JP2003263966A - Phosphor display tube and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a phosphor display tube having a rib-grid structure, which enables to realize high luminance luminescence without dim spots by simple controlling, and to provide a driving method thereof. <P>SOLUTION: Each grid electrode 24 has three long longitudinal rib members 24y which are connected electrically one another. An anode wiring group 34 is disposed for each line independently in such a way that five wiring members 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d and 1e of each anode wiring group 34 are disposed also independently one another. Anodes 32 of each line and of every five rows are connected one another with one of the wiring members 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d and 1e. Phosphor material layers 12 of three middle rows which are surrounded respectively by two adjacent grid electrodes 24 and are sandwiched by at least two long longitudinal rib members 24y of a pair of the grid electrodes 24, are connected with wiring members of the anode wiring groups 34, with which, phosphor material layers 12 of other rows which are adjacent to the long longitudinal rib members 24y, are not connected. An accelerating voltage is applied to grid electrodes 24, and also a positive voltage is applied to the anodes 32 of three rows in the middle of the grid electrodes 24. The phosphor material layers 12 of three rows are provided with on their both sides at least two long longitudinal rib members 24y to which the accelerating voltage is applied. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a fluorescent display tube and its driving method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A phosphor layer is fixed on a plurality of anodes provided on a display surface of a substrate, and thermoelectrons generated from a cathode laid above the phosphor layer in a vacuum space are transferred to the phosphor layer and the cathode. There is known a fluorescent display tube of a type in which the fluorescent layer is excited and emits light by being selectively incident on the fluorescent layer by being controlled by a control electrode (grid electrode) provided between and. In such a fluorescent display tube, since a phosphor layer against which thermoelectrons generated from the cathode collide is provided in the vicinity of the cathode, the operating voltage is clearly displayed at a low level, and a plurality of types of emission colors different from each other are provided. There is a feature that color display can be performed by preparing the above-mentioned phosphor. Therefore, it is widely used as a display component such as an audio device and a display panel of an automobile or an aircraft. In particular, in a fluorescent display tube having a rib-grid structure in which the grid electrode is composed of a conductive film fixed to the top of a rib-shaped wall protruding higher than that around the phosphor layer, a mesh covering the phosphor layer is used. -Shaped grid electrode is not used, so display defects such as brightness unevenness and short circuit due to thermal deformation of the grid electrode when the display pattern of the phosphor layer is enlarged are eliminated, and the grid electrode is eliminated. There is an advantage in that the decrease in the brightness of the fluorescent display tube is eliminated in relation to the aperture ratio.

[0003]

By the way, a first direction (for example, a row direction) and a second direction (for example, a column direction) in which a plurality of phosphor layers for forming dot-shaped pixels intersect each other on a substrate. In order to display efficiently and beautifully, the fluorescent display tubes lined up along the line for displaying the anodes are, for example, anode anodes typified by a quadruple matrix type.
It is driven by a multi-matrix method or the like. The applicant of the present application has previously proposed a driving method that suppresses the occurrence of partial shade that occurs when one grid electrode is provided for two rows of phosphor layers. For example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-105118, there is a driving method of a fluorescent display tube in which, in order to compensate for a shade, auxiliary light emission is performed in addition to main light emission only in a column where the shade is generated.

In the above driving method, when two rows are made to emit light at the same time, the shadow is generated only in the phosphor layer of one row, so that only one of the rows is made to emit auxiliary light. Therefore, in order to obtain a uniform light emission display on the entire surface of the fluorescent display tube, the total light emission amount of the main light emission and the auxiliary light emission in one column is equal to the light emission amount of the other column in which the auxiliary light emission is unnecessary. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately control the intensity of auxiliary light emission according to the degree of shadow. The above means that the auxiliary light emission must be controlled separately from the main light emission because the appropriate intensity of the auxiliary light emission is usually weaker than that of the main light emission. However, in a normal fluorescent display tube, the outputs of a plurality of grid electrodes and a plurality of anode wirings are mixed and shared by one drive driver, so that an independent drive driver is required for each anode wiring. The driving method of (1) has a problem that the fluorescent display tube (display tube module) including the control device is significantly increased in size and the manufacturing cost thereof is significantly increased.

A pulse corresponding to one main light emission is set to n.
By dividing the data into individual pieces and performing data rewriting n times during one main light emission, the pulse width of the auxiliary light emission can be adjusted in 1 / n steps without separately preparing a drive driver. However, in this case, the number of pulses in one cycle originally required for the number of digits becomes n times, so that there is a problem that the CPU and the driver are required to have extremely high processing speed performance. Further, when the number of digits is very large (for example, about 256 digits), dividing one pulse into n may result in insufficient processing speed of the CPU or the like. In this case, even if you try to lengthen one cycle according to the processing speed, the length is 20 (m
The upper limit of the number of divisions is low, and the practicality of brightness adjustment by pulse division has not been sufficient because it is necessary to be less than about sec) [that is, about 50 (Hz) or more].

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a fluorescent display tube having a rib-grid structure capable of obtaining high-luminance light without obscuring by simple control. And to provide a driving method thereof.

[0007]

In order to achieve such an object, the gist of the fluorescent display tube of the first invention is that phosphor layers for forming dot-shaped pixels are provided on the surface. A plurality of anodes, which are fixed and arranged in a first direction and a second direction that intersect with each other on the substrate, are provided, and electrons generated from a cathode installed above the anode in a vacuum space are made incident so that A fluorescent display tube of a type that selectively emits light from a phosphor layer, comprising: (a)
Rib-shaped walls protruding higher than the phosphor layer between the plurality of anodes, and (b) passing between rows of a plurality of anodes arranged in the first direction. N is provided on the top of the rib-shaped wall and adjacent to each other (where n is an integer of 3 or more), each of which is composed of a plurality of electrode parts connected to a common control electrode wiring, and controls the electrons. A plurality of control electrodes arranged in a row in the second direction, and (c) m electrodes for each row of anodes in the second direction.
(Where m is a minimum integer of [(3n + 1) / 2] or more) are electrically independent of each other, and among the plurality of anodes, those arranged along the second direction are [m- 1] A plurality of anode wirings, which are connected to every other one, are included.

