JPH0533490B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a gas discharge display device for displaying color images such as a television. In particular, the present invention relates to a gas discharge display device for the purpose of increasing operation speed, ensuring color reproduction, eliminating defects on a display screen, improving display devices, and simplifying manufacturing.

(Prior Art) In the early face-to-face type of AC gas discharge display devices, when coloring was desired, phosphor had to be coated very close to the electrodes. As a result, they were bombarded by high-speed ions in the plasma caused by the discharge, and deteriorated in a short period of time, making color display difficult. However, in surface discharge type gas discharge display devices announced in recent years,
In the present invention, discharge is generated parallel to the substrate surface by employing a structure in which orthogonal X and Y address electrodes are insulated with a dielectric layer in between and configured on the same substrate. Therefore, since the phosphor can be coated on the other opposing substrate for forming the discharge space, colorization is possible without deterioration of the phosphor due to ion bombardment in the opposing type.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conventional surface discharge display panel. 1 indicates an X address electrode, 2 indicates a Y address electrode, 3 indicates a dielectric layer for electrically insulating the X and Y address electrodes and the gas space;
5 is a rear glass substrate on which the above-mentioned electrodes and dielectric layer are arranged; 4 is a front surface on which phosphors of the three primary colors R, G, and B are arranged (omitted) at a portion corresponding to the intersection of the X address electrode and the Y address electrode. The glass substrate 6 is a gas space surrounded by the front and rear glass substrates.

When an AC voltage is applied to the X and Y address electrodes, a strong electric field is generated in the gas space corresponding to the intersection,
Electric discharge occurs parallel to the back surface. The ultraviolet light emitted by this discharge excites the phosphor and causes it to emit light. This allows the panel to emit light in the three primary colors of R, G, and B.

However, it could not be said that the defects in the conventional facing type were significantly improved by simply changing to the surface discharge type, except in terms of life.

Firstly, in a structure in which electrodes are arranged in a matrix and their intersections are light emitting points, in the case of a color display, if the three primary colors are lined up in a line horizontally or vertically, the light emitting points will be emitted in one direction (for example, in the horizontal direction).
resolution is reduced to 1/3 of that in other directions (e.g. vertically). Furthermore, if the pitch of the electrodes is devised to equalize the resolution in both directions, the pitch in one direction will become extremely fine, causing manufacturing difficulties. Conventionally, one unit consists of 4 points, 2 points each in the vertical and horizontal directions, and in order to increase resolution, 2 points are green (G), which has high visibility characteristics for the human eye,
If one point each is used for red (R) and blue (B), the advantage of doubling the resolution of green is canceled out in a high-definition device, resulting in redundancy.

Second, in conventional AC gas discharge display devices, it is necessary to place mechanical supports (spacers) inside the device to prevent the discharge space from being compressed by atmospheric pressure. Several points were sacrificed. This can be done with software to make it less noticeable on graphics, but there is no way to disguise it when displaying images on television, etc. A method has also been adopted in which thin spacers are placed at the very narrow boundaries of discharge cells that emit light, but this poses a manufacturing problem in high-definition devices.

Third, in conventional devices, the discharge space is not separated by partition walls and has a simple structure, which is an advantage that makes it suitable for finer definition and larger size. The resulting ultraviolet light also excited neighboring phosphors of different colors, deteriorating the purity of the color.

Fourthly, in the conventional method, a means is adopted to generate auxiliary discharge in the periphery outside the display surface as a seed discharge to stabilize operation, but in the case of a large device with many discharge cells, the center There was a risk that the seed discharge would be ineffective because the discharge would be far away from the auxiliary discharge.

(Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention) As described in the (Prior Art) section above, when a conventional surface discharge type gas discharge display device is applied to a color high-definition display device, the first 1 for
There were problems in how to arrange the discharge cells of the three primary colors that make up the pixels, secondly the individual spacers, thirdly the seed discharge cells, and fourthly color bleeding.

(Summary of the invention) The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks at once,
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved high definition color gas discharge display. That is, in the color gas discharge display device of the present invention, X address electrodes and Y address electrodes arranged in a matrix are formed on one substrate so as to be electrically insulated from each other via a dielectric layer, and on the other substrate. In a color gas discharge display device in which a phosphor is applied thereon, the two substrates are opposed to each other, and a discharge gas is sealed between the opposing substrates, the intersections of two rows and two columns of the adjacent X and Y address electrodes, respectively. Four discharge cells are used as a unit constituting one pixel of a color display, and three of the four discharge cells are assigned each of the three primary colors R (red), G (green), and B (blue). , an auxiliary discharge cell (A) for smoothing discharge or a spacer (S) for maintaining a discharge space between the opposing substrates at the position of one discharge cell other than the three discharge cells; The two types of pixel units arranged in rows,
The panel structure is such that the columns are alternately arranged, and among the four discharge cells forming the pixel unit, the R (red) and G (green) are one diagonal, and the B
(blue) and the above-mentioned A or S are arranged on the other diagonal.

