KR101104255B1

KR101104255B1 - Method of sealing fluorescent lamp and sealing device for the same

Info

Publication number: KR101104255B1
Application number: KR1020100046850A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 박희환
Original assignee: 주식회사 애드라이텍
Priority date: 2010-05-19
Filing date: 2010-05-19
Publication date: 2012-01-11
Also published as: KR20110127398A

Abstract

The present invention discloses a sealing method and a sealing apparatus of a fluorescent lamp. The fluorescent lamp sealing method according to the invention, (a) inserting an electrode in the end of the glass tube; (b) heating and softening the end of the glass tube; (c) symmetrically disposing the magnet around the glass tube to align the electrode with the central axis of the glass tube using the magnetic force of the magnet; (d) pressing and sealing an end of the glass tube while the electrode is aligned with the central axis of the glass tube.
According to the present invention, since the electrode can be exactly aligned with the central axis of the glass tube by the magnetic force, there is no need to use the insertion member or the insertion ring as in the prior art. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that the discharge gas is contaminated or the discharge efficiency is reduced by using the insertion member or the insertion ring. In addition, even when a relatively large diameter electrode is used, the electrodes can be precisely aligned so as not to come into contact with the glass tube, thereby making it easy to increase the discharge area by increasing the electrode area.

Description

Method of sealing fluorescent lamp and sealing device for the same

The present invention relates to a sealing method of a fluorescent lamp, and more particularly, to a method for sealing an electrode inserted into a glass tube of a fluorescent lamp while being aligned at an accurate position so as not to touch the inner wall of the glass tube and a sealing apparatus used therein. .

Today, Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFLs) are widely used for light sources of backlights and lighting devices such as advertising panels and liquid crystal displays.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cold cathode fluorescent lamp connects the glass tube 10 having a predetermined length, the electrodes 20 inserted into the both ends of the glass tube 10, and the electrodes 20 to an external power source. In order to include a power line 30 drawn to the outside of the glass tube 10. Seals 40 are formed at both ends of the glass tube 10, and a mixed discharge gas such as argon (Ar), neon (Ne), and mercury (Hg) are filled in the glass tube 10, and the glass tube 10 is filled with the sealing tube 40. Phosphor is coated on the inner wall of the.

Therefore, when a voltage is applied between the two electrodes 20, the electrons emitted from the electrode 20 by the electric field excite the mercury atoms, and the ultraviolet rays are emitted while the mercury atoms in the excited state are reduced to the ground state. It is excited to generate visible light.

FIG. 2 illustrates an electrode 20 and a power line 30 connected thereto, and when the electrode 20 is manufactured in a cup shape as illustrated, the discharge area is widened. The power line 30 is not a single material, but a nickel wire 32 directly connected to the electrode 20, a dummet line 34 having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the glass tube 10 as a portion located in the sealing portion 40, The lead wire 36 is connected to an external power source. Dummet wire 34 is mainly used to coat the alloy of iron, nickel with copper.

The cold cathode fluorescent lamp is manufactured through the following process.

First, the glass tube 10 is cut to an appropriate length, the end portion is smoothly glazed, and the phosphor is applied to the inner wall of the glass tube 10 and dried. Subsequently, a baking process of removing impurities in the phosphor is performed, and the electrode 20 is inserted into one end of the glass tube 10 and then heated and sealed. Subsequently, the sealing part 40 is formed while the electrode 20 and the exhaust pipe are inserted into the other end of the glass tube 10, and a bombarding process of burning impurities in the electrode and the glass tube by applying a high voltage is performed. . Subsequently, after vacuum-pumping the inside of the glass tube 10 through the exhaust pipe, discharge gas is injected, and the exhaust pipe and the glass tube are melted together and completely sealed.

However, when inserting and sealing the electrodes 20 at both ends of the glass tube 10, the inner wall of the electrode 20 and the glass tube 10 should be spaced apart. This is because when the electrode 20 contacts or is too close to the inner wall of the glass tube 10, the contact portion of the glass tube 10 may be damaged during the bombarding process of burning impurities, or may be damaged by thermal expansion in the process of repeating lighting and turning off. .

