JPH1064417A - Blast grinding apparatus and method of manufacturing gas discharge panel - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] In a blast grinding apparatus for performing blast grinding while moving an injection nozzle, the state of an abrasive jet flow is not made uneven even when the injection nozzle is moved, and blast grinding is performed. Improve accuracy. Further, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a gas discharge panel in which partition walls are formed by using such blast grinding. An abrasive unit for injecting abrasive grains and an abrasive grain are provided.
2 and a tubular member 123 serving as a path for transporting the abrasive grains 102 from the tank 122 to the jetting unit 101 are integrally formed, and the tubular member 123 is moved from the jetting unit 101 while being opposed to the workpiece 210. A blast grinding apparatus characterized in that blast grinding of an object to be ground 210 is performed by injecting abrasive grains 102. And a method of manufacturing a gas discharge panel in which a partition (spacer) is formed by using the blast grinding device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a blast grinding apparatus and a method for manufacturing a gas discharge panel, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a gas discharge panel for precisely forming spacers (including partition walls) of the gas discharge panel.

There are two types of gas discharge panels: AC type and DC type.
There are a variety of types, all of which are capable of realizing a large-sized flat display device capable of color display, and thus have attracted attention as display devices replacing CRTs. In particular, the use of a surface discharge type AC gas discharge panel suitable for full-color display by emitting phosphors is expanding in the field of television display including high definition.

[0003] In these gas discharge panels, there is a demand for improvements in a manufacturing method and the like for accurately forming spacers (including partition walls) for defining a discharge gap.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art First, a structure of a conventional gas discharge panel will be described, and then a method of forming a spacer (including a partition) as a component of the gas discharge panel by sand blast will be described.

[0005] In Fig. 4, the external view shown at the upper left shows the external structure of a gas discharge panel in which a discharge gas is sealed. This appearance structure is substantially the same in both the AC type and DC type gas discharge panels.

Here, for example, in the case of an AC type gas discharge panel (hereinafter referred to as PDP) capable of full color display, the internal structure is as shown in an enlarged perspective view of FIG. The PDP 1 has a structure called a surface discharge type PDP having a three-electrode structure of a matrix display system.

On the inner surface of the glass substrate 11 on the front side (also referred to as the display surface side), linear display electrodes X and Y for generating a surface discharge along the substrate surface are provided for each line L of the matrix display. They are arranged in pairs. Display electrodes X, Y
Denotes a wide linear electrode 41 made of an ITO thin film and a metal thin film having a multilayer structure (Cr / Cu / Cr).
And a linear bus electrode 42 having a narrow width.

In the PDP 1, a dielectric layer (PbO-based low-melting glass layer) 17 for AC driving is provided so as to cover the display electrodes X and Y with respect to the discharge space 30.
A protective film 18 made of MgO (magnesium oxide) is deposited on the surface of the dielectric layer 17.

On the other hand, the inner surface of the rear glass substrate 21
The address electrodes A are arranged at a constant pitch so as to be orthogonal to the display electrodes X and Y. The address electrode A is formed by firing silver paste.

On the dielectric layer 24 disposed so as to cover the entire upper surface of the address electrode A, a plurality of linear partitions 29 having a height of about 150 μm are provided between each address electrode A. Are provided. The main material of the partition wall 29 is also a low melting point glass. The discharge spaces 30 are partitioned by the partition walls 29 in the line direction (pixel arrangement direction parallel to the display electrodes X and Y) for each unit light emitting region, and the gap size of the discharge spaces 30 is defined. The partition 29 has a function as a spacer for defining a discharge gap g in addition to a function as a wall for separating discharge, and is therefore also referred to as a spacer.

Then, including the upper part of the address electrode A,
R (red), G (green), B for full color display so as to cover the surface of the dielectric layer 24 and the side surfaces of the partition 29.
The phosphor layers 28R, 28G, and 28B of the three primary colors (blue) are provided.

The gas discharge panel 1 constructed as described above
Is Ne—Xe (a mixed gas of Ne and Xe) that emits ultraviolet rays during discharge to excite the phosphor in the discharge space 30.
Discharge gas is sealed at a pressure of several hundred torr.

