KR100626086B1 - Method for driving plasma display panel and plasma display apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display panel driving method and a plasma display apparatus driven by the plasma display panel to detect the altitude of the plasma display panel to vary the sustain discharge voltage according to the altitude so that the discharge is stably performed.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the discharge cells are defined in an area where a plurality of electrodes intersect, a unit frame for displaying an image is divided into a plurality of subfields, and each subfield is a whole. The sustain discharge is initialized according to a reset period for initializing the discharge cells, an address period for distinguishing a cell that should be turned on and a cell that should not be turned on, and a gray scale weight assigned to each subfield in a discharge cell selected as a cell to be turned on. A method of driving a plasma display panel divided into a sustain period to be performed, and a plasma display apparatus driven by the same, wherein, in a sustain period, first and second electrodes extending in parallel with each other among a plurality of electrodes have a high level and a low level. Alternately applies a holding pulse having a level, but detects the altitude of the plasma display panel. Depending on the height and provides a driving method and thus the plasma display apparatus is driven by the plasma display panel to vary the high level of the sustain pulse.

Description

Method for driving plasma display panel and plasma display device driven by the same {Method for driving plasma display panel and plasma display apparatus using the same}

1 is a view briefly illustrating a power supply unit supplying a driving voltage to a plasma display panel.

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a plasma display device.

3 is a timing diagram showing a conventional driving signal for driving a plasma display panel.

4 is a block diagram schematically showing a plasma display device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the altitude sensing controller of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating a drive signal output from the plasma display device of FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

400.Image processing unit 402 Logic control unit

404 ... Y drive 406 ... address drive

408 ... X drive 410 ... power supply

420 Altitude Sensing Control Unit 502 Altitude Sensing Control Unit

504 ... voltage storage by altitude 506 ... voltage control

Y1, ..., Yn ... first electrodes or scan electrodes

X1, ..., Xn ... second electrodes or sustain electrodes

A1, ..., Am ... third electrodes or address electrodes

Vs, Vs1, Vs2 ... high levels of sustain pulse

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display panel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a plasma display panel. A method of driving a display panel and a plasma display device driven by the same.

Recently, a plasma display panel, which is drawing attention as a replacement of a conventional cathode ray tube display device, is discharged after a discharge gas is filled between two substrates on which a plurality of electrodes are formed. The phosphor formed in a predetermined pattern by the ultraviolet rays is excited to obtain a desired image.

1 is a view schematically illustrating a power supply unit supplying a driving voltage to a plasma display panel, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a plasma display device.

1 and 2, the power supply unit 100 receives an input voltage (AC voltage) and outputs various voltages (DC voltages) to respective driving devices of the plasma display panel 1.

2 shows a plasma display apparatus, which includes an image processor 200, a logic controller 202, a Y driver 204, an address driver 206, an X driver 208, a power supply unit 100, and a plasma display panel 1. This is shown.

The image processor 200 receives an external image signal input from the outside and performs signal processing to output an internal image signal, and the logic controller 202 drives each of the drivers 204, 206, and 208 to drive the electrodes of the plasma display panel 1. Outputs a drive control signal, and the Y driver 204, the address driver 206, and the X driver 208 apply driving signals to the scan electrodes, the address electrodes, and the sustain electrodes of the plasma display panel 1, respectively. .

3 is a timing diagram showing a conventional driving signal for driving a plasma display panel.

Referring to the drawings, a driving signal output from each driving unit of FIG. 2 is applied to each electrode as shown in FIG. 3.

In the method of driving a plasma display panel for time division gray scale representation, a unit frame, which is a basic unit for displaying an image, is divided into a plurality of subfields having respective gray scale weights, and each subfield is divided into a reset period, an address period, and a sustain discharge period. Divided.

In the reset period PR, the wall charge state is initialized so that the wall charge state is uniform in all the discharge cells of the plasma display panel. In the address period PA, the address discharge is performed in the discharge cells to be turned on among the discharge cells. A predetermined wall charge is accumulated in the discharge cell, and the address discharge is not performed in the discharge cell that should not be turned on. In the sustain period PS, the sustain discharge is performed only in the discharge cell selected as the discharge cell to be turned on in the address period PA. Perform gradation expression.

