KR100351465B1 - Plasma Display Panel and Method Of Driving The Same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plasma display panel and a driving method thereof for increasing luminous efficiency by using energy efficiently.

In the plasma display panel of the present invention, the scan / sustain electrodes of the pair of sustain electrodes include at least one first bus electrode formed at one edge of the discharge cell and at least one first transparent electrode formed at the first bus electrode so as not to overlap the address electrode; ; Among the sustain electrode pairs, the common sustain electrode includes: a second bus electrode formed on the other edge of the discharge cell, and at least one second transparent electrode formed on the second bus electrode so as not to overlap with the address electrode; The trigger electrode pair includes a third and fourth bus electrodes, a third transparent electrode formed on the third bus electrode to overlap the address electrode, and a fourth transparent electrode formed on the fourth bus electrode.

According to the present invention, the discharge and luminous efficiency are increased and the excess current caused by the energy returning to the electrodes is minimized.

Description

Plasma Display Panel and Method of Driving The Same

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to a plasma display panel and a method of driving the same, which improve light emission efficiency by using energy efficiently.

Plasma Display Panel (hereinafter referred to as "PDP") emits phosphors by 147 nm ultraviolet rays generated upon discharge of He + Xe or Ne + Xe gas, thereby displaying an image including characters or graphics. Such a PDP is not only thin and easy to enlarge, but also greatly improved in quality due to recent technology development. These PDPs are largely classified into a DC drive method and an AC drive method. Unlike the DC driving method, the PDP of the AC driving method is attracting more attention as a display device because of the advantages of low voltage driving and long life by using a dielectric. PDP is composed of a plurality of discharge cells arranged in a matrix form, one discharge cell constitutes a pixel of the screen.

1 is a view showing a conventional three-electrode AC surface discharge type PDP.

Referring to FIG. 1, a discharge cell of a three-electrode PDP includes a scan / sustain electrode 5 and a common sustain electrode 8 formed on the upper substrate 2, and an address electrode formed on the lower substrate 14. 16). The scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8 are composed of transparent electrodes 4,7 and bus electrodes 3,6. The upper dielectric layer 10 and the protective layer 12 are stacked on the upper substrate 2 having the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8 side by side. Wall charges generated during plasma discharge are accumulated in the upper dielectric layer 10. The protective layer 12 prevents damage to the upper dielectric layer 10 due to sputtering generated during plasma discharge and increases emission efficiency of secondary electrons. As the protective layer 12, magnesium oxide (MgO) is usually used. The lower dielectric layer 18 and the partition wall 20 are formed on the lower substrate 14 on which the address electrode 16 is formed, and the phosphor layers (red, green, blue, 22) are formed on the lower dielectric layer 18 and the partition wall 20. Is applied. The address electrode 16 is formed in a direction crossing the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8. The partition wall 20 is formed in parallel with the address electrode 16 to prevent ultraviolet rays and visible light generated by the discharge from leaking to the adjacent discharge cells. The phosphor layer 22 is excited by ultraviolet rays generated during plasma discharge to generate visible light of any one of red, green, and blue. Inert gas for gas discharge is injected into the discharge space 24 provided between the upper and lower plates 15 and 17 and the partition wall.

Briefly describing the light emission process, in order to initialize all the discharge cells of the panel, a reset pulse is supplied to the scan / sustain electrode 5 of all the discharge cells so that reset discharge occurs. In the reset discharge, wall charges are generated for each discharge cell, thereby lowering the discharge voltage required for the subsequent address discharge. Then, a scan pulse is supplied to the scan / sustain electrode 5, and a data pulse is applied to the address electrode 16 in synchronization with the scan / sustain electrode 5 so that an address discharge occurs between the two electrodes, so that wall charges are applied to the upper and lower dielectric layers 10 and 18. Is formed. In the cells selected by the address discharge, a sustain discharge occurs between the two electrodes by an alternating current signal alternately supplied to the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8. At this time, in the discharge space 24, vacuum ultraviolet rays are generated in the process of transition after the discharge gas is excited. The generated vacuum ultraviolet rays excite the phosphor 22 to generate visible light, thereby realizing an image of the PDP.

