Electric lamp and discharge devices – Cathode ray tube – Beam deflecting means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-23
2003-06-24
Ramsey, Kenneth J. (Department: 2879)
Electric lamp and discharge devices
Cathode ray tube
Beam deflecting means
C313S495000, C445S024000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06583549
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spacer assembly used in a flat panel display apparatus, a method of manufacturing a spacer assembly, a flat panel display apparatus with a spacer assembly, a method of manufacturing a flat panel display apparatus, and a mold used in the manufacture of a spacer assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flat panel display apparatus represented by a liquid crystal display apparatus has been widely used in various fields as a display apparatus that replaces a cathode ray tube (CRT).A liquid display apparatus, however, has several problems to be solved; for example, it does not emit light by itself and its display performance has view angle dependency.
In this situation, a self emission type flat panel display apparatus such as a field emission display (FED) or plasma display (PDP) is under development. For example, a surface conduction type electron-emitting display (SED) as one type of the FED has been intensively studied and developed because it can ensure good display characteristics compatible with those of a CRT.
This SED has a face plate and rear plate opposing each other at a predetermined gap. These plates are bonded to each other at their peripheries through a rectangular frame-like side wall, thus constituting a vacuum envelope. Three color phosphor layers are formed on the inner surface of the face plate, and a number of emitters corresponding to respective pixels are arranged on the inner surface of the rear plate to serve as electron-emitting sources for exciting phosphors. Each emitter is comprised of an electron-emitting portion, a pair of electrodes for applying a voltage to the electron-emitting portion, and the like.
A plate-like grid is disposed between the two plates. The grid has a number of apertures located to be aligned with the emitters, and a number of columnar spacers are arranged on the grid for maintaining the gap between the plates. An electron beam emitted from each emitter passes through the corresponding aperture of the grid and is converged on a desired phosphor layer.
As an FED having a spacer assembly comprised of a grid and spacers as described above, one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,205 is known. According to this FED, a plate-like grid has a number of spacer holes. A columnar spacer with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the spacer hole is inserted in each spacer hole, and is adhered and fixed to the grid with an adhesive frit glass, solder, or the like. Each spacer projects from the two surfaces of the grid, and its two ends abut against the inner surfaces of the face plate and rear plate, respectively.
As described above, when a spacer assembly is to be manufactured by inserting columnar spacers in a number of spacer holes formed in a grid and fixing them by using an adhesive or the like, the manufacture becomes very cumbersome, and it is difficult to improve the manufacturing efficiency. More specifically, each spacer is as very small as several 100 &mgr;m in diameter and several mm in height, and the spacer hole corresponding to it is also very small. To correctly insert such a very small spacer in the spacer hole of the grid and adhere it to the grid by using an adhesive or the like, high assembly precision is required. This makes the operation very difficult and leads to an increase in manufacturing cost and a decrease in manufacturing efficiency.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a spacer assembly for a flat panel display apparatus which can be manufactured easily, a flat panel display apparatus having a spacer assembly, a method of manufacturing a spacer assembly, a mold used in the manufacture of a spacer assembly, and a flat panel display apparatus which can prevent a decrease in display quality from being caused by charging of the spacer while a sufficiently high strength is ensured.
In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a spacer assembly having a substrate and a plurality of columnar spacers formed on the substrate and used for a flat panel display apparatus, comprises:
preparing a substrate and a mold with a number of through holes,
arranging the mold on a surface of the substrate to be in tight contact therewith and filling the through holes of the mold with a spacer forming material,
curing the spacer forming material by irradiation with radiation, thereby increasing adhesion of the spacer forming material with respect to the surface of the substrate to be higher than that of the spacer forming material with respect to the mold,
calcining the spacer forming material with the mold being in tight contact with the substrate, thereby forming spacers on the substrate, and
after cooling, releasing the mold from the substrate.
A method of manufacturing a spacer assembly according to another aspect of the present invention comprises
preparing a substrate having opposing first and second surfaces and a plurality of through holes, and first and second molds each having a plurality of through holes,
arranging the first and second molds on the first and second surfaces of the substrate to be in tight contact therewith such that the holes of the substrate and the through holes of the first and second molds are aligned with each other, and thereafter filling the through holes of the first and second mold with a spacer forming material,
curing the spacer forming material by irradiation with radiation, thereby increasing adhesion of the spacer forming material with respect to the substrate to be higher than that of the spacer forming material with respect to the first and second molds,
calcining the spacer forming material with the first and second molds being in tight contact with the substrate, thereby forming spacers on the first and second surfaces of the substrate, and
after cooling, releasing the first and second molds from the substrate.
A method of manufacturing a spacer assembly according to another aspect of the present invention comprises:
preparing a substrate having opposing first and second surfaces, and first and second molds each having a plurality of through holes,
arranging the first mold on the first surface of the substrate to be in tight contact therewith, and thereafter filling the through holes of the first mold with a spacer forming material,
curing the spacer forming material by irradiation with radiation, thereby increasing adhesion of the spacer forming material with respect to the first surface of the substrate to be higher than that of the spacer forming material with respect to the first mold,
arranging the second mold on the second surface of the substrate to be in tight contact therewith, and filling the through holes of the second mold with a spacer forming material,
curing the spacer forming material by irradiation with radiation, thereby increasing adhesion of the spacer forming material with respect to the second surface of the substrate to be higher than that of the spacer forming material with respect to the second mold,
after irradiation with the radiation, calcining the spacer forming material with the first and second molds being in tight contact with the substrate, thereby forming spacers on the first and second surfaces of the substrate, and
after cooling, releasing the first and second molds from the substrate.
According to the manufacturing method described above, a glass paste containing at least an ultraviolet-curing binder and a glass filler is used as the spacer forming material, and in this case, the spacer forming material is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays as radiation.
As the substrate, a metal plate having a surface with an oxide film formed on it, a grid formed of a metal plate having a number of apertures and a surface with an oxide film formed on it, or a glass substrate can be used. As the mold, one subjected to surface treatment having releasability with respect to the spacer forming material and oxida
Fukuda Kumio
Ishikawa Satoshi
Nikaido Masaru
Takenaka Shigeo
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Ramsey Kenneth J.
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