KR100313109B1 - Manufacturing method for plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, there is provided a substrate for bonding a frit glass for bonding a substrate between a front glass substrate and a rear glass substrate in which an internal structure of a plasma display panel is completed, and pins for separating the substrates; Transferring the panel substrate to a vacuum heat treatment section to heat and vacuum the vacuum heat treatment section; Removing the fins by simultaneously transferring the panel substrate to a fin evaporation / sealing section and further heating to a sealing temperature to perform sealing at the same time; Vacuuming the inside of the panel through an exhaust pipe installed on the rear substrate of the panel while transferring the encapsulated panel to an exhaust / gas injection section and cooling it to room temperature; And injecting a discharge gas into the evacuated panel and encapsulating an exhaust pipe installed in the panel back substrate.

Description

Manufacturing method for plasma display panel

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel in which fins are provided between panels so as to improve the exhaust efficiency of the plasma display panel.

BACKGROUND ART In general, a plasma display device is used to display an image using a gas discharge phenomenon, and is excellent in various display capacities such as display capacity, brightness, contrast, afterimage, viewing angle, etc., and has been spotlighted as a device that can replace CRT. . In such a plasma display device, a discharge is generated in a gas between the electrodes by a direct current or an alternating voltage applied to the electrode, and the phosphor emits light by exciting the phosphor by radiation of ultraviolet rays.

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a panel of a typical AC plasma display device.

Referring to the drawings, a first electrode 13a which is a transparent display electrode and a second electrode 13b which is an address electrode are formed between the front glass substrate 11 and the rear glass substrate 12. Designated by reference numeral 13c is a bus electrode. The first electrode 13a and the second electrode 13b are formed in strip shapes on the inner surfaces of the front glass substrate 11 and the back glass substrate 12, respectively, and are mutually bonded when the substrates 11 and 12 are assembled to each other. Cross at right angles. The dielectric layer 14 and the protective layer 15 are sequentially stacked on the inner surface of the front glass substrate 11. On the other hand, in the back glass substrate 12, the partition 17 is formed on the upper surface of the dielectric layer 14 ', and the cell 19 is formed by the partition 17. The cell 19 is filled with an inert gas such as argon. In addition, the phosphor 18 is applied to a predetermined portion inside the partition wall 17 forming each cell 19. Typically, in fabricating a panel of a plasma display device as described above, the discharge space inside the panel is required to be kept charged with a high purity discharge gas after exhausting air or other impurity gas.

2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an apparatus for heating and exhausting a panel of a plasma display apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, a vacuum chamber 22 is installed inside the heating furnace 21, and the vacuum chamber 22 may be provided with a vacuum through the turbo molecular pump 25 and the rotary pump 26. On the other hand, the gas cylinder 28 is connected to the vacuum chamber 22, the discharge gas can be supplied to the panel 24. Operation of the pumps 25, 26 and the gas cylinder 28 is optional. Pipes extending from the vacuum chamber 22 are connected to each panel 24. The panel 24 is applied to the bonding surfaces of the substrates 11 and 12 shown in Fig. 1 and is held at a predetermined position in the heating furnace 21 with the clips fixed to each other, and the rear glass substrate 12 An exhaust pipe is connected to an exhaust hole (not shown) formed at one side of the exhaust pipe, and exhaust and gas injection may be performed by connecting a pipe to the exhaust pipe. Designated by reference numeral 23 is a valve, which makes it possible to control the provision of a vacuum to each panel 24. In addition, reference numeral 27 may selectively block the gas flowing from the gas cylinder 28.

