JP2010251146A - Manufacturing method of plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a plasma display panel having a test method of carrying out the detection of the non-lighting of a discharge cell with high precision. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of the plasma display panel has a test process including a step to confirm the display state of the discharge cell. A normal drive method of the plasma display panel and a drive method in the step to confirm the display state of the discharge cell have an initialization period for applying an initialization waveform having a gentle inclination in a scanning electrode, and a write period for selecting and applying the data waveform which has the reversed-polarity scanning waveform to the scanning electrode sequentially and selecting and applying the same polarity with the initialization waveform to the address electrode. The drive method in the step to confirm the display state of the discharge cell carries out drive while changing a set value of a voltage applied to a maintaining electrode at least during either the initialization period or the write period. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a plasma display panel in a plasma display panel manufacturing process.

  In recent years, a plasma display panel (hereinafter abbreviated as PDP) has attracted attention as a flat display device having a thin and large screen, and a surface discharge AC type PDP having three electrodes is a typical structure. In the AC type PDP, a front plate in which a plurality of pairs of scan electrodes and sustain electrodes extending in the horizontal direction are arranged and a rear plate in which a plurality of data electrodes extending in the vertical direction are arranged are opposed to each other through a partition wall, A discharge space is formed between them. Discharge cells partitioned by barrier ribs are formed at a portion where the pair of scan electrodes, sustain electrodes, and address electrodes intersect three-dimensionally.

  As a method of driving the PDP, the subfield method, that is, the gradation of the video signal is displayed by dividing one field period of the video signal into a plurality of subfields having luminance weights and combining the subfields causing discharge. The method is common. Here, the subfield includes an initialization period for generating an initialization discharge for forming a predetermined wall charge in the discharge cell, an address period for generating an address discharge for selecting a discharge cell to be lit, and a selected discharge. It has a discharge sustain period for generating a sustain discharge in the cell. Then, an image is displayed by light emission accompanying the sustain discharge.

  In general, a PDP is manufactured by mounting a drive circuit. In the manufacturing process, in order to prevent the outflow of defective products to the circuit mounting process, a lighting signal is input to the PDP and a lighting test is performed before the drive circuit is mounted.

  In the PDP inspection, a driving waveform is applied to each electrode, and an image is displayed to perform the inspection. The inspection items include voltage inspection to measure the voltage required for image display, image quality inspection to measure luminance, chromaticity and color temperature, and other problems such as image defects such as color spots and abnormal lighting / non-lighting of discharge cells. A display defect inspection for confirming the existence is performed. As a PDP lighting inspection method, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known.

  In the description so far, the lighting inspection is simply described as before the drive circuit is mounted, but the steps to be performed are necessary after aging, after attaching the front plate filter, after mounting the flexible printed circuit board, etc. Depending on the implementation. In addition, in each lighting inspection performed as necessary, the inspection items may be inspected only for necessary items from among the items described above.

JP 2005-183367 A

  However, non-lighting in the lighting inspection of the PDP depends on the driving circuit and the inspection device. This is because, in a discharge cell that is not lit, the difference between the voltage difference necessary for discharge (between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode or between the address electrode and the scan electrode) and the actual voltage difference is small, and the drive waveform is small. This is because when the difference in the actual voltage difference occurs due to the difference, the voltage difference necessary for the discharge is not obtained, so that the lamp does not light normally.

  Therefore, in order to correctly evaluate the presence or absence of non-lighting in the lighting inspection, it is desirable to perform the inspection in a state where unlighting is likely to occur.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a PDP having an inspection process capable of detecting non-lighting generated in a certain process with high accuracy. .

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the method of manufacturing a PDP of the present invention, a plurality of pairs of scan electrodes and sustain electrodes are arranged on the front substrate, and a plurality of address electrodes are arranged on the rear substrate. And a method of manufacturing a PDP in which discharge cells are formed by disposing the front substrate and the rear substrate so that the sustain electrodes and the address electrodes are orthogonal to each other, and includes an inspection process including a step of confirming the display state of the discharge cells. The normal driving method of the PDP and the driving method in the step of confirming the display state of the discharge cell include an initializing period in which an initializing waveform having a gentle slope is applied to the scan electrode, and an initializing waveform on the scan electrode. And an address period in which a data waveform having the same polarity as the initialization waveform is selected and applied to the address electrodes, and a discharge cell display. The driving method in the step of confirming the state, at least one of period of the setup period or address period, and performing by changing the set value of the voltage applied to the sustain electrode.

