The present invention relates to a flat display with an airtight vessel or a vacuum vessel such as a field emission display (FED) using field emission type electron emission sources, a surface conduction electron emitter display (SED) using surface conduction type electron emission sources, a fluorescent display tube, a plasma display and the like, a method for manufacturing the same and a displacement prevention member for use in the flat display.
A flat display includes an airtight vessel or a vacuum vessel formed of a glass anode substrate, a glass cathode substrate and a glass sealing member. When manufacturing the airtight vessel, the positions of the anode and cathode substrates are aligned with each other and the aligned positions have to be maintained during the sintering process after the position alignment. Therefore, a method for preventing the displacement between the anode substrate and the cathode substrate after the position alignment has been proposed (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2000-243277).
The conventional displacement prevention method will be described with reference to
First, the example shown in
The FED includes an airtight vessel formed by installing a sealing member 12 between a cathode substrate 111 having an field emission type electron emission source C and an anode substrate 112 having an anode electrode A coated with a fluorescent material and attaching it to both the substrates 111 and 112. Support blocks 131 to 134 are attached to the cathode substrate 111, while thin plates 141 to 144 made of metal or the like are attached to the anode substrate 112. Further, the thin plates 141 to 144 are attached to the support blocks 131 to 134, respectively. The support blocks 131 to 134 and the thin plates 141 to 144 serve as the displacement prevention members for preventing the displacement between the cathode substrate 111 and the anode substrate 112 after the position alignment in manufacturing of the airtight vessel, as will be described later.
Next, the example shown in
In
Since the cathode substrate 111 and the anode substrate 112 are respectively attached to the support blocks 131 to 134 and the thin plates 141 to 144 during the sintering process, the substrates 111 and 112 are not displaced after the position arrangement.
However, in case of manufacturing the flat display by using the conventional displacement prevention member, a support block and a thin plate are used in pairs, which results in increase in the number of components. Further, in this method, the support blocks are attached to the cathode substrate, the thin plates are attached to the anode substrate and then the thin plates are attached to the support blocks, thereby increasing the number of the attached parts. Therefore, in accordance with the conventional displacement prevention method, the manufacturing process of the airtight vessel is complicated, and the utilization rate of the substrate is low due to the space needed for disposing the support blocks. Furthermore, the thin plates can be installed only in the vicinity of the anode substrate, which makes it difficult to completely prevent the displacement if a plurality of displays are manufactured by using a large single pane of glass at a time.
In view of the above, the present invention provides a displacement prevention member having a simple structure, a simple attachment process and small attachment space, a flat display by using the displacement prevention member and a method for manufacturing the flat display.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a displacement prevention member of a flat display, the member including: attachment surfaces respectively attached to inner surfaces of first and second substrates forming an airtight vessel of the flat display; and a bending part between the attachment surfaces, the bending part being bent in one direction on a plane perpendicular to a pressing direction of pressure applied in the perpendicular direction to the inner surfaces of the substrates.
Preferably, at least two bending parts are arranged such that bending directions thereof are perpendicular to each other.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a flat display including: an airtight vessel including a first substrate, a second substrate and a sealing member; and the displacement prevention member described above and attached to each inner surface of the first and second substrates.
Preferably, at least two displacement prevention members are arranged such that bending directions thereof are perpendicular to one another.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a flat display including: an airtight vessel including a first substrate, a second substrate and a sealing member; and the displacement prevention member described above and attached by adhesive to each inner surface of the first and second substrates.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a flat display, the method including: attaching the displacement prevention member of claim 1 and a sealing member to an inner surface of a first substrate; attaching an inner surface of a second substrate to the displacement prevention member by transferring the second substrate to a position facing the first substrate and aligning the positions of the substrates; transferring the first and second substrates attached to each other into a sintering oven; and sealing them by applying pressure to the first substrate or to the second substrate while heating.
