KR100869313B1 - Apparatus and method for deoxidizing lead-wire of fluorescent lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

A lead line reductor of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp and a method thereof are provided to environment-friendlily reduce and process the oxidized lead line of the fluorescent lamp using the atmospheric pressure plasma instead of the chemicals. A lead line reductor of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp comprises the transport unit(110) transferring the cold cathode fluorescent lamp in which the lead line is oxidized; one or more plasma processing parts(120) returning the lead line; one or more cooling parts(130) which cool the lead line at the inert gas in order to prevent the re-oxidation of the lead line; the power supply unit(140) for supplying the power to the plasma processing part; the lead line reductor(100) of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp including the gas supply part(155) for supplying the gas to the plasma processing part. The plasma generation gas comprises hydrogen, nitrogen, and argon.

Description

Apparatus and method for deoxidizing lead-wire of fluorescent lamp

The present invention relates to a lead wire reduction of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, and more particularly, to a lead wire reduction apparatus and method for a fluorescent lamp for reducing the oxidized lead wire of the fluorescent lamp using a plasma formed under atmospheric pressure.

The present invention relates to a method for removing lead oxide from a cathode of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp lead wire. Specifically, in the process of manufacturing a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, a thermal oxide film formed on a lead wire is removed and a surface is cleaned to improve soldering characteristics and to eliminate defects. A surface treatment method using an atmospheric plasma to reduce.

In the manufacturing process of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp, heat is applied in the process of cutting the glass tube or sealing the lamp, and an oxide film is formed on the surface when the heated lead wire is exposed to air. Since the oxide film acts as a main cause of poor soldering, which is a post-treatment process, affecting yield and reliability, the oxide film on the surface is removed by using a metal that is not easily oxidized or using chemicals.

Generally, wet treatment using chemicals and dry treatment using gases are used for the surface treatment of oxidized metals. Among the surface treatment methods, such as flat panel display devices, semiconductors, PCBs, etc., the oxide film is controlled using a vacuum plasma, but the application of the surface treatment is limited due to the high operating cost and complicated equipment of the vacuum plasma. I'm using. Oxide film removal process of cold cathode fluorescent lamp is carried out 2 ~ 3 times of supporting electrode for several seconds in the container containing cleaning solution, and then 1 ~ 2 times rinsing process using distilled water to remove chemicals on the surface. . After rinsing, the electrode is dried in air to evaporate moisture.

This wet process is currently used in most of the processes due to the low treatment cost and simple operation, but the use of chemicals causes wastewater and causes environmental pollution. There is also a high risk of accidents by exposing workers and equipment to hazardous chemicals.

In order to solve this problem, many attempts have been made to develop a technology that generates plasma at atmospheric pressure and can be processed quickly and inexpensively. At atmospheric pressure, plasma is generated using argon, helium, or the like having a low generated voltage, and a small amount (several%) of gas is added to perform surface treatment. Atmospheric pressure plasma technology, however, is limited in the processing target due to the damage of the processing due to the generation of arcs and the narrow distance between the electrodes due to the high generated voltage. In addition, since the electrode is in the form of a flat plate or coaxial, the treatment is limited to the flat form. In addition, the use of a large amount of expensive gas such as helium increases the processing cost significantly, it is difficult to realize the performance due to complex processing conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a lead wire reducing apparatus for a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, which environmentally reduces an oxidized lead wire of a fluorescent lamp using atmospheric pressure plasma without using a chemical.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for reducing lead wires of cold cathode fluorescent lamps which environmentally reduce oxidized lead wires of fluorescent lamps using atmospheric pressure plasma without using chemicals.

The lead wire reducing apparatus of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to the present invention for achieving the technical problem, the transfer unit for transferring the fluorescent lamp oxidized lead wire; At least one plasma processing unit for reducing the lead wire by applying power while supplying a plasma generating gas under atmospheric pressure between a power supply electrode and a ground electrode; At least one cooling unit cooling the lead wire with an inert gas to prevent reoxidation of the lead wire; A power supply unit for supplying power to the plasma processing unit; And a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the plasma processing unit.

