Method for driving a gas-discharge panel

Abstract

When performing the line-sequential addressing for setting the state of each of the cells arranged in rows and columns that constitute a display screen, discharge is generated that has intensity in accordance with display data corresponding to each of all cells belonging to the selected row for each selection of the row. Thus, the priming effect in the following discharge is generated.

1. A method for driving a gas-discharge panel in which line-sequential addressing is performed for setting a state of cells arranged in rows and columns, the method comprising generating a discharge in all cells of a selected row, irrespective of a state to be set in each of the cells for each selection of the row in addressing, an intensity of the discharge in each of the cells of the selected row being set in accordance with state setting data corresponding to each of the cells of the selected row. 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the intensity is set to either a first intensity for cells to be lit during the line-sequential addressing by applying a voltage in the cells to be lit to achieve restart of a discharge in a light sustaining operation or a second intensity for cells not to be lit during the line-sequential addressing by applying a voltage in the cells not to be lit to prohibit restart of a discharge in the light sustaining operation. 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the gas-discharge panel includes scanning electrodes for selecting respective rows and data electrodes for selecting respective columns crossing the rows at respective cells, the scanning electrodes and the data electrodes being covered with a dielectric layer for providing wall voltage, a discharge space being continuous over an entire length of each of the columns, the method further comprising:
 applying a preparation pulse to the cells of the selected row before performing the addressing to set a wall voltage of each cell to a predetermined level to perform an addressing preparation;    generating the discharge in a first intensity for cells to be lit during the line-sequential addressing by applying a voltage in the cells to be lit to increase a wall charge level set after the applied preparation pulse to achieve restart of the discharge in a light sustaining operation; and    generating the discharge in a second intensity for cells not to be lit during the line-sequential addressing by applying a voltage in the cells not to be lit to decrease a wall charge level set after the applied preparation pulse to prohibit restart of the discharge in the light sustaining operation.    
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 3 , further comprising:
 biasing each of the data electrodes to a first potential or a second potential in accordance with the state setting data of one row synchronizing with a row selection by an independent potential control with respect to each of the scanning electrodes.    
     
     
       5. A method for driving a gas-discharge panel in which line-sequential addressing is performed for setting a state of cells arranged in rows and columns so as to constitute a display screen, the method comprising generating a discharge in all cells of a selected row, irrespective of a state to be set in each of the cells for each selection of the row in addressing, an intensity of the discharge in each of the cells of the selected row being set in accordance with state setting data corresponding to each of the cells of the selected row. 
     
     
       6. A method for driving a gas-discharge panel having a display screen including cells arranged in rows and columns, a scanning electrode for selecting a corresponding row and a data electrode for selecting a corresponding column crossing at a corresponding cell, one of the scanning electrode and the data electrode being covered with a dielectric layer for providing wall voltage, a discharge space being continuous over an entire length of each of the columns, the method comprising:
 performing line-sequential addressing to control the wall voltage of all cells of the screen in accordance with binary display data and sustaining by applying an alternating voltage to all cells of a selected row, repeatedly; and    generating a discharge having either a first or a second intensity depending on the display data corresponding to each of the cells of the selected row for each selection of the row in the addressing.    
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 6 , further comprising:
 applying a preparation pulse to the cells of the selected row before performing the addressing so as to perform an addressing preparation for setting the wall voltage of each cell to a predetermined level;    generating the discharge having a first intensity for cells to be lit in the addressing so as to make a level of the wall voltage set in the addressing preparation increase to a sufficient level to regenerate a discharge in a light sustaining operation; and    generating the discharge having a second intensity for cells not to be lit in the addressing so as to make the level of the wall voltage set in the addressing preparation decrease to a level such that a discharge cannot restart in the sustaining operation.    
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 biasing each of the data electrodes to a first potential or a second potential in accordance with the display data of one row synchronizing with the row selection by an independent potential control with respect to each of the scanning electrodes.    
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 applying a voltage to an electrode gap of the cells generating a discharge in the addressing, in the addressing preparation the voltage increasing from a first set value to a second set value, so as to adjust the wall voltage of the electrode gap by generating plural discharges or a continuous discharge in a rising period of the voltage.    
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 6 , further comprising:
 applying a preparation pulse to the cells of the selected row before performing the addressing so as to perform an addressing preparation for setting the wall voltage of each cell to a predetermined level;    generating the discharge having a first intensity for cells to be lit in the addressing so as to make a level of the wall voltage set in the addressing preparation maintain a sufficient level to regenerate a discharge in a light sustaining operation; and    generating the discharge having a second intensity for cells not to be lit in the addressing so as to make the level of the wall voltage set in the addressing preparation decrease to a level such that a discharge cannot restart in the sustaining operation.    
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising:
 biasing each of the data electrodes to a first potential or a second potential in accordance with the display data of one row synchronizing with the row selection by an independent potential control with respect to each of the scanning electrodes.    
     
