JPS58164133A - Polychrome phosphorescent display unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve brightness as well as to secure a display unit being simple in structure and excellent in reliability, by setting plural anode conductors, each of which is coated with a phosphor layer different in luminescent colors, onto a base plate and impressing anode voltage to these anode conductors in order, while imparting control voltage to the first and second control electrodes simultaneously. CONSTITUTION:Each anode electrode 12 is set up from top to bottom crosswise at regular intervals and a phosphor layer 13 different in luminescent colors is coated to each of the anode conductors 12. A first control electrode 16 is set up in a right-angled or paralleled direction to each anode conductor 12. A second control electrode 17 is extendedly set up in an intersected direction to the first control electrode. In addition, separating toward the topside of the second control electrode 17, plural pieces of filamentous cathodes 22 are as well extendedly set up so as to cover the whole surface of a display region in a parallel or orthogonal direction to each anode conductor 12. With the foregoing constitution, a region to be controlled by a first control electrode wire 16i and a second control electrode wire 17j are displayed as a lot element.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fluorescent display device that is capable of high-density graphic display and character display as well as color display.

In general, a fluorescent display device uses electrons emitted from a heated filament-shaped cathode to strike an anode that has a phosphor coated on its upper surface and is selectively given an anode potential. It performs a luminescent display, and its features are that it can obtain sufficient brightness for display with low voltage, and that it consumes less power than LS.
It can be directly driven by I, etc., and various colors can be obtained depending on the type of phosphor, so it can be used as a display device for various electronic devices and electric machines, etc., so it can display letters, numbers, and bars. etc., are often used.

Recently, however, there has been a demand for fluorescent display devices to not only display numbers and characters, but also to display graphics such as arbitrary figures and images in multiple colors rather than in one color. In order to perform display, it is desired to increase the density of display.

Therefore, a conventional example shown in FIG. 1 is known as a color fluorescent display device that meets such demands. Figure 1 shows
It is a schematic plan view of a conventional example, and anode conductors 1b and I are shown in the lateral direction.
g, , lr, and 2b are arranged in parallel and spaced apart from each other on the substrate. Each of the anode conductors is coated with phosphors that emit light of different colors. For example, the anode conductor 1b is intermittently coated with a blue-emitting phosphor B, the anode conductor 1g is coated with a green-emitting phosphor G, and the anode conductor 1r is intermittently coated with a red-emitting phosphor R, which fluoresces in the vertical direction. Forming a line of bodies. Furthermore, the anode conductor 2b is coated with a blue-emitting phosphor B, which is successively followed by a green-emitting phosphor G and a red-emitting phosphor R as described above. A mesh-like control electrode 3 is arranged above the phosphors so as to cover the phosphor rows arranged in the vertical direction for each phosphor row. Although not shown, each anode conductor (1b+1g, 1r+2b, 2g, 2r・----・
), and place a lead wire outside the fluorescent display tube.
Lead wires are also led out from each control electrode 3 to the outside of the tube.

However, in order to make the color fluorescent display tube emit light,
It can be displayed by selectively applying signals to the anode conductor and control electrode.

However, in this conventional example, many lead wires are required, the wiring becomes complicated, and connection with external terminals is extremely difficult. Furthermore, since the control electrode 3 is mesh-shaped, the width can only be narrowed to a certain extent. Therefore, since the number of pixels is determined by the number of parallel control electrodes, there is a problem that the density of the number of pixels cannot be improved. Furthermore, since one pixel is formed by three anode conductors, three times as many anode conductors are required for each case, such as when 128 pixels or 256 pixels are arranged in parallel. That is, 384 anode conductors are required for 128 pixels, and 768 anode conductors are required for 256 pixels, and if each of the anode conductors is scanned and displayed, the duty factor becomes smaller. It is known that at a constant anode voltage and control voltage, the smaller the duty factor, the lower the brightness, and in conventional color display tubes, there are problems such as reliability and deformation of the control electrode in order to improve the brightness. There was also. Furthermore, in the conventional example, since the drive was performed using an anode and a control electrode, the drive voltages such as the anode voltage and the control voltage were high.
There are also problems such as the drive circuit cannot be driven by I, etc., the drive circuit elements become complicated, the reliability decreases, and the cost becomes extremely high.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides a multicolor fluorescent display device capable of increasing the density and brightness of a fluorescent display device capable of displaying graphics. The purpose is to provide A second object of the present invention is to provide a multicolor fluorescent display device that can produce intermediate colors by emitting phosphors of different colors.

A third object is to provide a highly reliable Table 1I device which has a simple structure, reduces the number of stray wires from the anode and control electrode, and has high reliability.