The plasma generating gas preferably contains hydrogen, nitrogen, and argon.

The hydrogen is used 1 to 15% relative to argon, the nitrogen is preferably used 1 to 5% relative to argon.

Preferably, the power supply unit supplies an AC voltage having a frequency of 10 kHz to 100 MHz.

The lead wire reducing apparatus of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp further includes a lamp rotating unit for rotating the fluorescent lamp so that the plasma generating gas is evenly contacted along the lead wire circumference.

The lead wire reducing apparatus of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp further includes a preheating unit for preheating the lead wire introduced into the plasma processing unit in order to speed up the reaction rate in the plasma processing unit.

Preferably, the power supply electrode is elliptical and surrounded by a dielectric.

It is preferable that the ground electrode is stepped or oblique.

It is preferable that the said cooling part cools the said lead wire using any one of nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, helium, neon gas, or these mixed gases.

It is preferable to provide a heat insulating material between the plasma processing unit and the cooling unit to prevent heat from the plasma processing unit from being transferred to the cooling unit.

Two plasma processing units and two cooling units may be used to simultaneously reduce lead wires at both ends of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for reducing a lead wire of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, the method comprising: transferring a fluorescent lamp in which lead wires are oxidized; Reducing the oxide film of the lead wire by applying power while supplying a plasma generating gas including hydrogen under atmospheric pressure; And cooling to prevent reoxidation of the lead wires.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent environmental pollution caused by the use of chemicals, it is possible to improve the soldering characteristics by removing the oxide by using a low-cost atmospheric plasma equipment capable of in-line process.

In order to fully understand the present invention, the operational advantages of the present invention, and the objects achieved by the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and the contents described in the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For each figure, like reference numerals denote like elements.

1 is a block diagram of a lead wire reducing apparatus 100 of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the lead wire reducing apparatus 100 of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp includes a transfer unit 110, a plasma processing unit 120, a cooling unit 130, a power supply unit 140, and a gas supply unit 155.

The transfer unit 110 introduces the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 200 (hereinafter referred to as a fluorescent lamp) to the plasma processing unit 120. The transfer unit 110 transfers the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 200 so that one end of the fluorescent lamp 200 passes through the cutting unit 180, the plasma processing unit 120, and the cooling unit 130.

The plasma processing unit 120 reduces the lead wire of the fluorescent lamp 200 by applying power while supplying a process gas and a plasma generating gas including hydrogen under atmospheric pressure.

After one end of the fluorescent lamp 200 passes through the cutting unit 180, the plasma processing unit 120 uses hydrogen at atmospheric pressure to reduce the lead wire of the oxidized cold cathode fluorescent lamp 200. The surface treatment is reduced with a plasma containing gas.

At this time, the reaction is reduced by the plasma is as follows.

The plasma generating gas also contains hydrogen and an inert carrier gas. Hydrogen is a substance for reacting and removing oxygen in an oxide film. The inert carrier gas lowers the plasma generation voltage, thereby reducing dielectric breakdown due to thermal shock applied to the fluorescent lamp 200.

The plasma generating gas may further include nitrogen. Nitrogen is intended to increase the efficiency of the plasma treatment and to clean the surface.

The cooling unit 130 cools the fluorescent lamp 200 with an inert gas in order to prevent regeneration of the lead wire subjected to plasma reduction in the plasma processing unit 120. The cooling unit 130 cools the lead wire using any one of nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, helium, neon gas, or a mixed gas thereof.

By installing a heat insulating material (not shown) between the plasma processing unit 120 and the cooling unit 130 to prevent heat from being transferred from the plasma processing unit 120 to the cooling unit 130, cooling efficiency of the cooling unit 130 is improved. Can be increased.