     
       12. The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising:
 applying a voltage to an electrode gap of the cells generating a discharge in the addressing, in the addressing preparation the voltage increasing from a first set value to a second set value, so as to adjust the wall voltage of the electrode gap by generating plural discharges or a continuous discharge in a rising period of the voltage.    
     
     
       13. The method according to  claim 6 , further comprising:
 biasing each of the data electrodes to a first potential or a second potential in accordance with the display data of one row synchronizing with the row selection by an independent potential control with respect to each of the scanning electrodes.    
     
     
       14. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the discharge is generated one time in the cells of the selected row in the addressing. 
     
     
       15. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the row selection is performed in a order such that in a second row selection and after the second row selection the discharge in a former row selection become effective as a priming discharge. 
     
     
       16. The method according to  claim 6 , further comprising:
 dividing the rows of the screen into a group of odd rows and a group of even rows;    addressing each group by time sharing; and    applying a voltage to all cells of the latter group between the addressing of the former group and the addressing of the latter group, so as to generate a priming discharge.    
     
     
       17. The method according to  claim 6 , further comprising:
 disposing one or more auxiliary electrodes that are similar to the scanning electrode at the outside of the screen in a row direction; and    applying a voltage to the one or more auxiliary electrodes in the addressing for generating a priming discharge before a first row selection.    
     
     
       18. The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 dividing the rows of the screen into a group of odd rows and a group of even rows; addressing each group by time sharing; and    applying a voltage to the one or more auxiliary electrodes close to the row that is selected first in the latter group between the addressing of the former group and the addressing of the latter group, so as to generate the priming discharge.    
     
     
       19. A display device comprising:
 a gas-discharge panel having a display screen including cells arranged in rows and columns, and having a structure in which a scanning electrode for selecting a corresponding row and a data electrode for selecting a corresponding column cross each other at a corresponding cell, at least one of the scanning electrode and data electrode is covered with a dielectric layer for providing a wall voltage, and a discharge space is continuous over an entire length of each of the columns;    a drive circuit performing line-sequential addressing to control the wall voltage of all cells of the display screen in accordance with binary display data, and sustaining by applying the alternating voltage to all cells of a selected row, wherein the drive circuit generates a discharge having either a first intensity or a second intensity depending on the display data corresponding to each of the cells of the selected row for each selection of the row as the addressing.    
     
     
       20. The display device according to  claim 19 , further comprising:
 a drive circuit that applies a voltage to an electrode gap of the cells generating a discharge in the addressing, in an addressing preparation, the voltage increasing from a first set value to a second set value, the drive circuit adjusting the wall voltage of the electrode gap by generating plural discharges or a continuous discharge in a rising period of the voltage as the addressing preparation.    
     
     
       21. A method for driving a gas-discharge panel in which point-sequential addressing is performed for setting a state of cells arranged in rows and columns, the method comprising:
 generating a discharge in a selected cell, irrespective of a state to be set in the cell for each selection in the addressing, an intensity of the discharge in the cell being set in accordance with state setting data corresponding to the cell.    
     
     
       22. A method for driving a gas-discharge panel in which a plurality of discharge cells each having a memory function produced by a wall charge are arranged in a matrix, the method comprising:
 applying a predetermined preparation pulse to all of the discharge cells arranged in the matrix, simultaneously, so as to set a wall charge of each of the discharge cells to a predetermined level;    addressing to make the discharge cells of the matrix forming the wall charge perform line-sequential addressing discharges;    displaying by applying a predetermined sustain pulse to the discharge cells arranged in the matrix, so as to make the addressed discharge cells perform sustain discharges; and    the addressing including generating a discharge in the discharge cells of the matrix, wherein a discharge of a first intensity is generated in the discharge cells to be addressed by applying a voltage producing a discharges having a level sufficient to store sufficient wall charge for restarting the discharges in the displaying, while a discharge of a second intensity is generated in the discharge cells not to be addressed, the second intensity lowering a level of the wall charge set in the applying to a level that disables restarting the discharge in the displaying.    
     