[0008]

A second aspect of the present invention, which is intended to achieve the above object, is a method for driving a fluorescent display tube according to the first aspect of the present invention.
(a) Applying an accelerating voltage to one set of control electrodes at the same time while changing the combination of two of the plurality of control electrodes adjacent to each other as one set along the second direction. And a scanning step of sequentially scanning, and (b) in synchronization with the timing of the scanning, n located at the center in the second direction of the row of anodes sandwiched by the electrode portions of the set of control electrodes. Applying a drive voltage to the anode wiring to which a predetermined anode in the column is connected.

[0009]

According to this structure, each of the plurality of control electrodes for controlling electrons is composed of a plurality of electrode portions passing between the rows of anodes, and the plurality of anodes are Every [m-1] number of anode wirings are connected to m anode wirings provided for each row, but the number of anode wirings for each row, that is, the multiplicity m, is [(3n + 1) / 2] (where n is [(3n + 2) / 2] when the number is even
Book). Therefore, since the relationship between the number n of electrode portions provided in one control electrode and the multiplicity m of the anode wiring is determined as described above, two adjacent control electrodes are set as a set. Considering that, each of the n rows of anodes located in the center of the row of anodes sandwiched by the plurality of electrode portions has at least two electrodes in the set of control electrodes on both sides in the second direction. Therefore, the electrode portions in the pair of control electrodes are connected to different anode wirings from the adjacent columns of other anodes.

Therefore, by applying an accelerating voltage to the set of control electrodes and applying a driving voltage to the anode wiring to which the anodes in the n columns are connected, the accelerating voltage is applied to the anodes in the n columns. While at least two electrode portions of the control electrode to which is applied are provided, the driving voltage is not applied to the anodes of the columns connected to the different anode wirings, which causes inconveniences such as leakage light emission and shade. The n columns can be simultaneously made to emit light. At this time, if the set of combinations is sequentially changed one by one along the second direction, a similar positional relationship is always established between the control electrode and the anode and all the columns are sequentially arranged in the n columns. Therefore, all the columns of the anodes can emit light. For this reason,
The brightness of the fluorescent display tube is increased in accordance with the number n of columns that emit light simultaneously. The other column of anodes connected to the same anode wiring as the column of anodes to be made to emit light cannot be made to emit light by applying a negative control voltage to the electrode part (control electrode) adjacent to it. . That is, only the above-mentioned n-th column emits light without shadow, and the other columns of the anode do not leak and emit light. Moreover, in the above driving method, the pulse width and potential of the driving pulse applied to the anode wiring may be constant, and the number of driving voltages applied at the same time is kept at n, which makes driving particularly complicated. In addition, since each of the control electrodes is composed of n electrode parts electrically connected to each other, the control electrodes are driven separately as compared with the case where each is composed of one electrode. Number is 1 / n
Therefore, the drive control of the control electrode is facilitated. From the above, it is possible to obtain light emission of high brightness without shadow by simple control.

Incidentally, in the past, when determining the number of electrode parts constituting each control electrode, the multiplicity of anodes, or the number of rows of anodes that emit light at the same time, their mutual relation was not particularly considered. In the anode multi-matrix drive for increasing the brightness by simultaneously emitting light from a plurality of columns of anodes, it is necessary to multiplex the anode wiring, but generally, the number of common electrode portions is large and the multiplicity of the anode wiring is small. The more the number of ports required for the drive controller is reduced, which is preferable in terms of manufacturing cost. However, the relationship between these numbers is contradictory. The present inventor has studied a driving method and a control electrode structure and an anode wiring structure suitable for the driving method in order to reduce the number of ports as much as possible under the contradictory relationship,
It has been found that the number of electrode parts and the multiplicity of anode wiring may be set in the above relationship. The present invention has been made based on such knowledge.

[0012]

Other Embodiments Preferably, n is an odd number, that is, 3, 5, 7, 9, ... In this way, the number m of the anode wiring becomes the numerical value given by the relational expression (3n + 1) / 2, and the fraction (0.5) does not occur,
It is possible to more efficiently reduce the number of ports required for the drive controller.

Further, preferably, the plurality of control electrodes are made continuous with each other through a plurality of anodes, each of which has a plurality of electrode portions which are arranged in the first direction. To form a lattice. In this way, each of the plurality of anodes in each column is surrounded by the electrode portion of the control electrode, so that when the electrode portion of the control electrode is composed of only the portion passing between the columns of anodes. Compared with this, there is an advantage that the luminance is increased and the luminance unevenness hardly occurs.

Further, preferably, the fluorescent display tube is (d)
A combination of two adjacent control electrodes of the plurality of control electrodes is changed one by one along the second direction, and an acceleration voltage is applied to the control electrodes at the same time and sequentially. A control electrode driving device for scanning in the same direction, and (e) in synchronization with the timing of the scanning, it is located in the center in the second direction of the row of anodes sandwiched by the electrode portions of the set of control electrodes. and an anode driving device for applying a driving voltage to the anode wiring to which a predetermined anode in the n-th column is connected. The drive method as described above is preferably realized by including such a drive control device.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a fluorescent display tube 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the entire 0, with a part thereof cut away.
In the figure, a fluorescent display tube 10 includes, for example, a substrate 14 made of an insulating material such as glass, ceramics, enamel, etc., provided with a large number of dot-shaped pattern phosphor layers 12 on one surface, and a glass formed in a frame shape. Spacer 16, a transparent cover glass plate 18, and a plurality of anode terminals 20 _P ,
A grid terminal 20 _G and a cathode terminal 20 _K are provided, and the substrate 14, the spacer 16, and the cover glass plate 18 are glass-sealed to each other,
A vacuum space surrounded by these members is formed.

