JPH0668953B2 - Driving method for gas discharge panel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] In order to display a surface discharge panel in which a display cell and a selection cell are separated from each other with high brightness, the present invention is a gas discharge panel in which a selection electrode is arranged at a position not hindering display. In the above, a driving method is described in which display discharge is performed in a plurality of discharge cells alternately with the selection electrode and the sustain electrode to display with high brightness.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a new method of driving a surface discharge type gas discharge panel, and more particularly to a new type AC gas discharge display capable of high brightness driving as a flat display.

[Conventional technology]

As a prior art related to the present invention, a surface discharge type gas discharge panel having a structure in which a display cell and a selection cell are separated is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
-78751, JP-A-57-212743 and the like.

An example of the conventional panel structure and driving method is as follows.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a substrate on the electrode supporting side of the conventional surface discharge type panel described in JP-A-57-78751, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the main part of the panel. In these figures, a plurality of pairs of X and Y sustain electrodes 2 and 3 are arranged in parallel in the lateral direction on a lower glass substrate 1 functioning as an electrode supporting substrate, and a low melting point is formed thereon. A dielectric layer 6 made of glass,
There is a partition wall 4 made of a dielectric material extending in the vertical direction, and a selection electrode 5 is provided thereon.

A surface layer 9 made of magnesium oxide (Mg0) and having a thickness of several thousand angstroms is provided on the upper selection electrode, and a gas space b surrounded by a transparent upper substrate 7 for cover is provided above the surface layer 9.

Incidentally, the surface discharge type panel described in JP-A-57-212743 is characterized by an electrode structure in which a selective electrode is installed under a display cell consisting of a pair of sustain electrodes so as not to cover the light emission of the display cell. .

FIG. 6 shows an example of a conventional drive waveform which is supplied to the panel by a drive element in order to perform display on the surface discharge type gas discharge panel as described above. In the conventional display operation, the sustain waveform Ux of FIG. 6 is applied to the X sustain electrode and the sustain waveform Uy is applied to the Y sustain electrode, and the pulse voltage Vs _{4 of the} select waveform Uu is applied from the select electrode 5.
Is applied at the same time as the voltage Vs ₅ of the sustain waveform Ux of one sustain electrode and is applied to the selective discharge cell S as a pulse of the ignition voltage or more, a discharge occurs in the cell and this is applied to the sustain voltage between the sustain electrode pairs (amplitude Vs _{In 5} ), display discharge was performed in the display discharge cell d.

In this sustain drive, the gas discharge which gives the emission brightness occurs once near the rising portion of the sustain pulse as seen in the light output in FIG. This is a characteristic of the AC type gas discharge panel.

The display average brightness can be increased by increasing the discharge drive voltage to increase the discharge intensity, or increasing the discharge frequency if the discharge intensity is the same.

The method of increasing the brightness by increasing the first voltage has a limitation that the voltage can be changed only in a narrow range due to the use of the memory of the gas discharge panel, and thus this method cannot be used.

Next, the discharge speed is mainly determined by the type of gas in the space, and it means that the gas with high brightness has a fast reaction rate.
Ne-Xe, He-Ne, etc. are selected according to the application. However, the type of bright and fast gas was decided, and the driving frequency of the sustain voltage was almost fixed, so it could not be sped up. As described above, there are few methods for increasing the display brightness of the conventional panel.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional driving method, the sustain voltage is applied only to the display discharge cell d between the sustain electrode pair to apply the display, and the selection electrode is used only for the address (selection) of the display discharge cell.

Discharge occurs once near the rising portion of the sustain pulse, and in order to increase the visually appealing brightness, it is necessary to use the same discharge gas and increase the frequency of the sustain voltage as much as possible to increase the number of times of light emission. However, the drive frequency of the sustain voltage is almost fixed according to the panel characteristics, and cannot be increased excessively.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a new driving method for improving brightness in a surface discharge type gas discharge panel.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a panel as shown in the above-mentioned JP-A-57-212743 is applied as a surface discharge type panel, and first, a selection electrode of a display cell of a sustain electrode pair is applied. Install it below so that it does not cover the light emission of the display cell.