3 is a graph of time-temperature for showing a process of evacuating and sealing a panel using the apparatus of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, first, in the heating furnace 21, the substrates 11 and 12 coated with frit are put on the joint surface and heated up to 400 degrees Celsius, which is a sealing temperature (section 31), wherein the heating time is approximately 2.5 hours or so. When the sealing temperature is reached, the frit is melted and sealed by maintaining the sealing temperature for about 0.5 hours (section 32). Next, the process is cooled to the sealing temperature or less for about 0.5 hours (section 33), and exhaust is performed while being maintained at a predetermined temperature. The evacuation process is carried out optionally using the two pumps 25, 26 shown in FIG. 2, which lasts for about 10 hours (section 34). Next, when the desired degree of vacuum is reached, it takes about 4 hours to continue the exhaust while cooling the furnace 21 to room temperature (section 35). Next, the discharge gas filled in the gas cylinder 28 is supplied to the panels 24, and the exhaust pipe is sealed and cut.

The following problems exist in the exhaust process of the panel as described above. First, since the partition 17 formed in the panel contains many impurity gases, it takes a long time to exhaust such impurity gases through a sufficient heat exhaust process. In addition, the exhaust efficiency is very low due to the nature of the panel itself, which requires a considerable exhaust time to achieve a sufficient degree of vacuum. In particular, it takes several tens of hours to reach a sufficient exhaust state by the existing heat exhaust process, and this delay of exhaust time causes a great obstacle in the progress of the process.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an improved manufacturing method of a plasma display panel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel in which the process of filling the discharge gas with the effective removal of the impurity gas inside the plasma display panel can be performed more quickly.

1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a typical plasma display panel.

Shown in Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional sealed vacuum evacuation apparatus used for plasma display manufacturing.

FIG. 3 is a schematic graph of temperature versus time when a plasma display panel is manufactured using the apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which pins are installed between panels to perform a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to the present invention;

5 is an apparatus for performing a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic graph of temperature versus time when a plasma display panel is manufactured using the apparatus shown in FIG. 5; FIG.

<Brief Description of Major Codes in Drawings>

11.12 Substrates 13a and 13b Electrodes

14. Dielectric layer 15 protective layer

17. Bulkhead 18. Phosphor

19. Cell 21. Furnace

22. Vacuum chamber 23. Valve

24.Panel 41.42. Board

43.Pin 44.Frit

51. Vacuum heat treatment section 52. Sealing section

53. Exhaust and gas injection section 67. Camera

56.57.58.59. door

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a substrate between the front glass and the rear glass substrate of the completed state of the interior of the plasma display panel glass plate for bonding the substrate, and the pins spaced apart from the substrate; Transferring the panel substrate to a vacuum heat treatment section to heat and vacuum the vacuum heat treatment section; Removing the fins by simultaneously transferring the panel substrate to a fin evaporation / sealing section and further heating to a sealing temperature to perform sealing at the same time; Vacuuming the inside of the panel through an exhaust pipe installed on the rear substrate of the panel while transferring the sealed panel to an exhaust / gas injection section and cooling to room temperature; And injecting a discharge gas into the evacuated panel and encapsulating an exhaust pipe installed in the panel back substrate.

According to one feature of the invention, in the step of performing the sealing, before the sealing is made, the fin evaporation / sealing section is self-vacuum, and after the sealing is made through the exhaust pipe installed in the panel back substrate Make it angry.

According to another feature of the invention, the heating of the vacuum heat treatment section is made below the sealing temperature.

According to another feature of the invention, the fin is formed of frit material.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

4 is a schematic perspective view showing a pin interposed between substrates of a panel in order to apply the plasma display manufacturing method according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the pin 43 is interposed between the front glass substrate 41 and the back glass substrate 42 to maintain the gap between the substrates. The pin 43 is preferably provided for each corner of the panel. On the other hand, the frit 44 is applied to the back glass substrate 42 at a portion corresponding to the bonding surface of the substrates. Although not shown in FIG. 4, all structures of the electrodes, the partition walls, and the like described with reference to FIG. 1 are formed on the inner surfaces of the substrates 41 and 42 through a previous process.