An embodiment of the present invention shown in the drawings will be explained in detail below with reference to Drawing i. Figures 2 and 3 show the structure of an embodiment of a multicolor fluorescent display device according to the present invention. , FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a plan view with some of the constituent elements omitted.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a substrate made of an insulating material, and is made of an insulative material such as glass or a material having insulating properties. Further, this substrate 11 is a type of fluorophore whose luminescent display of a phosphor layer is observed through this substrate.

An optical display device (hereinafter referred to as a front-emitting type fluorescent display device) needs to be formed of a light-transmitting insulating material such as transparent glass or frosted glass. On the surface of the substrate 11,
A band-shaped anode conductor 12 made of conductive metal is formed by screen printing, photoetching, or the like. In a front-emitting type fluorescent display device, this anode conductor 12 must also be formed of a transparent conductive film such as ITO or Nesa film. Further, the anode conductors are arranged parallel to each other at equal intervals in the vertical or horizontal direction. In the embodiment shown in FIG.
(12,...) are arranged at equal intervals from top to bottom, but the middle part is omitted. The phosphor layer 13 is deposited on the surface of the anode conductor 120.
A phosphor layer 13 having a different emission color is applied to each one. For example, in the first anode conductor 12 (12+) from the top,
A phosphor layer 13R that emits red light is deposited on the second anode conductor 12 (122), a phosphor layer 13G that emits green light is deposited on the second anode conductor 12 (122), and a phosphor layer 13G that emits green light is deposited on the second anode conductor 12 (122). )
A blue-emitting phosphor layer 13B is deposited on the phosphor layer 13B.

The fourth and subsequent anode conductors 12 are also red in the same way.

The phosphor layer 13 is formed in the order of green and blue by printing method and electrodeposition method.

Adhesion is formed by precipitation method, slurry method, etc. An insulating layer 14 may be formed on the substrate 11 and the anode conductor 12 in areas other than the display area. A first control electrode 16 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the anode conductor 12 or in a direction parallel to the anode conductor 12 at a certain distance from the phosphor layer 13 by a spacer 15 above facing the phosphor layer 13 . Arrange. Furthermore, the first
A second control electrode 17 is stretched upward facing the control electrode 6 and spaced apart by a spacer 21 at a certain distance in a direction intersecting the first control electrode, that is, in a direction parallel to the anode conductor 12. This first. The second control electrodes 16 and 17 have a thickness of several 10 μ+. It is a metal wire with a wire diameter of about several hundred itm, and is constructed by arranging a large number of metal wires in parallel at the same interval on a virtual plane. Control electrode @1
6. ~n is an interval approximately equal to the display pixel pitch in the direction perpendicular to the anode conductor 12, for example, 0.2 to 0.5n.
The electrodes are stretched in parallel at intervals to constitute a first control electrode. 1st
The ends of the control electrode wires 161-n are connected to the control electrode terminals 18. ~
. and extends outside the envelope 20. The control electrode terminal 18 is connected to the first control electrode wire 16. ~. Every other tube is arranged in two directions, above and below the fluorescent display tube. When the pixel pitch is large, all the pixels may be arranged so as to extend in the same direction. Further, the second control electrode 17 also has a second control electrode line 17 in the same manner as the first control electrode. - □, and the second electrode wires 171 to 17m are stretched and arranged for each of the plurality of anode conductors 12.

In the illustrated embodiment, the second control electrodes 17 (171 to m) are arranged at a rate of one every 1203 anode conductors, and between two adjacent control electrode lines of the second control electrodes, Fluorescent materials 13R and 13G with different luminescent colors such as red, green, and blue
, 13B is disposed. If there are two types of phosphors 13 with different luminescent colors, the interval between two phosphors 13 is 4.
In the case of the type, the second control electrodes are arranged at four intervals. Regarding the arrangement position of the second control electrode, in the illustrated embodiment, it is arranged between adjacent anode conductors 12, but it may be arranged on the anode conductor 12. Also, the second control electrode wire 17. The end of ~m is the second control electrode terminal 19. ~ □ and extends outside the envelope. Further, the first control electrode wires may be arranged so that every other one is divided into left and right and extend outside the envelope, or when the number of electrode wires is small, they may be arranged so that they all extend in the same direction. It may be arranged as follows. Here's the first one. The second control electrode is not linear, but is formed from a thin metal plate by photo-etching or the like, and has a width of several 10 to several hundred culms. Alternatively, slits may be formed in the metal strip to form a ladder shape. Further, the first control electrode 16 and the second control electrode 17 need to have a size that covers at least the entire display area covered with the phosphor layer.

