KR100502898B1 - A plasma display panel and a driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display panel and a driving method thereof. When power is applied to a power supply device, a required driving voltage is generated and output in a plasma display panel, and a logic unit expresses image data with zero gray scale, and the number of subfields. Increases sequentially. Then, when the vertical synchronization signal is input from the outside, the logic unit drives the image data with the N subfields predefined. By doing so, it is possible to prevent burnout of the driving circuit and to perform a stable operation.

Description

A plasma display panel and a driving method thereof

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 controlling the operation of a plasma display panel at power-on and a plasma display panel operating by the method.

Recently, flat display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), field emission displays (FEDs), and PDPs have been actively developed. Among these flat panel display devices, PDPs have advantages of higher luminance and luminous efficiency and wider viewing angles than other flat panel display devices. Therefore, the PDP is in the spotlight as a display device to replace the conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) in a large display device of 40 inches or more.

PDPs are flat display devices that display characters or images using plasma generated by gas discharge, and dozens to millions or more of pixels are arranged in a matrix according to their size. Such PDPs are classified into a direct current type (DC type) and an alternating current type (AC type) according to the shape of the driving voltage waveform applied and the structure of the discharge cell.

In the DC-type PDP, since the electrode is exposed to the discharge space as it is, the current flows in the discharge space while voltage is applied, and there is a disadvantage in that a resistance for current limitation must be made for this purpose. On the other hand, in the AC type PDP, the electrode covers the dielectric layer, so the current is limited by the formation of a natural capacitance component, and the electrode is protected from the impact of ions during discharge.

1 is a partial perspective view of an AC plasma display panel.

As shown in FIG. 1, the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 covered with the dielectric layer 2 and the protective film 3 are arranged in parallel on the first substrate 1. A plurality of address electrodes 8 covered with the insulator layer 7 are provided on the second substrate 6. A partition 9 is formed on the insulator layer 7 between the address electrodes 8 in parallel with the address electrode 8. In addition, the phosphor 10 is formed on the surface of the insulator layer 7 and on both side surfaces of the partition wall 9. The first substrate 1 and the second substrate 6 may be arranged with the discharge space 11 therebetween so that the scan electrode 4 and the address electrode 8 and the sustain electrode 5 and the address electrode 8 are orthogonal to each other. It is arranged toward. The discharge space at the intersection of the address electrode 8 and the pair of the scanning electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 forms a discharge cell 12.

In the operation of the plasma display panel set, timing mismatching between the image signal during the transient period and the driving circuit outputting the driving waveform, and during the charging and discharging repetition periods of the storage capacitor in the driving circuit (charge) Due to unbalanced discharge time, there is a phenomenon such as a burnout of the driving circuit due to a malfunction of a switching element (MOSFET) and a poor quality of a plasma display panel, which directly leads to a drop in product reliability. The root cause of such a problem is that the operation sequence SEQUENCE is not established at the time of turning on or off the plasma display panel. In particular, the operation sequence at power-on is not established.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the above disadvantages, to stabilize the plasma display panel by establishing an operation sequence until the vertical synchronization signal is input when the power is turned on, and to ensure reliability.

The driving method of the plasma display panel according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object,

A driving method of a plasma display panel including a power supply unit, a logic unit, and a driving unit for supplying power.

A first step of generating and outputting a driving voltage required in the plasma display panel when power is applied to the power supply device;

A second step of the logic unit expressing image data with 0 gray scales and sequentially increasing the number of subfields;

When the vertical synchronization signal is input from the outside during the second step, the logic unit includes a third step of driving the image data to N predefined subfields.

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object,

A plasma display panel including a plurality of address electrodes, a plurality of scan electrodes, and a sustain electrode;

A power supply unit that receives AC power and generates and supplies a voltage required for each unit;

When the required voltage is supplied from the power supply device, image data is output at zero gray level until the vertical synchronization signal is input, and the number of subfields is sequentially increased. When the vertical synchronization signal is input, the image is output in N predetermined subfields. A control unit for controlling to express data;

An address electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the subfield data output from the controller to the address electrode of the plasma panel;

And a sustain scan electrode driver configured to generate sustain voltages and scan voltages corresponding to sustain discharge information from the controller, and apply them to the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes, respectively.

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention may be easily implemented by those skilled in the art as follows.

2 is a block diagram of a plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a plasma display panel 100, a controller 200, a power supply device 600, an address electrode driver 300, a sustain electrode driver 500, and the like. The scan electrode driver 400 is included.

