of view, the electrode structure of the present invention is better than the multilayer coaxial This can be said to be superior to the case where the cathode area is increased by increasing the length of the electrode.

The discharge type display element according to the present invention has a discharge phenomenon that is almost the same as a discharge phenomenon using a hollow cathode effect, but differs in electrode configuration and electrode shape. It differs from the "lamp" in that the center electrode used as an anode is covered with an insulator and the shape of the electrode is different.

In the display element according to the present invention, since the center electrode is covered with an insulator, the distance between the center electrode and the inner edge of the electrode provided on the outer periphery of the multilayer coaxial electrode, such as a double short cylindrical shape used as a cathode, is short. However, the discharge characteristics are not determined by this distance, but by the distance between the inner top of the electrode in a double cylinder shape and the exposed part of the center electrode, so the distance between the inner edge of the electrode in a double cylinder shape and the center electrode is Even if there is a slight change, the effect on the discharge characteristics is small, and the set value of this distance can be made small.In order to create a small discharge type display tube with uniform discharge characteristics, it is recommended that the center electrode be covered with an insulator. It is much more advantageous than the above-mentioned "display discharge lamp with a conical cathode".

In addition, two or more cylindrical electrodes or hollow conical electrodes with their tops removed can be used to construct electrodes with a U-shaped or V-shaped cross section as shown in Figures 1 to 4 above, and these can be used as cathodes. By using this method, the average distance between the cathode and the front surface of the display element can be shortened for the same cathode area compared to the case of using a simple conical electrode, and the utilization efficiency of visible light or ultraviolet rays generated near the cathode can be reduced. can be made higher.

Furthermore, another advantage of using an electrode with a U-shaped or V-shaped cross section as a cathode is that it reduces the vertical dimension of the display element required to obtain the same cathode area. .

As mentioned above, the outer diameter of the display element can be smaller than that of the "conical cathode display discharge lamp";
Since electrodes having a U-shaped or V-shaped cross section are arranged around the outer periphery of the multilayer coaxial electrode, the outer diameter is somewhat larger than that of the "coaxial cylindrical electrode type display discharge tube." However, the discharge type display element according to the present invention has high brightness characteristics that could not be achieved with the above-mentioned "coaxial cylindrical electrode type display discharge tube", and the advantages of the present invention are useful in applications that require high brightness. It's coming.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(A) and 3(B) are longitudinal and horizontal sectional views of a discharge type display element showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a discharge type display element showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a discharge type display element showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention. Cross-sectional view of discharge type display element FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views showing conventional discharge type display elements, respectively. 1......Outer tube 2...Discharge gas 5.7.15......Multilayer coaxial structure electrode 8
...... Short cylindrical electrode 10 ... Conical electrode patent applicant Hitachi Cable Co., Ltd. No. 1 (A) (B)

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a discharge type display element having an electrode with a multilayer coaxial structure in which electrically conductive materials and electrically insulating materials are alternately arranged, the outer periphery of the electrode with the multilayered coaxial structure has a short cylindrical shape with a different inner diameter or the top is removed. Either one of the conical electrodes,
Or a discharge type display element characterized by arranging two or more of both. (2) A hollow conical electrode arrangement with two or more apexes removed, characterized by including one or more with the apex facing the display direction and one or more with the apex facing in the opposite direction to the display direction. A discharge type display element according to claim 1. (3) All or part of the short cylindrical or hollow conical electrodes with their tops removed are electrically connected to each other.
The discharge type display element according to item 1 or 2. (4) A patent characterized in that all or part of the short cylindrical or truncated hollow conical electrode is electrically connected to an electrically conductive material of an electrode having a multilayer coaxial structure. A discharge type display element according to claim 1, 2, or 3.