CAPACITIVE-LOAD DRIVING CIRCUIT AND PLASMA DISPLAY APPARATUS USING THE SAME

• US 20120081350A1
• Filed: 12/14/2011
• Published: 04/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Takagi, Akihiro, Kishi, Tomokatsu, Kawada, Toyoshi, Inoue, Hirokazu, SANO, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 8,928,646 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/211
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0289 Details of voltage level shifters arranged for use in a driving circuit
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/02 Details of power systems and of start or stop of display operation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/045 Protection against panel overheating
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/28 using luminous gas-discharge panels, e.g. plasma panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/296 Driving circuits for producing the waveforms applied to the driving electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2965 using inductors for energy recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 11/26 Address electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 44/00 Circuit arrangements for operating electroluminescent light sources for operating light emitting diodes H05B45/00

Abstract

A plasma display apparatus including a capacitive load and a driving circuit is provided. The plasma display apparatus includes a driving power source supplying a drive voltage to the capacitive load and a reference potential terminal supplying a reference potential to the capacitive load. A drive IC is coupled to the driving power source.

Claims

1. A plasma display apparatus having a plurality of capacitive loads and a driving circuit, comprising:

a driving power source supplying a drive voltage to the capacitive load;

a reference potential terminal supplying a reference potential to the capacitive load;

a drive IC having a first input terminal coupled to the driving power source via a resistor that is an external device different from the drive IC, a second terminal coupled to the reference potential terminal without interposing a resistor, first and second switching devices, the first switching device being coupled to the first input terminal, and the second switching device being coupled to the second input terminal, and the drive IC having an output terminal, connected to each switching device, which selectively outputs the drive voltage or the reference potential by switching the first and second switching devices,

wherein one of terminals of the first switching device is coupled to the first input terminal and the other of the terminals is coupled to the output terminal, one of terminals of the second switching device is coupled to the second input terminal and the other of the terminals is coupled to the other of the terminals of the first switching device and the output terminal, and the drive voltage and the reference potential are selectively supplied to the capacitive load via the output terminal according to control signals inputted to control terminals of the first and second switching devices,

wherein the drive IC includes one each of the first input terminal and the second input terminal, n (n is an integer larger than or equal to

     2) each of the first and second switching devices and the output terminals, and each of the n sets of the first and second driving devices and the output terminals correspond to each of n loads of the capacitive loads, and

the drive voltage is supplied to each of the plurality of capacitive loads corresponding to each of the n sets from the driving power source via the resistor, the first input terminal, the each first switching device of the n sets, and the output terminal.

2. The plasma display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the plasma display apparatus is a three-electrode surface-discharge AC plasma display apparatus in which address electrodes are formed on a first substrate and X and Y electrodes are formed on a second substrate;

the drive IC applies addressing voltage pulses to the address electrodes; and

the plasma display apparatus has a plurality of the drive ICs and the resistor is inserted between the driving power source and each of the drive ICs.

3. The plasma display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving circuit is used as a driving circuit for driving address electrodes.

4. The plasma display apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein:

the plasma display apparatus is a three-electrode surface-discharge AC plasma display apparatus in which the address electrodes are formed on a first substrate and X and Y electrodes are formed on a second substrate; and

a thickness of a conductive layer of each of the address electrodes in a vertical direction to a plane of the first substrate is reduced to one half or less of the thickness of a conductive layer, of the same material, of each of the X and Y electrodes.

5. The plasma display apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein:

the plasma display apparatus is a three-electrode surface-discharge AC plasma display apparatus in which the address electrodes are formed on a first substrate and X and Y electrodes are formed on a second substrate; and

each of the address electrodes is formed by a single conductive metal layer.

6. A plasma display apparatus having a plurality of capacitive loads and a driving circuit, comprising:

a plurality of driving devices driving a plurality of capacitive loads in an integrated-circuit form;

a driving power source supplying a drive voltage to the capacitive loads;

a reference potential source supplying a reference potential to the capacitive loads,

wherein the integrated circuit includes a first input terminal coupled to the driving power source via a resistor that is an external device different from the drive IC, one second input terminal coupled to the reference potential terminal without interposing a resistor, and a plurality of output terminals respectively corresponding to the plurality of driving devices,

each of the plurality of driving devices includes;

a first switching device having one of the terminals coupled to the first input terminal and the other terminals coupled to the output terminal, and

a second switching device having one of terminals coupled to the second input terminal and the other of the terminals coupled to the other of the terminals of the first switching device and the output terminal, and the drive voltage and the reference potential are selectively supplied to the capacitive load via the output terminal according to control signals inputted to control terminals of the first and second switching devices, and

wherein the drive voltage is supplied to each of the plurality of capacitive loads corresponding to each of the plurality of driving devices from the driving power source via the resistor, the first input terminal, each of the first switching devices of the plurality of driving devices, and the output terminal.

7. The plasma display apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein:

the plasma display apparatus is a three-electrode surface-discharge AC plasma display apparatus in which address electrodes are formed on a first substrate and X and Y electrodes are formed on a second substrate;

the plurality of driving devices form a drive IC which applies addressing voltage pulses to the address electrodes; and

the plasma display apparatus has a plurality of the drive ICs and the resistor is inserted between the driving power source and each of the drive ICs.

8. The plasma display apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the driving circuit comprises a driving circuit to drive address electrodes.

9. The plasma display apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein:

the plasma display apparatus is a three-electrode surface-discharge AC plasma display apparatus in which the address electrodes are formed on a first substrate and X and Y electrodes are formed on a second substrate; and

a thickness of a conductive layer of each of the address electrodes in a vertical direction to a plane of the first substrate is reduced to one half or less of the thickness of a conductive layer of the same material as the conductive layer of each of the X and Y electrodes.

10. The plasma display apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein:

the plasma display apparatus is a three-electrode surface-discharge AC plasma display apparatus in which the address electrodes are formed on a first substrate and X and Y electrodes are formed on a second substrate; and

each of the address electrodes is formed by a single conductive metal layer.