JP3430946B2 - 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 matrix type display panel composed of a set of elements that emit light for display by discharge, and more particularly to a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as PDP), which has improved light emission efficiency. The present invention relates to a plasma display panel capable of increasing brightness and reducing power consumption, and a driving method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The structure of a conventional AC type PDP is shown in FIG. A plurality of sustain electrodes 3 and a plurality of scan electrodes 2 are arranged in parallel and alternately on the surface glass substrate. These are composed of a transparent electrode 21 and a metal bus electrode 20. In addition, a plurality of address electrodes 7 are provided on the rear glass substrate 9 and the sustain electrodes 3 and the scan electrodes 2 are provided.
It is arranged so that it intersects vertically with. Here, it is the sustain electrodes 3 and the scan electrodes 2 on the surface glass substrate that are emitting light to display an image. The address electrode 7 is an electrode for selecting a cell to be discharged,
It does not directly contribute to display light emission.

FIG. 13 shows a timing chart of pulse application applied to each electrode of the PDP. 1 for PDP
The field period is divided into a plurality of periods called subfields, and a setup period, an address period, a sustain period, and an erase period are set in each subfield.

In the setup period of each subfield, discharge is generated in all pixels in the PDP, and in the next address period, the sustain electrode 3, the scan electrode 2 and the address are arranged so that the discharge can be easily generated. Charge is accumulated in the electrode 7.

The next address period is a period for selecting a pixel for display light emission in the sustain period, and discharge is generated between the scan electrode 2 and the address electrode 7 so that discharge can be easily generated in the sustain period. Then, charges are accumulated in the sustain electrode 3 and the scan electrode 2. In this period, the pixels that do not generate discharge do not emit light for display in the next sustain period.

Further, in the sustain period, only the pixel selected in the address period emits light for display. The number of sustain pulses Psus applied during the sustain period is different in each subfield. For example, when the number of subfields is 8, 1: 2: 4: 8: 1.
The weighting is 6: 32: 64: 128. Here, by combining the light emission of the subfields arbitrarily,
256 levels of halftone display are possible.

Finally, in the erase period, a discharge weaker than the discharge by the sustain pulse Psus is generated to eliminate the non-uniformity of the wall charges between the pixels generated by the discharge in the sustain period. After this, the next subfield will be applied.

[0008]

In the conventional AC type PDP, since the luminous efficiency of the discharge by the sustain pulse Psus is low, the screen brightness is lower and the power consumption is higher than that of the CRT. . Further, although the setup period and the address period do not contribute to light emission, they occupy more than half of one field.
Therefore, the sustain pulse Psus cycle has a high frequency in order to increase the screen brightness within a limited time. Furthermore, for high-definition panels, for which demand will increase in the future,
The ratio of the part of the barrier 6 separating the pixels to the screen increases. Since the barrier 6 does not contribute to light emission, further reduction in screen brightness is expected.

Various proposals have been made as measures for improving the luminous efficiency of the PDP as described above. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-68944, a period for suspending the application of the sustain pulse Psus is set to about 1 μsec in the sustain period. In this method, a pulse is applied to the address electrode 7 during this period to generate a discharge with one of the electrodes on the front glass substrate 1. However, with this method, P
Although the screen brightness of the DP is improved, the number of sustain discharges is increased, resulting in an increase in power consumption.

An object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a PDP and a driving method thereof, which improves the luminous efficiency of discharge by the sustain pulse Psus, raises the screen brightness, and consumes less power.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention in order to solve this problem, when more sustain discharge occurs in the sustain electrode and liked <br/> catcher down electrodes on the front glass substrate, the rear glass substrate Sustain pulse Psu for the address electrodes of
s is applied, and one of the electrodes on the front glass substrate is
It is configured to perform sustain discharge with the other party.

As a result, a part of the discharge generated near the front glass substrate 11 is also generated near the rear glass substrate 9. Therefore, ultraviolet rays move to the vicinity of the rear glass substrate 9, the amount of light emitted from the phosphor 8 near the rear glass substrate 9 increases, and the screen brightness of the PDP increases. Also,
Regarding the power consumption, the address electrode 7 and the scan electrode 2
, The electrode area increases, the discharge current density decreases, the luminous efficiency improves, and the power consumption decreases.

