KR20030040723A - Plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A plasma display panel is provided to reduce power consumption and installation cost by reducing the number of switching elements, while reducing the address period. CONSTITUTION: A plasma display panel comprises first electrodes(Y1 to Ym) formed on an upper portion(44) and a lower portion(46) of the plasma display panel; and first to third switching units(42a,42b,42c) included in the first sustain driving unit(40), and which simultaneously drive the first electrodes formed on the upper and lower portions of the panel. The number of switching units corresponds to the number of the first electrodes formed on the upper or lower portion of the plasma display panel. Each of switching units includes the first switch(S1) connected to a scan voltage source(Vs), and the second switch(S2) connected to a ground voltage source(GND). Both the first switch and the second switch are connected to the first electrodes.

Description

Plasma Display Panel {PLASMA DISPLAY PANEL}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to a plasma display panel capable of reducing switching elements.

Plasma Display Panel (hereinafter referred to as "PDP") is a display device using visible light generated from a phosphor when ultraviolet light generated by gas discharge excites the phosphor. PDP is thinner and lighter than Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), which has been the mainstay of display means, and has the advantage of realizing high definition / large screen.

Referring to FIG. 1, a discharge cell of a three-electrode AC surface discharge type PDP has a first electrode 12Y and a second electrode 12Z formed on the upper substrate 10, and an address formed on the lower substrate 18. An electrode 20X is provided.

The upper dielectric layer 14 and the passivation layer 16 are stacked on the upper substrate 10 having the first electrode 12Y and the second electrode 12Z side by side. As the protective film 16, magnesium oxide (MgO) is usually used.

The lower dielectric layer 22 and the partition wall 24 are formed on the lower substrate 18 on which the address electrode 20X is formed, and the phosphor 26 is coated on the surfaces of the lower dielectric layer 22 and the partition wall 24. The address electrode 20X is formed in the direction crossing the first electrode 12Y and the second electrode 12Z.

The phosphor 26 is excited by ultraviolet rays generated during plasma discharge to generate visible light of any one of red, green, and blue. Inert gas for gas discharge is injected into the discharge space provided between the upper and lower plates and the partition wall.

The three-electrode AC surface discharge type PDP is driven by being divided into a plurality of subfields, and gray scale display is performed by emitting light a number of times proportional to the weight of video data in each subfield period.

For example, when an image is displayed in 256 gray scales using 8-bit video data, one frame display period (for example, 1/60 second = about 16.7 msec) in each discharge cell is shown in FIG. 2. It is divided into eight subfields SF1 to SF8.

Each subfield SF1 to SF8 is further divided into a reset period, an address period and a sustain period, and 1: 2: 4: 8:... The weight is given at the ratio of 128. Here, the reset period is a period for initializing the discharge cells, the address period is a period for causing selective address discharge according to the logic value of the video data, and the sustain period is such that discharge is maintained in the discharge cells in which the address discharge has occurred. It is a period. The reset period and the address period are equally assigned to each subfield period.

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

Referring to FIG. 3, first, the reset pulse RP is supplied to the first electrodes Y in the reset period. When the reset pulse RP is supplied to the first electrodes Y, a reset discharge is generated between the first electrodes Y and the second electrodes Z to initialize the discharge cell. At this time, the mis-discharge prevention pulse MP is supplied to the address electrodes X.

In the address period, the scan pulse SP is sequentially supplied to the first electrodes Y, and the data pulse DP synchronized with the scan pulse SP is supplied to the address electrodes X. At this time, in the discharge cells supplied with the data pulse DP, an address discharge for selecting the discharge cell occurs.

In the sustain period, sustain pulses SUSPy and SUSPz are alternately supplied to the first electrodes Y and the second electrodes Z. FIG. At this time, sustain discharge occurs in the discharge cells in which the address discharge has occurred. Such sustain discharge is maintained for a predetermined time according to the gray scale.

4 is a diagram illustrating a driving device for supplying a driving waveform shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, the driving apparatus of the PDP of the present invention includes a first address driver 30A for driving the odd-numbered address electrodes X1, X3, ..., Xn-3, Xn-1, and the even-numbered address A second address driver 30B for driving the electrodes X2, X4, ..., Xn-2, Xn, a first sustain driver 32 for driving the first electrodes Y, and a second A second sustain driver 34 for driving the electrodes Z is provided.

