KR20070045865A - Plasma display apparatus and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plasma display device, and more particularly, to a plasma display device and a driving method thereof, which improve a data signal to reduce a load of a data driver to minimize displacement current, and prevent electrical damage of a data driver integrated circuit. It is about.

According to the present invention, a plasma display apparatus includes a plasma display panel including a plurality of data electrodes, a data driver for driving the data electrodes, and a load value according to a data pattern of a first data signal for controlling the data driver. And a control unit for transmitting a second data signal having a data pattern less than the threshold load value to the data driver when the threshold load value is greater than the threshold load value, and controlling the data driver to change a range using the second data signal. It features.

Description

Plasma display device and driving method thereof {Plasma Display Apparatus and Driving Method}

1 is a diagram for explaining an equivalent capacitance C of a plasma display panel.

2A to 2B schematically show a plasma display device of the present invention.

3 is a view for explaining an example of the structure of a plasma display panel according to the present invention;

4 is a diagram illustrating a method of implementing image gradation of a plasma display device of the present invention.

5 is a view showing an example of a drive waveform according to the driving method of the plasma display device of the present invention.

6A to 6B are diagrams illustrating a data signal transmission method in the method of driving the plasma display device of the present invention.

7 is a diagram showing a data pattern of a data signal of the plasma display device of the present invention.

8 illustrates an example in which a use range of a data signal is changed according to a subfield of a frame.

9 illustrates an example in which a data signal usage range is different according to scan electrode lines;

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

100: plasma display panel 121: control unit

122: data driver 123: scan driver

124: sustain driver 125: drive voltage generator

The present invention relates to a plasma display device, and more particularly, to a plasma display device and a driving method thereof having improved data signals.

In general, a plasma display panel is a partition wall formed between a front panel and a rear panel to form a unit discharge cell, and each cell includes neon (Ne), helium (He), or a mixture of neon and helium (Ne + He). An inert gas containing a main discharge gas such as and a small amount of xenon is filled. A plurality of unit discharge cells described above are gathered to form one pixel. For example, a red (R) cell, a green (G) cell, and a blue (B) cell may form one pixel. When a high frequency voltage is applied to such a unit discharge cell to discharge, an inert gas generates vacuum ultra violet rays and emits phosphors formed between the partition walls to realize an image. Such a plasma display panel has a spotlight as a next generation display device because of its thin and light configuration.

In the plasma display panel, a plurality of electrodes, for example, a scan electrode Y, a sustain electrode Z, and a data electrode X are formed, and a predetermined driving voltage is supplied to the plurality of electrodes to generate a discharge. Will be displayed. Here, a driver, that is, a driver integrated circuit, is connected to the electrodes to supply a predetermined driving voltage to the plurality of electrodes.

On the other hand, when the plasma display panel is driven, a displacement current (Id) flows in the above-described driver integrated circuit, and the magnitude of the displacement current is changed by various factors.

For example, the displacement current flowing in the above-described data driver integrated circuit increases and decreases according to the equivalent capacitance C of the plasma display panel and the number of switching of the data driver integrated circuit. More specifically, the displacement current flowing through the data driver integrated circuit increases as the equivalent capacitance C of the plasma display panel increases, and also increases as the number of switching of the data driver integrated circuit increases.

The equivalent capacitance C of the above-described plasma display panel is determined by the equivalent capacitances C between the electrodes, which will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

1 is a diagram for describing an equivalent capacitance C of a plasma display panel.

Referring to FIG. 1, an equivalent capacitance C of a plasma display panel includes an equivalent capacitance Cm1 between data electrodes, for example, between an X1 data electrode and an X2 data electrode, and between a data electrode and a scan electrode, for example, between an X1 data electrode and Y1. An equivalent capacitance Cm2 between the scan electrodes and an equivalent capacitance Cm2 between the data electrode and the sustain electrode, for example, between the X1 data electrode and the Z1 sustain electrode.

Meanwhile, a drive integrated circuit, for example, a scan drive integrated circuit for driving the scan electrode Y by supplying a scan pulse to the scan electrode Y in the address period, and a data pulse to the data electrode X in the address period, Since the state of the voltage applied to the scan electrode Y or the data electrode X is changed according to the operation of the switching element included in the drive integrated circuit for driving the data electrode X, for example, the data driver integrated circuit, The displacement current Id generated by the Cm1 equivalent capacitance and the Cm2 equivalent capacitance flows through the data electrode X to the data driver integrated circuit.