[0013]

The invention according to claim 1 of the embodiment of the present invention is, on the front glass substrate sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes are alternately arranged in the and in parallel plural mutually, the address electrodes on the back glass substrate, the sustain a plasma display panel to the electrode and the scan <br/> scanning electrodes are arranged vertically, the said sustain electrode scan
The surface discharge generated by the can electrode and the sustain
By the electrode or the scan electrode and the address electrode
This is a plasma display panel that simultaneously generates the opposed discharge that occurs in the same discharge cell, increases the phosphor area that is excited, increases the screen brightness of the plasma display panel, and further addresses the sustain discharge. Since the electrode is added, the area of the electrode is increased and the luminous efficiency is improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, an address electrode is provided.
A sustain auxiliary electrode is also installed in parallel to
The surface discharge generated by the electrode and the scan electrode and the scan
Opposed discharge generated by the can electrode and the address electrode
And on the sustain electrode and the sustain auxiliary electrode
Counter discharge that is generated more simultaneously in the same discharge cell
A plasma display panel according to claim 1,
The area of the excited phosphor increases, the screen brightness of the plasma display panel increases, and
Since the address electrode is added to the sustain discharge, the electrode area is increased and the luminous efficiency is improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, one field is configured by a setup period , an address period, a sustain period and an erase period, and a drive pulse is supplied to the sustain electrode, the scan electrode and the address electrode according to a predetermined rule. a driving method for driving, in the sustain <br/> Thein period, in the same discharge cell, the sub <br/> sustain electrode and Alternating sustain pulses to the two electrodes of the scan electrodes every half cycle To generate a surface discharge
That at the same time, and a driving method of the sustain electrodes or plasma <br/> Ma display panel for generating the opposite discharge sustain pulses synchronized with the sustain pulses of the scan electrodes by applying to said address <br/> less electrode Discharge only near the front glass substrate also spreads near the rear glass substrate, the area of excited phosphors increases, the screen brightness of the plasma display panel rises, and address electrodes are added to the sustain discharge. As a result, the area of the electrode is increased and the luminous efficiency is improved.

[0016] The invention according to claim 4, in addition to the sustain electrodes, scan electrodes and address electrodes, parallel to further provide a sustain auxiliary electrode to the address <br/> less electrodes, wherein
The address electrode has a sustain synchronized with the sustain electrode.
A sustain pulse is applied to the sustain auxiliary electrode,
A sustain pulse synchronized with the scan electrodes is applied.
A method of driving a plasma display panel according to claim 3,
In this method, the discharge in the vicinity of the rear glass substrate, which is one cycle of the sustain pulse, is generated every half cycle, and the area of the discharge electrode is increased. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the luminous efficiency. Have.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the charge is accumulated on the electrode.
The erase pulse for erasing the wall charges
The voltage is applied to the address electrode in advance, according to claim 3 or 4.
It is a method of driving a plasma display panel.
Therefore, the wall charges on the address electrodes are kept uniform, and an erroneous discharge is prevented in the next subfield.
The invention according to claim 6 eliminates wall charges accumulated on the electrodes.
The erase pulse to leave is applied to the sustain electrode and the address electrode.
The voltage is applied to the sustain auxiliary electrode in synchronism with the above.
Is the driving method of the plasma display panel described in 5.
And the uniformity of the wall charge on the sustain auxiliary electrode.
To prevent accidental discharge in the next subfield.
Has a function.

[0018] Incidentally, the sustain pulse applied to the address electrodes, may be der pulp plasma display panel driving method within the sustain pulse applied to the sustain electrode or scan electrode, the time difference between the application timing of 1 .mu.sec, It has the effect of starting the discharge between the address electrode and the sustain electrode or the scan electrode on the rear glass substrate without delaying the start of the discharge between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode on the front glass substrate.

In the plasma display driving method, the voltage of the sustain pulse applied to the address electrode can be set to the same value or a different value from the sustain pulse voltage applied to the sustain electrode or the scan electrode. The voltage applied to the address pulse applied from the address electrode and the applied voltage to the sustain pulse are the same, and a new driving circuit is not required.

