KR100561823B1 - Method for driving plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is to provide a driving method capable of improving the initialization performance while reducing the background luminance and reducing the time required for the initialization period while maintaining stability and address margin sufficiently. The driving method of the alternating current plasma display panel of the present invention is characterized in that, in order to display predetermined image information on an alternating current plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode, and a write electrode, the 1 A method of driving an AC plasma display in which a frame is divided into a plurality of sub-frames, each sub-frame includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustaining period, and inputs driving signals to electrodes, respectively, and continuously during the initialization period. Applying a driving signal including a plurality of narrow pulses to be applied; And performing data writing according to the image information during the address period, wherein the plurality of narrow pulses cause the plurality of discharges to be repeatedly generated during the initialization period, and by limiting the duration of each of the plurality of discharges, It is characterized in that the wall charges can be formed so that data writing to each of the plurality of discharge cells can be stably performed during the period.

Plasma, display, PDP, drive method, reset, reset, drive waveform

Description

Driving method of plasma display panel {METHOD FOR DRIVING PLASMA DISPLAY PANEL}

1 is a view illustrating an electrode arrangement and a structure of an AC PDP applied to the present invention as an example of the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one prior art method of dividing and driving one picture frame into eight sub-fields to implement a gray scale level of 256. FIG.

3 is a diagram illustrating a drive waveform of a conventional method of initializing using a strong pulse reset method during one subfield.

4 is a diagram illustrating a drive waveform of a conventional method of initializing using a lamp reset method during one subfield.

FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration of a driving waveform during one subfield when performing an initialization process using multiple narrow pulses as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a configuration of driving waveforms during one subfield when performing an initialization process using stepped multiple narrow pulses as another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of a driving waveform during one subfield when performing an initialization process using ramp type multiple narrow pulses as another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining the operation of the narrow pulse, and shows the change over time of the current intensity flowing between the sustain electrodes in the discharge cell when a general pulse having a sufficient width is applied.

9 shows an example of multiple narrow pulses usable in the initialization process in the driving method of the present invention.

10 shows an example of a stepped multiple narrow pulse that can be used in an initialization process in the driving method of the present invention.

11 shows an example of a ramp type multiple narrow pulse that can be used in an initialization process in the driving method of the present invention.

12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a write and erase process in an initialization process using multiple narrow pulses.

13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a change in wall voltage according to writing and erasing in an initialization process using multiple narrow pulses.

FIG. 14 illustrates a configuration of a display apparatus when driving an AC plasma display panel according to the embodiment of FIG. 7.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110, 120: multiple narrow pulses 210, 220: stepped multiple narrow pulses

310, 320: Ramp-type multiple narrow pulse 10: Initialization period

20: address period 30: retention period

40: address data pulse 50, 60: sustain pulse

The present invention relates to an alternating current (AC) type plasma display panel (PDP) driving method and apparatus, and more particularly, while maintaining stability and address margin sufficiently, background luminance is reduced, and the initial period is required. It is to provide a driving method that can improve the initialization performance by reducing the time required.

The panel structure of the AC type PDP is various, but the widely known and accepted structures have some things in common, and the general structure of the AC PDP is shown in FIG. 1. In the panel of the AC type PDP, as shown in the drawing, a plurality of scan electrodes 69 and discharge sustain electrodes 79 are placed in parallel with each other on the upper plate glass 51, and the upper plate dielectric layer 54 is formed thereon. An upper plate on which a protective layer 55 is formed; The write electrode 89 formed in a direction perpendicular to the scan electrode 69 and the discharge sustain electrode 79, and the partition wall 56 for separating each cell are placed in parallel with the write electrode 89. It consists of a lower plate in which the fluorescent film 57 which emits visible light is formed in the side surface and the bottom surface of the partition 56. The discharge space between the upper plate and the lower plate is filled with an ionizable gas, and each cell is formed in a discharge space where the scan electrode 69, the discharge sustain electrode 79, and the write electrode 89 cross each other, and color images Three kinds of cells configured to emit red, green, and blue for display are combined to form one pixel.

