Title: Plasma display panel having dummy barrier ribs
Abstract: A plasma display panel includes first and second substrates that are substantially parallel to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. The substrates include a display region and a non-display region. Barrier ribs are mounted between the first and second substrates within the display region and define discharge cells. The barrier ribs include an outermost barrier rib located at an edge of the display region. Dummy barrier ribs are mounted between the first and second substrates within the non-display region. The dummy barrier ribs include a first sub barrier rib disposed at a predetermined distance from the outermost barrier rib, and at least one second sub barrier rib connected to the first sub barrier rib and the outermost barrier rib.
Patent Number: 7,015,645 Issued on 03/21/2006 to Kim, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Kim; Woo-Tae (Yongin, KR);
Heo; Eun-Gi (Cheonan, KR)
|
| Assignee:
|
Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (Suwon, KR)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
654194 |
| Filed:
|
September 3, 2003 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Sep 04, 2002[KR] | 10-2002-0053225 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
313/586; 313/582; 313/292 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
H01J 17/49 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
313/582-587,292
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 6661170 | Dec., 2003 | Amemiya.
| |
| 2004/0046505 | Mar., 2004 | Kawanishi.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 2001-35381 | Feb., 2001 | JP.
| |
| 2001/-160360 | Jun., 2001 | JP.
| |
| 2001-0000980 | Jan., 2001 | KR.
| |
Other References
Patent Abstracts of Japan for Publication No. 2001-160360, date of publication
Jun. 12, 2001, for inventors Saito Hiroshi et al.
Korean Patent Abstracts for Publication No. 010000980, date of publication Jan.
5, 2001, for inventors Il Jun Bae et al.
|
Primary Examiner: Williams; Joseph L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Christie, Parker and Hale, LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A plasma display panel, comprising:
first and second substrates that are substantially parallel to each other with
a predetermined gap therebetween, said substrates comprising a display region and
a non-display region;
a plurality of address electrodes formed on the first substrate;
a first dielectric layer formed on the first substrate, the first dielectric
layer covering the plurality of address electrodes;
a plurality of barrier ribs mounted between the first and second substrates within
the display region, the plurality of barrier ribs defining discharge cells and
including an outermost barrier rib located at an edge of the display region;
dummy barrier ribs mounted between the first and second substrates within the
non-display region, the dummy barrier ribs comprising:
a first sub barrier rib disposed at a predetermined distance from the outermost
barrier rib; and
at least one second sub barrier rib connected to the first sub barrier rib and
the outermost barrier rib;
a phosphor layer formed within the discharge cells;
a plurality of sustain electrodes formed on a surface of the second substrate
that faces the first substrate;
a second dielectric layer formed on the surface of the second substrate, said
second dielectric layer covering the plurality of sustain electrodes; and
discharge gas provided in the discharge cells.
2. The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the first sub barrier rib has
a width that is substantially identical to a width of one of the plurality of barrier ribs.
3. The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the first sub barrier rib is
substantially parallel to the plurality of barrier ribs, and the at least one second
sub barrier rib is substantially orthogonal to the first sub barrier rib and the
outermost barrier rib.
4. The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sustain electrodes
include pairs of sustain electrodes, each pair corresponding to a row of the discharge
cells, and the at least one second sub barrier rib is disposed between at least
one of the pairs of the sustain electrodes.
5. The plasma display panel of claim 4, wherein the at least one second sub barrier
rib comprises one second sub barrier rib that is disposed between one of the pairs
of sustain electrodes.
6. The plasma display panel of claim 4, wherein one of the at least one second
sub barrier rib is disposed between each pair of sustain electrodes.
7. The plasma display panel of claim 4, wherein one of the at least one second
sub barrier rib is selectively disposed between at least one of the pairs of sustain electrodes.
8. The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of barrier ribs
are formed in a lattice pattern.
9. The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of barrier ribs
are formed in a striped pattern.
10. The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the first sub barrier rib is
formed in a striped pattern.
11. The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of barrier ribs
includes a secondary outermost barrier rib connected to the outermost barrier rib
and forming a discharge cell with at least one other of the plurality of barrier ribs.
12. The plasma display panel of claim 10, wherein a distance between the outermost
barrier rib and the secondary outermost barrier rib is less than a distance between
others of the plurality of barrier ribs.