  Here, the driving method in the step of confirming the display state of the discharge cells may be performed by changing the set value of the voltage applied to the address electrode during the address period. Further, the driving method in the step of confirming the display state of the discharge cell is performed by changing the set value of the voltage to be applied to the sustain electrode during at least one of the initialization period and the address period in the normal driving method. You may carry out by making it lower than the setting value of the voltage applied to.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect the non-lighting generated in the PDP, and it is possible to perform a highly reliable inspection.

The partial perspective view of the plasma display panel in the embodiment of the present invention Electrode arrangement of the panel The figure which shows the example of the drive waveform impressed to each electrode of the panel The figure which shows the block configuration of the lighting inspection apparatus of the same panel The figure which shows the lighting inspection device of the panel

  The PDP inspection method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
A structure of a PDP and a driving method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a panel used in an embodiment of the present invention. The PDP 10 is configured such that a front plate and a rear plate are disposed to face each other and a discharge space is formed therebetween. A plurality of scan electrodes 22 and sustain electrodes 23 are formed in parallel with each other on a glass front substrate 21. A dielectric layer 24 is formed so as to cover the scan electrodes 22 and the sustain electrodes 23, and a protective layer 25 is formed on the dielectric layer 24. The protective layer 25 plays a role of releasing charges necessary for discharge, and an MgO (magnesium oxide) thin film layer is generally used in current panels. Scan electrode 22 and sustain electrode 23 constitute display electrode pair 26. Scan electrode 22 and sustain electrode 23 were each formed on a transparent electrode made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or the like, and on the transparent electrode. And bus electrodes made of metal or the like. As described above, the front plate is formed by forming the scan electrode 22, the sustain electrode 23, the dielectric layer 24, and the protective layer 25 on the front substrate 21.

  A plurality of address electrodes 32 are formed in parallel on the glass rear substrate 31. A dielectric layer 33 is formed so as to cover the address electrodes 32, and a grid-like partition wall 34 is provided on the dielectric layer 33. In addition, phosphor layers 35R, 35G, and 35B that emit red, green, and blue light are provided on the surface of the dielectric layer 33 and the side surfaces of the partition walls 34. Thus, the back plate is formed by forming the address electrodes 32, the dielectric layer 33, the partition walls 34, and the phosphor layers 35R, 35G, and 35B on the back substrate 31.

  The front substrate 21 and the rear substrate 31 are arranged to face each other so that the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 and the address electrode 32 are three-dimensionally crossed, and in the discharge space formed between them, as a discharge gas, for example, A mixed gas of neon and xenon is enclosed. Note that the structure of the panel is not limited to the above-described structure, and for example, a structure having a stripe-shaped partition may be used.

  FIG. 2 is an electrode array diagram of the PDP 10. N scanning electrodes 22 and n sustaining electrodes 23 are arranged in the row direction, and m address electrodes 32 are arranged in the column direction. Discharge cells 11 are formed at a portion where the pair of scan electrodes 22 and sustain electrodes 23 and one address electrode 32 are three-dimensionally crossed, and m × n discharge cells 11 are formed in the discharge space.

  Next, a method for driving the PDP 10 will be described. A subfield method is used as a method of driving the PDP 10. In this case, one field period is divided into a plurality of subfields (for example, first SF, second SF,..., 10th SF), and luminance display is performed by controlling light emission and non-light emission of each discharge cell in each subfield. It is a method to do. Each subfield has an initialization period, an address period, and a sustain period. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a driving waveform applied to each electrode of the PDP 10. For the scan electrodes, drive waveforms applied to the first and nth scan electrodes are shown.

  In the initialization period of the first SF, first, in the first half, the address electrode 32 and the sustain electrode 23 are held at 0 (V), and the discharge start voltage is exceeded from the voltage Vi1 that is lower than the discharge start voltage with respect to the scan electrode 22. A ramp voltage that gradually increases toward the voltage Vi2 is applied. Then, a weak initializing discharge is generated in all the discharge cells, and wall voltage is accumulated on scan electrode 22, sustain electrode 23 and address electrode 32. Here, the wall voltage on the electrode refers to a voltage generated by wall charges accumulated on the dielectric layer covering the electrode, the phosphor layer, or the like.

  Subsequently, in the latter half of the initialization period, the sustain electrode 23 is maintained at the positive voltage Ve1, and a ramp voltage that gradually decreases from the voltage Vi3 toward the voltage Vi4 is applied to the scan electrode 22. Then, a weak initializing discharge occurs again in all the discharge cells, and the wall voltages on scan electrode 22, sustain electrode 23, and address electrode 32 are adjusted to values suitable for the address operation. Here, the value of Ve1 determines the value of the wall voltage. When Ve1 is lowered, the value of the wall voltage is also reduced, so that no sustain discharge is generated and lighting is not performed.

