JP2003086107A - Plasma display panel and its driving method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma display device capable of high definition display and its driving method. SOLUTION: An address electrode 13 consists of a conductive part 13E and a discharge part 13H. The conductive part 13E, the main body part of electrode to which the driving voltage is applied, is formed in the region directly under the barrier rib 15. The discharge parts 13H, for discharging between the opposing sustaining electrode 17 and them in accordance with the voltage applied to the conductive parts 13E, are formed to be alternately derived from both sides of the conductive part 13E to oppose each sustaining electrode 17. An address electrode 13 is arranged for every two barrier ribs 15 to permit each of the two unit light emitting regions SP per an address electrode 13 to be controlled independently in horizontal direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display device for displaying by utilizing an AC plasma discharge and a driving method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Plasma display (PDP: Plasma)
A display panel) is a display that irradiates a phosphor with vacuum ultraviolet rays generated by gas discharge to emit light, and is expected to be marketed as a thin / large screen display.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the outline of a conventional plasma display device for color display. This plasma display device 1
00 has a configuration in which the front glass substrate 101 and the rear glass substrate 102 on the display surface side are arranged to face each other with a discharge space therebetween. A pair of sustain electrodes 107 (107X, 107Y) is provided in parallel on front glass substrate 101, and bus electrodes 110X, 110Y are integrally provided on each of sustain electrodes 107X, 107Y to reduce resistance. ing. A dielectric layer 108 and a protective layer 109 are sequentially provided on the sustain electrode 107.

On the other hand, the address electrodes 103 are arranged in parallel on the rear glass substrate 102, and the dielectric layer 104 and the partition walls 105 are sequentially provided on the address electrodes 103. The discharge space is partitioned for each address electrode 103 by the partition walls 105 extending in a stripe shape, and red (R; Red), green (G; Green) and blue (B; Blue) are provided inside the partitioned region.
The primary color phosphors 106 are periodically provided. In addition,
Each address electrode 103 is a sustain electrode 1 when viewed from the display surface side.
The electrode matrix is formed in a positional relationship orthogonal to 07.

This plasma display device 100 includes a discharge electrode and a sustain electrode 1 in a pair of sustain electrodes 107X and 107Y.
Light emission display is performed by the discharge between 07Y and the address electrode 103. As shown in FIG.
The minimum light emitting unit is the light emitting unit region SP ₁₀₀ which is the intersection of the above matrix, that is, the region where the pair of sustain electrodes 107 and the address electrode 103 intersect.

[0006]

By the way, recent IT
Due to technological advances and expectations of the future broadband era, extremely high definition is required for personal computers and displays. On the other hand, in order to improve the definition of the plasma display device 100, the area of each light emitting unit region SP ₁₀₀ is reduced and the pitch of the pixel P ₁₀₀ is narrowed. However, it has a limit of reduction due to various factors. For example, although the size and the number of electrodes are such factors, the number of sustain electrodes 107 per pixel P ₁₀₀ is two and the number of address electrodes 103 is three, and the total number of address electrodes 103 in the entire display surface is the sustain electrodes 107. Therefore, the number (density) of the address electrodes 103 is stronger and the definition is more limited.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an address electrode extraction portion of the plasma display device 100. The address electrode 103 in the display area is an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit)
By being connected to the TAB electrode 123 via the electrode array 113 of, the electrode is led to the peripheral portion. This TAB electrode 12
3 is provided on the rear glass substrate 102 and is connected to the electrode array 113 in a thermocompression bonding process called tab attachment. At this time, a location mark M is provided on the rear glass substrate 102 in order to make a large number of electrodes correspond one-to-one. Therefore, in order to improve the density of the address electrodes 103, the FPC electrode rows 113 and the TAB electrodes 12 are used.
The density of 3, the alignment accuracy and tolerance, the design tolerance due to the thermal expansion of the FPC, the space of the location mark, etc. became a problem, and there was an absolute restriction to take a value above a certain density.

At present, in the FPC manufacturing / sales industry, reduction of copper foil thickness of 18 μm and electrode pitch of 70 μm (line: space = 1: 1) is said to be the limit. On the other hand, in the plasma display device, the voltage applied to the address electrode 103 is decreasing year by year.
Even if the above electrodes can be used, the electrode pitch is 70μ.
m is the limit. In consideration of the above design allowance, the pitch of the address electrodes 103 in the display area (equal to the pitch of the light emitting unit areas SP ₁₀₀ ) is limited to 100 μm, and in any case, the current pitch is 70 μm or less. Considered impossible. Besides, TAB electrode 1
Although it is conceivable to reduce the display area while leaving 23 as it is, this is not a practical solution because only the so-called frame is enlarged and the display area occupied in the device is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a plasma display device capable of realizing a high-definition display and a driving method thereof.

