JPH08137431A - Gas discharge display - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Bright, good contrast, and I
A gas discharge display device that can be easily converted to C is realized. In a gas discharge display device, each cell constituting a pixel is separated into an address discharge space 36, a display discharge space 15, and a priming hole 26 that connects the two spaces.
, Address electrodes 23 and 35, and discharge display electrodes 12 and 2
It is composed of 7 and 7. In the discharge space 36, an address discharge is generated by an AC type discharge in which an address period is divided into an address map creation period and a priming period for causing display discharge, and charged particles generated by the discharge in the priming period are discharged through the holes 26. The cells are diffused to 15 to lower the display discharge start voltage of the cells, and only the cells in which the priming discharge is generated in the discharge space 36 by the display voltage applied commonly to all the cells are subjected to the display discharge.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called PDP (plasma display panel), which is a gas discharge display device for displaying images by using discharge cells arranged in a matrix, which is a computer terminal, a television, It can be applied as a display device for all information such as public display panels.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A gas discharge display device is roughly classified into DC.
Type and AC type exist. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the basic structure of the gas discharge display device, and is a cross-sectional view of one discharge cell forming one dot on the display screen. FIG.
FIG. 8A shows a DC type gas discharge display device as shown in FIG.
Shows an AC type gas discharge display device.

First, a DC type gas discharge display device will be described with reference to FIG. The discharge cell includes two glass plates 811 and 851, a partition wall 831, an anode electrode 841 arranged in a matrix, and a cathode electrode 86.
It consists of 1. Glass plates 811 and 851 and partition wall 83
In the discharge space 821 surrounded by 1, for example, helium-
Xenon (He-Xe), neon-xenon (Ne-X)
Noble gas like e) is enclosed. Anode electrode 8
When a DC voltage is applied between the electrode 41 and the cathode electrode 861,
Discharge occurs in the discharge space 821 and ultraviolet rays are generated.
A fluorescent substance is applied to the partition wall 831 and is excited by ultraviolet rays to emit light. The emission color of the phosphor is red for each dot,
Color display can be performed by separately painting in green and blue and selecting according to the image signal.

Next, an AC type gas discharge display device will be described with reference to FIG. The discharge cell is composed of two glass plates 812 and 852, barrier ribs 832, electrodes 872 arranged in a matrix, electrodes 842, and dielectrics 862 and 882 covering the electrodes. Discharge space 82 surrounded by glass plates 812 and 852 and barrier ribs 832.
2 is filled with a rare gas such as He-Xe or Ne-Xe. When a voltage is applied between the electrode 872 and the electrode 842, discharge is generated in the discharge space 822 and ultraviolet rays are generated. When the discharge continues for a certain period of time, the electric charge accumulated on the dielectric cancels the voltage applied between the electrodes and the discharge is stopped. However, if the polarity of the voltage between the electrodes is reversed, the discharge is restarted.

Next, a method of driving these gas discharge display devices will be described. The discharge cells that emit light are selected by the timing of the voltage pulse applied to the row electrodes and the column electrodes arranged in a matrix.

FIG. 9 shows an example of drive waveforms for cell selection. The electrodes are driven line-sequentially. Data pulses are sequentially sent to the electrodes corresponding to the discharge cells in the nth column from the first row to the last row according to the image signal. Data pulse 9
11, 912, 913, 914 are from the first row to 4 respectively
Represents the data on the line where only the first line is selected,
It is assumed that the voltage VA is applied only to the data pulse 911 on the first row. On the other hand, the voltage V is applied to the electrodes on the rows m and m + 1.
S scan pulses 921 and 922 are provided. Then
The voltage between electrodes in the discharge cell in the n-th column and the m-th row is the pulse 93
1,932,933,934, the voltage between electrodes in the discharge cell of the nth column- (m + 1) th row is pulse 941,942,94.
It is represented by 3,944.