     
       23. A method for driving a gas-discharge panel in which a plurality of discharge cells, each having a memory function produced by a wall charge, are arranged in a matrix, the method comprising:
 applying a preparation pulse, simultaneously to all of the discharge cells arranged in the matrix to set a wall charge of each of the discharge cells to a first level; and    addressing the discharge cells to perform line-sequential addressing discharges, the addressing including generating a first intensity discharge or a second intensity discharge in the discharge cells of the matrix, wherein a first intensity discharge is generated in the discharge cells to be lit by applying a voltage in the discharge cells to be lit to increase the wall charge level to a second level greater than the first level set after the applied preparation pulse to achieve restart of a discharge in a light sustaining operation and a second intensity discharge is generated in the discharge cells not to be lit by applying a voltage in the discharge cells not to be lit to lower a wall charge level to a third level less than the first level set after the applied preparation pulse to prohibit restart of a discharge in the light sustaining operation.    
     
     
       24. A method for driving a gas-discharge panel having a display screen including cells arranged in rows and columns, a scanning electrode for selecting a corresponding row and a data electrode for selecting a corresponding column crossing at a corresponding cell, the scanning electrode making a main electrode pair with a third electrode at respective corresponding cells, at least two of the two electrodes making the main electrode pair and the data electrode being covered with a dielectric layer for providing wall voltage, the method comprising:
 performing an addressing preparation to initialize the wall voltage of all cells of the screen, performing line-sequential addressing to control the wall voltage of all cells of the screen in accordance with binary display data and sustaining by applying an alternating voltage to all cells of a selected row, repeatedly;    applying a voltage to at least one of electrode gaps of the cells generating a discharge in the addressing, in the addressing preparation the voltage increasing from a first set value to a second set value, so as to adjust the wall voltage of the electrode gap by generating plural discharges or a continuous discharge in a rising period of the voltage; and    setting the voltage to be applied to the electrode gap to which the increasing voltage is applied higher than the second set value irrespective of a value of display data, when a scanning pulse for selecting a corresponding row is applied to the scanning electrode in the addressing.    
     
     
       25. The method according to  claim 24 , wherein the electrode gap to which the increasing voltage is applied is the electrode gap of the main electrode pair. 
     
     
       26. The method according to  claim 24 , wherein a discharge space of the gas-discharge panel is continuous over an entire length of each of the columns. 
     
     
       27. A method for driving a plasma display panel having a plurality of pairs of main electrodes forming a plurality of display cells in a plurality of rows and displaying a frame including a plurality of subfields, at least one of the subfields having an addressing preparation period, an addressing period, the method comprising: applying a pulse, changing from a first set value to a second set value with time, to at least one of the pairs of main electrodes so that discharge is generated in the addressing preparation period; setting the state of each cell to be lit or not to be lit in the addressing period; wherein the addressing period includes at least a first period and a second period and, in each of the first and second periods, a plurality of rows is scanned. 
     
     
       28. The method according to  claim 27 , further comprising a period supplying a priming particle, between the first and second periods. 
     
     
       29. The method according to  claim 27 , further comprising a period supplying a pulse, which is different from pulses applied in the first and second periods, arranged between the first period and the second period. 
     
     
       30. The method according to  claim 29 , wherein the pulse, applied between the first period and the second period, generates a discharge. 
     
     
       31. The method according to  claim 27 , wherein the addressing period in one of the subfields, a row selected from group of odd rows and a row selected from group of even rows are scanned alternately and regularly. 
     
     
       32. The method according to  claim 27 , wherein one of each pair of main electrodes is selected for use as a scan electrode; in the addressing preparation period, a pulse, applied to a selected scan electrode to adjust a wall voltage thereof, has a ramp waveform which changes to a negative direction; and in the addressing period, the voltage of the scan pulse applied to the scan electrodes is set to be lower than the attained voltage of the ramp waveform applied to the scan electrode. 
     
