KR100612383B1 - Plasma display panel and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plasma display panel and a driving method thereof. According to the present invention, sustain discharge voltage pulses having different magnitudes are applied to the X electrode and the Y electrode of the plasma display panel during the sustain period. In this way, the discharge can be smoothly generated even in a discharge cell that cannot establish a sufficient wall voltage, thereby improving the discharge margin and preventing malfunction of the panel.

Plasma Display Panel, Wall Charge, Maintenance Discharge

Description

Plasma display panel and its driving method {PLASMA DISPLAY PANEL AND DRIVING METHOD THEREOF}

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

2 is an arrangement diagram of electrodes of a plasma display panel.

3 is a driving waveform diagram of a conventional plasma display panel.

4A to 4C are wall charge distribution diagrams of the driving waveforms shown in FIG.

5 is a view showing sustain discharge pulse waveforms applied to the X electrode and the Y electrode of the plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6A to 6D are wall charge distribution diagrams by driving waveforms according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of driving a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly to a method of driving a plasma display panel for improving the efficiency of sustain discharge.

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 that the current is limited by the formation of a natural capacitance component, and the life is longer than that of the DC type since 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 glass substrate 1. A plurality of address electrodes 8 covered with the insulator layer 7 are provided on the second glass 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 glass substrate 1 and the second glass substrate 6 have a 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. They are arranged to face each other. 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.

2 shows an electrode arrangement diagram of the plasma display panel.

As shown in Fig. 2, the PDP electrode has a matrix structure of m x n. Specifically, the address electrodes A1 to Am are arranged in the column direction and the n rows of scanning electrodes Y1 to the row direction. Yn) and sustain electrodes X1 to Xn are arranged in a zigzag. Hereinafter, the scanning electrode will be referred to as "Y electrode" and the sustain electrode as "X electrode". The discharge cell 12 shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the discharge cell 12 shown in FIG.

3 is a view showing a driving waveform diagram of a plasma display panel according to the prior art.

As shown in Fig. 3, according to the conventional PDP driving method, each subfield is composed of a reset section, an address section, and a sustain section.

The reset section serves to erase the wall charge state of the previous sustain discharge and to set up wall charge in order to stably perform the next address discharge. The address section is a section in which wall charges are accumulated on cells (addressed cells) turned on by selecting cells turned on and cells not turned on in the panel. The sustain section is a section in which a discharge for actually displaying an image on the addressed cell is applied by alternately applying a sustain discharge pulse Vs to the X electrode and the Y electrode.

In this case, the wall charge refers to a charge formed in the wall of the discharge cell (eg, the dielectric layer) close to each electrode and accumulated in the electrode. Such wall charges are not actually in contact with the electrodes themselves, but here wall charges are described as "formed", "accumulated" or "stacked" on the electrodes. In addition, wall voltage refers to the potential difference formed in the wall of a discharge cell by wall charge.

Hereinafter, the operation of the holding section according to the conventional PDP driving method will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

4A and 4B are wall charge distribution diagrams in the holding section by the driving waveform shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a sustain voltage pulse Vs is applied to the X electrodes of the two discharge cells Cell 1 and Cell 2 at T1, and the Y electrode is maintained at 0V. Then, a sustain discharge is generated between the X electrode and the Y electrode, and as a result, negative charge is accumulated at the X electrode and positive charge is accumulated at the Y electrode as shown in FIG. 4B. However, due to the nonuniformity of the two discharge cells Cell 1 and Cell 2, sufficient wall charges are accumulated in the discharge cell Cell 1 at T2, but sufficient wall charges are not accumulated in the discharge cell Cell 2.

In this state, a sustain voltage pulse Vs is applied to the Y electrodes of the two discharge cells Cell 1 and Cell 2 to T _NG , and the X electrode is maintained at 0V. Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the discharge occurs again in the discharge cell Cell 1 in which the wall charges are sufficiently accumulated by the previous sustain voltage pulse, but the sustain discharge pulse in the discharge cell Cell 2 in which the wall charges are not sufficiently accumulated. Even when is applied, the discharge does not occur or occurs unstable because the wall voltage does not exceed the discharge start voltage. Therefore, there is a fear that the operation margin is lowered and malfunction occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a method of driving a plasma display panel that can improve an operating margin.

A driving method of a plasma display panel according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the technical problem is a driving method of a plasma display panel including a plurality of first electrodes and a second electrode,

In the maintenance section,

a) applying a plurality of first voltage pulses to said first electrode; And b) applying a plurality of second voltage pulses, wherein a second voltage pulse is applied between the first voltage pulses, to the second electrode,

The amount of light of the first voltage pulse and the second voltage pulse is different.

In this case, it is preferable that the first voltage and the second voltage have different magnitudes, or the first voltage pulse and the second voltage pulse have different widths.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a plasma display panel includes: a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other at a predetermined interval; A plurality of address electrodes arranged on the first substrate; A plurality of first electrodes and second electrodes arranged on the second substrate to intersect the address electrodes; A plasma display panel comprising a driving circuit for transmitting a driving signal to the first electrode, the second electrode and the address electrode in a reset period and an address period and a sustain period.

The driving circuit in the holding section,

Applying a plurality of first voltage pulses to the first electrode, applying a plurality of second voltage pulses (where a second voltage pulse is applied between the first voltage pulses) to the second electrode, It is preferable that the amount of light of the one voltage pulse and the second voltage pulse is different.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the specification.

