Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems – Plural power supplies – Plural cathode and/or anode load device
Reexamination Certificate
2002-10-28
2004-06-08
Lee, Wilson (Department: 2821)
Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems
Plural power supplies
Plural cathode and/or anode load device
C313S581000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06747414
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an AC plasma display panel used for an information displaying terminal, flat-panel television, or a like and more particularly to a structure of the AC plasma display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently various types of AC plasma display panels are available for use. A three-electrode-surface-discharge type of AC (Alternating Current) plasma display panel is so configured that, on a front substrate being one of two substrates are formed a scanning electrode and a common electrode and on a rear substrate being another of the two substrates is formed a data electrode in which writing discharge to select a unit cell to be displayed is performed by driving the data electrode and the scanning electrode while sustaining discharge is performed by surface discharge of the selected unit cell by driving the scanning electrode and the common electrode.
In the three-electrode-surface-discharge type of AC plasma display panel, since ions having high energy being generated at a time of surface discharge on the front substrate move on a plane in a unit cell of the front substrate, a fluorescent material on the rear substrate can avoid interaction with ions and as a result be prevented from deteriorating and, therefore, a lifetime of this type of AC plasma display panel can be made longer and the plasma display is widely used.
FIG. 7
is a cut-away perspective view showing a structure of a conventional three-electrode-surface-discharge type of AC plasma display panel.
FIG. 8
is a cross-sectional view of the conventional plasma display panel taken along a line E—E.
FIG. 9
is a cross-sectional view of the conventional plasma display panel of
FIG. 8
taken along a line F—F.
In the conventional three-electrode-surface-discharge-type of AC plasma display panel, as shown in
FIG. 7
to
FIG. 9
, on a front substrate
10
constructed of a transparent substrate are formed a plurality of scanning electrodes
5
, each of which, is made up of a first transparent electrode
1
and a first metal electrode line
3
, and a plurality of common electrodes
6
, each of which, is made up of a second transparent electrode
2
and a second metal electrode line
4
, in such a manner that a discharge gap
7
may be interposed between each scanning electrode
5
and each common electrode
6
adjacent to each other, and the scanning electrodes
5
and the common electrodes
6
are coated with a dielectric layer
11
a
and further the dielectric layer
11
a
is covered with a protective layer
12
.
On the other hand, on a rear substrate
13
constructed of a transparent substrate are formed a plurality of data electrodes
14
which are covered with a dielectric layer
11
b
. Each of belt-shaped partition walls
15
is formed on the dielectric layer
11
b
and positioned between data electrodes
14
being adjacent to each other.
As shown in
FIG. 8
, fluorescent materials
16
R,
16
G, and
16
B providing light having three primary colors including light with a red color, light with a green color, and light with a blue color, respectively, are alternately coated (That is to say R, G, B, R, G, B, . . . ) on a surface of the dielectric layer
11
b
and a side face of each of the belt-shaped partition walls
15
. Between the front substrate
10
and the rear substrate
13
are integrally assembled the scanning electrode
5
, the common electrode
6
, and the data electrode
14
in a manner that they face one another to be orthogonal to one another and in a discharge space
17
being a space between the front substrate
10
and the rear substrate
13
is filled gas emitting ultraviolet rays in an excited state by discharge.
In the conventional plasma display panel described above, three kinds of electrodes including the scanning electrode
5
, the common electrode
6
, and the data electrode
14
are arranged for every unit cell
9
a
and one pixel in a screen is made up of three unit cells
9
a
including the fluorescent materials
16
R,
16
G, and
16
B.
Moreover, among unit cells
9
a
being adjacent to one another in a column direction V is formed a non-discharge gap
8
to prevent interference against discharge among unit cells
9
a.
Furthermore, since an upper face of each of the belt-shaped partition walls
15
is not covered by the first transparent electrode
1
, redundant current being not accompanied by light emission is not consumed. Also, by placing the first transparent electrode
1
in a position being far from an end of each of the belt-shaped partition walls
15
, a loss in charged particles is reduced and light emission efficiency is improved.
To drive the conventional plasma display panel described above, control is exerted in such a manner that, by driving the data electrode
14
and scanning electrode
5
using a data pulse and a scanning pulse respectively, writing discharge is performed and that the unit cell
9
a
to be displayed is selected and by driving the scanning electrode
5
and the common electrode
6
, sustaining discharge is performed by surface discharge of the selected unit cell
9
a.
Moreover, to perform sufficient gray-scale, eight to ten sub-fields are provided in one field and each sub-field includes a scanning period to perform writing discharge, a sustaining period to perform sustaining discharge, and a priming period to stabilize writing discharge.
However, the conventional plasma display as shown in
FIG. 7
presents a problem in that a width in a row direction H on a screen between the first and second transparent electrodes
1
and
2
facing each other with the discharge gap
7
interposed between them is narrow, causing a discharge voltage to be made high.
Moreover, the conventional plasma display presents another problem in that, if the front substrate
10
and the rear substrate
13
are poorly positioned, the width between the first and second transparent electrodes
1
and
2
is made different depending on a unit cell
9
a
in a display surface, which causes distribution of discharge voltages to be widened and driving margin to be made narrow.
To solve these problems, an electrode is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 11-297214 in which, as a result of considerations given to a possible influence of a discharge characteristic caused by positioning between a front substrate and a rear substrate, a width of a protruding portion of a transparent electrode has been changed. However, this electrode presents a problem in that, if the protruding portion of the transparent electrode is made slender, a discharge region decreases and, if the protruding portion of the transparent electrode is made thick, excessive charges are readily left on a protective layer in a vicinity of metal electrodes and which causes erroneous discharge.
Moreover, in the conventional plasma display panel shown in
FIG. 7
, many charges are accumulated in a vicinity of the first and second metal electrode lines
3
and
4
existing at a place being apart from the discharge gap
7
immediately before writing discharge and, by using these charges, the dielectric layer
11
a
performs writing discharge on the first and second metal electrode lines
3
and
4
being thinner than the first and second transparent electrodes
1
and
2
.
To solve this problem, an electrode is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. Hei 10-233171 and Hei 11-297214 in which a dielectric mounted on a metal electrode is formed so as to be thicker than a dielectric mounted on a transparent electrode and not to use discharge occurring on the metal electrode.
Furthermore, another electrode is also disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 2000-106090 and 2000-294149 in which a transparent electrode and a metal electrode is not coupled in a portion facing a discharge space and therefore discharge is not expanded up to regions existing on the metal electrode and, as a result, discharge occurring on the metal electrode is not used.
However, in all the electrodes d
Lee Wilson
NEC Plasma Display Corporation
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Tran Thuy Vinh
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