KR100870130B1 - Apparatus for baking fluorescent lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp manufacturing process, the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of rotating rollers for supporting and rotating a glass tube for manufacturing a fluorescent lamp, and the plurality of rotating rollers upper side for heating the glass tube And an elevating means for elevating the heating unit, the elevating means being coupled to an upper side of the heating unit and having an helical groove formed on an outer surface thereof, the elevating shaft being circulated inside the elevating shaft. It includes a nut formed with a groove, and a steel ball inserted between the groove of the lifting shaft and the groove of the nut, maintenance can be secured by simply raising the heating unit to secure the working space between the transfer unit when maintenance is required Becomes easy.

Fluorescent lamps, CCFL, EEFL, firing, lifting.

Description

Fluorescent lamp firing equipment {APPARATUS FOR BAKING FLUORESCENT LAMP}

The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp manufacturing process, and relates to an apparatus for firing a fluorescent lamp during the fluorescent lamp manufacturing process.

Among the flat panel display devices, since the liquid crystal display device is a non-light emitting device that does not emit light by itself, a backlight unit (BLU) for providing a separate light source is required.

In such a backlight unit, a fluorescent lamp having a diameter of several mm is used. As the fluorescent lamp, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), an external electrode fluorescent lamp (EEFL), or the like is used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the general structure of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 10 includes a long glass tube 11, an anode 12 and a cathode 13 attached to both ends of the inner side, and a glass tube 11 at both ends. It is formed of a lead 16 is formed to connect the two electrodes to the outside. In addition, a fluorescent substance 14 is coated on the inner wall of the glass tube 11, and the inner space 15 of the glass tube is filled with a mercury vapor and a mixed gas of inert gas such as argon and neon.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 2, the external electrode fluorescent lamp 20 has a structure in which both ends of the glass tube 21 are sealed, and electrodes 22 and 23 are formed to surround both ends of the lamp 20 from the outside. The external electrodes 22 and 23 form an electric field in the glass tube 21 to discharge gas. Similarly, fluorescent material 24 is coated on the inner wall of the glass tube 21, and the inner space 25 of the glass tube is filled with a mixed gas such as mercury, argon, and neon.

The manufacturing process of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp or the external electrode fluorescent lamp includes a coating step of applying a fluorescent material to the inside of the glass tube, a firing step of firing and stabilizing the coated fluorescent material, and an exhausting step of evacuating the inner gas of the fired glass tube. And a sealing process of filling the evacuated glass tube with a mixed gas and sealing the glass tube. Between the devices in each of these processes, there is a loading device for loading the glass tube into the device, and an unloading device for taking out the glass tube from the device, the transfer device for transporting the glass tube between or inside each device It is provided.

In particular, the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus used in the firing process should heat the glass tube to a constant temperature, for this purpose is provided with a heating device. The heating apparatus includes a heat source such as an electric heater, and calcines and stabilizes the fluorescent material applied to the inner wall of the glass tube by heating the glass tube. In particular, in order to proceed with a batch type (batch type), a system in which a heating device is arranged on the upper portion of the glass tube while moving in one direction by a one-way conveying means such as a conveyor belt or a conveyor chain is used.

In the structure in which the heating device is arranged on the upper portion of the glass tube being transported, the heating device and the glass tube are arranged to be relatively close for effective heat transfer. However, when maintenance is required, such as a failure in the conveying device or the heating device itself for transporting the glass tube, there is a lack of space for the operator to access, thus causing a situation in which the system needs to be dismantled. Dismantling the system takes too much time for maintenance, which leads to lower production rates.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fluorescent lamp firing apparatus that is easy to maintain.

Other objects, specific advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In order to achieve the above object, a fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of rotating rollers for supporting and rotating a glass tube for manufacturing a fluorescent lamp, and heating disposed above the plurality of rotating rollers to heat the glass tube. And an elevating means for elevating the heating portion, wherein the elevating means is an elevating shaft coupled to an upper side of the heating portion and having a spiral groove formed on an outer surface thereof, a hollow cylindrical shape surrounding the elevating shaft, and a closed curve on an inner circumferential surface thereof. And a steel ball inserted between the nut formed with the groove and the groove of the lifting shaft and the groove of the nut.

In the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of the elevating means are arranged on the upper surface of the heating unit. At this time, the lifting means, it is preferable that the plurality of lifting shafts are operated in synchronization with each other.

Meanwhile, the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention may further include a frame fixed to the outside, in which case the nut is fixed to the frame, and the lifting shaft is coupled to the heating unit so as to be rotatable. . In this case, it is preferable to further include a motor for rotating the lifting shaft.

In addition, the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention further comprises a frame fixed to the outside, the nut is rotatably coupled to the frame, the lifting shaft may be characterized in that fixed to the heating unit. In this case, it is preferable to further include a motor for rotating the nut.

According to the present invention, since the lifting means for supporting and lifting the heating unit is provided, it is possible to simply raise the heating unit when the maintenance is required to secure a working space between the transfer unit. As a result, maintenance of the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus is facilitated.