In general, the gas pressure injected into the discharge cells of the plasma display panel is set to be somewhat smaller than the atmospheric pressure. When the plasma display panel is operated at a high altitude, the atmospheric pressure decreases, and the pressure inside the panel becomes larger than when the plasma display panel is operated on a flat surface, the noise on the front of the panel increases, and the discharge is unstable. As a result, there was a problem that low discharge occurs.

The present invention has been made to solve various problems, including the above problems, a method of driving a plasma display panel to detect the altitude and to vary the discharge voltage according to the detected altitude so that the discharge in the panel is stably performed, and An object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display device that is driven by the same.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, discharge cells are defined in an area where a plurality of electrodes cross each other, and a unit frame for displaying an image is divided into a plurality of subfields, and each subfield is divided into entire discharge cells. A sustain discharge is performed according to a reset period for initializing, an address period for distinguishing a cell to be turned on and a cell not to be turned out of all the discharge cells, and a gray scale weight assigned to each subfield in the discharge cell selected as the cell to be turned on. In the method of driving a plasma display panel divided into periods,

In the sustain period, a sustain pulse having a high level and a low level is alternately applied to the first electrodes and the second electrodes extending in parallel with each other among the plurality of electrodes, and the altitude of the plasma display panel is sensed to detect the altitude. Accordingly, a method of driving a plasma display panel which varies a high level of a sustain pulse is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, it is desirable to increase the high level of the sustain pulse as the sensed altitude increases.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the reset period, a rising pulse and a falling pulse are applied to the first electrodes, a positive bias voltage is applied to the second electrodes while the falling pulse is applied, and the first electrode is applied. A ground voltage is applied to the third electrodes extending across the second and second electrodes,

During the address period, the scan pulses having the high level are sequentially applied to the first electrodes, and the scan pulses having the low level are sequentially applied, the bias voltage is continuously applied to the second electrodes, and the positive address is applied to the third electrodes in accordance with the scan pulse. A display data signal having a voltage is applied.

The present invention also provides a first substrate and a second substrate disposed to be spaced apart from each other, a plurality of electrodes disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and a region where the plurality of electrodes intersect. A plasma display panel including a partition defining a discharge cell, a phosphor layer disposed in the discharge cell, and a discharge gas disposed in the discharge cell;

A driving unit applying a plurality of driving voltages to each of the plurality of electrodes;

A power supply unit generating a driving voltage; And

And an altitude sensing controller configured to sense an altitude of the plasma display panel and output a voltage control signal for varying at least one driving voltage among the plurality of driving voltages according to the sensed altitude.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the altitude detection control unit,

An altitude sensing unit sensing an altitude of the plasma display panel;

An altitude voltage storage unit configured to output a target voltage according to the sensed altitude; And

And a voltage controller which outputs a voltage control signal to a power supply by comparing a target voltage with a reference voltage.

According to another aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the potential of the variable driving voltage increases as the sensed altitude is higher.

According to another feature of the present invention, the variable driving voltage may be a sustain discharge voltage for performing a sustain discharge between a plurality of electrodes.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram schematically showing a plasma display device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the altitude sensing controller of FIG. 4.

4 to 5, the plasma display apparatus of the present invention includes an image processor, a logic controller, a Y driver, an address driver, an X driver, a plasma display panel, a power supply, and an altitude sensing controller.

Although not shown in the drawings, the plasma display panel 1 may include a first substrate and a second substrate spaced apart from each other, a plurality of electrodes disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and intersecting and extending. A partition defining a discharge cell as a discharge space together with the first substrate and the second substrate in a region where the two electrodes cross each other, a phosphor layer disposed in the discharge cell, and a discharge gas disposed in the discharge cell. As the discharge gas, Ne, Xe and the like and a mixed gas thereof are used. The partition structure of the plasma display panel may be formed in various forms, for example, may be formed in a matrix structure. Meanwhile, in relation to the plurality of electrodes, the plasma display panel may have a two-electrode structure including first electrodes and second electrodes extending to cross each other, and the first and second electrodes extending in parallel with each other. And a third electrode extending across the direction in which the first electrodes and the second electrodes extend. 4 shows a three-electrode structure.