However, in the conventional three-electrode PDP, since the sustain discharge between the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8 causing the sustain discharge occurs only at the center of the discharge cell, the space of the discharge cell was not sufficiently utilized. Accordingly, there is a problem that the brightness of the discharge cells is lowered and the luminous efficiency is lowered. In order to solve this problem, the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8 which cause a sustain discharge are provided at both edges of the discharge cell or the width of the discharge electrode is widened. However, when the distance between the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8 increases, the discharge voltage increases, and when the width of the discharge electrode is widened, the discharge current also increases, thereby increasing power consumption.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma display panel and a method of driving the same which increase luminous efficiency.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional three-electrode plasma display panel.

2 is a perspective view showing a five-electrode plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a plan view illustrating a discharge cell structure of a 5-electrode plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a plan view illustrating a discharge cell structure of a 5-electrode plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

1,15 top plate 2 top board

3,6,26,32,38,46,52,58,: metal bus electrode

4,7,28,34,40,42,48,54,60,62: transparent electrode 5,44: scan / sustain electrode

8,64 common sustain electrode 30,36,50,56 trigger electrode

10: upper dielectric layer 12: protective layer

13,17: lower board 14: lower board

16 address electrode 18 lower dielectric layer

20: partition 22: phosphor

24: discharge space

In order to achieve the above object, in the plasma display panel of the present invention, at least one scan / sustain electrode of the sustain electrode pair is formed on one edge of the discharge cell and at least one of the first bus electrode so as not to overlap with the address electrode. A first transparent electrode formed; Among the sustain electrode pairs, the common sustain electrode includes: a second bus electrode formed on the other edge of the discharge cell, and at least one second transparent electrode formed on the second bus electrode without overlapping with the address electrode; The trigger electrode pair includes a third and fourth bus electrodes, a third transparent electrode formed on the third bus electrode to overlap the address electrode, and a fourth transparent electrode formed on the fourth bus electrode.

A method of driving a plasma display panel of the present invention includes the steps of: generating auxiliary discharges between a pair of trigger electrodes provided between a pair of sustain electrodes provided between a scan / sustain electrode and a common sustain electrode; And generating a sustain discharge between the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode by using the charged particles generated in the auxiliary discharge.

Other objects and features of the present invention in addition to the above objects will become apparent from the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

2 is a perspective view showing a five-electrode AC surface discharge type PDP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a discharge cell of a five-electrode PDP includes a scan / sustain electrode 5, a common sustain electrode 8, and trigger electrode pairs 30 and 36 on an upper substrate 2, and a lower substrate ( On the 14, an address electrode 16 is provided. The scan / sustain electrode 5, the common sustain electrode 8, and the trigger electrode pairs 30, 36 are composed of transparent electrodes 4, 7, 28, 34 and bus electrodes 3, 6, 26, 32. . The upper substrate on which the trigger electrode pairs 30 and 36 provided between the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8 are arranged in parallel at a narrow interval, and the electrodes 5, 8, 30 and 36 are formed. In (2), the upper dielectric layer 10 and the protective layer 12 are laminated. Wall charges generated during plasma discharge are accumulated in the upper dielectric layer 10. The protective layer 12 prevents damage to the upper dielectric layer 10 due to sputtering generated during plasma discharge and increases emission efficiency of secondary electrons. As the protective layer 12, magnesium oxide (MgO) is usually used. The lower dielectric layer 18 and the partition wall 20 are formed on the lower substrate 14 on which the address electrode 16 is formed, and the phosphor layer 22 is coated on the surfaces of the lower dielectric layer 18 and the partition wall 20. The address electrode 16 is formed in the direction crossing the scan / sustain electrode 5, the common sustain electrode 8, and the trigger electrode pairs 30 and 36. The partition wall 20 is formed in parallel with the address electrode 16 to prevent ultraviolet rays and visible light generated by the discharge from leaking to the adjacent discharge cells. The phosphor layer 22 is excited by ultraviolet rays generated during plasma discharge to generate visible light of any one of red, green, and blue. Inert gas for gas discharge is injected into the discharge space 24 provided between the upper and lower plates 1 and 13 and the partition wall 20.