Therefore, in the process of sealing the electrode 20 inside the glass tube 10, it is very important to align the electrode 20 to the central axis of the glass tube 10 accurately. If the diameter of the electrode 20 is small, there is no big problem, but in order to increase the discharge efficiency, the electrode 20 having a large diameter should be used as much as possible. There is a limit in increasing the diameter of the electrode 20 because there is no way to align correctly. This is because the larger the diameter of the electrode 20, the higher the risk of contact between the electrode 20 and the glass tube 10.

In order to solve this problem, although the Patent No. 846731 has been proposed, the fluorescent lamp according to the registered patent is inserted into the insertion member 50 of the ceramic material at the end of the electrode 20, as shown in Figure 3 It is characterized in that the mica insert ring 60 is mounted between the 50 and the glass tube 10. However, when the insertion member 50 and the insertion ring 60 are attached to the electrode 20, although the possibility of contact between the electrode 20 and the glass tube 10 is basically blocked, impurities are generated from the ceramic and mica during the bombarding process. Therefore, the purity of the discharge gas is lowered, while these impurities combine with mercury to reduce the electron motion, thereby lowering the discharge efficiency. In addition, due to the insertion member 50 and the insertion ring 60 it is inevitable to reduce the effective discharge area.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sealing method capable of accurately aligning an electrode with a central axis of a glass tube without attaching an insertion member or an insertion ring to the electrode constituting the fluorescent lamp.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of holders each having a power line mounting groove into which a power line connected to an electrode is inserted and an exhaust pipe mounting groove into which an exhaust pipe is inserted; Rotary driving means for rotating the plurality of holders, respectively; A plurality of glass tube support means connected to the plurality of holders to rotate together with the plurality of holders, the glass tube holding means in an upright state during the process; Transfer means for moving said plurality of glass tube support means and said plurality of holders for a continuous process; Heating means installed around the conveying means and heating and softening an end portion of the glass tube supported by each of the glass tube supporting means; Alignment means installed around the transfer means and aligning the electrodes inserted in the glass tubes supported by the glass tube support means with the central axis of the glass tube using magnetic force; It is installed in the periphery of the conveying means, and includes a pressing means for sealing the end of the softened glass tube in the state in which the electrode is inserted and aligned inside the glass tube, the alignment means, by each of the glass tube support means A plurality of alignment units which are arranged symmetrically with respect to the central axis of the supported glass tube and having magnets having the same curvature and polarity on opposite surfaces, and bringing the plurality of alignment units closer or away from the central axis of the glass tube; It includes a horizontal driving means for providing a fluorescent lamp sealing device, characterized in that for aligning the electrode on the central axis of the glass tube using the magnetic force of the magnet.

In the fluorescent lamp sealing device according to the invention the alignment means, a vertical axis installed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the glass tube; A linear guide connecting the vertical axis and at least one alignment unit of the plurality of alignment units; One end may be connected to the vertical axis and the other end may be connected to one of the plurality of alignment units to include vertical driving means for elevating the plurality of alignment units.

In the fluorescent lamp sealing apparatus according to the present invention, the conveying means may be a rotary table in which the plurality of holders are arranged in the circumferential direction, or a linear conveying device in which the plurality of holders are arranged in the linear direction. have.

In addition, the present invention, in the fluorescent lamp sealing method using the above-described fluorescent lamp sealing device, (a) a power line connected to the electrode is inserted into the power line mounting groove for each of the plurality of holders, the exhaust pipe mounting groove of the exhaust pipe Inserting one end; (b) supporting a glass tube with the glass tube supporting means such that the electrode and the exhaust pipe are inserted at one end; (c) sequentially moving the glass tube supported by the glass tube supporting means to the heating position using the transfer means, and heating and softening one end of the glass tube using the heating means; (d) aligning the electrode with the central axis of the glass tube by using the magnetic force of the magnet by placing the plurality of alignment units around the softened glass tube using the horizontal driving means; (e) providing a sealing method of a fluorescent lamp comprising pressing and sealing one end of the glass tube with the pressing means while the electrode is aligned with the central axis of the glass tube.

