KR20050039217A - Plasma display panel and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plasma display panel and a driving method thereof. In the present invention, when driving one subfield of the plasma display panel including the first space defined by the first electrode and the second electrode, the wall charge state of the previous sustain discharge is erased, and the next address discharge is removed. A reset step of setting up wall charges in order to stably perform the step; An address step of selecting an on-cell and a non-on-cell from the panel to accumulate wall charges on the on-cell (addressed cell); Driving to a sustain step of performing a discharge for actually displaying an image on an addressed cell, and raising or lowering a voltage level applied to the scan electrode or the sustain electrode with a constant slope during a period of performing at least one sustain discharge to the sustain step; A voltage is applied to lower, reducing the luminance difference between adjacent grays in low grays.

Description

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

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

Recently, flat display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), field emission displays (FEDs), and PDPs have been actively developed. Among these flat panel display devices, PDPs have advantages of higher luminance and luminous efficiency and wider viewing angles than other flat panel display devices. Therefore, the PDP is in the spotlight as a display device to replace the conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) in a large display device of 40 inches or more.

PDPs are flat display devices that display characters or images using plasma generated by gas discharge, and dozens to millions or more of pixels are arranged in a matrix according to their size. Such PDPs are classified into a direct current type (DC type) and an alternating current type (AC type) according to the shape of the driving voltage waveform applied and the structure of the discharge cell.

In the DC-type PDP, since the electrode is exposed to the discharge space as it is, the current flows in the discharge space while voltage is applied, and there is a disadvantage in that a resistance for current limitation must be made for this purpose. On the other hand, in the AC type PDP, the electrode covers the dielectric layer, so the current is limited by the formation of a natural capacitance component, and the electrode is protected from the impact of ions during discharge.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 covered with the dielectric layer 2 and the protective film 3 are arranged in parallel on the first substrate 1. A plurality of address electrodes 8 covered with the insulator layer 7 are provided on the second substrate 6. A partition 9 is formed on the insulator layer 7 between the address electrodes 8 in parallel with the address electrode 8. In addition, the phosphor 10 is formed on the surface of the insulator layer 7 and on both side surfaces of the partition wall 9. The first substrate 1 and the second substrate 6 may be arranged with the discharge space 11 therebetween so that the scan electrode 4 and the address electrode 8 and the sustain electrode 5 and the address electrode 8 are orthogonal to each other. It is arranged toward. The discharge space at the intersection of the address electrode 8 and the pair of the scanning electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 forms a discharge cell 12.

2 shows a three-electrode surface discharge structure of the plasma display panel.

Referring to FIG. 2, an address electrode is disposed to face the scan electrode and the sustain electrode which are formed in parallel in the discharge space formed by the partition wall. In this structure, a discharge is generated to generate wall charges to select a pixel between the address electrode and the scan electrode, and then a discharge for displaying an image between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode is repeated for a predetermined time.

In addition to forming a discharge space, the partition wall blocks light generated during discharge to prevent cross talk of neighboring pixels. A plurality of such unit structures are formed on a single substrate in a matrix form, and a fluorescent material is applied to each unit structure to form one pixel, and the pixels are gathered to form a plasma display panel. Plasma display panels, which are currently commercialized, generate a discharge in each pixel, and excite a fluorescent material coated on the inner wall of the pixel with ultraviolet rays generated by the discharge to realize a desired color.

In order for a plasma display panel to perform as a color display, it is necessary to implement halftones. Currently, a halftone implementation method of dividing one TV field into a plurality of subfields and controlling the time division is used. have.

3 is a method of implementing halftones of an AC plasma display panel applied in the related art.

FIG. 3 illustrates a 6-bit gray scale implementation method, in which one TV field is divided into six subfields, and each subfield is divided into an address period and a display discharge sustain period.

4 and 5 illustrate signal waveforms applied to each electrode during one subfield period. Here, the X electrode is a sustain electrode and the Y electrode is a scan electrode. The address electrode is omitted here for convenience.

4 and 5, the potential level of the X electrode is a force for bringing electrons after the address discharge between the A and Y electrodes to the X electrode in the address section.

