(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a PDP (plasma display panel) driving method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a low voltage resetting PDP driving method.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, flat displays such as LCDs (liquid crystal displays), FEDs (field emission displays), and PDPs have been widely developed. Among them, PDPs have higher luminance and wider viewing angles compared to other flat displays. Hence, PDPs have come into the spotlight as substitutes for conventional CRTs (cathode ray tubes) having screen sizes bigger than 40 inches.
The PDP is a flat display for using plasma generated via a gas discharge process to display characters or images. Tens of millions of pixels are provided thereon in a matrix format, depending on its size. PDPs are categorized into DC PDPs and AC PDPs, depending on driving voltages and discharge cell structures.
Since the DC PDPs have electrodes exposed in the discharge space, they allow the current to flow in the discharge space while the voltage is supplied, and therefore, they have a problem of requiring resistors for current restriction. On the other hand, the AC PDPs have electrodes covered by a dielectric layer. This structure naturally forms capacitance that restricts the current, and protects the electrodes from ion shocks in the case of discharging. Accordingly, they have a longer lifespan than the DC PDPs.
As shown, a scan electrode 4 and a sustain electrode 5, disposed over a dielectric layer 2 and a protection film 3, are provided in parallel and form a pair with each other under a first glass substrate 1. A plurality of address electrodes 8 covered with an insulation layer 7 are installed on a second glass substrate 6. Barrier ribs 9 are formed in parallel with the address electrodes 8, on the insulation layer 7 between the address electrodes 8, and phosphor 10 is formed on the surface of the insulation layer 7 between the barrier ribs 9. The first glass substrate 1 and the second glass substrate 6 having a discharge space 11 between them are provided facing each other so that the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 may respectively cross the address electrode 8. The address electrode 8 and a discharge space 11 formed at a crossing part of the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 form a discharge cell 12.
As shown, the PDP electrode has an m×n matrix configuration, and in detail, it has address electrodes A1 to Am in the column direction, and scan electrodes Y1 to Yn and sustain electrodes X1 to Xn in the row direction, alternately. Hereinafter, the scan electrode will be referred to as a Y electrode, and the sustain electrode as an X electrode. The discharge cell 12 shown in
As shown in
In the reset period, the panel erases wall charges formed in the previous sustain discharge period, and sets a new wall charge state in order to make sure that the following address period performs appropriately.
In the address period, the panel selects the cells that will be turned on and accumulates wall charges of the cells to be turned on. In the sustain period, the panel keeps discharging at the addressed cells in order to display images.
A conventional operation during the reset period will be further described with reference to
(1) Erase Period
When a final sustain discharge is finished, positive charges are accumulated to the X electrode, and negative charges to the Y electrode, as shown in
When the sustain discharge is finished, an erase ramp voltage that gradually rises from 0 (V) to +Ve (V) is supplied to the X electrode, and the wall charges formed to the X and Y electrodes are then gradually erased to enter the state shown in
(2) Y Ramp Rising Period
The address electrode and the X electrode are sustained at 0 volt during this period, and a ramp voltage that gradually rises from the voltage Vs to the voltage Vset is supplied to the Y electrode. Vs is lower than a firing voltage of the X electrode and Vset is higher than the firing voltage of the X electrode. While the ramp voltage is rising, a first weak reset discharge is generated to all discharge cells from the Y electrode to the address electrode and the X electrode. As shown in
(3) Y Ramp Falling Period
While the X electrode sustains a constant voltage Ve, a ramp voltage is supplied to the Y electrode. The ramp voltage gradually falls to 0 volt from the voltage Vs that is lower than the firing voltage of the X electrode. While the ramp voltage is falling, a second weak reset discharge is generated to all discharge cells. As a result, as shown in
Vf,xy=Ve+Vw,xy
Vf,ay=Vw,ay Equation 1
As expressed in Equation 1, since the external voltage Ve (approximately 200 volts) is supplied between the X and Y electrodes, some wall charges sustain the firing voltage. However, no external voltage is supplied between the address electrode and the Y electrode. Therefore, the firing voltage is sustained only through the wall charges.
Referring to
Therefore, in the conventional driving method, the voltage Vset higher than 380 volts has to be supplied so as to obtain a sufficient voltage margin, in order to reset the Y electrode. This requires components that can withstand higher voltage. Also, the conventional method generates high intensity of background light emission, rendering it difficult to achieve high contrast.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a PDP driver and a PDP driving method that can reduce a reset voltage to use low-voltage elements and to achieve high contrast.
In order to achieve the object, the driving waveforms are generated in consideration of relative voltage differences between the address electrode and the X electrode and between the X electrode and the Y electrode, which will be subsequently described.