  In some subfields constituting one field period, the first half of the initializing period may be omitted. In this case, only the discharge cells that have undergone the sustain discharge in the immediately preceding subfield are included. On the other hand, an initialization operation is performed. FIG. 3 shows a drive waveform diagram in which the initialization operation having the first half and the second half is performed in the initialization period of the first SF, and the initialization operation having only the second half is performed in the initialization period of the second SF. In the initialization period of the subfield after the third SF, the same drive waveform as that in the initialization period of the second SF is applied to each electrode.

  In the address period, voltage Ve2 is first applied to all sustain electrodes 23, and voltage Vc is applied to all scan electrodes 22. Then, an address pulse of voltage Vd is applied to the address electrode 32 of the discharge cell that should emit light in the first row, and a scan pulse of voltage Va is applied to the scan electrode 22 in the first row. Then, an address discharge occurs in the discharge cell that should emit light in the first row, and a positive wall voltage is accumulated on the scan electrode 22 and a negative wall voltage is accumulated on the sustain electrode 23 of this discharge cell. On the other hand, no address discharge occurs at the intersection between the address electrode 32 and the scan electrode 22 where no address pulse is applied. The above address operation is sequentially performed until the discharge cell in the nth row, and the address period ends. The voltage Vc is a scanning bias voltage, and plays a role of holding wall charges accumulated by address discharge.

  In the subsequent sustain period, sustain electrode 23 is returned to 0 (V), and a sustain pulse of voltage Vs is applied to scan electrode 22. Then, in the discharge cell in which the address discharge has occurred, the voltage between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 is obtained by adding the magnitude of the wall voltage on the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 to the voltage Vs. The discharge start voltage is exceeded, a sustain discharge occurs between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23, and light is emitted. At this time, negative wall voltage is accumulated on scan electrode 22, and positive wall voltage is accumulated on sustain electrode 23. Subsequently, the scan electrode 22 is returned to 0 (V), and a sustain pulse of the voltage Vs is applied to the sustain electrode 23. Then, in the discharge cell in which the sustain discharge has occurred, since the voltage between the sustain electrode 23 and the scan electrode 22 exceeds the discharge start voltage, the sustain discharge occurs again between the sustain electrode 23 and the scan electrode 22, and the sustain cell is maintained. A negative wall voltage is accumulated on the electrode 23 and a positive wall voltage is accumulated on the scan electrode 22. Thereafter, similarly, by applying a necessary number of sustain pulses alternately to the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23, the sustain discharge is continuously performed in the discharge cells in which the address discharge has occurred. Note that the sustain discharge does not occur in the discharge cells in which the address discharge has not occurred, and the wall voltage at the end of the initialization period is maintained. Thus, the maintenance operation in the maintenance period is completed.

  In the subsequent subfield address period and sustain period after the second SF, operations similar to those in the first SF address period and sustain period are performed. In this manner, each discharge cell is controlled to emit light and not emit light for each subfield, and image display is performed by combining the light emission during the sustain period of each subfield.

  Next, a PDP inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a PDP lighting inspection apparatus. The PDP lighting inspection apparatus includes a scanning electrode driver 102 for driving a plurality of display electrodes provided in the PDP 10, a sustain electrode driver 103, an address electrode driver 104 for driving a plurality of address electrodes, and a control for controlling lighting. The circuit 105 includes a programmable memory 106 for storing a lighting pattern, and a control PC 107.

  FIG. 5 shows a PDP lighting inspection apparatus. Here, in FIG. 5, the scan electrode side connection lighting signal supply means 110 is arranged on the scanning electrode lead side of the PDP 10 that performs the lighting test, and the sustain electrode side connection lighting is arranged on the sustain electrode lead side of the PDP 10. Address electrode side connection lighting signal supply means 120 is disposed on the address electrode lead side of the signal supply means 130 and PDP 10. Each lighting signal supply means is fixed to the entire base portion 140 by a support portion 160. A PDP holding means 150 for holding the PDP 10 is arranged.

  The operation will be described below. In FIG. 5, after the PDP 10 corresponding to the lighting test is mounted, the scan electrode side connection lighting signal supply unit 110, the address electrode side connection lighting signal supply unit 120, and the sustain electrode side connection lighting signal supply unit 130 contact the electrode terminals of the PDP 10. The scan electrode side lighting signal is supplied from the scanning electrode side connection lighting signal supply means 110, the address electrode side lighting signal is supplied from the address electrode side connection lighting signal supply means 120, and the sustain electrode side connection lighting signal supply means 130 is supplied. The sustain electrode side lighting signals are respectively supplied to the PDP 10 to perform lighting display.