In the m-th row, since the data pulse 911 is applied to the column electrodes at the same time as the scan pulse 921, the interelectrode voltage VK applied by the pulse 931 is the discharge start voltage VR.
And discharge occurs. On the other hand, in the (m + 1) th row, since the data pulse 912 is not selected with respect to the scan pulse 922, the pulse 942 does not exceed the discharge start voltage VR and no discharge occurs.

The above is the method of selecting the light emitting points by the electrodes arranged in a matrix, but this is not enough.
Only gradation display can be realized. Further, since the discharge time is short, it is difficult to obtain sufficient brightness. By the way, modern information display panels are required to have high brightness and capable of multi-gradation (full color) display. Therefore, in both the DC type and the AC type, it is known to increase the brightness using a memory driving method and increase the number of gradations using a subfield method.

First, the DC type memory drive will be described with reference to FIG. In the n-th column and the m-th row where the discharge is generated, the charged particles remain in the discharge space within a certain period thereafter, and thus the discharge can be generated again at a voltage lower than the discharge start voltage VR. . The voltage required to generate this discharge is the display voltage VD. For example, if pulses 951 and 952 satisfying the display voltage VD are applied to the electrodes in the m-th row, the inter-electrode voltage is represented by pulses 954 and 955, and the discharge generated by the pulse 931 can be continued. On the other hand, in the nth column- (m + 1) th row, no discharge is generated by the pulse 942. Therefore, the inter-electrode voltage represented by the pulse 956 does not reach the discharge start voltage, and no discharge occurs. In this way, by utilizing the effect peculiar to the discharge phenomenon, the display period of each light emitting point can be lengthened.

Next, the subfield method will be described. In the subfield method, one field of an image signal is divided into a plurality of subfields weighted according to the difference in emission brightness, and an arbitrary subfield is selected according to the amplitude of the signal to realize multi-gradation. Is a way to achieve

FIG. 10 shows an address period for selecting a light-emitting point and a display period (also called a sustain period) for performing a gradation expression according to an image signal in the gradation expression method using the subfield method. It is a figure showing the relationship. The above memory driving method is used for the occurrence of discharge during the display period.

First, the drive sequence 60 will be described. One field has eight subfields SF1 to SF
It is divided into eight. The display period of each subfield is 128: 64: 32: 16: 8: 4 :.
It is weighted 2: 1. These subfields are arbitrarily selected according to the video signal level and 2 8 = 25
6 gradations can be expressed. The brightness level of each subfield is controlled by the number of pulses. The interval between the addressing of each row and the display starting time is constant, and the display start time is shifted line by line by the address time. This type of device and driving method are described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-119740.

Also in the AC type discharge display panel, basically the same display method can be adopted. However, since the principle of operation is different, the difference will be described below. In the AC type discharge display panel, since the electrodes are covered with the dielectric, the electric charges are accumulated on the dielectric by the address discharge. This charge is called wall charge. When the discharge continues for a certain period of time, the voltage applied between the electrodes is canceled by the action of wall charges, and the discharge is stopped. However, when the polarity of the voltage between electrodes is reversed, the next discharge occurs at a voltage lower than the discharge start voltage due to the action of wall charges. Display discharge is performed by repeating this discharge. In order to erase the accumulated wall charges, an erase pulse having a short voltage application time is applied so that new wall charges are not formed, and erase discharge is performed. Like this
In the AC type, memory driving is realized by utilizing the wall charges accumulated on the dielectric. The wall charges take longer to disappear as compared with the charged particles used as a medium for driving a memory in the DC type discharge display panel.

Therefore, a driving method has been proposed in which the address period and the display period are completely separated by utilizing this characteristic, and the display discharge is simultaneously performed in all rows.

In the driving sequence 70 of FIG. 10, the address period and the display period are separated, and the time interval between the address time and the display start time is different for each row. During the address period, wall charges are formed on the dielectric of the discharge cells desired to emit light, and after the address of all rows is completed, a display voltage is applied to all electrodes at once. Then, the display discharge occurs only in the discharge cells in which the wall charges are formed. This type of device is described, for example, in IEICE Technical Report EID 92-86 (1993-01, pp7-11).