[0010]

In a plasma display device according to the present invention, a linear conductive portion formed perpendicularly to a sustain electrode in a partition forming region and a conductive portion facing a sustain electrode. Is provided with a plurality of address electrodes composed of discharge portions alternately led out from both sides.

In the plasma display device driving method according to the present invention, in the plasma display device of the present invention, a voltage signal is sequentially applied to all of the sustain electrodes, and a voltage signal is applied to the conductive portion according to the position of the discharge portion. By doing so, the light emission is controlled.

In the plasma display device and the method of driving the same according to the present invention, the address electrode has the discharge portion led out to the light emitting regions on both sides from the conductive portion, and the discharge portion is configured to face the different sustain electrodes. When viewed in the direction, two light emitting regions are independently controlled for each address electrode.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a plasma display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main part viewed from the display surface side. In this plasma display device 10, each component other than the address electrode 13 provided on the rear glass substrate 12 is configured similarly to the conventional plasma display device 100.

That is, the front glass substrate 11 and the rear glass substrate 12 are arranged so as to face each other, a space for discharge is formed between them, and a spacer (not shown) is provided at the peripheral portion.
Is hermetically sealed via. The front glass substrate 11 is
Since it is located on the display surface side, it is necessary to use a highly transparent material, and high strain point glass or soda lime glass is generally used. Sustaining electrodes 17 (17X, 17Y) made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium-Tin Oxide) are provided on the front glass substrate 11 in parallel so as to form a pair. These sustain electrodes 17X, 1
7Y is provided with a bus electrode (not shown) made of a metal such as aluminum (Al) along one edge side thereof in order to reduce electric resistance. Further, a dielectric layer 18 and a protective layer 19 are sequentially provided on the sustain electrodes 17. The dielectric layer 18 and the protective layer 19 are each made of, for example, low melting point glass or MgO (magnesium oxide).

The rear glass substrate 12 is made of a material similar to that of the front glass substrate 11, for example, and address electrodes 13 made of, for example, aluminum (Al) are arranged in parallel on the rear glass substrate 12. Here, each address electrode 13
Is one conductive portion 13E that is responsible for electrical continuity, and
It is composed of a plurality of discharge parts 13H led out from the conductive parts 13E, and can be integrally formed by, for example, pattern formation. On top of that, for example, SiO ₂ (silicon dioxide)
Is provided. Dielectric layer 14
A partition wall 15 for partitioning the discharge space into light emission unit regions SP, which are the minimum units of light emission, is provided on the above.
The partition wall 15 has a trapezoidal cross section, for example, and is formed by patterning a glass paste and then firing it. Phosphors 16 of three primary colors of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) are periodically provided on the side surfaces of the partition walls 15 and the exposed surface of the dielectric layer 14.

In the present embodiment, the conductive portion 13E of the address electrode 13 is the main body of the electrode to which the driving voltage is applied, and is linearly formed so as to be orthogonal to the sustain electrodes 17 in the region directly below the partition wall 15. Has been formed. Therefore, two light emitting unit regions SP partitioned by the partition wall 15 exist on both sides of each conductive portion 13E. In addition, the discharge portion 13H is a portion provided for discharging between the sustain electrodes 17 facing each other according to the voltage applied to the conductive portion 13E, and the conductive portions 13H face each of the sustain electrodes 17. It is formed so as to be led out alternately from both sides of 13E. Here, the light emitting unit region SP on the left side of the conductive portion 13E faces the sustain electrode 17X, and the light emitting unit region SP on the right side faces the sustain electrode 17Y. In this way, each discharge part 13H is provided so as to face one of the sustain electrodes 17 in the emission unit region SP to which it belongs.

Therefore, every other one of the address electrodes 13 is provided with respect to the partition wall 15, and when viewed in the horizontal direction, two light emitting unit regions SP on both sides of each address electrode 13 are independently controlled. It has become so.
With such a structure, the number of address electrodes 13 is halved as compared with the conventional one, and the electrode density is halved.