In particular, the lifting shaft and the nut of the lifting means are in point contact by the steel ball, and the lifting shaft moves like a screw, so that the lifting operation can be precisely controlled and the vibration of the heating part can be minimized during the lifting operation. The heating unit can be elevated.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention.

3 is a front view schematically showing an embodiment of a fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the lifting means in the embodiment of FIG.

The glass tube 30 for manufacturing the fluorescent lamp is a tubular tube having a diameter of only a few millimeters, so that there is a risk of breakage and rotation, and thus the glass tube 30 is inserted into the quartz tube 40 having a higher strength and a larger diameter and easier to rotate. It is preferable to add to the process as it is.

The heating unit 130 is for firing and stabilizing the fluorescent material applied to the inner wall of the glass tube 30, and is made of an electric heater that radiates heat. Heat radiated from the heating unit 130 passes through the quartz tube 40 to heat the fluorescent material applied to the inner wall of the glass tube 30. The heating unit 130 may be divided into a preheating section (P1), the main heating section (P2), the holding section (P3) and the cooling section (P4), the preheating section (P1) is a glass tube 30 of the room temperature state The heating section starts to be heated, and the main heating section P2 is a section for heating the glass tube 30 to a temperature required for firing the fluorescent material, and the holding section P3 maintains the temperature of the glass tube 30 in a heated state. Cooling section (P4) is a section for lowering the heating temperature in order to cool before carrying out the plastic pipe 30 is completed, while passing through the maintenance section (P3) to the outside. In order to cool the glass tube 30 to near room temperature, a cooling fan 140 is further disposed at a position corresponding to the cooling section P4 of the heating unit 130. The cooling fan 140 is disposed to be symmetrical with the cooling section P4 of the heating unit 130 below the rotary roller 110. The glass tube 30 must proceed while passing through each section of the heating unit 130 as described above.

The conveying parts 110 and 120 are configured to advance the glass tube 30 in one direction below the heating part 130, and include a rotating roller 110 and a lifting block 120.

The plurality of rotating rollers 110 is composed of a set of unit rollers formed by coupling a pair of rotating rollers to face one rotating shaft. That is, the plurality of rotating rollers 110 constitute one unit roller one by one pair, each of the plurality of unit rollers are arranged side by side along the advancing direction of the glass tube 30, that is, quartz tube 40, between neighboring unit rollers Since the interval of the smaller than the diameter of one rotating roller 110, as shown in the front view of Figure 1 a pair of rotating rollers 110 adjacent to the traveling direction of the quartz tube 40 is arranged so that a part overlaps do. Then, a V-shaped groove is formed between a pair of neighboring rotating rollers 110 along the advancing direction of the quartz tube 40. The quartz tube 40 is located at a point where the groove shape is formed. It is supported by a pair of rotary rollers 110. The plurality of rotating rollers 110 may all rotate in the same direction or may rotate in different directions. A pair of rotating rollers 110 supporting the at least one quartz tube 40 together may have the same direction. Rotate to That is, when the quartz tube 40 is positioned between two adjacent rotating rollers 110 along the advancing direction of the quartz tube 40, the quartz tube 40 is supported together by two adjacent rotating rollers 110. Since the two rotating rollers 110 rotate in the same direction, the quartz tube 40 rotates in the opposite direction by friction, and the glass tube 30 inserted into the quartz tube 40 also rotates. As such, the reason for rotating the glass tube 30 is that the glass tube 30 is a fine tube, so that the heating process may be deformed or broken if the heating process is not uniform, so that heat is evenly transmitted to the entire glass tube 30.

Lifting block 120 is to allow the glass tube 30 to proceed sequentially from the preheating section (P1) to the cooling section (P4), the V-shaped groove is formed at the top, and the lifting and horizontal movement It is installed to be possible. The lifting block 120 is operated at a position lower than the upper end of the rotary roller 110 at an initial position, and then rises to a position higher than the rotary roller 110. Then, the quartz tube 40 is separated from the rotating roller 110 while being supported by the groove 121 of the elevating block 120. Next, the lifting block 120 moves in a horizontal direction, which is a direction from the preheating section P1 to the cooling section P4. The horizontally moved lifting block 120 is lowered down to a lower position than the rotary roller 110. In this process, the quartz tube 40 supported by the elevating block 120 is supported by another rotating roller 110, and the elevating block 120 is spaced apart from the quartz tube 40. At this time, the rotating roller 110 in which the quartz tube 40 is supported is rotated at a position spaced apart from the rotating roller 110 that was initially supported by the distance of the lifting block 120 in the horizontal direction toward the cooling section P4. It becomes the roller 110. As such, the quartz pipe 40 is moved to the rotary roller 110 to move the lifting block 120 in a horizontal direction at a lower position than the rotary roller 110, but the cooling section P4 faces the preheating section P1. To move in the direction of The lifting block 120 then returns to its initial position, completing one transfer cycle.