  For example, the waveform shown in FIG. 3 is supplied as the signal. The display pattern when the lighting inspection is performed is determined in advance according to each inspection item, and the inspection is performed by switching the display pattern according to the inspection procedure. After completion of the inspection, the PDP 10 is removed and replaced, and the inspection is repeated by the same operation as described above.

  Here, as described above, the non-lighting of the discharge cell is affected by the presence or absence of the occurrence by the drive circuit and the inspection device. For this reason, it is important to prevent the discharge cell from being overlooked by preventing the discharge cell from being overlooked and preventing the missed inspection from occurring.

  Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, a driving method used in a lighting inspection for confirming the display state of the discharge cells of the PDP 10 (hereinafter referred to as inspection driving) and a driving method using a normal image display (hereinafter referred to as normal driving). A different voltage is applied.

  Specifically, in the inspection drive, Ve1 in the drive waveform of FIG. 3 is lowered from the normal drive. This reduces the amount of wall charge stored after the write discharge, increases the possibility that the voltage difference for generating the sustain discharge cannot be reached, and increases the voltage required to generate the sustain discharge. The cell is prone to non-lighting. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of missing a non-light during the lighting inspection, and it is possible to realize a reliable non-light inspection. The amount of voltage reduction is desirably about 5V. In this regard, the same effect can be obtained with Ve2.

  Even if Vd is lowered by 5 V instead of lowering Ve1, there is a high possibility that the voltage difference necessary for the write discharge cannot be reached, and a discharge cell having a high voltage necessary for generating the write discharge Non-lighting is likely to occur. Therefore, as in the case of Ve1, even when Vd is lowered, non-lighting can be detected with high accuracy.

  As described above, in the method for manufacturing a PDP according to the present invention, a plurality of pairs of scan electrodes and sustain electrodes are arranged on the front substrate, and a plurality of address electrodes are arranged on the rear substrate. In a method of manufacturing a PDP in which discharge cells are formed by disposing a front substrate and a back substrate so that the electrodes are orthogonal to each other, an inspection process including a step of confirming a display state of the discharge cells is provided. And the driving method in the step of confirming the display state of the discharge cells include an initializing period in which an initializing waveform having a gentle slope is applied to the scan electrodes, and scanning of the scan electrodes having a polarity opposite to that of the initializing waveform. The waveform is sequentially applied, the address electrode has a writing period in which a data waveform having the same polarity as the initialization waveform is selected and applied, and the display state of the discharge cell is confirmed. The driving method in step is at least one of period of the setup period or address period, and performing by changing the set value of the voltage applied to the sustain electrode.

  This makes it possible to detect non-lighting in the lighting inspection with high accuracy and low cost.

  According to the above invention, the non-lighting of the PDP can be detected with high accuracy and is useful as a manufacturing method having a PDP inspection method.

10 PDP
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Discharge cell 102 Scan electrode driver 103 Sustain electrode driver 104 Address electrode driver 105 Subfield control circuit 106 Programmable memory 107 PC for control
110 Scan electrode side connection lighting signal supply means 120 Address electrode side connection lighting signal supply means 130 Sustain electrode side connection lighting signal supply means 140 Whole base portion 150 PDP holding means 160 Support portion

Claims (3)

The front substrate includes a plurality of pairs of scan electrodes and sustain electrodes arranged on the front substrate, a plurality of address electrodes arranged on the rear substrate, and the scan electrodes, the sustain electrodes, and the address electrodes orthogonal to each other. In the method of manufacturing a plasma display panel in which a discharge cell is formed by opposingly arranging the rear substrate,
Having an inspection process including a step of confirming a display state of the discharge cells;
A normal driving method of the plasma display panel and a driving method in the step of confirming the display state of the discharge cells include:
An initialization period in which an initialization waveform having a gentle slope is applied to the scan electrodes;
A write period for sequentially applying a scan waveform having a polarity opposite to that of the initialization waveform to the scan electrode, and selecting and applying a data waveform having the same polarity as the initialization waveform to the address electrode,
In addition, the driving method in the step of confirming the display state of the discharge cell is performed by changing a set value of a voltage applied to the sustain electrode during at least one of the initialization period and the address period. A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel. 2. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the driving method in the step of confirming a display state of the discharge cell is performed by changing a set value of a voltage applied to the address electrode during the address period. Production method. The driving method in the step of confirming the display state of the discharge cell is the normal driving method in which the set value of the voltage applied to the sustain electrode is set in at least one of the initialization period and the address period. 3. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the plasma display panel is formed with a voltage lower than a set value of the voltage applied to the sustain electrodes during the previous period.

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