The shape of the discharge part 13H is arbitrary,
It may be a semi-circle or a triangle, but it is desirable that its area is as large as possible so that discharge can be surely performed, and it is rectangular here. However, the width and the arrangement of the discharge part 13H are limited by the distance from the sustain electrode 17. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. Here, the discharge part 13H and the sustain electrode 17X facing the discharge part 13H.
To the sustain electrode 17Y and d _{x to} the sustain electrode 17Y.
_{Let y} . In order to individually control each light emitting unit region SP, it is necessary that the discharge portion 13H can selectively discharge only between the opposing sustain electrodes 17, and in this case, only d _x is as follows. P in the Paschen curve described in
It is arranged so that the distance (d) corresponds to the minimum value of the d product (however, p: discharge gas pressure, d: distance between electrodes) (d).
_x ≠ d _y ).

As is well known, in the plasma display device, the distance d between the electrodes to be discharged, the pressure p of the gas sealed in the discharge space, and the discharge start voltage V _bd.
And the relationship represented by one curve as shown in FIG. 4 is established (Paschen's law). This relationship is also applicable to the plasma display device 10. Here, in order to make the discharge start voltage V _bd as low as possible, the inter-electrode distance d obtained from the pd value when the discharge start voltage V _bd has the minimum value in the Paschen curve. Let _m be d _x . At the same time, the shortest inter-electrode distance d _y is next to d _x in the discharge section 13H.
Set to a value larger than _m , and discharge part 13H and sustain electrode 1
Prevent discharge from occurring when voltage is applied to 7Y.
In addition, it is preferable that d _y is as long as possible because the probability of discharge is reduced. Here, the discharge portion 13H is displaced in a direction opposite to the sustain electrode 17 which is paired with the sustain electrode 17 facing itself. Has been formed.

The mutual distance between the pair of sustain electrodes 17X and 17Y and another adjacent sustain electrode pair is about d _y or more, for example, 20 μm in order to prevent crosstalk between the light emitting unit regions SP. That is all.

The plasma display device 10 as described above includes a drive circuit, and is driven by inputting a voltage signal generated by the drive circuit to each electrode. Note that the sustain electrodes 17X have been conventionally treated as common electrodes because they all perform the same operation, but in the present embodiment, as described below, like the sustain electrodes 17Y, one by one drive circuit is provided. It is connected to and controlled individually. Except for being modified according to such changes, the drive circuit can have a schematic configuration similar to that of the drive circuit used in the conventional AC plasma display device.

Next, the operation of the plasma display device 10 will be described.

Here, it is assumed that the plasma display device 10 is driven by the subfield driving method. The sub-field driving method is a general driving method for such a display device. One field is time-divided into several sub-fields, and the light-emission unit area SP is controlled to emit light for each sub-field. This is a method of adjusting the brightness of SP in units of one field. The selective erasing method will be described here as an example. Each subfield is usually started by a reset period and divided into three periods of an address period and a display period that follow.

In the reset period, as usual, the drive circuit applies a predetermined voltage to all the sustain electrodes 17X and 17Y to perform preliminary discharge between the pair of electrodes. As a result, so-called wall charges are formed on the protective layer 19 in the entire light emitting unit region SP.

In the next address period, the drive circuit sequentially and sequentially applies voltages to the sustain electrodes 17X and 17Y in parallel, and a predetermined voltage is applied to the address electrode 13 (conductive portion 13E) at the timing. Is applied. The value of the input voltage to the sustain electrodes 17X and 17Y and the conductive portion 13E is set so that the address discharge is generated only when the voltage is applied to both the sustain electrode 17 and the conductive portion 13E. It occurs between the sustain electrode 17 to which the voltage is applied and the discharge portion 13H which is electrically connected to the conductive portion 13E to which the voltage is applied and which faces the sustain electrode 17. Although the details will be described later, the electrodes are driven based on this, and the address discharge is generated only in the light emitting unit region SP that does not emit light. As a result, the wall charges in the light emitting unit region SP that does not emit light are erased.

Next, in the display period, the drive circuit normally applies an AC pulse voltage between all the sustain electrodes 17X and 17Y. In the light emission unit region SP in which the wall charge remains at this point, the potential of the wall charge is superimposed on the pulse voltage, reaches the discharge start voltage between the sustain electrodes 17X and 17Y, and sustain discharge occurs. This discharge is a high-frequency discharge, and at the same time, charges are accumulated, so that discharge is continuously generated and the discharge state is maintained. During this time, the fluorescent substance 16 emits light by being irradiated with the ultraviolet rays emitted by the discharge gas. Thus, during the display period, each pixel P is displayed in a predetermined color by selectively causing the light emitting unit area SP to emit light. By superimposing these subfields in time series, the brightness of each light emitting unit region SP corresponding to one field is weighted,
An image whose gradation is controlled is displayed.