As described above, when the equivalent capacitance of the plasma display panel increases or the number of times of switching of the data driver integrated circuit increases, the magnitude of the displacement current Id flowing in the data driver integrated circuit increases. Increasing the load (Load) of the cause the circuit damage, there is a problem that inhibits the stability of the circuit.

Here, the number of switching of the data driver integrated circuit depends on the signal of the input image data. In particular, when the image data has a specific pattern such as repeating logic values 1 and 0, the data driver integrated circuit flows to the data driver integrated circuit. Excessively increasing the magnitude of the displacement current, there is a problem that the electrical damage, such as burning the data driver integrated circuit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve such a problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display device and a driving method thereof having improved operation reliability by reducing the load of a data driver.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display device and a driving method thereof capable of minimizing displacement current to prevent circuit damage.

The technical problem of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned thing, and another technical problem to be achieved by the present invention will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art by the effect of the configuration of the present invention.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a plasma display device includes a plasma display panel including a plurality of data electrodes, a data driver for driving the data electrodes, and a data pattern of a first data signal for controlling the data driver. When the load value is greater than or equal to the threshold load value, the second data signal having a data pattern less than the threshold load value is transmitted to the data driver, and the data driver is adapted to vary the range using the second data signal. It characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling.

The control unit may control a range of use of the second data signal by changing a start point of a blank signal for validating the data signal.

In addition, as the starting point of the blank signal is different, the second data signal is used as a data signal having a different pattern.

In addition, the second data signal is characterized in that a plurality of data patterns are stored in advance.

The control unit may adjust a range of use of the second data signal by varying a start point of the blank signal according to a subfield of one frame.

The display device may further include a plurality of scan electrodes formed on the plasma display panel to intersect the data electrodes, and the start points of the blank signals corresponding to the scan electrode lines may be different from each other according to the scan electrode lines. The range of use of the second data signal is adjusted.

The data driver may include a plurality of data driving units, and may divide and drive the discharge cells of the entire plasma display panel.

In addition, the driving method of the plasma display apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object has a data pattern less than the threshold load value when the load value according to the data pattern of the first data signal is greater than or equal to the threshold load value. The second data signal is transmitted to the data driver, and the use range of the second data signal is variable.

In addition, it is characterized in that the use range of the second data signal is controlled by different starting point of the blank signal (Blank) for validating the data signal.

In addition, as the starting point of the blank signal is different, the second data signal is used as a data signal having a different pattern.

In addition, the second data signal is characterized in that a plurality of data patterns are stored in advance.

In addition, the use range of the second data signal is adjusted by changing the starting point of the blank signal Blank according to the subfield of one frame.

The plasma display apparatus may further include a plurality of scan electrodes formed to intersect the data electrodes, and the start points of the blank signals corresponding to the scan electrode lines may be different from each other according to the scan electrode lines. 2, the use range of the data signal is adjusted.

In addition, a plurality of data driving units for driving the data electrodes may be formed to divide and drive the discharge cells of the entire plasma display panel.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a plasma display device and a driving method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2A to 2B schematically illustrate an example of the plasma display device of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the plasma display apparatus according to the present invention provides data to the plasma display panel 100 and the data electrodes X1 to Xm formed on the lower substrate (not shown) of the plasma display panel 100. A data driver 122 for supplying, a scan driver 123 for driving the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn, a sustain driver 124 for driving the sustain electrodes Z serving as a common electrode, and a plasma The control unit 121 for controlling the data driver 122, the scan driver 123, and the sustain driver 124 when driving the display panel, and for supplying driving voltages to the respective driving units 122, 123, and 124. The driving voltage generator 125 is included.

The plasma display panel 100 is bonded to an upper substrate (not shown) and a lower substrate (not shown) at regular intervals, and a plurality of electrodes, for example, scan electrodes Y1 to Yn and a sustain electrode, are attached to the upper substrate. (Z) is formed in pairs, and the data electrodes X1 to Xm are formed on the lower substrate to intersect the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn and the sustain electrode Z.

