KR100639087B1 - Method of driving plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

In the case where the scan pulse width is shortened, even after the application of the scan pulse of one scan electrode line is applied, even when the data pulse of the other scan electrode line is applied, the plasma display panel which can be driven without increasing the sustain pulse voltage and its It provides a driving method.

The potential fixed electrode 34 is formed at a position facing each other via the sustain electrode 23 and the discharge space cell 26, and the potential difference between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 in the scanning period is maintained. It is set to more than the counter discharge start voltage at the time of making 23) into a cathode. Also in the conventional three-electrode cell, the potential of the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29 is always equal to or higher than the counter discharge start voltage when the sustain electrode 23 is the cathode during the scanning period.

Description

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

1 is a cross-sectional view of one cell of the plasma display panel of the first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a plan view of one cell of the plasma display panel of the first embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a plan view of one cell of the plasma display panel of the second embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a plan view of one cell of the plasma display panel according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a plan view of one cell of the plasma display panel of the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a plan view of one cell of the plasma display panel of the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a plan view of one cell of the plasma display panel of the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a plan view of one cell of the plasma display panel of the seventh embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a plan view of one cell of the plasma display panel of the eighth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing driving waveforms of the plasma display panel of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows another drive waveform of the plasma display panel of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

12 shows driving waveforms of a plasma display panel of a ninth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 13 shows driving waveforms of the plasma display panel of the tenth embodiment of the present invention;

14 is a plan view of a conventional three electrode AC plasma display panel;

Fig. 15 is a sectional view of one cell of a conventional three electrode AC plasma display panel;

Fig. 16 shows driving waveforms of a conventional three electrode AC plasma display panel;

FIG. 17 shows the relationship between the data electrode potential Vda and the minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin after the end of the scan pulse; FIG. And

18 illustrates the Vsw dependency of the minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin.

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

1: previous subfield holding period 2: preliminary discharge period

3: injection period 4: retention period

5: 1 subfield 6: scanning pulse

7: data pulse 8: recording wall charge forming pulse

9: holding base voltage

20: upper insulating substrate 21: lower insulating substrate

22: scan electrode 23: sustain electrode

24: transparent dielectric layer 25: protective layer

26: discharge space cell 27: phosphor layer

28 white dielectric layer 29 data electrode

30: Display device display screen 31: 1 cell

32 metal trace electrode 33 partition wall

34: potential fixed electrode 35: discharge gap

36: non-discharge gap

The present invention relates to a method of driving a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to a method of driving an AC plasma display panel.

In recent years, it is widely known that information electronic devices including mobile phones are widely used in the world. Among these information electronic devices, display devices such as wall-mounted televisions and public display panels are also well known.

Moreover, it is well known that display devices such as wall-mounted televisions and public display panels are attracting attention as plasma display devices.

In general, as a plasma display device, a plasma display panel (hereinafter, abbreviated as PDP) used for the wall-mounted television, public display panel, or the like is also well known.

This PDP has many features, such as being able to display a large screen relatively easily, having a wide viewing angle, and having a fast response speed.

To this end, as described above, this PDP is used as a plasma display device for wall-mounted televisions or public display panels.

The PDP is a direct current discharge type (DC type) in which an electrode is exposed to a discharge space (discharge gas) and operated in a state of direct current discharge, and the electrode is covered with a dielectric layer and is not directly exposed to the discharge gas. It is divided into AC discharge type (AC type) operated in the state of discharge. In the DC type, discharge occurs during the period in which the voltage is applied. In the AC type, the discharge is continued by inverting the polarity of the voltage. In the AC type, there are two electrodes and three electrodes in one cell.

The structure and driving method of a conventional three-electrode AC plasma display panel will be described. 15 is a cell sectional view showing an example of a conventional plasma display panel.

The AC three-electrode plasma display panel includes a front substrate 20, an alignment substrate 21, a plurality of scan electrodes 22, sustain electrodes 23, and data disposed between the two substrates 20, 21. Each of the electrodes 29, the scan electrodes 22, the sustain electrodes 23, and the data electrodes 29 has a display cell arranged in a matrix form.

Although a glass substrate or the like is used as the front substrate, the scan electrodes 22 and the sustain electrodes 23 are formed to have a predetermined interval. The metal electrodes 32 are stacked on the scan electrodes 22 and the sustain electrodes 23 to lower the wiring resistance. On these, a protective layer 25 made of a transparent dielectric layer 24 and MgO or the like which protects the transparent dielectric layer 24 from discharge is formed. On the other hand, using the glass substrate or the like as the back substrate 21, the data electrode 29 is formed to be orthogonal to the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23. In addition, a white dielectric layer 28 and a phosphor layer 27 are formed on the data electrode 29. A well-shaped gap 33 is formed between two glass substrates so as to surround each cell. The partition wall serves to protect the discharge space 26 and partition the pixels. In the discharge space 26, a mixed gas such as He, Ne, and Xe is sealed as the discharge gas.

14 is a plan view of a conventional three-electrode AC plasma display panel. Each electrode Si of the scan electrode 22 and each electrode Ci (i = 1 to m) of the sustain electrode 23 and each electrode Dj of the data electrode 29 (j = 1) Display cells 31 are arranged in a matrix at each intersection of ˜n).