Further, a plurality of filament-shaped cathodes 22 are stretched apart above the second control electrode 17 in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the anode conductor 12 so as to cover the entire display area. Reference numeral 23 denotes a cathode support member, which extends outside the envelope of the fluorescent display tube and constitutes a terminal 23a for connecting to the cathode. 24 is a side plate sealed to the peripheral part of the substrate 11 with a sealing material 30; a front plate 25 is sealed to the front surface of the side plate 24 with a sealing material 30; 20 to maintain each of the aforementioned electrodes in a high vacuum atmosphere. Reference numeral 26 denotes an exhaust pipe for evacuating the inside of the envelope to create a vacuum atmosphere.

Therefore, with the above-described configuration, the first control electrode wire 1 6
, ~9 and the second control electrode line 17, ~□ is displayed as one pixel. Therefore, in this embodiment, one pixel is composed of three segments arranged in the vertical direction.

In the fluorescent display tube section with this structure, since the control electrodes 16 and 17 themselves are linear structures, the arrangement interval of each pixel can be significantly narrowed, and high-density display is possible. .

Next, the drive circuit section of the multicolor fluorescent display tube section of the present invention having the above-described structure will be explained with reference to FIG.

In order to simplify the explanation, FIG. 4 shows nine anode conductors 12 (12, 12, 12) each having a phosphor layer deposited on its upper surface.

12□...12,) are arranged in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction perpendicular to this anode conductor 12 ((6 first control electrodes 16 (
16, 16, . . 166), and four second control electrodes (17
, , 172...174) are arranged.

The portions of the anode conductor controlled by the first control electrode 16 and the second control electrode 17 each become one pixel P.

However, in Figure 4. The anode conductors 121 to 121 connect anode conductors that emit light in the same color in the anode drive circuit. For example, the anode conductor 12-1, the anode conductor 12, and the anode conductor 127 are coated with a red light-emitting phosphor R, and the wiring A
connected by R. Similarly, the anode conductor is coated with green-emitting phosphor G! 2□, 12,, 12, an anode conductor 123 which is somehow connected by a wiring AG and has a blue light-emitting phosphor B attached thereto.

t2a and t2a are connected to each other by a wiring Aa.

Each arrangement! The end of JAR + Aq + As is connected to a switch part Sa that switches the anode, and this switch part S
A is connected to the anode power source.

Control terminals 181-n from the first control electrodes 16,~n
It is connected to the first drive circuit via. This first drive circuit includes a switch section Sg, a terminal section TI~3 for each control electrode,
It is composed of a switch section Sc, ~3 and a variable resistor RC, ~. Wiring from the control terminal 18 is connected to a switch section Sg that switches the first control electrode, and further passes through a terminal T to switch sections S01 to S3 that switch the first control voltage. It is connected to the first grid power supply via the variable resistor Rcl~. The switch section Sg sequentially turns on the terminals T1 to T3 in synchronization with the anode changeover switch section Sa. The terminals T1-. is turned on by switch section Sc, ~3
, is turned off. Further, a variable resistor Re controls the display signal intensity to perform brightness modulation.

Second control electrode 17. 4 is connected to a switch section sb that switches the second control electrode of the second drive circuit, and this switch section sb sequentially turns on two adjacent control electrodes.

The driving state of the driving circuit will be described with respect to an example in which the shaded portion in FIG. 4 is caused to emit light. First, in order to accelerate the electron flow emitted from the cathode 22 by the second control electrodes 171 to n, 2+ second control electrodes 171 to 17n are sequentially adjacent from above to below.
Scan n. One pixel. For example, frame frequency 6
0. When the number of pixels in the vertical direction is 256, tl is approximately 65 μs. Younger brother 2 control electrodes 172, 17. When the control voltage is turned on for t1 seconds, the voltage is applied to the three anode conductors 124, 125, and 12a controlled by the second control electrodes 172 and 173 for t3.
The anode changeover switch section Sa is switched so as to be turned on sequentially in seconds.

For example, the red R of the anode conductor 12 rotates once within the time tl.
1 Switch the green G and blue B phosphors. first control electrode 1
The switch section Sg connected to the terminals T1-. and select the desired color. Said terminal T
1~. includes a switch section Scl~3 and a variable resistor Rc,
. . . are connected to the first control electrode power source via . This switch section SCI~3 selects a display segment based on a color signal from a buffer memory for one display signal, and also selects lighting or non-lighting. Further, the switch section SCI~3 operates in synchronization with the switch section sb of the second control electrode 17.

