Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems – Plural power supplies – Plural cathode and/or anode load device
Reexamination Certificate
2003-01-30
2004-12-07
Wong, Don (Department: 2821)
Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems
Plural power supplies
Plural cathode and/or anode load device
C315S169100, C313S582000, C313S585000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06828736
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP) used as a planar display for a television set and a computer, a method of driving the same, a circuit for driving the same, and a display unit including the same. More particularly, the invention relates to an alternating current (AC) memory operation type plasma display panel, a method of driving the same, a circuit for driving the same, and a display unit including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display panel has many advantages that it can be fabricated thin, it can display images without flickers, it presents a high display contrast, it can be fabricated in a relatively large display screen, it has a high response speed, it presents superior visibility because it emits lights, and it can display color images by means of three phosphors for converting ultra-violet rays into visible lights of three primary colors, that is, red, green and blue. Hence, a plasma display panel is used as a display unit in a computer, a work station, a television set, and so on.
A plasma display panel is grouped into an alternating current (AC) type one in which electrodes covered with dielectric material are operated indirectly in AC discharge condition, and a direct current (DC) type one in which electrodes are exposed to a discharge space, and operated in DC discharge condition. An alternating current type plasma display panel is further grouped into a memory operation type one which makes use of a memory function by which sustaining discharge is continued in a cell, and a refresh operation type one which makes no use of the above-mentioned memory function. Herein, a cell means a minimum unit for constituting a display screen. A display screen is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in a matrix.
In a plasma display panel, a luminance of each of colors displayed in each of cells is in proportion to the number of sustaining pulses. Since the above-mentioned refresh operation type plasma display panel makes no use of the memory function, if a display capacity is increased, a luminance would be reduced. Accordingly, when images are displayed with a high luminance and in a large capacity, a memory operation type plasma display panel is predominantly used.
FIG. 1
is a partial perspective view of a structure of a conventional alternating current (AC) memory operation type plasma display panel
1
, and
FIG. 2
is an upper view of the conventional plasma display panel
1
with a later mentioned front insulating substrate
2
being removed.
A conventional plasma display panel
1
such as one illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
is suggested, for instance, in Japanese Patent No. 3036496 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-161226) or Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-202831.
FIG. 2
is an upper view obtained when the conventional plasma display panel
1
illustrated in
FIG. 1
is rotated by 90 degrees.
The conventional plasma display panel
1
includes a front insulating substrate
2
and a rear insulating substrate
10
. As illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, a plurality of stripe-shaped scanning electrodes
3
and a plurality of stripe-shaped sustaining electrodes
4
are alternately arranged in a row direction (an up to down direction in
FIG. 1
) on a lower surface of the front insulating substrate
2
. Both of the scanning electrodes
3
and the sustaining electrodes
4
extend in a column direction (a left to right direction in FIG.
1
). Each of the scanning electrodes
3
is spaced away from the adjacent sustaining electrodes
4
by a discharge gap
5
. The front insulating substrate
2
is composed, for instance, of soda-lime glass, similarly to the rear insulating substrate
10
. The scanning electrodes
3
and the sustaining electrodes
4
are comprised of an electrically conductive transparent thin film composed, for instance, of tin oxide, indium oxide or indium tin oxide (ITO).
A first trace electrode
6
extends in the column direction along an edge of and on a lower surface of each of the scanning electrodes
3
. Similarly, a second trace electrode
7
extends in the column direction along an edge of and on a lower surface of each of the sustaining electrodes
4
. The first and second trace electrodes
6
and
7
are comprised of a metal film such as a thick silver film or a thin aluminum or copper film. The first and second trace electrodes
6
and
7
reduce electrical resistance between the scanning and sustaining electrodes
3
and
4
both having a low electrical conductivity, and a later mentioned driver circuit electrically connected to the scanning and sustaining electrodes
3
and
4
.
A lower surface of the front insulating substrate
2
, the scanning electrodes
3
, the sustaining electrodes
4
, the first trace electrodes
6
and the second trace electrodes
7
are covered with a transparent dielectric layer
8
. The transparent dielectric layer
8
is composed of glass having a low melting point, for instance.
The transparent dielectric layer
8
is covered with a protection layer
9
which protects the dielectric layer
8
from ion bombardment in discharge. The protection layer
9
is composed of a material having a high secondary electron emission coefficient and a high resistance to sputtering, such as magnesium oxide.
On an upper surface of the rear insulating substrate
10
is formed a plurality of stripe-shaped data electrodes
11
equally spaced away from one another and extending in the row direction, that is, a direction perpendicular to a direction in -which the scanning electrodes
3
and the sustaining electrodes
4
extend. The data electrodes
11
are comprised of a silver film, for instance.
The data electrodes
11
and an upper surface of the rear insulating substrate
10
are covered with a white dielectric layer
12
.
On an upper surface of the dielectric layer
12
is formed a plurality of stripe-shaped partition walls
13
extending in the row direction. When viewed from an upper side, the partition walls
13
are arranged between the adjacent data electrodes
11
. The partition walls
13
partition a cell.
Three phosphor layers
14
R,
14
G and
14
B are formed on an upper surface of the dielectric layer
12
and sidewalls of the partition walls
13
. The three phosphor layers
14
R,
14
G and
14
B convert ultra-violet rays produced by gas discharge, into three visible lights of three primary colors, that is, red (R), green (G) and blue (B). The phosphor layers
14
R,
14
G and
14
B are arranged in the column direction repeatedly in this order. Each of the three phosphor layers
14
R,
14
G and
14
B extends in the raw direction.
Each of spaces surrounded by a lower surface of the protection layer
9
, each of surfaces of the phosphor layers
14
R,
14
G and
14
B, and sidewalls of the adjacent partition walls
13
defines a discharge gas space
15
. The discharge gas space
15
is filled with discharge gas comprised of xenon (Xe), helium (He) or neon (Ne) alone or in combination at a predetermined pressure. A region surrounded by the scanning electrodes
3
, the sustaining electrodes
4
, the first trace electrode
6
, the second trace electrode
7
, the data electrodes
11
, the phosphor layer
14
R,
14
G or
14
B, and the discharge gas space
15
defines a cell.
FIG. 3
is a block diagram of the conventional plasma display panel
1
illustrated in
FIG. 1
, and a conventional driver circuit for driving the plasma display panel
1
.
The plasma display panel
1
illustrated in
FIG. 3
includes N scanning electrodes
3
1
to
3
N
equally spaced away from one another and extending in the column direction wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than one (1), N sustaining electrodes
4
1
to
4
N
equally spaced away from one another and extending in the column direction, and M data electrodes
11
1
to
11
M
equally spaced away from one another and extending in the row direction wherein M is an integer equal to or greater than one (1). Accordingly, the plasma display panel
1
includes (N×
NEC Plasma Display Corporation
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Vu Jimmy T.
Wong Don
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