Further, in the driving method of the plasma display panel, the sustain pulse applied to the address electrodes, sustain electrodes or the sustain pulse width is applied to the scan electrode and as those that can be set to the same value or different values At best, an effect that the intensity of sustain discharge from the address electrode can be adjusted by the sustain pulse width is applied to the address electrodes.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) The basic technical idea of the present invention is that in a three-electrode surface discharge type ACPDP, a rear glass is formed against the sustain electrode 3 of the front glass substrate 1 and the sustain discharge generated between the scan and sustain electrodes 3. The sustain pulse Psus is also applied to the address electrodes 7 on the substrate 9 to simultaneously generate the discharge near the front glass substrate 1 and the discharge between the front glass substrate 1 and the rear glass substrate 9.

More specifically, in order to improve the luminous efficiency of the PDP, a method of uniformly emitting the phosphor 8 of the entire cell can be considered.

Here, FIGS. 1A and 1B show the paths of sustain discharge in the three-electrode surface discharge type ACEDP. As described above, the sustain discharge is generated in the vicinity of the front glass substrate 1, and it is considered that the distribution of the generation amount of ultraviolet rays is also large in the vicinity of the front glass substrate 1. Therefore, in the light emission of the three-electrode surface discharge type ACPDP, the light emission of the barrier 6 portion near the front glass substrate 1 is the strongest.

Therefore, FIGS. 1 (c) and 1 (d) show the discharge path in the present invention. As described above, by moving a part of the discharge near the front glass substrate 1 to the vicinity of the rear glass substrate 9, the phosphor 8 near the rear glass substrate 9, which is considered to have a relatively small amount of ultraviolet rays, can be applied to FIG. More ultraviolet light arrives than in the conventional method shown in a) and (b), and excitation and emission increase. However, when a strong discharge is generated in the vicinity of the phosphor 8, the phosphor 8 itself deteriorates. Therefore, a strong discharge is generated in the vicinity of the front glass substrate 1 and a part thereof is moved to move the front glass substrate 1 and the rear glass substrate. A weak discharge is generated between 9 points.

In addition, the PD may also decrease due to a decrease in the discharge current density.
The luminous efficiency of P is improved. In the present invention, in addition to the conventional sustain discharge near the front glass substrate 1, a sustain discharge between the front glass substrate 1 and the rear glass substrate 9 is added. Therefore, it is considered that the area of electrodes contributing to the sustain discharge increases and the discharge current density decreases, so that the luminous efficiency improves. However, although a simple decrease in the discharge current density causes a decrease in light emission brightness, it is considered that light emission in the vicinity of the rear glass substrate 9 is increased, so that the light emission brightness can be increased.

The PDP device of the present invention will be described in detail below. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a PDP device according to the present invention, which includes a PDP 100, an address electrode driver 101, a scan electrode driver 102, a sustain electrode driver 103, a discharge control timing generation circuit section 104, and an A / D converter. (Analog / digital converter) 107, memory section 106, subfield processing section 105, and sync signal separation processing section 108.

The video signal 109 is the A / D converter 1
At 07, the analog signal is converted into a digital signal, video data for one field is stored in the memory section 106, and the subfield processing section 105 separates the video data into video data adapted to a plurality of subfields, and the address field driver 7 is driven. It is output as data for each horizontal line. Also,
The discharge control timing generation unit outputs a discharge control timing signal based on the number of subfields and horizontal and vertical synchronization signals to the sustain electrode driver 103, the scan electrode driver 102, and the address electrode driver 101.

The PDP device configured as described above will be described in detail. From the synchronization signal separation processing unit 108 to A
/ D converter 107, memory unit 106, subfield processing unit 105, and discharge control timing generation circuit unit 10
A horizontal synchronizing signal and a vertical synchronizing signal are given to 4. The video signal 109 is input to the A / D converter 107. The A / D converter 107 converts the video signal 109 into, for example, 8-bit / 256-gradation digital data, and outputs the image data to the memory unit 106. The memory unit 106 stores digital data of 8 fields and 256 gradations for one field, and the subfield processing unit 10
The data for each Bit is output to 5.