According to the present invention, since the electrode can be precisely aligned with the central axis of the glass tube by magnetic force when sealing the glass tube, there is no need to use an insertion member or an insertion ring as in the prior art. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that the discharge gas is contaminated or the discharge efficiency is reduced by using the insertion member or the insertion ring.

In addition, even when a relatively large diameter electrode is used, the electrodes can be precisely aligned so as not to come into contact with the glass tube, thereby making it easy to increase the discharge area by increasing the electrode area.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional cold cathode fluorescent lamp
2 shows an electrode;
3 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a conventional cold cathode fluorescent lamp
4A to 4F are process flowcharts showing a sealing method of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention in order;
5 is a view showing a state in which the alignment device according to the present invention is located around the electrode
6a and 6b show the operation of the alignment device according to the invention.
7 shows another type of alignment device according to the invention.
8 is a view showing the sealing process at the end without the exhaust pipe

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4F are process flowcharts sequentially showing a sealing method of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The process of injecting and sealing the discharge gas in the state where the electrode 20 is inserted into the glass tube 10 constituting the cold cathode fluorescent lamp is performed in the sealing apparatus. In general, the sealing apparatus includes a rotary table having a plurality of support means for maintaining a plurality of glass tubes 10 in an upright state, and a heating unit, a sealing unit, an exhaust unit, a gas injection unit, etc. installed along the circumferential direction of the rotary table. do. An inline transfer line such as a conveyor or a roller may be installed in place of the rotary table, and the heating unit, the sealing unit, the exhaust unit, and the gas injection unit may be disposed on the side of the transfer line. Alternatively, each process unit may be disposed separately from each other instead of being continuously disposed.

The present invention is devised to accurately align the electrode 20 with the central axis of the glass tube 10 when sealing the end of the fluorescent lamp in the sealing unit of the process unit.

Hereinafter, a case of sealing the exhaust pipe and the electrode together at one end of the glass tube 10 will be described.

First, the sealing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a holder 70 as shown in FIG. 4A. For the continuous process, it is preferable to install the holder 70 on the rotary table or the transfer line of the sealing device. Although not shown, a rotation driving means for rotating the holder 70 during the heating process for the glass tube 10 may be connected to the holder 70.

The holder 70 has an exhaust pipe mounting groove 72 and a power line mounting groove 74 at an upper surface thereof, and as shown in FIG. 4B, an exhaust pipe 80 is inserted into the exhaust pipe mounting groove 72 and a power line. The power supply line 30 connected to the electrode 20 is inserted into the mounting groove 74. At this time, the exhaust pipe (80) should be inserted into the exhaust pipe mounting groove (72) so that its upper end is located under the electrode (20).

Subsequently, the fluorescent substance is applied and the glass tube 10 which has been baked is transferred to the upper portion of the holder 70 and placed vertically as shown in FIG. 4C. At this time, the electrode 20 and the power line 30 should be inserted into the lower end of the glass tube 10.

Since the glass tube 10 should be able to maintain a stable vertical state during the process, the sealing device is preferably provided with a glass tube support means 90 that can support the glass tube 10. The glass tube support means 90 has a gripper 92 that can stably hold the outer circumferential surface of the glass tube 10. Although only one is illustrated in the drawing, at least two grippers 92 are spaced vertically apart from each other. It would be desirable to be.

When the lower end of the glass tube support means 90 and the holder 70 is connected, the glass tube support means 90 may also rotate together when the holder 70 rotates. Meanwhile, the glass tube supporting means 90 supports the glass tube 10 until the end portion of the glass tube 10 is sealed, and thus the glass tube support means 90 continues to be used even though the process of FIGS. 4D and 4E is not shown in the drawings.

Subsequently, the end of the glass tube 10 is heated and softened using a heating means 300 such as a burner as shown in FIG. 4D. At this time, if the lower end of the glass tube support means 90 is connected to the holder 70, by rotating the holder 70, the glass tube 10 also rotates, through which the end of the glass tube 10 can be heated evenly. .