[0016]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The depth is much thinner than that of CRT, which is the mainstream of displays at present. Further, since it is relatively easy to increase the screen size, it has been attracting attention as a display device that can realize a wall-mounted display. In order to make full use of this feature, it is important to reduce the size of the peripheral circuit of the panel, and for the electrode drive circuit, it is essential to make a monolithic IC in which multiple channels are contained in one package.

In the above-mentioned conventional driving sequence 60, it is necessary to apply the display pulse to each row independently. For example, 25
When displaying 6 gradations, at least 256 display pulses are required in one field during white peak display. Therefore, the power consumption of the output element increases and the driving IC
There is a problem that the number of multi-channels is limited.

On the other hand, in the drive sequence 70, since the display period is common to all screens, the display pulse may be driven commonly by all electrodes by an external circuit. Therefore, the switching loss of the row electrode drive IC is small, which is advantageous for multi-channel electrode drive ICs. However, on the other hand, since the address period and the display period are independent, the display period is shorter than that of the drive sequence 70, which is disadvantageous in terms of high brightness.
Further, in order to select a display cell accurately, it is necessary to cause discharge for forcibly erasing wall charges on the display discharge electrode at regular intervals, which causes a problem of lowering the contrast of the display screen. is there.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gas discharge display device having a display screen which is bright and has good contrast while adopting a driving method which consumes less power and is easy to be integrated into an IC.

[0020]

As means for solving the above problems, in the present invention, address discharge for selecting a light emitting point is performed at each light emitting point forming one dot on a display screen. The address discharge space and the display discharge space for performing display discharge for display are separated, and the address discharge space and the display discharge space are generated in the address discharge space as spatially continuous parts. The structure is such that charged particles can diffuse into the display discharge space. Further, the present invention completely separates the address discharge electrode and the display discharge electrode. Further, the present invention has a structure in which the electrodes of the address discharge space are covered with a dielectric.

In the present invention, the address period is at least an address map creating period for creating an address map for forming wall charges, and a priming period for generating a priming discharge for inducing discharge in the display discharge space. Split into and. In addition, regarding the display discharge in the present invention, a driving method is applied in which the same voltage is applied simultaneously to the respective electrodes in the display discharge space of a plurality of light emitting points.

[0022]

Since the matrix-shaped electrodes arranged in the address discharge space of the present invention are covered with the dielectric, wall charges can be accumulated by discharge. First, during the address map creation period of the address period, discharge is performed in the address space corresponding to the display discharge space desired to emit light to form an address map by wall charges. Then, an AC voltage that causes a discharge only in the space where the wall charges are formed is applied to all the electrodes in the address discharge space. This discharge corresponds to the AC type display discharge described in the above-mentioned conventional example, but since the purpose of the discharge is different in the present invention, it is called priming discharge in the following description. The charged particles generated by this discharge diffuse into the display discharge space through the portion connecting the address discharge space and the display discharge space. The dispersed particles are
A priming effect is provided for the occurrence of discharge in the display discharge space. That is, in the display discharge space corresponding to the address discharge space in which the priming discharge has occurred, the discharge start voltage temporarily drops. Therefore, an arbitrary voltage is applied to the display discharge space simultaneously with the priming discharge or immediately after the priming discharge. Then, the display discharge can be generated only in the display discharge space corresponding to the address discharge space in which the priming discharge has occurred. That is,
The voltage applied to the display discharge electrode can be constant regardless of the light emitting point.

The degree of the priming effect by the priming discharge can be adjusted by the number of pulse cycles of the AC type gas discharge which is the priming discharge. Further, since the spaces for the display discharge and the address discharge are independent, it is possible to create the address map of the next subfield while the display discharge is being performed. In this case, the priming discharge and the display voltage are adjusted so that the display discharge is not accidentally caused by another discharge in the address period.