The one surface 22 of the substrate 14 covered with the vacuum space functions as a display surface of the fluorescent display tube 10. The large number of dot-shaped phosphor layers 12 on the display surface 22 have polygonal shapes similar to each other, for example, each side along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14 and the width direction substantially orthogonal thereto is 400. It has a square shape of about (μm) and is provided with a constant center interval in the two directions. Further, on the display surface 22, a plurality of grid electrodes 24 having the same shape as each other are formed in a lattice shape as a whole, and each phosphor layer 12 has its grid electrode 24 substantially all around. being surrounded.

A pair of filament support frames 26 (only one of which is located on the right side in the figure) having the cathode terminals 20 _K are fixedly provided at both ends of the substrate 14, respectively. A plurality of thin filaments (filament cathodes) 28 functioning as a direct heating type cathode (cathode) are provided between the support frames 26 in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14 and apart from the display surface 22. It is stretched to the height position. Note that the fluorescent display tube 10 is provided with an exhaust hole for exhausting and sealing the inside of the vacuum container, a getter for maintaining the internal vacuum degree after sealing, etc. Omitted.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of the display surface 22 of the substrate 14 described above. As shown in the figure, on the display surface 22, a rib-shaped wall 30 having a lattice shape as a whole is provided in a protruding manner so as to substantially contact and surround the outer peripheral edge of each phosphor layer 12. That is, it is erected in the direction away from the substrate 14, that is, in the direction toward the filament 28 side. The rib-shaped wall 30 is made of, for example, an insulating material such as low melting point glass containing an inorganic filler such as alumina particles, and has a width dimension of about 60 to 150 (μm),
The height dimension is higher than the surface of the phosphor layer 12, for example, 60 to 30
It is about 0 (μm). The grid electrode 24 is made of particulate graphite, silver, palladium, copper, aluminum,
A thick-film conductor containing a particulate conductive material such as nickel as a main component, the rib-shaped wall 30 having a top portion of about 5 to 50 (μm),
For example, it is provided with a thickness of about 20 (μm). That is, in this embodiment, the control electrode is provided in a rib-grid structure in which the grid electrode 24 is provided on the top of the rib-shaped wall 30. The grid electrode 24 has the rib-shaped wall 3
It is insulated from the phosphor layer 12 by 0 and is positioned at a height position between the phosphor layer 12 and the filament 28.

Further, each of the plurality of grid electrodes 24 has an elongated shape extending along the short side direction (Y direction) of the substrate 14 as shown in FIG. The longitudinal portions 24y that pass between the plurality of phosphor layers 12 arranged along the longitudinal direction of 14 and a plurality of intermediate portions of the longitudinal portions 24y protrude from both sides in the lateral direction (X direction). It is composed of a branch portion 24x. The center interval in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal portions 24y of the plurality of branch portions 24x is constant. In addition, the branch portions 24x are continuous in the X direction by connecting the branch portions 24x extending from the three longitudinal portions 24y adjacent to each other. That is, as a whole, they are provided intermittently in the X direction. Therefore, branch 2
The three longitudinal portions 24y connected to each other 4x are electrically connected to each other, and each of the grid electrodes 24 corresponds to the number of the three longitudinal portions 24y and the phosphor layer 12 in the Y direction. It forms a lattice shape composed of a plurality of branch portions 24x.
In addition, the grid electrodes 24 in which the branch portions 24x are not connected to each other are electrically insulated from each other by the branch portions 24x being separated from each other by a small size of, for example, d _G = 100 (μm). There is. In this embodiment, the short side (Y) direction of the substrate 14 corresponds to the first direction and the long side (X) direction corresponds to the second direction, and the two directions are orthogonal to each other. In this embodiment, the grid electrode 24 corresponds to the control electrode.

Therefore, each of the large number of phosphor layers 12 is
By the two longitudinal portions 24y located on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14 and the two branch portions 24x located on both sides in the short side direction, that is, the grid electrode 2
The entire circumference is surrounded by four constituent parts. However,
The phosphor layer 12 located at the boundary between the grid electrodes 24
Is surrounded by two longitudinal portions 24y of the two grid electrodes 24 adjacent to each other and a large number of branch portions 24x extending from them in a direction approaching each other, and these branch portions 24x are mutually d. It is incomplete because it is separated by _G. As described above, the phosphor layer 12 is alternately arranged with two rows completely surrounded by the grid electrode 24 and one row completely surrounded by the grid electrode 24. Since the phosphor layer 12 is provided in the region surrounded by the grid electrode 24 so as to be in close contact with the inner peripheral edge thereof, the mutual distance d _A between the phosphor layers 12 is determined by the longitudinal portion of the grid electrode 24. 24y and the width of the branch 24x are equal to, for example, 60
It is about 150 (μm). The planar shape of the rib-shaped wall 30 is the same as the planar shape of the grid electrode 24 as shown in FIG. 2, for example, and is composed of a longitudinal portion 30a and a branch portion 30b.

As shown in the partial cross-sectional structure of FIG. 2, a plurality of anodes 32 each having a substantially rectangular shape are provided below the phosphor layer 12 on the display surface 22. ing. The anode 32 is composed of a graphite layer having a thickness of, for example, about 30 to 40 (μm). The plurality of phosphor layers 12 are fixed on the anode 32, respectively, and the length dimension of each side of the anode 32 is about 400 (μm), that is, the same dimension as the phosphor layer 12 and It has a shape. The rib-shaped walls 30 are provided so as to protrude between the anodes 32, and the anodes 32 are divided into the rib-shaped walls 30 on the substrate 14 so that they are independent of each other, that is, electrically connected to each other. Insulated state.

