GB1352026A - Display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

1352026 Gas discharge display panels BURROUGHS CORP 4 May 1971 [18 May 1970] 12875/71 Heading H1D A display panel comprises an insulating plate 20, a plurality of anode electrodes 60 and a plurality of cathode electrodes 70 oriented with the anodes crossing the cathodes, first gas-filled glow cells formed in said insulating plate and defined by each crossing of a pair of electrodes, and gas communication channels 30, 34 interconnecting said glow cells, and an auxiliary cell 80A<SP>1</SP>A<SP>1</SP> for facilitating the start of a scanning operation and associated with the first cell in the scanning series, the glow cells being arranged so as to be energizable one by one in a series which defines a raster. The anode wires 60 are located in the "horizontal" slots 30 and may be secured by cement. The cathode strips 70 are located above the "vertical" slots 34 with apertures 74 in register with the slots 30. An auxiliary anode wire 60A<SP>1</SP> is located in an auxiliary slot 30A<SP>1</SP> extending into a portion 34A<SP>1</SP> of the first vertical slot 34A. The first cathode strip 70 is divided into a short portion 70A<SP>1</SP>, overlying the slot portion 30A<SP>1</SP>, and a longer portion 70A. Portion 70A<SP>1</SP> serves to couple auxiliary cell 80A<SP>1</SP>A<SP>1</SP>, formed at the crossing with auxiliary anode 60A<SP>1</SP>, to the first scanning cell 80AA. The last cathode strip 70 is similarly divided into a short portion 70D<SP>1</SP> and a longer portion 70D. The panel 10 is completed by a glass viewing plate 90, the assembly being sealed together by a seal 100, e.g. of glass frit, and provided with a filling tubulation 103. The gas filling may be Ne, A, Xe singly or in combination, and a metal vapour, e.g. Hg, is usually added to minimize cathode sputtering. The gas is preferably a Penning mixture, e.g. Ne + Xe at a pressure of 100-250 torr. and preferably about 175 torr. In a modified panel (Figs. 3 and 4, not shown) the anode wires are located on the top surface and the cathode strips on the bottom surface of an insulating plate provided with a plurality of holes forming the scanning cells. The first hole is enlarged to co-operate with an auxiliary anode and cathode. All the cells in each row are coupled by a horizontal slot provided in the plate, but only a few short vertical slots are provided to couple selected cells at the ends of the rows to complete the scanning raster. In a further modification (Fig. 5, not shown) the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 is provided with a further layer of display cells and associated display anodes. A driving circuit for the panel is described (Fig. 6, not shown).