As illustrated, when the burners are disposed on both sides of the glass tube 10, the circumference of the glass tube 10 may be evenly heated by reciprocating the holder 70 by 90 degrees.

Alternatively, the glass tube 10 may be rotated by installing a roller or the like on the gripper 92 of the glass tube supporting means 90 while the holder 70 is fixed.

The end of the glass tube 10 must then be pressed to form a seal, which in the present invention aligns the electrode 20 to the central axis of the glass tube 10 using the alignment device 100 as shown in FIG. 4E. It is characteristic to let.

As shown in FIG. 5, the alignment device 100 includes a first alignment unit 110 and a second alignment unit 120. The first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120 have curved surfaces having the same curvature on the surfaces facing each other, and the first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120 reach the alignment position. When each curved surface should be formed to be parallel to the outer peripheral surface of the glass tube (10).

The first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120 may itself be composed of a magnet, and a magnet may be mounted therein. In addition, magnets having the same curvature may be attached to curved surfaces facing each other. In any case, the magnet should be arranged so that the lines of magnetic force are formed symmetrically with respect to the center point of the glass tube 10.

The electrode 20 should be a magnetic material because it is to be aligned by the magnetic force of the first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120. In addition, since the magnets of the first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120 exert a repulsive force to align the electrodes 20, they should have the same polarity.

On the other hand, the first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120 is preferably installed so as to move close to or away from the glass tube 10 and the electrode 20 in the horizontal direction. To this end, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the driving cylinder 130 may be connected between the first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120. That is, one end of the driving cylinder 130 that is operated by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure may be fixed to the second alignment unit 120 and the piston rod 132 may be fixed to the first alignment unit 110. Since the horizontal driving means of the first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120 is not limited to the driving cylinder, a motor, a ball screw, a linear guide, or the like may be used.

In addition, the alignment device 100 is preferably installed so that it can be elevated in the vertical direction. This is because while the heating means 300 heats the lower end of the glass tube 10, the alignment device 100 is spaced apart from the heating position and then moves downward to move to the alignment position only when the sealing process is performed.

For vertical movement of the alignment device 100, as shown in the drawing, the linear guide 210 may be used to combine the alignment device 100 with respect to the vertical axis 200. In this case, a pneumatic cylinder, a motor, etc. (not shown) may be fixed to the vertical shaft 200 or the alignment device 100, and the piston rod, etc., may be fixed to the opposite side-the alignment device 100 or the vertical shaft 100. If necessary, the vertical axis 200 may be installed to move in the horizontal direction.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, the alignment device 100 is divided into two units, the first alignment unit 110 and the second alignment unit 120, which is merely an example. Therefore, the alignment device 100 may be composed of three or more alignment units symmetrically arranged with respect to the central axis of the glass tube 10.

In addition, the sorting device 100 is divided into two units of the first sorting unit 110 and the second sorting unit 120, so that each sorting unit 110, 120 is aligned on the side of the glass tube 10. It is intended to move it to a position or to the other side, for which the above-mentioned horizontal driving means is necessary.

However, as shown in FIG. 7, the through part 150 may be formed in the alignment device 100, and the glass tube 10 may be installed to pass through the through part 150. In this case, although the vertical driving means for elevating the alignment device 100 is necessary, the horizontal driving means may be omitted. In this case, the inner wall of the through part 150 should be formed to be curved to be parallel to the glass tube 10 at the alignment position, and the magnets should be disposed so that the magnetic force is symmetrically applied with respect to the center of the glass tube 10.

4E, after aligning the electrode 20 to the central axis of the glass tube 10 using the above-described alignment device 100, the end of the heated and softened glass tube 10 is pressed by the pressing means 400. Seal it. At this time, the dummet line 34 of the power line 30 and the end of the glass tube 10 should be aligned so that the dummet line 34 is located inside the sealing portion 40.

Then, the opposite end of the glass tube 10 is sealed through the same process as described above to complete the intermediate product as shown in FIG. 4F. The process on the opposite end of the glass tube may be performed by the alignment and sealing process without the exhaust pipe as shown in FIG. 8. Of course, the end of the exhaust pipe may be sealed first, and then the above-described process of FIGS. 4A to 4F may be performed.