The phosphor layer 12 is provided with one or several kinds of phosphors corresponding to a desired emission color for each anode 32, and the thickness dimension thereof is determined for each emission color. For example, it is about 30 (μm). When a plurality of types of phosphors are used, for example, in a color display using three colors of RGB, for example, RG is sequentially arranged for each row along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14.
Phosphor layers 12 corresponding to the three colors of B are provided to form a stripe arrangement, or 4 rows of 2 columns × 2 columns adjacent to each other.
The phosphor layers 12 corresponding to the four colors of RGGB are provided in an individual unit to form a quartet arrangement. One pixel of the fluorescent display tube 10 has three or four different emission colors arranged adjacent to each other in a stripe shape or a rectangular shape (however, in the case of four, two of them have the same emission color). It is composed of the phosphor layer 12.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the electrode structure on the substrate 14 in a III-III cross section in FIG. 2, that is, a widthwise cross section at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14. On the display surface 22 of the substrate 14, a thick film conductor paste is printed by a screen printing method or the like in a thickness of about 15 (μm) and baked, or by vapor deposition and etching treatment of an aluminum thin film or the like, a plurality of anode strips 34 are formed so as to be connected to the anode terminal 20 _P. On this anode wiring 34, an insulator layer 38 is fixedly formed so as to cover substantially the entire surface of the display surface 22 and has a through hole 36 penetrating in the thickness direction. The insulator layer 38 is formed, for example, by applying a thick film insulating paste composed of a low melting point glass and a coloring pigment to a thickness of about 30 to 40 (μm) by a screen printing method and baking the paste. .

The anode 32 is provided on the insulating layer 38 at a position electrically connected to the anode wiring 34 through the through hole 36. The anode 32 is formed by printing a thick film printing paste containing graphite as a main component in a predetermined dot pattern and firing the paste. The phosphor layer 12 is formed by printing a thick film phosphor paste on the anode 32. Further, the rib-shaped wall 30 is formed by printing a thick film insulating paste around the phosphor layer 12 and the anode 32. That is, it is erected on the insulator layer 38, not directly on the substrate 14. The rib-shaped wall 30 is formed by laminating a thick film insulating paste made of an insulating material such as low melting point glass or an inorganic filler in a predetermined pattern having a line width of 60 to 150 (μm) repeatedly. Insulator layer 3
It has a height of about 60 to 300 (μm), for example, about 200 (μm) from the surface 8 and a height of about 30 to 250 (μm) from the surface of the phosphor layer 12. The grid electrode 24 includes silver, palladium, aluminum, on the top of the rib-shaped wall 30,
The thick film conductor paste containing a particulate conductive material such as nickel or carbon is fixedly formed by printing with a thickness of about 5 to 50 (μm).

The plurality of anode wirings 34 are provided, for example, along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14, and the plurality of anodes 32, that is, each of the phosphor layers 12 is
Substantially aligned ones in the width direction of the substrate 14 are respectively connected to a large number of anode wirings 34 provided in each row along the longitudinal direction so as to be electrically independent from each other. In Figure 4,
The connection state of the first row of the anodes 32 located on the uppermost side in the figure is schematically shown. In FIG.
The anode wiring 34 includes five lines a to e which are independent from each other in each row of the anode 32, for example, 34-1a and 34-1 for the first row.
b, 34-1c, 34-1d, 34-1e are provided, and the plurality of anodes 32 in each row are arranged at intervals of four, and
It is connected to a common one of the book anode wirings 34. That is, in the present embodiment, the substrate 14 is configured to have an anode quintuple wiring structure, and the anode 32 connected to any of the five anode wirings 34 has a longitudinal direction of the substrate 14, that is, left and right in the drawing. They are lined up at regular intervals in the direction. The connection state with the anode wiring 34 is the same for any row of the other anodes 32 not shown. The above-mentioned anode multiplicity, that is, the number of anode wirings 34 in each row m
Is a longitudinal portion 24 provided in one grid electrode 24.
It is determined that the following equation (1) is satisfied, where n is the number of y. In addition, in FIG. 4, for convenience of illustration,
Although it is drawn that the anode 32 and the grid electrode 24 are not in contact with each other, the actual arrangement state on the display surface 22 may be as described above. m = (3n + 1) / 2 ・ ・ ・ (1)

Further, in FIG. 4 described above, the fluorescent display tube 1
0 is provided with a control circuit connected via a terminal 20 or integrally formed on the substrate 14, and each of the plurality of grid electrodes 24 is connected to a grid driver via a grid wiring (not shown). 40 output ports are independently connected. Also, the anode 32 of each row is 4
Five anode wirings 34, which are provided in each row connected to every other row, are independently connected to the output port of the anode driver 42. The grid driver 40 and the anode driver 42 are controlled according to the output signals of the controller 44, and are driven as described later according to the data input to the controller 44. In this embodiment,
The grid driver 40 corresponds to the control electrode driving device, and the anode driver 42 corresponds to the anode driving device.
The controller 44 includes a ROM, a RAM, a CPU,
It is composed of an I / O, a converter and the like.

When the fluorescent display tube 10 constructed as described above is driven, two grid electrodes 24 adjacent to each other in a state where a predetermined heating current is constantly applied to the plurality of filaments 28. For example, a relatively positive acceleration voltage of, for example, about 20 (V) is sequentially applied to the zero (V) filament 28, and scanning is performed. Then, in synchronization with the scanning timing, a positive drive voltage of, for example, about 20 (V) with respect to the cathode potential is applied to the desired anode wiring 34. As a result, the thermoelectrons emitted from the filament 28 are applied to the grid electrode 2 to which a positive voltage is applied.
4, so that the phosphor layer 12 surrounded by it is accelerated.
Also, when a positive voltage is applied via the anode 32, electrons are incident on the phosphor layer 12 to excite it to emit light.
However, even if a positive voltage is applied to the phosphor layer 12, if a negative cutoff bias of about several (V) is applied to the grid electrode 24 surrounding the phosphor layer 12 with respect to the filament 28, thermoelectrons are generated. The phosphor layer 12 does not reach the phosphor layer 12 and does not emit light. Therefore, in the state where the thermoelectrons are emitted by the current flowing through the filament 28, the desired one of the phosphor layers 12 is selected in synchronization with the timing when the acceleration voltage is sequentially applied to the grid electrode 24. Also, when a positive voltage is applied, so-called dynamic driving causes light emission display in a desired pattern.

Hereinafter, the grid electrode 24 and the anode wiring 3
5 showing the driving voltage waveform to the No. 4 and the voltage application state to the grid electrode 24 and the phosphor layer 1 at a specific time.
The driving method of the fluorescent display tube 10, that is, the control of the controller 44 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In addition, in FIG.
"Gi, Gj, ~ Gn ..." Indicates the grid electrodes 24 sequentially arranged in the row direction, and "... Arc, Ard, ~ A."
"sc ..." represents four anode wirings a, b, c, d provided in "... r rows, s rows ...", respectively. In addition, in FIGS. 6A to 6C, “I, J, ...
., X ”represents the columns of the phosphor layer 12, and“ r, s, ... ”Represents the rows of the phosphor layer 12, and“ a, b, c, d, e written in squares. "Indicates the distinction of the five anode wirings 34 to which the anodes 32 under the phosphor layers 12 in each row are connected. Further, at each time t1 to t4, “◯” indicates that the acceleration voltage is applied to the grid electrode 24 shown thereon, and “●” indicates that the cutoff bias is applied.

At time t1, the acceleration voltage is applied to two of the grid electrodes 24, Gi and Gj, and
A positive voltage is applied to Arc, Ard, Are, Asc, etc. of the anode wiring 34, that is, three subscripts c, d, and e out of the five in each row. Therefore, the electrons generated from the filament 28 are attracted to the two grid electrodes 24 to which the acceleration voltage is applied.
Of the seven columns of phosphor layers 12 surrounded by or adjacent to four, no positive voltage is applied to the columns I, J, N, and O, so that the four layers of phosphor layers 12 have electrons. Can't be directed and can't emit light. On the other hand, since a positive voltage is applied to the K, L, and M columns, the attracted electrons are directed toward the phosphor layers 12 in those three columns, and the injected electrons excite the phosphor and emit light. To be made. Figure 6
In (b), the phosphor layer 12 emitting light at this time t1 is shown in white. In this figure, the shaded phosphor layer 12 does not emit light because a positive voltage is not applied to the anode 32. In addition, in the phosphor layer 12 marked with X, a positive voltage is applied to the anode 32, but grid electrodes Gk, G to which a cutoff bias is applied are applied.
Since it is surrounded by l and Gm, it does not emit light.

That is, at the time t1, the acceleration voltage is applied to the two grid electrodes 24 at the same time, so that the seven columns of fluorescent light sandwiched between or adjacent to the six longitudinal portions 24y in total. The three columns K, L, and M located in the center in the row direction of the body layer 12 are selected as the columns to emit light, and only the phosphor layer 12 of the row to emit light according to the input data is selected from the three columns. A voltage is applied. Therefore, among the five anode wirings a to e in each row, the positive voltage is actually applied only to those connected to the phosphor layers 12 in the K, L, and M columns to emit light. The waveform in the column of the anode wiring in FIG. 5 indicates that a positive voltage or a cutoff bias is applied depending on the data. In this embodiment, the number of columns of the phosphor layers 12 that emit light at the same time, that is, the number of the anode wirings 34 of each row to which a drive voltage is applied is 3, and the number n of the longitudinal portions 24y provided in the grid electrode 24 is n. Is the same as.

At time t2, a cutoff bias is applied to the grid electrode Gi while the grid electrode G
The acceleration voltage is applied to k and the anode wirings Arc, As
A positive voltage is applied to a, Asb, Asc, etc., that is, the three subscripts a, b and c out of the five in each row. Therefore, within the period from time t2 to time t3, among the seven rows of phosphor layers 12 of L to R, which are surrounded by or are adjacent to the two grid electrodes 24 to which the acceleration voltage is applied, they are located in the center of them. The three columns of N, O, and P located are selected as columns to emit light, and a predetermined one of the phosphor layers 12 in the column is emitted according to the data. FIG. 6C shows the selected state of the grid electrode 24 and the light emitting state of the phosphor layer 12 at this stage.

At time t3, similarly, this time, the acceleration voltage is applied to the grid electrodes Gk and Gl, and the anode wirings Ard, Are, Asa, etc., that is, the subscripts d, e, among the five lines in each row, When a positive voltage is applied to the three a, the phosphor layers 12 in the three rows Q, R, and S emit light. At time t4, the acceleration voltage is applied to the grid electrodes Gl and Gm, and the anode wirings Arc, Ard, A
A positive voltage is applied to sb and the like (that is, those with subscripts b, c, and d), and the phosphor layers 12 in three columns of T, U, and V emit light.

As described above, in this embodiment, two grid electrodes 24 adjacent to each other in the row direction are set as one set, and the combination is changed one by one in the row direction, and the set of grids is changed. While simultaneously applying the acceleration voltage to the electrodes 24 (that is, applying the acceleration voltage while shifting the combination of selecting two grid electrodes 24 each and selecting each one), the grid electrodes to which the acceleration voltages are applied By applying a positive voltage to the anode wiring 34, which is surrounded by 24 and is connected to a predetermined one of the three columns located in the center in the row direction among the columns of the phosphor layer 12 (anode 32), the fluorescence of each column The body layer 12 is made to emit light sequentially.

In short, in the fluorescent display tube 10 of the present embodiment, the grid electrode 24 has three elongated portions 24y which pass through and are electrically connected to each other of the rows of the plurality of anodes 32. And the anode wiring 34
In each of the plurality of anodes 32, five are provided electrically independent of each other, and every four anodes 32 in each row are connected. Therefore, the central three rows of phosphor layers 1 surrounded by two grid electrodes 24 adjacent to each other are provided.
No. 2 has at least two of the longitudinal portions 24y forming the set of grid electrodes 24 on any side in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14, and the set of grid electrodes 24 Is connected to the anode wiring 34 which is different from the phosphor layer 12 in another column which is surrounded by or adjacent to. Therefore, an acceleration voltage is simultaneously applied to the set of grid electrodes 24, and a positive voltage is applied to the anode wiring 34 to which the predetermined anodes 32 in the central three columns are connected. The phosphor layer 12 (anode 32) of is provided with at least two longitudinal portions 24y to which an accelerating voltage is applied on both sides thereof, while the phosphor layers 12 of the other rows are Since no positive voltage is applied to the phosphor layers 12 in the above three rows, there is no inconvenience such as leakage light emission and shade.
Can emit light simultaneously.

