Electric lamp and discharge devices – With gas or vapor – Three or more electrode discharge device
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-20
2004-03-02
Patel, Ashok (Department: 2879)
Electric lamp and discharge devices
With gas or vapor
Three or more electrode discharge device
C313S585000, C313S586000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06700325
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a panel structure of a surface-discharge-type alternating-current plasma display panel.
The present application claims priority from Japanese Application No. 2002-30297, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
At the present time, AC matrix plasma display panels using a gas discharge for producing light emission (hereinafter referred to as “PDP”) have been released on the market as an oversized and slim display for color screen, and attempts have also been made to become commonly used in ordinary homes and the like.
FIG. 6
to
FIG. 8
are schematic views of a conventional construction of the surface-discharge-type alternating-current plasma display panel.
FIG. 6
is a front view of the conventional surface-discharge-type AC plasma display panel.
FIG. 7
is a sectional view taken along the V—V line of FIG.
6
.
FIG. 8
is a sectional view taken along the W—W line of FIG.
6
.
In
FIGS. 6
to
8
, the plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as “PDP”) includes a front glass substrate
1
, serving as the display surface of the PDP, having on its back surface, in order, a plurality of row electrode pairs (X′, Y′), a dielectric layer
2
covering the row electrode pairs (X′, Y′), and a protective layer
3
made of MgO and covering the back surfaces of the dielectric layer
2
.
Each of the row electrodes X′, Y′ is constructed of a transparent electrode Xa′, Ya′ which is formed of a transparent conductive film with a larger width made of ITO or the like, and a bus electrode Xb′, Yb′ which is formed of a metal film with a smaller width assisting the electrical conductivity of the corresponding transparent electrode.
The row electrodes X′ and Y′ are arranged in alternate positions in the column direction such that the electrodes X′ and Y′ of each pair (X′, Y′) face each other with a discharge gap g′ in between. Each of the row electrode pairs (X′, Y′) forms a display line (row) L in the matrix display.
The front glass substrate
1
is situated opposite a back glass substrate
4
with a discharge-gas-filled discharge space S′ interposed between the substrates
1
and
4
. The back glass substrate
4
is provided thereon with: a plurality of column electrodes D′ which are arranged in parallel to each other and each extend in a direction at right angles to the row electrode pair (X′, Y′); band-shaped partition walls
5
each extending in parallel to and between adjacent column electrodes D′; and phosphor layers
6
formed of phosphor materials of a red color, green color, and blue color, each of which covers the side faces of adjacent partition walls
5
and the column electrode D′.
In each display line L, the partition walls
5
partition the discharge space S′ into areas each corresponding to an intersection of the column electrode D′ and the row electrode pair (X′, Y′), to define discharge cells C′ which are unit light-emitting areas.
Such surface-discharge-type alternating-current PDP generates images through the following procedure.
First, in an addressing period following a reset period for carrying out a reset discharge, a discharge (an addressing discharge) is selectively caused between one row electrode of each electrode pair (X′, Y′) (the row electrode Y′ in this example) and the column electrode D′ in each of the discharge cells C′. As a result of the addressing discharge, lighted cells (the discharge cell in which wall charges are generated on the dielectric layer
2
) and non-lighted cells (the discharge cell in which wall charges are not generated on the dielectric layer
2
) are distributed over the panel surface in accordance with an image to be displayed.
After completion of the addressing period, a discharge sustaining pulse is applied alternately to the row electrodes X′ and Y′ of each row electrode pair simultaneously in each display line L. Every time the discharge sustaining pulse is applied, a discharge (a sustaining discharge) is caused between the row electrodes X′ and Y′ in each lighted cell by the wall charges generated on the dielectric layer
2
.
Ultraviolet light is generated by the sustaining discharge in each lighted cell, which then excites the red, green or blue phosphor layer
6
in each discharge cell C′ to thereby form a display image.
In the conventional three-electrode surface-discharge-type alternating-current PDP having an arrangement of the row electrodes X′ and Y′ in alternate positions in the column direction as described above, a potential difference is produced between the back-to-back positioned row electrodes X′ and Y′ (between the back-to-back bus electrodes Xb′ and Yb′) of the respective row electrode pairs (X′, Y′) adjacent to each other when the PDP is driven, and capacitance occurs in the non-display area between the back-to-back positioned row electrodes X′ and Y′.
The potential difference produced between the back-to-back positioned bus electrodes Xb′ and Yb′ in this manner becomes a cause of creating an undesired surface discharge between the bus electrodes Xb′ and Yb′. Further, the capacitance formed in the non-display area between the corresponding display lines L becomes a cause of an increase of unnecessary power consumption.
In order to reduce such unnecessary power consumption which occurs in the non-display area between adjacent display lines L, making sufficient spacing between the back-to-back bus electrodes Xb′ and Yb′ is needed.
However, increasing the spacing between the back-to-back bus electrodes Xb′ and Yb′ results in an increase in area of the non-display area in the established entire display area of the PDP.
Accordingly, maintaining the same number of display lines L produces a problem of a reduction in brightness because of a decrease in area of the opening of each discharge cell C′ by an increased amount of area of the non-display area, whereas maintaining the area of an opening of each discharge cell C′ produces another problem of impossibility of increasing an image definition because the number of display lines L is decreased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems associated with the prior art surface-discharge-type alternating-current plasma display panels.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a surface-discharge-type alternating-current plasma display panel which is capable of reducing unnecessary power consumption occurring in a non-display area between adjacent display lines without a reduction in the number of display lines and in brightness.
To attain this object, according to a first feature of the present invention, a plasma display panel including: a pair of substrates opposite each other with an interposed discharge space; a plurality of row electrode pairs provided on an inner surface of one substrate of the pair of the substrates, arranged in a column direction and each extending in a row direction to form a display line; a dielectric layer covering the row electrode pairs on the inner surface of the one substrate; and a plurality of column electrodes provided on a surface of the other substrate facing the one substrate, 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, the plasma display panel comprises: a recess provided in a portion of the inner surface of the one substrate facing a non-display area between the adjacent unit light-emitting areas in the column direction, wherein each of row electrodes constituting each of the row electrode pairs comprises an
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn
Patel Ashok
Pioneer Corporation
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