Due to the wall voltage by the wall charges, the voltages actually acting inside each discharge space may be different from the voltage difference applied between the electrodes. When defining the basic voltages involved in the operation of the PDP to be described below, the sum of the discharge space voltage 75 between the scan-hold electrodes and the wall voltage 76 between the scan-hold electrodes is defined as the voltage difference between the scan-hold electrodes. The sum of the discharge space voltage 85 between the scan-write electrodes and the wall voltage 86 between the scan-write electrodes can be defined as the voltage difference between the scan-write electrodes.

The basic method of driving such panels 50 is as follows. First, a discharge voltage is selectively applied to a discharge space defined by the row 69, 79 and column 89 electrodes of a cell selected by the image data, which is a voltage exceeding a firing voltage. Cause Subsequently, a sustain voltage that is large enough to cause a discharge in a cell where a write voltage is applied and discharge occurs but a discharge does not occur in a cell that is not discharged continuously is alternately applied between the scan electrode 69 and the sustain electrode 79. Thus, discharge is generated to display an image. This technique takes advantage of the memory effect due to wall voltage, which is a unique feature of AC-type PDPs. As the discharge occurs, electrons and ions formed in the discharge are accumulated on the dielectric 54 and the protective film 55 to shield the voltage applied in the discharge space. As such, the charges accumulated on the surface remain until the next discharge starts, and when another pulse voltage is applied later, the voltage (ie, the wall voltage) by the electrons and ions previously accumulated is applied to the current. In addition to this, a larger voltage is applied in the discharge space to make discharge easier. This action of wall charge is called a memory effect.

Therefore, in order to reliably drive the AC PDP, it is very important to control the amount of wall charges accumulated by the initialization process to be constant at all times. In addition, the initialization process requires a constant amount desired by the designer regardless of whether or not discharge has occurred during the previous sustain period in the cell (i.e., without being affected by the memory effect caused by the wall charge accumulated during the previous sustain period). Only the wall charges must be controlled to accumulate, so that data writing and discharge holding can be made stable afterwards.

In order to operate AC type PDP reliably, the initialization method used in the prior art is introduced for the first time to control the wall charge state of the entire panel by causing erasing discharge again after erasing discharge and writing discharge across the entire panel. Yoshikawa, et all. "A Full Color AC Plasma Display With 256 Gray Scale" Japan Display, 1992, pp605 ~ 608. Later F. Larry F. Weber described it in "Plasma Display Device Challenges" Asia Display, 1998, pp 15-27. US Patent No. 5,745,086, entitled "Plasma panel exhibiting enhanced contrast".

Yoshikawa above. et al. This used driving method has eight subfields with different brightnesses implemented during one TV field (typically 16.7 ms) representing an image for 256-gradation representation as shown in Fig. 2, and each subfield is rewritten. The method is configured to consist of an address period and a sustain period. That is, each of the subfields has a length of discharge sustaining periods corresponding to 2 ⁰ , 2 ¹ , 2 ² , 2 ³ , 2 ⁴ , 2 ⁵ , 2 ⁶ , 2 ⁷ , and a combination of these subfields. 256 (= 2 ⁸ ) gray scales can be expressed. In the sustain period, discharge sustain pulses are alternately applied to the scan electrode 69 and the sustain electrode 79 to continuously generate discharge only in the discharge space which was turned ON in the writing period, proportional to the number of the pulses. To implement brightness. In the discharge space in the OFF state during the writing period, a voltage insufficient for generating a discharge is sufficient, and a voltage sufficient to cause a discharge in the discharge space in the ON state is used as the discharge holding voltage Vs.

3 shows an example of drive waveforms during one subfield. Regardless of whether the discharge space was maintained in the previous field or the discharge space was not maintained, the data was sequentially selected in step 4, which is the address period in the next sub-field. In order to fill in, step 1, step 2 and step 3 are necessary. As step 1 ends and step 2 begins, a strong discharge occurs due to a high voltage pulse (write pulse) applied between the X and Y electrodes (69 and 79 in FIG. 1), and at this time, due to wall charge accumulation in the discharge cell, X The wall voltage having the magnitude of the applied pulse voltage is formed between the Y electrodes. When the potentials of the X and Y electrodes fall to the reference potential at the end of step 2, only the above wall voltage acts on the discharge space, thereby causing self-erasing discharge to occur between the X and Y electrodes. The wall voltage formed in the phase becomes zero and disappears. That is, through the steps 1, 2, and 3, the write interval is reached with the wall voltage of 0 in all cells regardless of the presence or absence of sustain discharge in the previous subfield. Subsequently, in step 4, the voltage V _A is applied to the write electrode 89 in synchronization with the scan pulse applied to the scan electrode, thereby generating a sequential write discharge for each row of the screen.