When the potential of the X electrode is low, the electrons generated in the address operation do not accumulate much on the X electrode and the sustain discharge voltage increases.

On the other hand, if the potential of the X electrode is high, the electrons generated in the address operation move more to the X electrode, which facilitates the discharge in the sustain discharge period that starts after the address period ends.

Here, the difference between FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 is that one and three sustain discharge pulses in the sustain period. This is understood by the image data, and the number of sustain discharge pulses is determined by the image data.

However, in the gray scale representation of the plasma display panel, as the back ground luminance decreases or the unit luminance level due to the sustain discharge increases, the luminance difference between the adjacent gray scales increases in the low gray scale. In particular, since the gradation difference by 0 and 1 becomes large, the gradation expression becomes rough.

When expressing low gradation with a small number of sustain pulses, the gradation expression power varies greatly depending on the luminance per sustain pulse. In general, the number of sustain pulses is increased by one pair of X and Y pulses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a plasma display panel and a driving method thereof for reducing a luminance difference between adjacent grayscales in low grayscales.

The plasma display panel according to one aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems,

A plasma display panel which receives externally input image data and displays data in a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period,

A plasma panel including a plurality of address electrodes, a plurality of scan electrodes, and a sustain electrode;

The image signal is input to generate and output a scan electrode driving signal, a sustain electrode driving signal, and an address electrode driving signal, and gradually shift the potential of the scan electrode corresponding to at least one scan pulse from the reference potential to a specific voltage during the sustain period. A controller which outputs the scan electrode driving signal to rise;

An address data driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the address electrode driving signal to the address electrode;

A sustain electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the sustain electrode driving signal to the sustain electrode;

And a scan electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the scan electrode driving signal to the scan electrode.

The plasma display panel according to another aspect of the present invention for solving this problem,

A plasma display panel which receives externally input image data and displays data in a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period,

A plasma panel including a plurality of address electrodes, a plurality of scan electrodes, and a sustain electrode;

The image signal is input to generate and output a scan electrode driving signal, a sustain electrode driving signal, and an address electrode driving signal, and gradually shift the potential of the sustain electrode corresponding to at least one sustain pulse from the specific voltage to the reference potential during the sustain period. A controller which outputs the sustain electrode driving signal to descend;

An address data driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the address electrode driving signal to the address electrode;

A sustain electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the sustain electrode driving signal to the sustain electrode;

And a scan electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the scan electrode driving signal to the scan electrode.

The plasma display panel according to another aspect of the present invention for solving this problem,

A plasma display panel which generates an input video signal into a plurality of subfields and drives each subfield into a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period according to the sustain information.

A first electrode and a second electrode;

A first space defined by the first electrode and the second electrode; And

A driving circuit for transmitting a driving signal to the first electrode and the second electrode during each sustain period;

The driving circuit

In the sustain period, the potential of the voltage applied to the first electrode is increased by a predetermined slope.

The plasma display panel according to another aspect of the present invention for solving this problem,

A plasma display panel which generates an input video signal into a plurality of subfields and drives each subfield into a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period according to the sustain information.

A first electrode and a second electrode;

A first space defined by the first electrode and the second electrode; And

A driving circuit for transmitting a driving signal to the first electrode and the second electrode during each sustain period;

The driving circuit

The electric potential of the voltage applied to the second electrode in the sustain period is reduced to a predetermined slope.

The driving method of the plasma display panel according to an aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems,

A driving method of a plasma display panel including a first space defined by the first electrode and a second electrode,

A reset step of erasing the wall charge state of the previous sustain discharge and setting up the wall charge to stably perform the next address discharge;

An address step of selecting an on-cell and a non-on-cell from the panel to accumulate wall charges on the on-cell (addressed cell);

A sustaining step of performing a discharge for actually displaying an image on the addressed cell,

The voltage is applied to raise the voltage level applied to the first electrode to a predetermined slope during the period of performing at least one discharge in the holding step.