The power supply unit 140 supplies power to the plasma processing unit 120. In this case, an AC voltage of 10 kHz to 100 MHz is used for the power supply.

The gas supply unit 155 supplies the plasma generating gas to the plasma processing unit 120, and the flow rate adjusting unit 150 adjusts the flow rate of the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 155.

In addition, the lead wire reducing apparatus 100 may include a supply device 210 for supplying the fluorescent lamp 200 to the transfer unit, a first alignment unit 220 for aligning the fluorescent lamp 200 introduced into the cutting unit 180, and a plasma. It further includes a second alignment unit 230 for aligning the fluorescent lamp 200 introduced into the processing unit 120 and a collecting device 240 for collecting the fluorescent lamp passed through the cooling unit 130.

The lead wire reducing apparatus 100 reduces the lead wire of one end of the fluorescent lamp 200. Alternatively, the lead wire reducing apparatus 100 may simultaneously reduce the lead wires across the fluorescent lamp 200. Such a lead wire reducing apparatus 100 is shown in FIG.

In another embodiment of the lead wire reducing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 7, in addition to the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a plasma processing unit 122 and a fluorescent lamp for reducing the lead wires at the other end of the fluorescent lamp 200 may be used. It further includes a cooling unit 132 for cooling the lead wire of the other end of the (200).

The pair of plasma processing units 120 and 122 simultaneously plasma-reduces the lead wires at both ends of the fluorescent lamp 200, and the pair of cooling units 130 and 132 simultaneously cools the lead wires at both ends of the fluorescent lamp 200. Let's do it.

In addition, the first alignment unit 222 for aligning the other end of the fluorescent lamp 200, the cutting unit 182 for cutting the other end of the fluorescent lamp 200, the second alignment unit for aligning the other end of the fluorescent lamp 200 232 is provided in the lead wire reducing apparatus 100.

The lead wire reduction apparatus 100 can reduce the processing time considerably by simultaneously reducing the lead wires at both ends of the fluorescent lamp 200.

2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the plasma processing unit 120.

The matcher 310 matches an impedance so that the power supplied from the power supply 140 is transferred to the electrode 320 as much as possible.

The electrode 320 includes a power supply electrode 322 coated with a dielectric 324 and a ground electrode 326. The structure of the electrode 320 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

The flow rate controller 150 may include a first flow rate controller 152 for adjusting the flow rate of argon or helium gas, a second flow rate controller 154 for adjusting the flow rate of hydrogen gas, and a third rate for adjusting the flow rate of nitrogen gas. It includes a flow control unit 156.

The controller 160 controls the overall operation of the lead wire reducing apparatus 100. In particular, the voltage generated from the power supply unit 140 is adjusted, and the flow rate controller 150 controls to adjust the flow rate of the gas.

3A illustrates one embodiment of an electrode.

The power electrode 322 is round or elliptical to reduce the occurrence of flat unstable arcs, and surrounds the dielectric 324 made of quartz around the power electrode. The power electrode 322 is preferably made of an ellipse rather than a circular shape in order to make the plasma treatment area larger.

The ground electrode 326 is stepped so that the lead wire of the fluorescent lamp 200 can be stably inserted into the space between the power electrode 322 and the ground electrode 326.

In addition, in order to reduce the amount of gas used, the cover 324 may block the other surface except for the surface necessary for inserting the lead wire of the fluorescent lamp 200. The cover portion 324 is made of an insulator.

In addition to the gas supply port 410 for supplying the plasma generating gas, another gas supply port 430 may be provided to reduce the disappearance of the gas.

3B illustrates another embodiment of the electrode.

The structure of the electrode is the same as that of the electrode shown in FIG. 3A, except that the shape of the ground electrode 326 is diagonal.

4 is a perspective view of a lead wire reducing apparatus of a fluorescent lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lead wire reducing apparatus 100 reduces the lead wire of one end of the fluorescent lamp 200 while moving the fluorescent lamp 200 in a horizontal state. Alternatively, the lead wire reducing apparatus 100 may reduce the fluorescent lamp 200 while moving in a vertical state.