The scan driver 123 supplies the rising ramp waveform Ramp-up and the falling ramp waveform Ramp-down to the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn during the reset period under the control of the control unit 121. In addition, the scan driver 123 maintains the scan bias voltage Vsc during the address period under the control of the control unit 121 while maintaining the scan pulse Sp of the scan voltage -Vy to the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn. Supply sequentially.

The data driver 122 is subjected to inverse gamma correction and error diffusion by an inverse gamma correction circuit, an error diffusion circuit, and the like, and then mapped to each subfield by a subfield mapping circuit. The data driver 122 samples and latches data in response to the timing control signal CTRX from the controller 121, and then supplies the data to the data electrodes X1 to Xm. At this time, the discharge cells that are turned on, that is, the cells that cause display discharge, are selected according to the above-described data. For example, in the discharge cells that are turned on, the data driver 122 supplies the scan pulses of the scan voltage (-Vy) sequentially supplied to the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn by the scan driver 123 during the address period. The data pulses are supplied to the data electrodes X1 to Xm so as to be synchronized. The display discharge is caused to the on-discharge cell by applying a sustain pulse in the sustain period to be described later.

At this time, when the load value according to the data pattern of the first data signal for the control unit 121 to control the data driver 122 in the plasma display device of the present invention is less than or equal to the threshold load value, The second data signal having the data pattern is transmitted to the data driver 122, and the data driver 122 is controlled to vary the range using the second data signal. A more detailed driving method thereof will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

The sustain driver 124 supplies the bias voltage of the positive voltage to the sustain electrodes Z during the set down period and the address period during which the ramp ramp is generated under the control of the control unit 121. Also, as described above, the sustain driver 124 alternately operates the sustain driver circuit provided therein during the sustain period and the sustain driver circuit provided in the scan driver 123 to generate the sustain pulse su. Will be supplied to

The control unit 121 receives the vertical / horizontal synchronization signal and the clock signal and receives timing control signals for controlling the operation timing and synchronization of the driving units 122, 123, and 124 in the reset period, the address period, and the sustain period. Each of the driving units 122, 123, and 124 is controlled by generating CTRX, CTRY, and CTRZ, and supplying the timing control signals CTRX, CTRY, and CTRZ to the corresponding driving units 122, 123, and 124.

The data control signal CTRX includes a sampling clock for sampling data, a latch control signal, a switch control signal for controlling on / off time of the sustain driving circuit and the driving switch element. The scan control signal CTRY includes a switch control signal for controlling on / off time of the sustain driving circuit in the scan driver 123 and the driving switch element, and the sustain control signal CTRZ includes the sustain in the sustain driver 124. A switch control signal for controlling the on / off time of the driving circuit and the driving switch element is included.

The driving voltage generator 125 generates a setup voltage Vsetup, a scan common voltage Vscan-com, a scan voltage -Vy, a sustain voltage Vs, a data voltage Vd, and the like. These driving voltages may vary depending on the composition of the discharge gas or the structure of the discharge cell.

Here, one example of the plasma display apparatus of the present invention may include a plurality of data drivers 122. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the data driver 122 is divided into two parts, that is, the first data driver 122a and the second data driver 122b to form a discharge cell on the plasma display panel 100. High-speed driving can be enabled by dividing the correspondingly formed data electrodes into upper and lower portions and simultaneously driving them by applying data pulses.

That is, the scan driver 123 simultaneously supplies the scan pulse Sp to the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn divided into the upper and lower portions of the plasma display panel during the address period, and the data driver 122 also synchronizes the data. By simultaneously supplying pulses to the data electrodes X1 to Xm divided into upper and lower parts, the address period is shortened to realize high-speed driving.

The plasma display apparatus of the present invention has a load lower than the threshold load value when the control unit 121 has a load value according to the data pattern of the first data signal for controlling the data driver 122. It has a very advantageous structure in the driving method of transmitting the second data signal having the data pattern to the data driver 122 and controlling the data driver 122 so that the range using the second data signal is varied.