Further, since the address discharge space and the display discharge space are separated, only light emission due to the display discharge is observed from the viewing side, and no inconvenience occurs.

[0025]

1 and 2 are sectional views showing an embodiment of a gas discharge display device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a cross section of one cell forming one dot on the screen. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a plurality of cells when viewed from an oblique direction, and is divided into three parts for easy understanding of the structure. FIG. 1 shows the structure when FIG. 2 is viewed from the right-hand side of the drawing.

First, the structure of the front plate 10, the partition plate 20, and the rear plate 30 will be described in detail. The front plate 10 is
It has a glass plate 11, a cathode electrode 12, a partition wall 13, and a phosphor 14 applied to the partition wall. Cathode electrode 12
Are formed in a grid pattern according to the positions of the partition walls 13 and are connected to an external circuit as electrodes common to all cells. The part 127 exposed in the discharge space 15 becomes the discharge part.

The partition plate 20 includes a metal plate 21 and an insulating layer 22.
A column address electrode 23, a dielectric 24, and a protective layer 25.
A priming hole 26 connecting the display discharge space 15 and the address discharge space 36, the anode electrode 27, and the phosphor 2
8 The anode electrode 27 is formed on the metal plate 21. The metal plate 21 is connected to an external circuit as an anode electrode common to all cells.

The back plate 30 includes a glass plate 33, row address electrodes 35, a dielectric layer 32, a protective layer 31, and partition walls 3.
4 When assembling the panel, a gas passage is required for exhausting and enclosing the gas. Therefore, the groove 37 is provided in the partition wall 34 on the address discharge space side. The display discharge space 15 is continuous with the address discharge space 36 through the priming hole 26, and gas can be exhausted / filled.

Next, a method of driving the gas discharge display device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a first according to the present invention.
6 is a time chart diagram for explaining the driving method of FIG. One field is composed of eight subfields, and the first subfield is divided into an address period 421 and a display period (maintenance period) 431.
Is divided into an address map creation period 411 and a priming period 413. The second subfield and subsequent fields have the same configuration.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1 as a light emitting point of n rows and n columns,
The relationship between the inter-electrode voltage, the address, and the display operation will be described. First, the selection of the light emitting points according to the image signal is performed by line sequential driving. In the address map creation period 411, the scan pulse of the voltage VS is sequentially applied to the row address electrodes 35 of the address discharge space 36 from the first row. A data pulse of the voltage VA is applied to the column address electrode 23 corresponding to an arbitrary row. In the cell of the nth row and the nth column to which the data pulse is applied in synchronization with the scan pulse in the first subfield, the pulse 451 of the voltage VK reaches the discharge start voltage,
A discharge is generated in the address discharge space 36 of the cell of the nth row and the nth column. Due to this discharge, the protective layer 2 covering the column electrodes 23
5 and wall charges are accumulated on the surface of the protective layer 31 covering the row electrodes 35. During the scanning period of another row, the data pulse 4 of another row
A voltage VA is applied between the row and column electrodes under the influence of 81, but no discharge occurs because the discharge start voltage is not reached. In this way, an address map based on wall charges is created.

Next, a priming pulse 461 whose polarity is inverted at a constant cycle is applied between all column address electrodes and row address electrodes. The priming pulse 461 is supplied with a voltage VP that does not exceed the discharge start voltage VK. In the address discharge space 36 where wall charges are formed in the address map creation period 411, priming discharge occurs due to this voltage application. In the address discharge space where the wall charges are not accumulated, no discharge occurs even by applying this voltage. During this priming period, a common voltage can be applied simultaneously to a plurality of address electrodes.
At the end of the priming period, an erase pulse 471 for erasing the wall charges is applied to complete the address operation in the first subfield period. During this time, the charged particles generated by the priming discharge diffuse into the display discharge space 15 through the priming holes 26.