The transfer unit 110 is in the form of a conveyor belt, and transfers the fluorescent lamp 200 from the right side to the left side.

The control unit 160 is installed above the main body of the lead wire reducing apparatus 100, the cutting unit 180 is installed on the left side of the control unit 160, and the plasma processing unit 120 is installed on the left side of the cutting unit 180. The cooling unit 120 is installed on the left side of the plasma processing unit 120.

In addition, the front of the main body of the lead wire reducing device 100 is provided with a power supply unit 140 and the flow rate control unit 150.

The lead wire reducing apparatus 100 further includes a preheating unit 135 for preheating the lead wire and a lamp rotating unit 170 for rotating the fluorescent lamp 200.

The preheating unit 135 is installed on the right side of the plasma processing unit 120, and the lamp rotating unit 170 is installed below the preheating unit 135.

The preheater 135 preheats the lead wire to speed up the reaction speed in the plasma processor 120.

The lamp rotating unit 170 rotates the fluorescent lamp 200, and when the plasma processing unit 120 performs plasma treatment, the plasma generating gas is uniformly contacted along the lead wire circumference of the fluorescent lamp 200, thereby effectively reducing the plasma treatment. To be done.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reducing a lead wire of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to the present invention.

In the lead wire reducing method, a fluorescent lamp is transferred to a plasma processing unit 120 of an oxide (object to be treated) to reduce an oxidized metal (lead wire of the fluorescent lamp 200) by using an atmospheric plasma (step S510). , Surface treatment reduction with plasma containing hydrogen gas (S520), and cooling in a state of inert atmosphere (S530).

In operation S510, the transfer unit 110 transfers the fluorescent lamp 200 to the plasma processing unit 120. When the fluorescent lamp 200 is transferred to the plasma processing unit 120, the lead wire may be preheated to speed up the reaction speed in the plasma processing unit 120.

In step S520, while the transfer unit 110 transfers the fluorescent lamp 200 so that the lead wire of the fluorescent lamp 200 passes through the plasma processing unit 120, the plasma processing unit 120 uses a plasma generating gas including a gas. The oxidized lead wire is reduced.

Although preheating may be performed before the plasma treatment, the lead wire may be heated in operation S520. The reason for heating the lead wire is to increase the reaction speed. Alternatively, the plasma generating gas can be heated and supplied. The reason for heating and supplying the plasma generating gas is to lower the plasma generating voltage to facilitate plasma generation. Preferably, the lead wire is heated to 100 to 500 ° C. or the plasma generating gas is heated. More preferably, the lead wire is heated to 200 to 300 ° C. or the plasma generating gas is heated.

In operation S530, the cooling unit 130 cools in an inert atmosphere supplied with nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, helium, neon gas, or a mixed gas thereof in order to prevent reoxidation of the reduced lead wire. The fluorescent lamp 200 in which the lead wire is cooled is loaded for later processing.

6a to 6f show the results of the treatment of the lead wire reduction invention of the fluorescent lamp according to the present invention.

6A illustrates an oxidized lead wire, and FIG. 6B illustrates a result of soldering the oxidized lead wire. As shown in FIG. 6B, when soldering the oxidized lead wire without plasma reduction treatment, a large amount of foreign substances are generated on the lead wire surface.

FIG. 6C shows a lead wire subjected to plasma reduction treatment, and FIG. 6D shows a result of soldering after plasma reduction treatment. As illustrated in FIG. 6D, when the lead wire subjected to plasma reduction is soldered, foreign matter hardly occurs on the lead wire surface as compared with FIG. 6B.

6E and 6F show a case where the fluorescent lamps shown in FIGS. 6C and 6D are not cooled, respectively, and lead oxides are reoxidized compared to FIGS. 6C and 6D to form oxides on the surface.

