KR100634730B1 - Driving Device for Plasma Display Panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to an apparatus for driving a plasma display panel that can reduce power consumption when driving a plasma display panel.

According to the present invention, a subfield in which reset pulses, address pulses, and sustain pulses are applied to address electrodes X ₁ to Xn (n is a positive integer), scan electrodes, and sustain electrodes in a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period. In the driving apparatus of a plasma display panel which expresses an image consisting of a predetermined number of frames by a combination, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time, the number of sustain pulses is adjusted to a predetermined number or less. A timing controller; And a scan driver and a sustain driver which alternately apply the sustain pulse adjusted by the timing controller to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode, wherein the sustain pulse has a voltage value smaller than the discharge start voltage.

Description

Driving device for plasma display panel {Driving Device for Plasma Display Panel}

1 illustrates a structure of a general plasma display panel.

2 is a view for explaining a driving apparatus of a conventional plasma display panel.

3 is a diagram illustrating a method of implementing image grayscale of a conventional plasma display panel.

4 is a diagram illustrating a driving waveform according to a driving method of a conventional plasma display panel.

5 schematically illustrates a driving apparatus of a plasma display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a waveform diagram of pulses generated when driving a driving device of a plasma display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a driving apparatus of a plasma display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

 8 is a waveform diagram of pulses generated when driving a driving apparatus of a plasma display panel according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

***** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing *****

500, 700; Data sorting units 501 and 701; Timing controller

502, 702; Data drivers 503 and 703; Scan driver

504, 704; Sustain drive

The present invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to an apparatus for driving a plasma display panel that can reduce power consumption when driving a plasma display panel.

In general, a plasma display panel is a partition wall formed between a front substrate and a rear substrate to form a unit cell, and each cell includes neon (Ne), helium (He), or a mixture of neon and helium (Ne + He) and An inert gas containing the same main discharge gas and a small amount of xenon is filled. When discharged by a high frequency voltage, the inert gas generates vacuum ultraviolet rays and emits phosphors formed between the partition walls to realize an image. Such a plasma display panel has a spotlight as a next generation display device because of its thin and light configuration.

1 illustrates a structure of a general plasma display panel.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plasma display panel includes a front substrate in which a plurality of sustain electrode pairs formed by pairing a scan electrode 102 and a sustain electrode 103 are formed on a front glass 101, which is a display surface on which an image is displayed. A rear substrate 110 having a plurality of address electrodes 113 arranged so as to intersect the plurality of sustain electrode pairs on the back glass 111 forming the back surface 100 and the rear surface is coupled in parallel with a predetermined distance therebetween. .

The front substrate 100 is made of a scan electrode 102 and a sustain electrode 103, that is, a transparent electrode (a) formed of a transparent ITO material and a metal material to mutually discharge and maintain light emission of the cells in one discharge cell. The scan electrode 102 and the sustain electrode 103 provided as the bus electrode b are included in pairs. The scan electrode 102 and the sustain electrode 103 are covered by one or more upper dielectric layers 104 that limit the discharge current and insulate the electrode pairs, and to facilitate the discharge conditions on the upper dielectric layer 104 top surface. A protective layer 105 on which magnesium oxide (MgO) is deposited is formed.

The rear substrate 110 is arranged in such a manner that a plurality of discharge spaces, that is, barrier ribs 112 of a stripe type (or well type) for forming discharge cells are maintained in parallel. In addition, a plurality of address electrodes 113 which perform address discharge to generate vacuum ultraviolet rays are arranged in parallel with the partition wall 112. On the upper side of the rear substrate 110, R, G, and B phosphors 114 which emit visible light for image display during address discharge are coated. A lower dielectric layer 115 is formed between the address electrode 113 and the phosphor 114 to protect the address electrode 113.

The plasma display panel having such a structure has a plurality of discharge cells formed in a matrix structure, and a driving module including a driving circuit for supplying a predetermined pulse to the discharge cells is attached to form a driving device. The coupling relationship between the plasma display panel and the driving module is shown in FIG. 2.

2 is a view for explaining a driving apparatus of a conventional plasma display panel. As shown in FIG. 2, the driving apparatus of the conventional plasma display panel is attached to a plasma display panel in which a plurality of discharge cells are formed in a matrix structure to supply a predetermined pulse to the above-described discharge cells.

