AC plasma display panel and driving method therefor

1. A driving method for a three-electrode AC plasma display panel in which a plurality of X electrodes and a plurality of Y electrodes are alternately arranged parallel to each other on one of two, front and rear insulating substrates opposing each other, and a plurality of data electrodes are arranged on the other insulating substrate to cross the X and Y electrodes at right angles, comprising the steps of:

causing the discharge ON of cells within a first set of cells and the discharge ON of cells within a second set of cells vertically adjacent to the first set of cells, wherein each set of cells comprises cells framed by an X electrode and an adjacent Y electrode and having one of the two electrodes in common with the other set of cells, an address pulse has been sequentially applied to the X electrode and the Y electrode, and said address pulse is applied in synchronization with an application of a data pulse to a data electrode, to generate writing discharge in the address period at the electrode to which the address pulse was applied;

applying AC sustain pulses to the X and Y electrodes alternately in the sustain period; and

performing progressive display in dependence on the occurrence of a discharge, caused between respective pairs of X and Y electrodes in said two vertically adjacent sets of cells.

2. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of setting an address period and a sustain period, sequentially applying an address pulse to the X and Y electrodes in the address period, applying a data pulse corresponding to display data to a data electrode in accordance with application timing of the address pulse, forming wall charge at the X and Y electrodes in accordance with the display data, applying an AC sustain pulse between the X and Y electrodes in the sustain period, and determining occurrence of sustain discharge on the basis of the amount of the wall charge, thereby performing display.

3. A method according to claim 2 , wherein when ON display is to be performed by causing discharge between a corresponding pair of X and Y electrodes, different amounts of wall charge are stored in the X and Y electrodes in the address period; and

when OFF display is to be performed by causing no discharge between a corresponding pair of X and Y electrodes, the same amount of wall charge is stored in the X and Y electrodes in the address period.

4. A method according to claim 2 , wherein when ON display is to be performed by causing discharge between a pair of X and Y electrodes, data pulses having different voltages are respectively applied to the X and Y electrodes upon application of the address pulse to cause writing discharge at only one of the X and Y electrodes in the address period; and

when OFF display is to be performed by causing no discharge between a pair of X and Y electrodes, data pulses having the same voltage are applied to the X and Y electrodes upon application of the address pulse to cause writing discharge at both or neither of the X and Y electrodes.

5. A method according to claim 2 , wherein a bias voltage having the same polarity as that of the address pulse is applied to two Y or two X electrodes adjacent to an X or a Y electrode, respectively, to which the address pulse is applied in the address period.

6. A method according to claim 2 , wherein in the address period, when the address pulse is applied, no surface emission is caused between the electrode to which the address pulse is applied and the X or Y electrodes adjacent to the electrode to which the address pulse is applied.

7. A method according to claim 2 , wherein in the sustain period, discharge is caused between the X and Y electrodes in an ON cell every time a polarity of the AC sustain pulse is reversed, and the discharge is not caused in an OFF cell every time the AC sustain pulse is reversed.

8. A method according to claim 2 , wherein one field in which one frame is displayed is constituted by a plurality of sub-fields, each of the sub-fields has a priming period in which a stored state of wall charge in each cell is initialized, the address period, and the sustain period, and gray-scale display is realized by turning on or off the sustain period in an arbitrary sub-field.

9. A method according to claim 2 , wherein in the address period, the voltage of the data pulse to be applied first is changed depending on whether the data electrode is on an even- or odd-numbered line, thereby changing the presence/absence of the writing discharge.

10. A method according to claim 2 , wherein in the address period, the voltage of the data pulse to be applied first is changed depending on an even- or odd-numbered field, thereby changing the presence/absence of the writing discharge.

11. A method according to claim 2 , wherein a phase of the AC sustain pulse to be applied in the sustain period is shifted 180° for each field.