Second control electrode 172.17. is ON for t1 seconds, the first control electrode 16. Sc of the drive circuit that controls
, is ON, the first control voltage is applied only to the terminal T1, and the first control voltage of the terminal T1 is applied to the first control electrode 161 by the switch Sg, so that the diagonal line part of the anode conductor 124 The red segment of will light up. Similarly, the first control electrode 16-2 is connected to the switch section S.
c3 is turned on, and the switch part Sg, which is synchronized with the terminal T3 and the switch part Sa, is turned on, so that the anode conductor 12.c3 is turned on. The green phosphor in the shaded area -5 can be made to emit light. Also, in order to make both the red segment and the green segment emit light as shown in the shaded area on the first control electrode 16-2, turn on the switches SC1 and Sc3 at the same time.
By applying an output signal to both terminals T1 and T3, the red and green segments can be caused to sequentially emit light within T. Therefore, it is possible to display yellow, which is an intermediate color between red and green. Similarly red.

It can also emit light in three colors: green and blue.

In addition, each of the above switch parts Sa + Sg + Sb
+Sc, ~3, etc. can be a switching circuit using a transistor, IC, etc., and a variable resistor R
e can also be analog or digitally controlled by transistors, ICs, etc.

In the drive circuit described above, the selection of the pixel to be displayed is controlled by the changeover switch section sb of the second control electrode 17 and the switch sections Sc, ~a, K of the first control electrode 16, and the selection of the display color is controlled by the anode. Control is performed by time division selection using the changeover switch section Sa and the switch section Sg of the first control electrode 16, and multi-color and full-color display can be performed.

Next, the driving state of the multicolor fluorescent display device of the present invention will be explained using the timing diagram shown in FIG.

Multiple cylinder 2 control a1 to changeover switch sb of second control electrode
If we are talking about a device that scans two adjacent second control electrode lines at the same time, such as the 11th electrode 171 and 1721st electrode 17□ and the 1732nd electrode 173 and 174, etc., the switch section first Second control electrode line 1 by sb
7. After turning on the second control electrode wire 17 for a predetermined time T,
Turn on 2. Furthermore, after a predetermined time T2, the second control electrode wire 1
7. and turn off the second control electrode wire 17-3.
Do N. When scanning is performed while sequentially applying control voltages in this manner, control voltages are simultaneously applied to the control electrode lines 17□172 at time T2. Similarly, at time T3, as shown in FIG. 4, the second control electrode lines 172, 17. A control voltage will be applied to both at the same time. And the said time T, , T2. T, anode selector switch Sa inside
An anode voltage is sequentially applied to the wirings AR and AG+AB. Therefore, even at time T3 when control voltages are applied to the second control electrode lines 172 and 173 at the same time, within time T, the anode voltage is sequentially applied to the wiring AR + then the wiring @ Aa + finally the wiring AB. has been done. Therefore, when the wiring AR is ON, the wiring AG is connected to the anode conductor 124.
is ON, the anode conductor 12. , wire AB is O
When N is applied, an anode voltage is applied to each anode conductor 12-6. In addition, the control voltage applied to the first control electrode lines 161-n is a signal controlled by the display signal intensity by the variable resistor Re, ~3 for a time T, and the switch section Sc, ~3 causes the switch unit Sc, ~3 to emit light. Select a segment.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the first control electrode 16. -, when selecting the red segment, only the switch section Sc is turned on and the others are turned off. Therefore, the terminals T1 to T3 have an end fT
, the control voltage is input only to the other terminals T2. There is no input to T3. Furthermore, since the switching is performed in synchronization with the switch section Sg and the anode changeover switch section Sa, when the wiring ARKONL is connected, the first control switching line 161
A control voltage is applied to. Therefore, control electrode 4116. The red segment in the upper shaded area can emit light.

Similarly, the control voltage is turned on to the control electrode line 162F in synchronization with the arrangement 1AAa, so that the green segment shown in the shaded area emits light and becomes functional. In addition, the control electrode 16-
In order to make two color segments in one pixel emit light as shown in 5, select the segment of the color that will emit one light from the switch section SCI.
, SQs are turned on at the same time, input is input to terminals T and T3, and the switch (section Sg turns on terminal T to apply a control voltage, then T is turned off and turns T3 and ON to apply a control voltage. This makes it possible to display the target red and green segments by emitting light.

To the observer, the light appears to be emitting yellow light, which is an intermediate color between the two colors, due to the afterimage phenomenon in the eyes.

In this way, each adjacent control electrode line of the second control electrode 17 arranged parallel to the anode conductor 12 is sequentially and simultaneously scanned, and an anode conductor corresponding to one pixel is separated between the adjacent second control electrode lines. Split into multiple parts.