Yoshikawa. et al. What Etc. intended to achieve by arranging steps 1, 2, 3 and the like was to overcome the problems caused by the wall charges having various distributions over each discharge space. In the Larry F. Weber patent, that portion is referred to as a "set up" period (which corresponds to an initialization period that includes (10), (20), (30), etc. in one embodiment of the invention of FIG. 10). Naming. The requirements for the set up period defined by Weber are:

First, the setup period should serve to prime the discharge spaces for reliable drive during subsequent selective write and sustain periods.

Second, the set up period should establish a uniform amount of wall voltage state needed for stable operation of a given subfield. This predetermined amount of wall voltage is determined in accordance with the degree required for the selective write operation performed during the writing period of each subfield to be normally performed. Very importantly, this fixed amount of wall voltage, which must be established during the setup period in a given subfield, must not be affected by the amount of wall voltage remaining by the previous subfield. If affected, the distribution of wall voltage after the setup period may vary across each cell, resulting in malfunctions during selective write or sustain operations.

As a result, the driving of the initialization period should be designed to ensure "stability". In addition, in order to compare the performance of the various driving methods used in the initialization period, another criterion may be how much the following requirements are achieved.

First is the dark-room contrast ratio. There are two ways to improve the dark-room contrast ratio. There are several methods to increase the highest luminance even more, such as increasing the discharge efficiency and luminance, and increasing the number of discharge sustaining pulses, and emitting light irrespective of the size of the data, that is, "background luminance". There is a way to reduce it. If the light emission of the initialization period, which is light emission irrespective of the size of data, is reduced, the "background luminance" is reduced, thereby improving the dark-room contrast ratio.

The second is to secure a variable width of the voltage applied to the write electrode when the data is written after initialization, that is, an 'address margin'. The discharge characteristics of the discharge spaces distributed over the entire screen of the AC type PDP may have some deviations, and are also affected by the situation around the discharge space. As described above, while providing "stability" that is constant through initialization so that the write discharge is not affected in various discharge situations, it can be said that the address margin is sufficiently secured when driving at the lowest voltage possible.

The third is a reduction in the 'time' required for the initialization period. In the driving method illustrated in the prior art in FIG. 2, a sequential scan is performed a total of eight times on a 480 line to express a screen of one frame. As a basic method of modifying, a number of subfields are currently used to increase the number of subfields to form one frame of 10 to 12 subfields instead of 8 times. Therefore, if the time required for one initialization period is 300us, it takes 2.4ms for 8 scans, but 3.6ms for 12 scans, in this case 1 / 60 seconds, or 16.7 ms, a substantial portion of the initialization period takes up. If the duration of the initialization period is shortened to about 100us, the initialization period in one frame becomes 1.2ms even for 12 scans, and it is 1 for 2.4ms that can be shortened compared to the above long initialization period. This can be very advantageous, such as adding more conference subfields or extending the duration. As the number of subfields for dividing frames increases, the weight of the time required for the initialization period becomes larger, and the need to shorten the initialization period becomes larger.

Among the voltage waveforms of the initialization period used conventionally, Yoshikawa. et al. employs the method shown in FIG. 3, which is referred to as a 'strong pulse reset waveform'. This creates a strong write discharge across the panel and thus a self-erasing discharge between the erase discharge pulses to ensure "stability" over the discharge space of the entire screen. This method produces very strong light because the strong write discharge of step 2 is at a voltage much higher than the discharge sustain voltage. As a result, this method has a disadvantage in that the dark contrast ratio is not high because the background luminance is significantly increased. In this method, the address margin is known to be relatively good, and since the two erase pulses used during the initialization period have a long RC delay and adopt a waveform having a long time constant or apply a low voltage for a long time, It is known that the time is not relatively short.