The image processor 400 receives an external video signal such as a PC signal, a DVD signal, a video signal, or a TV signal from the outside, converts an analog signal into a digital signal, and processes the digital signal into an internal video signal. The internal video signals are 8-bit red (R), green (G), and blue (B) image data, clock signals, and vertical and horizontal sync signals, respectively.

The logic controller 402 receives the internal image signal from the image processor 400 and undergoes a gamma correction, an automatic power control (APC) step, and the like, to drive the Y drive control signal SY and the A drive control signal SA, respectively. , X drive control signal (SX) is output.

The Y driver 404 receives the Y drive control signal SY from the logic controller 402 and applies a drive signal to the first electrode (scanning electrode), and the address driver 406 receives the signal from the logic controller 402. In response to the address driving control signal SA, a driving signal is applied to the third electrode (address electrode), and the X driving unit 408 transmits the X driving control signal SX from the logic controller 402 to the second electrode (holding electrode). Is applied to the drive signal. Hereinafter, the first electrode will also be described as a scan electrode, the second electrode will be described as a scan electrode, and the third electrode will be described as an address electrode.

The Y driver 404 applies a reset pulse to the scan electrodes in the reset period. The reset pulse may be composed of only the falling pulse, and may be composed of the rising pulse and the falling pulse. The discharge cells are initialized while the wall charges are accumulated or erased in the discharge cells by the reset pulse. In addition, while maintaining the high level in the address period, the scan pulses having the low level are sequentially applied, and the sustain pulses having the high level and the low level are applied in the sustain period.

The address driver 406 applies a display data signal having a high level to the address electrodes in accordance with the scan pulse in the address period. The address discharge is performed in the address period by the display data signal and the scanning pulse.

The X driver 408 applies a bias voltage to the sustain electrodes from a falling pulse of the reset pulses to the end of the address period in the reset period, and applies a sustain pulse having a high level and a low level in the sustain period. Alternately applies the sustain pulse output from the driver.

The power supply unit 410 supplies a voltage required for each driving device. To this end, the power supply unit 410 is an AC / DC converter (not shown) for rectifying the AC voltage and outputting a rectified DC voltage, a power factor correction unit (not shown) for compensating the power factor of the rectified DC voltage and thereby; A DC / DC converter (not shown) for receiving power factor corrected DC voltage and outputting various DC voltages used in the plasma display panel may be included.

Referring to the voltage output from the power supply unit 410, since the logic controller 402 and the image processor 400 mainly perform signal processing, the ground voltage Vg and the control voltage Vc are output from the power supply unit 410. The Y driver 404 outputs a reset pulse consisting of a rising pulse and a falling pulse, a scan pulse, and a sustain pulse, so that the sustain discharge voltage Vs, the rise voltage Vset, the fall lowest voltage Vnf, and the scan high are generated. Since the voltage Vsch, the scan low voltage Vscl, and the ground voltage Vg are output from the power supply 410, and the address driver 406 outputs a display data signal, the address voltage Va and the ground voltage Vg. ) Is output from the power supply unit 410, and the X driver 408 outputs the bias voltage Vb and the sustain pulse, so that the bias voltage Vb, the sustain discharge voltage Vs, and the ground voltage Vg are the power supply unit. Is output from

The altitude sensing control unit 420 detects an altitude of the plasma display panel 1 and controls the power supply unit 410 to output a target voltage for each altitude previously stored according to the sensed altitude.

To this end, the altitude sensing control unit 420 includes an altitude sensing unit 502, an altitude-specific voltage storage unit 504, and a voltage control unit 506.

The altitude detector 502 detects an altitude of the plasma display panel 1 and outputs a current altitude. The altitude-specific voltage storage unit 504 stores a target voltage in advance for each altitude, and outputs a target voltage corresponding to the current altitude detected by the altitude detecting unit 502. The altitude-specific voltage storage unit 504 may be implemented as a lookup table. The voltage controller 506 receives a target voltage output from the voltage storage unit 504 for each altitude, and compares it with a reference voltage to output a voltage control signal. The voltage control signal may be a voltage control signal for the difference between the reference voltage and the target voltage. The voltage control signal is input to the power supply unit 410 so that the voltage level (potential) of at least one driving voltage among the plurality of driving voltages output from the power supply unit 410 is varied according to the altitude. The driving voltage that varies according to the altitude may be a high level of the sustain pulse, that is, the sustain discharge voltage that causes the sustain discharge to be performed between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode in the sustain period, and the address discharge is performed between the scan electrode and the address electrode. It may be an address voltage Va or a scan low voltage Vscl.

