Plasma Display and Driving Method Thereof

A plasma display comprising:

• a plasma display panel comprising a plurality of discharge cells;
• a controlling board for driving the plasma display panel with one frame divided into a plurality of subfields having respective weight values, providing a sensing period prior to an address period in at least one subfield including the address period and a sustain period among the plurality of subfields, and identifying a contact with the plasma display based on light generated from the discharge cells during the sensing period;
• and
• a driving board for discharging the plurality of discharge cells during a first period of the sensing period, initializing the plurality of discharge cells during a second period, subsequent to the first period, of the sensing period, selecting light emitting cells among the plurality of discharge cells through address discharge during the address period, and performing sustain discharge in the light emitting cells for a number of times corresponding to a weight value of the at least one subfield.

A driving method of a plasma display, the plasma display being driven with one frame divided into a plurality of subfields respectively having weight values, the plasma display comprising a plurality of discharge cells defined by a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes extending in one direction and a plurality of third electrodes extending in a direction crossing the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes, the driving method comprising:

• applying a scan pulse and an address pulse to the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes, respectively, during a first period of a sensing period;
• initializing the plurality of discharge cells during a second period subsequent to the first period of the sensing period;
• sequentially applying the scan pulse to the plurality of first electrodes during an address period;
• selectively applying the address pulse to the plurality of address electrodes while the scan pulse is being applied to the plurality of first electrodes during the address period;
• alternately applying a sustain pulse to the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes for a number of times corresponding to a weight value of a corresponding one of the subfields;
• and
• identifying a contact with the plasma display based on light generated from the discharge cells during the sensing period.