Electric lamp and discharge devices – With getter
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-26
2003-04-01
Patel, Vip (Department: 2879)
Electric lamp and discharge devices
With getter
C313S495000, C313S422000, C417S048000, C417S051000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06541912
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present claimed invention relates to the field of flat panel displays. More particularly, the present claimed invention relates to an auxiliary chamber and display device with improved contaminant removal.
BACKGROUND ART
Display devices such as, for example, flat panel display devices typically utilize an evacuated environment during operation. In a field emission-type display device, field emitters located on a cathode emit electrons which are directed towards respective pixel or sub-pixel regions on a faceplate. In such a device, it is imperative that the region between the faceplate and the cathode (i.e. the active environment) remain free of contaminants so that the electrons can travel unimpeded from the cathode to the faceplate. As yet another concern, if certain contaminants are present in the active environment between the cathode and the faceplate, certain features, such as the field emitters may be damaged.
With reference now to Prior Art
FIG. 1
, a side sectional view of a display device
100
employing a conventional contaminant reduction approach is shown. Specifically, Prior Art
FIG. 1
shows a backplate or cathode
102
secured to a faceplate
104
via a sealing frame
106
. The active environment is the region located between cathode
102
and faceplate
104
. Field emitters, typically shown as
108
, are coupled to cathode
102
and are disposed within the active environment. In the conventional approach of Prior Art
FIG. 1
, a getter material
110
is also coupled to the cathode and is disposed within the active environment. The getter material is intended to capture contaminant particles which remain in the active environment after an evacuation process. The getter material is also intended to capture contaminant particles which are generated during operation of display device
100
.
Unfortunately, the conventional approach of Prior Art
FIG. 1
has significant drawbacks associated therewith. By locating getter material
110
within the active environment, region
112
is no longer available for use. That is, such a prior art approach reduces or compromises the amount of space which is available to be utilized by features such as, for example, field emitters. Additionally, by placing getter material
110
within the active environment, such a prior art approach deleteriously subjects the active environment, and hence field emitters
108
, to the hazardous getter material
110
. As a result, field emitters
108
are often degraded or damaged due to their close proximity to getter material
110
.
With reference now to Prior Art
FIG. 2
, a side sectional view of display device
100
employing another conventional approach in an attempt to reduce contaminants is shown. In this approach a pump-out tube is coupled directly to the active environment. The pump-out tube is used to facilitate evacuation of display device
100
, and, hence, remove contaminants therefrom. Once again, such a conventional approach has severe drawbacks associated therewith. Attaching tubulation directly to the active environment of display device
100
greatly complicates the process of manufacturing display device
100
. Additionally, the increased complexity associated with attaching the tubulation directly to display device
100
adds additional cost to the manufacturing process. Furthermore, the potential for defects in display device
100
is heightened by attaching tubulation
114
directly to display device
100
.
Referring still to Prior Art
FIG. 2
, conventional tubulation such as tubulation
114
significantly alters and increase the “envelope” of display device
100
. The envelope of display device
100
refers roughly to the amount of space occupied by the display device
100
. In Prior Art
FIG. 2
, the envelope of display device
100
is shown by dotted line
116
. As a result of protruding tubulation
114
, display device
100
must be allotted a larger area in which to operate. It will be seen from Prior Art
FIG. 2
, that the increased area or envelope
116
required by tubulation
114
may restrict or limit the locations and environments in which display device
100
can be used.
With reference next to Prior Art
FIG. 3
, a side sectional view of display device
100
employing another conventional approach in an attempt to reduce contaminants is shown. In this conventional approach, tubulation
118
is again attached directly to the active environment of display device
100
. As still another drawback, tubulation
118
extends beyond the edge of display device. As result, prior art tubulation
118
often interferes with the sealing process used to secure cathode
102
and faceplate
104
together. More specifically, during a laser sealing process, for example, the laser beam or beams must contact the entire periphery of display device
100
. In the configuration shown in Prior Art
FIG. 3
, tubulation
118
can obstruct the laser beam or beams, thereby “shadowing” a portion of the periphery of display device
100
. As a result, the seal between cathode
102
and faceplate
104
can be compromised, or the sealing process must be altered to accommodate tubulation
118
.
Thus, a need exists for an apparatus which removes contaminants from a display device without compromising the usable amount of space available within the display device. A further need exists for an auxiliary chamber which meets the above listed needs but which does not deleteriously expose features of the display device to getter material. Still another need exists for an auxiliary chamber which meets the above-listed needs but which does not significantly increase or alter the overall dimensions of the display device. Still another need exists for an apparatus that has improved contaminant particle removal.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention provides an apparatus which removes contaminants from a display device without compromising the usable amount of space available within the display device. The present invention also provides an auxiliary chamber which realizes the above listed accomplishment and which does not deleteriously expose features of the display device to getter material. The present invention further provides an auxiliary chamber which achieves the above-listed accomplishments but which does not significantly increase or alter the overall dimensions of the display device. The present invention also provides an apparatus with improved contaminant particle removal.
Specifically, the present invention provides an apparatus for removing contaminants from a display device using an auxiliary chamber, and a method for attaching the auxiliary chamber to the display device. In one embodiment, an auxiliary chamber is adapted to be coupled to a surface of a display device. The auxiliary chamber is adapted to be coupled to the surface of the display device such that contaminants within the display device can travel from the display device into the auxiliary chamber. The auxiliary chamber further includes a getter which is disposed therein. The getter is adapted to capture the contaminants once the contaminants travel from the display device into the auxiliary chamber. In so doing, the present invention eliminates the need for getter material to be placed within the active area of the display device. As a result, the present invention increases the usable amount of space available within the display device. This extra space can then be utilized by features such as, for example, additional field emitters.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides method for attaching an auxiliary chamber to a display device. In this embodiment, the present invention first conditions a surface of a display device such that a conditioned surface of the display device is generated. This conditioned surface of the display device is thereby adapted to have an auxiliary chamber bonded thereto. Next, the present invention conditions a surface of the auxiliary chamber such that a conditioned surface of the auxiliary chamber is generated. In so doing, the conditioned surface of
Curtin Christopher J.
Duboc, Jr. Robert M.
Fahlen Theodore S.
Fritz William C.
Hansen Ronald L.
Candescent Technologies Corporation
Patel Vip
Wagner , Murabito & Hao LLP
Williams Joseph
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