On the other hand, the cathode electrode 12, which is a display electrode,
A display pulse 44 is applied between the electrodes of the anode electrode 27 at the same time when the priming period ends. Since the charged particles are diffused in the display discharge space 15 of the addressed cell by the priming discharge, the discharge starting voltage is lowered. Therefore, the discharge is started at the inter-electrode voltage VD, and the discharge is continued for the period represented by the display period 431. On the other hand, in the display discharge space 15 which is not acted upon by the unaddressed priming discharge, the discharge start voltage is not lowered, and the discharge start voltage is not reached by this inter-electrode voltage VD, and no discharge occurs.

The case where the display discharge does not occur will be specifically described. For example, in the cell of n rows and n columns, no data pulse is applied to the row address electrode 23 of the address discharge space 36 with respect to the scan pulse of the second field. Therefore, the inter-electrode voltage VS represented by the pulse 452 does not exceed the discharge start voltage, and the address discharge does not occur. Therefore, even if a priming pulse of the voltage VP is applied during the subsequent priming period, priming discharge does not occur, and even if the display pulse 44 is applied during the display period, display discharge in the display discharge space 15 does not occur.

By driving the gas discharge display device having the structure of the present invention by such a driving method, the display discharge electrodes can share a common driving voltage with respect to the electrodes of all cells, and the driving circuit is also common. Can be converted. Further, since the electrodes can be formed in a grid pattern, it is possible to form electrodes having low resistance even when the screen is enlarged. Further, it is possible to drive the priming discharge with the common circuit. Therefore, the load on the row and column address ICs that require a large number of outputs is small, and the driving ICs can be miniaturized and the number of channels can be increased. Further, regarding the priming period and the display period, since the priming discharge and the electrodes for generating the display discharge are independent of each other, the timings of the priming period and the display period may overlap.

According to the present invention, charged particles generated by the display discharge in the display discharge space may diffuse and act on the address discharge space, and the address discharge may not be accurately performed. Can be solved by the following method.

(1) The wall charges in the address space are temporarily erased before the address discharge is started.

(2) Allow sufficient time from the display discharge to the next address discharge.

(3) A bias voltage is provided between the address electrode and the display electrode to prevent diffusion of charged particles from the display discharge side to the address discharge side.

Next, the second driving method according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a time chart diagram for explaining the second driving method of the present invention.

In the first subfield, the address electrode side has an address map forming period 511 and a priming period 521, and the display electrode side has a display period 531 and a rest period 5.
It is divided into 33. Similarly, in the second subfield, the address electrode side has the address map creation period 51.
2 and the priming period 522, the display electrode side is divided into a display period 532 and a rest period 534.

In this driving method, the display of the first subfield and the address of the second subfield are performed in the first subfield, and the display of the second subfield and the third subfield are performed in the second subfield. Address is made. Therefore, if one field is divided into eight subfields, the display content of the first subfield is the content addressed during the period of the eighth subfield of the immediately preceding field.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1 as a light emitting point of n rows and n columns,
The relationship between the inter-electrode voltage, the address, and the display will be described. First, the selection of the light emitting points according to the image signal is performed by line sequential driving. In the address map creation period 511, the scan pulse of the voltage VS is sequentially applied to the row address electrodes 35 of the address discharge space 36 from the first row. Column address electrode 2
A data pulse of the voltage VA is applied to 3 in correspondence with the display content of the second subfield of any row. In the nth row-nth column cell to which the data pulse is applied in synchronization with the scan pulse in the first subfield, the operation pulse voltage VS
The pulse 551 of the voltage VK obtained by adding the data pulse voltage VA reaches the discharge start voltage, and the discharge is generated in the address space 36. By this discharge, wall charges are accumulated on the surfaces of the dielectric 24 covering the column address electrodes 23 and the dielectric 32 covering the row address electrodes 35. During the scanning period of another row, the voltage VA is applied between each row address electrode and the column address electrode due to the influence of the data pulse 553 of another row, but this voltage is set to a voltage that does not reach the discharge start voltage. Address discharge does not occur. In this way, an address map based on wall charges is created.

