KR20000008847A - Sealing device for manufacturing plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A sealing device for manufacturing a plasma display panel is provided to reduce sealing time, to enhance thermal efficiency, and to minimize the thermal damage of the electrode pattern formed on an upper and a lower plates. CONSTITUTION: The present invention discloses a sealing device for manufacturing plasma display panel comprising: a vacuum chamber(51) which a sealing process is performed in; a heater mounted in the vacuum chamber and heating a PDP(10); a fixing unit(55) mounted in the vacuum chamber and closing and fixing an upper plate, a lower plate and a frit glass; and a feeder(57) feeding the PDP for loading or unloading into the chamber. The heater comprises an energy source which is mounted only in a portion of the vacuum chamber corresponding to the frit glass and radiates thermal energy, and a reflector(63) which is mounted in upper part of the energy source and reflects the energy from the energy source toward the frit glass.

Description

Sealing device for plasma display panel manufacturing

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the manufacture of plasma display panels (hereinafter referred to as PDPs), and more particularly, to a PDP manufacturing sealing apparatus for locally concentrating thermal energy only on a portion of the PDP to which frit glass is coated.

In general, PDP is a flat panel display device using a penning gas for the discharge phenomenon, and constitutes an information display unit of the plasma display device. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 and the upper plate It consists of frit glass sealing the (1) and the lower plate (3).

Here, the upper plate (1) and the lower plate (3) is made of soda lime glass (Soda lime glass), the maximum size currently used is 60 inches and the thickness is 2.8 mm.

In addition, the frit glass 5 is a kind of thermosetting adhesive, and there are two kinds of crystalline and amorphous materials. The frit glass 5 is uniformly coated and cured with a thickness of 180 μm and a width of 4 mm along the edge of the lower plate 3. Such frit glass 5 is slightly reduced in thickness when cured, but the difference is insignificant and hardly affects the sealing of the PDP 10.

Sealing apparatus for manufacturing a PDP according to the prior art for sealing the PDP (10) configured as described above, as shown in Figure 2, the vacuum chamber 11, the sealing process of the PDP (10) is carried out therein, and A table 12 and a base 13 for supporting the vacuum chamber 11, a heating means provided in the vacuum chamber 11 to heat the PDP 10, and a PDP installed in the vacuum chamber 11. The clamp 15 for holding the upper plate 1, the lower plate 3, and the frit glass 5 in close contact with each other, and the PDP 10 are loaded and unloaded into the vacuum chamber 11. 10) is configured to include a conveyor 17 for conveying.

Here, the bottom of the base 13 is provided with a vacuum pump 19 for forcibly evacuating the air in the vacuum chamber 11 to maintain the interior of the vacuum chamber 11 in a high vacuum state.

The heating means may include an upper end heat source 21 installed above the vacuum chamber 11 to generate heat, an upper end heat resistant material 23 provided above the upper end heat source 21, and the vacuum chamber 11. The preheating heat source 25 is installed in the lower portion of the heat generating unit 25, the lower end portion heat-resistant material 27 provided below the preheating heat source 25, the upper end heat source 21 and the preheating source 25 It consists of an automatic temperature controller 29 for controlling and adjusting the temperature in the vacuum chamber 11.

The conventional PDP manufacturing sealing apparatus configured as described above is operated as follows.

First, when the PDP 10 enters into the vacuum chamber 11 through the conveyor 17 and is positioned, power is applied to the preheating heat source 25 by the thermostat 29 so that the vacuum chamber ( The internal temperature of 11) is preheated to about 300 ° C.

Thereafter, the vacuum pump 19 is operated to make the inside of the vacuum chamber 11 in a high vacuum state, and then the clamp 15 is operated to between the upper plate 1, the lower plate 3, and the frit glass 5. The PDP 10 is bonded to prevent a gap from occurring. That is, the clamp 15 closely adheres and fixes the upper plate 1, the lower plate 3, and the frit glass 5 so that the sealing force of the PDP 10 is improved.