Briefly describing the light emission process, first, the reset pulse to either the scan / sustain electrode 5 or the trigger electrode pairs 30 and 36 disposed inside all the discharge cells in order to initialize all the discharge cells of the panel. Is supplied to reset discharge. During the reset discharge, wall charges are generated for each discharge cell to lower the discharge voltage required for the subsequent address discharge. Then, a scan pulse is supplied to the scan / sustain electrode 5, and a data pulse is applied to the address electrode 16 in synchronization with the scan / sustain electrode 5 so that an address discharge occurs between the two electrodes. Is formed. In the discharge cells selected by the address discharge, the trigger electrode pairs 30 and 36 provided between the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8 respond to an auxiliary discharge in response to the trigger pulse voltage, which is an AC pulse voltage, during the sustain period. Causes Immediately after the auxiliary discharge occurs, sustain pulses are supplied to the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8. Then, the scan / sustain electrode 5 and the common sustain electrode 8 can generate a discharge in the center part of the cell by the wall charge accumulated in the discharge cell by the auxiliary discharge and the voltage difference caused by the sustain pulse. Such sustain discharge is continuously generated by the sustain pulse and the trigger pulse.

The PDP according to the present invention is concentrated in the center of the discharge cell during the sustain discharge as shown in FIG. However, the PDP having such a structure has a problem in that only a part of the energy generated from the sustain discharge excites the phosphor. In other words, only a part of the energy generated during the sustain discharge excites the phosphor, and energy other than the phosphor excitation energy appears as an excessive current flowing through the electrodes. As a result, the conventional PDP has high power consumption and low discharge and luminous efficiency. As a solution to this problem will be described with reference to FIG.

4 illustrates electrodes disposed on a top plate of a PDP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the PDP according to the present invention is formed side by side at both edges of a discharge cell and includes a scan / sustain electrode 44 including transparent electrodes 40, 42, 60, and 62 and metal bus electrodes 38 and 58. ) And the common sustain electrode 64 and the scan / sustain electrode 44 and the common sustain electrode 64 are formed side by side at a narrow interval, and the transparent electrodes 48 and 54 and the metal bus electrodes 46 and 52 are formed side by side. Trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 are included. The transparent electrodes 40, 42, 60 and 62 of the sustain electrode pairs 44 and 64 are separately patterned at both edges of the discharge cells so that sustain discharge is generated at both edges of the discharge cells. Accordingly, the distance between the sustain electrode pairs 44 and 64 is different at the center and the edge of the discharge cell. That is, the sustain electrode pairs 44 and 64 are spaced apart at a wide interval at the center of the discharge cell, while at a relatively narrow gap at both edges of the discharge cell. The transparent electrodes 48 and 54 of the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 are disposed at intersections with the address electrodes and are patterned to be formed only at the center of the discharge cell. Accordingly, since the transparent electrodes 48 and 54 of the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 occupy a small area in the discharge cell, they have a lower dielectric constant and capacitance than the conventional trigger electrode pairs. As a result, the leakage current due to the high dielectric constant and capacitance of the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 can be reduced, and the current value applied to the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 can be reduced. In addition, since the transparent electrodes 48 and 54 of the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 are located only at the center of the discharge cell, the sustain electrode pairs 44 and 64 located at both edges can effectively cause sustain discharge.

