JP2655500B2 - 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 plasma display panel, and more particularly to a method for driving a three-electrode type AC memory plasma display panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A plasma display panel basically includes two electrode substrates each having a band-shaped electrode group formed on an insulating substrate and an insulating film and a protective film formed on the electrode group.
The electrode groups are combined so as to be orthogonal to each other, and the discharge gas is sealed by sealing the periphery with a predetermined interval. When a voltage is selectively applied to the two electrodes, light emission by gas discharge is obtained at the intersection of the two electrodes.
Therefore, by selectively generating light emission at each electrode intersection (pixel) using one of the two electrode groups as a scanning electrode and the other as a data electrode, a pattern such as a character can be displayed.

However, the gas discharge of this plasma display panel has a short duration and is not practical. Therefore, conventionally, in order to maintain the gas discharge for a long time, a sustain electrode is formed in addition to the scan electrode and the data electrode to have a memory function. Thus, the plasma display panel on which the sustain electrodes are formed is a three-electrode type A
It is called a C memory plasma display panel or a dot matrix display type AC plasma display panel. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of one pixel of this type of plasma display panel.

Referring to FIG. 4, this plasma display panel has two insulating substrates (glass substrates) 41 and 4.
Two. Scan electrodes 43, sustain electrodes 44, and data electrodes 45 are formed on the surfaces of the substrates facing each other, respectively. In addition, an insulating layer 46 is formed on the substrate 41 so as to cover the scanning electrode 43 and the sustain electrode 44, and a protective layer 47 is formed on the surface thereof.
An insulating layer 48 covering the data electrode 45 is provided on the substrate 42.
Is formed, and a phosphor layer 49 is formed on the surface thereof. The two insulating substrates 41 and 42 are opposed to each other at a predetermined interval by a partition wall 50, thereby forming the discharge space 5.
1 is formed. In addition, the partition 50 is formed of a pixel (discharge cell).
52.

Next, the operation of the plasma display panel will be described with reference to FIG. First, the sustain electrode 44
, A first sustain pulse A of negative polarity shown in FIG. The first sustain pulse A is applied commonly to all other pixels. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, a second sustain pulse B having a phase opposite to that of the first sustain pulse A is applied to the scan electrode 43. Further, negative scan pulses are sequentially applied to the scan electrodes 43 (FIGS. 5C and 5D show pulse trains applied to the scan electrodes of adjacent pixel rows). Furthermore, an erase pulse is applied to the scan electrode 43 after a lapse of a predetermined time (determined by a display gradation) from the application of the scan pulse. On the other hand, a positive data pulse corresponding to the display data is applied to the data electrode 45 at a timing synchronized with the scanning pulse.

In FIG. 5, when a scanning pulse and a data pulse are applied to the scanning electrode 43 and the data electrode 45 at the same timing, gas discharge (writing discharge) occurs between these electrodes. Ultraviolet rays are generated by this gas discharge, and the ultraviolet rays excite the phosphor layer 49 to obtain a display color. As shown in FIG. 5 (f), the amount of gas discharge decreases immediately after the gas discharge occurs. However, the discharge is sustained by the first sustain pulse A and the second sustain pulse B applied to the sustain electrode 44 and the scan electrode 43. When the erase pulse is applied to the scan electrode 43, the first sustain pulse A and the second sustain pulse B
The discharge cannot be maintained due to the above, and the discharge ends. Note that the gradation of the displayed pattern is determined by the duration of the discharge. That is, it depends on the number of sustain pulses applied to the scan electrode 43 and the sustain electrode 44 between the time when the scan pulse is applied to the scan electrode and the time when the erase pulse is applied. In this manner, the conventional plasma display panel can display a desired display pattern.

Next, a conventional driving method of the plasma display panel will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the gradation display in the conventional plasma display panel is determined by the duration of the discharge light emission. For this reason,
Conventionally, a plurality of subfields having different display times (durations) are provided in one field for displaying one screen, and the discharge time is controlled by appropriately combining these subfields. For example, FIG. 6, 2 ⁶ =
A case where 64 gradations are displayed is shown, and display times T, T / 2, T / 4, T / 8, T16 /,
And T / 32 are provided, and by appropriately combining these subfields, 64 types of discharge light emission times can be created. As a result, each pixel can display 64 gradations. Note that S1 to Sm in FIG. 6 indicate scanning electrodes, respectively.

In the driving method shown in FIG. 6, two priming periods are set in one field.
This is a period for causing discharge light emission between the scan electrode 43 and the sustain electrode 44 to generate priming particles such as charged particles in the discharge space 51. The priming particles have a function of facilitating the subsequent generation of a writing discharge between the scanning electrode 43 and the data electrode 45 (this is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-219286). .

