KR20080102532A - Bulb array apparatus of fluorescent lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp bulb aligning device, the fluorescent lamp bulb aligning device according to the present invention, the device for aligning the bulb before supplying the sealed bulb to the exhaust, comprising: a loading conveyor for transporting the sealed bulb; Alignment means for aligning the bulb transferred through the loading conveyor in a direction perpendicular to a traveling direction of the loading conveyor; And an unloading conveyor for supplying the aligned bulbs to the exhaust machine.

According to the present invention, when sealing the other end of the bulb, the bulb is moved in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the bulb so as to be located on the same line without being reversed by a separate reversal robot, thereby preventing bulb damage due to volume reduction of the equipment and impact. It can be effective.

Description

Bulb Alignment Device for Fluorescent Lamps {BULB ARRAY APPARATUS OF FLUORESCENT LAMP}

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of an external electrode fluorescent lamp.

3A to 3C are flowcharts illustrating a sealing and sealing process of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp.

4A, 4B and 5A, 5B are process charts illustrating a sealing and sealing process of an external electrode fluorescent lamp.

6 is a plan view schematically illustrating a bulb alignment device of a fluorescent lamp provided in a conventional conveyor.

7 is a plan view schematically illustrating a state in which a fluorescent lamp bulb alignment device according to the present invention is provided in a loading / unloading conveyor.

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating the fluorescent lamp bulb alignment device of FIG. 7.

Figures 9a and 9b is a state diagram showing the fluorescent lamp bulb alignment device according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

112, 122: stopper 130a: loading conveyor

130b: unloading conveyor 140: alignment means

142 and 152: rollers 144 and 154: driving part

158: lifting drive unit

The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp bulb aligning device, and more particularly, in the sealing of the other end of the bulb by transferring the bulb in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the bulb so that the bulb is located on the same line without inverting by a separate inverting robot. The present invention relates to a bulb alignment device of a fluorescent lamp that can prevent bulb damage due to volume reduction and impact.

In general, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices that are spotlighted in flat panel display devices include a backlight device that provides a separate light source because they are non-light emitting devices that do not emit light by themselves.

The general requirements of such a backlight are high brightness, high efficiency, uniformity of brightness, long life, thinness, low weight, and low cost. In the case of notebook PCs, high efficiency long life lamps are required to reduce power consumption, and backlights for monitors and TVs require high brightness.

As the backlight device, a fluorescent lamp having a diameter of several mm is used. Cold fluorescent lamps (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp), external electrode fluorescent lamps (External Electrode Fluorescent Lamp) and the like are used for this fluorescent lamp.

As shown in FIG. 1, the general structure of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 10 is provided with two electrodes, a long glass tube 11 and an anode 12 and a cathode 13 attached to both ends thereof. The electrode is connected to the lead 16 is formed on both ends of the glass tube (11). In addition, a fluorescent substance 14 is coated on the inner wall of the glass tube 11, and a mixed gas such as mercury, argon, and neon is filled in the inner space 15 of the glass tube.

Meanwhile, as illustrated 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 from the outside. The external electrodes 22 and 23 form an electric field in the glass tube 21 to discharge gas. In addition, a 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.

In the case of manufacturing such a cold cathode fluorescent lamp or an external electrode fluorescent lamp, a similar process is performed, but a minute part undergoes a different process. In each manufacturing process, the sealing process of vacuuming the inside of the fluorescent lamp and filling gas therein, and the sealing process of removing unnecessary parts while maintaining the sealing state in the completed fluorescent lamp, which are necessary in the manufacturing process, Since the fluorescent lamps are different for each manufacturing method, they will be described briefly here.

The cold-cathode fluorescent lamp and the external electrode fluorescent lamp are divided into two parts, and the external electrode fluorescent lamp is divided into the case of using beads and the case of not using them.

First, in the case of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, a bead process is performed to form the beads 17 in the lead 16 portion of the electrode 12 inserted into the lamp, as shown in FIGS. 3A, 2B and 3C. Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a sealing process of removing air in the glass tube 11, filling the gas, and sealing the gas is performed. In this step, the beads 17 are first inserted into one side of the glass tube 11, and a portion of the glass tube 11 is taken to fix the beads. Also, a portion of the outside of the end of the bead 17 is taken to form a space into which the mercury getter H is introduced. Next, after inverting the glass tube 11, the bead 17 is inserted in the opposite side, and it heats and seals completely.

