JP3901712B2 - Luminescent body and display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device including a plurality of elongated light emitters, and is characterized by the structure of the light emitters.

  There is a limit to the increase in screen size of a single-unit display. An actual self-luminous super-large display that can be seen in a stadium or event venue is configured by arranging light sources such as cathode ray tubes and light emitting diodes (LEDs) vertically and horizontally. Typically, the total number of light sources is several hundred thousand or more, and assembling the display is labor intensive and expensive. For this reason, there is a demand for means for more easily realizing a bright screen with a size of several meters.

  An ultra-large display using the light emission principle of PDP (plasma display panel) has been proposed by the present applicant as a “large gas discharge display panel” and disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-103187.

This proposed display is a collective structure in which a large number of elongated light emitters corresponding to a PDP having one row (or number of columns) is aligned in one direction and integrated, and is compared with an existing display. Above has the following advantages.
(1) Since they are arranged in one direction, the number of assembly steps can be reduced as compared with the case where they are arranged in two directions (vertical and horizontal).
(2) Since the cells for one row are integrally formed, it is lighter and less expensive than a collective screen in which independent light sources are arranged for each cell.
(3) Higher brightness than the light emitting diode.

  In the case of a single-unit PDP, the screen size (number of rows and columns) is determined by the size of the glass substrate, whereas in the proposed collective configuration display, an arbitrary number of rows (or columns) can be obtained by increasing or decreasing the number of light emitter arrays. Number) can be displayed. Although the number of columns (or the number of rows) depends on the length of the light emitting module, it is much easier to increase the length of the light emitting body than to increase the size of the PDP. The enlargement of the glass substrate is not feasible from the viewpoint of factory equipment and transportation. That is, when trying to produce a large display with a single structure, a glass plate larger than the screen size must be handled, and a size of 100 inches or more is not realistic. The upper limit of the display dimensions (pixel size, screen size, etc.) that can be produced by the production facility is determined, and in order to produce a large display exceeding that, production facilities must be newly constructed. On the other hand, if the production unit is a line, it is easy to assemble and design changes according to the display dimensions can be made without significant changes in production equipment. Therefore, displays of various sizes can be realized at low cost.

  Other known examples relating to the arrangement of such elongated illuminators include JP-A-11-3649 and JP-A-11-162358. The former discloses a display device having a configuration in which fibers with electrodes embedded are arranged on the front side of light emitters arranged in a horizontal direction. The latter discloses a display device in which arc tubes are arranged on a substrate on which column electrodes are formed, and row electrodes are formed on the front side of the arc tube.

In the display device disclosed in the above-mentioned JP-A-61-103187, after arranging a large number of light emitters, electrodes provided in advance on each light emitter are joined together to form an electrode matrix. Wiring work was troublesome. In the display devices disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 11-3649 and 11-162358, the electrode group extending in one direction in the electrode matrix is disposed on the front side of the light emitter, so that light shielding such as using a transparent conductive material is reduced. Consideration to do was necessary. In addition, when the row electrodes are formed so as to straddle the light emitters after they are arranged, if the thick film method is used, it becomes difficult to ensure the positional accuracy of the paste printing as the screen becomes larger, and the thin film method is used. If used, the production unit is not a line but a plane, and the advantages of the above-described production facilities are diminished.
JP-A-61-103187 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-3649 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-162358

  It is desired to provide a display device including a group of elongated light emitters at low cost.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting body excellent in productivity suitable for a display device composed of a long group of light emitting bodies.

  A light emitting body that achieves the object of the present invention is an elongated tubular light emitting body, and includes a tube that forms an outer shape, a discharge gas sealed in the tube, and a phosphor layer that emits light by discharge. The phosphor layer is formed on a support member separate from the tube, and is arranged inside the tube by inserting the support member into the tube.

According to the first to eighth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to realize a light emitting body excellent in productivity suitable for a display device including a group of elongated light emitting bodies.

According to the invention of claim 9 or claim 10 , it is possible to provide a display device composed of a group of light emitters at low cost using a light emitter excellent in productivity.

  FIG. 1 is a basic conceptual diagram of a display device according to the present invention.

  In the display device 10, the light emitters 40 are arranged on the substrate 20, and the electrode support 50 is disposed along each light emitter 40. Electrodes X and Y are provided on the electrode support 50 in order to selectively emit light in a plurality of portions (cells) in the length direction of the light emitter 40 in any combination. In order to energize these electrodes X and Y, wiring conductor patterns 30x and 30y are provided on the substrate 20. By assembling the electrode support 50 to the substrate 20 so that the electrodes X and Y and the wiring conductor patterns 30x and 30y are electrically connected, an electrode matrix that enables arbitrary image display is configured.

  A preferred form of the electrode support 50 is a double-sided wiring board. The anode and the cathode are distributed and arranged on one side and the other side of the elongated plate-like support member 55. However, these anode and cathode are not related to the electrode pair used for controlling one light emitter 40 but to one and the other of the two light emitters 40 arranged adjacent to each other. That is, in order to control one light emitter 40, two electrode supports 50 that face each other with the light emitter 40 interposed therebetween are required. Although it is possible to arrange only an anode or a cathode on one electrode support 50, in that case, two types of electrode supports 50 must be prepared for forming an electrode matrix. In the case of a single-sided wiring board, the number of electrode supports 50 is about twice that of a double-sided wiring board. In FIG. 1B, electrodes X for a predetermined number of cells are arranged on one side of the support member 55, and electrodes Y extending in the length direction are formed on the other side. One of the electrodes X and Y is used as an anode and the other as a cathode. Each electrode X extends from the position in contact with the light emitter 40 to the lower end of the support member 55, and is connected to the wiring conductor pattern 30x [see FIG. 1 (c)]. The electrode Y has a lead-out portion for connecting to the wiring conductor pattern 30y at one end in the length direction.

  When the material of the support member 55 is an elastic body (for example, urethane resin), the adhesion between the electrodes X and Y and the light emitter 40 is enhanced, and more stable light emission control is possible. The retainability of the light emitter 40 is also increased. Even if it is not the whole support member 55, if the vicinity of the contact portion with the light emitter 40 is elastic, there is an effect of improving the adhesion with the light emitter 40.

  In the drawing, the length of the electrode support 50 corresponds to one light emitter 40. However, it is not limited to this. When two or more light emitters 40 are connected to form a light emission line, the electrode support 50 may have a length corresponding to the light emission line. Conversely, two or more electrode supports 50 may be connected along one light emitter 40. As for the substrate 20 as well, a plurality of sub-substrates can be connected to form a single substrate 20.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic form of assembling the display device according to the present invention.

  Bumps 36 are formed at predetermined positions in the wiring conductor patterns 30x and 30y, the bumps 36 and the electrodes X and Y are aligned, and the electrode support 50 is fixed to the substrate 20. Apply existing mounting technology. A groove may be provided in the substrate 20, and the electrode support 50 may be inserted into the groove and fixed.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing another example of an electrode support.

  The electrode support body 60 of this example is a long body having a substantially C-shaped cross section in which a bottom portion and a pair of side portions are integrated. The side portions correspond to the electrode support 50 described above, and the interval between the side portions is selected according to the width of the light emitting body 40. The electrode support 60 is assembled to the substrate 20B at a rate of two for three light emitting lines. In the assembled state, the adjacent electrode support 60 sandwiches the light emitting body 40 for one light emitting line. In order to align the height positions of the light emitters 40 sandwiched between the pair of electrode supports 60 and the light emitters 40 inside each electrode support 60, a groove 201 into which the bottom of the electrode support 60 fits in the substrate 20B. Is provided. Although not shown, the wiring conductor pattern actually crosses the groove 201. These grooves 201 are also useful for positioning the electrode support 60 and the light emitter 40.

  The bottom of the electrode support 60 has a through hole 60a for leading the electrodes X and Y provided on the inner surface of the side to the lower surface. A conductor can be formed in the through hole 60a by a plating technique.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the display device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4A shows a plan view appearance, and FIG. 4B shows an electrode matrix.

  The display device 11 has a screen composed of a substrate 21 and a group of elongated light emitters 41 arranged on the substrate 21. Elongated plate-like electrode supports 51 are arranged on both sides in the width direction of each light emitting body 41. A strip-shaped electrode X (the subscript in the figure indicates the arrangement order) arranged along the length direction of the light emitter 41 is provided on one side surface of the electrode support 51, and the length of the light emitter 41 is provided on the other side surface. An electrode Y extending in the vertical direction is provided. An electrode matrix is configured by electrically connecting the electrode X and the wiring conductor pattern 31x formed on the substrate 21.

  5A and 5B show the substrate structure of the display device according to the first embodiment, in which FIG. 5A is a plan view, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line bb in FIG. FIG.