As described above, a method of driving a plasma display panel by providing a plurality of subfields and a priming period in one field is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 241528.

As another driving method of the plasma display panel, there is a method in which after all the pixels are discharged and emitted, a pattern display is realized by controlling wall charges formed on the electrodes. Such a method is disclosed in, for example,
No. 8877.

[0011]

However, in the conventional driving method, a writing period for writing display data becomes longer with an increase in display capacity, particularly with an increase in the number of scanning electrodes, and the driving period occurs during the priming period. The priming particles are reduced before the writing discharge is performed, and the distribution density is not sufficient. Therefore, the probability of occurrence of the writing discharge is reduced, and the control from the writing discharge to the sustaining discharge cannot be stably controlled. There is.

Further, it is conceivable to provide a large number of priming periods, for example, for each subfield to prevent the priming particle density from attenuating. However, the entire display area frequently emits light, which lowers the contrast. There's a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display panel capable of performing a stable writing operation without lowering display contrast and a driving method thereof.

[0014]

According to the present invention, a first insulating substrate on which a plurality of scan electrodes and a plurality of sustain electrodes are formed, and a second insulating substrate on which a plurality of data electrodes are formed, are provided. The first insulating substrate and the second insulating substrate are arranged so that the plurality of scanning electrodes and the plurality of sustaining electrodes and the plurality of data electrodes are orthogonal to each other, and the plurality of scans are performed. In the plasma display panel, the scan electrode, the sustain electrode, and the pixel having one data electrode are formed at intersections of electrodes and a plurality of sustain electrodes and the plurality of data electrodes, respectively. The electrodes and the plurality of sustain electrodes are alternately arranged two by two, and the display discharge cells are formed by the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other, the scan electrodes adjacent to each other, and the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other. A plasma display panel is obtained, characterized in that so as to form a Raiminguseru.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of scan electrodes and a plurality of sustain electrodes are alternately arranged two by two, and a display discharge cell is formed by scan electrodes and sustain electrodes adjacent to each other, and scan electrodes adjacent to each other are formed. In the driving method of the plasma display panel in which the priming cells are formed by the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other, the scan electrodes adjacent to each other and the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other are different before the scan of the scan electrodes is performed. A method for driving a plasma display panel, wherein a voltage pulse is applied to generate a preliminary discharge in the priming cell.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a plasma display panel according to one embodiment of the present invention. The plasma display panel of FIG. 1 has insulating substrates (glass substrates) 11 and 12. On the surface of the insulating substrate 11, a strip-shaped (extending in the front and back direction of the drawing) scanning electrodes 13 and sustaining electrodes 14, which are transparent electrodes, are formed. The scan electrodes 13 and the sustain electrodes 14 are not alternately arranged one by one, but are alternately arranged two by two. Note that these electrodes are obtained by forming a Nesa film or an ITO film on a glass substrate and then patterning the film using a photoetching method or the like.

A glass paste containing a black pigment is formed in a thick film process between the scan electrodes 13 adjacent to each other and between the sustain electrodes 14 on the insulating substrate 11 to form a light shielding mask 15. I have. In addition, trace electrodes 16 are formed on the surface of the insulating substrate 11 so as to partially overlap the scan electrodes 13, the sustain electrodes 14, and the light-shielding masks 15 and extend along the extending direction. . The trace electrode 16 is formed by printing and baking a low-resistance metal paste such as a silver paste, for example. And the scanning electrode 1
3. The surfaces of the sustain electrode 14, the light shielding mask 15, and the trace electrode 16 are covered with a transparent glass film (insulating layer) 17 formed by a thick film process. Further, although not shown, the surface of the transparent glass film 17 is coated with a magnesium oxide film, which is a discharge-resistant substance, to a thickness of about 1 μm as a protective layer by a vacuum evaporation method. On the other hand, the insulating substrate 12
A strip-shaped metal electrode is formed as a data electrode 18 so as to be orthogonal to the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 14 (to extend in the left-right direction in the drawing). The data electrode 18 is formed by, for example, a thick film printing process using a silver paste. Then, a glass paste mixed with a white inorganic pigment is formed in a thick film process so as to cover the data electrode 18, thereby forming a reflective layer 19 of an insulator. Further, on the surface of the reflective layer 19, a phosphor layer 20 is formed along the data electrode 18 by a thick film process.

