Face panel assembly for a color cathode ray tube

For use in a color cathode ray tube, the combination comprising:

• an approximately rectangular faceplate supporting on a concave inner surface thereof in a central region a phosphor screen comprising a pattern of red-emissive, blue-emissive and green-emissive phosphor triads;
• a lightweight, approximately rectangular, frameless shadow mask having a central portion which has a curvature related to that of said faceplate inner surface and which contains a pattern of electron-transmissive apertures registered with said pattern of phosphor triads, said mask having a shallow rim portion formed integrally in said mask around said central portion and having as a part thereof a skirt extending radially outwardly with respect to said central portion, said rim portion providing substantial rigidity with respect to axes normal to the sides thereof, but providing for flexure of the mask with respect to its diagonals;
• and
• a mask suspension system for establishing a predetermined geometric position of said mask relative to and at a predetermined spacing from said inner surface of said faceplate, comprising four suspension means for mechanically coupling said mask to said faceplate, each of said suspension means including a bracket secured to the rim portion of said mask so as to extend around a corner on the outside and in the plane thereof, to which bracket is secured cantilevered means serving to mechanically link said bracket to said faceplate, said suspension means being located one at each corner of the mask to permit the mask to flex about said diagonals and conform to the contour of the faceplate, three of said four suspension means effecting a tangentially rigid, low friction, precisely reseatable coupling to said faceplate, the fourth suspension means providing for the fourth mask corner to seek an equilibrium position in a plane parallel to the faceplate, said system thereby compensating for the inherent redundancy of the four-point suspension system.

In a color cathode ray tube, the combination comprising:

• an approximately rectangular faceplate having a concave inner surface supporting in a central, bombarded region thereof a phosphor screen comprising a pattern of red-emissive, blue-emissive and green-emissive phosphor triads;
• a lightweight, approximately rectangular shadow mask having a central portion with a curvature related to that of said faceplate and having a pattern of electron-transmissive apertures registered with said pattern of phosphor triads, said mask including a circumscribing portion around said central portion providing substantial rigidity with respect to axes normal to the sides thereof, but providing for flexure of the mask with respect to its diagonals;
• and
• a mask suspension system for supporting the mask at a predetermined spacing from said inner surface of said faceplate, comprising four suspension means for mechanically coupling said mask to said faceplate, said suspension means being located one at each corner of the mask to permit the mask to flex about its diagonals so as to conform to the contour of said inner surface of the faceplate, at least three of said suspension means including a bracket secured to the circumscribing portion of said mask so as to extend around a corner on the outside and in the plane thereof, to which bracket is secured arm means serving as a mechanical link between said bracket and said faceplate.

In a color cathode ray tube, the combination comprising:

• an approximately rectangular, flangeless, curved faceplate having a concave inner surface supporting in a central region thereof a phosphor screen comprising a pattern of red-emissive, blue-emissive and green-emissive phosphor triads, said faceplate being subject, due to its flangeless rectangular configuration, to twist-wise deformations in configuration which may occur with respect to its diagonals;
• a lightweight, approximately rectangular, non-self-rigid shadow mask having a central portion which has a curvature related to the curvature and said faceplate inner surface and which contains a pattern of electron-transmissive apertures registered with said pattern of phosphor triads, said mask having a rim portion around said central portion providing substantial rigidity with respect to axes normal to the sides thereof, but providing for flexure of the mask with respect to its diagonals;
• and
• a mask suspension system for establishing a predetermined geometric position of said mask relative to and at a predetermined spacing from said inner surface of said faceplate, comprising four suspension means for mechanically coupling said mask directly to an area of the faceplate which extends outwardly beyond the phosphor screen, said suspension means being located one at each corner of the mask and on the diagonals thereof to permit the mask to flex about said diagonals and conform to the contour of the faceplate despite any twist-wise deformation thereof and to thereby maintain said predetermined spacing between said mask and said faceplate inner surface, at least three of said suspension means each including a mask element extending from a corner of said mask toward said faceplate and a radially oriented integral modification of said faceplate inner surface which receives and is secured to said mask element, said mask element including a bracket secured to said rim portion of the mask so as to extend around a corner on the outside and in the plane thereof, to which bracket is secured arm means serving to mechanically link said bracket to said faceplate.

For use in a color reproducing cathode ray tube, the combination comprising:

• an approximately rectangular, flangeless curved faceplate having a concave inner surface on which is disposed a pattern of phosphor triads, said faceplate being subject, due to its flangeless rectangular configuration, to twist-wise deformations in configuration which may occur with respect to diagonals of the faceplate;
• an approximately rectangular, low mass shadow mask comprising a color selection portion having a curvature approximating that of said inner surface of said faceplate and having a pattern of apertures registered with said pattern of phosphor triads, and further comprising a rim portion circumscribing said mask portion for stiffening the mask with respect to axes normal to the sides of the mask, while permitting said mask to flex about its diagonals;
• and
• mask suspension means in each corner region of the faceplate for mechanically coupling said mask to said faceplate, each of at least three of said mask suspension means including indexing means on said concave inner surface of the faceplate, and in at least three corresponding corner regions of said mask, mask mounting elements in registry with said indexing means for making a low friction, precise engagement with assigned ones of said indexing means, said mounting elements engaging said indexing means when said mask and said faceplate are assembled to establish a predetermined position of said mask relative to said faceplate and to establish an equilibrium condition between said mask and said faceplate, said mask flexing about its diagonals when mounted on said faceplate, if necessary, so as to conform to the configuration of said faceplate and to follow any twist-wise deformation thereof, and thereby to maintain a prescribed spacing between said mask and said faceplate inner surface.