  In the substrate 21, a wiring conductor pattern 31 x is formed on the front surface, and a wiring conductor pattern 31 y serving as a terminal for connecting the electrode Y to the drive circuit is formed on the back surface.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, step portions 21 c and 21 d for connecting a plurality of substrates 21 are formed at both ends of the substrate 21 in the arrangement direction of the light emitters. A through hole 21a for leading the front wiring conductor pattern 31x to the back surface is formed in the step portion 21c having a recess on the back surface side. A through hole 21b is formed at a position overlapping the wiring conductor pattern 31y, and the electrode Y and the wiring conductor pattern 31y are connected via the through hole 21b as shown in FIG. 5C. Steps 21e and 21f for joining the plurality of substrates 21 are also formed at both ends of the substrate 21 in the light emitter length direction.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a light emitter. FIG. 4A is a structural diagram of a cross section along the width direction, and FIG. 4B is a layout diagram of auxiliary conductors.

  The illustrated light emitter 41 emits light by gas discharge similar to that of a PDP. The inner surface of the glass tube 410 that seals the discharge gas space 411 is covered with a protective film 412 made of magnesia, and a phosphor layer 413 is formed on the back side in the tube. For forming the protective film 412, a method in which a liquid magnesium organic salt is applied to cause thermal decomposition is suitable. According to this method, for example, a homogeneous film can be formed on the inner surface of a glass tube having a diameter of 1 mm and a thickness of 100 μm. Auxiliary conductors 415 and 416 for expanding the effective electrode area and defining the cell position are fixed to the outer surface of the glass tube 410. The auxiliary conductors 415 are formed in a land pattern, and the number of auxiliary conductors 415 is the same as that of the electrodes X, and the auxiliary conductors 415 are arranged in contact with the electrodes X one by one. The auxiliary conductor 416 is formed in a stripe pattern and contacts the electrode Y over almost the entire length thereof. The auxiliary conductors 415 and 416 can be formed by printing a conductive paste in a predetermined pattern, by forming a conductive film on the entire outer surface and patterning it by photolithography, or by using a photosensitive conductive paste in a rough region including the formation region. A method of applying and patterning by photolithography can be used.

  In the display device 11 using such a light emitting body 41, an arbitrary image can be displayed by applying a so-called simple matrix structure PDP driving method. Color display is possible by arranging three types of light emitters 41 of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) in the predetermined order.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view of a collective display device using the display device of the first embodiment. The collective display device 101 includes two display devices 11. The light emitters 41 are also arranged at the joints between the display devices 11, and the number of the light emitters 41 is more than twice the number of the display devices 11 when used alone.

  8A and 8B show a coupling structure between the display devices of the first embodiment. FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line bb in FIG.

  When assembling the collective display device 101, the stepped portion 21c of the substrate 21 and the stepped portion 21d of the other substrate 21 are overlapped. An anisotropic conductive adhesive 29 is used for electrical connection between the two substrates 21 and the substrates are bonded to each other by thermocompression bonding.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of the light emitter. In FIG. 9, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 are given to the components corresponding to the example of FIG.

  In the luminous body 41B of FIG. 9A, a phosphor 414 thinner than the phosphor layer 413 is disposed on the front side inside the glass tube 410. The phosphor layer 413 and the phosphor 414 have the same emission color. Since the phosphor 414 is thin, visible light emitted from the phosphor layer 413 passes through the phosphor 414 with almost no attenuation. Luminance is increased by the light emission of the phosphor 414. In the light emitter 41C of FIG. 9B, a reflective film 419 is provided on the back portion of the outer surface of the glass tube 410 with respect to the phosphor layer 413 in order to increase the light emission efficiency. Examples of the reflective material include a metal thin film such as an aluminum film and a low-melting glass colored in white. Note that a reflective film may be provided on the substrate 21.

  In the luminous body 41D of FIG. 9C, the phosphor layer 453 is formed on the support member 45 separate from the glass tube 410, and the support member 45 is inserted into the glass tube 410 to enter the gas space 411. Has been placed. The support member 45 is an elongated flat plate having a thickness of about 50 μm, and a reflective film 459 is provided on the back surface thereof. The reflective film 459 may be provided on the front surface of the support member 45, and the phosphor layer 453 may be formed thereon. The phosphor layer 453 is formed by screen printing or coating using a dispenser. In the configuration using the separate support member 45, the phosphor layer 453 that is unevenly distributed only on a part of the inner surface can be easily formed.