In this case, the driving apparatus of the plasma display panel includes a data alignment unit 200, a timing controller 201, a data driver 202, a scan driver 203, and a sustain driver 204 as shown in FIG. 2.

The data alignment unit 200 of the conventional driving device arranges the image data input from the outside to be applied to each of the address electrodes X1 to Xm, and the aligned data is plasma-displayed through the data driver 202. It is applied to the address electrodes X1 to Xm of the panel 205.

In addition, under the control of the timing controller 201, the scan driver 203 applies a scan signal and a sustain signal to each of the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn, and the sustain driver 204 applies the sustain signal to each sustain electrode ( Z). Through this process, the plasma display panel 205 is driven. A method of implementing image gradation in such a plasma display panel is shown in FIG. 3.

3 is a diagram illustrating a method of implementing image grayscale of a conventional plasma display panel.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the conventional method of expressing a gray level of a plasma display panel, a frame is divided into several subfields having different number of light emission times, and each subfield is again configured as a reset period (RPD) for initializing all cells. ) Is divided into an address period APD for selecting a cell to be discharged and a sustain period SPD for implementing gradation according to the number of discharges.

For example, when displaying an image with 256 gray levels, a frame period (16.67 ms) corresponding to 1/60 second is divided into eight subfields SF1 to SF8 as shown in FIG. 3, and eight subfields. Each of the SFs SF1 to SF8 is divided into a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period.

The reset period and the address period of each subfield are the same for each subfield. The address discharge for selecting the cell to be discharged is caused by the voltage difference between the address electrode and the transparent electrode which is the scan electrode. The sustain period is increased at a rate of 2 ⁿ ( ^where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) in each subfield.

In this way, since the sustain period is different in each subfield, the gray scale of the image is expressed by adjusting the sustain period of each subfield, that is, the number of sustain discharges. Looking at the driving waveform according to the driving method of the plasma display panel as shown in FIG.

4 is a diagram illustrating a driving waveform according to a driving method of a conventional plasma display panel.

As shown in Fig. 4, the plasma display panel erases the reset period for initializing all the cells, the address period for selecting the cells to be discharged, the sustain period for maintaining the discharge of the selected cells, and the wall charges in the discharged cells. It is divided into an erase period for driving.

The reset period is divided into a setup period and a setdown period.

In the setup period, a rising ramp waveform (Ramp-up) is applied to all the scan electrodes at the same time. This rising ramp waveform causes weak dark discharge within the full discharge cells. By this setup discharge, positive wall charges are accumulated on the address electrode and the sustain electrode, and negative wall charges are accumulated on the scan electrode.

During the set-down period, after the rising ramp waveform is supplied, the falling ramp waveform (Ramp-down) starts to fall from the positive voltage lower than the peak voltage of the rising ramp waveform and falls to a specific voltage level below the ground (GND) level voltage. By generating a weak erase discharge in the inside, the wall charges excessively formed in the scan electrode are sufficiently erased. By this set-down discharge, wall charges such that the address discharge can stably occur remain uniformly in the cells.

In the address period, the negative scan pulses are sequentially applied to the scan electrodes, and the data pulses of the positive voltage Va are applied to the address electrodes in synchronization with the scan pulses. As the voltage difference between the scan pulse and the data pulse and the wall voltage generated in the reset period are added, address discharge is generated in the discharge cell to which the data pulse is applied. In the cells selected by the address discharge, wall charges are formed such that a discharge can occur when the sustain voltage Vs is applied. The sustain electrode is supplied with a positive polarity voltage Vz during the set down period and the address period so as to reduce the voltage difference with the scan electrode so as to prevent mis-discharge with the scan electrode.

In the sustain period, a sustain pulse Su is applied to the scan electrode and the sustain electrodes alternately. In the cell selected by the address discharge, as the wall voltage and the sustain pulse in the cell are added, a sustain discharge, that is, a display discharge, occurs between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode every time the sustain pulse is applied.

After the sustain discharge is completed, in the erase period, a voltage of an erase ramp waveform Ramp-ers having a small pulse width and a low voltage level is supplied to the sustain electrode to erase the wall charge remaining in the cells of the full screen.

On the other hand, since the plasma display panel is driven using gas discharge, it consumes a relatively large amount of power consumption compared to other display devices. Therefore, in the related art, when the same signal is continuously displayed for a predetermined time or a screen is unnecessary for the plasma display panel, a power saving mode is applied to apply a minimum voltage to the screen of the plasma display panel.