For example, the second data signal can be variously varied by driving a plurality of data driver units simultaneously to shorten the address period to improve the margin of the address period. In other words, if the margin of the address period is improved, the use range of one pattern of data signals can be adjusted in various ways, and thus the load can be reduced by varying the data signals more effectively. This effect will be more clearly described below with reference to FIG. 6.

Meanwhile, in order to clarify the above description of the plasma display apparatus of the present invention, an example of the structure of the plasma display panel of the present invention will be described.

3 is a view for explaining an example of the structure of a plasma display panel according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the plasma display panel of the present invention, a plurality of scan electrodes 302 and Y and sustain electrodes 303 and Z are formed in pairs on the front substrate 301 which is a display surface on which an image is displayed. The rear panel 310 in which the plurality of data electrodes 313 and X are arranged so as to intersect the plurality of storage electrode pairs described above is formed on the front panel 300 and the rear substrate 311 forming the rear surface of the storage electrode pairs. Combined in parallel with a certain distance between them.

The front panel 300 is, for example, the scan electrodes 302 and Y and the sustain electrodes 303 and Z for mutually discharging and maintaining light emission in one discharge cell, that is, a transparent electrode formed of a transparent ITO material. And a pair of scan electrodes 302 and Y and sustain electrodes 303 and Z provided as a bus electrode b made of a metal material. Scan electrodes 302 and Y and sustain electrodes 303 and Z are covered by one or more top dielectric layers 304 that limit the discharge current and insulate the electrode pairs, and discharge on top of top dielectric layer 304. In order to facilitate the condition, a protective layer 305 on which magnesium oxide (MgO) is deposited is formed.

In the rear panel 310, for example, a plurality of discharge spaces, that is, barrier ribs 312 of a stripe type (or well type) for forming discharge cells are arranged in parallel. In addition, a plurality of data electrodes 313 and X for performing address discharge to generate vacuum ultraviolet rays are disposed in parallel with the partition 312. On the upper side of the rear panel 310, R, G, and B phosphors 314 which emit visible light for image display during address discharge are coated. A lower dielectric layer 315 is formed between the data electrodes 313 and X and the phosphor 314 to protect the data electrodes 313 and X.

3 shows only an example of the structure of the plasma display panel of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the structure of FIG. For example, in FIG. 3, only the scan electrodes 302 and Y and the sustain electrodes 303 and Z are formed on the front panel 300, and the data electrodes 313 and X are formed on the rear panel 310. 2, scan electrodes 302 and Y, sustain electrodes 303 and Z, and data electrodes 313 and X may be formed on the front panel 300.

In addition, although the above-described scan electrodes 302 and Y and the sustain electrodes 303 and Z only show the transparent electrode a and the bus electrode b, respectively, the scan electrodes 302 and Y are different from each other. At least one of the sustain electrodes 303 and Z may consist of only the bus electrode b.

The front panel 300 and the rear panel 310 thus formed are bonded to each other through a sealing process to form a plasma display panel, and a driving unit for driving the electrodes described above with reference to FIG. 2 is attached to form a plasma display apparatus.

The method of expressing the gray level of an image in the plasma display panel according to the present invention is as follows.

4 is a diagram illustrating a method of implementing image gradation of the plasma display apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the method of expressing a gray level of the plasma display apparatus of the present invention, one frame is divided into several subfields each of which has a predetermined number of emission times, and each subfield again divides all cells. It is divided into a reset period (RPD) for initializing, an address period (APD) for selecting a cell to be discharged, and a sustain period (SPD) for implementing gray scale according to the number of discharges.

For example, when displaying an image with 256 gray levels, a frame period (16.67 ms) corresponding to 1/60 second is divided into eight subfields SF1 to SF8 as shown in FIG. 4, and eight subfields. Each of the SFs SF1 to SF8 is divided into a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period.

The reset period and the address period of each subfield are the same for each subfield. The address discharge for selecting the cell to be discharged is caused by the voltage difference between the data electrode and the transparent electrode which is the scan electrode. The sustain period is increased at a rate of 2 ⁿ ( ^where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) in each subfield. In this way, an image is displayed using the difference in the sustain period in each subfield. That is, the gray scale of the image is expressed by adjusting the sustain period of each subfield, that is, the number of sustain discharges.