     
       33. The method according to  claim 32 , further comprising a plurality of data electrodes which are arranged perpendicular to the main electrodes, wherein: in the addressing preparation period, a continuous discharge for adjusting the wall voltage in each cell is generated by the voltage of the ramp waveform applied between a pair of main electrodes; and in the addressing period, an addressing discharge for setting a selected cell in a selected row to a state to be lit is generated by a voltage difference between a negative scan pulse applied to the selected scan electrode and a positive addressing pulse applied to a selected data electrode, a priming discharge being generated between the main electrodes in an unselected cell in the selected row by the voltage difference between the scan pulse and a positive pulse applied to the other main electrode. 
     
     
       34. The method according to  claim 27 , further comprising a period supplying a pulse which is changing with time, and arranged between the first period and the second period. 
     
     
       35. The method according to  claim 34 , wherein the pulse which is changing with time includes a ramp voltage changing to positive direction and a ramp voltage changing to negative direction. 
     
     
       36. A method for driving plasma display panel in which a pair of main electrodes defines a plurality of display cells in a row, display frame comprising plural subfields, the drive sequence comprising: in an addressing preparation period, adjusting a charge in the display cells employing a pulse having a voltage changing with time; and in an addressing period, setting cells to a lit or a not lit state and in a sustain period, generating sustain discharge of the cells lit in the addressing period wherein the addressing period has a first addressing period and a second addressing period and a pulse whose voltage is changing with time is applied in a period arranged between the first addressing period and the second addressing period. 
     
     
       37. The method according to  claim 36 , wherein an attained voltage of the pulse in the addressing preparation is same as the attained voltage applied in the period arranged between the first addressing period and the second addressing period. 
     
     
       38. A method for driving a plasma display panel in which a frame which includes a plurality of subfields and at least one subfield has an addressing preparation period and an addressing period, the method comprising: during a first addressing preparation, applying a voltage changing with time; during a first addressing period subsequent to the first addressing preparation period, selecting plurality of rows to be addressed; during a second addressing preparation period subsequent to the first addressing period, applying a voltage changing with time, and during a second addressing period subsequent to the second addressing preparation period, selecting a plurality of rows to be addressed which are different from the rows to be addressed during the first addressing period. 
     
     
       39. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 38 , wherein the voltage applied during the first addressing preparation period and the second addressing preparation period attain to same level of negative voltage. 
     
     
       40. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 38 , wherein the voltage applied during the first addressing preparation period and the second addressing preparation period has first voltage which changes to a positive direction and second voltage which changes to a negative direction. 
     
     
       41. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 38 , wherein odd rows or even rows are selected during the first addressing period and the others are selected during the second addressing period. 
     
     
       42. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 40 , further comprising applying sustain pulses to cause sustain discharge in cells which are selected during the first addressing period and the second addressing period. 
     
     
       43. A method for driving a plasma display panel in which an address electrode and a pair of main electrodes including a scan electrode define a display cell, and displaying a frame which includes a plurality of subfields, at least one subfield having an addressing preparation period and an addressing period, the method comprising: applying a first voltage changing to positive direction and a second voltage changing to negative direction to the scan electrode; and applying an address pulse to the address electrode and a scan pulse to the scan electrode, wherein the scan pulse is applied to each of plurality of scan electrodes and an order of the application is different from the arrangement of the scan electrodes. 
     
     
       44. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 43 , wherein the scan electrodes are arranged in odd rows and even rows, and the scan pulse is applied to each scan electrode in odd rows and each scan electrode in even rows respectively, and the order of application to the scan electrodes in each of odd and even rows corresponds to arrangement of the scan electrodes. 
     
     
       45. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 43 , wherein the odd rows and each scan are selected alternately, and each group of even or odd rows is scanned by the arrangement order from the upper to the lower. 
     
     
       46. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 43 , wherein the lowest voltage of the scan pulse is lower than the lowest voltage of the second voltage. 
     
     
       47. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 43 , wherein during the addressing period, negative voltage is applied to the scan electrode as a scan pulse, and positive voltage is applied to the other main electrode. 
     
     
       48. The method for driving a plasma display panel according to  claim 43 , wherein during the addressing period scan pulses are applied to the scan electrodes by skipping plural rows.