JP2581465B2 - Plasma display panel and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure and a driving method of a flat type plasma display panel used for an information terminal device, a display device of a personal computer, or an image display device of a television.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Plasma display panels have characteristics such as large capacity, fast response speed and wide viewing angle among flat displays, and are suitable for large area displays. In particular, the AC plasma display panel using the surface discharge shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 is a highly efficient and long-life panel having a memory characteristic advantageous for obtaining high luminance.

In FIGS. 12 and 13, reference numeral 1 denotes a first insulating substrate made of glass, 2 denotes a second insulating substrate made of glass,
Reference numeral 3 denotes a metal bus electrode used to reduce the resistance of the scan electrode 11 and the sustain electrode 12, 4 denotes a data electrode formed of a metal electrode, 5 denotes a discharge gas space filled with a discharge gas such as a rare gas, and 6 denotes a discharge gas space. An insulating partition sandwiched between the first insulating substrate 1 and the second insulating substrate 2 and separating each display cell;
Reference numeral 7 denotes a phosphor that emits light by ultraviolet light generated by the discharge of the discharge gas, 8 denotes an insulator that covers the electrodes, 9 denotes a protective film such as MgO that protects the insulator by the gas discharge, and 10 denotes the minimum value of the display determined by the partition. A display cell as a unit, 11 is a scanning electrode made of a transparent electrode such as a Nesa electrode, 12
Is a sustain electrode made of a transparent electrode such as a Nesa electrode. The display is in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. This structure is called a reflection type structure, and high emission luminance can be obtained by directly viewing excitation light emission of the phosphor.

Next, FIG. 15 is a diagram focusing on only the electrodes of the plasma display panel. In FIG. 15, 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes a plasma display panel, reference numeral 14 denotes a sealing portion for bonding the first insulating substrate 1 and the second insulating substrate 2, sealing a discharge gas therein and hermetically sealing the inside, S ₁ , S _{2 ,.}
Scanning electrodes 11, C _1, C ₂ are, ..., C _m sustain electrode 1
2, D ₁ , D ₂ ,..., D _n−1 , D _n are data electrodes 4. The display cell 10 at the intersection of the i-th scan electrode and the j-th data electrode is denoted by a _ij .

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a driving voltage waveform and a light emission waveform of the plasma display panel shown in FIGS. In FIG. 16, the waveform (A) is
Sustain electrodes C _1, C _2, ..., the voltage waveform applied to C _m, waveform (B) is the voltage waveform applied to the scan electrodes S _1, waveform (C) is the voltage waveform applied to the scanning electrode S _2, waveform (D) is the voltage waveform applied to the scan electrode S _m, waveform (E) is the voltage waveform applied to the data electrodes D _1, waveform (F) is a voltage waveform, waveform applied to data electrode D ₂ ( G) shows the light emission waveform of the display cell a _11. Waveform (E)
A pulse having a diagonal line in the waveform (F) indicates that the presence or absence of a pulse is determined according to the presence or absence of data to be written. In FIG. 16, data is written to the display cells a ₁₁ and a ₂₂ as a data voltage waveform, and the display cells a ₁₂ and a _{21 are written.}
Shows a case where no data is written. The first line,
The display cells other than a ₁₁ , a ₂₂ , a ₁₂ , and a _{22 in the} second row and the display cells in the third and subsequent rows are displayed depending on the presence or absence of data.

First, the erase pulse 35 is used to temporarily erase the sustain discharge up to that time. Next, priming discharge is performed. The priming discharge is performed for the purpose of uniformly generating priming particles serving as a discharge seed over the entire panel when a display cell is selected and display data is written. Since the priming particles are uniformly present on the entire surface of the panel, the writing discharge can be reliably generated at a low voltage without variation even in a large-area panel. For this, the priming pulse 3
6 is applied to the sustain electrode 12. In order to prevent the priming discharge from directly leading to the sustain discharge, a priming erase pulse 37 is applied to the scan electrode.