The first sustain driver 32 supplies the reset pulse RP to the first electrodes Y in common during the reset period, and sequentially supplies the scan pulse SP to the first electrodes Y in the address period. do. In addition, the first sustain driver 32 supplies the sustain pulse SUSPy to the first electrodes Y during the sustain period.

The second sustain driver 32 supplies the sustain pulse SUSPz to the second electrodes Z in the sustain period. The first and second address drivers 30A and 30B supply the data pulses DP to the address electrodes X in the address period.

In the conventional driving device driven as described above, the first sustain driver 32 must sequentially supply the scan pulse SP to the first electrodes Y. FIG. To this end, the first sustain driver 32 includes a switching unit 36 corresponding to the number of first electrodes Y as shown in FIG. 5.

Each of the switching units 36 includes a first switch S1 connected to the scan voltage source Vs and a second switch S2 connected to the base voltage source GND. The first switch S1 and the second switch S2 are connected to each of the first electrodes Y in common. Each of the first and second switches S1 and S2 is turned on and off by a control signal supplied from the outside.

When the first switch S1 is turned on, the voltage of the scan voltage source Vs is supplied to the first electrode Y. That is, when the first switch S1 is turned on, the scan pulse SP is supplied to the first electrode Y. When the second switch S2 is turned on, the second electrode Y is connected to the ground voltage source GND. The second switch S2 maintains a turn-on state when the scan pulse SP is not supplied to the first electrode Y. FIG.

In the conventional PDP, as illustrated in FIG. 5, one switching unit 36, that is, two switching elements S1 and S2, is installed to drive each first electrode Y. FIG. As such, when the switching unit 36 is installed at each of the first electrodes Y, a high manufacturing cost is required and a lot of power consumption is consumed.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display panel capable of reducing switching elements.

1 is a perspective view showing a discharge cell structure of a conventional three-electrode AC surface discharge plasma display panel.

FIG. 2 is a view showing one frame of the plasma display panel shown in FIG. 1; FIG.

FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram illustrating a driving waveform supplied to the plasma display panel shown in FIG. 1.

4 is a view showing a driving unit for supplying a driving waveform shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a first sustain driver shown in FIG. 3; FIG.

6 illustrates a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a view showing an address driver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 illustrates a plasma display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention.

9 and 10 illustrate a method of contacting first electrodes formed on upper and lower portions of a panel.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

10: upper substrate 12Y: first electrode

12Z: second electrode 14, 22: dielectric layer

16: protective film 18: lower substrate

20X: address electrode 24: partition wall

26: phosphor layer 30A, 30B, 52, 54: address driver

32,34,40: Sustain driving part 36,42: Switching part

44,56 upper 46,58 lower

48: panel 60, 62: contact hole

In order to achieve the above object, the plasma display panel includes a first electrode formed on an upper portion of the panel, first electrodes formed on a lower portion of the panel, and a first sustain driver. And switching units for driving the first electrodes formed at the same time.

The first sustain driver includes the same number of switching parts as the first electrodes formed on the top or the bottom of the first sustain driver.

The n (n is a natural number of 1 or more) first electrodes formed on each of the upper and lower portions are electrically connected to the n th switching unit.

The first electrodes formed on the upper portion are electrically connected to the first electrodes formed on the lower portion of the first sustain driver.

The first electrodes formed on the upper portion are electrically connected to the first electrodes formed on the lower portion of the panel.

And a first dielectric layer formed to cover the first electrodes formed on the upper portion and having contact holes to electrically connect the first electrodes formed on the lower portion and the first electrodes formed on the upper portion. do.

The contact holes are formed by the number of first electrodes so as to overlap each of the first electrodes formed on the upper portion, and from the contact holes formed on the first first electrode formed on the upper portion to the contact holes formed on the last first electrode formed on the upper portion thereof. It is formed close to the first sustain driver.

The contact hole is formed as one slit hole to expose the first electrodes formed on the upper portion, and the slit hole is formed closer to the first sustain driver as the first electrode formed on the upper portion approaches the last first electrode formed on the upper portion. do.