Next, the partition walls 29 are formed by using a technique such as a screen printing method or a sand blast method. Here, a method of forming using a sandblast method, which is directly related to the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 5, address electrodes (not shown)
Glass substrate 21 on which and a dielectric layer (not shown) are formed
On the top, a “solid film” 29 made of a material forming a partition wall
0 is formed, and a blast-resistant photosensitive film is provided on the solid film 290 in advance. This photosensitive film is patterned by a photo process to form a band-shaped mask 291a corresponding to the shape of the partition. Here, the “solid film” refers to a thick film layer formed uniformly over a certain large area. This strip-shaped mask 291a
Is sprayed on the entire surface of the solid film 290 containing the following as below, and the solid film in a portion without the band-shaped mask 291a is removed by blast grinding, that is, the band-shaped By forming the groove, a strip-shaped partition pattern is formed.

Since the blast-resistant strip-shaped mask 291a used here is made of a photosensitive film and is patterned by a photo process, it is possible to perform processing with high dimensional accuracy.

A high-pressure air flow 112a flows into the injection nozzle 101 in FIG. 5, and the high-pressure air flow 112a draws in the abrasive flow 111a, thereby forming an abrasive injection flow 113a containing the abrasive 102, and the injection nozzle Injected from 101. The abrasive grains 102 sprayed in this manner are solid films 29.
The solid film 290 is removed by blast grinding while colliding with the surface of the mask 0 and leaving only the portion corresponding to the band-shaped mask 291a. As a result, a strip-shaped partition wall 29 is formed immediately below the strip-shaped mask 291a.

In order to perform the blast grinding uniformly over the entire surface, the substrate 21 is processed while being moved substantially uniformly in the direction of arrow a3, and the injection nozzle 101 is repeatedly moved in the directions of arrows a1 and a2. Here, the direction of arrow a3 and the directions of arrows a1 and a2 are orthogonal to each other.

The abrasive grains 102 have an average particle diameter of 20 μm.
Glass beads of about m, Al ₂ O _{3 and the} like are used. In the figure, reference numeral 103 denotes a solid film 29 obtained by the blast grinding.
0 indicates powder generated by grinding.

After the band-shaped partition 29 is formed over the entire glass substrate 21 in this manner, the band-shaped mask 291 is formed.
By removing a and vitrifying the partition wall 29 by firing, the partition wall 29 shown in FIG. 4 can be completed.

[0020]

As described above, the formation of the partition wall 29 by the sand blast method originally intended to improve the pattern accuracy as compared with other methods such as screen printing. . However, 20-40
In the case of forming a partition wall 29 of a particularly large gas discharge panel such as a mold, it has been clarified that a problem that the processing accuracy varies from place to place may occur.

The processing accuracy will be described with reference to FIG. 6 showing the cross-sectional shape of the glass substrate 21 on which the partition walls 29 are formed. Assuming that the width of the top surface of the partition wall formed by sandblasting is L1 and the width of the bottom surface is L2, the variation in the width L1 is small, but the variation in the width L2 is large due to blast grinding conditions and the like within the same substrate. There is.

When the cause was examined, the main cause was that the abrasive particles 102 for blast grinding were not stably jetted from the jet nozzle 101, and this phenomenon caused an increase in the area of blast grinding and a narrow partition wall. It was found that the higher the pitch, the higher the height. That is, it can be said that this is particularly problematic in forming the partition walls of a large-sized, high-resolution gas discharge panel.

For example, in a partition of a large PDP of about 40 type, the pitch is about 300 μm and the height is about 150 μm.
m and the width L1 are 100 μm, the variation of the width L2 within the same glass substrate is 3 depending on the blast grinding conditions.
Some reach 0-50 μm. When the partition walls having such large variations are formed, a problem occurs in that the discharge characteristics vary, which results in display failure. Such a variation is small in a small PDP having a size of 20 inches or less, and is not a problem.

Here, “injection nozzle 1
As a result of examining the factors affecting the state of the abrasive jet 113a jetted from No. 01, the amount of the abrasive, the pressure of the high-pressure air, the feed speed in the direction of the symbol a3, and the symbols a1, a2
Among these factors, among others, it has been found that the "effect of the feed speed in the directions of the symbols a1 and a2" is particularly large. Of course, as described above, this effect becomes more remarkable as the area of the blast grinding increases and the partition walls have a smaller pitch and a higher height.

Furthermore, pursuing this phenomenon, "the effect of the feed speed in the directions of the signs a1 and a2" is based on the condition of the rubber tube (111 in FIG. 7) through which the abrasive grains pass (that is, as a sandblasting device). Configuration). This will be described with reference to FIG.