The driving method of the plasma display panel according to an aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems,

A driving method of a plasma display panel including a first space defined by the first electrode and a second electrode,

A reset step of erasing the wall charge state of the previous sustain discharge and setting up the wall charge to stably perform the next address discharge;

An address step of selecting an on-cell and a non-on-cell from the panel to accumulate wall charges on the on-cell (addressed cell);

A sustaining step of performing a discharge for actually displaying an image on the addressed cell,

The voltage may be applied to lower the voltage level applied to the first electrode to a predetermined slope during the period of performing at least one discharge in the holding step.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the specification. When a part is connected to another part, this includes not only a direct connection but also a connection between other components in between.

A plasma display panel and a driving method thereof according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6 is a configuration diagram of a plasma display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the plasma display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention may include a plasma panel 100, a controller 200, an address electrode driver 300, and a scan electrode driver (hereinafter referred to as a “Y electrode driver”). 400 and a sustain electrode driver (hereinafter referred to as an 'X electrode driver') 500.

The plasma panel 100 includes a plurality of address electrodes A1-Am arranged in the column direction, a plurality of sustain electrodes (hereinafter referred to as 'X electrodes') (X1-Xn) and scan electrodes arranged in the row direction. (Hereinafter referred to as 'Y electrode') (Y1-Yn). The X electrodes X1-Xn are formed corresponding to the respective Y electrodes Y1-Yn, and generally have one end connected in common to each other. The plasma panel 100 includes a glass substrate (not shown) on which the X and Y electrodes X1-Xn and Y1-Yn are arranged, and a glass substrate (not shown) on which the address electrodes A1-Am are arranged. . The two glass substrates are disposed to face each other with the discharge space therebetween so that the Y electrodes Y1-Yn and the address electrodes A1-Am and the X electrodes X1-Xn and the address electrodes A1-Am are orthogonal to each other. At this time, the discharge space at the intersection of the address electrodes A1-Am and the X and Y electrodes X1-Xn and Y1-Yn forms a discharge cell.

The controller 200 receives an image signal from the outside and outputs an address driving signal, an X electrode driving signal, and a Y electrode driving signal. The controller 200 divides and drives one frame into a plurality of subfields, and each subfield includes a reset period, an addressing period, and a sustain period. In particular, the controller 200 outputs the Y electrode driving signal to raise the level of the voltage applied to the Y electrode to the predetermined slope in the sustain period.

The address electrode driver 300 receives an address electrode driving signal from the controller 200 and applies a display data signal for selecting a discharge cell to be displayed to each address electrode A1-Am.

The X electrode driver 500 receives an X electrode driving signal from the controller 200 and applies a driving voltage to the X electrodes X1 to Xn.

The Y electrode driver 400 receives the Y electrode driving signal from the controller 200 and applies a driving voltage to the Y electrodes Y1-Yn. The Y electrode driver 400 applies one scan pulse to a predetermined slope during the sustain period.

Next, the operation of the plasma display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration will be described in detail.

First, the controller 200 receives an externally input image signal, corrects a gamma value according to the characteristics of the plasma display panel, generates the corrected image signal into N subfields, and generates an X electrode driving signal for each subfield, A Y electrode drive control signal and an address electrode drive signal are output.

Then, the address driver 300 receives an address electrode driving signal and applies a display data signal for selecting a discharge cell to be displayed to each address electrode A1-Am.

The X electrode driver 500 receives the X electrode driving signal to apply a driving voltage to the X electrodes X1 to Xn, and the Y electrode driving unit 400 receives the Y electrode driving signal to receive the Y electrode Y1 to Yn. Is applied to the driving voltage.

Then, data is displayed on the plasma panel 100.

Here, when generating the Y electrode driving signal, the control unit 200 outputs the Y electrode driving signal to raise the potential level applied to the Y electrode to a constant slope during the sustain period, and the Y electrode driving unit 400 drives the Y electrode. According to the signal, the potential level is raised to a certain slope and applied to the Y electrode. In the case of a pulse that slowly increases the voltage, there is an advantage that the luminance value can be adjusted according to the rise time.

This is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.