Thereafter, similarly to the conventional method, a high voltage is applied to the electrode 20 to perform a bombarding process of burning impurities in the electrode 20 and the glass tube 10, and then through the exhaust pipe 80, the glass tube ( 10) vacuum pumping the interior of the mixed discharge gas, and finally, the exhaust pipe 80 and the glass tube 10 are melted together and completely sealed.

Meanwhile, the method of aligning the electrode 20 to the inside of the glass tube 10 in the process of sealing the cold cathode fluorescent lamp has been described above. However, embodiments of the present invention are not necessarily limited to cold cathode fluorescent lamps, and thus may be applied to other types of fluorescent lamps such as hot cathode fluorescent lamps in which electrodes are inserted into the glass tube.

In addition, while the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and may be modified or modified in various forms. By the way, if the modified or modified embodiment also includes the technical spirit of the present invention described in the claims to be described later will belong to the scope of the present invention.

10: glass tube 20: electrode
30: power line 40: sealing part
70: holder 80: exhaust pipe
90: glass tube support means 92: gripper
100: alignment device 110: first alignment unit
120: second alignment unit 130: drive cylinder
132: piston rod 150: through part
200: vertical axis 210: linear guide
300: heating means 400: pressing means

Claims

A plurality of holders each having a power line mounting groove into which a power line connected to the electrode is inserted and an exhaust pipe mounting groove into which an exhaust pipe is inserted;
Rotary driving means for rotating the plurality of holders, respectively;
A plurality of glass tube support means connected to the plurality of holders to rotate together with the plurality of holders, the glass tube holding means in an upright state during the process;
Transfer means for moving said plurality of glass tube support means and said plurality of holders for a continuous process;
Heating means installed around the conveying means and heating and softening an end portion of the glass tube supported by each of the glass tube supporting means;
Alignment means installed around the transfer means and aligning the electrodes inserted in the glass tubes supported by the glass tube support means with the central axis of the glass tube using magnetic force;
Pressing means installed around the conveying means and sealing an end portion of the softened glass tube in a state in which the electrode is inserted into the glass tube and aligned;
It includes, The alignment means,
A plurality of alignment units having magnets having the same curvature and polarity on surfaces opposite to each other and symmetrically disposed with respect to the central axis of the glass tube supported by each of the glass tube supporting means;
Horizontal driving means for bringing the plurality of alignment units close or away from the central axis of the glass tube
Includes, the fluorescent lamp sealing device, characterized in that for aligning the electrode on the central axis of the glass tube using the magnetic force of the magnet

The method of claim 1, wherein the alignment means,
A vertical axis installed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the glass tube;
A linear guide connecting the vertical axis and at least one alignment unit of the plurality of alignment units;
A vertical driving means connected at one end to the vertical axis and connected to one of the plurality of alignment units to elevate the plurality of alignment units;
Fluorescent lamp sealing device comprising a

The method of claim 1,
The conveying means is a rotary lamp of the plurality of holders arranged in the circumferential direction, or a fluorescent lamp sealing device characterized in that the plurality of holders are a linear conveying device arranged in a straight direction.

In the fluorescent lamp sealing method using the fluorescent lamp sealing device of claim 1,
(a) inserting a power line connected to an electrode into the power line mounting groove for each of the plurality of holders, and inserting one end of the exhaust pipe into the exhaust pipe mounting groove;
(b) supporting a glass tube with the glass tube supporting means such that the electrode and the exhaust pipe are inserted at one end;
(c) sequentially moving the glass tube supported by the glass tube support means to the heating position by using the transfer means, and heating and softening one end of the glass tube using the heating means;
(d) aligning the electrode with the central axis of the glass tube by using the magnetic force of the magnet by placing the plurality of alignment units around the softened glass tube using the horizontal driving means;
(e) pressing and sealing one end of the glass tube with the pressing means while the electrode is aligned with the central axis of the glass tube;
Sealing method of the fluorescent lamp comprising a