The plasma panel 100 includes a plurality of address electrodes A1-Am arranged in the column direction, a plurality of sustain electrodes (hereinafter referred to as 'X electrodes') (X1-Xn) and scan electrodes arranged in the row direction. (Hereinafter referred to as 'Y electrode') (Y1-Yn). The X electrodes X1-Xn are formed corresponding to the respective Y electrodes Y1-Yn, and generally have one end connected in common to each other. The plasma panel 100 includes a glass substrate (not shown) on which the X and Y electrodes X1-Xn and Y1-Yn are arranged, and a glass substrate (not shown) on which the address electrodes A1-Am are arranged. . The two glass substrates are disposed to face each other with the discharge space therebetween so that the Y electrodes Y1-Yn and the address electrodes A1-Am and the X electrodes X1-Xn and the address electrodes A1-Am are orthogonal to each other. At this time, the discharge space at the intersection of the address electrodes A1-Am and the X and Y electrodes X1-Xn and Y1-Yn forms a discharge cell.

The power supply device 600 receives AC power, generates a voltage used in the plasma display panel, and supplies the voltage to each unit. The power supply 600 maintains, generates a driving voltage for driving the scan electrode, scan voltage generator 610, an address voltage, an address for generating a voltage used for the logic of the controller 200, logic voltage generator 620 and an alarm circuit unit 630 to stop the entire operation in consideration of an error if a corresponding voltage is not generated after a predetermined time.

The controller 200 receives an image signal from the outside and outputs an address driving signal, an X electrode driving signal, and a Y electrode driving signal. The controller 200 divides and drives one frame into a plurality of subfields, and each subfield includes a reset period, an addressing period, and a sustain period. In particular, the control unit 200 displays the image data with zero gray scale until the vertical synchronization signal is input, and sequentially increases the number of subfields. When the vertical synchronization signal is input, the control unit 200 displays the image data into N predetermined subfields. Control to express

The address electrode driver 300 receives an address electrode driving signal from the controller 200 and applies a display data signal for selecting a discharge cell to be displayed to each address electrode A1-Am.

The X electrode driver 500 receives the X electrode driving signal from the controller 200 and applies a driving voltage to the X electrodes X1 to Xn. The X electrode driving unit 500 applies the driving voltage to the predetermined slope in the address period.

The Y electrode driver 400 receives the Y electrode driving signal from the controller 200 and applies a driving voltage to the Y electrodes Y1-Yn.

The controller 200 may include a gamma correction unit configured to perform gamma correction upon receiving an image signal; Display the image data with 0 gray level before inputting the vertical synchronization signal, increase the number of subfields sequentially, and when the vertical synchronization signal is input, generate the N data into the N subfield data and output the subfield data as an address electrode driving signal. Generation unit; The APC control unit 240 receives the gamma corrected image data, measures a load ratio, and outputs a sustain electrode driving signal and a scan electrode driving signal corresponding to the load ratio.

Next, a method and apparatus for automatically controlling address data of a plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration and an operation of a plasma display panel including the apparatus will be described in detail.

3 is a sub waveform diagram of a plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, when power is applied according to a relay switch on, AC power is relayed so that the power supply 600 is maintained, the scan driving voltage generator 610 and the address and logic voltage generator ( 62).

Then, the address and logic voltage generator 62 generates the address voltage Va and the logic voltage V _L , and applies the generated voltages to the address electrode driver 300 and the controller 200, respectively.

Then, the power detector 210 detects the input of power and outputs a Vs_on enable signal.

Then, the sustain and scan driving voltage generator 610 generates voltages such as Vset, Vscan, and Ve based on Vs according to the Vs_on enable signal, and outputs the voltages to the Y electrode driver 400 and the X electrode driver 500.

On the other hand, the image signal including the data component (R, G, B) and the synchronization signal (Hsync, Vsync) from the outside is input to the controller 200.

Then, the gamma correction unit 220 of the controller 200 gamma corrects and outputs the image signal.

Then, the APC controller 240 measures the load ratio of the data components R, G, and B, and scans the X electrode driving signal and the Y electrode driving signal corresponding to the load ratio with the scan electrode driver 400 and the sustain electrode driver 500. Are printed respectively).

Meanwhile, the subfield data generator 230 displays image data with 0 gray level until the vertical synchronization signal is input, and sequentially increases the number of subfields to 1, 2, 3, ..., N-1. When the vertical synchronization signal is input, image data output from the gamma correction unit 210 is generated as subfield data into N predetermined subfields and output as subfield data. At this time, the required number of subfields is gradually increased in accordance with a predetermined time so as to be a (n-1) subfield. This is shown in ③ of FIG.

In this manner, zero grayscale is output until the vertical synchronization signal is input, thereby preventing damage to the driving circuit that may occur in the transient period. In addition, a priming effect may be obtained so that the initial discharge may be smoothly performed by repeating the reset discharge before the initial discharge is performed after the vertical synchronization signal is input.