Next, display data is written. FIG.
6, display cells a ₁₁ , 2 connected to the first row of scanning electrodes;
Shows a case where the display cell a ₂₂ connected to the scanning electrodes of the row is written. As shown in FIG. 16, the display data is written by superimposing the data pulse 34 applied to the data electrode 4 and the scanning pulse 33 applied to the scanning electrode 11 in synchronization with this pulse.

[0008] Main discharge is performed between scan electrode 11 and sustain electrode 12 by sustain pulses 31 and 32. The method in which main discharge is performed between electrodes on the same plane in this way is called a surface discharge type. These sustain pulses 31, 32
The display brightness is controlled by the number of times of application of.

[0009] The time for performing the writing as described above and
Examples of a method of driving a plasma display panel by separating the light emission time are disclosed in JP-A-63-151997 and JP-A-4-195188.

Next, consider a case where gradation display is performed using such a plasma display panel. In FIG. 17, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents scanning electrodes. The driving waveform of each subfield in FIG. 17 uses the waveform shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, the luminance gradation divides one field into a plurality of subfields (SF1 to SF8 in FIG. 17), and determines the number of light emission (the number of sustain pulses) of each display cell in each subfield. Weighted by 2 ⁿ and expressed as follows:

[0011]

A _n is a variable having a value of 1 or 0.
FIG. 17 shows the case where k = 8, and 2 ⁸ = 256 gradations can be expressed.

[0013]

However, in the conventional priming discharge as described above, the starting voltage of the priming discharge is not uniform over the entire panel, so that
A high voltage must be applied in accordance with the condition of the display cell which is most difficult to discharge, and a driving circuit with a high breakdown voltage is required. Further, in the conventional structure, the priming discharge spreads over the entire display cell, and the luminous luminance due to the priming is high, which causes a decrease in contrast.

An object of the present invention is to realize a plasma display panel capable of reliably performing priming at a low voltage and a driving method thereof. A second object of the present invention is to realize a plasma display panel having a low priming luminance and a high contrast.

[0015]

An AC surface discharge type plasma display panel according to the present invention maintains a discharge between a plurality of parallel scan electrodes formed on the same plane in a display cell and the scan electrodes. A plurality of parallel sustain electrodes, and a plurality of parallel data electrodes for supplying display data orthogonal to the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes, and between the scan electrodes or the sustain electrodes. In the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel in which priming electrodes for performing priming discharge are provided between cells, the priming electrodes are provided in parallel with the scan electrodes or the sustain electrodes.

The present invention also provides an AC surface discharge type plasma display panel, wherein the priming electrode comprises:
The distance between the priming electrode and the scan electrode or the sustain electrode is set so that the discharge start voltage of the discharge generated between the scan electrode or the sustain electrode is lower than the discharge start voltage between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode. It is characterized by doing.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the priming electrode is made of an opaque material, and the priming electrode is arranged so as to block light emission due to priming discharge.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel is provided with an isolation electrode between scan electrodes without priming electrodes or between sustain electrodes in parallel with the scan electrodes or the sustain electrodes.

The driving method according to the present invention is characterized in that the voltage of the priming electrode is an intermediate voltage between the reference voltage and the scanning pulse voltage during the period when the scanning pulse is applied to the scanning electrode.

In the driving method according to the present invention, the voltage of the priming electrode is set to an intermediate voltage between the reference voltage and the scanning pulse voltage immediately before the period of applying the scanning pulse to the scanning electrode,
The priming electrode is set in a floating state during a period in which a scan pulse is applied to the scan electrode.

The driving method of the present invention is characterized in that the priming electrode is in a floating state while a sustain pulse or a sustain pulse and an erase pulse are being applied to the scan electrode or the sustain electrode.

Further, the driving method of the present invention is characterized in that the voltage of the priming electrode is used as a reference voltage immediately before applying the sustain pulse to the scan electrode or the sustain electrode.