 As the altitude of the plasma display panel increases, the atmospheric pressure on the outside of the panel decreases as compared with the gas pressure of the discharge gas inside the panel, so that the pressure inside the panel increases. Therefore, the voltage level (potential) of the variable driving voltage is increased. It is desirable to increase. That is, if the variable driving voltage is the sustain discharge voltage of the sustain pulse, it is preferable to increase the level of the sustain discharge voltage as the altitude of the panel increases, and to decrease the level of the sustain discharge voltage as the altitude of the panel decreases. This method can also be applied to the case of varying the address voltage.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating a drive signal output from the plasma display device of FIG. 4.

The gray scale representation method of the plasma display panel is a time division gray scale representation method, and an example ADS (Address display separation) driving method is used. According to the ADS driving method, a unit frame, which is a basic unit for displaying an image, is divided into a plurality of subfields to which respective gray scale weights are assigned, and each subfield SF includes a reset period PR for initializing all discharge cells; An address period PA for distinguishing a discharge cell to be turned on and a discharge cell not to be turned on among all the discharge cells, and a sustain period for performing sustain discharge as much as a gray scale weight assigned to the discharge cell selected as the discharge cell to be turned on ( PS).

Hereinafter, a driving method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, in the reset period PR, rising pulses and falling pulses are applied to the scan electrodes Y1, ..., Yn. The rising pulse and the falling pulse are shown as ramp pulses, but are not limited thereto and may rise and fall in a parabolic form. The rising pulse rises from the sustain discharge voltage or the high level of the sustain pulse, that is, from the sustain discharge voltage (Vs) to the rise voltage (Vset), and finally reaches the rise final voltage (Vs + Vset). It drops from the high level, that is, the sustain discharge voltage Vs, and finally falls to the lowest voltage Vnf falling. When the falling pulse is applied, the positive bias voltage Vb is applied to the sustain electrodes X1, ..., and Xn, and the ground voltage Vg is applied to the address electrodes A1, ..., Am throughout the reset period. ) Is applied. The application of the rising pulse causes negative wall charges to accumulate in the vicinity of the scan electrodes, and positive wall charges to accumulate in the vicinity of the address electrodes and sustain electrodes. A weak reset discharge is performed in the discharge cell while the negative wall charges accumulated near the scan electrodes start to be erased by the application of the falling pulse. As such, since the reset discharge is performed while the wall charges are accumulated and erased in the discharge cells, only a small amount of wall charges remain in the entire discharge cells at the end of the reset period PR.

In the address period PA, the scan pulses having the high level, that is, the scan high voltage Vsch and the low level, that is, the scan low voltage Vscl, are sequentially applied to the scan electrodes Y1, ..., and Yn. A display data signal having a positive address voltage Va is selected to be applied to the address electrodes A1, ..., Am in accordance with the scanning pulse. The bias voltage Vb is applied to the sustain electrodes X1, ..., Xn throughout the address period. The address discharge is performed between the scan electrode and the address electrode in the discharge cell by the scan pulse and the display data signal, and at the end of the address period, positive wall charges are accumulated near the scan electrodes and negative wall charges are accumulated near the sustain electrodes. do.

In the sustain period PS, a sustain pulse having a high level, that is, a sustain discharge voltage Vs and a low level, that is, a ground voltage vg, is applied to the scan electrodes Y1, ..., Yn. The sustain pulse is also applied to the sustain electrodes X1, ..., Xn, but is alternately applied to the sustain pulses applied to the scan electrodes Y1, ..., Yn. The ground voltage vg is continuously applied to the address electrodes Al, ..., Am. When the first sustain pulse is applied, the wall charge accumulated in the discharge cell at the end of the address period PA, the high level of the sustain pulse applied to the scan electrode, and the low level of the sustain pulse applied to the sustain electrode, that is, the ground voltage Vg. The first sustain discharge is performed, and after completion of the first sustain discharge, negative wall charges accumulate near the scan electrodes and positive wall charges accumulate near the sustain electrodes. When the second sustain pulse is applied, the wall charge accumulated in the discharge cell after the end of the first sustain discharge, the high level of the sustain pulse applied to the sustain electrode, and the low level of the sustain pulse applied to the scan electrode, that is, the ground voltage Vg. A second sustain discharge is performed by The sustain discharge is continuously performed by the continuous application of the sustain pulse, and the number of sustain discharges is determined according to the gray scale weights assigned to each subfield.