Each anode conductor is coated with phosphors that emit light of different colors,
The segments of the same color of each pixel are connected, and an anode voltage is sequentially applied at a constant cycle, and in synchronization with this anode voltage, the first control electrode arranged in the direction orthogonal to the anode conductor 12 is controlled according to the display signal. By applying voltage, you can create not only detailed letters but also two shapes.

This makes it possible to display images, etc. in color.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be implemented with various modifications without changing the gist of the invention.

As described above, the multicolor fluorescent display device according to the present invention has the following features:
A plurality of band-shaped anode conductors are arranged in parallel on one surface of a substrate made of an insulating material, a phosphor layer is deposited on the anode conductor, and a phosphor layer is formed on the upper side facing the anode conductor. A first control electrode made of a plurality of linear conductors is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the anode conductor so as to cover the entire display area, and is slightly spaced above facing the first control electrode,
A second control electrode made of a plurality of linear conductors is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the first control electrode, and the second control electrode is made of a plurality of linear conductors. The area on the anode conductor controlled by the second control electrode is defined as one pixel, and a plurality of anode conductors are located in this pixel, each coated with a phosphor layer of a different emission color. While sequentially applying an anode voltage to the anode conductor with a sufficient duty factor, the first. By simultaneously applying a control voltage to the second control electrode, a target segment of a selected pixel is caused to emit light with a luminance of one minute, thereby performing display.

Therefore, in the fluorescent display device according to the present invention, since the control electrode can be constructed from a linear material with a minute diameter or width, it is possible to narrow the arrangement interval between each pixel, and a high-density luminescent display can be achieved. This is an excellent effect that can be easily achieved. In addition, since multiple anode conductors coated with phosphor layers of different emission colors are disposed in each pixel, the light is not emitted from only one type of phosphor layer, but from two types of phosphor layers. Since the combination of the above and the like can also produce neutral color light emission, any color can be displayed, and an excellent effect can be obtained in that a color display fluorescent display device can be provided.

Furthermore, it is only necessary to install several lead wires from the anode corresponding to the type of phosphor, and the second control grid only needs to be installed at every other pixel, so the number of lead wires is reduced, the structure is simple, and failures occur. This also has the effect of providing a highly reliable display device with less