Furthermore, the color gas discharge display device according to the present invention is characterized in that barrier ribs are provided between the discharge cells to prevent diffusion of light between the discharge cells.

(Example) Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram showing an example of the discharge display device of the present invention. Figure a is a plan view seen from the front.
Figure b is a sectional view of the CC' portion of figure a. 1 to 6 are the same as in FIG. 8 is a spacer for holding the discharge space, and 7 is a partition wall for preventing the ultraviolet rays emitted from the discharge in 9 from spreading to adjacent phosphors. It is also possible to improve the distribution of such products (Figure 4b). 8' is a blackening film for shielding the light of the auxiliary discharge serving as a pilot flame, and 10 is a phosphor for converting ultraviolet rays into visible light. FIG. 2a shows an example of the color arrangement of the discharge cells in FIG. In the figure, B is the position of the blue phosphor, G is the position of the green phosphor, and R is the position of the red phosphor. A is the position of the auxiliary discharge cell, on which the blackened film 8' of FIG. 1 is applied. S is the position of the spacer 8 in FIG. In the present invention, both pixel units composed of B, G, R and A or composed of B, G, R and S are arranged alternately in rows and columns as shown in FIG. 2a. . FIG. 2b shows an example of the color arrangement of four discharge cells forming a pixel. That is, G and R are arranged diagonally so that they are not adjacent to each other, B is the spacer S,
Alternatively, it is arranged diagonally to the auxiliary discharge cell A'.
Of course, the positions of G and R, and B and S or A may be arranged diagonally, and are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 2b.

A first embodiment of the device of the present invention has a structure as shown in FIG. It is insulated by body layer 3. A Y address electrode 2 (or an X address electrode 1) is formed thereon, and this is electrically insulated again with a dielectric layer 3. Thereafter, the partition walls 7 and the spacers 8 are formed using a thick film technique. Next, a film such as MgO is applied as a protective layer using thin film technology (evaporation or sputtering). On the other hand, on the front glass substrate 4, after forming black films 8, 8' and a black matrix layer for shielding light, a phosphor film is formed. Finally, the two substrates are aligned and the periphery of the bonded substrate is sealed with frit glass or the like, and a mixed gas containing a gas that easily emits ultraviolet rays is filled as a discharge gas.

By applying an AC pulse voltage to the X and Y address electrodes, a discharge is generated in the square discharge cell. At this time, R, G, and B are blinked according to the information, but the auxiliary discharge cells are always lit at a constant cycle to the extent that the pilot flame effect is not lost.

Next, in the second embodiment, the spacer 8 and the partition wall 7
A structure is adopted in which the front glass substrate 4 is formed with the following. (Fig. 4 shows the second embodiment b in contrast to the first embodiment a.
). That is, for the rear glass substrate 5, the formation of the spacers 8 and the partition walls 7 in the above-mentioned manufacturing procedure is omitted, and instead, a blackening film and a black matrix film are formed on the front glass substrate 4, and then the spacers 8 and the partition walls 7 are formed with a thick film. Form. In this case, the phosphor 10 is applied by a means using an optical resistor, such as a slurry method. Although it is possible to form spacers and partition walls after applying the phosphor, this is not preferable in terms of deterioration of the phosphor. In this embodiment, even if the height of the partition wall is set to about 2/3 of the discharge space (FIG. 4b), a light shielding effect can be obtained, so a more sufficient pilot effect can be expected.

As a third embodiment, a transparent or narrow electrode is formed on the front glass substrate 4, a phosphor is coated on the rear glass substrate 5, and the light emission of the phosphor is observed by reflection formation. Brightness can be significantly improved. An example of the configuration will be described below.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a configuration in which electrodes are formed on a front glass substrate. First, the light shielding layer 11 is attached to the front glass substrate 4 by sputtering or the like. Black material is used to reduce reflectance. Thereon, an ACPDP mechanism with a surface discharge type structure is formed (X address electrode 1, Y address electrode 2, dielectric layer 3). Further, a cell sheet 12 is formed thereon. The slits 13 are formed during the final step of forming the cell sheet. In the method of ultra-thick film printing,
It is possible to form this slit portion without printing. A phosphor 10 is attached to the back plate 5 in accordance with the arrangement of the cells, but a light absorber 10 is attached to the cell 8', which is used only for seed discharge, so that the thickness is almost the same as that of the phosphor. Adhere the layers. The cell sheet may be formed on the back substrate. At that time, the slit is formed on the front substrate side.

It goes without saying that in the third embodiment as well, the color arrangement of the phosphors can be any desired color arrangement.