13. A plasma display panel comprising:
first and second substrates that are substantially parallel to each other with
a predetermined gap therebetween, said substrates comprising a display region and
a non-display region;
a plurality of barrier ribs mounted between the first and second substrates within
the display region, the plurality of barrier ribs defining discharge cells and
including an outermost barrier rib located at an edge of the display region; and
dummy barrier ribs mounted between the first and second substrates within the
non-display region, the dummy barrier ribs comprising:
a first sub barrier rib disposed at a predetermined distance from the outermost
barrier rib, the first sub barrier rib being substantially parallel to the plurality
of barrier ribs; and
at least one second sub barrier rib connected to the first sub barrier rib and
the outermost barrier rib.
14. The plasma display panel of claim 13, wherein the first sub barrier rib has
a width that is substantially identical to a width of one of the plurality of barrier ribs.
15. The plasma display panel of claim 13, further comprising a plurality of sustain
electrodes formed on a surface of the second substrate that faces the first substrate,
the plurality of sustain electrodes including pairs of sustain electrodes, each
pair corresponding to a row of the discharge cells, wherein the at least one second
sub barrier rib is mounted between at least one of the pairs of sustain electrodes.
16. The plasma display panel of claim 13, wherein the plurality of barrier ribs
are formed in a lattice pattern.
17. The plasma display panel of claim 13, wherein the plurality of barrier ribs
and the first sub barrier rib are formed in a striped pattern.
18. The plasma display panel of claim 13, wherein the plurality of barrier ribs
include a secondary outermost barrier rib connected to the outermost barrier rib
and forming a discharge cell with at least one other of the plurality of barrier ribs.
19. The plasma display panel of claim 18, wherein a distance: between the outermost
barrier rib and the secondary outermost barrier rib is less than a distance between
others of the plurality of barrier ribs.
20. The plasma display panel of claim 13, wherein the at least one second sub
barrier rib is substantially orthogonal to the first sub barrier rib and the outermost
barrier rib.
21. The plasma display panel of claim 13, wherein the at least one second sub
barrier rib has a height that is substantially identical to a height of the first
sub barrier rib.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application
No. 2002-0053225 filed on Sep. 4, 2002 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office,
the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly,
to a PDP in which dummy barrier ribs are formed in non-display regions.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Plasma display panels (PDPs) are emerging as one of the most popular flat
panel display configurations used for wall-mounted televisions and other similar
display applications. Predetermined images are displayed on the PDP using a discharge
mechanism of discharge cells.
The discharge cells are formed using barrier ribs that are provided in a predetermined
pattern (e.g., a striped or lattice pattern) on a substrate. The barrier ribs include
real barrier ribs (hereinafter referred to simply as 'barrier ribs'), which are
provided in a display region, and dummy barrier ribs, which are provided in non-display regions.
In other words, the dummy barrier ribs refer to the barrier ribs formed in non-display
regions that are outside the display region, such that structural elements of the
plasma display panel formed in the display region, i.e., a dielectric layer, a
protection layer, address electrodes, barrier ribs, and phosphors, may be formed
in the display region to a stable thickness.
However, dummy discharge cells are formed in the non-display regions by
the dummy barrier ribs, and discharge occurs in the dummy discharge cells even
when it does not occur in the discharge cells formed in the display region, thereby
reducing picture quality. Such mis-discharge in the dummy discharge cells occurs
as a result of electric charges generated in discharge cells adjacent to non-display
regions passing over the barrier ribs of the discharge cells and into the dummy
discharge cells in the non-display regions. These electric charges accumulate in
the barrier ribs of the dummy discharge cells and cause discharge to occur in the
dummy discharge cells.
To prevent this problem, a volume of the dummy discharge cells may be reduced
(e.g., by removing spaces from the dummy discharge cells) such that mis-discharge
does not occur. Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2001-35381 discloses one such configuration,
in which spaces for the dummy discharge cells are filled in with the same material
as the dummy barrier ribs, thereby effectively increasing the width of the dummy
barrier ribs and removing spaces from the dummy discharge cells.
In all display devices including the PDP, it is desirable for the brightness
to
be evenly distributed over the entire display region. However, with a PDP having
such dummy barrier ribs with spaces for the dummy discharge cells filled in, brightness
at the edge between the display and non-display regions is greater than brightness
within the display region such that overall brightness characteristics are deteriorated.