In the driving method according to the present invention, while the sustain pulse or the sustain pulse and the erase pulse are being applied to the scan electrode or the sustain electrode, the voltage of the priming electrode is applied to the scan electrodes on both sides of the priming electrode. Alternatively, it is the same as the sustain electrode voltage.

The driving method according to the present invention is characterized in that the isolation electrode is used in a floating state.

The driving method according to the present invention is characterized in that the priming panel is applied to the isolation electrode, and the isolation electrode is used in a floating state except during the period when the priming panel is applied.

Further, according to the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel and the method of driving the same according to the present invention, a discharge is maintained between a plurality of parallel scanning electrodes formed on the same plane in a display cell and the scanning electrodes. A plurality of parallel sustain electrodes, and a plurality of parallel data electrodes for supplying display data orthogonal to the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes, and a plurality of scan electrodes and / or sustain electrodes. In an AC surface discharge type plasma display panel provided with priming electrodes that perform priming discharge between cells,
The priming electrode is provided in parallel with the scan electrode or the sustain electrode, and the priming electrode is arranged on a partition so that priming discharge is performed between the priming electrode and the data electrode.

[0027]

FIG. 1 is a structural sectional view showing one configuration of an AC surface discharge type plasma display panel to which the present invention is applied. As is clear from a comparison between FIG. 1 and FIG. 13, in FIG. 1, a priming electrode 15 is provided between the scanning electrodes 11 to which a scanning pulse is applied. This makes it possible to generate a priming discharge at a low voltage.

The priming electrode 15 and the scanning electrode 11
Is shorter than at least the distance between sustain electrode 12 and scan electrode 11. The discharge starting voltage is determined by the product (p · d) of the distance (d) between the electrodes shown in FIG. 11 and the pressure (p) of the discharge gas filled in the discharge space. In the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel to which the present invention is applied, in order to suppress the deterioration of the panel due to sputtering, the sustain discharge starting voltage between the sustain electrode 12 and the scan electrode 11 is calculated from the p · d product indicating the minimum value. Also, the pressure (p) of the discharge gas and the distance (d) between the electrodes are set in a considerably high region. Therefore, reducing the inter-electrode distance causing the priming discharge as described above means that the priming discharge starting voltage can be reduced to a minimum value.

In order to lower the priming discharge starting voltage, even in the conventional electrode structure shown in FIG. 13, the distance between the sustaining electrode 12 and the scanning electrode 11 which generate the priming discharge is reduced, or the priming discharge is sealed in the panel. It can be realized by lowering the pressure of the discharged gas. However, when the distance between the sustaining electrode 12 and the scanning electrode 11 is reduced, the protective film 9 having a high secondary electron emission coefficient formed on the electrode is formed due to the electric field concentration at the opposing electrode ends peculiar to the surface discharge type structure. It is easily lost by sputtering by ions in the discharge gas, and causes a significant increase in the discharge start voltage in a short time. On the other hand, in the method of reducing the pressure of the discharge gas,
Kinetic energy of ions incident on the protective film 9 increases,
After all, discharge deterioration of the panel is promoted.

However, in the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel having the electrode structure according to the present invention, the voltage of the priming discharge can be reduced without impairing the life characteristics. This is because, in the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel to which the present invention is applied, the priming discharge and the sustain discharge are performed between different electrodes, and as can be seen from FIG. 17, the priming discharge is one frame (1/60) smaller than the sustain discharge. Since the number of discharges is very small at several times per second), the life characteristics of this panel are determined by the characteristics between the scan electrode 11 and the sustain electrode 12 where the sustain discharge is performed. Therefore, shortening the distance between the priming electrode and the scanning electrode 11 does not lead to shortening of the service life.

Since the priming discharge is always performed several times in one frame even if there is no display data, a remarkable improvement in contrast can be realized by reducing the light emission luminance of the priming discharge. In the conventional structure, the priming discharge occurs over the entire area inside the display cell. However, in the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel to which the structure of the present invention is applied, the priming discharge is localized and the emission intensity is low. Furthermore, by making the material of the priming electrode an opaque material such as a metal electrode, light emission due to the priming discharge can be blocked without lowering the emission luminance of the sustain discharge, and high contrast can be realized. .