There is a method of using a 'ramp waveform' among the conventional voltage waveforms, in which the wall voltage is controlled through the waveform as shown in FIG. In this case, a ramp waveform having a constant slope is used to maintain a weak discharge mode that preferably controls the wall voltage. When the slope of the ramp waveform is limited to a very small value (<10 V / usec), stability and address margin Fully meets the requirements and the background brightness can be suppressed to a significantly lower level than other conventional methods. In this case, however, the time required for the initialization period is inevitably larger.

As described above, the charging agent of the initialization period is stability, and it is important to achieve three requirements on the basis of reducing background luminance, securing address margin, and shortening initialization time. Of these, the address margin is basically a condition that must be met at least for driving the panel, and the reduction of the background brightness and the shortening of the initialization time are desirable requirements for obtaining further improved image quality.

In addition, the background luminance is related to the intensity of the absolute discharge occurring in the initialization period, and the lower the background luminance is, the more important it is to increase the contrast ratio to obtain a clearer picture quality.

The shortening of the time required for initialization contributes to the performance improvement of the plasma display panel in many ways. By shortening the time required for initialization, the remaining times can be allocated to the discharge sustain period, which leads to an increase in luminance. In addition, when one attempts to increase the number of subfields to eight or more as a method of solving a moving picture contour problem, which is a problem in implementing a moving picture of a plasma display panel, a faster initialization is required. Further, when the number of scan electrodes increases with increasing resolution of an image to be implemented, more time must be allocated to the writing period, and thus even faster initialization is required.

The present invention compensates for the shortcomings of the existing initialization methods of the AC type PDP described above, such as lack of stability, high background brightness, or long initialization time, and thus provides sufficient background for stability and address margin. An object of the present invention is to provide a driving method capable of reducing the luminance and reducing the time required for the initialization period to improve the initialization performance.

Furthermore, in the present invention, by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges in which each discharge duration is limited to a low luminance region during the initialization period, the initialization is performed, thereby shortening the initialization period and improving the contrast ratio while reducing the background light emission. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for driving an alternating-current plasma display, which makes a very constant and stable wall charge distribution thereon to facilitate data writing thereafter.                         

Furthermore, the present invention repeatedly applies a plurality of narrow pulses during an initialization period to repeatedly generate a plurality of discharges with a limited discharge duration, and controls the width and the period of the narrow pulses respectively to accumulate between the electrodes. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for driving an alternating-current plasma display to obtain a stable wall charge distribution by effectively controlling the amount of wall charge.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of driving an AC plasma display panel, wherein the AC plasma display panel includes a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode, and a write electrode. In order to display the image information, one frame of the image information is divided into a plurality of subframes, each subframe including an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustaining period, and alternating current inputting driving signals to the electrodes, respectively. A driving method of a plasma display, the method comprising: applying a driving signal including a plurality of narrow pulses which are continuously applied during the initialization period; And performing data writing according to the image information during the address period, wherein the plurality of narrow pulses cause a plurality of discharges to be repeatedly generated during the initialization period, and duration of each of the plurality of discharges. By limiting this, it is possible to form wall charges so that data writing to each of the plurality of discharge cells can be stably performed during the address period.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of driving a plasma display, in order to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode, and a write electrode. A subframe is divided into a plurality of subframes, each subframe includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustain period, and a driving method of an AC plasma display for inputting driving signals to the electrodes, respectively. Accumulating wall charges in the discharge cells during an initialization period; At least one of the accumulated wall charges is repeatedly generated by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges having a limited discharge duration in the discharge cells during the initialization period so that data writing to each of the plurality of discharge cells can be stably performed in the address period. Erasing a portion; And performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period.

A plasma display driving method according to another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the image information is displayed in order to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode, and a write electrode. A subframe is divided into a plurality of subframes, each subframe includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustain period, and a driving method of an AC plasma display for inputting driving signals to the electrodes, respectively. During the initialization period, a plurality of discharges with a limited discharge duration are repeatedly generated in the discharge cells to accumulate wall charges in the discharge cells so that data writing to each of the plurality of discharge cells can be performed stably. step; Erasing at least a portion of the wall charges accumulated in the discharge cells during the initialization period; And performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period.

