Electric lamp and discharge devices – With gas or vapor – Three or more electrode discharge device
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-07
2003-12-09
Glick, Edward J. (Department: 2882)
Electric lamp and discharge devices
With gas or vapor
Three or more electrode discharge device
C313S292000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06661170
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a surface-discharge-scheme alternating-current-type plasma display panel, and more particularly, to configuration of a partition wall for partitioning a discharge space of the plasma display panel.
The present application claims priority from Japanese Application No. 2001-283224, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent times, a surface-discharge-scheme alternating-current-type plasma display panel becomes increasingly commonplace as a slim, large sized color screen display.
FIG. 7
to
FIG. 11
illustrate a panel structure of a conventional surface-discharge-scheme alternating-current-type plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as “PDP”).
FIG. 7
is a schematic front view of the conventional PDP.
FIG. 8
is a sectional view taken along the V
1
—V
1
line of FIG.
7
.
FIG. 9
is a sectional view taken along the V
2
—V
2
line of FIG.
7
.
FIG. 10
is a sectional view taken along the W
1
—W
1
line of FIG.
7
.
FIG. 11
is a sectional view taken along the W
2
—W
2
line of FIG.
7
.
In
FIGS. 7
to
11
, a front glass substrate
10
serving as the display surface of the PDP has a back surface on which a plurality of row electrode pairs (X, Y) are arranged in parallel to each other in a column direction of the front glass substrate
10
(in the vertical direction in FIG.
7
).
Each of the row electrodes X is constructed of transparent electrodes Xa each of which is formed of a T-shaped transparent conductive film made of ITO or the like, and a bus electrode Xb which is formed of a metal film having a double-layer structure made up of a black conductive layer and a main conductive layer. The bus electrode Xb extends in the row direction of the front glass substrate
10
and is connected to a base member, having a smaller width, of each of the transparent electrodes Xa.
Likewise, each of the row electrodes Y is constructed of transparent electrodes Ya each of which is formed of a T-shaped transparent conductive film made of ITO or the like, and a bus electrode Yb which is formed of a metal film having a double-layer structure made up of a black conductive layer and a main conductive layer. The bus electrode Yb extends in the row direction of the front glass substrate
10
and is connected to a base member, having a smaller width, of each of the transparent electrodes Ya.
The row electrodes X and Y are arranged in alternate positions in the column direction of the front glass substrate
10
(the vertical direction in FIG.
7
). In each row electrode pair, each of the transparent electrodes Xa placed along the bus electrodes Xb extends toward the bus electrode Yb and each of the transparent electrodes Ya placed along the bus electrode Yb extends toward the bus electrode Xb, so that the tops of larger-width members of the respective transparent electrodes Xa and Ya are opposite to each other with a discharge gap g, having a predetermined width, in between.
A dielectric layer
11
is also formed on the back surface of the front glass substrate
10
so as to cover the row electrode pairs (X, Y). On the back surface of the dielectric layer
11
, an additional dielectric layer
11
A protrudes from the back surface of the dielectric layer
11
in a position opposite to the adjacent bus electrodes Xb and Yb of the respective row electrode pairs (X, Y) adjacent to each other and also opposite to a region between the adjacent bus electrodes Xb and Yb concerned. The additional dielectric layer
11
A is formed so as to extend in parallel to the bus electrodes Xb, Yb.
A protective layer
12
made of MgO is formed on the back surfaces of the dielectric layer
11
and additional dielectric layers
11
A.
The front glass substrate
10
is situated in parallel to a back glass substrate
13
having a surface facing toward the display surface on which column electrodes D are arranged parallel to each other at predetermined intervals and each extends in a direction at right angles to the row electrode pair (X, Y) (the column direction) in a position opposite to the paired transparent electrodes Xa and Ya in each of the row electrode pairs (X, Y).
On the surface of the back glass substrate
13
on the display surface side, a white dielectric layer
14
covers the column electrodes D, and partition walls
15
are formed on the dielectric layer
14
.
Each of the partition walls
15
is shaped in a ladder pattern with vertical walls
15
a
each of which extends in the column direction in a position between two adjacent column electrodes D arranged in parallel, and transverse walls
15
b
each of which extends in the row direction in a position opposite to the additional dielectric layer
11
A.
The ladder-shaped partition walls
15
are arranged in parallel to each other in the column direction such that an interstice SL is interposed between adjacent partition walls
15
in a position opposite to an area between the bus electrodes Xb and Yb of the row electrodes X and Y which are adjacent to each other in the column direction and positioned back to back.
Each of the ladder-shaped partition walls
15
partitions the discharge space, interposed between the front glass substrate
10
and the back glass substrate
13
, into areas each opposite to the transparent electrodes Xa and Ya paired in each row electrode pair (X, Y), to define discharge cells C each formed in a quadrangular shape.
In each discharge cell C, a phosphor layer
16
is provided on a face of the dielectric layer
14
and the four side faces of the vertical walls
15
a
and transverse walls
15
b
of the partition wall
15
which face toward the discharge cell C so as to cover all the five faces. The phosphor layers
16
are arranged in order a red color (R), a green color (G) and a blue color (B) in the row direction for each discharge cell C.
The discharge space is filled with a discharge gas.
In
FIGS. 7
to
11
, reference numeral
17
represents a black light absorption layer (light shield layer) formed between the back-to-back bus electrodes Xb and Yb of the respective row electrodes X and Y adjacent to each other in the column direction, and reference numeral
18
represents a light absorption layer (light shield layer) formed in a position opposite to each vertical wall
15
a
of the partition wall
15
.
The PDP displays images as follows: first, an addressing discharge is selectively caused between one of the row electrodes X, Y and the column electrode D in each discharge cells C. As a result, lighted cells and non-lighted cells are distributed over the panel surface in accordance with an image to be displayed.
Then, a discharge sustaining pulse is applied alternately to the row electrodes X and Y of each pair for a sustaining discharge. Ultraviolet rays generated through the sustaining discharge in each lighted cell excites the red (R), green (G) or blue (B) phosphor layer
16
in each lighted cell to allow the phosphor layer
16
to emit light.
In the panel structure of the conventional PDP as described above, a connection part between the bus electrode Xb, Yb and each of the base members of the transparent electrodes Xa, Ya of each of the row electrodes X and Y is situated in a position overlapping the connection part and the transverse wall
15
b
of the partition wall
15
when viewed from the display surface of the front glass substrate
10
. For the reason of this positional relationship, the sustaining discharge produced between the transparent electrodes Xa and Ya in each of the row electrode pairs (X, Y) is impaired by the transverse wall
15
b
of the partition wall
15
, to induce deterioration of its discharge properties, leading to a problem of adversely affecting the forming of images.
With increasingly higher definition of the PDP in recent times, the width between the transverse walls
15
b
of each partition wall
15
(width of the discharge cell C in the column direction) is increasingly smaller. For this reason, providing a sufficient width o
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn
Gemmell Elizabeth
Glick Edward J.
Pioneer Corporation
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