At this time, the above-mentioned two grid electrodes 2
When the combinations of 4 are shifted one by one in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14, the above positional relationship is always established between the grid electrode 24 and the phosphor layer 12 (anode 32), and all the phosphor layers are formed. Since the 12 columns correspond to the above-mentioned “three central columns”, all the columns of the phosphor layers 12 can be made to emit light in the same manner. Therefore, according to the number of columns (3) to emit light at the same time, the luminance is tripled as compared with the case where only one column emits light at one time. In addition, the phosphor layers 12 in the other columns connected to the common anode wiring 34 with the phosphor columns 12 in the three columns to be made to emit light are adjacent to the longitudinal portions 24y (the constituent portions of the grid electrode 24). A cutoff bias is applied to the device, so that it cannot emit light. On the other hand, since the three rows of phosphor layers 12 to emit light are provided with at least two longitudinal portions 24y on both sides thereof, the grid electrodes 24 to which the cutoff bias is applied are formed. The influence of the negative electric field formed is preferably eliminated. Therefore, no leakage light emission or shadow occurs. In the present embodiment, a set of two grid electrodes 2 as described above is used.
The step of applying an accelerating voltage to 4 at the same time to sequentially scan is a "scanning step", and the step of applying a positive voltage to the anode wiring 34 corresponding to the selected grid electrode 24 is a "step of applying a driving voltage". Corresponds to each.

Further, in this embodiment, since the grid electrode 24 is provided with the three elongated portions 24y which are electrically connected to each other, the elongated portions 24y are provided as independent grid electrodes. The number of grid electrodes is one-third of that in the case of the above. Therefore, the grid
There is an advantage that the required number of ports of the driver 40 is small.

Further, the driving voltage waveform applied to the five anode wirings 34 provided in each row of the phosphor layer 12 (anode 32) has a pulse width and a pulse width which are apparent from the explanation of the driving method and FIG. Since the potentials are similar to each other and the waveforms applied to any of the anode wirings 34 are the same drive waveform except that the phases are different, there is an advantage that the brightness can be increased without complicating the drive, and at the same time, Since the number of applied voltages is kept at n = 3, there is an advantage that the brightness can be increased without complicating the driving.

The number of driver ports required for the fluorescent display tube 10 is actually the total number required for driving the grid electrodes 24 and the anode wiring 34. When the number of columns of the phosphor layer 12 is C and the number of rows is L, the required port number P is given by the following equation (2). That is, when the number of required ports P calculated in this way is smaller than that of other anode substrate configurations capable of obtaining a desired brightness, the value of adopting the configuration of the present embodiment is high. . For example, the number of columns C is sufficiently larger than the number of rows L.
In the present embodiment, the number of the longitudinal portions 24y provided in each of the grid electrodes 24 is n = 3, and the multiplicity of the anode wiring 34 is m = 5. Is obtained. P = (C / n) + (L × m) ・ ・ ・ (2) P = (C / 3) + (L × 5) ・ ・ ・ (3)

Further, in this embodiment, the number of the elongated portions 24y provided in one grid electrode 24 is odd.
Since the number is three (3), there is no fraction in the anode multiplicity m given by the above formula (1), and there is an advantage that the number of drive ports P can be reduced more efficiently.

In this embodiment, n = 3 at the same time.
The multiplicity m of the anode wiring 34 was set to 5 for the purpose of causing the column to emit light. Similarly, in a structure in which a mesh-shaped grid electrode is provided between the phosphor layer 12 and the filament 28, if three rows are simultaneously made to emit light, the multiplicity is set to prevent leakage light emission due to electron wraparound. Must be set to at least 6. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, there is an advantage that a relatively small multiplicity is sufficient to obtain similar brightness.

As a result, the required number of ports is reduced as compared with the case where a mesh grid electrode is used, and the number of anode wirings 34 passing between the anodes 32 is reduced, so that the phosphor layer is formed. There is also an advantage that the dot pitch of 12 can be reduced. Even if the arrangement pitch of the anode wirings 34 is made small, there is a lower limit determined by the pattern forming technology and the demand for ensuring mutual insulation. Therefore, the minimum value of the dot pitch of the phosphor layer 12 is limited according to the number of arranged phosphor layers.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following examples, the structural difference from the above-mentioned examples is that the longitudinal portions 24 provided in the grid electrode 24 are provided.
Since only the number n of y and the multiplicity m of the anode wiring 34 are,
These values and the difference in driving based on them will be mainly described.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the structure of an anode substrate of a fluorescent display tube of another embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 6 described above. In FIG. 7 (a), each of the grid electrodes 24 (..., Gi, Gj, Gk, ...) Has five longitudinal portions 24y, which are electrically connected to each other at the branch portions 24x. Has been. Further, each row of the phosphor layer 12 is provided with eight anode wirings 34a to 34h, and each of the phosphor layers 12 is sequentially connected to the anode wirings 34a, 34b, to 34h in the column direction. . That is, in the present embodiment, the number n of the longitudinal portions 24y provided in one grid electrode 24 is n = 5, and the multiplicity m of the anode wiring 34 is m = 8. These relationships are also mentioned above
It follows the formula (1).

Even when the grid electrode 24 and the anode wiring 34 are configured as described above, when driving,
As shown in FIG. 8, an accelerating voltage is simultaneously applied to two grid electrodes 24 adjacent to each other, and the central five columns of the phosphor layer 12 surrounded by them, that is, each grid electrode 24, is provided. The number n of the elongated portions 24y
A positive voltage is applied to the same number of columns as the above, and a positive voltage is applied to the corresponding anode wiring 34 while shifting the combination of the grid electrodes 24 one by one.