For use in a color cathode ray tube, the combination comprising:

• an approximately rectangular, curved faceplate supporting on a concave inner surface thereof in a central region a phosphor screen comprising a pattern of red-emissive, blue-emissive and green-emissive phosphor triads;
• a lightweight, approximately rectangular, frameless shadow mask having a central portion which has a curvature related to that of said faceplate inner surface and which has a pattern of electron-transmissive apertures registered with said pattern of phosphor triads, said mask having a shallow rim portion formed integrally in said mask around said central portion and having as a part thereof a skirt extending radially outwardly with respect to said central portion, said rim portion providing substantial rigidity with respect to axes normal to the sides thereof, but providing for flexure of the mask with respect to its diagonals;
• and
• a mask suspension system for establishing a predetermined position of said mask relative to and at a predetermined spacing from said inner surface of said faceplate, comprising four suspension means for mechanically coupling said mask to said faceplate, said suspension means being located one at each corner of the mask to permit the mask to flex about said diagonals and conform to the contour of the faceplate, three of said four suspension means effecting a tangentially rigid, low friction, precisely reseatable coupling to said faceplate, the fourth suspension means providing for the fourth mask corner to seek an equilibrium position in a plane parallel to the faceplate, said system thereby compensating for the inherent redundancy of the four-point suspension system.

In a color cathode ray tube, the combination comprising:

• an approximately rectangular, flangeless, curved faceplate having a concave inner surface supporting in a central region thereof a phosphor screen comprising a pattern of red-emissive, blue-emissive and green-emissive phosphor triads;
• a lightweight, approximately rectangular, non-self-rigid shadow mask having a central portion which has a curvature related to the curvature and said faceplate inner surface and which contains a pattern of electron-transmissive apertures registered with said pattern of phosphor triads, said mask having a rim portion around said central portion providing substantial rigidity with respect to axes normal to the sides thereof, but providing for flexure of the mask with respect to its diagonals;
• and
• a mask suspension system for establishing a predetermined position of said mask relative to and at a predetermined spacing from said inner surface of said faceplate, comprising four suspension means for mechanically coupling said mask directly to an area of the faceplate which extends outwardly beyond the phosphor screen, said suspension means being located one at each corner of the mask and on the diagonals thereof to permit the mask to flex about said diagonals and conform to the contour of the faceplate despite any twist-wise deformation thereof and to thereby maintain said predetermined spacing between said mask and said faceplate inner surface, at least three of said suspension means each including mask locating means integral with said faceplate inner surface which defines two tangentially spaced engagement surface areas, one on each side of a mask diagonal, said mask having in each of three corner portions associated with said three suspension means, corner-located means for making tangentially retentive, two-point engagement with said two tangentially spaced engagement surface areas, the resultant six-point engagement of said three corner-located means with said integral mask locating means effecting a tangentially rigid and precise coupling of said mask to said faceplate, said combination including means for immovably holding said four mask corners on said faceplate when said tube is assembled.

In a color cathode ray tube, the combination comprising:

• an approximately rectangular, curved faceplate having a concave inner surface supporting in a central region thereof a phosphor screen comprising a pattern of red-emissive, blue-emissive and green-emissive phosphor triads, said faceplate being flangeless and thereby susceptible to twist-wise deviations in its configuration;
• a lightweight, approximately rectangular, frameless shadow mask having a central portion with a curvature related to that of said faceplate and containing a pattern of electron-transmissive apertures registered with said pattern of phosphor triads, said mask including a circumscribing portion formed intergrally in said mask around said central portion and having as a part thereof a skirt extending radially outwardly with respect to said central portion, said circumscribing portion providing substantial rigidity with respect to axes normal to the sides thereof while providing for flexure of the mask with respect to its diagonals;
• and
• a mask suspension system for supporting the mask at a predetermined spacing from said inner surface of said faceplate comprising four suspension means, one at each corner of the mask, for mechanically coupling said mask directly to said faceplate.

For use in a color cathode ray tube, the combination comprising:

• an approximately rectangular, flangeless, curved faceplate supporting on a concave inner surface thereof in a central region a phosphor screen comprising a pattern of red-emissive, blue-emissive and green-emissive phosphor triads, said faceplate being subject, due to its flangeless rectangular configuration, to twist-wise deformations in configurations which may occur with respect to diagonals of the faceplate;
• a low mass, approximately rectangular, frameless, non-self-rigid shadow mask having a central portion which has a curvature related to that of said faceplate inner surface and which contains a pattern of electron-transmissive apertures registered with said pattern of phosphor triads, said mask having a rim portion providing substantial rigidity with respect to axes normal to the sides thereof while providing for flexure of the mask with respect to its diagonals, said rim portion including as an integral part thereof a radially outwardly extending skirt;
• and
• a mask suspension system for supporting and positioning said mask relative to and at a predetermined spacing from said inner surface of said faceplate while effectively imparting the rigidity of the faceplate to the non-self-rigid mask, comprising four suspension means for mechanically coupling said mask directly to a corner portion of said concave inner surface of said faceplate which extends outwardly beyond the phosphor screen, said suspension means being located one at each corner of the mask to permit the mask flex about said diagonals and conform to the contour of the faceplate despite any twist-wise deformation thereof and to thereby maintain said predetermined spacing between said mask and said faceplate inner surface, each of at least three of said suspension means including mask locating means integral with said faceplate inner surface which defines two tangentially spaced engagement surface areas, said mask having in each of three corner portions associated with said three suspension means, corner-located means for making tangentially retentive, two-point engagement with said two tangentially spaced engagement surface areas, the resultant six-point engagement of said three corner-located means with said integral mask locating means effecting a tangentially rigid and precise coupling of said mask to said faceplate, said combination including means for holding said four mask corners on said faceplate when said tube is assembled.