Next, the discharge that occurs when the display cell is selected and the display discharge that is repeated with the sustain voltage are performed at the same place.

Next, as the display discharge, a plurality of discharge spots were generated between the selection electrode and the two sustain electrodes, a phase difference was established between the discharges, and it was decided that the discharges with repeated frequency increased without overlapping. .

That is, by changing the method of applying the sustain voltage and the applied waveform as shown in the driving waveform example of FIG. 2, a plurality of discharges are alternately generated between both the sustain electrode pairs and the selection electrode, and this is set as one unit. It became the display cell of.

It has been found that in this way two discharges can survive to give one display pixel without interference.

[Action]

Discharges are alternately generated between the sustain electrode pairs X and Y and the selection electrode U shown in FIG. 1 to perform the display operation of the display cell. See also FIG. 2 example of drive waveforms of the present invention. do it,
In the time of period 1, when Vx = −Vs ₁ , Vy = 0, Vu = Vs ₃ , positive charges are accumulated on the surface of the insulating layer on the X electrode and negative charges are accumulated on the Y and U electrodes due to the polarity of discharge. It will be in a state where

Next, in the period 2, if Vx = Vy = 0 and Vu = −Vs ₂ are set, the electric field is reversed between the X electrode and the U electrode.
A discharge in the opposite direction of the discharge occurs.

When the discharge between the U-selection electrode and the Y sustain electrode in the forward direction and the reverse direction, and the discharge between the U-selection electrode and the X sustain electrode in the forward direction and the reverse direction are sequentially repeated, a waveform is displayed on the U-selection electrode. The drive pulse voltage -Vs2 of the new selection electrode, which is newer than that in the conventional method in the applied periods 2, 4 and the like, causes discharge in the opposite direction accompanied by light emission, which can increase the display brightness.

〔Example〕

An example of a method for driving a gas discharge panel of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a detailed explanation with reference to a panel operation explanatory view of the present invention, FIG. 2 a drive waveform diagram of the present invention, and a broken perspective view of a panel main part of FIG.

First, in FIGS. 3 and 1, a selection electrode 5 is provided in a vertical direction on a lower glass substrate 1 functioning as an electrode supporting substrate, and a dielectric layer 6 made of low melting point glass is provided thereon.
A plurality of pairs of sustain electrodes 2 and 3 forming a pair are arranged in the lateral direction through the above, and a low melting point glass layer and a surface layer 9 are formed on the sustain electrode pairs 2 and 3.
There is a transparent upper substrate which is covered with the above and which forms a gas space with a discharge gas space (not shown) in between. The feature of this panel is that the select electrode 5 is formed in the lowermost layer, and an enlarged portion u is formed in the discharge cell corresponding part of the select electrode as shown in the drawing, and this serves as a cell-constituting electrode part. . Further, display electrode portions x and y are formed so as to be adjacent to each other in the discharge cell corresponding portion of the sustain electrode pair located above the selection electrode portion u. Thus, two discharge parts for the two display electrode parts x and y are formed with the selection electrode part u in common, and one display cell d is formed by these two discharge parts. Thus, at the time of addressing, the discharge between the select electrode portion u and one of the display electrode portions x is utilized, and at the time of display, the discharge is alternately generated between the select electrode portion u and both of the display electrode portions x and y. This makes it possible to provide a display of one dot, and in this case, the selection electrode portion u is under the display electrode portion and does not interfere with the discharge light, which is very convenient.

Next, the driving method of the panel will be described in more detail with reference to the panel operation state diagram of FIG. 1 and the driving waveform of the present invention shown in FIG.

Vx, Vy, and Vu represent the applied voltage waveforms to the corresponding electrodes. In this case, it is assumed that the target display cell is a cell that has already been addressed and ignited.

In the period 1, Vx = −Vs ₁ , Vy = 0, Vu = vs ₃ are established, and as shown in FIG. 1, positive charges are Y, U in the dielectric layer on the X electrode due to the polarity of discharge. Negative charges are accumulated on both electrodes.