The injection nozzle 101 is fixed to a moving table 116a by an arm 116, and the moving table 116a slides on a drive shaft 117 to thereby rotate the substrate 21 to be ground.
It moves left and right (in the direction of arrow 131) on 0. The drive shaft 117 is driven by a motor 119 via a gear 118, and rotates so as to slide the fitted moving base 116a. Abrasive grains 102 stored in tank 121
Is sucked by the high-pressure air introduced into the injection nozzle 101 from the tube denoted by reference numeral 112 through the rubber tube 111,
The abrasive particles are jetted onto the substrate 210 as an abrasive jet 113a. The substrate 210 to be ground moves in the direction of the symbol a31 (upward direction on the paper) or the symbol a32 (downward direction on the paper). Blast grinding is performed on the entire grinding surface.

Here, the injection nozzle 101 moves left and right (arrow 1).
31), the rubber tube 111 also moves (as indicated by arrow 132a). As described above, when the rubber pipe 111 is swung right and left, the abrasive grains 102 running at a high speed in the rubber pipe 111 are affected by the running state. That is, the rubber tube 111 expands and contracts,
Since the pressure loss and the flow rate fluctuation of the high-pressure air occur, the state of the abrasive jet 113a becomes uneven. As a result, there arises a problem that the processing accuracy of the partition wall 29 varies from place to place. This problem becomes more pronounced as the gas discharge panel becomes larger and higher definition.

The present invention solves this problem, and provides an apparatus for performing blast grinding in which the state of an abrasive jet flow does not become uneven even when an injection nozzle moves, and a partition wall using such blast grinding. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a gas discharge panel for forming a gas discharge panel.

[0029]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a blast grinding apparatus according to claims 1 and 2 includes an injection unit for injecting abrasive grains, and a (first) tank for storing abrasive grains. , A tubular member serving as a path for transporting the abrasive grains from the (first) tank to the ejecting section, wherein the ejecting section ejects the abrasive grains while moving to perform blast grinding of the workpiece.
The (first) tank and the tubular member are those that move with the jet. Further, the blast grinding apparatus includes a fixed-side second tank for storing abrasive grains to be supplied to a moving-side (first) tank, and abrasive grains from the second tank to the (first) tank. And a second tubular member serving as a transport route.

Since the first tank and the first tubular member move together with the injection section, the first tubular member does not deform due to the movement of the injection section. The abrasive jet does not become non-uniform. Further, since the fixed second tank is provided, a large amount of abrasive grains can be stored in this tank. Therefore, since the first tank may have a small capacity, the portion that moves together with the injection unit can be made small and lightweight, and a large amount of abrasive grains can be stored in the first tank, In addition, it is not necessary to frequently perform additional supply work.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a gas discharge panel, wherein a partition for partitioning a discharge portion provided on an inner surface of at least one substrate of the gas discharge panel is formed by blast grinding. A substrate in which a partition wall material film and a blast resistant film having an opening pattern corresponding to the partition shape are laminated on a surface is moved in a first direction, and an abrasive particle jetting unit and at least one gas discharge panel are used for the abrasive particles. A blast grinding device that integrates a tank for storing an amount necessary for forming a partition wall and a tubular member serving as a path for transporting abrasive grains from the tank is formed by grinding a substrate in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. Inject abrasive grains from the injection unit while moving on the surface,
The partition material film on the substrate is partially ground and removed to form a partition under the blast-resistant film.

[0032] A tank for storing abrasive grains, wherein the abrasive grain jetting section stores:
Along with a tubular member that serves as a path for transporting abrasive grains from the tank,
Since the partition walls are formed by ejecting the abrasive grains while moving on the surface to be ground, the abrasive grain jet flow does not become uneven due to the movement of the abrasive grain ejecting portion, and therefore, the partition walls of the gas discharge panel can be accurately adjusted. It can be formed well.

[0033]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[First Embodiment] A blast grinding apparatus according to the present invention will be described as a first embodiment with reference to FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 210 denotes a substrate to be ground, and blast grinding is performed by abrasive grains (abrasive abrasive jet 113a) injected from the injection nozzle 101. The injection nozzle 101 is fixed to a moving table 116 a by an arm 116, and the moving table 116 a slides on a drive shaft 117 to move left and right (in the direction of the arrow 131 a) on the substrate 210 to be ground. The drive shaft 117 is driven by a motor 119 via a gear 118 to
6a is rotated so as to slide. The high-pressure air supplied from the tube denoted by reference numeral 112 sucks the abrasive grains 102 in the spray nozzle 101 to unite (merge) the abrasive grains 102 into the abrasive grain jet stream 113a.
And jets from the jet nozzle 101.