Next, a driving method of the PDP will be described. Currently, the mainstream is the injection maintenance separation method (ADS method) in which the injection period and the maintenance period are separated. Hereinafter, a driving method of this scanning holding separation method will be described. 16 is an example of a drive waveform diagram of one subfield (hereinafter abbreviated as SF) of a three-electrode AC type plasma display panel. One subfield is composed of three periods: a preliminary discharge period 2, a scan period 3, and a sustain period 4.

First, the preliminary discharge period 2 will be described. Before the preliminary discharge period 2, there is a sustain period 1 of the entire subfield, where the amount of wall charges that are charges generated by the discharge on the dielectric layer on each electrode in the cell differs depending on whether or not sustain discharge is performed. .

If the next recording is performed in this state, the recording discharge may be difficult due to the influence of the different wall charges, or the incorrect recording may be performed. One of the roles of the preliminary discharge period 2 is to initialize and reset the wall charge state, which is the charge generated by the discharge on the dielectric layer in the cell, which is different depending on the lighting state in the sustain period 1 of the entire subfield. . In addition to this, it plays a role of generating a fly effect that makes it easy to discharge when data is recorded in a line sequence based on the display data.

Next, the injection period 3 is entered. The scan base voltage Vbw is about 80 to 110V, and the sustain voltage Vs is about 170V. In the scanning period 3, the scanning pulse 6 is sequentially applied to the electrodes S1 to Sm of the scanning electrodes 22. The data pulse 7 is applied to the electrodes D1 to Dn of the data electrodes 29 in accordance with the scan pulse 6 in accordance with the display pattern.

In the pixel to which the data pulse 7 is applied, since a high voltage is applied between the scan electrode 22 and the data electrode 29, after the application of the voltage, the scan electrode is accompanied by some delay (called discharge discharge). A write discharge occurs between the 22 and the data electrode 29, and positive wall charges are formed on the scan electrode 22 side. With this discharge, charge transfer occurs between the sustain electrode 23 and the scan electrode 23 which are largely biased to the positive potential, and negative wall charges are formed on the sustain electrode 23.

On the other hand, in the pixel to which the data pulse 7 is not applied, discharge does not occur because the applied voltage is low, and the situation of wall charge does not change. In this way, two types of wall charges can be generated depending on the presence or absence of the data pulse (7).

When the application of the scan pulse 6 to the entire line ends, the process moves to the sustain period 4. The sustain pulse is alternately applied to the prescan electrode 22 and the entire sustain electrode 23. In the pixel in which no write discharge has occurred, the voltage value Vs of the sustain pulse is set to a voltage at which the discharge (called surface discharge) between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 has not started. Here it is 170V.

On the other hand, in the pixel in which the recording discharge has occurred, since the positive wall charges exist on the scan electrode 22 side and the negative wall charges exist on the sustain electrode 23 side, the initial constant sustain pulse applied to the scan electrode 22 (first sustain) Pulses), the positive wall charges are superimposed, a voltage equal to or higher than the discharge start voltage is applied to the discharge space, and sustain discharge is generated. By this discharge, negative wall charges are accumulated on the scan electrode 22 side, and positive wall charges are accumulated on the sustain electrode 23 side.

The next sustain pulse (referred to as the second sustain pulse) is applied to the sustain electrode 23 side, and since the above wall charges overlap, a sustain discharge also occurs here, and a wall charge of a polarity opposite to that of the first sustain pulse. Is accumulated on the scan electrode 22 side and sustain electrode 23 side. After this, discharge continues to occur on the same principle. The potential difference according to the wall charge generated by the last xth sustain discharge is superimposed on the (x + 1) th sustain pulse and sustain discharge is continued. Luminance luminance is determined by the sustained number of sustain discharges.

The above preliminary discharge period 2, the scan period 3, and the sustain period 4 are collectively referred to as a subfield. In the case of performing gradation display, one frame, which is a period for displaying image information of one screen, is composed of a plurality of subfields. The number of sustain pulses in each subfield is changed, and gradation display can be performed depending on whether each subfield is turned on or off.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-295507

In the driving method of the scan sustain separation AC type plasma display panel as described above, data pulses are sequentially applied in response to the image signal during the scanning period in order to generate a recording discharge in response to the image signal on each scan line.

Therefore, the data electrode potential changes in response to the image signal during the scanning period. The wall discharge formed on each electrode by the recording discharge affects the potential of each electrode after the end of the scanning pulse.

Therefore, the wall charges formed on the electrodes vary depending on the application state of the data pulses after the scan electrode lines where the recording discharge is completed. In particular, the effect is large when the scan pulse width is shortened. If the panel becomes high precision and the scan pulse width must be reduced in accordance with the increase in the number of scan lines, then if the data pulse for generating the recording discharge is not applied to the next scan electrode line after the application of this scan pulse, the normal Even in operation, recording discharge occurs when a data pulse is applied, but sustain discharge does not occur in the sustain period, and the display becomes adulterous. In order to improve this, the sustain pulse voltage must be increased. However, increasing the sustain pulse voltage causes an increase in power consumption, and an expensive driver with a high breakdown voltage must be used, resulting in an increase in cost.

