Method of connecting a plasma panel to the electrical power supply therefor in an image display device
AssigneeThomson Licensing
InventorsGerard Rilly, Gerard Morizot, Jean-Raphael Bezal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The device comprises a metal support plate 1 supporting, on its front face, a plasma discharge panel provided with an array of pairs of adjacent electrodes 7, 8 and, on its rear face, a supply 13′; according to the invention, the connection ends of the electrodes 7, 8 of the same pair are located on opposed edges 5, 6 of the panel and the supply circuit for each pair of adjacent electrodes 7, 8 then forms a current loop which does not surround the metal plate 1. The electrical losses in this plate are thus limited, while obtaining an identical operation of the cells of the panel over the entire length of the electrodes.
Claims9
- Image display device comprising:
- a metal support plate (1) supporting, on its front face, a plasma discharge panel and, on its rear face, means for supplying the said panel and for driving the discharges thereof;
- the said plasma panel itself comprising a front tile (3) and a rear tile (4) leaving between them plasma discharge regions (9, 10) and, between these tiles, at least a first array of electrodes serving in particular for sustaining discharges by applying voltage pulses between adjacent electrodes (7, 8) of two different series of electrodes of this first array, in which the connection ends of the electrodes (7) of one series emerge on an opposite edge (5) of the panel to that (6) on which the connection ends of the electrodes (8) of the other series emerge, characterized in that the connection ends of one of the series of electrodes (8) emerging on one edge (6) of the panel are connected to supply and drive means via transverse electrical conductors (21′) which are inserted between the said rear tile (4) and the said metal plate (1) and which extend, from the said ends, as far as the opposite edge (5) of the panel.
- Device according to claim 1, characterized in that these transverse conductors are grouped together in several ribbons of conductors, each located at a position corresponding approximately to the mean position of the electrodes (8) to which the conductors of this ribbon are connected.
- Device according to claim 1, characterized in that each transverse conductor (21′) is connected to a single electrode (8) corresponding to one pair of adjacent electrodes (7, 8) and is positioned on the said panel at approximately the same height as the said pair.
- Device according to claim 3, characterized in that these transverse electrical conductors (21′) form a single conducting ribbon inserted between the rear tile (4) and the metal plate (1).
- Device according to either of claims 2 and 4, characterized in that the said conducting ribbons or the said conducting ribbon also serve as a means for fastening the said panel to the said metal support plate (1).
- Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, since the supply circuit for each pair has, at the start of the supply and drive means, a pair of supply conductors, each of which is connected to an electrode (7, 8) of the pair, the said device includes common-mode filtering means (15) surrounding each pair of conductors.
- Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the common-mode filtering means (15) comprise a tube made of a ferromagnetic material surrounding the said pair of supply conductors.
- Device according to either of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the said common-mode filtering means (15) are implanted at the edge (5) of the panel on which all the supply conductors for the electrodes emerge.
- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said panel also includes a second array of electrodes (18) for addressing the discharges, these intersecting the electrodes of the first array at the said discharge regions (9, 10).