This problem is caused by the following phenomenon. In the case where the width
of the dummy barrier ribs is made larger than the width of the barrier ribs inside
the display region, the dummy barrier ribs tend to contract more than the barrier
ribs in the display region when a paste used to form the dummy barrier ribs is
baked following the deposition of the same. Hence, the volume of the discharge
cells at edges of the display region is increased, thereby resulting in an uneven brightness.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a PDP
that prevents mis-discharge in non-display regions and that realizes even brightness
over a display region.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a PDP,
which includes first and second substrates that are substantially parallel to each
other with a predetermined gap therebetween. The substrates include a display region
and a non-display region. The PDP also includes a plurality of address electrodes
formed on the first substrate and a first dielectric layer formed on the first
substrate. The first dielectric layer covers the plurality of address electrodes.
The PDP also includes a plurality of barrier ribs mounted between the first and
second substrates within the display region. The plurality of barrier ribs define
discharge cells and include an outermost barrier rib located at an edge of the
display region. In addition, the PDP includes dummy barrier ribs mounted between
the first and second substrates within the non-display region. The dummy barrier
ribs include a first sub barrier rib disposed at a predetermined distance from
the outermost barrier rib, and at least one second sub barrier rib connected to
the first sub barrier rib and the outermost barrier rib. The PDP also includes
a phosphor layer formed within the discharge cells, a plurality of sustain electrodes
formed on a surface of the second substrate that faces the first substrate, a second
dielectric layer formed on the surface of the second substrate, and discharge gas
provided in the discharge cells. The second dielectric layer covers the plurality
of sustain electrodes.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first sub barrier
rib has a width that is substantially identical to a width of one of the plurality
of barrier ribs.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first sub barrier
rib is substantially parallel to the plurality of barrier ribs, and the at least
one second sub barrier rib is substantially orthogonal to the first sub barrier
rib and the outermost barrier rib.
In still another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, the
plurality of sustain electrodes include pairs of sustain electrodes, each pair
corresponding to a row of the discharge cells, wherein the at least one second
sub barrier rib is mounted between at least one of the pairs of sustain electrodes.
In a particular exemplary embodiment, one second sub barrier rib is disposed between
one of the pairs of sustain electrodes. Alternatively, one of the at least one
second sub barrier rib may be disposed between each pair of sustain electrodes.
Further, one of the at least one second sub barrier rib may be selectively disposed
between at least one of the pairs of sustain electrodes.
The plurality of barrier ribs may be formed in a lattice pattern or a striped
pattern. Further, the first sub barrier rib may be formed in a striped pattern.
In a further exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of
barrier
ribs include a secondary outermost barrier rib connected to the outermost barrier
rib and forming discharge cell with at least one other of the plurality of barrier ribs.
In a yet further exemplary embodiment, of, the present invention, a distance
between
the outermost barrier rib and the secondary outermost barrier rib is less than
a distance between others of the plurality of barrier ribs.
In a still further exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided
a PDP that includes first and second substrates that are substantially parallel
to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. The substrates include a display
region and a non-display region. A plurality of barrier ribs are mounted between
the first and second substrates within the display region. The plurality of barrier
ribs define discharge cells and include an outermost barrier rib located at an
edge of the display region. Dummy barrier ribs are mounted between the first and
second substrates within the non-display region. The dummy barrier ribs include
a first sub barrier rib disposed at a predetermined distance from the outermost
barrier rib, and at least one second sub barrier rib connected to the first sub
barrier rib and the outermost barrier rib. The first sub barrier rib is substantially
parallel to the plurality of barrier ribs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, together with the specification, illustrate exemplary
embodiments of the present invention, and, together with the description, serve
to explain the principles of the present invention:
FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of a PDP according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the PDP of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the PDP of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view used to illustrate a relationship between dummy barrier
ribs and sustain electrodes of a plasma PDP according to an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic views used to illustrate a relationship between
dummy barrier ribs and sustain electrodes of a PDP according to other exemplary
embodiments of the present invention.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic views used to illustrate a relationship between
dummy barrier ribs and sustain electrodes of a PDP according to yet other exemplary
embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of a plasma display panel (PDP)
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.