Further, as shown in FIG.
By providing the bus electrode 3 at a position close to the priming electrode 15 and partially blocking the light emission of the priming discharge, the brightness of the priming discharge could be reduced and the contrast could be improved. The same effect can be obtained even if the priming discharge is performed between the priming electrode 15 and the data electrode 4.

Next, a voltage waveform applied to the priming electrode 15 will be described. Conventionally, there has been no AC surface discharge type panel having such a priming electrode, and thus a drive waveform thereof has been newly devised. Priming electrode 1
The voltage 5 was an intermediate voltage between the reference voltage and the scan pulse voltage during the period when the scan pulse was applied to the scan electrode 11. Thus, the priming electrode 15 during the scanning period is
Thus, erroneous discharge between the scan electrode 11 or the sustain electrode 12 can be effectively prevented. This also allows for
Electrode consumption due to charging and discharging of the capacitance between the priming electrode 15 and the scanning electrode 11 or the sustaining electrode 12 could be suppressed.

Alternatively, while the priming electrode is in the floating state during the period in which the scanning pulse is applied to the scanning electrode 11, the same effect as above can be obtained. At this time, in order to particularly prevent erroneous discharge, it is effective to set the voltage of the priming electrode to an intermediate voltage between the reference voltage and the scan pulse voltage immediately before the period in which the scan pulse is applied to the scan electrode 11. there were. As a result, during the scanning period, the voltage of the priming electrode in the floating state stays near the intermediate voltage between the reference voltage and the scanning pulse voltage, so that erroneous discharge between the scanning electrode 11 and the priming electrode can be prevented better.

The voltage of the priming electrode 15 is in a floating state while a sustain pulse or a sustain pulse and an erase pulse are applied to the scan electrode 11 or the sustain electrode 12. Thereby, the priming electrode 15 and the priming electrode 15 during the period of applying the sustain pulse or the erase pulse are
The power consumption due to the charging and discharging of the capacitance between the scan electrode 11 or the sustain electrode 12 was able to be suppressed.

At this time, the scanning electrode 11 or the sustain electrode 1
Immediately before applying the sustain pulse to the priming electrode 1
5 as a reference voltage, the voltage of the priming electrode 15 to which the sustain pulse or the erase pulse is applied does not become higher than the voltage of the sustain pulse or the erase pulse. There was no need to require a withstand voltage higher than the value, which was effective in improving the reliability and economy of the circuit.

The voltage of the priming electrode 15 is set to a value corresponding to the voltage of the scan electrode 11 on both sides of the priming electrode 15 during the period in which the sustain pulse or the sustain pulse and the erase pulse are applied to the scan electrode 11 or the sustain electrode 12. The voltage was the same as that of the sustain electrode 12. Thus, power consumption due to charging and discharging of the capacitance between the priming electrode 15 and the scanning electrode 11 or the sustaining electrode 12 during the application of the sustaining pulse or the erasing pulse can be suppressed.

Further, by setting the priming electrode 15 and the isolation electrode 16 in a floating state, the adjacent scanning electrode 11 between the display cells, the adjacent sustaining electrode 12, or the adjacent scanning electrode 11, which has been conventionally required, is formed. The partition between the sustain electrodes 12 can be eliminated. This is a result of actively utilizing the fact that the priming electrode 15 and the isolation electrode 16 in the floating state have a function of effectively preventing the spread of discharge.

[0039]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A panel structure and a driving method according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a structural sectional view showing an embodiment of a surface discharge type plasma display panel to which the present invention is applied. Y- in the top view of the conventional example shown in FIG.
It shows a cross section corresponding to a section between Y ′. FIG.
Is an electrode arrangement diagram.