7 or 8, in the gray scale represented by one sustain discharge pulse, in order to decrease the brightness caused by the sustain discharge pulse, the voltage is slowly increased from the reference voltage potential of the scan pulse to a specific voltage to lower the brightness value. Can be. Therefore, the number of sustain discharge pulses can be expressed in the level between 0 and 1 luminance level.

When there are three sustain discharge pulses as shown in FIG. 8, it is preferable to raise the scan pulse applied to the Y electrode of the last sustain discharge pulse to a constant slope, and may be modified in other forms.

In general, the number of sustain discharge pulses is increased by one pair of X and Y pulses. When the driving signal of the first embodiment of the present application is applied, the number of sustain discharge pulses is not one pair, but an increase of each one.

The sustain discharge pulse in which the gradation is corrected can emit light lower than the unit light of the conventional sustain discharge pulse, and there are various modifications of the waveform of the driving signal. If you can, any form is possible.

An example of lowering the potential of the X electrode among these modifications will be described as the second embodiment as follows.

The configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that in FIG. 6 except that the control unit 200 controls the potential of the X electrode to be lowered from the specific voltage to the reference voltage in one sustain discharge pulse period during the sustain period.

9 is a diagram showing waveforms of driving signals applied to respective electrodes of the plasma display panel according to the second embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9, when generating the X electrode driving signal, the control unit 200 outputs the X electrode driving signal to lower the potential level applied to the X electrode to a predetermined slope during the sustain period, and the X electrode driving unit 500. Is applied to the X pole so that the potential level is lowered by a predetermined slope according to the X electrode driving signal.

In the gray scale represented by one sustain discharge pulse, in order to reduce the brightness caused by the sustain discharge pulse, the brightness value can be lowered by slowly lowering the voltage from the specific voltage of the scan pulse to the reference voltage. Therefore, the number of sustain discharge pulses can be expressed in the level between 0 and 1 luminance level.

In addition, in the case of three sustain discharge pulses, it is preferable to lower the sustain pulse applied to the X electrode to a constant slope in the third sustain discharge pulse period, and may be modified in other forms.

The sustain discharge pulse in which the gray level is corrected can emit light lower than the unit light of the conventional sustain discharge pulse, and the waveform of the sustain electrode driving signal has various modifications, and the light lower than the unit light of the conventional sustain discharge pulse. If you can make it, it can be any form.

By this process, the voltage applied to the scan electrode or the sustain electrode can be increased or decreased in at least one sustain discharge pulse period of the sustain period, thereby reducing the luminance difference between adjacent grayscales at low gradations and subdividing the luminance levels. In addition, it is possible to improve the gray scale expression power by reducing the luminance difference caused by the data of 0 and 1.

Such a driving circuit can be implemented in various ways, various modifications can be made if necessary, and various waveforms can be implemented.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the at least one sustain discharge pulse period of the sustain period, the voltage applied to the scan electrode or the sustain electrode is raised or lowered so that the sustain discharge occurs less than before, so that the luminance difference between adjacent gray levels is low. It is possible to provide a plasma display panel and a method of driving the same, which can reduce the brightness level, refine the brightness level, and reduce the brightness difference due to data of 0 and 1 to improve the gray scale expression power.

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

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

3 is a view showing waveforms of driving signals applied to respective electrodes of the plasma display panel.

4 and 5 are diagrams showing driving waveforms of a conventional plasma panel.

6 is a configuration diagram of a plasma display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

7 and 8 show driving waveforms of the plasma display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a view showing driving waveforms of the plasma display panel according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (16)