An object of the present invention is a plasma display capable of driving without increasing the sustain pulse voltage even when the data pulse of another scan electrode line is applied after the completion of the scan pulse application of one scan electrode line when the scan pulse width is shortened. It is to provide a driving method of the panel.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 includes a pair of electrodes in which a first insulating substrate and a second insulating substrate are disposed to face each other, and a scan electrode and a sustain electrode are disposed in parallel with each other in the first insulating substrate. A driving method of a plasma display panel in which a plurality of data electrodes are arranged on the second insulating substrate and disposed to be orthogonal to the scan electrodes and sustain electrodes is provided. The scanning method of recording data for each scan electrode corresponding to an image signal is performed. In the period, scanning pulses are sequentially applied to the respective scanning electrodes in sequence, and in synchronization with the scanning pulses, a signal is written to each pixel by applying a data pulse corresponding to the video signal, and after completion of the scanning pulses. Within a predetermined period, the potential of the sustain electrode and the data electrode is increased to the sustain electrode, A cathode potential is applied to the sustain electrode side between the sustain electrode and the data electrode irrespective of an application state of the data pulse applied at a timing at which the scan pulse is applied to another scan electrode. The opposite wall charge forming period is set to be equal to or greater than the counter discharge start voltage at the time of setting the same, and a voltage at which a discharge does not occur when the sustain electrode side is the anode potential between the sustain electrode and the data electrode. It characterized in that to form.

To practice the invention  Best form for

A signal is written to each pixel by applying a data pulse corresponding to the video signal, and after the end of the scanning pulse, the potential of the sustain electrode and the data electrode is increased to the sustain electrode within a predetermined period, and the sustain electrode And the potential difference between the sustain electrode and the data electrode as the cathode potential irrespective of the application state of the data pulse applied at the timing at which the scan pulse is applied to the other scan electrode. A counter wall charge formation period equal to or more than a predetermined period of time at which the discharge is not generated when the sustain electrode side is set to the anode potential between the sustain electrode and the data electrode. Do it.

That is, the potential supply means supplies a constant potential to the potential fixed electrode, sets the potential of the potential fixed electrode lower than the potential of the sustain electrode, and maintains the potential difference between the sustain electrode and the potential fixed electrode. When the electrode side is the cathode, the discharge discharge voltage between the sustain electrode and the potential fixed electrode is set to be equal to or higher than the discharge discharge voltage, while when the sustain electrode is the cathode, the discharge is opposed between the sustain electrode and the potential fixed electrode. Set it to a voltage that does not occur.

Example 1

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of one cell of the plasma display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a plan view. 1 shows a cross section between A-A of FIG.

The planar structure of the entire panel has a structure in which the potential fixed electrode 34 is formed in the same direction as the sustain electrode 23 in the plan view of the conventional plasma display panel of FIG. 14.

Regarding the specific dimensions, the case where the cell pitch is 0.27 mm in the lateral direction and 0.81 mm in the longitudinal direction will be described as an example. As the upper and lower insulating substrates 20 and 21, for example, a soda lime glass substrate having a thickness of about 2 to 5 mm is used. In the insulating substrate 20, as the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23, transparent electrodes made of tin oxide or indium oxide are formed in a paired shape, and an electrode width is about 250 to 300 µm, and a discharge gap is formed. Is about 70 to 120 µm. A metal electrode 32 is formed on a portion of each transparent electrode to lower wiring resistance. The dielectric layer 24 is formed on the electrode in the range of about 10 to 50 mu m, and MgO is formed as the protective layer 25 thereon.

On the other hand, the lower insulating substrate 21 is made of Ag or the like and the data electrodes 29 are formed with an electrode width of 100 to 150 mu m. A white dielectric layer 28 is formed thereon. On this, the potential fixed electrode 34 is formed so as to intersect the data electrode 29 with Ag or the like. The electrode width of the potential fixed electrode 34 is about 100 to 200 m. In addition, the partition 38 is formed on the height of about 100-150 micrometers, and the fluorescent substance 9 is apply | coated last. At this time, if the type of phosphor is divided into RGB (red, green, blue) for each cell, full color display is possible. The two insulating substrates are joined together, and 200 to 600 torr of a mixed gas of He, Ne, and Xe is sealed and discharged as a discharge gas.

Next, a driving method of the plasma display panel of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 10 shows driving waveforms of one subfield. In the present invention, the potential fixed electrode 34 is always set to the ground potential (waveform Fm). The scan electrode waveforms S1 to Sm, the sustain electrode waveforms C1 to Cm, and the data electrode waveforms D1 to Dn in the preliminary discharge period 2 and the sustain period 4 are the same as the conventional drive waveforms of FIG. . In addition, since the fixed potential electrode waveforms F1 to Fm in this period are the same as the data electrode waveforms D1 to Dm, the driving state in this period is considered to be substantially the same as in the prior art.

On the other hand, in the scanning period 3, the data pulse 7 may or may not be applied in response to the video signal. As shown in Fig. 15, in the conventional cell structure, the potential of the data electrode 29 changes due to the application state of this data pulse 26. On the other hand, as in the first embodiment of the present invention, by disposing the potential fixed electrode 34 over the data electrode and fixing the potential together with the sustain electrode 23, the sustain electrode 23 in the scanning period 30 and The potential difference between the opposite sides of the potential fixed electrode 34 becomes constant.

Next, when the scan pulse 6 is applied, the data pulse 7 is applied, and the wall charge forming state in the case where recording discharge has occurred will be described. In the opposite discharge space between the scan electrode 22 and the data electrode 29, the scan electrode 22 is used as the cathode as the data electrode 29 including a wall voltage which is a voltage caused by wall charges in addition to the voltage applied from the outside. Counter discharge start voltage, which is the minimum voltage at which discharge occurs between and (hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the scan electrode 22 or sustain electrode 23 is a cathode, and the data electrode on the opposing substrate A voltage exceeding the minimum voltage applied to the discharge space where the discharge occurs between the 29 and the potential fixed electrode is simply referred to as the counter discharge start voltage, is applied to the counter discharge space, whereby the scan electrode 22 and the data electrode ( 29) discharge occurs. Because of this discharge, a large amount of space charges are generated in the discharge space, so that discharge is generated between the other electrodes in the cell as a trigger and charges are collected by the electric field to form wall charges. Here, considering the case where the width of the scan pulse 6 is short and approximately discharge occurs within the scan pulse 6 period, the amount of wall charge formation greatly affects the electrode potential after the end of the scan pulse 6. Receive. In the case where a strong discharge such as a recording discharge occurs, it is possible to form a wall voltage approximately equal to the voltage applied from the outside, even though it is caused by the discharge location and the position of the electrode.

Therefore, in the driving waveform of the conventional plasma display device shown in FIG. 16, a wall voltage of approximately (Vs-Vbw) is formed between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23. On the other hand, it can be considered that the wall voltage formed between the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29 changes depending on the presence or absence of the data pulse 7 at the time of writing the next scan line. When the data pulse 7 is applied, a wall voltage of approximately (Vs-Vd) is formed between the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29. When the data pulse is not applied, a wall voltage of approximately Vs is formed. do.

Due to this difference, the intensity of the sustain discharge (referred to as the first holding) due to the minimum holding pulse in the holding period 4 is different, and is formed between the scan electrode 22 and the holding electrode 23 according to the first holding. Wall charge varies.

This is because when the wall voltage becomes Vs and the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29 are commonly grounded in addition to the surface discharge generated between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 in the first holding, This is because a weak counter discharge occurs between the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29 by the wall voltage. On the other hand, in the case of Vs-Vd, since the potential difference is small, this weak opposing discharge hardly occurs, the sustain discharge becomes weak, and the sustain discharge is not stably sustained by the sustain pulse.

In FIG. 17, the minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin at the time of simulating changing the data electrode potential Vda after completion | finish of the scanning pulse 6 is shown by "(circle)". The minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin is the minimum sustain voltage Vs in which the lighting indication can be normally displayed. The scan pulse width is 1 sec.

In Fig. 17, when Vda = 0 V, a data pulse is not applied at the next scan line write. On the other hand, when the data pulse voltage Vd is 65V, the case where Vda = 65V is a case where a data pulse is applied at the time of writing the next scan line. When the data pulse is applied, the rise of the minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin of about 6V can be seen compared to the case where the data pulse is not applied.

In contrast, in the plasma display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the potential difference between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 is always fixed to the wall voltage Vs between the scanning periods 3. For this reason, approximately Vs wall voltage is formed between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed potential 34 by the write discharge.

Thus, by forming the potential fixed electrode 34, even when the potential of the data electrode 29 varies with or without a data pulse, the potential between the sustain electrode 23 and the counter electrode of the potential fixed electrode 34 is constant. As a result, a certain amount of wall voltage can be formed. In Fig. 17, the dependence of the data electrode potential Vda after the end of the scan pulse of Vdsmin is indicated by?. As can be seen from the figure, even if the data electrode potential Vda after the end of the scan pulse rises, Vdsmin does not rise as in the conventional art indicated by " 0 ".

In addition, when the driving waveform of FIG. 10 is used as shown in FIG. 11 and the potential of the sustain electrode 23 in the scanning period 3 is set to a voltage Vsw higher than the sustain voltage Vs, Vdsmin can be further lowered. In particular, the voltage Vsw is set to be equal to or higher than the counter discharge start voltage between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 when the sustain electrode 23 is a cathode. The counter discharge start voltage here may be regarded as a voltage at which discharge starts when a voltage equal to or higher than the voltage is applied between the counter electrodes in a state where no wall charge is formed.

This counter discharge start voltage varies greatly depending on the polarity of the applied voltage. On the dielectric layer of the sustain electrode 23, an MgO film is formed as the protective layer 25. When the side on which the protective layer is formed is a cathode, secondary electrons are emitted by the collision of electrostatic charges, and new electrons are supplied to the discharge space. And the discharge is maintained at a low voltage.

On the other hand, if there is no MgO layer on the cathode side, there is no supply of new secondary electrons, so that discharge is not maintained unless a high voltage is applied. Therefore, even if the voltage Vsw is set to the counter discharge start voltage between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 when the sustain electrode 23 is the cathode, an erroneous discharge occurs in the scanning period 3. Otherwise, no discharge occurs unless a write discharge occurs.

In practice, in the scanning period 3, the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 are approximately equal to a position far from a discharge gap in which sustain discharge occurs between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23. Since the wall voltage is formed and the potential difference applied to the counter discharge space here is considered to be the highest, the counter discharge starts between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 when the sustain electrode 23 is the cathode. When set below the voltage, no discharge occurs.

After the recording discharge has occurred, the sum of the wall voltages formed on the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 is approximately equal to the potential difference between the electrodes. Therefore, by setting the voltage Vsw as described above, the sum of the wall voltages formed on the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 after the recording discharge is approximately the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34. It is possible to set the potential difference between the two electrodes to be equal to or higher than the counter discharge starting voltage between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 when the sustain electrode 23 is the cathode.

In the state where such wall voltage is formed, the potential at the low potential side of the sustain electrode 23 is equal to the potential of the potential fixed electrode 34 in the first holding period in the sustain period 4, so that the wall voltage is in this opposing space. A wall charge of (Vsw) is applied.

Since the wall voltage Vsw is equal to or lower than the counter discharge starting voltage between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 when the sustain electrode 23 is the cathode, the opposite discharge is sure in the first holding. Occurs. In this manner, in addition to the generation of the surface discharge between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23, the opposite discharge is reliably generated in the first holding, so that the discharge intensity is increased, and the sufficient wall charge amount is sufficient for the scan electrode 22. It is formed on the sustain electrode 23, and the sustain discharge is reliably continued by the sustain pulses below this.

The minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin of the first embodiment of the present invention is denoted by "# " in FIG. It is not affected by the data electrode potential Vda after the end of the scan pulse, and the voltage Vda is substantially lower than that of the conventional Vdsmin while being constant Vdsmin with respect to Vda. This is because Vsw is equal to or higher than the counter discharge start voltage between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 when the sustain electrode 23 is the cathode.

The period to be equal to or greater than the counter discharge start voltage does not necessarily have to be in the entire period of the scan period 3. Even if the voltage before scanning pulse application was reduced to Vs, the exact same Vdsmin characteristics were obtained. Moreover, there is no influence even if the potential of the sustain electrode 23 is pulled from Vsw to Vs since 10 sec or more has passed since the end of the application of the scan pulse. On the other hand, from 2 V or more after the end of the scan pulse, even if the sustain electrode potential is increased from Vs to Vsw, Vdsmin becomes 170V, and the effect of raising to the voltage Vsw cannot be obtained. For example, even if the sustain electrode potential is raised to the voltage Vsw within 2 kV after the end of the application of the scan pulse, the effect is extremely weak if Vsw potential is not continued for 2 kV or more, so that it is almost impossible to bring Vdsmin down. did.

As described above, when the first embodiment of the present invention is used, not only is it affected by the presence or absence of the application of the data pulse, but also the sustain electrode 23 when the sustain electrode 23 is the cathode as the voltage Vsw. The minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin can be significantly lowered by setting the counter discharge start voltage between the potential fixed electrodes 34 or more, and a low breakdown voltage sustain driver can be used even when the scan pulse width is short.

Next, specific setting values of the voltage will be described. First, when the sustain period 1 of the previous subfield ends, it becomes the preliminary discharge period 2. The waveform here is basically the same as the conventional waveform of FIG. 16, and Vs was set to 160V and Vp was set to 380V. The width of the slope of each stationary wave was about 50 mW. The precharge period 2 is a period for resetting charges (wall charges) accumulated on the dielectric layer by the sustain discharge of the previous SF and generating a fly discharge to facilitate a write discharge. Mainly, the wall charges formed in the holding period in the first stationary wave are reset, and a fly discharge is generated in the following two stationary wave, and then the wall charges generated by the fly discharge are adjusted.

Next, it moves to the scanning period 3. In the scan electrode 22, the scan base voltage Vbw is applied, and the pulses 6 are sequentially applied in line order. The scan base voltage Vbw was about 110V, the scan pulse width was 1 kHz, and the potential was GND. The potential of the sustain electrode 23 is fixed at Vsw. The potential fixed electrode 34 is grounded. Here, the counter discharge start voltage of the present cell was 185V between the scan electrode 22 and the data electrode 29 and between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 together. 18 shows the dependence of the voltage Vsw of the minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin.

It can be seen that when the voltage Vsw is set to 185V or more, the minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin rapidly decreases. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the voltage Vsw is set to 190 to 210V so that the voltage Vsw becomes equal to or higher than the counter discharge start voltage.

Finally, it enters the holding period 4. The same here as in the prior art, since only a large wall charge is formed in the vicinity of the surface discharge gap between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23, only when a record discharge occurs in the scan period 3, a sustain discharge occurs and the lamp is turned on. It is in a state. In this way, lighting and non-lighting can be controlled. The voltage of the sustain pulse is set to Vs = 160V.

Example 2

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the cell plan view of FIG. The drive waveform of the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the drive waveform of the first embodiment of the present invention.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the data electrode 29 and the potential fixed electrode 34 have a large area of opposing portions via the dielectric layer 28, and the capacitance between these electrodes becomes large, and thus the data electrodes. Reactive power caused by a change in potential becomes large, and heat generation of the data driver becomes a problem.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the capacitance between the data electrode 29 and the potential fixed electrode 34 is reduced, and a discharge is reliably generated with respect to the write discharge.

The cell structure of the second embodiment of the present invention is the present invention except that the shape of the data electrode 29 is thin at the portion facing the potential fixed electrode 34 and thick at the portion facing the scan electrode 22. It is the same as that of the 1st Example of the following. The area of the portion where the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 face each other is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention, and Vdsmin has the same value as that of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The line width of the data electrode 29 was 40 to 80 µm in the portion facing the potential fixed electrode 34 and 120 to 170 µm in the portion facing the scan electrode 22. By doing in this way, the capacitance between the potential fixed electrode 34 and the data electrode 29 can be made small, reactive current is reduced, power consumption can be reduced, and heat generation can be suppressed. In addition, since the area of the data electrode 29 facing the scan electrode 22 is large, the probability of recording discharge can be increased, and the discharge delay can be reduced.

Example 3

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the cell plan view of FIG. The drive waveform of the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The cell structure of the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as the second embodiment of the present invention except that the line width of the potential fixed electrode 34 is thinned and formed near the discharge gap. In the transition to sustain discharge, the state of formation of wall charges near the discharge gap during recording discharge becomes important. In order to reduce the capacitance of the data electrode 29 and the sustain electrode 23, the line width of the potential fixed electrode 34 is made as thin as possible, and the gap between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 near the discharge gap is opposite. In order to form a desired wall voltage, the electrode position is set near the discharge gap. The width of the potential fixed electrode 34 was set to about 40-50 micrometers. Even in such a structure, Vdsmin almost identical to that of the second embodiment of the present invention was obtained. In addition, the reactive current can be reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption.

Example 4

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the cell plan view of FIG. The drive waveform of the fourth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The cell structure of the fourth embodiment of the present invention is the same as the third embodiment of the present invention except that an electrode having the same line width as that of the potential fixed electrode 34 of the third embodiment of the present invention is added as the potential fixed electrode. same. The distance between the two potential fixed electrodes 34 was about 40 to 60 µm.

In this way, by adding the electrodes, the line capacitance of the data electrode 29, the sustain electrode 23, and the potential fixed electrode 34 is increased, but since they are separated into two, the line capacitance is larger than that of the second embodiment of the present invention. This is small.

On the other hand, by adding another potential fixed electrode 34, as the accumulated state of wall charges, it was possible to make it the same state as the single electrode of the whole surface in which the slit did not enter effectively.

Thus, the discharge in the first holding was stronger and more reliable than the third embodiment of the present invention. In the conventional cell or the third embodiment of the present invention, in the sustain discharge, from the first holding to the ten holding pulses, the discharge is weaker than the sustain discharge in the latter part of the sustaining period 4, and is in an unstable state.

On the other hand, as in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, by adding another potential fixing electrode 34, sustain discharge of intensity close to the normal sustain discharge can be generated from the first hold. In this way, the stable discharge from the first holding means that the Vdsmin value can be obtained exactly the same as the second embodiment of the present invention, the number of holding pulses is small, and stable display is possible even in the sub-fields of the lower gradations. I can get it.

Example 5

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the cell plan view of FIG. In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the capacitance between the data electrode 29 or the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 is kept low while the area of the effective potential fixed electrode 34 is taken wide and held. The wall charges formed between the electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 are different from those of the fourth embodiment of the present invention in which the wall charges formed up to the region separated from the discharge gap can be formed.

The drive waveform of the fifth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention. The cell structure of the fifth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the second embodiment of the present invention except that the shape of the potential fixed electrode 34 narrows the line width of the portion intersecting the data electrode 29. In this way, the area of the intersection portion is made small so as to reduce the capacitance between the potential fixed electrode 34 and the data electrode 29. The narrow portion is approached near the surface discharge gap, and wall charges formed between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 at the time of writing are formed as close to the discharge gap as possible. The width | variety of the potential fixed electrode 34 was about 100-200 micrometers in the wide part, and the narrow part of the intersection part was about 50 micrometers. In this embodiment, almost the same Vdsmin as in the fourth embodiment of the present invention can be obtained. In addition, the number of sustain pulses was small, and the subfields of the lower gradations could be displayed stably.

Example 6

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the cell plan view of FIG. The sixth embodiment of the present invention also differs from the fourth and fifth embodiments of the present invention in which wall charges can be formed on substantially the entire surface facing the sustain electrode 23 while suppressing the inter-electrode capacitance small. to be.

The drive waveform of the sixth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention. The cell structure of the sixth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the second embodiment of the present invention except that the potential fixed electrode 34 has a mesh shape.

By forming the mesh in this manner, the area of the intersection portion is reduced, and the capacitance between the potential fixed electrode 34 and the data electrode 29 and the capacitance between the potential fixed electrode 34 and the sustain electrode 23 are reduced. The line width of the mesh shape is about 10 to 40 mu m and the hole portion of the mesh shape is about 40 to 50 mu m.

By using such a mesh-shaped electrode, the capacitance decreases, but when the hole is 50 mu m or less in width, the extended state of the discharge due to the recording discharge has the shape of the potential fixed electrode 34 as in the second embodiment of the present invention. Almost the same state as that having a large electrode area was obtained. By such a mesh electrode structure, the line capacitance was kept low, and the same Vdsmin and sustain discharge stability as in the fifth embodiment of the present invention were obtained.

Example 7

Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the cell plan view of FIG. The drive waveform of the seventh embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The cell structure of the seventh embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the second embodiment of the present invention except for the potential fixed electrode 34, and the same layer as the data electrode 29 when the data electrode 29 is formed. The potential fixed electrode 34 is formed on the substrate.

Therefore, the terminal take-out of the potential fixed electrode 34 is the same as that of the data electrode 29, and becomes the up-down direction of the page of FIG. With this structure, the potential classical electrode 34 and the data electrode 29 can be formed at once, and the potential fixed electrode 34 can be added without increasing the number of steps.

The line width of the data electrode 29 is thinned to about 50 占 퐉 at the portion facing the sustain electrode 23. The potential fixed electrode 34 is formed such that the distance from the data electrode 29 is about 30 μm. As a result, the potential fixed electrode 34 can be made larger than the data electrode 29 in the area of the portion facing the sustain electrode 23. As a result, it is possible to suppress voltage fluctuations in the opposite discharge space due to the potential fluctuations of the data electrodes 29. As a result, the same minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin characteristic as in the first embodiment of the present invention was obtained.

Example 8

Next, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the cell plan view of FIG. The driving waveforms of the eighth embodiment of the present invention are the same as those of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The cell structure of the eighth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the seventh embodiment of the present invention except for the shape of the potential fixed electrode 34 and the shape of the data electrode 29. Similarly to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the data electrode When forming the 29, the potential fixed electrode 34 is formed in the same layer as the data electrode 29. The line widths of the scan electrodes 22 and the sustain electrodes 23 taper the portions where the partition walls 33 intersect.

This is for reducing the capacitance of the data electrode 29 or the potential fixed electrode 34, and this can also be applied to the first to fifth embodiments of the present invention. In the discharge space portion of the cell, the sustain electrode 23 faces only the potential fixed electrode, so that the influence of the data electrode potential can be eliminated more reliably than in the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Example 9

Next, a ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drive waveform of FIG. The drive waveform of the ninth embodiment of the present invention can be applied to any of the first to eighth embodiments of the present invention.

The driving waveform is that the potential of the sustain electrode 23 in the scanning period 3 is equal to the Vs of the sustain pulse voltage, thereby reducing the number of power supply potentials of the sustain electrode 23, instead of reducing the potential of the potential fixed electrode 34. The potential is made negative. Here, the potential Vfw of the potential fixed electrode 34 was set so that the potential difference between the sustain electrode 23 and the potential fixed electrode 34 became 185 V or more, which is the counter discharge start voltage.

Specifically, the sustain pulse voltage Vs was set to 160V, and the potential Vfw was set to -30 to -60V. By doing in this way, the wall voltage of approximately (Vs-Vfw) can be formed between the sustain electrode 230 and the potential fixed electrode 34 at the time of writing, similarly to the driving waveform of FIG. The opposite discharge can be caused between the electrodes, so that the same minimum sustain voltage Vdsmin as shown in FIG. 8 can be obtained.

Example 10

Next, a tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drive waveform of FIG. The cell structure of the tenth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the conventional cell structure. The counter discharge start voltage of the cell of the tenth embodiment of the present invention is 185V. The waveform of the sustain period 4 of the drive waveform of the tenth embodiment of the present invention is the same as the conventional drive waveform.

The voltage Vsw of the sustain electrode 23 in the scanning period 3 is such that the voltage applied between the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29 becomes equal to or higher than the counter discharge start voltage even when the data pulse 7 is applied. Increase Vsw. When the potential of the sustain electrode 23 is increased in this manner, a high voltage Vsw is applied between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 at the timing when the scan pulse 6 is applied.

In the tenth embodiment of the present invention, even when such a high voltage is applied at the time of applying the scan pulse, the scan electrode (in the preliminary discharge period 2) does not occur between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 so as not to generate an erroneous discharge. The wall charge in the vicinity of the discharge gap between 22) and sustain electrode 23 is adjusted.

The driving waveform of the preliminary discharge period 2 of the tenth embodiment of the present invention has a potential difference of Vsw between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 immediately before the time period 3, as compared with the conventional driving waveform of FIG. It is designed to have a high potential difference. In the preliminary discharge period 2, when a Vp voltage is applied to the scan electrode 22, a large negative wall voltage is formed on the scan electrode 22, and a positive wall voltage is formed on the sustain electrode 23. Can be.