A plasma display device according to another aspect of the present invention is configured to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode, and a write electrode. An AC type plasma display device for dividing one frame of into a plurality of subframes, wherein each subframe includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustaining period, and inputs driving signals to the electrodes for driving. Circuit means for applying a drive signal comprising a plurality of narrow pulses applied successively during the period; And address means for performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period, wherein the plurality of narrow pulses cause a plurality of discharges to be repeatedly generated during the initialization period, and each of the plurality of discharges is continuous. By limiting the time, wall charges can be formed so that data writing to each of the plurality of discharge cells can be stably performed during the address period.

A plasma display device according to another aspect of the present invention is configured to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode, and a write electrode. An AC type plasma display device for dividing one frame of into a plurality of subframes, wherein each subframe includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustaining period, and inputs driving signals to the electrodes for driving. Writing means for accumulating wall charges in said discharge cell during a period; At least one of the accumulated wall charges is repeatedly generated by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges having a limited discharge duration in the discharge cells during the initialization period so that data writing to each of the plurality of discharge cells can be stably performed in the address period. Erasing means for erasing a part; And address means for performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period.

A plasma display device according to another aspect of the present invention is configured to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode, and a write electrode. An AC plasma display device for dividing one frame of a into a plurality of subframes, wherein each subframe includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustain period, and inputs and drives driving signals to the electrodes, respectively; During the initialization period, a plurality of discharges with a limited discharge duration are repeatedly generated in the discharge cells to accumulate wall charges in the discharge cells so that data writing to each of the plurality of discharge cells can be performed stably. Writing means; Erasing means for erasing at least part of the wall charges accumulated in the discharge cells during the initialization period; And address means for performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period.

Preferably, in the present invention, the amount of wall charges formed at the end of the initialization period can be controlled by adjusting the period and width of the narrow pulse, respectively.

In the present invention, the plurality of narrow pulses repeatedly generate a plurality of discharges generated during the duration of the narrow pulse and turned off by the fall of the narrow pulse, thereby accumulating wall charges in the discharge cells. Can be.

In addition, the plurality of narrow pulses repeatedly generate a plurality of discharges generated during the resting period between the narrow pulses and turned off by the rise of the narrow pulses, thereby erasing wall charges accumulated in the discharge cells. It may be.

In addition, the plurality of narrow pulses are preferably applied to the scan electrode.

The driving signal applied during the initialization period may include a waveform superimposed on a bias voltage in which the plurality of narrow pulses increases or decreases with time.

The driving signal applied during the initialization period may include a waveform superimposed on a step waveform in which the plurality of narrow pulses rise or fall.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with respect to preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a driving waveform in one subfield in a driving method using multiple narrow pulses (the inventors call it 'Multiple Short Pulses') as one embodiment of the driving method of the present invention.

One subfield includes a reset period 10, an address period 20, and a sustain period 30. During the initialization period 10, a write is performed on all screens to discharge cells. A write process H that sufficiently accumulates wall charges in and a erase process L that erases the accumulated wall charges and leaves only the necessary amount for subsequent address discharges are performed.

During the writing process H, the sustain electrode voltage Vsus is maintained at a ground potential, and a driving waveform 110 as shown in the drawing is applied to the scan electrode to form the scan electrode voltage Vsc. Thereafter, the sustain electrode voltage Vsus is maintained at V _E during the erase process L, and the driving waveform 120 as shown in the drawing is applied to the scan electrode. The drive waveform 110 for the write process and the drive waveform 120 for the erase process include multiple narrow pulses.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining the operation of the multiple narrow pulses. When the general voltage pulse 520 having a sufficient width is applied, FIG. 8 shows a change 510 with time of the discharge current flowing between the discharge electrodes in the discharge cell. When a pulse 520 having a sufficient width of several usec or more is applied, the discharge current reaches a maximum after a certain time (usually about 1usec) has elapsed after the application of the pulse. When the wall charge accumulation by the discharge proceeds to offset the external voltage, the electric field inside the discharge cell is weakened and the discharge is no longer maintained, and the discharge is turned off 540 so that no current flows. On the other hand, when the narrow pulse 550 having a voltage pulse width of about several hundred nsec is applied, it is possible to suppress unnecessary light emission in the initialization process by turning off the discharge and limiting the discharge before the discharge becomes sufficiently large. By repeatedly applying 550, it is possible to accumulate sufficient wall charges in the discharge cells. In order to suppress background light emission due to unnecessary light generated during the initialization process, the width of each of the multiple narrow pulses used in the present embodiment is preferably 500 nsec or less.