The subfield processing section 105 converts the digital data for each field into digital data for each subfield corresponding to the number of subfields. For example, in the case of 8 subfields, the data for each bit is directly processed for each subfield. However, when the number of subfields is 12, there are a plurality of subfields for 1 bit in the upper bits. Become.
Further, the sub-fields are selected so that the display-emitting sub-fields are temporally continuous. In this way, each pixel data for each selected sub-field is output to the address electrode driver 101 as data for each horizontal line. Further, the information on the number of subfields is output to the discharge control timing generation circuit section 104.

The discharge control timing generation circuit section 104
A discharge control timing signal is generated based on the horizontal sync signal and the vertical sync signal from the sync signal separation processing unit 108 and the information of the number of subfields from the subfield processing unit 105, and the scan electrode driver 102 and the sustain electrode are generated respectively. It is given to the driver 103 and the address electrode driver 101, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram mainly showing the configuration of the PDP drive circuit section of the PDP apparatus shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the PDP has a configuration including a plurality of address electrodes 7, a plurality of scan electrodes 2 and a plurality of sustain electrodes 3.

The plurality of address electrodes 7 are arranged in the vertical direction of the screen, and the plurality of scan electrodes 2 and the sustain electrodes 3 are arranged in the horizontal direction of the screen. Discharge cells are formed at the intersections of the address electrodes 7, the scan electrodes 2 and the sustain electrodes 3, and one pixel is composed of discharge cells of three colors of R, G and B.

Further, the address electrode driver 101 is
An address driver 200, a sustain driver 201 and an erase driver 203 are included. The address driver 200 drives the plurality of address drivers 200 based on the parallel data for each horizontal line provided from the subfield processing unit 105 of FIG. 2 for each subfield. In the sustain period and the erase period, the sustain pulse Psus and the erase pulse Pera synchronized with the sustain electrode driver 103 are output.

The scan electrode driver 102 includes a scan driver 202 and a sustain driver 201. The scan driver 202 uses the plurality of scan pulses Pscn obtained by shifting the discharge control timing signal supplied from the discharge control timing generation circuit section 104 of FIG.
Are sequentially driven. In the setup period, setup pulses Pset are simultaneously output to the plurality of scan electrodes 2. Further, in the sustain period, the sustain pulse Psus synchronized with the sustain electrode driver 103.
Are simultaneously output to the plurality of scan electrodes 2.

The sustain electrode driver 103 comprises a sustain driver 201 and an erase driver 203. A plurality of sustain electrodes 3 are simultaneously driven by the discharge control timing signal supplied from the discharge control timing generator 104 of FIG. 2 to each driver.

FIG. 4 shows a timing chart of the pulse applied to each electrode used in the present invention. In the PDP device, one field period (about 16.7 msec) is divided into a plurality of periods called subfields, and FIG. 4 shows an applied pulse waveform for one subfield. The applied pulse is divided into four stages of a setup period, an address period, a sustain period and an erase period.

First, there is a setup period as the first stage. This period is a period for facilitating the occurrence of address discharge that occurs in the second-stage address period, and a voltage of about 400 V is applied to the scan electrode 2. Therefore, negative charges are applied to the scan electrodes 2 and the sustain electrodes 3
Positive charges are accumulated on the upper side, and positive charges are accumulated on the address electrode 7. Here, the accumulated wall charges are the sustain pulse Psu applied in the sustain period of the third stage.
No discharge occurs with only the voltage of s.

The second stage is the address period. This period is a sustain period of the third stage and is a period for selecting a cell that emits light for display. Discharge is generated using the wall charges accumulated in the setup period of the first period. A voltage of about 80V, a voltage of 0V to the scan electrode 2, and a voltage of about 200V to the sustain electrode 3 are applied to the address electrode 7. As a result, a discharge is generated between the address electrode 7 and the scan electrode 2. Therefore, positive charges are formed on the scan electrodes 2, negative charges are formed on the address electrodes 7, and the sustain electrodes 3 are formed.
Negative charges will accumulate on the top. Here, more wall charges are accumulated on the scan electrodes 2 and the sustain electrodes 3 than the wall charges accumulated during the setup period.