As described in the operation section, in order to obtain a good life defined by the sustain discharge, it is necessary to use a high discharge gas pressure and a sufficient distance between the sustain electrode 12 and the scan electrode 11. There is. For example, when the present invention is implemented using a discharge gas in which Xe is mixed with 4% in a base gas in which He and Ne are mixed at a ratio of 7: 3, the total pressure of the discharge gas is 500.
The appropriate distance between the sustain electrode 12 and the scanning electrode 11 was 100 μm to 200 μm. On the other hand, the discharge starting voltage has a minimum value between 20 μm and 100 μm between the sustain electrode 12 and the scan electrode 11, so that the distance between the priming electrode 15 and the scan electrode 11 is set in this range. Was preferred to use.

It goes without saying that these values change depending on the type of discharge gas. With a rare gas mixture that is usually used, the discharge gas pressure is from 400 torr to 600 torr.
r, the distance between the sustain electrode 12 and the scan electrode 11 is suitably 100 μm to 200 μm. Under these conditions, the pd product was higher than the pd product that minimized the firing voltage. Accordingly, the priming voltage can be made lower than before by making the distance between the priming electrode 15 and the scanning electrode 11 shorter than the distance between the sustain electrode 12 and the scanning electrode 11. In addition,
Regarding the improvement of the contrast described below and the effect of the floating state of the electrodes, they were achieved irrespective of the distance between the electrodes.

This priming electrode 15 was made of a thick silver electrode. Since the priming electrode 15 is disposed at the corner of the display cell, the priming discharge does not spread to the entire display cell. The priming electrode 1
Since No. 5 is opaque, the rate of emission of the priming discharge to the display side (upper side in FIG. 1) is reduced, and the priming luminance is reduced to about half that of the related art. As a result, the contrast in the dark room was improved about twice. In order to further improve the display contrast particularly in a bright room, the priming electrode 15 should be close to black, or a black thick film or thin film should be provided between the priming electrode 15 and the first insulating substrate 1. Providing a layer was effective.

Next, a method of driving the priming electrode 15 will be described. Here, a case where all the priming electrodes 15 are connected in common and driven with the same waveform will be described. FIG. 3 shows the priming electrode 15 shown in FIGS.
7 is an example of a driving voltage waveform of a panel having the following. After the erase pulse 35, a priming pulse 36 is applied to the priming electrode 15 as shown in the waveform (A). Priming discharge priming electrode 15 and the scanning contact with the priming electrodes 15 electrodes S _1, S _2, ..., generated between the S _m. After removal of the priming pulse 36, the scan electrodes S _1, S _2, ..., priming erasing pulse 37 to S _m
To discharge the charges (referred to as wall charges) accumulated on the protective film 9 by the priming discharge into the discharge gas space 5 to erase the wall charges. Thereafter, line-sequential scanning and sustain discharge common to all scan electrodes are performed in the same manner as in the conventional driving method.

On the other hand, after the priming erase pulse 37 has been removed, a cancel pulse 38 is applied to the priming electrode 15. Voltage of the cancel pulse 38, the scanning pulse 33 applied to the scan electrodes, the priming electrodes 15 and the scanning electrodes S _1, S _2, ..., a value such that discharge is not between S _m. Specifically, the voltage is an intermediate voltage between the peak voltage of the scanning pulse 33 and the reference voltage (0 V in FIG. 3) of the priming electrode. can get. The cancel pulse 38 stops at the end of the scanning period.

During the subsequent application of the sustaining discharge pulse and the erasing pulse, the priming electrode 15 is set to the intermediate floating state shown by the broken line in the waveform (A) of FIG. Thus, the scanning electrodes S _1, S _2, ..., preventing the charge and discharge of the capacitance between S _m and priming electrode 15, it is possible to eliminate the power losses due to the charging and discharging effectively. After the sustain pulse 31 ends, the float state continues until the application of the erase pulse 35 of the next subfield ends.