Preferably, at least two displacement prevention members are arranged such that bending directions thereof are perpendicular to one another.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a flat display, the method including: attaching the displacement prevention member of claim 1 and a plurality of sealing members to an inner surface of a first large substrate; attaching an inner surface of a second large substrate to the displacement prevention member by transferring the second large substrate to a position facing the first large substrate and aligning the positions of the substrates; transferring the first and second large substrates attached to each other into a sintering oven; sealing them by applying pressure to the first large substrate or to the second large substrate while heating; and dividing into a plurality of flat displays after the sealing.
Preferably, at least two displacement prevention members are arranged such that bending directions thereof are perpendicular to one another.
The displacement prevention member of the present invention is formed of attachment surfaces each of which is attached or fixed to the first and the second substrate (anode and cathode substrates) and a bending part between the attachment surfaces, which results in a simple structure and a smaller size. Therefore, the displacement prevention member in accordance with the present invention can be manufactured at low cost and the attachment operation thereof is simply achieved by attaching (fixing) it to both of the substrates. Furthermore, installation space of the displacement prevention member can be smaller.
Since the displacement prevention member of the present invention is bent only in one direction by the applied pressure, the displacements of the substrates can be prevented simply by arranging two displacement prevention members such that bending directions thereof are perpendicular to each other. Accordingly, the number of the displacement prevention members is reduced, while the attachment operation is simpler and the attachment space is smaller. On the other hand, if the displacement in one direction is allowed on the basis of the structure of anode electrodes or the like forming pixels, it may also arrange only a single displacement prevention member. In such a case, the number and attachment space of the displacement prevention members may be further reduced.
The number and location of the displacement prevention members of the present invention can be freely determined depending on the size of the substrate or displacement prevention members. Therefore, the displacement can be completely prevented even for the case when the substrate is small as well as for the case when the substrate is large. Further, the displacement prevention members of the present invention can be used when a plurality of displays is formed by using a large substrate at a time. In such a case, the displacement prevention members can be installed either inside or outside the airtight vessel of each display. If the displacement prevention members are attached outside the airtight vessel, attachment space of the displacement prevention members need not be provided inside the airtight vessel. Therefore, the inside of the airtight vessel can effectively serve as a display area.
On the other hand, a single displacement prevention member of the present invention may have bending parts, i.e., bending surfaces, with different bending directions (non-bending directions), where the bending parts are arranged in such a manner that the bending directions (non-bending directions) thereof are perpendicular to each other. In such a case, the number and attachment space of the displacement prevention members are even further reduced.
The objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to
A field emission display (hereinafter, referred to as an “FED”), one of the flat displays in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to
The FED is configured such that a glass sealing member (side member) 22 is installed between a glass anode substrate 211 having an anode electrode A coated with a fluorescent material and a glass cathode substrate 212 having an field emission type electron source C and it is attached to both the substrates 211 and 212, thereby forming an airtight vessel (vacuum vessel). The gap between the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212 is predetermined by the height (thickness) of the sealing member 22. In general, a plurality of support columns for pressure resistance (spacers), which are made of fiber such as glass, metal or the like, is installed between the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212 but is not shown here.
Disposed between and attached to the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212 are displacement prevention members 311 to 314 to prevent the displacements of the substrates 211 and 212 in the FED manufacturing process. In the FED manufacturing process, the displacement prevention members 311 to 314, which have a same structure, are compressed by pressure applied in the perpendicular direction to inner surfaces of the substrates 211 and 212 while they are respectively attached to inner surfaces of the anode substrate 211 and cathode substrate 212 (surfaces where the anode electrode A and the field emission type electron source C are formed). At that time, the prevention members 311 to 314 are bent (or curved) and extruded (or protruded) only in one direction, which will be described in detail with reference to
The displacement prevention members 311 to 314 are arranged in pairs, for example, two pairs 311 and 312, and 313 and 314. The two pairs of the displacement prevention members are installed at diagonally opposite corners of the anode and cathode substrates 211 and 212. The displacement prevention members in each pair, e.g., the displacement prevention members 311 and 312, are arranged so that the bending directions or non-bending directions of the prevention members 311 and 312 are perpendicular to each other. By arranging the displacement prevention members of each pair in this manner, there will be no displacements in the substrates 211 and 212 in the horizontal direction even though pressure is applied to the cathode substrate 212 in the sintering process. The two pairs of the displacement prevention members need not be diagonally arranged, but in doing so, the powers in the vertical and horizontal directions applied to the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212 are balanced, so that it is possible to surely prevent the displacement.