The pin 43 serves to maintain the gap between the substrates 41 and 42. Since the pin 43 is interposed between the substrates 41 and 42, a space for evacuation is secured between the substrates. That is, in the prior art, by fixing the substrates with clips, most of the impure gas escapes through a narrow cross-sectional exhaust pipe installed in the rear substrate, whereas in the present invention, through the space secured by the pins 43 between the substrates. Impure gas can escape. The pins 43 are installed together at the time of frit application and are put into the exhaust device to be described later.

The pin 43 is preferably formed of a material that can be evaporated or melted by the temperature applied during sealing. This is so that when the sealing of the substrates is made, the pin 43 can be removed by a high temperature without a separate removal action. For example, the pin 43 may be made of frit material. When made of frit, the fins 43 will melt and contribute to bonding of the substrate once the sealing temperature is reached. In other cases it may be formed of a material that can evaporate at the sealing temperature.

5 is a schematic configuration diagram of an exhaust device capable of performing the plasma display manufacturing method according to the present invention.

Referring to the figure, the exhaust device is divided into a vacuum heat treatment section 51, fin evaporation / sealing section 52, and the exhaust gas injection section 53. Conveyor belts 54 are installed in each section so that the panels mounted thereon can move the sections sequentially. Each section is accessible through the doors 56, 57, 58, and 59, and when the door is closed, the sealing may be maintained for each section. In each section, the turbo molecular pumps 61 and 63 and the rotary pumps 60 and 64 are connected to each other to vacuum the section itself, or to vacuum the internal space of the panel through an exhaust pipe installed on the rear substrate of the panel. More specifically, in the vacuum heat treatment section 51, only the vacuum of the section itself is made, and in the fin evaporation / sealing section 52, the vacuum of the section itself and the vacuum of the panel through the exhaust pipe attached to the panel back substrate are It is possible. On the other hand, in the exhaust / gas injection section 53 where the sealed panel enters, the panel can be evacuated through the exhaust pipe attached to the panel back substrate.

In the pin evaporation / sealing section 52, a camera 67 is installed to monitor the mutual alignment of the substrates when the panel is sealed. Also, a fine adjuster 68 is installed to correct the alignment of the substrates. The operator can adjust the mutual assembly state of the board | substrate using the fine adjuster 68, watching the alignment state of the board | substrate image | photographed with the camera 67 at the time of sealing a panel.

The gas cylinder 65 is filled with a discharge gas, and the discharge gas may be connected to an exhaust pipe installed at the rear substrate of the panel through a pipe extending from the gas cylinder 65. In more detail, the pipe extending from the exhaust pipe provided on the panel back substrate is connected to the turbo molecular pump 63 and the rotary pump 64 and also to the gas cylinder 65. Gas supplied from the gas cylinder 65 may be provided to the panel through the valve 66. While the pumps 63 and 64 are in operation, the valve 66 is closed to shut off the supply of gas, and after the exhaust operation is completed, the valve 66 is opened to supply discharge gas.

Hereinafter, a process of performing the sealing and exhausting of the panel using the exhaust device shown in FIG. 5 will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the panel having the pin 43 interposed therein is introduced into the vacuum heat treatment section 51 through the door 56. The vacuum heat treatment section 51 is sealed by the doors 56 and 57. The vacuum heat treatment section 51 is heated by a heating device (not shown) and the section itself is exhausted through the turbo molecular pump 61 and the rotary pump 60. At this time, the gas generated in the panel is exhausted through the pump (61, 60). As previously described, since the substrates 41 and 42 of the panel are spaced apart from each other by the fins 43, the impure gases existing inside the panel may be exhausted through the spaced gaps.

After the exhaust and heating in the vacuum heat treatment section 51 have passed a predetermined time, the door 57 is opened, and the panel enters the fin evaporation / sealing section 52 by the conveyor 55. In the fin evaporation / sealing section 52, the temperature of the section is raised further than the vacuum heat treatment section 51 to reach the sealing temperature. The sealing temperature is about 400 degrees Celsius. The panel on the right side shown in the fin evaporation / sealing section 52 shown in FIG. 5 shows a state in which pins exist before sealing is performed, and the panel on the left side shows a state in which pins are removed while sealing is performed. will be.