In FIG. 4, only one frame is composed of eight subfields. However, the number of subfields forming one frame may be variously changed. For example, one frame may be configured with 12 subfields from the first subfield to the twelfth subfield, or one frame may be configured with 10 subfields.

In addition, in FIG. 4, subfields are arranged in increasing order of gray scale weight in one frame. Alternatively, subfields may be arranged in order of decreasing gray scale weight in one frame, or gray scale. Subfields may be arranged regardless of the weight.

The driving waveform according to the driving method of the plasma display apparatus of the present invention, which implements the gray level of the image in this manner, is as follows.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a driving waveform according to the driving method of the plasma display device of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the plasma display apparatus divides a frame of a screen into a plurality of subfields, for example, and resets the subfields again to initialize all cells, an address period for selecting a cell to be discharged, and a selected period. It is driven by being divided into a sustain period for maintaining the discharge of the cell. In addition, an erasing period for erasing wall charges in the discharged cell may be added and driven as necessary.

In the reset period, the rising ramp waveform Ramp-up is applied to all the scan electrodes at the same time in the setup period. This rising ramp waveform causes weak dark discharge within the full discharge cells. By this setup discharge, positive wall charges are accumulated on the data electrode and the sustain electrode, and negative wall charges are accumulated on the scan electrode.

During the set-down period, after the rising ramp waveform is supplied, the falling ramp waveform (Ramp-down) starts to fall from the positive voltage lower than the peak voltage of the rising ramp waveform and falls to a specific voltage level below the ground (GND) level voltage. By generating a weak erase discharge in the inside, the wall charges excessively formed in the scan electrode are sufficiently erased. By this set-down discharge, wall charges such that the address discharge can stably occur remain uniformly in the cells.

In the address period, the negative scan pulses are sequentially applied to the scan electrodes, and the positive data pulses are applied to the data electrodes in synchronization with the scan pulses. As the voltage difference between the scan pulse and the data pulse and the wall voltage generated in the reset period are added, address discharge is generated in the discharge cell to which the data pulse is applied. In the cells selected by the address discharge, wall charges are formed such that a discharge can occur when the sustain voltage Vs is applied. This address discharge is caused by the above-described data pulse. That is, the above-described scan pulse is sequentially applied to all the discharge cells, but the data pulse is applied only to the discharge cells to generate the sustain discharge, which is the display discharge, so that the discharge cells to be turned on can be selected.

Here, whether the data pulse is applied or not is determined by the data signal transmitted from the controller. That is, the external image data is received and converted into a data signal for driving the plasma display apparatus, and the data driver is received and selectively applied to the data electrode. Here, a method of adjusting such a signal will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 6.

In the sustain period, sustain pulses Su are alternately applied to the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes. In the cell selected by the address discharge, as the wall voltage and the sustain pulse in the cell are added, a sustain discharge, that is, a display discharge, occurs between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode every time the sustain pulse is applied.

After the sustain discharge is completed, if an erase period for erasing wall charges in the discharged cell is added and driven, an erase ramp waveform (Ramp-ers) having a small pulse width or voltage level is supplied to the sustain electrode in the erase period. It will erase the wall charge remaining in the cells of the screen.

Hereinafter, a method of driving a characteristic data electrode of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6A to 6B are diagrams illustrating a data signal transmission method in the method of driving the plasma display device of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the data signal for controlling the data driver is transmitted to the data driver by, for example, a blank signal BLANK, a latch signal, and a data clock signal D CLOCK.

In more detail, the data signal may be discharged to a discharge cell to which a data pulse is applied in the address period of the aforementioned subfield, and may be discharged when the sustain voltage Vs is applied by the address discharge. The discharge cells in which the wall charges are generated are displayed by the discharge by the sustain pulse, and the data signal contains information on whether or not the data pulse for selecting the discharge cells to be turned on is applied.

As described above, the data signal is transmitted to the data driver under the control of the control unit 121 described above with reference to FIG. 2. More specifically, the data signal is converted into a signal for driving the plasma display apparatus and the information according to the image signal. The data driver receives the data signal containing the data signal and applies the data pulse according to the information about the data contained in the data signal to implement the image of the plasma display apparatus. An example of a method of applying a data signal is shown in FIG. 6B.