First, a driving waveform of the plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

5 illustrates sustain discharge pulse waveforms applied to X and Y electrodes of a plasma display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a sustain discharge voltage (Vs) pulse having the same magnitude is applied to the X electrode in the sustain period, and the sustain discharge voltage applied to the X electrode is larger in magnitude than the sustain electrode. Apply a large voltage (Vs') pulse.

Next, the wall charge distribution when the sustain discharge pulse waveform is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6D.

6A to 6D are wall charge distribution diagrams by driving waveforms according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6A, a sustain voltage pulse Vs is applied to the X electrodes of the two discharge cells Cell 1 and Cell 2 at T1, and the Y electrode is maintained at 0V. Then, a sustain discharge occurs between the X electrode and the Y electrode, and as a result, negative charges are accumulated on the X electrodes of the discharge cells Cell 1 and Cell 2 and positive charges are provided on the Y electrodes as shown in FIG. 6B. Accumulates. However, due to the nonuniformity of the two discharge cells Cell 1 and Cell 2, sufficient wall charges are accumulated in the discharge cell Cell 1 at T2, but sufficient wall charges are not accumulated in the discharge cell Cell 2.

On the other hand, the voltage at which discharge occurs between the X electrode and the Y electrode is as follows.

Vf, xy = Ve + Vw, xy

Here, Vf, xy represents a firing voltage between the X electrode and the Y electrode, Vw, xy represents the voltage (wall voltage) due to wall charges accumulated on the X electrode and the Y electrode, and Ve is an externally applied X electrode. And the voltage between the and Y electrodes.

As can be seen from the above equation, the discharge between the X electrode and the Y electrode is equal to the sum of the wall voltage (Vw, xy) and the voltage applied to the X electrode and the Y electrode from the outside of the discharge start voltage (Vf, xy) or more. Discharge occurs.

However, since sufficient wall charge is not formed in the discharge cell (Cell 2) at T2, no discharge occurs between the X electrode and the Y electrode even when the same sustain discharge voltage pulse Vs is applied to the Y electrode as in T1.

Accordingly, a voltage pulse Vs' larger in magnitude than a sustain voltage pulse Vs applied to the X electrode is applied to the Y electrode of each of the two discharge cells Cell 1 and Cell 2, and the X electrode is maintained at 0V. do. Then, the sum of the wall voltage of the discharge cell Cell 2 and the voltage applied to the electrode is equal to or higher than the discharge start voltage by the high sustain discharge pulse Vs', and as a result, as shown in FIG. As a result, the discharge occurs not only in the discharge cell (Cell 1) in which the wall charges are sufficiently accumulated, but also in the discharge cell (Cell 2) in which the wall charges are not sufficiently accumulated.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6D, sufficient wall charges are accumulated in the discharge cells Cell 1 and 2 at T4 after the sustain discharge, and thereafter, as shown in T1 of FIG. 6A, the two discharge cells Cell 1 and Cell 2 are formed. ) Even when a low sustain voltage pulse Vs is applied to each X electrode, a sustain discharge occurs between the X electrode and the Y electrode.

In this way, the sustain discharge voltage pulses are applied to the X electrode and the Y electrode alternately, but the sustain discharge voltage pulses (Vs, Vs') having different magnitudes are applied to all the discharge cells including the discharge cells that cannot build a sufficient wall voltage. The discharge can be made smoothly.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, a sustain discharge voltage (Vs) pulse having the same magnitude as the conventional one is applied to the X electrode in the sustain period, and a voltage (Vs') pulse larger than the sustain discharge voltage applied to the X electrode is applied to the Y electrode. Although the method of applying is described, on the contrary, a sustain discharge voltage (Vs) pulse having the same magnitude is applied to the Y electrode in the sustain period, and a voltage (Vs) larger than the sustain discharge voltage applied to the Y electrode is applied to the X electrode. ') Pulse may be applied.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the magnitude of the low voltage pulse among the sustain discharge voltage pulses applied to the X electrode or the Y electrode may be set slightly lower than the conventional sustain discharge voltage Vs. In the embodiment of the present invention, since sufficient wall charges are formed in all the discharge cells by the high sustain discharge voltage Vs' pulse, sufficient discharge occurs even if a slightly lower voltage is applied as the next sustain discharge voltage pulse.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the magnitude of the sustain discharge voltage Vs' pulse is applied differently from the magnitude of the sustain discharge voltage Vs. Alternatively, the width of the sustain discharge voltage Vs' is applied to the sustain discharge voltage Vs'. It can also be made to generate a strong discharge by making it larger than the width of.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various other changes and modifications are possible.

As described above, according to the present invention, by applying sustain discharge voltage pulses having different magnitudes to the X electrode and the Y electrode of the plasma display panel, the discharge can occur smoothly even in the discharge cells that cannot build a sufficient wall voltage. Can be. Therefore, the discharge margin is improved and the malfunction of the panel can be prevented.                     

In addition, power consumption can be reduced by setting a low sustain discharge voltage lower than a conventional sustain discharge voltage.

Claims (6)

delete delete In the driving method of a plasma display panel comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes, During the maintenance interval, Applying a plurality of first voltage pulses to the first electrode, and Applying a plurality of second voltage pulses to the second electrode Including; The second voltage pulse is applied between the first voltage pulses, And the width of the second voltage pulse is greater than the width of the first voltage pulse. delete delete A plurality of address electrodes, A plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes arranged to intersect the address electrode; A driving circuit which sends a driving signal to the first electrode, the second electrode, and the address electrode in a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period, The driving circuit applies a plurality of first voltage pulses to the first electrode and a plurality of second voltage pulses to the second electrode during the sustain period. The second voltage pulse is applied between the first voltage pulses, And a first voltage pulse and a second voltage pulse having different widths.

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