KR20080073687A - Fluorescent lamp firing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp manufacturing process, the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of rotating rollers for supporting and rotating a glass tube for manufacturing a fluorescent lamp, and the plurality of rotating rollers upper side for heating the glass tube It comprises a heating unit disposed in the, the lifting block for lifting the glass tube supported by the rotating roller to move horizontally along the heating unit, and an elastic member coupled to surround at least one outer peripheral surface of the plurality of rotating rollers Since the glass tube comes into contact with the elastic member, the glass tube is minimized from being deformed or broken by impact.

Description

Fluorescent lamp firing equipment {APPARATUS FOR BAKING FLUORESCENT LAMP}

The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp manufacturing process, and relates to an apparatus for firing a fluorescent lamp during the fluorescent lamp manufacturing process.

Among the flat panel display devices, since the liquid crystal display device is a non-light emitting device that does not emit light by itself, a backlight unit (BLU) for providing a separate light source is required.

In such a backlight unit, a fluorescent lamp having a diameter of several mm is used. As the fluorescent lamp, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), an external electrode fluorescent lamp (EEFL), or the like is used.

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

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 2, the external electrode fluorescent lamp 20 has a structure in which both ends of the glass tube 21 are sealed, and electrodes 22 and 23 are formed to surround both ends of the lamp 20 from the outside. The external electrodes 22 and 23 form an electric field in the glass tube 21 to discharge gas. Similarly, fluorescent material 24 is coated on the inner wall of the glass tube 21, and the inner space 25 of the glass tube is filled with a mixed gas such as mercury, argon, and neon.

The manufacturing process of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp or the external electrode fluorescent lamp includes a coating step of applying a fluorescent material to the inside of the glass tube, a firing step of firing and stabilizing the coated fluorescent material, and an exhausting step of evacuating the inner gas of the fired glass tube. And a sealing process of filling the evacuated glass tube with a mixed gas and sealing the glass tube. Between the devices in each of these processes, there is a loading device for loading the glass tube into the device, and an unloading device for taking out the glass tube from the device, the transfer device for transporting the glass tube between or inside each device It is provided.

In particular, the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus used in the firing process needs to heat the glass tube at a constant temperature. The glass tube is a tube having a diameter of several mm and a member having a very long length compared to the diameter, so that the glass tube is not uniformly heated. This can be warped and deformed or, in severe cases, broken. Therefore, the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the prior art is provided with a rotating means such as a rotating roller to rotate while the glass tube is heated, and separately provided with a quartz tube having a diameter larger than that of the glass tube rather than directly rotating the glass tube to protect the glass tube. Then, the process proceeds while inserting a plurality of glass tubes into the quartz tube. On the other hand, a pair of neighboring rotary rollers are arranged such that the distance between the rotating shafts is smaller than the diameter of the rotary rollers, so that a pair of neighboring rotary rollers are arranged so that a part thereof overlaps. The pair of rotating rollers overlapped form a concave shape close to the v-shape when viewed from the side. The quartz tube is rotated by the rotation of the rotating roller in contact with the pair of rotating rollers at this position.

On the other hand, in order to proceed the manufacturing process in a batch type (batch type), it is necessary to proceed continuously in one direction. To this end, the quartz tube being rotated by the rotating roller is raised from the rotating roller and then transported a certain distance in the horizontal direction, and the quartz tube is intermittently lowered and placed in another rotating roller at a position spaced apart by a certain distance. A transfer means such as a lifting holder for transferring is also provided.

By the way, when the lifting holder is lowered, the quartz tube hits the upper end of the rotary roller while being placed. At this time, the glass tube inserted into the quartz tube is impacted by the impact on the rotating roller. Since the glass tube is made of a hard material, the glass tube is weak in impact. Therefore, there is a possibility that the glass tube is broken depending on the strength of the impact. In addition, while the glass tube is being transferred, the glass tube is in a state where the temperature is higher than room temperature and the member is very long in length compared to the diameter, so that deformation such as bending due to impact may occur.

On the other hand, the reason for rotating the glass tube during heating is to ensure that the glass tube is heated uniformly as described above. Therefore, when a slip occurs between the rotating roller and the quartz tube, the amount of rotation of the glass tube interpolated in the quartz tube is reduced or the rotational speed is not constant, resulting in a high possibility of the glass tube being unevenly heated. Non-uniform heating causes deformation or breakage of the glass tube, which in turn leads to failure of the final fluorescent lamp finished product or lowered yield.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lamp manufacturing apparatus for preventing the glass tube from being impacted by the operation of lowering the glass tube.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lamp manufacturing apparatus capable of continuously rotating the glass tube at a constant speed.