  9D, the phosphor layer 463 is formed on the plate-like support member 46 that is curved along the inner surface of the glass tube 410, and the support member 46 is inserted into the glass tube 410. Accordingly, the phosphor layer 463 is disposed in the gas space 411. The support member 46 is obtained by cutting, for example, a glass tube having an outer shape of 0.8 mm in the length direction. In order to reduce the deterioration of the phosphor due to discharge, the auxiliary conductors 417 and 418 are arranged close to the front side opposite to the phosphor layer 463, and are formed of a transparent conductive material in order to avoid the light shielding associated therewith.

  In addition to these, there is a configuration in which a phosphor layer covering the entire inner surface of the glass tube 410 is provided. In order to increase luminous efficiency, it is desirable to make the front side portion of the phosphor layer thinner than the back side portion. The phosphor layers having different thicknesses depending on the parts can be formed by the following procedure. The phosphor paste is injected into the glass tube 410 after the protective film 412 is formed, and the phosphor paste is dried with the glass tube 410 placed horizontally. Since the phosphor particles settle due to gravity during drying, a thick phosphor is formed at the lower part of the inner wall of the tube and thinner at the upper part. There is also a method of changing the film thickness by adjusting the exposure amount using a photosensitive paste. With these methods, the auxiliary conductors 415 and 416 may be formed so that the thickness of the phosphor layer is not uniform and the thin portion is on the front side.

  FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a light emitter and an electrode support according to the second embodiment.

  The light emitter 42 includes an address electrode A made of a metal line (for example, copper or aluminum) or an insulation-coated metal line along the center line of the glass tube 410. A conductor pattern Aa for leading the address electrode A to the peripheral surface of the glass tube 410 is provided at one end of the glass tube 410, and a conductor pattern 30 a in contact with the conductor pattern Aa is provided on one surface of the electrode support 52. On the other surface of the electrode support 52, a plurality of electrode pairs each having the electrode X and the electrode Y as a pair are arranged. An auxiliary conductor 415 is provided on the outer surface of the light emitting body 42 so as to be in contact with the electrodes X and Y one by one. In the illuminant 42, a cell is selected by generating a discharge 91 between the address electrode A and the electrode Y as in the three-electrode surface discharge type PDP, and a discharge 92 is generated between the electrode X and the electrode Y. The phosphor layer 459 is caused to emit light.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a substrate arrangement of the collective display device according to the second embodiment.

  The collective display device 102 is configured by connecting a plurality of substrates 22 in both horizontal and vertical directions. A wiring conductor pattern connected to the electrodes X and Y is formed on one side of each substrate 22, and a wiring conductor pattern for connecting the address electrode A between the substrates and a conductor of the electrode support 52 are formed on the other side. A through hole for conduction with the pattern 30a is formed. Further, stepped portions for joining are provided on all sides of the substrate 22. The joint structure is the same as in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a view showing a modification of the electrode support and the substrate according to the second embodiment.

  The structure of the light emitter 42b is the same as that of the light emitter 42 of FIG. However, the metal wire stretched inside is used as an electrode Y for display discharge. The electrode Y is electrically connected to the conductor pattern 30y formed on one surface of the electrode support 52b via the conductor pattern Ya formed on the outer surface of the glass tube. A plurality of electrodes X are arranged at equal intervals on the other surface of the electrode support 52b. In the light emitter 42b, cell selection in a simple matrix format is performed. On the substrate 22b that supports the plurality of light emitters 42b, conductor patterns are provided at equal intervals at a pitch corresponding to the arrangement of the electrodes X.

  FIG. 13 is a view showing a modification of the outer shape of the light emitter.

  The light emitter 43 has a concave portion 43a on the back side, and the substrate 23 has a convex portion 23a corresponding to the concave portion 43a. The engagement between the concave portion 43a and the convex portion 23a facilitates the positioning of the light emitter 43 and stabilizes the holding.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another form of assembling the display device.

  In order to attach the electrode support 54, a groove 24 a into which a bearing portion of the electrode support 54 is fitted is formed in the substrate 24 in advance. A plurality of strip-shaped electrodes X are provided on one side of the electrode support 54, and a long electrode Y is provided on the other side. Each electrode X is bent so that the lower end is fixed to the support member 55 and the upper end is separated from the support member 55. When the electrode support 54 is fitted and fixed in the groove 24 a of the substrate 24 and the light emitter 41 is disposed on the substrate 24, the electrode X is pushed to the support member 55. As a result, an urging force F that tries to push back the light emitter 41 to the electrode X is generated. As described with reference to FIG. 1, in a state where the light emitter 41 is sandwiched between the pair of electrode supports 54, the urging force F functions to fix the light emitter 41. When a metal piece 540 longer than the electrodes X is assembled between the electrodes X as shown in FIG. 5A, the light emitter 41 is pressed by bending the upper end of the metal piece 540 after the light emitter 41 is placed on the substrate 24. be able to. The metal piece 540 may be appropriately bent in advance. The metal piece 540 need not be energized. Similarly to the electrode X, the electrode Y can also be used as a pressing member.

  FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of a light emitter and an electrode support according to the third embodiment.

  In the electrode support 56, a plurality of electrodes X are arranged at equal intervals on one side, and electrodes are not provided on the other side. The electrode Y that makes a pair with the electrode X is formed on the substrate 25. As shown in (b), the conductor pattern 30x is formed on the back surface of the substrate 25, and the electrode X is connected to the conductor pattern 30x through the through hole 25a. In this configuration, the insulation requirement in the electrode support 56 is moderate compared to the configuration in which electrodes are formed on both sides.

  In the luminous body 43, the auxiliary conductor 437 in contact with the electrode X is a transparent conductive film extending from the side of the outer surface of the glass tube 410 to the upper part, and the auxiliary conductor 438 in contact with the electrode Y is a highly reflective metal film. A phosphor layer 463 is formed on a plate-like support member that is curved along the inner surface of the glass tube 410. By inserting a pair of phosphor support members into the glass tube 410, fluorescence is generated on both the left and right sides of the gas space 411. A body layer 463 is disposed.

  In the above embodiment, the substrates 21 to 25 may be curved. Further, the curved screens can be assembled by arranging the substrates 21 to 25 along the curve. The arrangement direction of the light emitters is not limited to the horizontal direction, and the light emitters may be arranged in the vertical direction. However, when assembling a generally long screen in the horizontal direction, it is advantageous to arrange the light emitters in the horizontal direction. This is because the illuminant may be shorter than the arrangement length, and the display is generally cheap.

  In order to increase the strength of the light emitters 41, 41B to E, 42, 43, the outer surface of the glass tube 410 may be coated with an acrylic resin, a silicone resin, or other light-transmitting material. Further, instead of the glass tube 410, a tube made of a resin (for example, a silicone resin) having higher strength and heat resistance than glass may be used.

1 is a basic conceptual diagram of a display device according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the basic form of the assembly of the display apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of an electrode support body. It is a schematic block diagram of the display apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the board | substrate structure of the display apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a light-emitting body. It is a top view of the collective display apparatus using the display apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the coupling | bonding structure of the display apparatuses of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other example of a light-emitting body. It is a block diagram of the light-emitting body and electrode support body which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the board | substrate arrangement | sequence of the collective display apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of the electrode support body and board | substrate which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of the external shape of a light-emitting body. It is a figure which shows the other form of the assembly of a display apparatus. It is a block diagram of the light-emitting body and electrode support body which concern on 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

40, 41D, 41E luminous body 410 glass tube (tube)
411 Discharge gas space 453, 463 Phosphor layer 45, 46 Support member 412 Protective film 459 Reflective film 10, 11 Display device X, Y electrode 415-418 Conductor

Claims (10)

An elongated tubular light emitter,
A tube forming an outer shape;
A discharge gas sealed in the tube;
A phosphor layer that emits light by discharge,
The phosphor layer is formed on a support member separate from the tube, and is disposed inside the tube by inserting the support member into the tube. The support member is the light emitter of claim 1, wherein an elongated curved plate having a curved. The support member is the light emitter of claim 1, wherein an elongate flat plate. The light-emitting body according to claim 1, further comprising a protective film that covers an inner surface of the tube. The light-emitting body according to claim 4, wherein the support member is disposed inside the protective film. The support back to the reflective film member is formed, the phosphor emitting body according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein is formed in front of the support member. Said support front the reflective film member is formed, the phosphor emitting body according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein formed on the the reflective film. The light emitter according to claim 1, wherein the tube is a glass tube, and the support member is a glass plate. A display device having a screen composed of a substrate and a group of elongated light emitters arranged on the substrate,
A plurality of electrodes for controlling the light emission of each of the light emitters are fixed to the substrate so as to contact the outer surface of the light emitter,
Each of the light emitters is
A tube forming an outer shape;
A discharge gas sealed in the tube;
A phosphor layer that emits light by discharge,
The phosphor layer is formed on a support member separate from the tube, and is disposed inside the tube by inserting the support member into the tube. A plurality of conductors defining cells are fixed to the outer surface of each tube of the light emitter,
The display device according to claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of conductors is in contact with one of the plurality of electrodes.