Next, a priming pulse 561 whose polarity is inverted at a constant cycle is applied between all address electrodes. For the priming pulse 561, the discharge start voltage VK
A voltage VP that does not exceed V is given. In the address discharge space 36 of the addressed cell, wall charges are formed during the address map creation period 511, and priming discharge occurs. Since no wall charge is accumulated in the address discharge space of the unaddressed cell, no discharge occurs. During this period, a common priming discharge drive voltage can be applied to the plurality of address electrodes. At the end of the priming period, an erase pulse 571 for erasing the wall charges is added to complete the address operation in the first subfield period. During this time, the charged particles generated by the priming discharge diffuse into the display discharge space 15 through the priming holes 26.

On the other hand, the cathode electrode 12 which is a display electrode
Then, between the electrodes of the anode electrode 27, a weighted period display pulse 542 is applied simultaneously with the end of the priming period. In the display discharge space 15 of the addressed cell, since the charged particles are diffused by the priming discharge, the discharge starting voltage is lowered. Therefore, the discharge is started at the inter-electrode voltage VD, and the discharge is continued for the period represented by the display period 532. On the other hand, in the display discharge space of an unaddressed cell, which is not affected by the priming discharge, the discharge start voltage is not reached and no discharge occurs.

The state in which the display discharge does not occur will be specifically described. For example, in the cell of the nth row and the nth column, the data pulse is not applied to the scan pulse in the address map creation period 512 of the second field because it is not addressed. Therefore, the inter-electrode voltage VS represented by the pulse 552 does not exceed the discharge start voltage, and the address discharge does not occur. Therefore, in the subsequent priming period 522, the priming pulse 561 of the voltage VP and the erase pulse 5
Even when 72 is given, no priming discharge occurs, and no display discharge occurs in the display discharge space 15 even during the display period.

In the display period 531 of the first subfield, the display discharge pulse 5 is generated according to the address map formed in the last subfield period of the field immediately before.
Display discharge is performed by 41.

By adopting such a driving method, the display period can be made longer than that of the first driving method, which is advantageous when higher brightness is desired. The advantages of the driving circuit and the like can be expected to be similar to those of the first driving method.

The display period is different for each subfield, but the address map preparation period and the priming period are constant regardless of the subfield. Therefore, the display discharge space 15 needs a rest period. In addition, there is a possibility that the diffusion of charged particles due to the display discharge in the display discharge space may act on the address discharge space and the address discharge may not be performed accurately.
This can be solved by the method (3) shown in the description of the driving method of (3).

The above is FIG. 1 showing a typical structure of the present invention.
Although the gas discharge display device shown in FIG. 1 and the driving method thereof have been described, various specifications can be considered for the structure of each part. Therefore, examples of some structures different from the embodiment of FIG. 1 will be shown below.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are plan views showing a configuration example of a cathode electrode pattern different from those in FIGS. Figure 5
The cathode electrode pattern shown in (A) is composed of a common electrode 121 having a grid pattern, a discharge current limiting resistor 122, and a cathode electrode 123. The cathode electrode pattern shown in FIG. 5B includes a common electrode 125 having a stripe pattern, a discharge current limiting resistor 124 having a stripe pattern, and a cathode electrode 126.

As a method of forming each part, any method such as a method by printing, a method by vapor deposition, a method by plating and the like can be adopted. Similarly, the common electrode 121 or 125 can be made of a material having a low resistance, and the cathode electrode 123 or 126 can be made of a material having a strong secondary electron emission coefficient which is resistant to sputtering. The discharge current limiting resistor 122 or 126 limits the discharge current of each cell, limits the damage of the cathode due to sputtering, and is effective in improving the life of the gas discharge display device. The cathode electrode basically needs only to be exposed in the display discharge space 15, and its shape and position are not limited to these examples.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan views showing examples of anode electrode patterns different from those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 6A, a grid-shaped partition wall 211
A priming hole 261 is provided at a position in contact with the anode 271 and the partition wall 211 in the center of the portion surrounded by, and a phosphor 281 is applied to the other portion. In FIG. 6B, an anode 272 is provided in a stripe shape in the center of a portion surrounded by the grid-shaped partition wall 212, a slit-shaped priming hole 262 is provided along the partition wall 212, and a phosphor 282 is provided in the other part. Has been applied. FIG. 6C shows the resistance layer 21 between the metal plate 21 of the partition plate 20 and the anode electrode 27.
3 is provided. The discharge current limiting resistance is shown in Fig. 5.
Similar effects can be obtained by providing the cathode side as in the examples of (A) and (B) or the anode side like this.