For example, in the conventional method of power saving of a plasma display panel, a high voltage pulse applied in the power saving mode, that is, a sustain pulse Vs or an address pulse Va, is blocked, and only a logic signal 5V is applied to the high voltage when the power saving mode is released. By applying, the power consumption was reduced.

However, when a power saving mode is implemented by cutting off a high voltage such as a conventional sustain pulse or an address pulse, when a high voltage is applied to the normal screen, there is a problem of instantaneous mis-discharge. In addition, since the power supply is started in an excessive load state, there is a problem that may cause damage to the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display panel capable of reducing power consumption of the plasma display panel by improving a driving device of the plasma display panel.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display panel that can suppress the mis-discharge phenomenon of the plasma display panel by improving the driving device of the plasma display panel.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display panel that can prevent damage to the device.

In order to achieve the above object, in the reset period, the address period and the sustain period of the present invention, a reset pulse, an address pulse and a sustain pulse are applied to the address electrodes X ₁ to Xn (n is a positive integer), the scan electrode and the sustain electrode. A driving apparatus of a plasma display panel which expresses an image made up of a predetermined number of frames by a combination of subfields to which is applied, the number of sustain pulses being applied when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time. A timing control unit for adjusting the predetermined number or less; And a scan driver and a sustain driver which alternately apply the sustain pulse adjusted by the timing controller to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode.

The number of sustain pulses of the present invention is characterized by being adjusted to a predetermined number or less every frame.

The predetermined number of sustain pulses of the present invention is characterized by being applied in five or more to 10 or less every frame.

The sustain pulse of the present invention is characterized in that it is applied at regular intervals.

The predetermined time of the present invention is characterized by being 1 minute or more and 120 minutes or less.

The reset pulse of the present invention is characterized in that it is applied every frame.

The reset pulse of the present invention is characterized in that one is applied every frame.

The sustain pulse of the present invention is characterized by having a voltage value smaller than the discharge start voltage.

The scan driver and the sustain driver of the present invention may further include an energy storage unit for storing energy when a predetermined number or less of sustain pulses are applied.

In the combination of the subfields to which the reset pulse, the address pulse and the sustain pulse are applied to the address electrodes X ₁ to Xn (n is a positive integer), the scan electrode and the sustain electrode in the reset period, the address period and the sustain period of the present invention. In the driving apparatus of a plasma display panel which expresses an image composed of a predetermined number of frames, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time, the timing of adjusting the number of sustain pulses to a predetermined number or less A controller; A scan driver and a sustain driver for alternately applying a sustain pulse adjusted by the timing controller to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode; And a data driver which blocks the same address pulse applied to the address electrode.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode of the plasma display panel, power consumption can be reduced by reducing the number of sustain pulses applied. In this case, a minimum sustain pulse without discharge is applied to store energy in the scan driver and the energy storage included in the sustain driver. As a result, when the display returns to the normal screen and the normal driving pulse of the high voltage is applied, time-discharge can be suppressed, and burnout of the device can be prevented.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a specific embodiment according to the present invention will be described.

5 schematically illustrates a driving apparatus of a plasma display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the driving device of the plasma display panel according to the present invention includes a data alignment unit 500, a timing controller 501, a data driver 502, a scan driver 503, and a sustain driver 504. Is provided.

The data aligning unit 500 aligns the image data input from the outside so as to be applied to each address electrode (X1 ~ Xm).

The data driver 502 applies the address pulses of the aligned data to the address electrodes X1 to Xm of the plasma display panel 505.

The timing controller 501 controls the pulse timing of the scan driver 503 and the sustain driver 504 to adjust the number of sustain pulses.

The scan driver 503 applies reset pulses, scan pulses, and sustain pulses to the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn.

The sustain driver 504 applies a sustain pulse to each sustain electrode Z. Through this process, the plasma display panel 505 is driven.

As described above, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode of the plasma display panel being driven for a predetermined time, that is, when a still image is displayed on the screen, the power consumption of the plasma display panel is reduced in the first embodiment of the present invention. To reduce this, adjust the number of sustain pulses that are high voltages (Vs).

First, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time, a signal indicating that the same address pulse is applied to the timing controller from the data alignment unit. Alternatively, since the video signal input from the outside is a still image signal, the video signal controller (VSC) board (not shown) receiving the external video signal may detect the same and transmit the signal to the timing controller. At this time, it is preferable to make predetermined time into 1 minute or more and 120 minutes or less. In addition, the predetermined time can be set arbitrarily by the user.

The timing controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention adjusts the number of sustain pulses to a predetermined number or less when the address pulses are applied for a predetermined time. Each frame is adjusted until the changed address pulse is applied, i.e., the display is switched to the normal screen and the normal driving pulse is applied. At this time, the number of predetermined sustain pulses is not displayed on the screen, and the power consumption can be minimized. Preferably, it is adjusted to 5 or more and 10 or less per frame. In addition, the timing of the sustain pulse is adjusted so that the applied sustain pulse has a predetermined interval.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the scan driver and the sustain driver alternately apply the adjusted sustain pulse to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode according to the number of sustain pulses adjusted by the timing controller and the timing of the applied timing. The power consumption can be reduced by applying five to ten pulses at regular intervals every frame. At this time, the voltage of the applied sustain pulse has a voltage value smaller than the discharge start voltage.

In addition, energy is stored and maintained as a sustain pulse is applied to an energy storage unit (not shown) of an energy recovery circuit included in a scan driver and a sustain driver that supply and recover energy when the plasma display panel is driven. In this way, even when the normal screen is switched to the normal screen and a high-voltage normal driving pulse is immediately applied, erroneous discharge can be suppressed, and burnout of the device can be prevented.

6 is a waveform diagram of pulses generated when driving a driving device of a plasma display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 6, in the first embodiment of the present invention, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time, a pulse in which the number of sustain pulses is adjusted is generated and applied.

Five or more sustain pulses are applied to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode every frame. The sustain pulse has a value smaller than the discharge start voltage and is applied at regular intervals. At this time, energy is stored in the energy storage unit and maintained.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, a reset pulse is applied every frame. At this time, one reset pulse is applied every frame. Thereby, the wall charge distribution can be evened before the normal drive pulse is applied.

7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a driving apparatus of a plasma display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the data display unit 700, the timing controller 701, the data driver 702, the scan driver 703, and the sustain driver 704 include a data alignment unit 700. It is provided.

The data alignment unit 700 aligns the image data input from the outside to be applied to each address electrode X1 to Xm.

The data driver 702 applies the address pulses of the aligned data to the address electrodes X1 to Xm of the plasma display panel 705.

The timing controller 701 controls the pulse timing of the scan driver 703 and the sustain driver 704 to adjust the number of sustain pulses.

The scan driver 703 applies a reset pulse, a scan pulse, and a sustain pulse to each of the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn.

The sustain driver 704 applies a sustain pulse to each sustain electrode Z. As shown in FIG. Through this process, the plasma display panel 705 is driven.

As described above, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode of the plasma display panel being driven for a predetermined time, that is, when a still image is displayed on the screen, the power consumption of the plasma display panel is reduced in the second embodiment of the present invention. In order to reduce the number of sustain pulses, which are high voltages Vs, the number of sustain pulses is controlled, and the same address pulses applied to the address electrodes are blocked.

First, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time, a signal indicating that the same address pulse is applied to the timing controller from the data alignment unit. Alternatively, since the video signal input from the outside is a still image signal, the video signal controller (VSC) board (not shown) receiving the external video signal may detect the same and transmit the signal to the timing controller. At this time, it is preferable to make predetermined time into 1 minute or more and 120 minutes or less. In addition, the predetermined time can be set arbitrarily by the user.

The data driver according to the second embodiment of the present invention transmits a signal that the same address pulse is applied to the timing controller, and blocks the same address pulse applied to the address electrode. As a result, power consumption can be reduced.

When the address pulse is applied for a predetermined time, the timing controller according to the second embodiment of the present invention adjusts the number of the sustain pulses to be equal to or less than the predetermined number. Each frame is adjusted until the changed address pulse is applied, i.e., the display is switched to the normal screen and the normal driving pulse is applied. At this time, the number of predetermined sustain pulses is not displayed on the screen, and the power consumption can be minimized. Preferably, it is adjusted to 5 or more and 10 or less per frame. In addition, the timing of the sustain pulse is adjusted so that the applied sustain pulse has a predetermined interval.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the scan driver and the sustain driver alternately apply the adjusted sustain pulse to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode according to the number of the sustain pulses adjusted by the timing controller and the timing of the applied. The power consumption can be reduced by applying five to ten pulses at regular intervals every frame. At this time, the voltage of the applied sustain pulse has a voltage value smaller than the discharge start voltage.

