Display panel having improved arrangement of reset cells for facilitating scanning of the panel

A display panel comprising

• a gas-filled envelope having a base plate and face plate hermetically sealed together, said face plate having a viewing window,
• an array of rows and columns of first gas-filled cells for displaying characters in said envelope, said cells including a first column, a last column and intermediate columns,
• electrodes coupled to said cells for scanning said cells, column by column sequentially and repetitively, beginning with the first column, and
• a column of auxiliary cells adjacent to said first column of first cells, said column of auxiliary cells including anode electrode means and cathode electrode means, said cathode electrode means including a first vertical electrode disposed parallel to said columns of first cells and a plurality of horizontal electrodes disposed between said vertical electrode and said first column of first cells.

A display panel including

• a gas-filled envelope having a base plate and a face plate hermetically sealed together, said face plate having a viewing window,
• a plurality of parallel primary cathode strips disposed generally vertically on said base plate, there being a first primary cathode strip, a last primary cathode strip, and a plurality of intermediate primary cathode strips,
• a plurality of horizontal anodes on said face plate, said anodes overlying said primary cathode strips, each crossing of an anode and a primary cathode strip defining a primary glow discharge cell,
• a first auxiliary cathode strip disposed vertically adjacent to the first of said primary cathode strips, said auxiliary cathode forming, with said anodes, a plurality of reset cells, and
• a plurality of second auxiliary cathode strips disposed horizontally between said first auxiliary cathode strip and said first primary cathode strip and forming auxiliary reset cells with said anodes, whereby, in a scanning operation performed by said panel, first all of said reset cells are energized and exhibit glow discharge and generate excited particles, and said auxiliary reset cells are energized and exhibit glow discharge and generate excited particles which facilitate turn-on of selected ones of the primary glow discharge cells formed by the first of said primary cathode strips and said anodes.