The address electrode is configured to be insulated from the first address electrode when the first electrode formed on the upper side is driven, and to receive the data pulse when the first electrode formed on the lower side is insulated from the first address electrode. A second address electrode is provided.

Other objects and features of the present invention in addition to the above objects will become apparent from the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10.

6 illustrates a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the first sustain driver 40 of the PDP according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a switching unit 42 corresponding to half of the first electrodes Y1 to Ym.

Each of the switching units 42 includes a first switch S1 connected to the scan voltage source Vs and a second switch S2 connected to the base voltage source GND. The first switch S1 and the second switch S2 are connected to each of the first electrodes Y in common. Each of the first and second switches S1 and S2 is turned on and off by a control signal supplied from the outside.

When the first switch S1 is turned on, the voltage of the scan voltage source Vs is supplied to the first electrode Y. That is, when the first switch S1 is turned on, the scan pulse SP is supplied to the first electrode Y. When the second switch S2 is turned on, the second electrode Y is connected to the ground voltage source GND. The second switch S2 maintains a turn-on state when the scan pulse SP is not supplied to the first electrode Y. FIG.

Meanwhile, the first switching part 42a is electrically connected to the first first electrode lines Y1 and Ym / 2 + 1 of the upper part 44 and the lower part 46 of the panel. That is, the first switching unit 42a simultaneously supplies the scan pulses to the first first electrode line Y1 and the Ym / 2 + 1th first electrode line Ym / 2 + 1. The first switching unit 42a is electrically connected to the first electrode line Y1 and the Ym / 2 + 1st first electrode line Ym / 2 + 1 in the first sustain driver 40.

The second switching part 42b is electrically connected to the second first electrode lines Y2 and Ym / 2 + 2 of the upper part 44 and the lower part 46 of the panel. That is, the second switching unit 42b simultaneously supplies the scan pulses to the second first electrode line Y2 and the Ym / 2 + 2nd first electrode line Ym / 2 + 2. The second switching unit 42b is electrically connected to the second electrode line Y2 and the Ym / 2 + 2nd first electrode line Ym / 2 + 2 in the first sustain driver 40.

Similarly, the last switching section 42c is electrically connected to the last first electrode lines Ym / 2 and Ym of the top 44 and the bottom 46 of the panel. That is, the last switching unit 42c simultaneously supplies scan pulses to the Ym / 2nd first electrode line Ym / 2 and the Ymth first electrode line Ym. The last switching unit 42c is electrically connected to the Ym / 2nd first electrode line Ym / 2 and the Ymth first electrode line Ym in the first sustain driver 40.

That is, according to the PDP according to the first embodiment of the present invention, one switching unit 42 is connected to two first electrode lines Y, and thus the switching elements are reduced in half. At this time, one switching unit 42 simultaneously supplies the scan pulses to the two first electrode lines (Y).

On the other hand, the address driver according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 7, the PDP of the present invention includes a first address driver 52 for driving address electrodes X1 to Xn formed on the upper portion 44 and address electrodes X1 to X formed on the lower portion 46. A second address driver 54 for driving Xn) is provided.

In detail, when the first switching unit 42a is driven, scan pulses are supplied to the first first electrode lines Y1 and Ym / 2 + 1 formed in the upper part 44 and the lower part 46. .

When the scan pulse is supplied to the first electrode line Y1 formed at the upper portion, the first address driver 52 supplies the data pulses to the address electrodes X1 to Xn formed at the upper portion 44. When the scan pulse is supplied to the first electrode line Ym / 2 + 1 formed at the lower portion, the second address driver 54 supplies the data pulses to the address electrodes X1 to Xn formed at the lower portion 46. Thereafter, this process is repeated to select the discharge cells to be turned on.

That is, in the first embodiment of the present invention, by simultaneously driving the two first electrode lines (Y), the address period can be shortened by half compared to the conventional one. Therefore, the sustain period is increased by the time in which the address period is shortened, thereby increasing the luminance of the PDP.

8 is a diagram illustrating a plasma display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the first sustain driver 40 of the PDP according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a switching unit 42 corresponding to half of the first electrodes Y1 to Ym. Operation of the first sustain driver 40 is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention and will be omitted.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the first electrode lines Y formed at the top 56 and the bottom 58 are electrically connected on the panel 48.