In addition, energy is stored and maintained as a sustain pulse is applied to an energy storage unit (not shown) of an energy recovery circuit included in a scan driver and a sustain driver that supply and recover energy when the plasma display panel is driven. In this way, even when the normal screen is switched to the normal screen and a high-voltage normal driving pulse is immediately applied, erroneous discharge can be suppressed and the burnout of the device can be prevented.

8 is a waveform diagram of pulses generated when driving a driving apparatus of a plasma display panel according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 8, in the second embodiment of the present invention, when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time, a pulse in which the number of sustain pulses is adjusted is generated and applied, and the address pulse is blocked. .

Five or more sustain pulses are applied to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode every frame. The sustain pulse has a value smaller than the discharge start voltage and is applied at regular intervals. At this time, energy is stored in the energy storage unit and maintained.

The address pulse applied to the address electrode is cut off to reduce power consumption.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, a reset pulse is applied every frame. At this time, one reset pulse is applied every frame. Thereby, the wall charge distribution can be evened before the normal drive pulse is applied.

As such, the technical configuration of the present invention described above can be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments are to be understood as illustrative and not restrictive in all respects, and the scope of the present invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the detailed description, and the meaning and scope of the claims and All changes or modifications derived from the equivalent concept should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

 As described above, the present invention improves the driving device of the plasma display panel, thereby reducing the power consumption of the plasma display panel.

In addition, the present invention improves the driving device of the plasma display panel, thereby suppressing the erroneous discharge phenomenon of the plasma display panel and preventing burnout of the device.

Claims (18)

Predetermined by a combination of subfields in which reset pulses, address pulses and sustain pulses are applied to the address electrodes X ₁ to Xn (n is a positive integer), scan electrodes and sustain electrodes in the reset period, the address period and the sustain period. In the driving apparatus of the plasma display panel which expresses the image which consists of a number of frames, A timing controller configured to adjust the number of sustain pulses to a predetermined number or less when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time; And A scan driver and a sustain driver for alternately applying a sustain pulse adjusted by the timing controller to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode, And the sustain pulse has a voltage value smaller than a discharge start voltage. The method of claim 1, And the number of sustain pulses is controlled to be less than or equal to a predetermined number every frame. The method of claim 2, And the predetermined number of sustain pulses is applied in five or more ten frames per frame. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, And the sustain pulses are applied at regular intervals. The method of claim 1, And the predetermined time is 1 minute or more and 120 minutes or less. The method of claim 1, And the reset pulse is applied every frame. The method of claim 6, And one reset pulse is applied to each frame. delete The method of claim 1, The scan driving unit and the sustain driving unit further includes an energy storage unit for storing energy when a predetermined number or less of sustain pulses are applied. Predetermined by a combination of subfields in which reset pulses, address pulses and sustain pulses are applied to the address electrodes X ₁ to Xn (n is a positive integer), scan electrodes and sustain electrodes in the reset period, the address period and the sustain period. In the driving apparatus of the plasma display panel which expresses the image which consists of a number of frames, A timing controller configured to adjust the number of sustain pulses to a predetermined number or less when the same address pulse is applied to the address electrode for a predetermined time; A scan driver and a sustain driver for alternately applying a sustain pulse adjusted by the timing controller to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode; And A data driver which blocks the same address pulse applied to the address electrode, And the sustain pulse has a voltage value smaller than a discharge start voltage. The method of claim 10, And the number of sustain pulses is controlled to be less than or equal to a predetermined number every frame. The method of claim 11, And the predetermined number of sustain pulses is 5 or more and 10 or less per frame. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, And the sustain pulses are applied at regular intervals. The method of claim 10, And the predetermined time is 1 minute or more and 120 minutes or less. The method of claim 10, And the reset pulse is applied every frame. The method of claim 15, And one reset pulse is applied to each frame. delete The method of claim 10, The scan driving unit and the sustain driving unit further includes an energy storage unit for storing energy when a predetermined number or less of sustain pulses are applied.

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