The PDP according to the present invention having such a structure first resets the pulse to either the scan / sustain electrode 44 or the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 disposed inside all the discharge cells in order to initialize all the discharge cells of the panel. Is supplied to reset discharge. During the reset discharge, wall charges are generated for each discharge cell to lower the discharge voltage required for the subsequent address discharge. Then, a scan pulse is supplied to the scan / sustain electrode 44, and a data pulse is applied to the address electrode in synchronization with the scan pulse, thereby causing address discharge between the two electrodes to form wall charges in the upper and lower dielectric layers. The wall charges thus formed lower the discharge voltage required for sustain discharge and auxiliary discharge. In the discharge cells selected by the address discharge, the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 provided between the scan / sustain electrode 44 and the common sustain electrode 64 are located in the center of the discharge cell, and thus the trigger is an AC pulse voltage during the sustain period. It receives pulse voltage and causes secondary discharge. In this discharge process, wall charges are formed on the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 and space charges are diffused into the entire space of the cell where the discharge has occurred. The scan / sustain electrode 44 and the common sustain electrode 64 which are arranged at wide intervals on both outer sides of the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 alternately with one of the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56. AC pulse voltage of level is supplied simultaneously. The scan / sustain electrode 44 and the common sustain electrode 64 supplied with the AC pulse voltage simultaneously use the space charge formed by the auxiliary discharge and the wall charges of the trigger electrode pairs 50 and 56 at the same time on both edges of the discharge cell. Causes multiple sustain discharges. Such sustain discharge is continuously generated by the sustain pulse and the trigger pulse.

As described above, in the PDP according to the present invention, a plurality of sustain discharges occur simultaneously at both edges with transparent electrodes of a pair of trigger electrodes interposed therebetween. Therefore, the energy generated during the sustain discharge is distributed to both edges in the discharge cell to excite the phosphor, thereby minimizing the excessive current caused by the energy returning to the electrodes. As a result, the power consumption of the PDP is reduced and discharge and luminous efficiency are increased.

As described above, the PDP and the driving method thereof according to the present invention simultaneously generate a plurality of sustain discharges at both edges with the transparent electrodes of the trigger electrode pair interposed in the discharge cells. Therefore, the energy generated during the sustain discharge is dispersed at both edges of the discharge cell to excite the phosphor, thereby efficiently exciting the phosphor. As a result, discharge and luminous efficiency are increased, and excessive current caused by energy returning to the electrodes is minimized. In the PDP and the driving method thereof according to the present invention, the power consumption is reduced as well as the luminance is improved as compared with the conventional method.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (5)

A plasma display panel comprising: a plurality of sustain electrode pairs, a trigger electrode pair provided between the sustain electrode pairs, and an address electrode formed in a direction crossing the sustain electrode pairs; Among the sustain electrode pairs, a scan / sustain electrode includes: a first bus electrode formed at one edge of a discharge cell, and at least one first electrode formed on the first bus electrode so as not to overlap with the address electrode; The common sustain electrode of the pair of sustain electrodes includes: a second bus electrode formed at the other edge of the discharge cell, and at least one second transparent electrode formed on the second bus electrode so as not to overlap with the address electrode; The trigger electrode pair includes a third and fourth bus electrodes, a third transparent electrode formed on the third bus electrode to overlap with the address electrode, and a fourth transparent electrode formed on the fourth bus electrode. Display panel. The method of claim 1, And two first and second transparent electrodes each formed in one discharge cell. The method of claim 1, Wherein each of the third and fourth transparent electrodes is formed at the center of each of the discharge cells. A scan / sustain electrode having an address electrode, a first bus electrode formed at one edge of the discharge cell and two first transparent electrodes formed on the first bus electrode so as not to overlap the address electrode, and the other side of the discharge cell A method of driving a plasma display panel, comprising: a common sustain electrode having a second bus electrode formed at an edge and two second transparent electrodes formed on the second bus electrode so as not to overlap with the address electrode; Generating an auxiliary discharge between the pair of trigger electrodes provided between the pair of sustain electrodes provided between the scan / sustain electrode and the common sustain electrode; And generating a sustain discharge between the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode by using the charged particles generated in the auxiliary discharge. The method of claim 4, wherein The trigger electrode pair includes a third transparent electrode formed on the third bus electrode and a fourth transparent electrode formed on the fourth bus electrode at the center of the discharge cell so as to overlap the third and fourth bus electrodes and the address electrode. And the auxiliary discharge occurs between the third transparent electrode and the fourth transparent electrode.