It is to be noted that, instead of using such a float state, as shown in FIG.
Scanning electrodes S ₁ adjacent to the 5, S _2, ..., sustain pulses of the sustain pulses of the same waveform of S _m, and the erase pulse may be applied to the priming electrode 15.

FIG. 4 shows the priming electrode 1 shown in FIG.
5 shows voltage waveforms for an embodiment of a different driving method for a panel having a 5; In this driving waveform, unlike FIG.
Is omitted. Also, the priming discharge, the scanning electrodes S _1, S _2, ..., a priming pulse 36 to be applied in common to S _m, is carried out by superposition of the priming pulse 39 applied to the priming electrode 15. In this manner, priming is performed by combining the priming pulse 36 and the priming pulse 39, so that a sufficient voltage can be used for priming. As a result, there is an advantage that the erase pulse 35 for facilitating the priming can be omitted. The priming erase pulse 37
Is applied to the priming electrode 15.

In this driving method, if the value of the priming pulse 36 is sufficient, the priming pulse 39 can be omitted. Thereby, the drive circuit can be further simplified. Although the priming erase pulse 37 and the cancel pulse 38 are separated in FIG. 4,
This is not always necessary, and the voltage may be continuously applied.

In this embodiment, the cancel pulse 3
8, a voltage is applied only at the first fall immediately before the start of scanning and at the last rise after the end of scanning, and during the period in which the scan pulse 33 is applied to the scan electrodes, Priming electrode 15 in a floating state
Scanning electrodes S _1, S _2, and ..., and so reduce the wasteful power consumption due to charging and discharging the capacitance between the S _m.

At the first fall, the voltage of the cancel pulse 38 is applied based on the same reference as in FIG. Then, thereafter, the voltage of the priming electrode 15 in the floating state stays in the vicinity of this voltage, so that the same effect as in FIG. 3 can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the scanning electrodes S ₁ , S ₂ ,
.., _Sm while the sustain pulse 32 is given,
A sustain pulse 40 having the same waveform as the sustain pulse 32 is applied to the priming electrode 15 to prevent erroneous discharge between the priming electrode 15 and the scan electrode, and to effectively charge and discharge the capacitance between the priming electrode 15 and the scan electrode. Was prevented.

Next, a description will be given of a panel structure and a driving method thereof according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a structural sectional view of a surface discharge type plasma display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The cross section corresponding to a section between -Y 'is shown. In this embodiment,
An isolation electrode 16 was provided between the sustain electrodes 12 without the priming electrode 15. When the driving waveform described with reference to FIG. 7 is used, the distance between the isolation electrode 16 and the sustain electrode 12 should be equal to the distance between the priming electrode 15 and the scanning electrode 11. 8 is described later with reference to FIG.
When used only in a float state as shown by, the distance between the isolation electrode 16 and the sustain electrode 12 did not need to be particularly limited in terms of discharge characteristics.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the structure of a surface discharge type plasma display panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention, showing a cross section corresponding to the line YY 'in the top view of the conventional example shown in FIG. I have. In the present embodiment, as compared with FIG.
Between the storage electrodes 12 and between the sustain electrodes 12.
Therefore, there is an advantage that the structure is simple. In addition,
In the present embodiment, the distance between the isolation electrode 16 and the sustain electrode 12 may be set in the same manner as in the second embodiment.

Next, FIGS. 7 and 8 show two examples of the driving voltage waveform of the panel shown in FIG. 5 or FIG.
First, in FIG. 7, a priming panel 36 is provided on the priming electrode 15 and, in synchronization with the
A priming pulse 40 is applied. After the priming pulse 36, the sustain electrodes C ₁ , C ₂ ,.
_m , the priming erase pulse 41 is applied to the scan electrodes S ₁ ,
A priming erase pulse 37 is applied to S ₂ ,..., S _m . The isolation electrode 16 applies the priming erase pulse 4
At the time when 1 stopped, the floating state was set for the period indicated by the broken line in the waveform (A) of FIG. 7 so that the sustain pulse 31 prevented the sustain discharge from occurring between the sustain electrodes 12 of the isolation electrodes 16. Further, this prevents unnecessary power consumption between the isolation electrode 16 and the sustain electrode 12 due to the charging and discharging of the capacitance by the sustain pulse 31.