In other words, the first first electrode line Y1 formed at the top 56 is electrically connected to the first first electrode line Ym / 2 + 1 formed at the bottom 58 on the panel 48. In addition, the second first electrode line Y2 formed on the upper portion 56 is electrically connected to the second first electrode line Ym / 2 + 2 formed on the lower portion 58 on the panel 48. Similarly, the last first electrode line Ym / 2 formed in the upper portion 56 is electrically connected to the last first electrode line Ym formed in the lower portion 58.

A method of connecting the first electrode lines Y formed on the upper portion 56 and the lower portion 58 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 9. First, first electrode lines Y1 to Ym / 2 are formed on an upper portion 56 of the panel 48. After the first electrode lines Y1 to Ym / 2 are formed on the upper portion 56 of the panel 48, a first dielectric layer (not shown) is formed to cover the upper portion 56 or the upper portion 56 and the lower portion 58. do.

When the first dielectric layer is formed, the contact holes 60 are formed to expose the respective first electrode lines Y1 to Ym / 2. The contact holes 60 are formed closer to the first sustain driver 40 from the first first electrode line Y1 of the upper part 56 to the last first electrode line Ym / 2 of the upper part 56. do.

Subsequently, the first electrode lines Ym / are formed in contact with the first electrode lines Y1 to Ym / 2 formed in the upper portion 56 and the contact holes 60 at the lower portion 58 of the panel 48. 2 + 1 to Ym). In this case, the first first electrode line Ym / 2 + 1 formed at the lower portion 58 is in contact with the first first electrode line Y1 formed at the upper portion 56 and the last first electrode line formed at the lower portion 58. Ym is in contact with the last first electrode line Ym formed in the upper portion 56.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, the contact hole 62 may be formed in one slit hole shape as shown in FIG. 10. The slit hole-type contact hole 62 has the first sustain driver 40 gradually from the first first electrode line Y1 of the upper part 56 to the last first electrode line Ym / 2 of the upper part 56. Is formed close to

As described above, in the plasma display panel according to the present invention, each of the first electrodes formed on the upper part and the lower part is connected to one switching unit. Therefore, the first sustain driver includes a switching part corresponding to half of the first electrodes, thereby consuming less power and minimizing the installation cost of the switching part. In addition, in the present invention, since the scan pulse is simultaneously supplied to the first electrodes formed on the upper and lower portions, the address period can be shortened.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (9)

A plasma display panel comprising a first electrode supplied with a scan pulse, an address electrode supplied with a data pulse, and a first sustain driver for driving the first electrode. The first electrodes formed on the panel; The first electrodes formed under the panel; And a switching unit which is included in the first sustain driving unit and simultaneously drives first electrodes formed on the upper and lower portions of the panel. The method of claim 1, And the first sustain driver includes the same number of switching parts as the first electrodes formed on the upper portion or the lower portion of the plasma display panel. The method of claim 2, And an n-th (n is a natural number of 1 or more) first electrode formed on each of the upper and lower portions is electrically connected to the n-th switching unit. The method of claim 3, wherein And the first electrodes formed on the upper portion are electrically connected to the first electrodes formed on the lower portion of the first sustain driver. The method of claim 3, wherein And the first electrodes formed on the upper portion of the panel are electrically connected to the first electrodes formed on the lower portion of the panel. The method of claim 5, A first dielectric layer formed to cover the first electrodes formed on the upper portion and having contact holes to electrically connect the first electrodes formed on the lower portion and the first electrodes formed on the upper portion; Plasma display panel characterized in that it comprises. The method of claim 6, The contact hole is formed by the number of the first electrodes so as to overlap each of the first electrodes formed on the upper portion, and from the contact hole formed on the first first electrode formed on the upper portion to the last first electrode formed on the upper portion. And forming a contact hole closer to the first sustain driver. The method of claim 6, The contact hole is formed as a slit hole to expose the first electrodes formed on the upper portion, and the slit hole is gradually connected to the last first electrode formed on the upper portion from the first first electrode formed on the upper portion. And a plasma display panel formed close to the driving unit. The method of claim 1, The address electrode, A first address electrode supplied with the data pulse when the first electrode formed on the upper part is driven; And a second address electrode which is formed to be insulated from the first address electrode and receives the data pulse when the first electrode formed below the first electrode is driven.