9 shows an example of multiple narrow pulses (MSPs) usable in the initialization process in the above embodiment. Each pulse in the multiple narrow pulses rises at the rising edge 114 by a predetermined rising voltage 118 and has a falling edge 115. In addition, there is a pause 116 with a predetermined pulse width 117 between each pulse. As also shown, pulse top 112 and base 113 are defined.

12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a writing and erasing process in the initialization process of the above-described embodiment using multiple narrow pulses, and FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a change in wall voltage at this time. As shown in FIG. 12, the sustain electrode voltage Vsus is maintained at the base potential Vg during a write process, and a driving signal Vsc including multiple narrow pulses is applied to the scan electrode. By means of multiple narrow pulses, the discharge is only made during the pulse duration 410 and controlled by the falling edge of the pulse to turn off 420. As each narrow pulse is repeated, the turn-on and turn-off of the discharge occurs repeatedly, and each discharge has a weak discharge because its duration is limited, so that no high-luminance light emission occurs, Accumulation of necessary wall charges occurs in the discharge cells.

In the subsequent erase process, the sustain electrode voltage Vsus is maintained at a predetermined voltage V _E , and a driving signal Vsc including multiple narrow pulses is applied to the scan electrode. In this case, since the polarity is opposite to that of the write process, discharge occurs during the pause period 440 between the pulses, and the discharge is turned off 440 at the rising edge of the pulse. As the short discharge is repeated, the wall charges accumulated in the discharge cells are erased. As shown in FIG. 13, the wall voltage Vw due to the wall charge accumulated during the write process rises due to the accumulation of the wall charge during the pulse duration 410, and is constant during the pause period between the pulse and the pulse. Maintained at voltage 420. In addition, during the erasing process, the wall charge Vw decreases 460 due to the erase of the wall charge during the pause period 440 between the pulses, and is maintained at the constant voltage 450 during the pulse duration. .

FIG. 6 illustrates a configuration of driving waveforms during one subfield when performing an initialization process using stepped multiple narrow pulses as another embodiment of the present invention.

During the writing process H, the sustain electrode voltage Vsus is maintained at the ground potential, and the driving waveform 210 as shown in the drawing is applied to the scan electrode to form the scan electrode voltage Vsc. Subsequently, the sustain electrode voltage Vsus is maintained at V _E during the erase process L, and a driving waveform 220 as shown in the drawing is applied to the scan electrode. The driving waveform 210 for the writing process and the driving waveform 220 for the erasing process are stepped and have multiple narrow pulses in which the voltage at the upper end thereof increases (the present inventors call the stepwise multiple short pulses (SMSP)). Naming).

10 shows an example of a stepped multiple narrow pulse (SMSP) that can be used in the initialization process in the above embodiment. Each pulse in the stepped multiple narrow pulses rises at the rising edge 214 by a predetermined rising voltage 218 and has a falling edge 215. Further, there is a pause 216 with a predetermined pulse width 217 between each pulse. As also shown, pulse top 212 and base 213 are defined. The upper end 212 of each pulse is configured to gradually increase its voltage value as shown, or to gradually lower its voltage value as in the erase period L shown in FIG. During the writing process H shown in FIG. 6, as the discharge occurs during the sustain period of each narrow pulse and the process of repeatedly turning off the discharge by the falling edge 215 of each narrow pulse, the duration time This limited number of repetitive discharges can cause the accumulation of necessary wall charges while suppressing background luminance. As shown in FIG. 6, during the erasing process L, a discharge occurs during the rest period between the narrow pulse and the narrow pulse, and the discharge is turned off at the rising edge 214 of the narrow pulse, so that a plurality of repetitive times of limited duration are limited. Phosphorous discharge enables erasing of accumulated wall charges while suppressing background luminance.

FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of a driving waveform during one subfield when performing an initialization process using ramp type multiple narrow pulses as another embodiment of the present invention.

During the writing process H, the sustain electrode voltage Vsus is maintained at a ground potential, and a driving waveform 310 as shown in the drawing is applied to the scan electrode to form the scan electrode voltage Vsc. Thereafter, the sustain electrode voltage Vsus is maintained at V _E during the erase process L, and the driving waveform 320 as shown in the drawing is applied to the scan electrode. The driving waveform 310 for the writing process and the driving waveform 320 for the erasing process are linearly increased in the form of multiple narrow pulses of which the voltage at the top thereof is increased. Naming).