As described above, in this embodiment, the priming discharge is caused not only on the scan electrode 11 side but also on the sustain electrode 12 side. As a result, the amount of priming particles generated by the priming discharge increases, and the priming particles are uniformly generated in the display cell, so that the writing discharge can be more reliably performed.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the driving voltage waveform of the panel shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. As shown by the broken line in the waveform (A) of FIG. 8, the isolation electrode 16 is in a floating state. The same voltage waveform as that applied to the priming electrode 15 in the embodiment of FIG. 3 is applied to the priming electrode 15 located between the scanning electrodes 11. The voltage waveforms of the other electrodes are the same as in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the floating isolation electrode 16 located between the sustaining electrodes 12 acts to suppress the spread of the discharge. Therefore, erroneous discharge between the adjacent sustain electrodes 12 can be effectively prevented. Accordingly, even if there is no partition wall, the discharge does not spread to the adjacent display cell to cause an erroneous discharge. Therefore, it is particularly preferable to use the panel having the configuration shown in FIG. In addition, when used for the panel having the configuration of FIG. 5, reliable operation could be guaranteed even when the partition wall between the adjacent sustain electrodes 12 was broken.

FIG. 9 is a structural sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which a priming electrode 15 is formed on a partition. The priming discharge at this time is the priming electrode 1
5 and the data electrode 4. Under the conditions of the rare gas discharge gas described above in this case, the distance between the priming electrode 15 and the data electrode 4 between 50 μm and 150 μm was appropriate. Further, the insulator 8 and the protective film 9 may be formed on the priming electrode 15.
Only the protection film 9 may be formed. Only the portion of the data electrode 4 facing the priming electrode 15 is MgO.
And the like.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the driving voltage waveform of the panel shown in FIG. In this panel, priming discharge is performed between the priming electrode 15 and the data electrode 4. As a result, the priming discharge has no interaction with the scan electrode 11 and the sustain electrode 12, so that it is easy to optimize the priming discharge to a condition in which the priming discharge easily occurs. In addition, since it is not necessary to use a priming erase pulse, the time required for priming can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the priming discharge is performed on the entire panel at once is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the panel surface may be divided into blocks for each appropriate priming electrode and driving may be performed for each block. In an extreme case of block driving, priming may be scanned by associating one priming electrode with one block.

In the embodiment described above, instead of providing the priming electrode 15 between the scanning electrodes 11, the priming electrode 15 is provided between the sustain electrodes 12.
Even when priming was performed between the sustain electrode 12 and the priming electrode 15, the same effect as when priming was performed between the scanning electrode 11 and the priming electrode 15 was obtained.

[0062]

As is clear from the above description, by using the electrode structure of the present invention, a reliable priming discharge can be achieved with a low priming pulse voltage, and a long life and a high contrast can be obtained. An AC surface discharge type plasma display panel which can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural sectional view of a first embodiment of an AC surface discharge type plasma display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an electrode arrangement diagram of a first embodiment of the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a driving waveform of the panel of the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows different driving waveforms of the panel of the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a structural sectional view of a second embodiment of the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a structural sectional view of a third embodiment of the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows driving waveforms of the panel according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 or FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a second example of the driving waveforms of the panel according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 or FIG.

FIG. 9 is a structural sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the AC surface discharge type plasma display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a driving waveform of the panel of the fourth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows a relationship between a product of a distance between electrodes (d) and a discharge gas pressure (p) and a discharge starting voltage.

FIG. 12 is a top view of a conventional AC surface discharge type plasma display panel.

FIG. 13 is a structural sectional view taken along the line YY ′ in the top view shown in FIG. 12;

14 is a structural sectional view taken along line XX 'in the top view shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is an electrode layout diagram of a conventional AC surface discharge type plasma display panel.