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a conventional color fluorescent display, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a sectional view and partially omitted plan view of an embodiment of the fluorescent display device of the present invention. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the driving state of the same embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a timing chart of the driving state of the same embodiment. 11... Substrate, 12... Anode conductor, 13... Fluorescent layer , 16... first control electrode,
17... Second control electrode, 20... Envelope, 22...
cathode. -Patent applicant Norimitsu Nishimura, agent of Futaba Electronics Industries Co., Ltd., patent attorney Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 11 121B Procedural amendment (spontaneous) Kazuo Wakasugi, Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office 1, Indication of case Patent Application No. 46409 of 1982 2. Name of the invention Multicolor fluorescent display device 3. Relationship with the case of the person making the amendment Patent applicant address Futaba Electronics Co., Ltd. Name 4. Agent Telephone number (591) 3773 As attached. , to amend the entire description and all figures Description 1 Title of the invention Multicolor fluorescent display device 2 Claims (1) An anode in which a phosphor layer is coated on a substrate made of an insulating material a conductor, a first control electrode formed of a plurality of control electrode wires arranged in parallel so as to cover the entire surface of the phosphor layer, spaced apart from the anode conductor, and spaced above the first control electrode. A second control electrode is formed by disposing a plurality of control electrode wires in parallel in a direction intersecting with the control electrode wire, and a filament-like filament-shaped wire is stretched above the first control electrode and the second control electrode. A fluorescent display tube section is formed by sealing an envelope having a cathode and a vacuum section to the substrate, and control wires for the first control electrode and the second control electrode of the display tube section. A firefly equipped with a drive circuit that can display a light-emitting display by applying an anode voltage to the anode conductor, using a region on the anode conductor as one pixel, which is controlled by applying a control voltage corresponding to display content. For an optical display device, an anode conductor corresponding to each pixel is divided vertically or horizontally into a plurality of strips to form a plurality of band-shaped anode conductors, and each of the divided anode conductors has a surface emitting light of a different color. phosphor layers are respectively deposited, the anode conductors having the phosphor layers that emit light of the same color are commonly connected to each other, and an anode voltage is applied to the common connection in synchronization with the first applied control signal. and a drive circuit for applying voltage to each anode conductor. (2) A multicolor fluorescent display tube according to claim 1, wherein the substrate and the anode conductor are made of a light-transmitting member. (3) The drive circuit causes a first drive circuit that controls the first control electrode, a second drive circuit that controls the second control electrode, and an anode drive circuit that controls the anode to operate simultaneously to achieve the desired result. Claim 1 or 2 constitutes a structure in which a control voltage is applied to the first control electrode, the second control electrode, and the anode conductor.
The multicolor fluorescent display device described in Section 1. (4) One of the first drive circuit and the second drive circuit simultaneously applies a control voltage to two adjacent control electrode lines of the corresponding control electrode, and the other drive circuit applies a control voltage to two adjacent control electrode lines of the corresponding control electrode at the same time. Claims 1 or 2 have a structure in which a control voltage is applied to each control electrode line, and a light emitting display is performed by treating the area controlled by these control electrode lines as one pixel. Or the multicolor fluorescent display device according to item 3. (5) One of the first drive circuit and the second drive circuit sequentially applies a control voltage to the control electrode line of the corresponding control electrode to cause scanning, and the other drive circuit applies the control voltage to the control electrode line of the corresponding control electrode. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a control voltage corresponding to the display is applied to the control electrode line of the display in synchronization with the scanning signal to perform a light emitting display. Color fluorescent display device. (6) One of the first drive circuit and the second drive circuit is controlled by two adjacent control electrode lines of a control electrode arranged parallel to the anode conductor. Item 1 or 2, wherein a voltage is sequentially applied to perform scanning, and a voltage is applied to the commonly connected anode conductor to display content in synchronization with the scanning signal to the other driving homopolar line to perform a light emitting display. O multi-fluorescent display device as described in item 2 or 3. 3. Detailed description of the invention The present invention enables high-density graphic display and character display as well as color display. The present invention relates to a fluorescent display device.Generally, a fluorescent display device uses a method in which electrons emitted from a heated filament-like cathode are selectively applied with an anode potential by a fluorescent material being coated on the upper surface. This device performs a luminescent display by projecting light into an anode. Its features are that it can provide sufficient brightness for display with low voltage, that it consumes little power and can be driven directly by LSI, etc. Because various emitted colors can be obtained depending on the type of body, it can be used as a display device for various electronic devices and electric machines, etc.
It is often used for displaying par. Recently, however, there has been a demand for fluorescent display devices to not only display numbers and characters, but also to display graphics such as arbitrary figures and images in multiple colors rather than in one color. In order to display images, it is desired to increase the density of the display. Therefore, a conventional example shown in FIG. 1 is known as a color fluorescent display device that meets this demand. Figure 1 shows
It is a schematic plan view of a conventional example, and anode conductors 1b and I are shown in the lateral direction.
