COMBINATION STRUCTURE OF COLD-CATHODE DISCHARGE TUBES

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To narrow down a diameter of a sealing tube while securing luminous efficiency and to enable to pile a plurality of the tubes without much space taken in a stable posture. SOLUTION: A glass sealing tube 1 for rare gas to be sealed inside is formed into a flat tube with a radial direction cross section almost oval, of which, the inner face except one shorter-radius face to be an aperture 3 is coated with a phosphor 2, and on the outer face, a pair of outer electrodes 4 are fitted for a whole length along an axis direction and on the shorter-radius face, a luminous window 5 is formed to form a discharge tube single body. A plurality of the tube single bodies are piled one on another with the luminous windows at the same direction, and the outer electrodes 4 are connected in parallel. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO