KR19990065831A - Driving method of 3-electrode surface discharge plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of displaying gray scale of an image on a three-electrode surface discharge plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as a three-electrode surface discharge PDP).

By dividing one frame into X subfields and adjusting the number of sustain pulses applied to each subfield, the level of brightness represented by each subfield is adjusted. With different weights, divide the entire screen into X subscreens along a horizontal line (H-line) and let each of the X subscreens represent different subfields. There is an addressing process of changing the subfields of some lines of the entire screen every cycle of the sustain pulse so that each of the X subfields is represented once, and the addressing process is 1 per X subscreen. In a sub-frame method performed in units of X lines selected line by line,

In the conventional driving method in which the addressing process for the X-line is performed all at once in one sustain period, the X erase pulses must be inserted between one sustain period and sustained because of the time occupied by the X erase pulses. In order to solve the problem of increasing the frequency of the pulse, in the present invention, a series of erase discharges required for the addressing process for the X-line to change the subfield is distributed by several sustain periods. It is characterized in that to increase the frequency of the sustain pulse.

According to the present invention as described above, since the frequency of the sustain pulse can be greatly increased, the number of discharges per unit time of the cell is similarly increased, and the luminance can be increased in proportion to the low luminance problem, which is a disadvantage of the plasma display panel (PDP). I can solve it.

In addition, the present invention has an advantage that can be easily applied to a high resolution display.

Description

Driving method of 3-electrode surface discharge plasma display panel

The present invention relates to a method of driving a three-electrode surface discharge plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as a three-electrode surface discharge PDP), and more particularly, to a method of expressing gray scale of an image.

The CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), which has been the mainstay of the display means, scans the electron beam through the entire fluorescent surface with a single electron gun, so the distance between the fluorescent surface and the electron gun must be large.

Due to the above characteristics, CRT is bulky, heavy, difficult to implement a flat screen, and difficult to realize a large screen.

In order to overcome the problems of the CRT as described above, various display technologies such as LCD, flat vision panel, and plasma display pannel (PDP) are thin and light and enable large screen realization.

Among them, the PDP is applied to the surface of the rear substrate by ultraviolet rays generated when a discharge gas is injected between the thin front substrate and the rear substrate on which the plurality of transparent electrodes are formed, and discharged by applying a voltage between the transparent electrodes. The phosphor emits light, and each of the light emitting elements composed of the electrode and the phosphor is formed of cells separated by partition walls, and each of them is driven independently. Not only is it easy to implement a large screen, but also has the advantage of eliminating color bleeding and deterioration of focus, so it has become a focus of attention as a new display means that can overcome the limitation of CRT.

The PDP is classified into a DC PDP driven by a DC voltage and an AC PDP driven by a sine wave AC voltage or a pulse voltage according to the type of driving voltage. In this paper, only the AC PDP will be discussed.

1 shows a color three-electrode surface discharge PDP having a resolution of 640 × 480, which is most commonly used among AC PDPs, and a typical three-electrode surface for displaying a moving image or still image on the three-electrode surface discharge PDP. A simplified configuration of the discharge PDP driving circuit is shown.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes 480 first sustain electrodes Y _{1 to} Y ₄₈₀ and 480 second sustain electrodes Z _{1 to} Z ₄₈₀ alternately arranged in parallel with each other, and includes 1920 address electrodes ( A _{1 to} A ₁₉₂₀ are arranged to be orthogonal to the first and second sustain electrodes Y ₁ to Y ₄₈₀ and Z _{1 to} Z ₄₈₀ with a predetermined space therebetween, and ₄₈₀ first and second sustain electrodes. Cells are formed at each intersection of the electrodes Y _{1 to} Y ₄₈₀ and Z _{1 to} Z ₄₈₀ and the 1920 address electrodes A _{1 to} A ₁₉₂₀ so that the entire screen is 480 × 1920 R (Red), G in a matrix form. A color three-electrode surface discharge PDP with a resolution of 640x480 consisting of (Green) and B (Blue) cells is shown.

The 480 second sustain electrodes Z ₁ to Z ₄₈₀ are connected in parallel to each other by the second common sustain electrode Z.

Reference numeral 20 is connected with a three-electrode surface discharge sustain first of PDP (10) electrodes (Y ₁ ~Y ₄₈₀₎ a Y driver for supplying a driving pulse to the first one of the sustain electrodes (Y ₁ ~Y ₄₈₀₎ Indicate,

30 is connected to the second common sustain electrode Z of the 3-electrode surface discharge PDP 10 to supply driving pulses to the second sustain electrodes Z ₁ to Z ₄₈₀ through the second common sustain electrode Z. Z drive unit

40 is connected to the address electrodes A _{1 to} A ₁₉₂₀ of the 3-electrode surface discharge PDP 10 to selectively drive pulses to the address electrodes A _{1 to} A ₁₉₂₀ according to the digital image signal corresponding to each cell. Indicates an address driver for supplying

50 digitizes the analog image signal IMAGE input from the outside to output a digital image signal, and the digital image signal and various external inputs (clock CLK, horizontal synchronization signal HS, vertical synchronization signal VS) The control unit generates various control signals and drive pulses, and supplies them to the Y driver 20, the Z driver 30, and the address driver 40.

Meanwhile, a structure of one cell will be described with reference to FIG. 2, in which a cross-sectional view of a cell positioned in an i th row and a j th column of the three-electrode surface discharge PDP 10 is rotated by 90 °. Is as follows.

First, the i-th first sustaining electrode Y _i and the i-th second sustaining electrode Z _i parallel to each other are formed on one surface of the front substrate 11, which is a display surface of an image, and the first sustain electrode ( A dielectric layer 12 is formed on Y _i ) and the second sustain electrode Z _i to limit the discharge current during discharge and facilitate the generation of wall charges, and sputtering occurs during discharge on the dielectric layer 12. A magnesium oxide (MgO) protective film 13 is formed to protect the first sustain electrode Y _i , the second sustain electrode Z _i , and the dielectric layer 12.

In addition, a j-th address electrode A _j is formed on a surface opposite to the front substrate 11 among the rear substrates 14 that face the front substrate 11 with a predetermined distance therebetween. electrode (a _j) to prevent inter-cell color mixture on both sides of the first and second partition walls, and secured to the discharge space (15a, 15b) is, and is formed in the parallel to the address electrode (a _j), respectively, and the address electrode (a _j of Phosphor 16 is coated on a portion of the first and second partitions 15a and 15b, and a discharge gas is injected into the discharge space.

The basic driving principle of each cell of the three-electrode surface discharge PDP configured as described above is as follows.

First, the first sustain electrode (Y _i) and the address electrode (A _j) by applying a predetermined voltage between the address discharge between the first sustain electrode (Y _i) and the address electrode (A _j) up the first sustain electrode (Y _i ) Wall charges of opposite polarities are respectively generated on the surface of the magnesium oxide protective film 13 on and the surface of the phosphor 16 on the address electrode A _j . At this time, the wall charges having the same polarity as the wall charges generated on the surface of the phosphor 16 on the address electrode A _j are also generated on the surface of the magnesium oxide protective film 13 on the second sustain electrode Z _i .

Then, the first sustain electrodes (Y _i) and the second sustain electrode (Z _i) applying a predetermined voltage having the same polarity and the wall charges generated by the address discharge before directly between the first sustain electrode (Y _i) and Sustain discharge occurs between the second sustain electrodes Z _i .

When the sustain discharge occurs, an electric field is generated in the discharge space to accelerate the trace electrons in the discharge gas, and when the accelerated electrons collide with the neutral particles of the discharge gas, the neutral particles are ionized into electrons and ions. Electrons are also accelerated by the electric field to participate in collisions with the neutral particles, whereby the neutral particles are rapidly ionized into electrons and ions (Electron Avalanche) and the discharge gas is brought into a plasma state while vacuum ultraviolet rays When the vacuum ultraviolet rays excite the phosphor 16 to generate visible light, the cells located in the i th row and the j th column are displayed.

Then, the first sustain electrode (Y _i) and the second sustain electrode (Z _i) when a repeat performing the step of applying an alternating voltage between the first sustain electrodes (Y _i) and the second sustain electrode (Z _i Each time the voltage is changed, the discharge occurs, and the ultraviolet rays generated at this time maintain the light emission of the phosphor 16, thereby maintaining the display of the cells located in the i th row and the j th column.

On the other hand, unlike the CRT that represents the gray scale of the image by adjusting the intensity of the electron beam irradiated to the phosphor, the three-electrode surface discharge PDP 10 is a method of adjusting the number of discharges per hour due to the difficulty of controlling the intensity of the discharge The gray scale of the image is expressed through.

That is, when one frame is displayed and maintained on a full screen once, one frame is divided into X sub-fields that discharge one frame in multiples of 1 to 2 ^X-1 times. Each cell discharges only in a corresponding subfield of each subfield and does not discharge in a subfield that is not applicable to each cell. Thus, the brightness of each cell depends on the combination of the number of discharges in the discharged subfield. It is determined and implemented by the tone (gray scale) of the 2 ^X level.

The most basic gradation implementation method based on the above concept is the ADS subfield method or simply a subfield method, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. .

In FIG. 3, eight subfields SF1 to SF8 constituting one frame when 256 gray scales are implemented according to a general subfield method are illustrated.

According to the subfield method for implementing 256 gray levels, one frame is first divided into eight subfields SF1 to SF8 as shown in FIG. 3, and each subfield SF1 to SF8 is again divided into a reset period and an address period. The drive is divided into sustain periods.

The reset period is a process of initializing a screen by writing the entire screen at the same time and then erasing the entire screen again.

That is, in the reset period, a write pulse is simultaneously applied between each of the first sustain electrodes Y ₁ to Y ₄₈₀ and the second sustain electrodes Z ₁ to Z ₄₈₀ to turn on all the cells on the screen. (ON) and then erase pulses simultaneously between the first sustain electrodes Y ₁ to Y ₄₈₀ and the second sustain electrodes Z ₁ to Z ₄₈₀ so that all cells on the screen Reset to full screen by turning OFF.

The address period following the reset period is a period in which only cells to be turned on in the corresponding subfield are selectively discharged, and a -Vs voltage is applied to the first sustain electrode of the line to be addressed, and the first sustain period is selected. The Va voltage is applied only to the address electrode of the cell to be turned on among the 1920 cells connected to the electrode. Since the sum of the Va voltage and the Vs voltage is higher than the threshold voltage required for discharge, the address discharge is not applied to the cell where Va is applied. As a result, wall charges are generated, and the Vs voltage is lower than the threshold voltage required for discharge, so that cells without Va are not subjected to address discharge.

When the above process is repeatedly performed 480 times for the ₄₈₀ first sustain electrodes Y _{1 to} Y ₄₈₀ , the entire 480 × 1920 cells are addressed, that is, ON or OFF.

In the above-mentioned address electrodes A _{1 to} A ₁₉₂₀ during the address period of each subfield SF1 to SF8, one of the 8-bit digital image signals (lowest bit B ₁ to highest bit B ₈ ) corresponding to each cell. A bit value is applied, specifically, B ₁ during the address period of the first subfield SF1, B ₂ during the address period of the second subfield SF2,. When B ₈ is applied during the address period of the eighth subfield SF8, it is determined whether each cell is turned on or off in the corresponding subfield.

Meanwhile, in the sustain period of each of the subfields SF1 to SF8, the first sustain electrodes Y ₁ to Y ₄₈₀ and the second sustain electrodes are applied with 0 V applied to the address electrodes A _{1 to} A ₁₉₂₀ . By alternately applying a sustain pulse of the voltage Vs between (Z _{1 to} Z ₄₈₀ ), the cell turned on in the address period is displayed and held.

The process of displaying and maintaining the ON cells is performed in each subfield SF1 to SF8 between the first sustain electrodes Y ₁ to Y ₄₈₀ and the second sustain electrodes Z ₁ to Z ₄₈₀ . And SF1: SF2: SF3: SF4: SF5: SF6: SF7: SF8 = 1: 2: 4: 8: 16: 32: 64: 128 by alternating number of sustain pulses.

As a result, when the screens of each of the subfields SF1 to SF8 described above are configured in order, one entire frame is formed as shown in FIG. 4, and gray scale of each cell on the screen is ON. One of 256 levels is displayed according to the number of discharges in the subfield.

On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 4, each of the subfields SF1 to SF8 constituting one frame has a sustain period different from each other but all have a period for resetting and addressing the entire screen. and address) period is the same for all eight subfields.

In order to calculate the efficiency of the subfield method described above, if one frame period is set to 16.67 ms, which is 1/60 second, and the time required for addressing one line is 3 us, a reset and address per frame is performed. The time required for the period is about 3 us × 480 line × 8 sub-frames = 11.52 ms.

In this case, of the total frame time of 16.67 ms, the time contributing to the actual brightness is only 5.15 ms, resulting in a low efficiency of 31%.

In order to solve the problem of low efficiency as described above, the wall charges are formed in the cells of the full screen during the reset period (or the cells of the full screen are turned on) and the unnecessary wall charges are erased during the address period. There is a method (or to turn off unnecessary cells).

Since the time required for addressing a line by the erase method as described above requires about 1 us, the time that is not sustained for one frame includes the time for applying wall charge to the entire screen (1 us × 480 line + 141 us) × 8 sub-frames = 4.968 ms.

Therefore, the efficiency of the subfield method improved as described above has an efficiency of (16.67-4.968) /16.67 ≒ 0.7, that is, 70%.

A method for further increasing the efficiency than the sub-field method described above is a sub-frame method.

In the sub-frame method, an invalid time that does not contribute to the brightness is generated because addressing all the lines at the same time at the beginning of each sub-field sequentially in the sub-field method. In order to compensate for this, the addressing process of the entire screen is partially distributed at every cycle of the sustain pulse so that the sustaining process of all the cells of the entire screen can be continued without interruption.

As described above, in the sub-frame method, since the addressing process is not performed at once on the entire screen but is distributed and processed partly, groups of cells in different subfield states exist simultaneously on one screen. Done.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing screen division by a sub-frame method for expressing 256 gray scales.

Even in the subframe method, one frame is divided into eight subfields, and the luminance levels represented by each subfield are SF1: SF2: SF3: SF4: SF5: SF6: SF7: SF8 = 1: 2 : 4: 8: 16: 32: 64: 128 The weighting point is the same as the subfield method, but for convenience, it is assumed that the number of H-lines is 510.

First, in the subframe method, as shown in FIG. 5, the screen is divided into eight in the horizontal line (H-line) direction as follows.

When the total number of H-lines is 510, 256 lines (1 to 256 lines) that sustain the eighth sub-field of 128 brightness are allocated, and the seventh of 64 brightness is assigned. 128 lines (257 to 384) sustaining the subfields, 64 lines (385 to 448 lines) sustaining the sixth subfield of 32 brightness, and sustaining the fifth subfield of 16 brightness. 32 lines (449 to 480 lines), 16 lines (481 to 496 lines) sustaining the 4th subfield of 8 brightness, 8 lines (497 lines) to sustain the 3rd subfield of 4 brightness. 504 lines), four lines sustaining the second subfield of two brightnesses (505 to 508 lines), and two lines (509 to 510 lines) sustaining the first subfield of one brightness. do.

After the screen configured as described above is maintained for one sustain period (32 usec), the partition boundary of the screen moves down one line as shown in FIG.

That is, one line sustaining the eighth subfield of 128 brightness is changed to sustain the first subfield of one brightness, and the 257 lines sustaining the seventh subfield of 64 brightness are the eighth subfield of 128 brightness. Line 385, which sustains the sixth subfield of 32 brightnesses, changes to sustain the seventh subfield of 64 brightnesses, and Line 449 that sustains the fifth subfield of 16 brightnesses, the sixth subfield of 32 brightnesses. Line 481, which is changing to sustain the field, sustaining the fourth subfield of 8 brightness, is changed to sustain the fifth subfield of 16 brightness, and line 497, which is sustaining the third subfield of 4 brightness, is 4 of 8 brightness. The first subfield is changed to sustain, and the line 505 which is sustaining the second subfield of 2 brightness is changed to sustain the third subfield of 4 brightness. And, line 509 were sustained for the first subfield of the first brightness is changed so as to sustain the second subfield of the second brightness.

After the partition boundary of the screen moved as described above is also maintained for one sustain period (32 usec), the process is repeatedly moved down one line again, and after 510 sustain periods, the screen is again shown in FIG. In this case, all lines of the screen sustain the subfield of the next frame.

7 illustrates a process in which a subfield sustained by all lines on the screen changes with time through the above-described process.

5, 6, and 7, according to the subframe method, a series of addressing processes for simultaneously changing subfields is performed by eight lines at a time.

8 is a timing diagram of driving pulses according to a driving method of the related art showing the addressing process as described above.

Y1, Y2,... , Y257,… Are driving pulses applied to the first sustain electrodes, and Z1, Z2,... , Z257,... Are driving pulses applied to the second sustain electrodes.

Time t ₀ to t _{1 is} the first sustain interval during which the first line, 257 lines, 385 lines (not shown), 449 lines (not shown), 481 lines (not shown), and 497 lines (not shown) ), The 505 lines (not shown) and the 509 lines (not shown) end the sustained subfield and change to another subfield, and other lines other than the above 8 lines continue to maintain the currently sustained subfield.

Also, during the second sustain period starting at time t ₁ , the second line, 258 lines (not shown), 386 lines (not shown), 450 lines (not shown), 482 lines (not shown), and 498 lines (not shown) 8 lines of 506 lines (not shown) and 510 lines (not shown) end the subfields sustained until then, and change to another subfield.

Section A of the drawing is a writing in which writing pulses are simultaneously applied to the lines in order to turn on (or discharge) all cells corresponding to the line whose subfield is to be changed in the sustain section. The period is about 3 to 5 usec or so.

In addition, section B is a sustain pulse section which is about 2 to 4 usec,

Section C is an addressing section, and is a section in which erase pulses 1 to 8 are selectively applied to cells to be turned off among cells of a line to which a write pulse is applied in section A.

However, since the erasing pulses must be sequentially applied to the eight corresponding lines during the addressing section (section C), one erase time between each sustain pulse is 1.4 to 2 usec. There must be a time allowance for 8 erase pulses.

Therefore, according to the conventional method of addressing all eight lines for changing the subfields in one sustain period, since eight erase pulses separated in time must be inserted in one sustain period, the sustain pulses must be inserted. There is a limit to increasing the frequency of.

However, the brightness of the screen, that is, the brightness, is determined according to the number of discharges per unit time of each cell on the screen, and since the number of discharges per unit time is directly proportional to the frequency of the sustain pulse, the limit of the sustain frequency is expressed by the PDP. It becomes the limit.

Therefore, according to the conventional technology as described above, there is a problem of low luminance in which the brightness that the screen can express is not sufficient.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art,

In a subframe method in which a screen is divided into X sub-screens and an X-line addressing process is performed at a time, the conventional method in which the addressing process for the X-line is performed in one sustain period is performed every X of the sustain pulse. In order to compensate for the disadvantage of increasing the frequency of the sustain pulse since two erase pulses must be inserted, in the present invention, a series of erase discharges required for the addressing process for the X-line is distributed by several sustain periods. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for driving a three-electrode surface discharge PDP which can reduce the erase discharge time inserted between the two to increase the frequency of the sustain pulse.

1 is a block diagram showing a simplified configuration of a color three-electrode surface discharge plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as a three-electrode surface discharge PDP) and a driving circuit having a general 640 × 480 resolution;

2 is a cross-sectional view of one cell of the three-electrode surface discharge PDP shown in FIG.

3 is a detailed configuration diagram of eight sub-fields constituting one frame when 256 gray scales are implemented;

4 is a diagram illustrating one frame in which the eight subfields illustrated in FIG. 3 are contiguous;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining screen division in a subframe method for implementing gray scale; FIG.

6 is a diagram illustrating an addressing process in a subframe method for implementing 256 gray scales;

7 is a view illustrating a process of changing a subfield of a full screen with time in a subframe method;

8 is a diagram illustrating timing of driving pulses for performing a subframe addressing process according to the related art;

9 is a diagram illustrating timing of driving pulses for performing an addressing process according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

10 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

Y1, Y2,... , Y257,… : Driving pulses applied to the first sustain electrode,

Z1, Z2,... , Z257,... : Drive pulses applied to the second sustain electrode.

The driving method of the three-electrode surface discharge plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as three-electrode surface discharge PDP) according to the present invention for solving the above object,

In order to express gray scale on the three-electrode surface discharge PDP, each sub-sub is divided by dividing one frame into X sub-fields and adjusting the number of sustain pulses applied in the respective sub-fields. Different weights are assigned to the level of brightness represented by the field, and the entire screen is divided into X subscreens along a horizontal line (H-line), and the X subscreens represent different subfields, respectively. During the frame, there is an addressing process of changing the subfields of some lines of the full screen every cycle of the sustain pulse so that all cells of the full screen each represent the X subfields once. The addressing process is a three-electrode that represents a gray scale in a sub-frame method performed in units of selected X lines by one line per X sub-screens. In the driving method of the surface discharge PDP,

In order to increase the frequency of the sustain pulse, a series of erase discharges required for the addressing process of the X lines to change the subfield is distributed to several sustain periods.

Meanwhile, in the case of implementing 256 gray scales according to the present invention, it is appropriate to divide the subfield into eight subfields from SF1 to SF8, and each subfield has a different weight. In order to have a brightness level, a number of sustain pulses proportional to SF1: SF2: SF3: SF4: SF5: SF6: SF7: SF8 = 1: 2: 4: 8: 16: 32: 64: 128 are applied. can do.

In addition, each sub-screen is divided into eight sub-screens along a horizontal line (H-line), with 256 lines for sustaining the eighth subfield of 128 brightness and 7 of 64 brightness. 128 lines to sustain the 1st subfield, 64 lines to sustain the 6th subfield of 32 brightness, 32 lines to sustain the 5th subfield of 16 brightness, and 4th subfield to 8 brightness 16 lines, 8 lines to sustain the 3rd subfield of 4 brightness, 4 lines to sustain the 2nd subfield of 2 brightness, and 2 lines to sustain the 1st subfield of 1 brightness. It is preferable to configure the entire screen with 510 horizontal lines (H-lines) as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG.

In this case, an addressing process of changing subfields by selecting 8 lines of 1 line for each of the 8 sub-screens must be repeated, and the addressing process simultaneously turns on all cells corresponding to the selected 8 lines. A write process is performed, and an erase process is performed in which erase cells are turned off by sequentially applying erasing pulses on a line-by-line basis.

As a method of applying the erase pulse, conventionally, there are limitations in increasing the frequency of the sustain pulse by inserting all eight erase pulses necessary for eight lines of addressing in the interval between one sustain pulse.

In the present invention, the frequency of the sustain pulse is doubled and the eight erase pulses are applied to each of the four sustain pulses four times, or the frequency of the sustain pulse is increased four times and the interval between the four sustain pulses. Since the frequency of the sustain pulse is greatly increased by using a method of applying eight erase pulses of two each, it is possible to solve the low luminance problem, which is a disadvantage of the plasma display panel (PDP).

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

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a vertical line including 510 horizontal lines (H-lines) including a first sustain electrode (not shown) and a second sustain electrode (not shown) and an address electrode (not shown) is provided. Assume these 1920 three-electrode surface discharge PDPs (not shown).

9 shows a first embodiment of a three-electrode surface discharge PDP driving method according to the present invention.

In the drawings, Y1, Y2,... , Y257,… Are driving pulses applied to the first sustain electrodes, and Z1, Z2,... , Z257,... Are driving pulses applied to the second sustain electrodes.

Section A writes a write pulse applied to the lines simultaneously to turn on (or discharge) all cells corresponding to the line whose subfield state should be changed in the sustain section. Period is about 3 to 5 usec, and section B is about 2 to 4 usec in which sustain pulse is applied to maintain the discharge state, and section C is an addressing section and write pulse in section A is The erase pulses 1 to 8 are selectively applied to cells to be turned off among the cells of the applied line.

Time t ₀ to t _{1 is} the first sustain interval, during which the first subfield, 257 lines, 385 lines (not shown), and 449 lines (not shown) terminate the subfields currently being sustained and the other subfields. And other lines other than the above 4 lines keep the subfield currently being sustained.

In addition, time t ₁ to t _{2 is} the second sustain period, where 481 lines (not shown), 497 lines (not shown), 505 lines (not shown), and 509 lines (not shown) are sustained during this period. End the subfield and change to another subfield.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, since addressing for eight lines is completed through two sustain periods, four erase pulses are inserted during one sustain period, and eight erase pulses are inserted. It can be seen that can increase the frequency of the sustain pulse than the prior art of Figure 8 is inserted during one sustain period.

A second embodiment of the present invention, which implements the idea of the present invention as described above, is illustrated in FIG. 10.

10, Y1 ',... , Y257 ',… Are driving pulses applied to the first sustain electrodes, and Z1 ',... , Z257 ',… Are driving pulses applied to the second sustain electrodes.

The operation in section A 'which is a writing period and section B' which is a sustain pulse section is the same as in the first embodiment.