Therefore, at time t1, the acceleration voltage is applied to the grid electrodes Gi and Gj, and at the same time, 5
Book anode wiring 34d, 34e, 34f, 34g, 34h
When a positive voltage is applied to, the desired ones of the phosphor layers 12 in the L to P rows are made to emit light (see FIG. 7 (b)). Since no positive voltage is applied to columns I to K and columns Q to S among the columns of the phosphor layer 12 surrounded by or adjacent to the grid electrodes Gi and Gj, the grid electrode G
Even if an acceleration voltage is applied to i and Gj, they do not emit light. Further, the anode wirings 34d, 34e, 34f,
The other layers connected to 34g and 34h, for example, the phosphor layers 12 such as the T column to the X column, cannot emit light because the cutoff bias is applied to the grid electrode Gk and the like. The same applies at the next timing when the accelerating voltage is applied to the grid electrodes Gj and Gk, and the Q to U columns are caused to emit light at the same time, as shown in FIG. 7C.

That is, also in this embodiment, the relationship between the number n of the elongated portions 24y forming the grid electrode 24 and the multiplicity m of the anode wiring 34 is determined as described above, and two adjacent ones are also provided. An acceleration voltage is sequentially applied to the grid electrodes 24 as one set, and at the same time, a positive voltage is applied to the central five rows of the phosphor layer 12 surrounded by the set to which the acceleration voltage is applied. Therefore, the phosphor layers 12 in the five rows can be simultaneously made to emit light without any leakage light emission, and the brightness is five times as high as that in the case where the respective rows are made to emit light at different timings. Is obtained. At this time, since at least three longitudinal portions 24y to which an accelerating voltage is applied are provided on both sides of any row of the phosphor layers 12 to emit light, another grid to which a cutoff bias is applied is provided. The influence of the negative electric field formed by the electrode 24 is reliably eliminated, and light is emitted at a uniform brightness without causing a shadow in any of the plurality of columns that emit light at the same time.

In the present embodiment, the number of grid electrodes 24, that is, the number of ports required for the driver 40 is
In equation (2), n = 5 and m = 8, and P = (C / 5) +
It is given by (L × 8). Therefore, it can be said that the value of adopting such a structure is enhanced when the number of rows L is smaller than the number of columns C as compared with the case shown in FIGS. 1 to 6.

In this embodiment also, the anode wiring 34 is used.
The pulse width and potential of the drive waveform applied to the
Similar to the above-described embodiment, a drive pulse having a similar waveform is applied to any of the wirings 34 only with a different phase.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), each of the plurality of grid electrodes 24 is provided with four elongated portions 24y, which are interconnected by branch portions 24x. Have been conducted to. Further, each row of the phosphor layer 12 is provided with seven anode wirings 34a to 34g,
Each of the phosphor layers 12 has an anode wiring 3 in order in the column direction.
4a, 34b, to 34g. That is,
In this embodiment, the number of longitudinal portions 24y provided in one grid electrode 24 is n = 4, and the anode wiring 34 is
The multiplicity of m = 7. These relationships are also in accordance with the equation (1) described above, but since a fraction of 0.5 occurs in the calculation, the value of m is rounded up.

Even when the grid electrode 24 and the anode wiring 34 are configured as described above, when driving,
As shown in FIG. 10, an acceleration voltage is simultaneously applied to two grid electrodes 24 adjacent to each other, and the central four columns of the phosphor layer 12 surrounded by them, that is, each grid electrode 24 is provided. A positive voltage is applied to the same number of columns as the number n of the elongated portions 24y to be formed, and the corresponding anode wiring 34 is shifted while shifting the combination of the grid electrodes 24 one by one.
Apply a positive voltage to. Since one row of the phosphor layer 12 exists between the grid electrodes 24, the central four rows cannot be symmetrically selected with respect to the set of grid electrodes 24, 24. In the example, four columns in which one column located in front of or behind the grid electrode 24 in the scanning direction is added to the central three columns are selected as targets to be simultaneously applied with the drive voltage. Which one column is added is arbitrary as long as the one in the same direction is always selected at the time of driving.

In the above driving method, at time t1,
An acceleration voltage is applied to the grid electrodes Gi and Gj, and four anode wirings 34c, 34d, 34e, 34f are formed.
When a positive voltage is applied to the phosphor layers 12, a desired one of the phosphor layers 12 in the Kth to Nth columns is caused to emit light (see FIG. 9B). Since no positive voltage is applied to columns I, J, and O to Q of the columns of the phosphor layer 12 surrounded by or adjacent to the grid electrodes Gi and Gj, the grid electrode G
Even if an acceleration voltage is applied to i and Gj, they do not emit light. Further, the anode wirings 34c, 34d, 34e,
Since the cutoff bias is applied to the grid electrode Gk and the like, the phosphor layers 12 in the other columns, for example, the R column to the U column, which are connected to 34f, cannot emit light. The same applies at the next timing when the accelerating voltage is applied to the grid electrodes Gj and Gk, and the rows O to R are made to emit light at the same time, as shown in FIG. 9C.

That is, also in the present embodiment, the relationship between the number n of the elongated portions 24y forming the grid electrode 24 and the multiplicity m of the anode wiring 34 is determined as described above, and two adjacent ones are provided. An acceleration voltage is sequentially applied to each of the grid electrodes 24 as a set, and at the same time, a positive voltage is applied to the central four columns of the phosphor layer 12 surrounded by the set to which the acceleration voltage is applied. Therefore, the phosphor layers 12 in the five rows can be simultaneously made to emit light without any leakage light emission, and the brightness is four times as high as that in the case where each row is made to emit light at a different timing. Is obtained. At this time, since at least two longitudinal portions 24y to which an accelerating voltage is applied are provided on both sides of any row of the phosphor layers 12 to emit light, another grid to which a cutoff bias is applied is provided. The influence of the negative electric field formed by the electrode 24 is reliably eliminated, and light is emitted at a uniform brightness without causing a shadow in any of the plurality of columns that emit light at the same time.