1, the PDP includes a first substrate
20 and a second substrate
22
that are substantially parallel to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween,
and a discharge mechanism provided between the first and second substrates
20
and
22. The display mechanism is used to display images on the PDP.
In the exemplary embodiment, address electrodes
26 are formed on a surface
of the first substrate
20 that faces the second substrate
22. The
address electrodes
26 are provided in parallel at predetermined intervals
to realize a striped pattern. A first dielectric layer
24 is also formed
on the surface of the first substrate
20 and covers the address electrodes
26. Further, sustain electrodes
30 are formed on a surface of the
second substrate
22 that faces the first substrate
20. The sustain
electrodes
30 are provided in parallel at predetermined intervals to realize
a striped pattern. A second dielectric layer
28 is also formed on the surface
of the second substrate
22 and covers the sustain electrodes
30.
The sustain electrodes
30 are substantially orthogonal to the address electrodes
26. Further, the sustain electrodes
30 are formed of a transparent
material such as ITO (indium tin oxide).
In addition, a transparent protection layer
32 made of a material such
as MgO (magnesium oxide) is formed over the second dielectric layer
28 of
the second substrate
22, and barrier ribs
34 are formed between the
first and second substrates
20 and
22. The barrier ribs
34
are substantially parallel to the address electrodes
26 and formed between
the same. Further, the barrier ribs
34 define discharge cells
36
by spaces formed therebetween. Discharge gas (not shown) is provided in the discharge
cells
36. Phosphor layers
38 that includes R, G, and B phosphors
are formed on the first dielectric layer
24 of the first substrate
20
and on inner walls of the barrier ribs
34.
Referring also to FIG. 2, the first and second substrates include a display
region
40 and non-display region
42 that surrounds the display region.
The barrier ribs
34 are formed within the display region
40 of the
first and second substrates
20 and
22. In the described exemplary
embodiment, the barrier ribs
34 are formed in a lattice pattern. However,
the present invention is not limited to this configuration and other patterns such
as a striped pattern may be used in other exemplary embodiments.
In the described exemplary embodiment, dummy barrier ribs
44 are also
formed
between the first and second substrates
20 and
22. The dummy barrier
ribs
44 are formed in a non-display region
42 (see FIG. 2). The dummy
barrier ribs
44 are formed such that mis-discharge in the non-display region
42 is prevented and brightness in the display region
40 is uniformly distributed.
Referring also to FIG. 3, dummy barrier ribs
44 include a first
sub barrier rib
44a having a width w2 that is substantially identical
to a width w1 of the barrier ribs
34 in the display region
40, and
at least one second sub barrier rib
44b provided between and connected
to the first sub barrier rib
44a and an outermost barrier rib
34a.
In FIGS. 1 and 3, the height of the at least one second sub barrier rib
44b
is substantially identical to the height of the first sub barrier rib
44a.
In other embodiments, however, the heights may be different. FIGS. 1 and 3 each
show only one first sub barrier rib
44a. In other embodiments, however,
more than one first sub barrier rib may be formed in the non-display region, and
the first sub barrier ribs may have various different patterns such as lattice,
striped, etc. The outermost barrier rib
34a is formed at an edge
of the display region
40 (i.e., at a boundary between the display region
40 and the non display region
42 as shown in FIG. 3).
The first sub barrier rib
44a is disposed at a predetermined distance
(d) from the outermost barrier rib
34a and is substantially parallel
to the same. The at least one second sub barrier rib
44b is substantially
orthogonal to the first sub barrier rib
44a and the outermost barrier
ribs
34a, and is connected to both of them as described above.
With reference also to FIG. 4, in a state where the first substrate
20
and the second substrate
22 are interconnected, the at least one second
sub barrier rib
44b is mounted between two sustain electrodes
30,
which form a pair of sustain electrodes provided for each row of the discharge
cells
36, to interconnect the first sub barrier rib
44a and
the outermost barrier rib
34a. The second sub barrier rib
44b
may be provided between only one of the pairs of the sustain electrodes
30
as shown in FIG. 4. In an alternate embodiment, one second sub barrier rib
44b
may be provided between each pair of the sustain electrodes
30 as shown
in FIG. 5. Further, at least one second sub barrier rib
44b may be
selectively mounted between at least one pair of the sustain electrodes
30
as shown in FIG. 6.
In the PDP having the dummy barrier ribs
44 as described above, the first
and second substrates
20 and
22 are placed substantially parallel
to one another, then sealed using a frit
46 provided in peripheral areas
of the substrates
20 and
22, thereby forming an integral assembly.