As illustrated in FIG. 6B, for example, a data signal containing data information for each of a plurality of sub discharge cells forming a pixel may be loaded on a single clock signal by 6 bits. have. Here, if the data driver integrated circuit of the data driver is 192 channels, the 32 clock signals D CLOCK are transmitted in a bundle, thereby controlling the data signal of 192 bits with 32 × 6 bits.

The clock signal D CLOCK is divided into 32 clock signals D CLOCK by a latch signal LATCH and transmitted in a bundle as shown in FIG. 6B. In addition, the use range of the clock signal D CLOCK may be changed by the blank signal BLANK.

For example, the clock signal D CLOCK in the section where the blank signal BLANK is applied is effectively transmitted to the data driver. That is, only the data signal in the section to which the blank signal BLANK is applied can be effectively used, and the data driver is applied to the data information input in the section to implement the image of the plasma display apparatus.

On the other hand, the data signal in the section in which the blank signal BLANK is not applied becomes an invalid signal that is not used and is not input to the data driver even if data information is loaded.

Here, the plasma display apparatus according to the present invention has a data pattern having a data pattern less than the threshold load value when the load value of the data pattern according to the first data signal is greater than or equal to the threshold load value when the data signal is transmitted to the data driver. The second data signal is transmitted to the data driver, and the range using the second data signal is varied. More specifically, the use range of the data signal can be varied by adjusting the clock signal D CLOCK effectively used by taking the starting point of the blank signal BLANK described above.

That is, when the data signal containing the data information on the discharge cells that are turned on as described above is a specific pattern, for example, the logic values 1 and 0 are repeated, the number of times of switching of the data driver increases, the time The voltage change according to the increase increases the load received by the integrated circuit of the driver. In addition, the resulting displacement current increases, which has a fatal effect on circuit damage.

Therefore, in order to prevent this, the plasma display apparatus of the present invention sets a threshold load value, and when a first data signal having a data pattern equal to or greater than the threshold load value is applied, the signal can be varied to reduce the load. . That is, by loading the second data signal having a load less than the threshold load value in a plurality of patterns in advance and applying the second data signal instead of the first data signal, the load of the data driver can be effectively reduced. .

Here, more preferably, when the second data signal is stored in advance as described above, the use range of the second data signal is varied so that the second data signal of various patterns can be used. There is an effect that the capacity of the memory storage to store can be reduced.

That is, as an example, as described above, the pattern of the data signal is changed according to the use range of the same data signal which is mapped in advance by adjusting the use range of the second data signal by changing the starting point of the blank signal BLANK. . As shown in FIG. 7, a specific example of adjusting the use range of the data signal is described.

7 is a diagram showing a data pattern of a data signal of the plasma display device of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the data signals carried on the clock signal D CLOCK described above are aligned by 6 bits. An example of a data pattern according to the data signal is illustrated in FIG. 7, where a data signal used varies according to a start point of the blank signal BLANK described above.

That is, when the blank signal BLANK is applied at time A, the data is input from the data signal of "110011" which is the second 6-bit data information of FIG. 7, and when the blank signal BLANK is applied at time B, FIG. 7. Input is started from the data signal of " 001100 " which is the third 6-bit data information.

In addition, when the blank signal BLANK is applied at the time C, the data is input from the data signal of "110011", which is the fourth six-bit data information of FIG. 7, and when the blank signal BLANK is applied at the time D, The data signal of "001100", which is the fifth 6-bit data information of FIG. 7, is inputted.

As described above, the plasma display apparatus of the present invention can secure the stable driveability by reducing the load of the data driver by varying the data signal causing the load to increase as described above, and can also prevent damage to the data integrated circuit of the driver. It works. In addition, there is an advantage that the data signal of various patterns can be used by adjusting the use range of the variable data signal.

On the other hand, as an example of a method of varying the use range of the data signal described above, the starting point of the blank signal BLANK may be adjusted according to the subfield of one frame.

8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a data signal usage range is changed according to a subfield of a frame.