In the next third stage, the sustain discharge is started using the wall charges accumulated in the second stage. The sustain pulse Psus starts from the scan electrode 2.
Therefore, positive charges are required on the scan electrodes 2, negative charges are required on the sustain electrodes 3, and negative charges are required on the address electrodes 7. These charges are stored in the cell where the address discharge is generated in the second stage. Since the first sustain pulse Psus is only the scan electrode 2, the discharge is generated between the sustain electrode 3 and the scan electrode 2 as in the conventional case. However, the next sustain pulse Psus
Is applied from the address electrode 7 and the sustain electrode 3, so that the discharge between the sustain electrode 3 and the scan electrode 2,
A discharge is generated between the address electrode 7 and the sustain electrode 3. This causes the discharge to spread throughout the cell,
The phosphor 8 near the rear glass substrate 9 is also excited by ultraviolet rays more than ever before.

The next sustain pulse is applied only to the scan electrodes. In the conventional driving method, since the sustain pulse is not applied to the address electrode, there is no discharge from the address electrode. However, when the sustain pulse synchronized with the sustain electrode is applied to the address electrode, even if the sustain pulse is discharged only to the scan electrode, the discharge to the address electrode is generated.

Further, it is considered that the discharge current density of each electrode is lowered due to the increase of the discharge points, which contributes to the improvement of the luminous efficiency. Once the sustain discharge is also started from the address electrode 7, the discharge current from the scan electrode 2 also flows to the address electrode 7, so that the discharge from the scan electrode 2 also spreads throughout the cell and is excited by ultraviolet rays. The fluorescent substance 8 increases, and the discharge current density of each electrode decreases.

Here, since the charge accumulation state on each electrode of the cell in which the address discharge is not generated is the same as that in the setup period of the first stage, a positive charge is generated on the sustain electrode 3 and a scan electrode 2 is formed. Has a negative charge, address electrode 7
Positive charges are accumulated on the top. Further, with respect to the charge accumulation amount on the sustain electrode 3 and the scan electrode 2, the sustain discharge does not start at the applied voltage of the sustain pulse Psus at the third stage.

Further, the application timing of the sustain pulse applied to the address electrode will be described. FIG. 5 shows a sustain pulse and a discharge current applied to the address electrode and the sustain electrode. FIG. 5A shows a case where the application timings match, FIG. 5B shows a case where the sustain pulse applied to the address electrode precedes by 1 μsec or more, and FIG. The case where the sustain pulse applied to the address electrode is delayed by 1 μsec or more is shown.

When the application timings of the sustain pulse shown in FIG. 5A are coincident with each other, sufficient discharge current flows from the address electrode and the sustain electrode, the screen brightness is increased, and the light emission efficiency is also improved. On the other hand, in the discharge at the application timing of the sustain pulse in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the discharge current from the address electrode is increased as the time difference from the start of applying the sustain pulse to the sustain electrode increases. As a result, the screen brightness and the luminous efficiency are comparable to those of the surface discharge between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode on the front glass substrate. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the sustain pulse applied to the address electrode within 1 μsec so that the screen brightness and the luminous efficiency are maximized.

The final fourth stage is the erasing period. This period is a period in which the states of the wall charges of the cells in which the sustain discharge has occurred and the cells in which no discharge has occurred are made uniform. The scan electrode 2 has a voltage of 0 V, and the address electrode 7 and the sustain electrode 3 are applied with a pulse having a gentle rising edge. As a result, the wall charges in all cells are neutralized.

As described above, by simultaneously generating the surface discharge on the front glass substrate and the opposed discharge between the front glass substrate and the rear glass substrate, the excited phosphor area is increased, and the plasma display panel of the plasma display panel is increased. Since the screen brightness is increased and the address electrode is added to the sustain discharge, the electrode area is increased and the luminous efficiency is improved.

(Embodiment 2) The basic technical idea of the present invention is to generate sustain discharge by four electrodes, discharge on front glass substrate 1 and discharge between front glass substrate 1 and rear glass substrate 9. Are generated evenly in the cell.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of an ACPDP having four electrodes. This is a three-electrode surface discharge type ACEDP shown in FIG.
A sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 10 for assisting the sustain discharge is arranged in parallel with the address electrode 7 on the rear glass substrate 9 of the above, and in addition to the sustain discharge generated between the sustain electrode 3 on the front glass substrate 1 and the scan electrode 2, Address electrode 7 and sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 1 on glass substrate 9
The sustain pulse Psus is also applied to 0 to simultaneously generate a discharge near the front glass substrate 1 and a discharge between the front glass substrate 1 and the rear glass substrate 9.