Next, in the period 2, since Vx = Vy = 0 and Vu = −Vs ₂ are satisfied, an electric field is generated between the X electrode biased with the wall charges by the discharge and the U electrode to which the voltage −Vs ₂ is applied. However, since the direction is opposite to that of the immediately preceding discharge, a reverse discharge occurs.

As a result, the negative on the surface of the dielectric layer on the X electrode and Y electrode,
Positive charges are accumulated on the U electrode.

Next, in the period 3, a discharge electric field is applied between the Y sustain electrode and the U selection electrode, and Vx = 0, Vy = −Vs ₁ and Vu = −Vs ₃ are set, and Y between the Y electrode and the U electrode is set. Positive charges are accumulated on the surface of the dielectric layer on the electrodes, and negative charges are accumulated on the X and U electrodes.

Next, in the period 4, a discharge electric field is additionally applied between the Y sustain electrode and the U selection electrode, and Vx = 0, Vy = 0, Vu = Vs _{2 are established,} and the Y electrode biased by the wall charges and the U electrode. Discharge occurs between the electrodes, and a negative charge is accumulated on the surface of the insulating layer on the X sustain electrode and the Y electrode, and a positive charge is accumulated on the U electrode.

Hereinafter, the discharge between the U selection electrode and the X sustain electrode in the forward and reverse directions, and the discharge between the U selection electrode and the Y sustain electrode in the forward direction and the reverse direction are sequentially and repeatedly displayed. In this way, it was found that the discharge with less interference of wall charges between the U selection electrode and the X and Y sustain electrodes can be increased up to twice in frequency.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the panel structure and the driving method of the present invention, in the surface discharge type panel in which the display cell and the selection cell are separated, the selection electrode is arranged below the sustain electrode, and the discharge light is emitted. Since it is not blocked, there is no obstacle from the viewer side and the cell can be seen through, so the discharge light looks bright.

Further, when viewed in units of each display cell, electric discharge from the display electrode portions x and y on both sides is concentrated in the center with the central selection electrode portion u being common, so that even if the enclosed gas pressure is lowered. The spread of discharge can be prevented. Being able to drive at low pressure means that the energy loss of charged particles due to the enclosed gas can be reduced, so that sharp and bright display can be obtained with essentially high luminous efficiency. By the way, in the surface discharge panel of the conventional structure, in order to suppress the spread of the discharge spot and ensure a sufficient operation margin, a gas pressure of about 600 Torr was required. It was possible to operate sufficiently with pressure.

Furthermore, since sustaining discharge occurs alternately between the two sustaining electrodes and the selecting electrode, the discharge interference is small, and the device can be operated beyond the limit drive frequency. By carrying out the present invention, the emission luminance for display maintenance becomes about twice as high as the luminance obtained by the conventional method, and it was possible to obtain a gas discharge panel display device which performs extremely high luminance display.
As described above, the present invention is extremely effective in practical use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the panel operation of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of drive waveforms of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example configuration of a surface discharge panel to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a substrate of a conventional surface discharge panel, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the panel, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional drive waveform. In FIGS. 1 and 2, X and Y are sustain electrodes forming a pair, U is a selection electrode, Vx and Vy are sustain voltage waveforms applied to the X and Y sustain electrodes, respectively, and Vu is a sustain electrode applied to the U selection electrode. The voltage waveform and the light output show the intensity pulse of the discharge light emitted by the applied sustaining voltage.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of selection electrodes arranged on one substrate defining a gas filled space, and two selection electrodes arranged adjacent to each other in parallel so as to form a pair in a direction intersecting with each other with an insulating layer interposed therebetween. A method for driving a surface discharge type gas discharge panel comprising a plurality of sustain electrode pairs arranged, wherein a sustain voltage is periodically applied to the select electrodes when a display operation is performed on the panel. A sustain voltage is alternately applied to the electrode pair in synchronism with the voltage application timing to the select electrode, and a plurality of discharge cells defined between the sustain electrode pair and the select electrode are set as one unit to the discharge cells. A method of driving a gas discharge panel, characterized in that sustain discharges are alternately generated.