AC gas discharge display device

Abstract

A return path is efficiently and advantageously provided for alternate discharge current flowing between X and Y driver circuits arranged on right and left sides of an AC-driven gas discharge display device of especially a plasma tube array type. The AC-driven gas discharge display device comprises a front-side, transparent substrate and a rear-side substrate sandwiching a plurality of thin discharge tubes arranged side by side. The front-side substrate has, on an inner surface thereof, a plurality of pairs of display electrode. The rear-side substrate has, on an inner surface thereof, a plurality of address electrodes in a direction transverse to the plurality of display electrodes. In the display device, striped light-blocking, electrically conductive films are formed on an outer surface of the front-side substrate at locations corresponding to locations between respective ones of the pairs of display electrode. The light-blocking, electrically conductive films are coupled at their opposite ends to respective points of common reference potential in the X- and Y-electrode driver circuits, respectively, to provide a return path for alternate discharge current.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.