More specifically, FIG. 1 (c)
As shown in (d), in the first embodiment, since the sustain pulse Psus applied to the address electrode 7 is a pulse synchronized with the sustain electrode 3, the synchronized sustain pulse is also applied to the scan electrode 2. If the electrodes are provided, the screen brightness and the light emission efficiency can be further improved. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, a pulse synchronized with the sustain pulse Psus applied to the scan electrode 2 is applied to the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 10 so that the rear glass substrate 9 is also discharged.

As a result, the ultraviolet rays generated by the discharge from the scan electrode 2 reach the entire cell more uniformly than in the case of the first embodiment, and the discharge current density is also reduced, so that the light emission efficiency is further improved. It is possible to improve.

FIG. 8 shows a PD according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of P apparatus. PD of this embodiment
In the P device, in the configuration of the PDP device of the first embodiment,
Electrodes were arranged in the vertical direction of the PDP, and this electrode driver was arranged at the bottom of the panel. The sustain discharge auxiliary electrode driver 110 can be incorporated in the address electrode driver 101.

The configuration of the PDP device shown in FIG.
P, sustain discharge auxiliary electrode driver 110, address electrode driver 101, scan electrode driver 10
2, the sustain electrode driver 103, the discharge control timing generation circuit section 104, the A / D converter (analog
Digital converter) 107, a memory unit 106, a subfield processing unit 105, and a sync signal separation processing unit 108.

The video signal 109 is the A / D converter 1
At 07, an analog signal is converted into a digital signal, video data for one field is stored in the memory section 106, and the subfield processing section 105 separates the video data into video data adapted to a plurality of subfields.
01 is output as data for each horizontal line. Further, a discharge control timing signal based on the number of subfields and horizontal and vertical synchronization signals is supplied from the discharge control timing generation circuit section 104 to the sustain electrode driver 10.
3, the scan electrode driver 102, the address electrode driver 101, and the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode driver 110.

The PDP device configured as described above will be described in detail. From the synchronization signal separation processing unit 108 to A
/ D converter 107, memory unit 106, subfield processing unit 105, and discharge control timing generation circuit unit 10
A horizontal synchronizing signal and a vertical synchronizing signal are given to 4.

The video signal 109 is the A / D converter 10
It is input to 7. The A / D converter 107 converts the video signal 109 into, for example, 8-bit / 256-gradation digital data, and outputs the image data to the memory unit 106. The memory unit 106 has 8 bits for one field.
The digital data of 256 gradations is stored and the data for each Bit is output to the subfield processing unit 105.

The subfield processing section 105 converts the digital data for each field into digital data for each subfield corresponding to the number of subfields. For example, in the case of 8 subfields, the data in each bit is directly processed in each subfield, but when the number of subfields is 12, there are a plurality of subfields for 1 bit. The sub-fields are selected so that the display-emitting sub-fields are temporally continuous. In this way, each pixel data for each selected sub-field is output to the address electrode driver 101 as data for each horizontal line. Further, information on the number of subfields is provided to the discharge control timing generation circuit section 104.
Output to.

The discharge control timing generation circuit section 104
A discharge control timing signal is generated based on the horizontal sync signal and the vertical sync signal from the sync signal separation processing unit 108 and the information of the number of subfields from the subfield processing unit 105, and the scan electrode driver 102 and the sustain electrode are generated respectively. It is given to the driver 103 and the address electrode driver 101.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram mainly showing the configuration of the PDP drive circuit section of the PDP device shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the PDP includes a plurality of address electrodes 7, a plurality of scan electrodes 2, a plurality of sustain electrodes 3 and a plurality of sustain discharge auxiliary electrodes 10. The plurality of address electrodes 7 and the plurality of sustain auxiliary electrodes 10 are arranged in the vertical direction of the screen, and the plurality of scan electrodes 2 and the sustain electrodes 3 are arranged in the horizontal direction of the screen. A discharge cell is formed at the intersection of the address electrode 7, the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 10, the scan electrode 2, and the sustain electrode 3, and one pixel is composed of discharge cells of R, G, and B colors.