11 illustrates an example of a ramp type multiple narrow pulse (RMSP) that can be used in an initialization process in the driving method of the present invention. Each pulse in a ramped multiple narrow pulse rises at a rising edge 314 by a predetermined rising voltage 318 and has a falling edge 315. In addition, there is a pause 316 with a predetermined pulse width 317 between each pulse. As also shown, pulse top 312 and base 313 are defined. The upper end 312 of each pulse is configured to gradually increase its voltage value as shown, or is configured to gradually lower its voltage value as in the erase period L shown in FIG. During the writing process H shown in FIG. 7, as the discharge occurs during the duration of each narrow pulse and the process of repeatedly turning off the discharge by the falling edge 315 of each narrow pulse, the duration time This limited number of repetitive discharges can cause the accumulation of necessary wall charges while suppressing background luminance. As shown in FIG. 7, during the erasing process L, a discharge occurs during the rest period between the narrow pulse and the narrow pulse, and the discharge is turned off at the rising edge 314 of the narrow pulse, so that a plurality of repetitive times of limited duration are limited. Phosphorous discharge enables erasing of accumulated wall charges while suppressing background luminance.

In the case of performing initialization using the various types of multiple narrow pulses described above, the magnitudes of the rising voltages of the pulses (118, 218, 318), the pulse durations (117, 217, 317), and the resting periods (116, 216). , The amount of wall charge required for initialization, the temporal length of the initialization interval required for stable address, and the degree of background light emission can be controlled to suit the specifications required by each display device. .

In addition, when the multiple narrow pulse in FIG. 13 is used, when the stepped narrow pulse in FIG. 10 is used, or when the ramp-type narrow pulse in FIG. 11 is used, the discharge is turned off quickly so that the continuous It shares the main feature of the present invention that it produces a time-limited discharge repeatedly. In the case of the stepped narrow pulse of FIG. 10 and the ramp-shaped narrow pulse of FIG. 11, the magnitudes of the rising voltages of the pulses of the applied pulses 118, 218, and 318, the pulse durations 117, 217, and 317, and the pause period 116. , 216 and 316, as well as the voltage difference (ΔV) between the pulse and the pulse can be controlled to control the amount of wall charge required for initialization, the temporal length of the initialization interval required for a stable address and the degree of background light emission.

FIG. 14 illustrates a configuration of a display apparatus when driving an AC plasma display panel according to the embodiment of FIG. 7.

Here, the scan electrode driving circuit 66 is a circuit 64 for processing the connection between the discharge holding circuit 61, the bias voltage applying circuit 62, the narrow pulse applying circuit 63, the discharge holding circuit and the other parts. ), And a scan driving circuit 65 which sequentially scans the scan electrodes 69 in the writing period, respectively, in which the discharge sustain voltage 45, the bias voltage 46, and the narrow pulse are provided. Voltage 47 is required. The write electrode driver circuit 80 enables the application of data pulses to the write electrode 89, and the sustain electrode driver circuit 70 enables the discharge sustain and erase pulses to be applied to the sustain electrode 79.

As described above, specific embodiments have been described in the detailed description of the present invention, but various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, unlike the embodiment of FIG. 7 where the bias voltage increases linearly, a log waveform or a waveform having any other temporally increasing voltage pattern may be provided as the bias voltage. Unlike the above embodiments, the narrow pulse is applied to the multiple narrow pulses only in some intervals, and other types of voltages such as the simple pulse or the ramp waveform of FIG. 4 are applied to the remaining intervals. Many variations are possible, such as placing a constant pause between several narrow pulses and several narrow pulses.

However, all of the above cases, including the above-described modifications, are within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention to improve the performance of initialization by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges having a limited duration during the initialization period. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that it is within the range of. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

By using the AC plasma display panel driving method of the present invention, it is possible to improve the initialization performance by reducing the background luminance and reducing the time required for the initialization period while maintaining the stability and the address margin sufficiently.