These structures are the same as the conventional structure shown in FIG. 7, except that a movable tank 122 is fixed to the movable table 116a, and a connecting pipe is provided between the movable tank 122 and the injection nozzle 101. Abrasive grains 10 combined at 123
2 is different from the conventional configuration. With this configuration, the injection nozzle 101 can be moved left and right (arrow 1).
When performing blast grinding by moving to the direction of 31a),
The movable tank 122 and the connecting pipe 123 are connected to the injection nozzle 10
1 and can be moved integrally. Therefore, since the coupling pipe 123 is not deformed during the movement, it does not affect the state of the abrasive grain jet stream 113a (eg, the jet pressure / velocity and the jet quantity). It is possible to perform uniform blast grinding with the uniform abrasive jet 113a.

Here, since the connecting tube 123 has a fixed configuration, it is not necessary to have elasticity like a rubber tube. Therefore, the coupling tube 123 can be made of plastic or metal (Al, stainless steel, etc.) in addition to an elastic body such as rubber.

Further, the movable tank 122 is connected to a fixed large tank 125 by a rubber tube 124. Since a large amount of abrasive grains 102 are stored in the large tank 125 and supplied to the movable tank 122 through the rubber tube 124, the movable tank 122 in this configuration is a kind of buffer tank and a small one. Good. This makes it possible to reduce the size and weight of the movable part and to increase the accuracy of the movement during the movement, which is also useful for improving the processing accuracy.

In this configuration, the rubber tube 124 is connected to the movable tank 1
In some cases, the abrasive grains 102 may move and deform under the influence of the movement of the abrasive grains 22, and the state of the abrasive grains 102 traveling therethrough may be somewhat uneven. However, this abrasive 10
2 is temporarily stored in the movable tank 122 as a buffer, and thereafter becomes uniform when traveling toward the injection nozzle 101 through the coupling pipe 123,
The deformation of the rubber tube 124 is not adversely affected. As a result, the injection nozzle 101 is provided with a uniform abrasive jet 1
13a can be formed.

As the abrasive jet 113a, for example, a jet which jets at a pressure of 2-3 kg / cm ² at a flow rate of 200-250 g / min is used. In addition, by using a plurality of (about five) injection nozzles 101, it is possible to improve the blast grinding speed and the in-plane uniformity.

On the other hand, the size of the movable tank 122 is
When the necessary amount (for example, one to several pieces) of the substrate 210 to be ground is set to a size capable of storing the abrasive particles 102 sufficient for blast grinding, supply of the abrasive particles from the large tank 125 may be stopped during grinding. In this case, a configuration in which the rubber tube 124 and the large tank 125 are not used (in this case, the movable tank can be configured in a replaceable cassette type) can be adopted.

Further, when blast grinding is performed by spraying the abrasive grains 102, powder (hereinafter, referred to as grinding powder 103) from which the substrate 210 is ground is generated.
3 falls to the lower part of the blast grinding tank 105 mixed with abrasive grains. The grinding powder 103 and the abrasive grains 102 form a pipe 127a.
Through the separation tank 126. This separation tank 12
In 6, a kind of centrifugal separation is used to remove heavy abrasive grains 10
2, light grinding powder 103 (usually lighter than abrasive 102)
And are separated. The separated abrasive particles 102 are returned to the large tank 125 and reused, and the separated abrasive powder 1
03 is the tube 12 as indicated by the arrow 127d.
It is discharged via 7b.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of FIG. 1 shown in a block diagram more specifically. In FIG.
1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG.
1 shows a configuration substantially the same as that of FIG. 1 with respect to the inside of the blast grinding tank 105 as a main part, but shows the internal configuration of the separation tank 126 of FIG. 1 in more detail.
The grinding powder 103 and the abrasive 102 introduced from the blast grinding tank 105 into the separation tank 126 are separated into the abrasive 102 on the lower side and the abrasive 103 on the upper side by centrifugal separation.
02 is directly introduced into the large tank 125. Then, the grinding powder 103 is introduced into the next filter tank 128,
The clean air filtered by the filter 128a is indicated by an arrow 131a.
And the remaining grinding powder 103 is removed from the filter tank 12.
8 and collected in a waste box 132 for disposal.