When the section 52 reaches the sealing temperature, the fins 43 melt or evaporate, so that the substrates 41 and 42 are close to each other. At this time, while the image of the alignment of the substrates 41 and 42 with the camera 67, the alignment between the substrates is adjusted through the fine adjuster 68.

During the heating period before sealing in the fin evaporation / sealing section 52 and during sealing, the pumps 61 and 60 are operated to vacuum the section 52 itself. In particular, when the material of the fin 43 evaporates while being sealed, it is necessary to release the gas of the fin material evaporated by the vacuum of the section 52 itself. After the sealing is made, the panel itself is evacuated through the exhaust pipe at the back of the panel.

After sealing is made, the panel enters the exhaust / gas injection section 53 through the door 58. In the section 53, the temperature is gradually cooled, and the exhaust operation by the pumps 63 and 64 is continuously performed through the exhaust pipe installed in the panel rear substrate. When the evacuation operation is sufficiently performed to reach the predetermined vacuum degree, the pumps 63 and 64 are stopped, and the valve 63 is opened to discharge gas charged in the gas cylinder 65 through the exhaust pipe of the panel back substrate. Inject into the panel. After the injection of the discharge gas is finished, the exhaust pipe of the panel back substrate is sealed and discharged to the outside through the door 59.

Shown in FIG. 6 is a graph of time-temperature for illustrating a process of evacuating and sealing a panel using the apparatus of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawing, when the panel is input to the vacuum heat treatment section 51 of FIG. 5, heating and exhausting are performed for about 1.5 hours to reach a predetermined temperature (section 71). The temperature in the vacuum heat treatment section 51 is set to a temperature lower than the sealing temperature so that the fin 43 does not evaporate. Next, the evacuation is continued for about 1 hour in the vacuum heat treatment section 51 (section 72).

When the panel enters the fin evaporation / sealing section 52, heating continues again for 0.1 hour to reach a sealing temperature of about 400 degrees Celsius (section 73). Maintaining the sealing temperature for about 0.5 hours, the fin 43 is evaporated or melted, and the frit is melted to bond (section 74).

After sealing is made, the panel enters the exhaust / gas injection section 53 where it is cooled to room temperature for about 3 hours (section 75). After cooling is performed, the exhaust pipe installed on the rear substrate of the panel is encapsulated, and the panel may be discharged to the outside.

The manufacturing method of the plasma display panel according to the present invention has an advantage that the plasma display panel can be manufactured more quickly. Since the front substrate and the rear substrate of the panel are kept spaced apart by the fins in the vacuum heat treatment section, impurity gases generated from the internal structure of the panel can be easily discharged through the gaps.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Could be. Therefore, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

Claims (4)

Installing a frit glass for bonding a substrate and a fin to separate the substrates between the front glass substrate and the rear glass substrate having the internal structure of the plasma display panel completed; Transferring the panel substrate to a vacuum heat treatment section to heat and vacuum the vacuum heat treatment section; Removing the fins by simultaneously transferring the panel substrate to a fin evaporation / sealing section and further heating to a sealing temperature to perform sealing at the same time; Vacuuming the inside of the panel through an exhaust pipe installed on the rear substrate of the panel while transferring the encapsulated panel to an exhaust / gas injection section and cooling it to room temperature; And, Injecting a discharge gas into the evacuated panel and encapsulating an exhaust pipe installed in the panel back substrate. The method of claim 1, wherein in the sealing step, before the sealing is performed, the fin evaporation / sealing section is self-vacuumed, and after sealing, the vacuuming is performed through an exhaust pipe installed in the panel back substrate. A method of manufacturing a plasma display panel. The method of claim 1, wherein the heating of the vacuum heat treatment section is performed below the sealing temperature. The method of claim 1, wherein the fin is formed of a frit material.