A plasma display panel which receives externally input image data and displays data in a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period, A plasma panel including a plurality of address electrodes, a plurality of scan electrodes, and a sustain electrode; The image signal is input to generate and output a scan electrode driving signal, a sustain electrode driving signal, and an address electrode driving signal, and gradually shift the potential of the scan electrode corresponding to at least one scan pulse from the reference potential to a specific voltage during the sustain period. A controller which outputs the scan electrode driving signal to rise; An address data driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the address electrode driving signal to the address electrode; A sustain electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the sustain electrode driving signal to the sustain electrode; And a scan electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the scan electrode driving signal to the scan electrode. The method of claim 1, The control unit, And the scan electrode driving signal is output so as to raise the potential level of the scan electrode at a predetermined slope in one sustain discharge pulse section of the sustain period. The method of claim 1, The control unit, And the scan electrode driving signal is output to raise the potential level of the scan electrode to a predetermined slope in a third sustain discharge pulse section when there are three sustain discharge pulse sections in the sustain period. A plasma display panel which receives externally input image data and displays data in a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period, A plasma panel including a plurality of address electrodes, a plurality of scan electrodes, and a sustain electrode; The image signal is input to generate and output a scan electrode driving signal, a sustain electrode driving signal, and an address electrode driving signal, and gradually shift the potential of the sustain electrode corresponding to at least one sustain pulse from the specific voltage to the reference potential during the sustain period. A controller which outputs the sustain electrode driving signal to descend; An address data driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the address electrode driving signal to the address electrode; A sustain electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the sustain electrode driving signal to the sustain electrode; And a scan electrode driver for applying a voltage corresponding to the scan electrode driving signal to the scan electrode. The method of claim 4, wherein The control unit, And the sustain electrode driving signal is output so that the potential level of the sustain electrode is lowered by a predetermined slope in one sustain discharge pulse section of the sustain period. The method of claim 4, wherein The control unit, And the sustain electrode driving signal is outputted so that the potential level of the sustain electrode is lowered to a predetermined slope in the third sustain discharge pulse section when there are three sustain discharge pulse sections in the sustain period. A plasma display panel which generates an input video signal into a plurality of subfields and drives each subfield into a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period according to the sustain information. A first electrode and a second electrode; A first space defined by the first electrode and the second electrode; And A driving circuit for transmitting a driving signal to the first electrode and the second electrode during each sustain period; The driving circuit And the potential of the voltage applied to the first electrode is increased at a predetermined slope during the sustain period. The method of claim 7, wherein Wherein the first electrode is a scan electrode and the second electrode is a sustain electrode. The method of claim 7, wherein The driving circuit And the potential of the voltage applied to the first electrode is increased at a predetermined slope from a reference voltage to a specific voltage higher than the reference voltage in one sustain discharge pulse period of the sustain period. A plasma display panel which generates an input video signal into a plurality of subfields and drives each subfield into a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period according to the sustain information. A first electrode and a second electrode; A first space defined by the first electrode and the second electrode; And A driving circuit for transmitting a driving signal to the first electrode and the second electrode during each sustain period; The driving circuit And the potential of the voltage applied to the second electrode is lowered by a predetermined slope during the sustain period. The method of claim 10, Wherein the first electrode is a scan electrode and the second electrode is a sustain electrode. The method of claim 10, The driving circuit And the potential of the voltage applied to the second electrode is lowered from the specific voltage to the reference voltage lower than the specific voltage by a predetermined slope in one sustain discharge pulse period of the sustain period. A driving method of a plasma display panel including a first space defined by the first electrode and a second electrode, A reset step of erasing the wall charge state of the previous sustain discharge and setting up the wall charge to stably perform the next address discharge; An address step of selecting an on-cell and a non-on-cell from the panel to accumulate wall charges on the on-cell (addressed cell); A sustaining step of performing a discharge for actually displaying an image on the addressed cell, And applying a voltage to raise the voltage level applied to the first electrode to a constant slope during the period of performing at least one discharge in the sustaining step. The method of claim 13, And the first electrode is a scan electrode, and the predetermined slope is a first function. A driving method of a plasma display panel including a first space defined by the first electrode and a second electrode, A reset step of erasing the wall charge state of the previous sustain discharge and setting up the wall charge to stably perform the next address discharge; An address step of selecting an on-cell and a non-on-cell from the panel to accumulate wall charges on the on-cell (addressed cell); A sustaining step of performing a discharge for actually displaying an image on the addressed cell, And applying a voltage to lower the voltage level applied to the first electrode to a predetermined slope during the period of at least one discharge in the sustaining step. The method of claim 15, And the first electrode is a sustain electrode, and the predetermined slope is a first function.