FIG. 8 illustrates that the operation of the present invention is adjusted according to a subfield in the method of dividing and driving one frame described above with reference to FIG. 4. More specifically, in the plasma display apparatus of the present invention, when the threshold data is set and the first data signal having a data pattern equal to or greater than the threshold load value is applied, the first display signal loads less than the previously stored threshold load value. A second data signal is applied to the second data signal having? As a plurality of patterns, and the second data signal is applied instead of the first data signal. As shown in FIG. It can effectively reduce the load. That is, as an example, as described above, the starting point of the blank signal BLANK is different so that the use range of the second data signal for each subfield can be adjusted.

In addition, the plasma display apparatus of the present invention may vary the use range of the data signal according to the scan electrode line, which will be described with reference to FIG. 9.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a use range of a data signal is changed according to scan electrode lines.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the pulses applied to the scan electrode and the data electrode in the address period select the discharge cell to perform the sustain discharge in the sustain period, the plasma display apparatus of the present invention varies the data signal differently for each scan electrode. You can.

That is, the first data signal having a data pattern equal to or greater than the threshold load value of the heavily loaded pattern is converted into a second data signal having a load less than a previously stored threshold load value. As described above, the load of the data driver may be effectively reduced by adjusting the use range according to the scan electrode line. That is, as an example, as described above, the use range of the second data signal can be adjusted for each scan electrode by changing the starting point of the blank signal BLANK.

As such, the technical configuration of the present invention described above can be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention.

Therefore, the exemplary embodiments described above are to be understood as illustrative and not restrictive in all respects, and the scope of the present invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing detailed description, and the meaning and scope of the claims are as follows. And all changes or modifications derived from the equivalent concept should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the plasma display device and the driving method thereof of the present invention have the effect of reducing the load of the driving unit.

In addition, the plasma display device and the driving method thereof of the present invention have the effect of minimizing the displacement current to prevent circuit damage.

In addition, the plasma display device and the driving method thereof according to the present invention have an effect of using various data signals without increasing the capacity of the memory storage unit.

Claims (14)

A plasma display panel having a plurality of data electrodes formed thereon; A data driver for driving the data electrode; And When the load value according to the data pattern of the first data signal for controlling the data driver is greater than or equal to the threshold load value, and transmits a second data signal having a data pattern less than the threshold load value to the data driver, And a control unit for controlling the data driver to change a range using a second data signal. The method of claim 1, The control unit And controlling the use range of the second data signal by changing a start point of a blank signal (BLANK) for validating the data signal. The method of claim 2, And the second data signal is used as a data signal having a different pattern as the start point of the blank signal BLANK is different. The method of claim 1, The second data signal is a plasma display device, characterized in that a plurality of data patterns are stored in advance. The method of claim 2, The control unit And controlling the use range of the second data signal by varying the starting point of the blank signal according to the subfield of one frame. The method of claim 2, A plurality of scan electrodes formed on the plasma display panel to intersect the data electrodes; And a starting point of the blank signal BLANK corresponding to the scan electrode line is adjusted according to the scan electrode line to adjust the use range of the second data signal. The method of claim 1, And a plurality of data driving units, and simultaneously driving the data electrodes of the entire plasma display panel by dividing them. In the driving method of a plasma display device including a plurality of data electrodes, When the load value according to the data pattern of the first data signal is greater than or equal to the threshold load value, the second data signal having a data pattern less than the threshold load value is transmitted to the data driver, and the range of use of the second data signal Is a variable driving method of the plasma display device. The method of claim 8, And a range of use of the second data signal is controlled by different starting points of a blank signal (BLANK) for validating the data signal. The method of claim 9, The second data signal is used as a data signal of a different pattern as the start point of the blank signal BLANK is different. The method of claim 8, And a plurality of data patterns are stored in advance in the second data signal. The method of claim 9, And a starting range of the blank signal (BLANK) is varied according to a subfield of one frame, thereby controlling the use range of the second data signal. The method of claim 9, The plasma display apparatus further includes a plurality of scan electrodes formed to intersect the data electrodes. And the range of use of the second data signal is adjusted by different starting points of the blank signal BLANK corresponding to the scan electrode line according to the scan electrode line. The method of claim 8, And a plurality of data driver units for driving the data electrodes to divide and drive the discharge cells of the entire plasma display panel.

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