The above configuration of the transfer unit 110, 120 is only an example and may have a different configuration. In particular, by forming a groove corresponding to the diameter of the quartz tube 40 on the outer circumferential surface of the rotary roller 110 without the lifting block 120, it is possible to transfer the quartz tube 40 to the other rotating roller 110 adjacent to. In this case, however, in order to secure sufficient time to heat the glass tube 30 accommodated in the quartz tube 40, the diameter of the rotating roller 110 may be adjusted, or the rotational speed of the rotating roller 110 may be decreased or decreased. There may be a need to take other measures, such as adjusting the amount of heat emitted at 130).

Lifting means (150, 160, 170) is for lifting the heating unit 130. The heating unit 130 has a generally thick plate shape, and the elevating means is provided on the upper surface of the heating unit 130. Lifting means (150, 160, 170) includes a lifting shaft 150, nuts 160 and steel balls (170).

4 and 5, the lifting shaft 150 is a shaft-shaped member coupled to the upper surface of the heating unit 130. Grooves 151 are formed in a threaded shape on the outer surface of the lifting shaft 150.

Nut 160 is a cylindrical shape having a hollow, the lifting shaft 150 is inserted through the hollow. Grooves 161 are also formed on the inner circumferential surface of the nut 160.

A plurality of steel balls 170 are inserted between the groove 151 of the lifting shaft 150 and the groove 161 of the nut 160. The steel ball 170 is a point contact between the lifting shaft 150 and the nut 160 and is arranged to circulate along the groove 161 of the nut 160 is not separated to the outside. That is, the groove 161 of the nut 160 should be formed to form a closed curve.

The lifting means having such a configuration, the lifting shaft 150 is coupled to the heating unit 130 so as to be rotatable, the nut 160 is fixed to the frame 180 fixed to the outside, and then the lifting shaft 150 Rotating the lifting shaft 150 also raises and lowers the nut 160, and consequently, the heating unit 130 may be raised and lowered with respect to the frame 180.

On the contrary, when the nut 160 is rotated while the lifting shaft 150 is fixed to the heating unit 130, the lifting shaft 150 moves up and down with respect to the nut 160, and as a result, the heating fixed to the lifting shaft 150 is performed. The unit 130 is also elevated together. Therefore, after fixing the appropriate frame 180 to the outside and installing the nut 160 to be rotatable to the frame 180, if the nut 160 is rotated, the frame 180 according to the rotation direction of the nut 160 The heating unit 130 can be raised and lowered relative to the. 5 illustrates such an example, and the bearing 190 is disposed between the nut 160 and the frame 180 so that the nut 160 may rotate smoothly.

In any case, since the frame 180 is fixed to the outside, it is possible to adjust the distance between the heating unit 130 and the transfer unit (110, 120), and to easily maintain the space required for the work by spaced apart between the two when maintenance is required. can do. In addition, in order to more easily perform the rotation of the nut 160 or the lifting shaft 150, connecting the rotary motor to the nut 160 or the lifting shaft 150 through conventional power transmission means such as gears, belts, chains. It is possible.

On the other hand, when the heating unit 130 is large or heavy, it is preferable that the lifting means 150, 160, 170 are provided in plurality. That is, when the plurality of lifting means are arranged on the upper surface of the heating unit 130, even if the heating unit 130 has a large rectangular area, the lifting unit 130 can smoothly move up and down while preventing sag or deformation. To this end, the plurality of lifting means is preferably operated in synchronization with each other.

An embodiment of the present invention described above and illustrated in the drawings should not be construed as limiting the technical spirit of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is limited only by the matters described in the claims, and those skilled in the art can change and change the technical idea of the present invention in various forms. Therefore, such improvements and modifications will fall within the protection scope of the present invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a CCFL according to the prior art,

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the EEFL according to the prior art,

3 is a front view schematically showing an embodiment of a fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention;

4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of an example of the lifting means of the embodiment of FIG.

5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of another example of the lifting means of the embodiment of FIG.

Claims (7)

A plurality of rotating rollers for supporting and rotating a glass tube for manufacturing a fluorescent lamp; A heating unit disposed above the plurality of rotating rollers to heat the glass tube; Lifting means for lifting the heating unit, The lifting means, A lifting shaft coupled to an upper side of the heating part and having a spiral groove formed on an outer surface thereof; A hollow cylindrical shape surrounding the lifting shaft and a closed curved groove formed on an inner circumferential surface thereof; And a steel ball inserted between the groove of the lifting shaft and the groove of the nut. According to claim 1, The lifting means, A plurality of fluorescent lamp firing apparatus characterized in that the dispersing arrangement on the upper surface of the heating portion. The method of claim 2, wherein the lifting means, Fluorescent lamp firing apparatus, characterized in that the plurality of lifting shaft is operated in synchronization with each other. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, It further comprises a frame fixed to the outside, The nut is fixed to the frame, And said lifting shaft is rotatably coupled to said heating unit. The method of claim 4, wherein Fluorescent lamp firing apparatus further comprises a motor for rotating the lifting shaft. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, It further comprises a frame fixed to the outside, The nut is rotatably coupled to the frame, And said lifting shaft is fixed to said heating unit. The method of claim 6, Fluorescent lamp firing apparatus further comprises a motor for rotating the nut.

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