As described above, optimal embodiments have been disclosed in the drawings and the specification. Although specific terms have been used herein, they are used only for the purpose of describing the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention as defined in the claims or the claims. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lead wire reducing apparatus of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a plasma processing unit according to the present invention;

3A illustrates one embodiment of an electrode.

3B illustrates another embodiment of the electrode.

4 is a perspective view of a lead wire reducing apparatus of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to the present invention.

5 is a flow chart showing a lead wire reduction method of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to the present invention.

Figures 6a to 6f is a view for comparing the lead wire reduction results according to the present invention with the prior art.

7 is a view showing the configuration of another embodiment of a lead wire reducing apparatus of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to the present invention.

Claims (19)

A transfer unit for transferring the cold cathode fluorescent lamp of which the lead wire is oxidized; At least one plasma processing unit for reducing the lead wire by applying power while supplying a plasma generating gas under atmospheric pressure between a power supply electrode and a ground electrode; At least one cooling unit cooling the lead wire with an inert gas to prevent reoxidation of the lead wire; A power supply unit for supplying power to the plasma processing unit; And And a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the plasma processing unit. The method of claim 1, wherein the plasma generating gas, Lead wire reduction device of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp comprising hydrogen, nitrogen and argon. The method of claim 2, The hydrogen is used 1 to 15% compared to argon, the nitrogen is 1 to 5% compared to argon lead wire reducing apparatus of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp. The method of claim 1, wherein the power supply unit, An apparatus for reducing lead wires in cold cathode fluorescent lamps, characterized in that it supplies an alternating voltage of 10 kHz to 100 MHz. The method of claim 1, Reducing the lead wire of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp further comprises a lamp rotating unit for rotating the cold cathode fluorescent lamp in order to make the plasma generating gas evenly contacted along the lead wire circumference when the plasma processing unit Device. The method of claim 1, And a preheater for preheating the lead wire introduced into the plasma processor in order to speed up the reaction rate in the plasma processor. The method of claim 1, wherein the power electrode, A lead wire reducing device of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that it is elliptical and surrounded by a dielectric. The method of claim 1, wherein the ground electrode, Lead wire reduction device for cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that the stepped or diagonal. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooling unit, The lead wire reducing device of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that for cooling the lead wire using any one of nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, helium, neon gas or a mixture of these gases. The method of claim 1, And a heat insulating material provided between the plasma processing unit and the cooling unit to prevent heat from the plasma processing unit from being transferred to the cooling unit. The method of claim 1, The plasma processing unit and the cooling unit are two, respectively, lead wire reducing device of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that for simultaneously reducing the lead wires of both ends of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp. Transferring the cold cathode fluorescent lamp oxidized by the lead wire; Reducing an oxide film of the lead wire by applying power while supplying a plasma generating gas under atmospheric pressure; And And cooling the lead wire to prevent reoxidation of the lead wire. The method of claim 12, The plasma generating gas is a lead wire reduction method of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that containing hydrogen, nitrogen and argon. The method of claim 13, The hydrogen is 1 to 15% compared to argon, nitrogen is 1 to 5% compared to argon lead wire reduction method of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp characterized in that used. The method of claim 12, The power source is a lead wire reduction method of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that using an alternating voltage of frequency 10kHz ~ 100MHz. The method of claim 12, wherein before the reducing step, The method of reducing the lead wire of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp further comprising the step of preheating the lead wire to increase the reaction rate. The method of claim 12, wherein in the reducing step, The lead wire reduction method of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that for heating the lead wire to increase the reaction rate. The method of claim 12, wherein in the reducing step, The method of reducing the lead wire of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that for heating the plasma generating gas to lower the generated voltage of the plasma. The method of claim 12, wherein the cooling step, The method of reducing the lead wire of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, characterized in that for cooling the lead wire using any one of nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, helium, neon gas or a mixture of these gases.

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