In addition, according to the present invention, by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges in which each discharge duration is limited to a low luminance region during the initialization period, the initialization is performed, thereby shortening the initialization period and improving the contrast ratio while reducing the background light emission. It is possible to provide a method and apparatus for driving an alternating-current plasma display that can make a very constant and stable wall charge distribution throughout the panel to facilitate data writing thereafter.

In addition, according to the present invention, a plurality of narrow pulses are repeatedly applied during an initialization period to repeatedly generate a plurality of discharges having a limited discharge duration, and control the width and the period of the narrow pulse, respectively, to accumulate between the electrodes. There is provided a method and apparatus for driving an alternating current plasma display that can achieve a stable wall charge distribution by effectively controlling the amount of wall charge.

Claims (18)

delete delete delete delete delete In order to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode and a write electrode, one frame of the image information is divided into a plurality of subframes, In a driving method of an AC plasma display, the sub-frame includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustain period, and inputs driving signals to the electrodes, respectively. During the initialization period, a plurality of narrow pulses are generated which repeatedly generate a plurality of discharges in the cell and limit the duration of each of the plurality of discharges by adjusting the width and period of the pulse to control the amount of wall charges formed in the cell. Applying a driving signal to the scan electrode; Performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period; The driving signal applied during the initialization period, And the plurality of narrow pulses include a waveform superimposed on a bias voltage that increases or decreases with time. In order to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode and a write electrode, one frame of the image information is divided into a plurality of subframes, In a driving method of an AC plasma display, the sub-frame includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustain period, and inputs driving signals to the electrodes, respectively. During the initialization period, a plurality of narrow pulses are generated which repeatedly generate a plurality of discharges in the cell and limit the duration of each of the plurality of discharges by adjusting the width and period of the pulse to control the amount of wall charges formed in the cell. Applying a driving signal to the scan electrode; Performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period; The driving signal applied during the initialization period, And a waveform superimposed on a step waveform in which the plurality of narrow pulses rise or fall. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the plurality of narrow pulses, A driving waveform for writing, accumulating wall charges in the discharge cells by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges generated during the duration of each narrow pulse and turned off by the falling of each narrow pulse; A driving waveform for the erasing process is formed to erase the wall charges accumulated in the discharge cells by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges generated during the resting period between the narrow pulses and turned off by the rise of each narrow pulse. Method for driving a plasma display, characterized in that. delete delete delete delete delete delete In order to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode and a write electrode, one frame of the image information is divided into a plurality of subframes, In the AC plasma display apparatus, the sub-frame includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustain period, and drives driving signals by inputting driving signals to the electrodes, respectively. During the initialization period, a plurality of narrow widths which can generate a plurality of discharges repeatedly in the cell and limit the duration of each of the plurality of discharges by controlling the width and period of the pulse to control the amount of wall charges formed in the cell. Circuit means for applying a drive signal comprising a pulse to said scan electrode; And Address means for performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period; The driving signal applied during the initialization period, And the plurality of narrow pulses include a waveform superimposed on a bias voltage that increases or decreases with time. In order to display predetermined image information on an AC plasma display panel including a plurality of discharge cells each having a scan electrode, a sustain electrode and a write electrode, one frame of the image information is divided into a plurality of subframes, In the AC plasma display apparatus, the sub-frame includes an initialization period, a writing period, and a sustain period, and drives driving signals by inputting driving signals to the electrodes, respectively. During the initialization period, a plurality of narrow widths which can generate a plurality of discharges repeatedly in the cell and limit the duration of each of the plurality of discharges by controlling the width and period of the pulse to control the amount of wall charges formed in the cell. Circuit means for applying a drive signal comprising a pulse to said scan electrode; And Address means for performing data writing in accordance with the image information during the address period; The driving signal applied during the initialization period, And a waveform superimposed on a step waveform in which the plurality of narrow pulses rise or fall. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the plurality of narrow pulses, A driving waveform for writing, accumulating wall charges in the discharge cells by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges generated during the duration of each narrow pulse and turned off by the falling of each narrow pulse; A driving waveform for the erasing process is formed to erase the wall charges accumulated in the discharge cells by repeatedly generating a plurality of discharges generated during the resting period between the narrow pulses and turned off by the rise of each narrow pulse. Plasma display driving apparatus characterized in that. delete

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