Thereafter, the polarities of the electrode potentials of the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 are reversed, and the potential of the scan electrode 22 is gradually lowered, thereby forming a gap between the scan electrode 22 and the data electrode 29. A weak continuous discharge (referred to as a weak discharge) is generated, and a weak discharge is also generated between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23.

Due to the weak discharge between the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23, the negative wall voltage of the scan electrode 22 near the surface discharge gap decreases, and a negative wall voltage is formed on the sustain electrode 23 side. At this time, by increasing Vsw, which is the final reaching potential difference of the ramp waveform, the negative wall voltage of the scan electrode 22 is further reduced, and the negative wall voltage of the sustain electrode 23 is increased. By making the negative wall voltage of the sustain electrode 23 near the discharge gap larger than the negative wall voltage of the scan electrode 22, the voltage applied to the surface discharge space of the scan electrode 22 and the sustain electrode 23 can be made smaller than Vsw. Can be.

In the tenth embodiment of the present invention, mis-discharge at the time of applying the scanning pulse is prevented in this way. The ramp waveform applied to the scan electrode 22 is a waveform which is directly lowered from the Vp voltage as the Vsw is applied to the sustain electrode 23 and the potential of the scan electrode 22 is lowered at the same time as the scan electrode 22 is applied. The reason for this is to prevent erroneous discharge of the surface of the sustain electrode 23.

The set voltage of a specific drive waveform is as follows. The sustain pulse voltage was 160V and the data pulse voltage was 65V. The potential Vsw of the sustain electrode 23 in the scanning period 3 is set to 250 to 270 V so that the potential difference between the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29 becomes equal to or higher than the counter discharge start voltage even when the data pulse 6 is applied. It was.

As a result, a voltage of 185 V to 205 V is applied between the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29 even when a 65 V data pulse is applied.

If no data pulse is applied, a voltage of 250V to 270V is applied. Therefore, in either case, a wall voltage above the counter discharge start voltage is substantially formed by the write discharge, and the counter discharge occurs at the first holding.

Since the counter discharge start voltage in the case where the sustain electrode 23 side is the anode is about 350 V, even if a voltage of this level is applied, the discharge is not discharged between the sustain electrode 23 and the data electrode 29 even if a write discharge does not occur. This does not happen. The period to be equal to or greater than the counter discharge start voltage does not necessarily need to be the entire period of the scan period 3. Even if the voltage before scanning pulse application was reduced to Vs, the exact same Vdsmin characteristics were obtained. In addition, there is no influence even if the potential of the sustain electrode 23 is pulled from the voltage Vsw to the voltage Vs after 10 ms or more from the end of the application of the scan pulse.

On the other hand, even after 2 ms or more from the end of the scan pulse, even if the sustain electrode potential is increased from the voltage Vs to the voltage Vsw, Vdsmin becomes 170V, and the effect of pulling up the voltage Vsw is not obtained. For example, even if the sustain electrode potential is raised to Vsw within 2 ms after the end of the application of the scan pulse, the effect is extremely weak unless the Vsw potential is continued for 2 ms or more, and it is almost impossible to bring Vdsmin down.

By using such a waveform, even in the conventional cell structure without the potential fixed electrode 34, the same Vdsmin characteristic as in the first embodiment of the present invention can be obtained.

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the minimum holding voltage Vdsmin that can be driven normally even if the scan pulse is shortened. Specifically, when the scan pulse is shortened to 1 ms, the sustain pulse voltage must be raised to at least 176 V, considering that the data pulse is applied after the conventional scan pulse is terminated. However, the plasma display panel and the driving method of the present invention are used. In this case, it is possible to lower the sustain pulse voltage to 143V.

Claims (5)

The first insulating substrate and the second insulating substrate are disposed to face each other, and the first insulating substrate is provided with a plurality of electrode pairs in which scan electrodes and sustain electrodes are arranged in parallel with each other, and the scan electrode is disposed on the second insulating substrate. And a method of driving a plasma display panel in which a plurality of data electrodes orthogonal to the sustain electrodes are disposed, Scan pulses are sequentially applied to the respective scan electrodes in a line order between the syringes that record data for each scan electrode in response to the video signal, A signal is recorded in each pixel by applying a data pulse corresponding to the video signal in synchronization with the scanning pulse, After the end of the scanning pulse, the potential of the sustain electrode and the data electrode is increased to the sustain electrode within a predetermined period. The sustain electrode side between the sustain electrode and the data electrode is connected to the potential difference between the sustain electrode and the data electrode irrespective of an application state of the data pulse applied at a timing at which the scan pulse is applied to another scan electrode. Forming opposite wall charges for a predetermined period of time or longer is set to be equal to or greater than the counter discharge starting voltage when the cathode potential is set, and a voltage at which no discharge occurs when the sustain electrode side is the anode potential between the sustain electrode and the data electrode. A method of driving a plasma display panel, characterized by setting a period. The method of claim 1, And said predetermined period is within 2 ms. The method of claim 1, And the opposing wall charge forming period of the predetermined period or more is 2 mW or more. The method of claim 2, And the opposing wall charge forming period of the predetermined period or more is 2 mW or more. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, And the various electrodes are covered with a dielectric layer and are not directly exposed to the discharge gas, but are driven in an alternating discharge state.

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