The two insulating substrates 11 and 12 are arranged to face each other with a partition 21 interposed therebetween. The partition 21 is made of a paste obtained by mixing an aluminum oxide powder and a glass powder, and is provided between the scan electrodes 13 and between the sustain electrodes 14 and 14.
Is formed by a thick film process along one of the trace electrodes.

Insulating substrates 1 arranged to face each other by light
A gas, such as Xe, which generates ultraviolet light by discharge is injected between 1 and 12, and the periphery is hermetically sealed in that state.

With the above configuration, each pixel has a display discharge cell 22 including a scan electrode 13 and a sustain electrode 14, respectively.
And priming cell 2 composed of trace electrodes
3 will be present.

Next, a method of driving the plasma display panel of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, for simplicity, the relationship between the scan electrode 13, the sustain electrode 14, and the data electrode 15 of the plasma display panel of FIG. 1 is simplified as shown in FIG.
That is, as described above, the scanning electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 14
And the data electrodes 18 are orthogonal to each other, and the scan electrodes 13 and the sustain electrodes 14 are alternately arranged two by two. The sustain electrodes 14 are composed of two groups 1
4a and 14b, which are commonly connected. Here, n scan electrodes 13 and 7
A plasma display panel having the data electrodes 18 is assumed.

In FIG. 2, discharge cells are formed on the data electrode 18 between the scan electrodes 13 and 13, between the sustain electrodes 14 and 14, and between the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 14, respectively. . More specifically, a display discharge cell 22 (shown by a solid circle) is formed between the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 14, and a priming cell is provided between the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 14 and between the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 14. 23 (shown by broken circles) are formed.

In order to drive the plasma display panel connecting the scan electrode 13, the sustain electrode 14, and the data electrode 15 having the relationship shown in FIG. 2, a pulse signal as shown in FIG. 3 is applied to each electrode. FIG. 3 shows one subfield in one field, and this subfield is divided into a priming period, a writing period, and a sustaining period.

First, in the priming period, the priming cells (between the scanning electrodes 13 and 13 and between the sustain electrodes 14)
In order to generate a discharge (preliminary discharge) at 23), voltage pulses (sustain-side priming pulses) Su1 and Su2 are applied to sustain electrode 14 in groups as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). Is applied. Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 3B to 3F, the same voltage pulses (scanning-side priming pulses) Sc1 and S
Apply c2. At this time, a voltage pulse having the same waveform is applied to the two electrodes constituting the display discharge cell 22,
The occurrence of erroneous display (erroneous discharge) is prevented.

The voltage pulse applied to each of these electrodes is:
A discharge is generated in the priming cell 23, and the display discharge cell 22 is activated by priming particles generated by the discharge. The peak value and the pulse width of these voltage pulses are respectively about -200 to -300 V and 1 to 5
It is about 0 μs.

When the preliminary discharge is performed in each priming cell 23 as described above, wall charges are formed on the surface of each electrode. That is, a positive wall charge is applied to the sustain electrode 14 and the scan electrode 13 to which the voltage pulses Su1 and Sc1 are applied, and a negative wall charge is applied to the sustain electrode 14 and the scan electrode 13 to which the voltage pulses Su2 and Sc2 are applied. Each is formed. At this time, wall charges of the same polarity are formed on the two electrodes forming the display discharge cells 22. If the voltage pulses applied to the two electrodes are the same, in principle,
The amount of wall charge should also be equal. However, in practice, since the characteristics of the cells vary, the intensity of the preliminary discharge varies, and the wall charges also vary. This variation in wall charges reduces the margin for the writing operation or the sustaining operation, and erroneous writing or erroneous discharge is likely to occur. In order to prevent this, the sustain electrode 14 and the scan electrode 13 to which the voltage pulses Su1 and Sc1 are applied.
And a peak value of about -150 to -300 V and a pulse width of 0.1
A negative erase pulse Pe of about 5 μs is applied. The erase pulse Pe causes a weak discharge (erase discharge) in the priming cell 23 following the preliminary discharge described above.
The wall charges formed on each electrode are extinguished. This allows
It is possible to prevent the margin for the write operation or the sustain operation from being reduced. Here, although a narrow pulse is used as the erase pulse Pa, a similar effect can be obtained by using a wide pulse having a large time constant of rising and falling.

In the writing period, scanning is performed by sequentially applying a writing pulse Vw to each scanning electrode 13. Then, the data electrode 18 is synchronized with the write pulse Vw,
And a data pulse Vd (peak value 3) corresponding to the display data.
(Approximately 0 to 100 V, pulse width of approximately 1 to 10 μs). In each display discharge cell 22, when the write pulse Vw is applied to the scan electrode 13 and the data pulse Vd is applied to the data electrode 18 at the same timing, the write discharge occurs between the scan electrode 13 and the data electrode 18. Occurs.