According to the conventional driving methods, as previously described, the wall charges marked with circles in
Thus, the present invention removes unnecessary negative charges stored in the X electrode and the Y electrode, and generates an internal voltage difference to provide a firing voltage between the address electrode and the Y electrode. Accordingly, the reset voltage may be lowered since less charge is required.
To achieve this, the present invention provides a voltage difference between the address electrode and the Y electrode when the reset stage is finished in the prior waveforms. That is, the voltage at the Y electrode is set to be lower than the voltage (O volts) at the address electrode, and
As shown, the charges are ideally not stored in the X electrode after the reset operation, and less wall charges compared to the conventional method are formed at the address electrode and the Y electrode.
In this instance, the firing voltage formed in the discharge cell after reset operation is expressed in Equation 2.
Vf,xy=Ve+Vw,xy
Vf,ay=V′w,ay+Vn Equation 2
As expressed in Equation 2, since the present invention sustains the voltage difference of Vn between the address electrode and the Y electrode when terminating the reset operation, it can reduce the voltage V′w,ay caused by the wall charges accumulated at the address electrode and the Y electrode. Therefore, since less wall charges compared to the prior art can be stored in the address electrode, a lower reset voltage Vset can be used for driving operation.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the following detailed description, only the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustrating the best modes contemplated by the inventor(s) of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive.
As shown, according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the voltage at the Y electrode is lowered to less than the address voltage (ground voltage) in the falling ramp period. Accordingly, the difference (i.e., V′e+Vn) of the externally-received voltage at the X electrode and the Y electrode is sustained to be similar to the conventional voltage difference Ve. This provides the externally-received voltage difference (i.e., Vn) between the address electrode and the Y electrode and compensates the insufficient wall charges between the address electrode and the Y electrode.
The driving waveforms according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in
The driving waveforms according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in
It is difficult to achieve a stable background discharge in the first preferred embodiment because the discharge voltage varies depending on the characteristics of the phosphors.
The second preferred embodiment generates discharging between the X electrode and the Y electrode during the rising ramp period to solve the above-noted problem. As shown in
According to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sustain-discharge voltage Vs and the ground voltage are alternately supplied to the X and Y electrodes during the sustain-discharge period. Any of the reset period voltage lower than the voltage variance range of the sustain-discharge period may drain currents from a sustain-discharge circuit to a reset circuit. Accordingly, a circuit that can prevent such flow is required, complicating the driving circuit.
The waveforms according to the third preferred embodiment are similar to those shown in
In the third preferred embodiment, the voltage −Vn of the Y falling ramp period and the negative bias voltage −Vm of the X electrode during the Y rising ramp period can be set to be equal to −Vs/2. In this case, the circuit becomes simpler because the reset part and the sustain-discharge part can share the circuit for supplying the voltage −Vs/2.
According to the third preferred embodiment shown in
In the fourth preferred embodiment, the erase rising ramp voltage for the X electrode is lowered to V′e. The voltage of the Y electrode corresponding to the erase rising ramp of the X electrode is set to be matched with the negative bias voltage −Vm of the X electrode during the Y rising ramp period. The voltage Ve for the X erase ramp does not need to be additionally supplied through this circuit modification, rendering the circuit simpler.
Further, in order to make the circuit of the fourth preferred embodiment simpler, the voltages −Vn and −Vm can be set to match −Vs/2.
According to the fourth preferred embodiment shown in
According to the driving waveforms of the fifth preferred embodiment, a ramp voltage of the Y electrode gradually falls to −Vn from Vs/2 after the final sustain-discharge. The voltage is inverted to +Vs/2 from −Vs/2 and supplied to the X electrode. These voltage waveforms generate erase ramp waveforms, and such an erase ramp provides easy implementation and stable discharging.
Table 1 shows the comparison of the conventional waveforms shown in
As shown in Table 1, the present embodiment lowers the driving voltages Vset and Ve for the reset operation than the conventional waveforms, enabling the use of low-voltage components. Also, use of the low reset voltage Vset reduces the background light emission, achieving high contrasts.
Although Table 1 presents comparisons of the preferred embodiment with the conventional waveforms on the basis of the driving waveforms shown in
According to the present invention, lower reset voltage of the PDP driving waveforms allows the use of low-voltage elements and reduces the PDP production costs.
Further, the lower reset voltage can reduce background light emission and increase the contrast.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
This application is based on U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/356,735 filed on Feb. 15, 2002, of which content is hereby incorporated by reference and the benefit of which filing date is hereby claimed.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60356735 | Feb 2002 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10200140 | Jul 2002 | US |
Child | 11044048 | Jan 2005 | US |