The first line, 257 lines in the C 'address range of the first sustain section (t ₀ ' ~ t ₁ '), and the 385 lines in the second sustain section (t ₁ ' ~ t ₂ ') (not shown) And 449 lines (not shown), 481 lines (not shown) and 497 lines (not shown) in the third sustain section (t ₂ '~ t ₃ '), and 4 sustain lines (t ₃ '~ t ₄ ') ) Ends the subfields sustained by lines 505 (not shown) and 509 (not shown), respectively, and changes to another subfield, and other lines continue to maintain the current subfield.

According to the second embodiment of the present invention, since addressing for eight lines is completed through four sustain periods, two erase pulses are inserted during one sustain period, and thus the present invention shown in FIG. It can be seen that the frequency of the sustain pulse can be increased more than in the first embodiment of.

On the other hand, the present invention described so far can be usefully applied to implement a high resolution display, this will be described with a simple example.

For example, to implement 512 gray scales, one frame is divided into nine subfields representing brightnesses of different weights, and 512 gradations are formed by a combination of nine subfields having different weights. An addressing method may be conceived by dividing the entire screen into nine parts and changing the subfields by nine lines. In this case, the present invention may be applied by distributing nine erase pulses in three sustain periods. Able to know.

In a subframe method in which an entire screen is divided into X sub-screens and an X-line addressing process is performed at a time, since the addressing process for the X-line is performed in one sustain period according to the conventional method. There was a problem that there is a limit to increasing the frequency of the sustain pulse,

In the present invention, by dispersing the addressing process for the X-line in several sustain periods, the frequency of the sustain pulse can be greatly increased by 2 or 4 times by reducing the erase discharge time inserted between the sustain pulses. Since the number of discharges per unit time increases in proportion thereto, there is an effect that can solve the low brightness problem, which is a disadvantage of the plasma display panel (PDP).

In addition, the driving method of the three-electrode surface discharge PDP according to the present invention can be easily applied when implementing a high resolution display.

Claims (5)

By dividing one frame into X subfields and adjusting the number of sustain pulses applied to each subfield, different weights are assigned to the level of brightness represented by each subfield, Is divided into X sub-screens along a horizontal line (H-line) and the X sub-screens represent different subfields, and each cell of the full screen is the X sub-fields each during one frame. There is an addressing process for changing the subfields of some lines of the entire screen every cycle of the sustain pulse, so that the X-line is configured by selecting one line per X sub-screens. 3-electrode surface discharge plasma display panel expressing gray scale in a sub-frame method performed in units (hereinafter, 3-electrode surface) In the driving method of the discharge PDP), In order to be able to increase the frequency of the sustain pulse, the three-electrode surface characterized in that a series of erase discharges required for the addressing process for the X line to change the subfield is dispersed in several sustain periods Driving method of discharge PDP. The method of claim 1, In order to implement 256 gray scales, the 1 frame is divided into SF1: SF2: SF3: SF4: SF5: SF6: SF7: SF8 = 1: 2: 4: 8: 16: 32: 64: 128 for each subfield. A method of driving a three-electrode surface discharge PDP, characterized by dividing into eight subfields having a brightness level corresponding to. The method of claim 1, The entire screen is composed of 510 horizontal lines (H-line), with 256 lines sustaining the eighth subfield of 128 brightness, 128 lines sustaining the seventh subfield of 64 brightness, and 32 brightness lines. 64 lines sustaining the 6th subfield, 32 lines sustaining the 5th subfield of 16 brightness, 16 lines sustaining the 4th subfield of 8 brightness, and 3rd subfield of 4 brightness. It divides the entire screen into eight subscreens by assigning eight sustain lines, four lines sustaining the second subfield of two brightnesses, and two lines sustaining the first subfield of one brightness. A method of driving a three-electrode surface discharge PDP. The method according to claim 1 or 2 or 3, Select one line for each of the eight sub-screens to perform the addressing process in units of eight lines, and eight erase discharges required to address the eight lines are distributed to two sustain periods, thereby performing four erase discharges per sustain period. A method of driving a three-electrode surface discharge PDP. The method according to claim 1 or 2 or 3, Selecting one line for each of the eight sub-screens to perform the addressing process in units of eight lines, and eight erase discharges required for addressing the eight lines are distributed to four sustain periods, thereby performing two erase discharges per sustain period. A method of driving a 3-electrode surface discharge PDP.