Other objects, specific advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In order to achieve the above object, a fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of rotating rollers for supporting and rotating a glass tube for manufacturing a fluorescent lamp, and heating disposed above the plurality of rotating rollers to heat the glass tube. And an elevating block for elevating the glass tube supported by the rotating roller to move horizontally along the heating unit, and an elastic member coupled to surround at least one outer circumferential surface of the plurality of rotating rollers. Since the glass tube is in contact with the elastic member, the glass tube is minimized from being deformed or broken by impact.

In the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention, the plurality of rotating rollers are composed of a plurality of unit rollers in which a pair of rotating rollers are coupled to one rotating shaft, the unit rollers adjacent to the unit rollers Preferably, the distance between the rotating shafts is smaller than the diameter of one rotating roller.

In the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention, the elastic member is preferably made of a heat resistant elastomer so as not to be deformed or degraded even at a high temperature required for glass tube firing.

Meanwhile, the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention further includes a quartz tube for accommodating the glass tube, wherein the plurality of rotating rollers support the quartz tube, and the lifting block moves the quartz tube up and down and moves horizontally. By doing so, the effect of preventing damage to the glass tube can be further improved.

In the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention, the elastic member is preferably a ring-shaped member fitted to the outer circumferential surface of the rotary roller. Alternatively, the elastic member may be formed by coating an elastic material on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller.

According to the present invention, since the elastic member is provided to surround the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller supporting the quartz tube, the quartz tube comes into contact with the elastic member when the tube is lowered, thereby reducing the impact upon contact. Therefore, breakage or deformation of the glass tube inserted into the quartz tube can be prevented. The same effect can be obtained when only the glass tube is advanced without the quartz tube.

In addition, since the elastic member provided on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller has a higher friction force than the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller, it is possible to rotate the glass tube at a constant and constant speed. Therefore, the glass tube is heated uniformly as a whole, and the deformation and breakage are minimized, thereby reducing the defective rate of the final finished product and increasing the yield.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a front view schematically showing an embodiment of a fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a front view of the rotary roller of the embodiment of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a state in which the heating portion is removed in the embodiment of Figure 3 Top view.

The glass tube 30 for manufacturing the fluorescent lamp is a tubular tube having a diameter of only a few millimeters, so that there is a risk of breakage and rotation, and thus the glass tube 30 is inserted into the quartz tube 40 having a higher strength and a larger diameter and easier to rotate. It is preferable to add to the process as it is.

The heating unit 130 is for firing and stabilizing the fluorescent material applied to the inner wall of the glass tube 30, and is made of an electric heater that radiates heat. Heat radiated from the heating unit 130 passes through the quartz tube 40 to heat the fluorescent material applied to the inner wall of the glass tube 30. The heating unit 130 may be divided into a preheating section (P1), the main heating section (P2), the holding section (P3) and the cooling section (P4), the preheating section (P1) is a glass tube 30 of the room temperature state The heating section starts to be heated, and the main heating section P2 is a section for heating the glass tube 30 to a temperature required for firing the fluorescent material, and the holding section P3 maintains the temperature of the glass tube 30 in a heated state. Cooling section (P4) is a section for lowering the heating temperature in order to cool before carrying out the plastic glass tube 30 is completed, while passing through the maintenance section (P3) to the outside. In order to cool the glass tube 30 to near room temperature, a cooling fan 140 is further disposed at a position corresponding to the cooling section P4 of the heating unit 130. The cooling fan 140 is disposed to be symmetrical with the cooling section P4 of the heating unit 130 below the rotary roller 110. The glass tube 30 must proceed while passing through each section of the heating unit 130 as described above.

The conveying parts 110 and 120 are for moving the glass tube 30 in one direction below the heating part 130, and include a rotating roller 110 and a lifting block 120.

The plurality of rotating rollers 110 is composed of a set of unit rollers formed by coupling a pair of rotating rollers to face one rotating shaft. That is, the plurality of rotating rollers 110 constitute one unit roller one by one pair, each of the plurality of unit rollers are arranged side by side along the advancing direction of the glass tube 30, that is, quartz tube 40, between neighboring unit rollers Since the interval of the smaller than the diameter of one rotating roller 110, as shown in the front view of Figure 3 a pair of rotating rollers 111, 112 neighboring along the traveling direction of the quartz tube 40 is arranged so that a portion overlaps do. Then, a V-shaped groove is formed between a pair of neighboring rotating rollers 111 and 112 along the advancing direction of the quartz tube 40. The quartz tube 40 is located at the point where the groove shape is formed. It is supported by a pair of rotary rollers (111, 112). The plurality of rotating rollers 110 may all rotate in the same direction or may rotate in different directions, and the pair of rotating rollers 111 and 112 supporting the at least one quartz tube 40 together are the same direction. Rotate to That is, when the quartz tube 40 is positioned between two adjacent rotating rollers 111 and 112 along the advancing direction of the quartz tube 40, the quartz tube 40 is supported by two adjacent rotating rollers 111 and 112 together. Since the two rotating rollers 111 and 112 rotate in the same direction, the quartz tube 40 rotates in the opposite direction by friction, and the glass tube 30 inserted into the quartz tube 40 also rotates. As such, the reason for rotating the glass tube 30 is that the glass tube 30 is a fine tube, so that the heating process may be deformed or broken if the heating process is not uniform, so that heat is evenly transmitted to the entire glass tube 30.