In the resulting PDP, mis-discharge is prevented from occurring in the non-display
region
42 by the configuration of the dummy barrier ribs
44. This
is a result of reducing spaces in which discharge can take place in the non-display
region by the mounting of at least one second sub barrier rib
44b between
the sustain electrodes
30.
Further, since the first sub barrier rib
44a of the dummy
barrier ribs
44 has the same width as the barrier ribs
34 formed
in the display region
40, even if shrinkage (i.e., contraction) occurs during
the baking portion of the PDP manufacturing process, the first sub barrier rib
44a shrinks the same amount as the barrier ribs
34 in the
display region
40. Accordingly, the size of the discharge cells
36
formed by the barrier ribs
34 is not affected so that the brightness is
uniform over the entire area of the display region
40.
Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown; another exemplary embodiment in
which barrier ribs
35 formed in the display region
40 are provided
in a striped pattern.
With reference to FIG. 8, for example, a secondary outermost barrier rib
34b
is additionally provided that is connected to the outermost barrier rib
34a.
The secondary outermost barrier rib
34b is located between the outermost
barrier rib
34a and the dummy barrier ribs
44. Hence, the
secondary outermost barrier rib
34b, instead of the outermost barrier
rib
34a, is connected via the at least one second sub barrier rib
44b to the first sub barrier rib
44a.
In this embodiment, the outermost barrier rib
34a forms discharge
cells with at least one other of the barrier ribs
34 inside the display
region. When the secondary outermost barrier rib
34b is connected
to the outermost barrier rib
34a, the secondary outermost barrier
rib
34b is mounted in the non-display region
42 and has the
same pattern as the barrier ribs
34. A distance (d
1) between the
outermost barrier rib
34a and the secondary outermost barrier rib
34b is less than a distance (d
2) between the barrier ribs
34 inside the display region
40.
During the baking of the barrier ribs
34 and the dummy barrier ribs
44 as described above, a shape of the secondary outermost barrier rib
34b
is changed (e.g., see the arrows in FIG. 8) as a result of the connection between
the secondary outermost barrier rib
34b and the second sub barrier
rib
44b. In the absence of the secondary outermost barrier rib
34b,
such shape changing would have occurred to the outermost barrier rib
34a
such that the outermost barrier rib
34a would not have performed
its function as a barrier rib. Therefore, the secondary outermost barrier rib
34b
is provided to be deformed instead of the outermost barrier rib
34a.
In the described exemplary embodiment, there is the distance (d
1) between
the outermost barrier rib
34a and the secondary outermost barrier
rib
34b. Therefore, in theory, discharge cells may be formed between
them. However, because the spaces formed between the outermost barrier rib
34a
and the secondary outermost barrier rib
34b are so small that
discharge does not occur.
In an alternate embodiment, the secondary outermost barrier rib may be located
between the outermost barrier rib
34a and one other of the barrier
ribs
34 in the display region and form discharge cells with at least one
other of the barrier ribs
34 inside the display region. In this embodiment,
the secondary outermost barrier rib is mounted within the display region
40
and has the same pattern as the barrier ribs
34. A distance (d
1)
between the outermost barrier rib
34a and the secondary outermost
barrier rib is less than a distance (d
2) between the barrier ribs
34
inside the display region
40.
During the baking of the barrier ribs
34 and the dummy barrier ribs
44 in the alternate embodiment, a shape of the outermost barrier rib
34a
is changed as a result of the connection between the outermost barrier rib
34a and the second sub barrier rib
44b such that the
outermost barrier rib
34a may not perform its function as a barrier
rib. Hence, the secondary outermost barrier rib would function as a barrier rib
in this alternate embodiment to form discharge cells within the display region
40. Similar to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 8, because the spaces formed
between the outermost barrier rib
34a and the secondary outermost
barrier rib are so small that discharge does not occur.
In the PDP of the present invention structured as in the exemplary embodiments
described above, as a result of the improvements made in the structure of the dummy
barrier ribs, mis-discharge does not occur in the non-display region, and the brightness
in the display region is uniformly distributed. Therefore, overall quality of the
plasma display panel is improved.
Although the present invention has been described in detail hereinabove
in connection with certain exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that
the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the
contrary is intended to cover various modifications and/or equivalent arrangements
included within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined in the
appended claims and equivalents thereof.
*