At this time, the inside of the vacuum chamber 11 is maintained at a vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ Torr by the vacuum pump 19 to remove oxygen particles contained in the frit glass 5 as well as to the inside of the PDP 10. The ingress of harmful oxygen particles is blocked at the source.

Subsequently, power is applied to the upper end heat source 21 by the thermostat 29 to raise the internal temperature of the vacuum chamber 11 to about 450 ° C., which is generated at the upper end heat source 21. The PDP 10 is heated by thermal energy, and the frit glass 5 applied between the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 is gradually melted.

When the frit glass 5 is melted as described above, due to the spreadability of the frit glass 5 with respect to the surfaces of the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3, the surface area of the frit glass 5 is increased, thereby achieving good sealing. That is, the space between the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 is hermetically sealed by the frit glass 5. At this time, the time taken to seal the PDP 10 is about 15 minutes.

Thereafter, when the temperature controller 29 is operated to lower the temperature in the vacuum chamber 11 to about 350 ° C., the frit glass 5 is cured, thereby achieving better sealing. As such, the PDP 10 in which the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 have been sealed is transferred to the next process through the conveyor 17.

However, since the sealing apparatus for manufacturing a PDP according to the prior art as described above heats the inside of the vacuum chamber 11 to the same temperature in order to seal the PDP 10, the thermal efficiency and the temperature increase rate are reduced, thereby improving productivity of the PDP 10. There was a problem of deterioration.

That is, since the entire PDP 10 is heated at a high temperature of about 450 ° C. for about 15 minutes, thermal energy is dispersed throughout the PDP 10 so that sealing does not occur efficiently and the sealing time is long. .

In addition, in the prior art, since high temperature heat is applied to the PDP 10 as a whole, thermal damage occurs in the electrode patterns formed on the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3, thereby degrading the performance of the PDP 10. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, by locally concentrating thermal energy only on the portion of the PDP glass is applied to the PDP sealing the PDP by rapid heating to a uniform temperature without loss of thermal energy It is a first object to provide a sealing device for manufacturing PDP to reduce the sealing time as well as to improve the thermal efficiency.

In addition, a second object of the present invention is to provide a sealing apparatus for manufacturing PDP, which minimizes thermal damage of electrode patterns formed on the upper and lower plates of the PDP by partially heating only a necessary portion of the PDP to seal the PDP.

1 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing a sealing structure of a general plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as PDP);

2 is a block diagram showing a sealing apparatus for manufacturing a PDP according to the prior art,

3 is a block diagram showing a sealing apparatus for manufacturing a PDP according to the present invention,

4 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a structure of a heating unit of a sealing apparatus for manufacturing PDP according to the present invention;

5 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the energy source of the heating unit according to the present invention,

6 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the energy source of the heating unit according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: PDP 51: vacuum chamber

55: clamp 57: conveyor

59: vacuum pump 60: energy source

61: integral heat source 62a: first divided heat source

62b: second split heat source 63: reflecting means

65: condensation heat-resistant material 67: preheating heat source

68: lower heat resistant material 69: automatic temperature controller

According to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a vacuum chamber in which the sealing process of the PDP is carried out therein, a heating unit installed in the vacuum chamber to heat the PDP, and installed in the vacuum chamber Fastening means for closely contacting and fixing the upper and lower plates and frit glass of the upper and lower plates, and a conveying means for conveying the PDP so that the PDP is loaded and unloaded into the vacuum chamber, wherein the upper and lower plates of the PDP are coated therebetween. In the sealing apparatus for manufacturing PDP sealing through the frit glass, wherein the heating portion is installed only in the portion of the vacuum chamber in which the frit glass is located to generate heat energy, and the energy source is installed above the energy source Sealing cabinet for PDP manufacturing comprising a reflecting means for reflecting the heat energy generated in the frit glass side Chi is provided.