FIG. 16 is an example of a driving waveform of a conventional AC surface discharge type plasma display panel.

FIG. 17 shows a halftone TV using the intra-field time division method.
It is a timing chart of a display.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 first insulating substrate 2 second insulating substrate 3 bus electrode 4, D ₁ , D ₂ ,..., D _n−1 , D _n data electrode 5 discharge gas space 6 insulator partition 7 phosphor 8 insulator 9 protective film 10 display cell _{11, S 1, S 2,} ..., S m scanning electrodes _{12, C 1, C 2,} ..., C m sustain electrodes 13 the plasma display panel 14 seal 15 priming electrode 16 isolated electrodes 31 and 32 sustain pulses 3, 33 Scanning pulse 4,34 Data pulse 5,35 Erase pulse 6,36,39,40 Priming palace 7,37,41 Priming erase pulse 38 Cancel pulse

Claims (13)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of parallel scan electrodes formed on the same plane in a display cell, a plurality of parallel sustain electrodes for maintaining a discharge between the scan electrodes, and the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes. Supplying display data orthogonal to the electrodes, comprising a plurality of data electrodes in parallel, and a scanning electrode,
Alternatively, in an AC surface discharge type plasma display panel in which priming electrodes for performing priming discharge with a sustain electrode are provided between cells, a priming electrode is provided in parallel with a scan electrode or a sustain electrode. 2. The priming electrode, wherein a discharge start voltage of a discharge generated between the priming electrode and a scan electrode or a sustain electrode is lower than a discharge start voltage between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein a distance from the scan electrode or the sustain electrode is set. 3. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the priming electrode is made of an opaque material, and the priming electrode is arranged so as to block light emission due to priming discharge. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein an isolation electrode is provided in parallel with the scan electrode or the sustain electrode between scan electrodes having no priming electrode or between sustain electrodes. Plasma display panel. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the voltage of the priming electrode is an intermediate voltage between the reference voltage and the scan pulse voltage during a period in which the scan pulse is applied to the scan electrode. A method for driving a plasma display panel. 6. A priming electrode voltage is set to an intermediate voltage between a reference voltage and a scanning pulse voltage immediately before a scanning pulse is applied to the scanning electrode, and the priming electrode is turned on during a period in which the scanning pulse is applied to the scanning electrode. 5. The driving method of a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the driving method is a floating state. 7. The priming electrode is in a floating state while a sustain pulse or a sustain pulse and an erase pulse are being applied to a scan electrode or a sustain electrode. The driving method of the described plasma display panel. 8. The method of driving a plasma display panel according to claim 7, wherein the voltage of the priming electrode is used as a reference voltage immediately before applying the sustain pulse to the scan electrode or the sustain electrode. 9. During a period in which a sustain pulse or a sustain pulse and an erase pulse are applied to the scan electrode or the sustain electrode, the voltage of the priming electrode is set to the same voltage as the scan electrode or the sustain electrode on both sides of the priming electrode. The method of driving a plasma display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: 10. The method according to claim 4, wherein the isolation electrode is used in a floating state. 11. The driving method for a plasma display panel according to claim 4, wherein a priming pulse is applied to the isolation electrode, and the isolation electrode is used in a floating state except during a period in which the priming pulse is applied. . 12. A plurality of parallel scan electrodes formed on the same plane in a display cell, a plurality of parallel sustain electrodes for maintaining a discharge between the scan electrodes, and the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes. Supply display data orthogonal to the electrodes,
In an AC surface discharge type plasma display panel including a plurality of data electrodes arranged in parallel, and a priming electrode for performing a priming discharge between a scanning electrode and a sustaining electrode provided between cells, the priming electrode is a scanning electrode. Or a plasma display panel provided in parallel with a sustain electrode, and a priming electrode arranged on a partition wall. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein a priming discharge is performed between the priming electrode provided on the partition and the data electrode.