g, lr, 2b, . . . are arranged in parallel and spaced apart from each other on the substrate. Each of the anode conductors is coated with phosphors that emit light of different colors. For example, the anode conductor 1b is intermittently coated with a blue-emitting phosphor B, the anode conductor 1g is coated with a green-emitting phosphor G, and the anode conductor 1r is coated with a red-emitting phosphor R intermittently. The colored phosphors B, G, and R form a repeating array of phosphors. Further, the anode conductor 2b is coated with a blue-emitting phosphor B, which is successively followed by a green-emitting phosphor G and a red-emitting phosphor R as described above. A mesh-like control electrode 3 is arranged above the phosphors so as to cover the phosphor rows arranged in the vertical direction for each phosphor row. Although not shown, each anode conductor (1b11gtlr12b12g, 2r...
At the same time as placing a lead wire outside the fluorescent display tube,
Lead wires are also led out from each control electrode 3 to the outside of the tube. However, in order to make the color fluorescent display tube emit light,
By selectively applying signals to the anode conductor and the control electrode, electrons from a cathode (not shown) impinge on the phosphor at the selected intersection of the anode conductor and the control electrode to emit light and display. However, in this conventional example, many lead wires are required, the wiring becomes complicated, and connection with external terminals is extremely difficult. In other words, if an attempt is made to display the three colors of blue, green, and red with the configuration shown in Figure 1, one pixel is formed by three phosphors B, G, and R arranged in the vertical direction. That will happen. Therefore, the number of anode conductors is required to be three times the number of pixels in the vertical direction. For example, when the number of pixels in the vertical direction is 128 or 256, the number of anode conductors is 384 and 7, respectively.
Since 68 lead wires are required, the number of lead wires increases and the connection with external terminals becomes complicated. At the same time, when the number of anode conductors increases, the duty factor decreases to 1, for example, when displaying is performed by scanning the anode conductors in a time-division manner. It is known that when the anode voltage and control voltage are constant, the brightness decreases as the duty factor decreases, and in order to maintain constant brightness, it is necessary to increase the anode voltage or control voltage. However, when the drive voltage is increased, the control current flowing into the control electrode also increases, and there is a problem in that the control electrode is deformed by Joule heat. In addition, if this drive voltage becomes higher, it becomes difficult to directly drive it with a normal MO8IC or LSI, and there are problems such as the complexity of the drive circuit, lower reliability, and extremely high costs. . Furthermore, since the control electrode 3 has a mesh shape, its width can only be narrowed to a certain extent, which poses a problem in terms of narrowing the pixel pitch. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides a multicolor fluorescent display device capable of increasing the pixel density of a fluorescent display device capable of graphic display and increasing brightness. The purpose is to provide the following. In addition, intermediate colors are produced by emitting phosphors that emit light of different colors.
It is a second object to provide a multicolor fluorescent display device that is capable of displaying multiple colors. A third object is to provide a display device with a simple structure and high reliability by reducing the number of lead wires from the anode and control electrode. The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. 2 and 3 show the structure of an embodiment of a multicolor fluorescent display device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing one of the constituent elements. It is a plan view with some parts omitted. Reference numeral 11 denotes a substrate made of an insulating material, and is made of an insulating material such as glass or ceramics. In addition, in a type of fluorescent display device (hereinafter referred to as a front-emitting type fluorescent display device) in which the luminescent display of the phosphor layer is observed through this substrate, the substrate 11 is made of transparent glass or frosted glass. It needs to be made of an insulating material. A strip-shaped anode conductor 12 made of conductive metal is formed on the surface of the substrate 110 by screen printing, photoetching, or the like. In a front-emitting type fluorescent display device, this anode conductor 12 also needs to be formed of a transparent conductive film such as ITO or Nesa film. Also, the anode conductor 12 is
Arranged in parallel at equal intervals in the vertical or horizontal direction. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the anode conductor 12 (121 to n
) are arranged at equal intervals from top to bottom, but the middle part is omitted. The phosphor layer 13 (13R, 13G, 13B) is deposited on the surface of the anode conductor 120.
A phosphor layer 13 (13R,
13G, 13B). For example, the first anode conductor 12 (12+) from the top is coated with a phosphor layer 13R that emits red light, and the second anode conductor 12 (12+) is coated with a phosphor layer 13R that emits red light.
In other words, a phosphor layer 13G that emits green light is deposited on the third anode conductor 12 (123), and a phosphor layer 13B that emits blue light is deposited on the third anode conductor 12 (123). Similarly, the phosphor layer 1 is applied to the fourth and subsequent anode conductors 12 in the order of red, green, and blue.
3 (13R, 13G, 13B) is deposited by a printing method, an electrodeposition method, a precipitation method, a slurry method, or the like. An insulating layer 14 may be formed on the substrate 11 and the anode conductor 12 in areas other than the display area. There is a strip (-sa 1) above facing the phosphor layer 13.
5, the first control electrode 16 is arranged at a certain distance from the phosphor layer 13 in a direction perpendicular to the anode conductor 12 or in a direction parallel to the anode conductor 12. Further, a second control electrode 17 is provided above facing the first control electrode 16 at a certain distance by a sweeter 21 and stretched in a direction intersecting the first control electrode. Second control electrode 16.1
7 is a plurality of control electrode wires 16i (i=1 to n) made of metal wires having a wire diameter of about several tens of μm to several hundred μm;
17. j (j=1 to m) are arranged in parallel on a spatial plane at the same interval. In the illustrated embodiment, such a linear first control electrode wire 1