In this embodiment, the number of grid electrodes 24, that is, the number of ports required for the driver 40 is
In equation (2), n = 4 and m = 7, and P = (C / 4) +
It is given by (L × 7). Therefore, it can be said that the structure of this embodiment is also more valuable when the number L of rows is smaller than the number C of columns as compared with the case shown in FIGS. 1 to 6.

In this embodiment also, the anode wiring 34 is used.
The pulse width and potential of the drive waveform applied to the
Similar to the above-described embodiment, a drive pulse having a similar waveform is applied to any of the wirings 34 only with a different phase.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention can be carried out in still another mode.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the combination of the number n of the longitudinal portions 24y provided in the grid electrode 24 and the multiplicity m of the anode wiring 34 is (3, 5), (4
7) and (5, 8), the value of n and m is the value of the number of ports P calculated based on the desired brightness and the actual values of C and L. Is appropriately determined within a range that satisfies the above formula (1) so that the highest possible brightness can be obtained within the range of the required number of required ports. That is, when n is 6, m is 10, and n is
When 7 is set, if m is set to 11, the same driving as in the above-described embodiments can be performed, and the effect of the present invention can be enjoyed.

As the number n of the longitudinal portions 24y provided in the grid electrode 24 is increased, the number of the longitudinal portions 24y provided on the lateral side of the outermost one of the phosphor layers 12 to emit light is increased. That is, although the number of dummy grids increases, the dummy grids are the grid electrodes 24 to which a cutoff bias in the vicinity is applied.
It is only for eliminating the influence of the negative electric field formed by, and the number may be any number as long as it is at least one.

In the embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the fluorescent display tube 10 in which a plurality of square phosphor layers 12 are arranged in two directions orthogonal to each other has been described. The same applies to a fluorescent display tube in which the first direction and the second direction are not orthogonal to each other, such as when hexagonal phosphor layers are closely arranged.

Further, in the embodiment, each of the plurality of grid electrodes 24 has a grid shape, but it is configured so that the acceleration voltage is simultaneously applied by being connected to the common grid electrode wiring. If it does, it does not matter even if it is not conducted around the phosphor layer 12 on the display surface 22. If so configured, the branch portion 24
The x is not essential, and the grid electrode 24 may have a stripe shape.

Although not illustrated one by one, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit thereof.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fluorescent display tube according to an embodiment of the present invention with a part thereof cut away.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of a display surface of the fluorescent display tube of FIG.

3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a substrate in a cross section taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a main part of a control configuration of the fluorescent display tube in FIG.

5 is a driving waveform diagram showing an example of a driving method of the fluorescent display tube of FIG. 1. FIG.

6 (a) to 6 (c) are diagrams for explaining voltage application and light emission states at specific times in FIG.

7 (a) to (c) are diagrams corresponding to FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c) for explaining a configuration and a driving method of a fluorescent display tube according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 for explaining an example of a drive waveform of the fluorescent display tube configured as shown in FIG. 7.

9A to 9C are views for explaining a structure and a driving method of a fluorescent display tube according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure corresponding to (c).

10 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 for explaining an example of the drive waveform of the fluorescent display tube configured as shown in FIG. 9.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Fluorescent display tube 12: Phosphor layer 14: substrate 24: Grid electrode (control electrode) 32: Anode 34: Anode wiring 40: Grid driver 42: Anode driver

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme code (reference) G09G 3/30 301 G09G 3/30 301 (72) Inventor Jun Mohri Sansu, Yasu-cho, Asakura-gun, Fukuoka Prefecture Yatsunami 2160 Noritake Electronics Co., Ltd. Yasu Factory F term (reference) 5C036 EE02 EF02 EF06 EG02 EG15 EG24 EG29 EG48 EH01 5C080 AA08 BB05 CC03 DD05 DD11 DD13 DD20 DD22 DD27 EE17 EE29 EE30 JJ21 FF02 H43 04

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A phosphor layer for forming a dot-shaped pixel is fixed to each surface, and a plurality of anodes are arranged along a first direction and a second direction intersecting each other on a substrate, A fluorescent display tube of a type that selectively emits light from the phosphor layer by allowing electrons generated from a cathode installed above it in a vacuum space to enter, and the fluorescent display is provided between the plurality of anodes. The rib-shaped wall protruding higher than the body layer and a row of a plurality of anodes arranged in the first direction are provided between the rib-shaped walls and adjacent to each other. A plurality of n electrodes each (where n is an integer of 3 or more) are connected to a common control electrode wiring, and are connected in the second direction to control the electrons. Control electrodes, m present (where m is each row of anodes along the direction [(3n
+1) / 2] or more minimum integers) are provided electrically independent of each other, and among the plurality of anodes, ones arranged along the second direction are every [m−1]. A fluorescent display tube comprising a plurality of connected anode wirings. 2. The fluorescent display tube according to claim 1, wherein n is an odd number. 3. The plurality of control electrodes are formed in a lattice shape by connecting a plurality of electrode portions constituting each of the plurality of control electrodes to each other through a plurality of anodes arranged in the first direction. The fluorescent display tube according to claim 1 or 2, which is formed. 4. A combination of two adjacent control electrodes of the plurality of control electrodes as one set along the second direction.
A control electrode driving device for sequentially applying an accelerating voltage to the set of control electrodes while sequentially changing the number of electrodes, and an electrode part of the set of control electrodes in synchronization with the scanning timing. An anode drive device for applying a drive voltage to the anode wiring to which a predetermined anode in the nth column located in the center in the second direction of the column of anodes sandwiched between is connected. The fluorescent display tube according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which comprises: 5. The method of driving a fluorescent display tube according to claim 1, wherein a combination of two adjacent control electrodes of the plurality of control electrodes is set as a set. A scanning step of sequentially applying an accelerating voltage to the set of control electrodes while changing them one by one along the second direction, and the set of control in synchronization with the scanning timing. A step of applying a driving voltage to the anode wiring to which a predetermined anode in the n-th column located in the center in the second direction among the column of anodes sandwiched between the electrode parts of the electrodes is connected. And driving method of the fluorescent display tube.