Thereafter, after completing another process such as filling the gas into the glass tube 11, the fluorescent lamp is inverted and a seal cutting process is performed as shown in FIG. 3C. In this process, the cutting portion is heated with the torch (T), and then the cutting portion is cut using the cutting wheel (W). Then, the glazing process is performed so that the cut surface is heated again to form a smooth curved surface.

On the other hand, the external electrode fluorescent lamp undergoes a different process from the cold cathode fluorescent lamp because the electrode is formed on the outer surface of the glass tube. First, let's look at the case of not using beads. If no beads are used, no bead process is necessary.

Therefore, as shown in Fig. 4a, the sealing process proceeds from the beginning. In this sealing process, first, one end portion of the glass tube 21 is taken to form a space into which the mercury getter H is inserted, and the glass tube 21 is inverted. The other end of the inverted glass tube is heated to seal it completely.

Next, in the thread cutting process, as shown in FIG. 4B, the cutting portion of the glass tube 21 is first preheated, and the cutting portion is secondarily heated and cut. After that, through the glazing process, the cutting surface is smooth.

On the other hand, when the external electrode fluorescent lamp is manufactured using the beads, a bead process is required. However, unlike the cold-cathode fluorescent lamp, in this case, since the beads do not act as electrodes, they simply serve to help seal the sealing process of the glass tube. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5A, the external electrode fluorescent lamp is manufactured in the shape of the beads 27 in the shape of a spherical shape, unlike the cold cathode fluorescent lamp.

Next, in the sealing process, as shown in FIG. 5B, the beads 27 are inserted into one side of the glass tube 21, and a portion of the glass tube 21 is taken to fix the beads 27. And a portion of the outer side in which the beads 27 are inserted in the glass tube 21 to create a space in which the mercury getter (H) is inserted. Thereafter, the glass tube 21 is inverted and the other end of the glass tube is heated to be sealed.

Next, in the seal cutting process, as shown in FIG. 5C, the cutting portion is heated, and the glass tube 21 is cut using the cutting wheel W. And the glazing process which heats the cut surface of a glass tube and makes a cut surface smooth is performed.

The bulb B, which is the glass tube 11 of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 10 and the glass tube 21 of the external electrode fluorescent lamp 20, is brought in and then inverts the bulb B and the other end by inverting the bulb B. The process is completed by an exhauster which seals.

Here, the bulb alignment device of the conventional fluorescent lamp for inverting and aligning the bulb B is provided by the conveyor 30 between the sealer 10 and the exhauster 20 as shown in FIG. B) is transferred, and when the sealing process is completed at one end of the bulb B, the bulb B is inverted.

Meanwhile, stoppers 12 and 22 are provided on both sides of the conveyor 30 such that each bulb B is positioned on the same line as a reference point before sealing one end of the bulb B and sealing the other end.

And an alignment robot 40 for inverting the one end sealed bulb B is provided in the middle of the conveyor 30 between the sealer 10 and the exhaust unit 20. The alignment robot 40 is provided with an arm 42 that is driven in a horizontal, vertical and rotational direction and rotates in a state where one end of the bulb B is fixed by the arm 42 to reverse the bulb B. will be.

However, when the bulb B is inverted by rotating in the vertical direction, the volume of the equipment increases, and when the bulb B is inverted, the bulb B is separated from the conveyor 30, rotates, and is again mounted on the conveyor 30. There was a problem that the bulb (B) is damaged by the impact of the mechanical drive during mounting.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present invention is to transfer the cylinder in the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement so as to be located on the same line without inverting the bulb when sealing the other end of the bulb by the volume reduction and impact of the equipment The present invention provides a bulb alignment device for a fluorescent lamp that can prevent bulb damage.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus for aligning the bulb before supplying the sealed bulb to the exhaust, comprising: a loading conveyor for transporting the sealed bulb; Alignment means for aligning the bulb transferred through the loading conveyor in a direction perpendicular to a traveling direction of the loading conveyor; And an unloading conveyor for supplying the aligned bulbs to the exhauster. When sealing the other end of the bulb with one end sealed as in the prior art, the bulb which has one end sealed without rotating the bulb is reversed. By pushing the bulb horizontally in the direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the bulb toward the stopper provided in the exhauster direction, each bulb is positioned on the same line, thereby reducing the equipment cost due to the volume reduction of the equipment and preventing damage to the bulb. desirable.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the bulb alignment device of the fluorescent lamp of the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments.