In addition, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the heating unit further comprises a heat collecting heat resistant material installed on the upper side of the energy source and the reflecting means to prevent the loss of thermal energy to the outside of the vacuum chamber.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the energy source is a rectangular integral heat source formed along the application position of frit glass.

Further, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the energy source is a first divided heat source in the form of a line arranged to form a rectangle along the application position of the frit glass, and each of the corner portion where the first divided heat source meet each other It is composed of a second divided heat source formed.

According to the present invention configured as described above, by concentrating thermal energy only on a portion of the PDP coated with frit glass through an energy source, a reflecting means, and a heat collecting material, the sealing time is shortened as well as thermal efficiency is improved by sealing the PDP. The thermal damage of the electrode patterns formed on the upper and lower plates of the PDP is minimized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing a sealing structure of a general PDP, Figure 3 is a block diagram showing a sealing device for producing a PDP according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a structure of the heating portion of the sealing device for producing a PDP according to the present invention 5 is a configuration diagram schematically showing, and FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of an energy source of a heating unit according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a view showing a second embodiment of an energy source of a heating unit according to the present invention. It is a block diagram.

1 and 3 and 4, the present invention is for sealing the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 of the PDP 10 through a frit glass 5 applied therebetween. The vacuum chamber 51 in which the sealing process of the PDP 10 is performed, the table 52 and the base 53 supporting the vacuum chamber 51, and the PDP 10 in the upper portion of the vacuum chamber 51. Is installed only at the portion where frit glass 5 is positioned to generate heat energy, and heat energy generated from energy source 60 is installed above the energy source 60 to store the frit glass 5. 5) reflecting means 63 for reflecting to the side, and the heat collecting heat-resistant material 65 provided above the energy source 60 and the reflecting means 63 to prevent the loss of thermal energy to the outside of the vacuum chamber 51, Is installed in the vacuum chamber 51 to close and fix the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 and the frit glass 5 of the PDP 10 to each other. It consists of a clamp 55 and a conveyor 57 for transporting the PDP 10 so that the PDP 10 is loaded and unloaded into the vacuum chamber 51.

In the above, the preheating heat source 67 for generating heat is installed in the lower portion of the vacuum chamber 51, the lower end portion heat-resistant material 68 is installed below the preheating heat source 67, the base 53 is An automatic temperature controller 69 for controlling the operation of the energy source 60 and the preheating heat source 67 to adjust the temperature in the vacuum chamber 51 is provided.

In addition, the lower end of the base 53 is provided with a vacuum pump 59 for forcibly evacuating air in the vacuum chamber 51 to maintain the interior of the vacuum chamber 51 in a high vacuum state.

In addition, the energy source 60 is a rectangular integral heat source 61 formed along the application position of the frit glass 5, as shown in FIG.

In addition, the energy source 60 is a first divided heat source 62a in the form of a line formed to form a square along the application position of the frit glass 5, as shown in Figure 6, and the first divided heat source The second divided heat source 62b may be formed at the corner portions where the 62a meets each other.

Here, the second divided heat source 62b serves to uniform the temperature of the heat energy generated from the energy source 60 by increasing the light condensing efficiency of the corner portion where the first divided heat source 62a meets each other. That is, since the condensing efficiency of the corner portion where the first divided heat source 62a meets each other is lower than that of the remaining straight portion, the adverse effect of temperature non-uniformity generated on the sealing of the PDP 10 is minimized.

The sealing apparatus for manufacturing PDP according to the present invention configured as described above is operated as follows.

First, when the PDP 10 enters into the vacuum chamber 51 through the conveyor 57 and is positioned, power is applied to the preheating heat source 67 by the automatic temperature controller 69 so that the vacuum chamber ( The internal temperature of 51) is preheated to about 300 ° C.

