Electric lamp and discharge devices – With gas or vapor – Three or more electrode discharge device
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-20
2004-12-14
Patel, Ashok (Department: 2879)
Electric lamp and discharge devices
With gas or vapor
Three or more electrode discharge device
C313S587000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06831412
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a matrix plasma display panel using a gas discharge for producing light emission.
The present application claims priority from Japanese Application No. 2002-29698, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, AC matrix plasma display panels using a gas discharge for producing light emission (hereinafter referred to as “PDP”) has appeared on the market as an oversized and slim display for color screen.
FIGS. 16 and 17
show the cell construction of the AC matrix PDP which has already been proposed by the same applicant as the present application,
FIG. 16
being a front view of the cell construction, and
FIG. 17
being a sectional view taken along the V—V line of FIG.
16
.
In
FIGS. 16 and 17
, a front glass substrate
1
serving as the display surface of the PDP is provided on its back surface with a plurality of row electrode pairs (X, Y) which are arranged in parallel, each extending in a row direction of the front glass substrate
1
(the right-left direction in FIG.
16
).
Each of the row electrodes X includes transparent electrodes Xa each of which is formed of a transparent conductive film made of ITO or the like constructed in a letter-T shape, and a bus electrode Xb which is formed of a metal film extending in the row direction of the front glass substrate
1
and connected to a narrowed base end of each of the transparent electrodes Xa.
Likewise, each of the row electrodes Y includes transparent electrodes Ya each of which is formed of a transparent conductive film made of ITO or the like constructed in a letter-T shape, and a bus electrode Yb which is formed of a metal film extending in the row direction of the front glass substrate
1
and connected to a narrowed base end 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
1
(the vertical direction in FIG.
16
). In each row electrode pair (X, Y), the transparent electrodes Xa and Ya are regularly arranged along the corresponding bus electrodes Xb and Yb. The transparent electrodes Xa and Ya paired extend toward each other such that leading ends of widened portions of the respective electrodes Xa and Ya are opposite to each other with an interposed discharge gap g having a required width.
On the back surfaces of the front glass substrate
1
, a dielectric layer
2
is also formed to cover the row electrode pairs (X, Y). On the back surface of the dielectric layer
2
, an additional dielectric layer
2
A is formed to protrude from the back surface of the layer
2
and extends in parallel to the bus electrodes Xb, Yb, in a position opposite to back-to-back bus electrodes Xb and Yb of the adjacent row electrode pairs (X, Y) plus opposite to an area between the back-to-back bus electrodes Xb and Yb concerned.
A protective layer
3
made of MgO is also provided on the back surfaces of the dielectric layer
2
and the additional dielectric layer
2
A.
The front glass substrate
1
is situated in parallel to a back glass substrate
4
having a surface facing the display surface on which a plurality of column electrodes D are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals and each extend in a direction at right angles to the row electrode pairs (X, Y) (or the column direction) in a position opposite the paired transparent electrodes Xa and Ya of the row electrode pairs (X, Y).
On the surface of the back glass substrate
4
on the display surface side, a white column-electrode protective layer
5
covers the column electrodes D, and partition walls
6
are formed on the protective layer
5
.
The partition wall
6
is constructed in a ladder-shaped pattern by vertical walls
6
a
each extending in the column direction in a position between adjacent column electrodes D arranged in parallel to each other; and transverse walls
6
b
each extending in the row direction in a position opposite the additional dielectric layer
2
A.
The ladder-patterned partition walls
6
partition a space defined between the front and back glass substrates
1
and
4
into sections each corresponding to the paired transparent electrodes Xa and Ya of each row electrode pair (X, Y), to define quadrangular discharge cells C.
A phosphor layer
7
is provided to cover five faces facing each discharge cell C: a face of the column-electrode dielectric layer
5
and the four inner side faces of the vertical walls
6
a
and transverse walls
6
b
of the partition wall
6
. The phosphor layers
7
are arranged in order of a red color, a green color and a blue color along the row direction for each discharge cell C.
The discharge space S is filled with a discharge gas including xenon Xe.
In the PDP, an addressing discharge is generated between the row electrode Y and the column electrode D. Then, a sustaining discharge is generated between the row electrodes X and Y in each discharge cell of the discharge cells C having wall charges existing on the dielectric layer
2
as a result of the addressing discharge (lighted cell), to cause the red, green and blue phosphor layers
7
to emit light to thereby form an image in a matrix display.
In the PDP constructed as described above, the dielectric layer
2
provided for AC driving is formed by means of processes of printing a low-melting glass paste on the back surface of the front glass substrate
1
and then burning it, to have a thickness sufficiently larger than that of the row electrode X, Y, for example, a thickness around twenty to thirty times larger than that of the row electrode X, Y.
The PDP has the construction in which each of the phosphor layers
7
is formed on the back glass substrate
4
in order to reduce degradation of the phosphor layer
7
due to the ion bombardment in a sustaining discharge for an long life of the PDP, and also the dielectric layer
2
has a flat surface facing each discharge cell C in order to improve luminous efficiency of the phosphor layer
7
, and a surface discharge d is produced between the row electrodes X and Y as illustrated in FIG.
17
.
However, in the PDP constructed as described above, because the phosphor layers
7
are provided on the back glass substrate
4
in order to increase a life of the PDP and also the sustaining discharge between the row electrodes X and Y is created in a surface discharge mode, the sustaining discharge in the surface discharge mode requires a driving voltage higher than that required when a sustaining discharge between the row electrodes X and Y is created in an opposite discharge mode, leading to a problem of a need of expensive circuit components capable of withstanding high voltage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems associated with the surface-discharge matrix plasma display panels.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a surface-discharge-type matrix plasma display panel capable of producing a discharge between row electrodes at low driving voltage.
To attain this object, the present invention provides a plasma display panel including: a pair of substrates opposite to each other with a discharge space interposed therebetween; a plurality of row electrode pairs provided on an inner surface of one substrate of the pair of the substrates, regularly arranged in a column direction and each extending in a row direction to form a display line; a plurality of column electrodes provided on an inner surface of the other substrate of the pair of the substrates, regularly arranged in the row direction and each extending in the column direction to intersect the row electrode pairs and form unit light-emitting areas in the discharge space at the respective intersections; and a discharge gap provided between a pair of the row electrodes constituting each of the row electrode pairs in each unit light-emitting area. The plasma display panel according to a first feature of the present inventio
Arent & Fox PLLC
Patel Ashok
Pioneer Corporation
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