Bulb arrangement of the fluorescent lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention is a sealer 110 for sealing one end of the bulb (B) and the exhaust gas 120 for sealing the other end of the bulb as shown in FIG. A loading conveyor 130a and an unloading conveyor 130b for transferring the bulb B carried out from the sealer 110 to the exhaust machine 120, and the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor ( 130b) is provided as an alignment means 140 for pressing and pushing in the direction orthogonal to the movement direction of the bulb B toward the stopper 122 of the exhaust machine 120.

Loading / unloading means (not shown in the drawing) for rotating the sealer 110 and the exhaust unit 120 to load or unload the horizontal bulb (B) in the vertical direction or vice versa by rotationally driving as in the prior art These are each provided.

The loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b are provided at positions parallel to the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b, respectively, so as to limit the movement positions of the bulb B at one end and the other end. A stopper 112 is provided at one end close to the sealer 110, and another stopper 122 is provided at the other end spaced apart from the exhauster 120.

In addition, the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b are each capable of adjusting the length and the separation interval according to the length of the bulb (B).

In addition, the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b are driven by a single drive motor and are divided by a conveyor that is integrally connected. Alternatively, the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b may be provided to be individually driven.

The stoppers 112 and 122 are in contact with each of the stoppers 112 in the process of bringing the bulb B to be sealed in the sealer 110 by the loading / unloading means into a linear member. Since they are placed in a straight line, the loading position of the bulb B is always the same in the sealing machine 110, and the same at the time of carrying out.

In addition, the stopper 122 provided in the direction of the evacuator 120 also contacts the stopper 122 in the process of bringing the bulb B to be sealed in the evacuator 120 by the loading / unloading means, respectively. Since the contact surface of the is placed in a straight line, the carrying position of the bulb (B) to the exhaust gas 120 is always the same and the same at the time of carrying out.

The alignment means 140 is the bulb B in a direction orthogonal to the movement direction of the bulb B below the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b between the stoppers 112 and 122. ) To press and push toward the stopper 122.

Here, the alignment means 140 is composed of a roller 142 driving unit 144, a follower 144a and a belt 146 as shown in Figs.

The roller 142 adopts any one of a cylindrical roller or a grooved roller having grooves formed on an outer circumference thereof, and in the case of the cylindrical roller, the bulb B placed on the surface of the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b. While the bottom and the upper surface of the same height is provided with a departure preventing member (not shown in the figure) to prevent the separation of the bulb (B).

The roller 142 is provided in two or more sets at least two parallel to the bulb (B) at the same position as the spacing of the adjacent bulb (B). Here, the number of the rollers 142 is not limited and may be increased or decreased.

Furthermore, the roller 142 rotates to move the bulb B placed at the top thereof toward the stopper 122 of the exhaust machine 120, so that the roller 142 is positioned on a horizontal line perpendicular to the bulb B. The adjacent roller 142 is fixed to the shaft of the driving unit 144 which is a driving motor therebetween, and the shaft of the driven unit 144a which is provided to be spaced apart from the driving unit 144, and the driving unit 144. The shaft of and the shaft of the follower 144a are mutually connected by the belt 146.

Then, the adjacent roller 142 positioned on a horizontal line spaced at right angles to the bulb B is connected to the shaft of the linking unit 144a interlocked without generating power with the shaft of the driving unit 144 therebetween. .

The shaft of the driving unit 144 and the linking unit 144a is connected to the connecting member 156 which is a belt to transmit power. The base 148 is provided to connect the bottom surfaces of the driving unit 144 and the linking unit 144a to be spaced apart from the ground by the heights of the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b.