Thereafter, the vacuum pump 59 is operated to make the inside of the vacuum chamber 51 in a high vacuum state, and then the clamp 55 is operated to between the upper plate 1, the lower plate 3, and the frit glass 5. The PDP 10 is bonded to prevent a gap from occurring. That is, the clamp 55 closely adheres and fixes the upper plate 1, the lower plate 3, and the frit glass 5 so that the sealing force of the PDP 10 is improved.

At this time, the inside of the vacuum chamber 51 is maintained at a vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ Torr by the vacuum pump 59 to remove oxygen particles contained in the frit glass 5 as well as to the inside of the PDP 10. The ingress of harmful oxygen particles is blocked at the source.

Then, when power is applied to the energy source 60 by the thermostat 69, the temperature of the energy source 60 is raised to a maximum of 450 ℃ at a rate of about 5 ~ 10 ℃ / min, such energy source The heat energy generated from the 60 is concentrated only on the portion of the PDP 10 coated with the frit glass 5 by the reflecting means 63 and the light-collecting heat-resistant material 65.

Thereafter, the frit glass 5 is gradually melted by the heat energy concentrated through the reflecting means 63 and the heat collecting material 65 to seal the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 of the PDP 10.

That is, when the frit glass 5 is melted, the surface area of the frit glass 5 is increased due to the spreadability of the frit glass 5 with respect to the surfaces of the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3. 5) the space between the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 is sealed to achieve a good sealing. At this time, the time taken to seal the PDP 10 is about 10 minutes.

Subsequently, when the temperature in the vacuum chamber 51 is lowered to about 350 ° C. by the operation of the thermostat 69, the fritted glass 5 is cured, thereby achieving better sealing. As such, the PDP 10 in which the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 are sealed is transferred to the next process through the conveyor 57.

The sealing apparatus for manufacturing a PDP according to the present invention constructed and operated as described above is coated with frit glass 5 of the PDP 10 through an energy source 60, a reflecting means 63, and a heat collecting material 65. By locally concentrating thermal energy only on a portion to seal the PDP 10, the frit glass 5 is rapidly heated to a uniform temperature without loss of thermal energy, thereby shortening sealing time and improving thermal efficiency.

In addition, the present invention has the advantage that the thermal damage of the electrode pattern formed on the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 3 of the PDP 10 is minimized by partially heating only the necessary portion of the PDP 10 to seal the PDP 10. There is this.

In addition, the present invention has the advantage that can be applied to various types of heat source, such as halogen lamps, hot wire heaters to the energy source 60 for generating heat energy to seal the PDP (10).

Claims (4)

A vacuum chamber in which a sealing process of a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as a PDP) is performed, a heating unit installed in the vacuum chamber to heat the PDP, and an upper plate, a lower plate, and frit glass installed in the vacuum chamber. And fixing means for closely contacting and fixing the PDPs, and a conveying means for conveying the PDP so that the PDP is loaded and unloaded into the vacuum chamber, and a frit glass coated between the upper and lower plates of the PDP. In the sealing device for manufacturing PDP to seal through, The heating unit includes an energy source installed only at a portion of the upper portion of the vacuum chamber in which the frit glass is positioned to generate heat energy, and a reflecting means installed at an upper side of the energy source to reflect the heat energy generated from the energy source toward the frit glass side. Sealing apparatus for manufacturing PDP characterized in that it comprises a. The method of claim 1, The heating unit sealing device for manufacturing a PDP, characterized in that further comprises a heat collecting heat-resistant material installed on the upper side of the energy source and the reflecting means to prevent the loss of thermal energy to the outside of the vacuum chamber. The method of claim 1, The energy source is a sealing device for manufacturing a PDP, characterized in that the rectangular integral heat source formed along the application position of the frit glass. The method of claim 1, The energy source may include a first split heat source in a line form arranged to form a rectangle along the application position of frit glass, and a second split heat source respectively formed at a corner portion where the first split heat source meets each other. Sealing apparatus for manufacturing PDP.