In the sustain period, a write discharge causes
Utilizing the positive wall charges formed on the scanning electrode 13,
Sustain pulse Vsus (peak value of about -100 to -180 V, applied to sustain electrode 14 and scan electrode 13 respectively)
The pattern display is performed by maintaining the discharge with a pulse width of 2 to 10 μm).

As described above, in the driving method of this embodiment, a priming period is provided for each subfield, so that a sufficient priming density can be obtained and a stable writing operation can be performed. In addition, by providing a priming cell and a display discharge cell in each pixel, light emission of the entire screen is suppressed, and light emission due to preliminary discharge is blocked by the light shielding mask 15, so that contrast can be improved. .

In the above embodiment, a negative voltage pulse is used for the preliminary discharge and the sustain discharge, but a positive voltage pulse may be used.

[0031]

According to the present invention, preliminary discharge light emission is performed between the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other and between the scan electrodes adjacent to each other, so that no major design change is made to the conventional plasma display panel. , A priming cell can be formed.

Further, by forming the trace electrode and forming the partition wall along the trace electrode, the priming cell can be downsized and the light emission amount can be suppressed. In addition, by forming a light-shielding mask, light emission can be suppressed, so that a decrease in contrast can be prevented.

Further, since a decrease in contrast can be prevented, preliminary discharge light emission can be performed for each subfield, and a sufficient priming particle density can be obtained, so that stable display can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a plasma display panel according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship among scan electrodes 13, sustain electrodes 14, and data electrodes 18 of the plasma display panel of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a time chart of voltage pulses applied to each electrode when driving the plasma display panel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a conventional plasma display panel.

5 is a time chart of voltage pulses applied to each electrode when driving the plasma display panel of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a time chart for explaining a method of performing gradation display of a conventional plasma display panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 12 Insulating substrate (glass substrate) 13 Scan electrode 14 Sustain electrode 15 Light shielding mask 16 Trace electrode 17 Transparent glass film (Insulating layer) 18 Data electrode 19 Reflective layer 20 Phosphor layer 21 Partition wall 22 Display discharge cell 23 Priming cell 41, 42 Insulating substrate (glass substrate) 43 Scan electrode 44 Sustain electrode 45 Data electrode 46 Insulating layer 47 Protective layer 48 Insulating layer 49 Phosphor layer 50 Partition wall 51 Discharge space 52 Pixel (discharge cell)

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A first insulating substrate on which a plurality of scanning electrodes and a plurality of sustain electrodes are formed; and a second insulating substrate on which a plurality of data electrodes are formed. The first insulating substrate and the second insulating substrate are disposed so as to face each other such that the plurality of sustain electrodes and the plurality of data electrodes are orthogonal to each other, and the plurality of scan electrodes and the plurality of sustain electrodes and the plurality of In a plasma display panel in which pixels each having one of the scan electrodes, the sustain electrodes, and the data electrodes are formed at intersections with data electrodes, the plurality of scan electrodes and the plurality of sustain electrodes are provided. The scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other are alternately arranged to form a display discharge cell, the scan electrodes adjacent to each other, and the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other to form a priming cell. A plasma display panel characterized by: 2. A light-shielding mask that blocks light emission due to discharge is formed on the first insulating substrate between the adjacent scanning electrodes and between the adjacent sustain electrodes, respectively. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein 3. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the pixels are individually separated by partition walls so as to have one display discharge cell and one priming cell. 4. A trace electrode is formed on the first insulating substrate, between the scan electrodes adjacent to each other, and between the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other, and connected to and along these electrodes. 4. The plasma display panel according to claim 3, wherein the partition wall is formed along the trace electrode connected to one of the scan electrodes adjacent to each other and one of the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of scan electrodes and the plurality of sustain electrodes are two
In a method of driving a plasma display panel in which display discharge cells are arranged alternately one after another and scan electrodes and sustain electrodes adjacent to each other, scan electrodes adjacent to each other, and priming cells are formed between adjacent sustain electrodes. Before performing the scan of the scan electrodes, different voltage pulses are applied to the scan electrodes adjacent to each other and the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other, so that a preliminary discharge is generated in the priming cell. Of driving a plasma display panel. 6. A voltage pulse having a waveform different from the voltage pulse applied to one of the adjacent scan electrodes and one of the sustain electrodes adjacent to each other so as to eliminate wall charges formed on each electrode by the preliminary discharge. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the driving voltage is applied.