Therefore, the operation of the bulb aligning device of the fluorescent lamp of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 7 and 8 after sealing one end of the bulb (B) in the vertical direction brought into the sealer 110, loading / unloading It is carried out to the loading conveyor 130a in a horizontal direction by a means. At this time, the other end of the bulb B carried into the loading conveyor 130a is always in contact with the stopper 112 positioned in the direction of the sealing machine 110 so that each is placed in a straight line.

Thereafter, the bulb B is moved toward the exhaust machine 120 by the driving of the loading conveyor 130a and stopped by sensing at the center of the upper surface of the roller 142 of the alignment means 140.

In addition, the driving unit 144 is driven by an applied power source so that each roller 142 rotates in the direction of the stopper 122 of the exhaust machine 120, and the bulb B contacting the roller 142 is also a stopper. It moves in the direction (122) and contacts the stopper 122 and stops by sensing.

Here, the other ends of the pair of bulbs B to be sealed are continuously contacted with the stopper 122 and the pair of aligned bulbs B is driven by the unloading conveyor 130b. The exhauster 120 is transferred to.

The exhauster 120 is loaded into the exhauster 120 by the loading / unloading means of the exhauster 120, and the other end of the bulb B is sealed, and then the loading / unloading means is again carried out by the loading / unloading means to the unloading conveyor 130b. And transported for later processing.

As a result, each bulb B carried into the evacuator 120 is aligned so that the other end to be sealed is placed on the same line so that the position carried in after the sealing is also on the same line.

Bulb aligning device of the fluorescent lamp according to another embodiment of the present invention illustrates a case in which the roller 142 in the alignment means 150 is an elongated roller having a groove formed on the outer circumferential surface thereof as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. In this case, the pair of adjacent rollers 152 are connected to the shafts of the driving unit 154 and the linking unit (not shown), respectively, and each shaft is connected to the connecting member 156 to transmit power, and the driving unit 154 ) And the linkage unit are elevated by the lift drive unit 158.

The lifting driving unit 158 may apply a cylinder, for example, and the groove of the roller 152 is in contact with the bottom surface of the bulb B placed on the conveyor 130.

That is, when the roller 152 is formed in an elongated shape and a “V” shaped groove is formed on the surface, the bottom surface of the bulb B is used to move the bulb B to the stopper 122 by rotation. The roller 152 is lifted by the elevating drive unit 158 because it must be in contact with the cylinder when it is raised more than the cylindrical case.

Then, in order to move the other end of the bulb B to the stopper 122 in the direction of the exhaust device 120, and to align the other bulb B at the rear, the loading conveyor 130a if the roller 152 is not lowered. And the bulb B seated on the loading conveyor 130a and the unloading conveyor 130b cannot be transferred due to the interference of the roller 152 positioned between the and the unloading conveyor 130b. 158 lowers each roller 152.

The fluorescent lamp bulb aligning device of the present invention transfers the bulb in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the bulb so that the bulb is positioned on the same line without being inverted by a separate inverting robot when sealing the other end of the bulb. There is an effect that can prevent bulb damage.

Claims (6)

An apparatus for aligning a bulb before supplying a sealed bulb to an exhauster, A loading conveyor for conveying the sealed bulb; Alignment means for aligning the bulb transferred through the loading conveyor in a direction perpendicular to a traveling direction of the loading conveyor; And And a unloading conveyor for supplying the aligned bulbs to the exhaust device. The method of claim 1, The alignment means bulb alignment device of the fluorescent lamp, characterized in that at least two or more rollers provided between the loading conveyor and the unloading conveyor. The method of claim 2, The roller is a bulb alignment device of the fluorescent lamp, characterized in that the lifting and driving. The method of claim 2, Bulb alignment device of the fluorescent lamp, characterized in that the roller is provided with two or more sets. The method of claim 2, The roller is a bulb alignment device of the fluorescent lamp, characterized in that the groove is formed on the outer periphery to accommodate the bulb. The method of claim 1, Bulb alignment device of the fluorescent lamp further comprises a stopper for aligning one end of the bulb conveyed by the alignment means.

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