Lifting block 120 is to allow the glass tube 30 to proceed sequentially from the preheating section (P1) to the cooling section (P4), the V-shaped groove is formed at the top, and the lifting and horizontal movement It is installed to be possible. The lifting block 120 is operated at a position lower than the upper end of the rotary roller 110 at an initial position, and then rises to a position higher than the rotary roller 110. Then, the quartz tube 40 is separated from the rotating roller 110 while being supported by the groove 121 of the elevating block 120. Next, the lifting block 120 moves in a horizontal direction, which is a direction from the preheating section P1 to the cooling section P4. The horizontally moved lifting block 120 is lowered down to a lower position than the rotary roller 110. In this process, the quartz tube 40 supported by the elevating block 120 is supported by another rotating roller 110, and the elevating block 120 is spaced apart from the quartz tube 40. At this time, the rotating roller 110 in which the quartz tube 40 is supported is rotated at a position spaced apart from the rotating roller 110 that was initially supported by the distance of the lifting block 120 in the horizontal direction toward the cooling section P4. It becomes the roller 110. As such, the quartz pipe 40 is moved to the rotary roller 110 to move the lifting block 120 in a horizontal direction at a lower position than the rotary roller 110, but the cooling section P4 faces the preheating section P1. Move in the direction of The lifting block 120 then returns to its initial position, completing one transfer cycle.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 4, the outer peripheral surface of the rotary roller 110, the elastic member 110a is disposed to surround the outer peripheral surface of the rotary roller (110). Herein, the elastic member 110a refers to a material having a better elastic force than the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller 110. Since the rotating roller 110 is made of a metal material, the elastic member 110a is made of rubber, synthetic resin, or the like. Can be.

Since the elastic member 110a is disposed, when the quartz tube 40 descends while being supported by the lifting block 120 and approaches the rotary roller 110, it first comes into contact with the elastic member 110a. However, since the elastic member 110a has a larger elastic force than the rotating roller 110, the impact applied to the quartz tube 40 by contact is greatly alleviated. In addition, even in the process of rotating in contact with the rotary roller 110, since the frictional force of the elastic member (110a) is greater than the frictional force of the general metal material, the quartz tube 40 is rotated more stably. That is, the elastic member (110a) may absorb the shock, but also allows the quartz tube 40 to rotate continuously at a constant speed. Since the elastic member 110a is required not to be deformed by the heat applied by the heating unit 130, it is preferable that the elastic member 110a is made of a heat resistant elastomer. Meanwhile, the elastic member 110a may be formed by separately manufacturing a ring-shaped member such as an O-ring and inserting it on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller 110, but such as a synthetic resin on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller 110. It may be formed by coating an elastic material.

An embodiment of the present invention described above and illustrated in the drawings should not be construed as limiting the technical spirit of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is limited only by the matters described in the claims, and those skilled in the art can change and change the technical idea of the present invention in various forms. Therefore, such improvements and modifications will fall within the protection scope of the present invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a CCFL according to the prior art,

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the EEFL according to the prior art,

3 is a front view schematically showing an embodiment of a fluorescent lamp firing apparatus according to the present invention;

4 is a front view showing a rotating roller of the embodiment of FIG.

5 is a plan view of a state in which the heating unit is removed in the embodiment of FIG. 3.

Claims (6)

A plurality of rotating rollers for supporting and rotating a glass tube for manufacturing a fluorescent lamp; A heating unit disposed above the plurality of rotating rollers to heat the glass tube; An elevating block for elevating the glass tube supported by the rotating roller to move horizontally along the heating unit; Fluorescent lamp firing apparatus comprising an elastic member coupled to surround at least one outer peripheral surface of the plurality of rotating rollers. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of rotating rollers, Composed of a plurality of unit rollers coupled to a pair of rotating rollers on one rotating shaft, The distance between the rotating shaft of one unit roller and the neighboring unit roller is smaller than the diameter of one rotating roller fluorescent lamp firing apparatus. The method of claim 1, wherein the elastic member, Fluorescent lamp firing apparatus, characterized in that the heat-resistant elastomer. The method of claim 1, Further comprising a quartz tube for receiving the glass tube, The plurality of rotating rollers support the quartz tube, The lifting block is a fluorescent lamp firing apparatus, characterized in that for lifting and horizontal movement of the quartz tube. The method of claim 1, wherein the elastic member, And a ring-shaped member fitted to an outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller. The method of claim 1, wherein the elastic member, Fluorescent lamp firing apparatus, characterized in that formed by coating an elastic material on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary roller.

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