In this series of operations, the light emission control for each light emitting unit region is performed by the address discharge, that is, by the drive voltage applied to the sustain electrode 17 and the address electrode 13 at the time of the address discharge. In this embodiment, the address discharge control operation is performed as follows.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an electrode configuration for explaining the operation of the plasma display device 10. In the figure,
Six light emitting unit areas SP are shown in two rows in the horizontal direction, and the first row from the top shows the light emitting unit areas SP1 and SP from the left.
2, ..., SP6 are arranged in order. In addition, the sustain electrodes 17X ₁ and 17Y are provided in the first column of the light emitting unit area SP.
₁ and sustain electrodes 17X ₂ and 17Y ₂ are arranged in the second column. Further, regarding the address electrode 13,
They are distinguished as address electrodes A1, A2, A3.

Each light-emission unit region SP has a pair of sustain electrode 17 and address electrode A used for address discharge (sustain electrode 1
7, identified by the address electrode A). For example, the light emitting unit area SP1 can be represented by (X ₁ , A1). Therefore, the control of the predetermined light emitting unit area SP is individually performed by the electrodes represented by this set.

Here, the sustain electrodes 17X ₁ , 17Y ₁ ,
A voltage signal is input in the order of 17X ₂ and 17Y ₂ , and line scanning is performed. First, a pulse is input to the sustain electrode 17X _1, and at the same time, a pulse is input to the address electrodes A1, A2 and A3 in synchronization with the scanning timing. The controlled objects at this time are (X ₁ , A1), (X ₁ , A2),
Emission unit regions SP1 and SP represented by (X ₁ , A3)
3, SP5. The input signals to the address electrodes A1, A2, A3 are emitted in the light emitting unit regions SP1, SP3, S, respectively.
It is generated based on the video data d1, d3, d5 corresponding to P5, and has a pulse voltage of a predetermined value when light is not emitted, and 0 V (no input) when light is emitted. Thereby, the light emitting unit areas SP1, SP3, SP5
A wall charge is left in accordance with the video signal, and the light emission is controlled.

Next, a voltage signal is input to the sustain electrode 17Y ₁ , and light emission control is performed as before. The controlled objects at this time are (Y ₁ , A1), (Y ₁ , A2), (Y ₁ , A3).
The light emitting unit areas SP2, SP4 and SP6 are represented by, and the input signals to the address electrodes A1, A2 and A3 are based on the video data d2, d4 and d6 corresponding to the light emitting unit areas SP2, SP4 and SP6, respectively. Has been generated.

Then, the sustain electrodes 17X ₂ , 17Y ₂ ,
.. are similarly scanned, emission control is performed for all emission unit regions SP. Thus, in the plasma display device 10, the address electrodes A1, A2, A
3, ... A light emitting unit area SP (SP
1, SP3, SP5, ... are the sustain electrodes 17X (X
₁ , X ₂ , ...) Is controlled by applying an address pulse to the address electrode A at the time of scanning, and the light emitting unit regions SP (SP2, SP4, SP6 ,.
..) is controlled by applying an address pulse to this address electrode A during scanning of the sustain electrodes 17Y (Y ₁ , Y ₂ , ...). The normal scan is the sustain electrode 17Y.
₁ , 17Y ₂ , ..., Light emitting unit area SP
This is performed once with each sustain electrode 17 for each column, but in this embodiment, as described above, the sustain electrode 17X is provided for each column.
Then, the horizontal scanning is performed for two sustain electrodes 17Y, that is, twice.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the conductive portion 13E formed in the region directly below the partition wall 15 is formed.
And a conductive part 13E facing each of the sustain electrodes 17.
Since the address electrodes 13 composed of the discharge portions 13H which are alternately led out from both sides of the address electrode 1 are provided.
3 is provided for every other partition wall 15, and the number and the electrode density are reduced by half. As a result, the address electrode 1
3 can be widened, and the current capacity thereof can be increased. The yield in the pattern formation of the address electrodes 13 can be improved. The number of address drivers in the drive circuit can be reduced according to the density. Further, since the density of the TAB electrode and the FPC electrode when pulling out the address electrode 13 is also reduced, it is expected that the tact and the yield in attaching the TAB electrode are improved. The cost of the FPC used can be reduced.