Further, although the displacement prevention member 311 is close to the displacement prevention member 312 in
Next, a structure and shape of the displacement prevention members 311 to 314 will be described with reference to
The displacement prevention member 3 is made of materials having elasticity properties, i.e., spring properties, such as metal and is formed of attachment surfaces 3a and 3b and a bending part (curved portion) 3c, whose cross section is of an M shape. The attachment surfaces 3a and 3b of the displacement prevention member 3 are respectively attached to an inner surface of the anode substrate 211 where the anode electrode A is formed and an inner surface of the cathode substrate 212 where the electron source C is formed. The bending part 3c is provided with a curving part (folded line), 3c1 to make the bending easy. On the other hand, a groove may be formed instead of the curving part 3c1.
As will be described with reference to
Therefore, if the cathode substrate 212 is pressed down toward to the anode substrate 211 while the displacement prevention member 3 is attached to the inner surfaces of the anode substrate 211 and cathode substrate 212, both the substrates 211 and 212 are possibly displaced with respect to each other in the Z2 direction but they are not displaced in the Z1 direction.
Here, the displacement prevention member 3 is made of stainless steel with a thickness ranging from 0.1 mm to 0.15 mm.
Referring to
If the displacement prevention member 3 is made of metal, it may serve as a conductive member between the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212 as well as the displacement prevention member. Moreover, the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212 are provided with wiring for connecting the internal electrodes, e.g., the anode electrode A, the field emission type electron source C or the like, to outside the airtight vessel. In order to easily connect the wiring with an external circuit, the wiring can be concentrated on either the anode substrate 211 or the cathode substrate 212. In this case, the displacement prevention member 3 serves as a conductive member between the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212.
A manufacturing method of the FED shown in
As shown in
After the attachment shown in
In the above-described embodiment, the displacement prevention members 311 and 312 are attached to the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212 by the heat resistance adhesive, respectively. Instead, a metal layer made of aluminum is formed on each substrate and each attachment surface of the displacement prevention members can be fixed to the metal layer by ultrasonic waves or laser beams. Further, in case of using the laser beams, each attachment surface of the displacement prevention members 311 and 312 can be directly fixed to the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212.
Although, in this embodiment, the sealing member 22 and the displacement prevention members 311 and 312 have been first attached to the anode substrate 211 and the cathode substrate 212 has been then attached to the displacement prevention members 311 and 312, the sealing member 22 and the displacement prevention members 311 and 312 can be first attached to the cathode substrate 212 and then the anode substrate 211 may be attached to the displacement prevention members 311 and 312. That is, the sealing member 22 and the displacement prevention members 311 and 312 can be first attached to either the anode substrate 211 or the cathode substrate 212, i.e., the first substrate, and the other substrate, i.e., the second substrate, may be then attached to the displacement prevention members 311 and 312.
In
In
Further, the number or positions of the displacement prevention members are not limited to those shown in
A displacement prevention member 3 of
A displacement prevention member 3 of
A displacement prevention member 3 of
A displacement prevention member 3 of
Since a displacement prevention member 3 shown in
Referring to
Next, a method for manufacturing four FEDs shown in
The FEDs shown in
As shown in
The FED manufacturing method shown in
Since the displacement prevention members 321 to 330 are disposed outside the sealing members 22 in accordance with the FED manufacturing method of
In
Although the above embodiment has been described with respect to the FED, it is not limited thereto, and it can also be applied to various flat displays such as a surface conduction electron emitter display (SED), a fluorescent display tube, a plasma display or the like.
While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007-001824 | Jan 2007 | JP | national |