Then, the address electrode driver 300 receives an address electrode driving signal and applies a display data signal for selecting a discharge cell to be displayed to each address electrode A1-Am.

The X electrode driver 500 receives the X electrode driving signal to apply a driving voltage to the X electrodes X1 to Xn, and the Y electrode driving unit 400 receives the Y electrode driving signal to receive the Y electrode Y1 to Yn. Is applied to the driving voltage.

Then, the plasma panel 100 displays an image after the vertical synchronization signal input.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but may be modified and improved by those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the number of subfields is sequentially increased by outputting zero gradations until the vertical sync signal is input, and is driven by one less than the specified number. By driving the image data in the subfields, it is possible to reduce the burnout of the driving circuit and to facilitate the initial discharge.

1 is a partial perspective view of an AC plasma display panel.

2 is a block diagram of a plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a waveform diagram of each part of the plasma display panel according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (11)

A plasma display panel including a plurality of address electrodes, a plurality of scan electrodes, and a sustain electrode; A power supply unit that receives AC power and generates and supplies a voltage required for each unit; When the required voltage is supplied from the power supply device, image data is output at zero gray level until the vertical synchronization signal is input, and the number of subfields is sequentially increased. When the vertical synchronization signal is input, the image is output in N predetermined subfields. A control unit for controlling to express data; An address electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the subfield data output from the controller to the address electrode of the plasma panel; A sustain scan electrode driver configured to generate sustain voltages and scan voltages corresponding to sustain discharge information from the controller, and apply them to the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes, respectively. The power supply unit, A sustain and scan voltage generator for generating a drive voltage for driving the sustain and scan electrodes; An address voltage, an address for generating a voltage used for the logic of the controller, a logic voltage generator; And an alarm circuit unit configured to stop the entire operation in consideration of an error if a corresponding voltage or the like is not generated after a predetermined time. delete The method of claim 1, The control unit, A power detector configured to output an enable signal to the sustain and scan voltage generator to output a corresponding voltage when a voltage is input from the address and logic voltage generator; A gamma correction unit configured to receive an image signal and perform gamma correction; Display the image data with 0 gray level before inputting the vertical synchronization signal, increase the number of subfields sequentially, and when the vertical synchronization signal is input, generate the N data into the N subfield data and output the subfield data as an address electrode driving signal. Generation unit; And an APC controller configured to receive the gamma corrected image data, measure a load ratio, and output a sustain electrode driving signal and a scan electrode driving signal corresponding to the load ratio. The method of claim 3, The alarm circuit unit, When the enable signal is input and maintained after a predetermined time, if the corresponding voltage is not output from the scan voltage generator or if the voltage of the corresponding data is not output from the subfield data generator, the operation is stopped as an error. Plasma display panel. The method of claim 3, The subfield data generation unit sequentially increases the number of subfields to 1, 2, 3, ..., N-1 before inputting the vertical synchronization signal, and converts the image data into N subfield data when the vertical synchronization signal is input. And generate and output the address electrode driving signal. A first step of generating and outputting a driving voltage required in the plasma display panel when AC power is applied to the power supply device; A second step of the logic unit expressing image data with 0 gray scales and sequentially increasing the number of subfields; If the vertical synchronization signal is input from the outside during the second step, the logic unit comprises a third step of driving the image data to the N predetermined sub-field, The first step, Maintaining and generating a driving voltage for driving the scan electrode; A method of driving a plasma display panel comprising generating an address voltage and a voltage used for logic. delete The method of claim 6, The first step, If the voltage or the like is not generated after a certain time, it is considered as an error to stop the entire operation of the plasma display panel drive method. The method of claim 6, The second step, Maintaining the enable signal and outputting the enable voltage to the scan voltage generator when the voltage is input from the address and logic voltage generator; Receiving a video signal and performing gamma correction; Displaying image data with zero grayscale before inputting a vertical synchronization signal and sequentially increasing the number of subfields; And receiving a gamma corrected image data to measure a load ratio and output a sustain electrode driving signal and a scan electrode driving signal corresponding to the load ratio. The method of claim 9, In the second step, when the enable signal is input and maintained after a predetermined time, if the corresponding voltage is not output from the scan voltage generator or the voltage of the corresponding data is not output from the subfield data generator, the second operation is regarded as an error. And stop the plasma display panel. The method of claim 9, In the second step, the number of subfields is sequentially increased to 1, 2, 3, ..., N-1 before the vertical synchronization signal is input, and when the vertical synchronization signal is input, image data is generated as N subfield data. And outputting it as an address electrode driving signal.