On the other hand, when the panel altitude is higher than the reference altitude of the panel, a high level of the sustain pulse is applied, and a voltage Vs1 having a potential higher than the reference sustain discharge voltage (Vs) is applied. The voltage Vs2 whose potential is lower than the sustain discharge voltage vs is applied. By varying the high level of the sustain pulse in accordance with the altitude as described above, the gas pressure in the discharge cell is kept constant so that the sustain discharge is constantly performed regardless of the panel altitude. Although the figure shows Vs, Vs1, and Vs2 as the high level of the sustain pulse, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the high level of the sustain pulse may be continuously changed for each altitude. In addition, in FIG. 6, only the high level of the sustain pulse, that is, the sustain discharge voltage is changed. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the scan of the address voltage Va or the scan pulse of the display data signal is performed to stably perform the address discharge. It may be possible to vary the low voltage Vscl.

According to the present invention as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

The discharge characteristics of the plasma display panel are also affected by the gas pressure state inside the discharge cell, and as the altitude of the panel increases, the discharge becomes unstable as the atmospheric pressure decreases and the gas pressure increases, resulting in low discharge. Increasing the voltage applied to the electrode of the than the reference value, the discharge is performed stably so that low discharge does not occur. In this way, the discharge in the panel is stably performed by varying the voltage applied to the electrodes of the panel, in particular, the sustain discharge voltage, according to the height of the panel.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (7)

Discharge cells are defined in an area where a plurality of electrodes cross each other, and a unit frame displaying an image is divided into a plurality of subfields, and each subfield has to be turned on during a reset period in which all of the discharge cells are initialized. A method of driving a plasma display panel divided into an address period for distinguishing a cell from a cell that should not be turned on, and a sustain period for performing a sustain discharge according to a gray scale weight assigned to each subfield in a discharge cell selected as a cell to be turned on, In the sustain period, sustain pulses having a high level and a low level are alternately applied to the first and second electrodes extending in parallel with each other of the plurality of electrodes, and detecting an altitude of the plasma display panel. And a high level of the sustain pulse in accordance with the sensed altitude. The method of claim 1, And increasing the high level of the sustain pulse as the sensed altitude increases. The method of claim 1, During the reset period, a rising pulse and a falling pulse are applied to the first electrodes, a positive bias voltage is applied to the second electrodes while the falling pulse is applied, and the first and second electrodes are applied. A ground voltage is applied to the third electrodes extending across the field; In the address period, a scan pulse having a low level is sequentially applied to the first electrodes, and then a bias voltage is continuously applied to the second electrodes, and the scan voltage is applied to the third electrodes. A method of driving a plasma display panel for applying a display data signal having a positive address voltage in response to a pulse. A first substrate and a second substrate spaced apart from each other, a plurality of electrodes disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, a partition wall defining a discharge cell in an area where the plurality of electrodes cross each other, and A plasma display panel including a phosphor layer disposed in a discharge cell and a discharge gas disposed in the discharge cell; A driving unit applying a plurality of driving voltages to each of the plurality of electrodes; A power supply unit generating the driving voltage; And And an altitude sensing controller configured to sense an altitude of the plasma display panel and output a voltage control signal to change at least one driving voltage of the plurality of driving voltages according to the sensed altitude. The method of claim 4, wherein the altitude detection control unit, An altitude sensing unit sensing an altitude of the plasma display panel; An altitude voltage storage unit configured to output a target voltage according to the sensed altitude; And And a voltage controller configured to output the voltage control signal to the power supply by comparing the target voltage with a reference voltage. The method of claim 5, And the potential of the variable driving voltage increases as the sensed altitude is higher. The method of claim 6, The variable driving voltage is a sustain discharge voltage for performing sustain discharge between the plurality of electrodes.

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