Second Embodiment A method for forming a partition of a gas discharge panel by applying the present invention will be described as a second embodiment with reference to FIG. This partition corresponds to the partition 29 of the gas discharge panel 1 shown in FIG.

(A) A paste containing a glass material forming a partition is printed as a solid film 290 by screen printing on the substrate 21 on which the address electrodes A and the dielectric layer 24 are formed, and dried. This printing and drying are usually performed a plurality of times to form a solid film 290 laminated to a thickness of about 160 μm.

Further, a blast-resistant photosensitive film 291 is formed on the solid film 290. As this photosensitive film,
Usually, a dry film is used. (b) The photosensitive film 291 is exposed to a pattern corresponding to the partition walls, and is subjected to a development process, so that the photosensitive film 291a is left as a mask material on a portion corresponding to the top surface of the partition wall to be formed.

(C) A solid film 290 having the photosensitive film 291a patterned in this way and made of a partition wall forming material
Then, blast grinding is performed by spraying abrasive grains. Arrow 1 in the figure
13a indicates that the abrasive grains are being sprayed in the direction of the arrow. The curved surface indicated by the broken line 290a is the solid film 2
Numeral 90 indicates a shape in the middle of blast grinding by the injection of the abrasive grains.

(D) After the blast grinding using the abrasive grains is completed, the mask 291a formed of the photosensitive film is peeled off, and a cleaning process is performed to complete the formation of the partition wall 29. After this step, a process of firing the substrate 211 at a temperature of about 560 ° C. to vitrify the partition wall is performed. Thus, the formation of the substrate 211 having the partition wall 29 is completed.

In this embodiment, the partition 29
Is described by blast grinding, but the present invention is not limited to the partition having such a structure. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to formation of a spacer for defining a discharge gap, which is disposed in a point shape between a pair of substrates of a gas discharge panel, and can obtain the same operation and effect. It is possible. The same applies to other structures in the gas discharge panel other than such spacers, which are configured to protrude from the substrate.

[0049]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the tank storing the abrasive grains and the pipe serving as a path for supplying the abrasive grains from the tank to the injection nozzle move integrally with the injection nozzle. With this configuration, uniform blasting can be performed, and therefore, a blast grinding apparatus that can perform uniform blast grinding can be realized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when forming the partition walls of the gas discharge panel by blast grinding, the above-mentioned blast grinding apparatus is used, whereby the partition walls having good uniformity can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a blast grinding device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a structure of a gas discharge panel.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a method of forming a partition by blast grinding.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional shape of a glass substrate on which partition walls are formed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional blast grinding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Gas Discharge Panel 11 Glass Substrate 21 Glass Substrate, Substrate 24 Dielectric Layer 29 Partition 101 Injection Nozzle, Injection Unit 102 Abrasive Grains, Grinding Fine Particles 103 Grinding Powder 105 Blast Grinding Tank 111 Rubber Tube 112 Tube 113a Abrasive Grain Flow 116 Arm 116a Moving table 117 Drive shaft 118 Gear 119 Motor 121 Tank 122 Tank, Movable tank 123 Connecting pipe, Tubular member 124 Rubber pipe 125 Large (fixed) tank 126 Separation tank 128 Filter tank 211 Substrate 290 Solid film 291 Photosensitive film 291a Mask, photosensitive film A address electrode

Claims (3)

[Claims] An injection unit for injecting abrasive grains, a tank for storing the abrasive grains, and a tubular member serving as a path for transporting the abrasive grains from the tank to the injection unit are integrally formed, and this is ground. A blast grinding apparatus characterized in that blast grinding is performed by blasting the object to be ground by injecting abrasive grains from the injection unit while moving the object in opposition to the object. 2. A fixed second tank for storing abrasive grains to be supplied to the tank, and a second tubular member serving as a path for transporting the abrasive grains from the second tank to the tank, The blast grinding device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A method for manufacturing a gas discharge panel, wherein a partition for partitioning a discharge portion provided on an inner surface of at least one substrate of the gas discharge panel is formed by a blast grinding method. A substrate in which a material film and a blast-resistant film having an opening pattern corresponding to the shape of the partition wall are laminated is moved in a first direction.
A blast grinding device that integrates a tank for storing an amount necessary for forming the number of partition walls and a tubular member serving as a path for transporting abrasive grains from the tank in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. Abrasive grains are ejected from the ejecting portion while being moved on the surface to be ground of the substrate, and the partition material film on the substrate is partially ground and removed to form the partition under the blast-resistant film. Manufacturing method of gas discharge panel.