Further, instead of the metal plate 21 connecting the respective anode electrode portions as a common electrode, for example, an insulating layer 22 is used.
May be composed of a glass plate, and the anode electrode may be patterned thereon. In the driving method of the gas discharge display device according to the above-described embodiment, the electrodes in the display discharge space can be driven with a waveform common to all screens. Therefore, restrictions such as row electrodes and column electrodes are eliminated, and the degree of freedom in designing the electrode shape can be greatly increased.

Further, regarding the priming holes 26, 261, 262 provided in each cell, the address discharge space 3
The particles generated in 6 diffuse and reach the display discharge space 15,
The position and shape are not limited as long as the priming effect for generating the display discharge can be surely obtained.

In the partition plate 20 or the back plate 30, two layers of the protective layer 25 and the dielectric layer 24 are provided on the column address electrodes 23, and the protective layer 31 and the dielectric layer 32 are provided on the row address electrodes 35. 2 layers were formed. However, the protective layer may be omitted and a single layer may be used as long as the material is a dielectric and functional damage due to sputtering does not pose a problem in the required life range. Alternatively, it may be further multilayered. Generally, in a typical AC gas discharge display device, the dielectric layer is often made of glass and the protective layer is often made of magnesium oxide having a large secondary electron emission coefficient and strong against sputtering. Even in the present invention, this configuration can be adopted.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an address discharge cell portion, showing a method of arranging address electrodes different from the method shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 7 (A) shows
This is an example of the case where the address electrodes are made into three electrodes. Two row address electrodes 351 and 352 are provided in place of the row address electrode 35 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
In this case, one of the row address electrodes 351 and 352 serves as a row selection electrode. That is, the column address electrode 23 and the row address electrode 351 form an address map by wall charges, and priming discharge is performed between the electrodes 351 and 352. In this structure, the column address electrode 2
Since it is not necessary to apply a pulse for priming discharge to No. 3, it is possible to use a drive element having small withstand voltage and withstand current characteristics as the column address electrode drive element.

FIG. 7B shows an example in which both the row address electrodes and the column address electrodes are provided on the back plate side. FIG.
Further, instead of the column address electrode 23 shown in FIG. 2, the column address electrode 232 is replaced with the row address electrode 35,
The row address electrode 353 is provided via the dielectric layer 25. In this structure, the partition plate 10 has column address electrodes 2
Since 3 does not exist, the structure of the partition plate 10 is simplified and the manufacturing process can be simplified.

In the above description, the partition walls of the address discharge space have a grid shape. However, in the AC type discharge that uses wall charges, the spread range of the discharge is relatively small,
Crosstalk is unlikely to occur. Further, it is not necessary to apply a phosphor to the address discharge space. Therefore, the partition walls of the address discharge space may have a stripe shape, a dot shape, or the like as long as the distance between the partition plate and the back plate can be kept constant.

The structures of the respective parts constituting the display device described above can be used in any combination. It is also conceivable that the electrodes in the display discharge space are of AC type covered with a dielectric material. In this case, the display pulse is AC voltage, and the wall charge of the display discharge space is formed by the priming effect by the discharge in the address discharge space.

[0060]

Since the address discharge space for addressing, priming and erasing is separated from the display discharge space, these discharges are not observed in the address discharge space from the viewing surface side. Therefore, a display image with excellent contrast can be obtained.