Further, the address electrode driver 101 is
An address driver 200, a sustain driver 201 and an erase driver 203 are included. The address driver 200 drives the plurality of address drivers 200 based on the parallel data for each horizontal line provided from the subfield processing unit 105 of FIG. 8 for each subfield. In the sustain period and the erase period, the sustain pulse Psus and the erase pulse Pera synchronized with the sustain electrode driver 103 are output.

Sustain discharge auxiliary electrode driver 110
Include the sustain driver 201 and the erase driver 20.
3 is included. In the sustain period, the sustain pulse Psus synchronized with the scan electrode driver 102 is output. In the erase period, the erase pulse Pera synchronized with the address electrode 7 and the sustain electrode 3 is output.

The scan electrode driver 102 includes a scan driver 202 and a sustain driver 201. The scan driver 202 uses the plurality of scan pulses Pscn obtained by shifting the discharge control timing signal supplied from the discharge control timing generation circuit unit 104 of FIG.
Are driven in order. In the setup period, setup pulses Pset are simultaneously output to the plurality of scan electrodes 2. Further, in the sustain period, the sustain pulse Psus synchronized with the sustain electrode driver 103.
Are simultaneously output to the plurality of scan electrodes 2.

The sustain electrode driver 103 comprises a sustain driver 201 and an erase driver 203. A plurality of sustain electrodes 3 are simultaneously driven by the discharge control timing signal supplied from the discharge control timing generation circuit section 104 of FIG. 8 to each driver.

FIG. 10 shows a timing chart of the pulse applied to each electrode used in the second embodiment. The applied pulse for the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode is added to the applied pulse of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 shows an applied pulse waveform for one subfield. The applied pulse is divided into four stages of a setup period, an address period, a sustain period and an erase period.

Here, the pulse applied to the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 10 will be described. The role of the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 10 is to perform sustain discharge in synchronization with the scan electrode 2 during the sustain period. Therefore, the applied pulses are the sustain pulse Psus synchronized with the pulse applied to the scan electrode 2 during the sustain period and the erase pulse Pera synchronized with the address electrode 7 and the sustain electrode 3 during the erase period.

Here, in particular, the discharge during the sustain period will be described in detail. In the conventional ACPDP, the discharge is between the sustain electrode 3 and the scan electrode 2, and the center of the discharge is near the surface glass substrate. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the sustain pulse Psus synchronized with the sustain electrode 3 is applied to the address electrode 7 so that a part of the sustain discharge is generated near the rear glass substrate 9 to discharge the sustain electrode 3. The current density was lowered, and part of the ultraviolet rays generated by the discharge was moved to the vicinity of the rear glass substrate 9 to improve the light emission by the phosphor 8.

Here, in order to obtain higher brightness and higher efficiency, the sustain pulse P applied to the scan electrode 3 is used.
sus and a new electrode that can apply synchronized pulse
Will be needed. Therefore, in the second embodiment, a sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 10 parallel to the address electrode 7 is newly provided on the rear glass substrate 9, and the sustain pulse Psus synchronized with the scan electrode 2 is applied. As a result, a part of the sustain discharge from the scan electrode 2 is generated by the rear glass substrate 9.
When the scan electrode 2 and the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 10 are discharged in synchronization with each other, the discharge current density is lowered and the luminous efficiency is improved.

Further, the application timing of the sustain pulse applied to the address electrode and the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode will be briefly described. FIG. 11 shows a sustain pulse and a discharge current applied to the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode, the scan electrode, the address electrode and the sustain electrode. FIG. 11A shows the case where the application timings match, FIG. 11B shows the case where the sustain pulse applied to the address electrode precedes by 1 μsec or more, and FIG. The case where the sustain pulse applied to the address electrode is delayed by 1 μsec or more is shown.

When the application timings of the sustain pulse shown in FIG. 11A are coincident with each other, a sufficient discharge current flows from the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode, the scan electrode, the address electrode and the sustain electrode, the screen brightness is increased, and the light emission is achieved. Efficiency is also improved. In contrast, FIG. 11B and FIG.
In the discharge at the timing of applying the sustain pulse in (c), the discharge current from the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode and the address electrode decreases as the time difference from the start of applying the sustain pulse to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode increases, The screen brightness and the luminous efficiency are similar to those in the surface discharge between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode on the front glass substrate. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the sustain pulse applied to the sustain discharge auxiliary electrode and the address electrode within 1 μsec so that the screen brightness and the luminous efficiency are maximized.