On the contrary, if the number of address electrodes 13 in the plasma display device 10 is set in the conventional manner, the display definition can be doubled. Therefore, the above 5
Instead of the effect of item, in the plasma display device designed in the same manner as the conventional one except that the address electrode 13 is changed, the pitch of the light emitting unit regions SP can be made extremely short (the address pitch is 70 μm or less), and high definition It is possible to realize various displays.

Further, in this embodiment, the sustain electrode 17X is
_{As in 1} , 17Y ₁ , 17X ₂ , 17Y ₂ , voltage signals are sequentially input to all of the sustain electrodes 17, line scanning is performed, and address pulses are applied to the address electrodes A1, A2, A3 at the timing. Since the light emission of each light emitting unit area SP is controlled by applying the voltage,
Display can be performed by appropriately controlling the light emitting unit area SP.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, since the scanning of the light emission unit region SP needs to be performed twice per column, the address period is doubled as compared with the conventional case. Since the time interval of each subfield is predetermined, this means that the display period becomes relatively short, which causes a decrease in brightness. In order to eliminate such a disadvantage, the address electrode 13 may be divided into two in the center of the display surface. In this case, by simultaneously performing addressing on the upper and lower display surfaces, the required time can be reduced to one half that of the above-described embodiment, and as a result, the length of the address period can be maintained at the same level as the conventional one. .

[0038]

As described above, according to the plasma display device of the present invention, each of the linear conductive portion and the sustain electrode formed so that the address electrode is orthogonal to the sustain electrode in the partition forming region. Since the discharge parts are alternately led out from both sides of the conductive part so as to face each other, every other address electrode is provided for the partition wall 15, and the electrode density thereof is halved. Therefore, the address electrodes can be manufactured more easily and with a high yield. On the other hand, the pitch of the light emitting unit regions can be shortened relative to the electrode density, and extremely high-definition display can be realized.

Further, according to the driving method of the plasma display device of the present invention, the voltage signal is sequentially applied to all of the sustain electrodes and the voltage signal is applied to the conductive portion according to the position of the discharge portion to emit light. Because I tried to control it,
Appropriate display can be performed in the plasma display device of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a plasma display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main part of the plasma display device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of the plasma display device shown in FIG.

4 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between a discharge start voltage and a distance between electrodes in the plasma display device shown in FIG.

5 is a configuration diagram showing an electrode configuration of the plasma display device shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional plasma display device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of a conventional plasma display device.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of an electrode extraction portion in a conventional plasma display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Plasma display device, 11 ... Front glass substrate, 12
... Back glass substrate, 13, A1, A2, A3 ... Address electrode, 13E ... Conductive part, 13H ... Discharge part, 14, 18 ...
Dielectric layer, 15 ... Partition wall, 16 ... Phosphor, 17X, 17Y
... sustain electrode, 19 ... protective layer.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged to face each other, and a plurality of barrier ribs provided for partitioning a discharge space between the first substrate and the second substrate into light emitting regions. A plurality of sustain electrodes provided on the first substrate, and a straight line provided on the second substrate and orthogonal to the sustain electrodes in the partition formation region. And a plurality of address electrodes, each of which has a discharge portion and is alternately led out from both sides of the conductive portion so as to face each of the conductive portion and the sustain electrode. 2. The distance between the discharge part and the sustain electrode is
2. The distance (d) corresponding to the minimum value of the pd product (where p: discharge gas pressure, d: interelectrode distance) in the Paschen curve is set only in the case where they are in a positional relationship of facing each other. Plasma display device. 3. A plurality of barrier ribs provided to partition a discharge space between the first substrate and the second substrate, which are arranged to face each other, and a discharge space between the first substrate and the second substrate, for each light emitting region. A plurality of sustain electrodes provided on the first substrate, and a straight line provided on the second substrate and orthogonal to the sustain electrodes in the partition formation region. A driving method for a plasma display device, comprising: a plurality of address electrodes each having a discharge portion which is alternately led out from both sides of the conductive portion so as to face each of the conductive portion and the sustain electrode, A method of driving a plasma display device, wherein light emission is controlled by sequentially applying a voltage signal to all the electrodes and applying a voltage signal to the conductive portion according to the position of the discharge portion.