(Effects of the Invention) By implementing the present invention, a gas discharge display device can be used in an optimal state. In other words, by configuring one pixel with 4 dots (2 dots vertically and 2 dots horizontally), the horizontal and vertical resolution can be equalized, and at the same time, the electrode spacing can be made equal both vertically and horizontally, so it can be used like an in-line type. There is no need to make the horizontal or vertical electrode spacing three times that of the other, which simplifies manufacturing and enables high definition.

To obtain standard white, the brightness ratio of the three primary colors is usually selected as G:R:B = 0.59:0.30:0.11, so by arranging bright G and R diagonally, vertical or horizontal striped brightness can be created. The appearance of bright line structures can be prevented and the overall display image quality can be improved.

Next, by placing spacers at the intersections of the electrodes, that is, at positions corresponding to one discharge cell, and dispersing them over the entire display screen, it is possible to prevent non-luminous defects from concentrating in specific areas, and at the same time Since the spacers can be dispersed, the force applied to each spacer is reduced, resulting in a thinner flat plate. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent electrode disconnection, short circuit, etc. due to pressure. Furthermore, since spacers are not disposed at minute portions at the boundaries between cells as in the conventional method, it is easy to manufacture high-definition devices with fine pitches without defects.

In addition, since no mechanical force is applied to the barrier ribs provided at the boundary to prevent ultraviolet rays from spreading to adjacent phosphors to maintain the discharge space, there is no risk of damage to the barrier ribs during manufacturing or due to atmospheric pressure. At the same time, the diffusion of charged particles and excited atoms from the pilot discharge cell is facilitated, and the two functions of pilot flame effect and light shielding can be satisfied.

In particular, in the second embodiment, since the barrier ribs are provided on the front glass substrate on the same surface as the phosphor, a height of 2/3 of the distance between the discharge spaces is sufficient for the light shielding effect. That is, FIG. 4a schematically shows the shielding of light in the case of the first embodiment, and FIG. 4b shows the case in the second embodiment.

As explained above, this invention has four light emitting points made up of electrodes arranged in a matrix as one pixel, which makes the horizontal and vertical resolution uniform and allows microscopic resolution without deteriorating the display image quality. Since a spacer can be introduced to maintain the distance, it can also be applied to the field of color display devices that have a structure in which two substrates such as liquid crystals are brought together with a minute distance between them.

Further, in the third embodiment, a bright display can be obtained by adopting a configuration in which the light emitted from the phosphor is observed in a reflective manner. In other words, a phosphor that emits light when excited by ultraviolet rays emits visible light within a relatively large surface area within several micrometers, but when observed in a transmission format, the visible light is attenuated due to transmission loss in the phosphor layer itself. By changing this to a reflective type, the efficiency can be improved by 2 to 3 times.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the discharge display device of the present invention, in which a is a plan view, b is a sectional view taken along line C-C', and FIG. Figure 2b shows an example of the color arrangement of the four discharge cells that constitute the pixel in Figure 2a, and Figure 3 shows a conventional surface discharge display panel. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the second embodiment b of the device of the present invention.
is shown in comparison with the first embodiment a, and FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the device of the present invention, where a is a plan view and b
is a sectional view taken along line C-C'. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...X address electrode, 2...Y address electrode, 3...Dielectric layer, 4...Front glass substrate, 5
... Rear glass substrate, 6 ... Gas space, 7 ... Partition wall, 8 ... Light shielding film (position of spacer), 8'...
...Light shielding film (seed discharge position), 9...Discharge area,
10...phosphor, 11... light shielding layer, 12... cell sheet, 13... slit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. X address electrodes and Y address electrodes arranged in a matrix are formed on one substrate so as to be electrically insulated from each other via a dielectric layer, and a phosphor is formed on the other substrate. In a color gas discharge display device in which the two substrates are opposed to each other and a discharge gas is sealed between the opposing substrates, the adjacent
Four discharge cells at the intersections of two rows and two columns of the Y address electrodes are used as a unit constituting one pixel of color display, and three of the four discharge cells
The three primary colors R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are assigned to each of the discharge cells, and an auxiliary discharge is applied to the position of one discharge cell other than the three discharge cells to facilitate the discharge. The panel has a panel configuration in which two types of pixel units each having a cell (A) or a spacer (S) for maintaining a discharge space between the opposing substrates are arranged alternately in both rows and columns; Of the four discharge cells constituting a pixel unit, the R (red) and G (green) are arranged on one diagonal, and the B (blue) and the A or S are arranged on the other diagonal. A color gas discharge display device characterized by: 2. A color gas discharge display device according to claim 1, characterized in that a partition wall is provided between the discharge cells to prevent diffusion of light between the discharge cells. 3. The display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the address electrode is transparent or has a narrow width, and the light emission of the phosphor is observed in a reflective manner. Color gas discharge display device.