As described above, the sustain auxiliary electrode is provided in parallel with the address electrode, and the surface discharge on the front glass substrate and the opposed discharge between the front glass substrate and the rear glass substrate are generated at the same time. , The area of excited phosphor is increased, the screen brightness of the plasma display panel is increased, and the address electrode is added to the sustain discharge, so that the electrode area is increased and the luminous efficiency is improved. Obtainable.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention, by applying the sustain pulse Psus to the electrodes on the rear glass substrate 9 other than the electrodes on the front glass substrate 1 in the sustain discharge of the PDP, the cell Since the distribution of ultraviolet rays in the inside expands and the discharge current density of each electrode decreases,
The screen brightness is improved and the luminous efficiency is significantly improved, which is an advantageous effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of sustain discharge in a three-electrode surface discharge type ACPDP.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the PDP device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a panel driving unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a pulse application timing chart of each electrode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of sustain pulse application.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a four-electrode type ACPDP.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of sustain discharge by a four-electrode type ACPDP.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a PDP device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a panel drive unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a pulse application timing chart of each electrode according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart of sustain pulse application.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the structure of a three-electrode surface discharge type ACPDP.

FIG. 13 is a pulse application timing chart of each electrode according to a conventional method.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Front glass substrate 2 scan electrodes 3 Sustain electrodes 4 Dielectric layer 5 MgO layer 6 barriers 7 Address electrode 8 phosphor 9 Rear glass substrate 10 Sustain discharge auxiliary electrode 20 metal bus electrodes 21 Transparent electrode 100 Plasma Display Panel (PDP) 101 Address electrode driver 102 Scan electrode driver 103 Sustain electrode driver 104 discharge control timing generation circuit section 105 Subfield processing unit 106 memory unit 107 A / D converter 108 synchronization signal separation processing unit 109 video signal 110 Sustain discharge auxiliary electrode driver 200 address driver 201 Sustain driver 202 scan driver 203 Erase driver 204 Setup driver

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G09G 3/28 G09G 3/20 624 G09G 3/20 642 H01J 11/00 H01J 11/02

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of sustain electrodes and scan electrodes are arranged in parallel and alternately on a front glass substrate,
An address electrode on a rear glass substrate is a plasma display panel in which the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes are arranged perpendicularly to each other, and surface discharge generated by the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes, and the sustain electrodes or A plasma display panel in which opposing discharges generated by the scan electrodes and the address electrodes are simultaneously generated in the same discharge cell. 2. A sustain auxiliary electrode is further provided in parallel with the address electrode, and a surface discharge generated by the sustain electrode and the scan electrode, a counter discharge generated by the scan electrode and the address electrode, and the sustain electrode. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein a counter discharge generated by the sustain auxiliary electrode is simultaneously generated in the same discharge cell. 3. One field comprises a setup period, an address period, a sustain period and an erase period,
A driving method for driving by supplying a driving pulse to a sustain electrode, a scan electrode, and an address electrode according to a predetermined rule, wherein the sustain electrode and the scan electrode are provided every half cycle in the same discharge cell in the sustain period. Surface sustain discharge is generated by alternately applying sustain pulses to the two electrodes, and counter discharge is generated by applying a sustain pulse synchronized with the sustain pulse of the sustain electrodes or scan electrodes to the address electrodes. Driving method for plasma display panel. 4. In addition to a sustain electrode, a scan electrode and an address electrode, a sustain auxiliary electrode is further provided in parallel with the address electrode, and a sustain pulse synchronized with the sustain electrode is applied to the address electrode to generate the sustain pulse. The method of driving a plasma display panel according to claim 3, wherein a sustain pulse synchronized with the scan electrode is applied to the auxiliary electrode. 5. The method of driving a plasma display panel according to claim 3, wherein an erase pulse for erasing wall charges accumulated on the electrodes is applied to the address electrodes in synchronization with the sustain electrodes. 6. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to claim 4, wherein an erase pulse for erasing wall charges accumulated on the electrodes is applied to the sustain auxiliary electrodes in synchronization with the sustain electrodes and the address electrodes.