Further, by utilizing the AC type discharge utilizing the wall charges for the priming, it becomes possible to drive the display discharge simultaneously for a plurality of light emitting points with a common waveform.
Therefore, since the pulse voltage for display discharge is not applied to the address electrodes, the load on the electrode driving circuit is small, the number of channels of the driving IC can be easily increased, and the size and weight of the display device can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. I can contribute.

Further, since the display electrode can be a common electrode for all screens, the electrode area can be widened by forming a pattern on a grid, the resistance is small, and the resistance is partially reduced. It is possible to obtain an electrode that is resistant to disconnection and has a good yield.

Since the display electrode and the address electrode are completely separated, the pulse period of the display period can be changed linearly. Therefore, the screen brightness level can be adjusted by both the length of the display period and the number of display pulse cycles. Therefore, it is possible to set the optimum peak luminance according to the image signal level without reducing the number of display gradations.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of one cell of a gas discharge display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective sectional view showing the structure of a gas discharge display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a drive waveform diagram showing a first drive method of the gas discharge display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a driving waveform diagram showing a second driving method of the gas discharge display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a cathode electrode pattern of the gas discharge display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an anode electrode pattern of the gas discharge display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an electrode arrangement for address discharge of the gas discharge display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a basic structure of a cell of a conventional gas discharge display device.

FIG. 9 is a drive waveform diagram showing an addressing method in a conventional gas discharge device.

FIG. 10 is a time chart diagram showing a driving method of a conventional gas discharge device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Front plate 11, 33 Glass plate 12 Display cathode electrode 13, 34 Partition wall 14, 28 Phosphor 15 Display discharge space 20 Partition plate 21 Metal plate 22 Insulating layer 23 Column address electrode 23, 32 Dielectric layer 25, 31 Protective layer 26 Priming hole 27 Display anode electrode 30 Back plate 35 Row address electrode 36 Address discharge space 37 Groove 411, 511, 512 Address map creation period 421, 521, 522 Priming period 431, 531, 532 Display period

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Nobuyuki Ushifusa, No. 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Production Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Seiichi Makita, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Banchi Co., Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd., Production Engineering Laboratory

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A matrix comprising a front plate and a back plate arranged at regular intervals, a gas sealed between the front plate and the back plate, and a plurality of electrodes arranged in a matrix. In a gas discharge display device in which a gas discharge is generated at an arbitrary position by applying a voltage according to an image signal to electrodes arranged in a line and an image is displayed, the discharge is at least a light emitting point according to the image signal. There are two types of discharge modes, that is, a first discharge that is generated to select the light source and a second discharge that is generated to obtain arbitrary brightness at the light emitting point selected by the first discharge. The gas discharge display device is characterized in that each light emitting point has at least a first space for generating the first discharge and a second space for generating the second discharge. 2. A matrix comprising a front plate and a back plate arranged at regular intervals, a gas sealed between the front plate and the back plate, and a plurality of electrodes arranged in a matrix. By applying a voltage according to the image signal to the electrodes arranged in a matrix, a gas discharge is generated at an arbitrary position to display an image. Has a first space located on the back plate side, a second space located on the front plate side, and a third space connecting the first space and the second space, and the first space When the first discharge for selecting the light emitting point according to the image signal occurs in the space, the second discharge acts on the second space through the third space, and the second discharge for displaying the image is generated. A gas discharge display device characterized by being generated. 3. A matrix-shaped electrode arranged in the first space is covered with a dielectric, and a discharge for generating wall charges is generated on the dielectric at least during an address period for selecting a light emitting point. And an priming period for inducing a second discharge in the second space for displaying an image.
3. The voltage applied between the electrodes arranged in the space is that the same driving voltage is applied simultaneously to the respective electrodes corresponding to the plurality of light emitting points. The gas discharge display device according to. 4. The voltage applied between the electrodes arranged in the second space to generate the second discharge is the same and the same driving voltage to the respective electrodes corresponding to the plurality of light emitting points. The gas discharge display device according to claim 3, wherein the gas discharge display device is added.