61. is an interval approximately equal to the display pixel pitch in the direction perpendicular to the anode conductor 12, for example, 0.2 to 0.5I1
The electrodes are stretched in parallel at one interval to form a first control electrode. The end of the first control electrode wire 16i is connected to the control electrode terminal 18i.
(1=1-n) and extends outside the envelope 20. In this case, the control electrode terminal 18i is the first control electrode @
For every other 16 i, there are two above and below the fluorescent display tubes.
They are arranged in different directions. On the other hand, when the pixel pitch is large, all the pixels may be arranged so as to extend toward one end of the substrate. Further, the second control electrode 17 is also composed of second control electrode wires 1.7j like the first control electrode, and a second control electrode wire 17j is provided for each of the plurality of anode conductors 12.
A rack is installed. In the illustrated embodiment, one second control electrode 17j is arranged at intervals of three anode conductors 12, and a red color ,
Fluorescent materials 13R, 13G, 1 with emission colors different from green and blue
An anode conductor 12 coated with 3B is disposed. The second control electrode wires 17j are arranged at two intervals when there are two types of phosphors 13 with different luminescent colors, and at four intervals when there are four types. In this embodiment, the second control electrode wire 17 is disposed between adjacent anode conductors 12, but it may also be disposed on the anode conductor 12.
The end portion of j is connected to the second control electrode terminal 19j and extends outside the envelope. The second control electrode line 17j in this case
Similarly to the first control electrode wire 16i, the method of deriving may be such that every other control electrode wire is divided into right and left sides and extended outside the envelope, or when the number of electrode wires is small, all of the electrode wires are may be arranged so as to extend in the same direction. Furthermore, the first and second control electrodes 16 and 17 are not linear, but are formed by photoetching a thin metal plate and have a line width of several tens to several hundreds.
It may be a metal strip of about μm. Alternatively, slits may be formed in the metal strip to form a ladder shape. Further, the first control electrode 16 and the second control electrode 17 need to have a size that covers at least the entire display area covered with the phosphor layer. Further, a plurality of filament-like filaments are spaced apart above the second control electrode 17 in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the anode conductor 12.
A cathode 22 is stretched so as to cover the entire display area. Reference numeral 2.3 denotes a cathode support member, which extends outside the envelope of the fluorescent display tube and constitutes a cathode terminal 23a. Reference numeral 24 denotes a side plate that is sealed to the peripheral portion of the substrate 11 with a sealing material. 2o, and each of the aforementioned electrodes is maintained in a high vacuum atmosphere. Reference numeral 26 denotes an exhaust pipe for evacuating the inside of the envelope to create a vacuum atmosphere. Therefore, with the above-described configuration, the first control electrode line 161
Display is performed using the area controlled by the second control electrode line 17j as one pixel. In this case, there are various ways to arrange the pixels depending on the drive circuit described later, but in this example, the tube structure is designed to make it possible to display full color by emitting three colors of red, green, and blue. Therefore, it is appropriate to use three minute phosphor light-emitting areas of red, green, and blue as one pixel. Therefore, in this embodiment, three microscopic phosphor blocks covered by two adjacent second control electrode lines 17j and arranged in the vertical direction below one first control electrode line 16i are used. An example of configuring one pixel will be explained below. In the fluorescent display tube section with this structure, since the control electrodes 16 and 17 themselves are linear structures, the arrangement interval of each pixel can be significantly narrowed, and high-density display is possible. . Next, the drive circuit section of the multicolor fluorescent display tube section of the present invention having the above-described structure will be explained with reference to FIG. In order to simplify the explanation, FIG. Six first control electrode wires 16i (16+, 16t...166) are arranged in the vertical direction perpendicular to the anode conductor 12, and
An example is shown in which four second control electrode lines 17j (17+, 172...174) are arranged in the row direction perpendicular to the control electrodes 16. In this embodiment, each pixel P is defined as a portion of the anode conductor controlled by one first control electrode line 16i and two second control electrode lines 17j. However, in Figure 4, the anode conductor 12 is
Connect anode conductors that emit light of the same color in an anode drive circuit. For example, the anode conductor 121. Anode conductor 124 and anode conductor 12? is coated with a red light-emitting phosphor R and connected by a wiring AR. Similarly, anode conductors 12z, 12s, 12a are coated with green light-emitting phosphor G.
Anode conductors 12. which are connected to each other by a wiring AG and have a blue light-emitting phosphor B deposited thereon. . 12a and 12e are connected to each other by a wiring All. The ends of each of the wirings AR, AC, and An are connected to a switch part Sa for switching the anode, and the switch part Sa is connected to an anode power source. The first control electrode $16i is connected to a first driving circuit via a control terminal 18i. This first drive circuit includes, for each control electrode line 16i, a switch section Sg made of, for example, a semiconductor element, a terminal section TI-y to which a switching terminal section of each switch section Sg is connected, and terminal sections T1 to T1.
, switch parts Sc1 to . and a variable resistor Rel"4. That is, the wiring from the control terminal 18i is connected to the first
It is connected to the movable terminal of the switch part Sg that switches the control electrode So 16i, and is further connected to the first
Switch parts Sc1 to Sc8 for switching and introducing a control voltage to a predetermined first control electrode line. It is connected to the first grid power supply via a variable resistor Rer-s. The switch section Sg is
In synchronization with the anode changeover switch part Sa, the terminals T, . . .
Select them one by one. The terminals T1 to T3 are turned on and off by the switch units Scl to 3, and the variable resistor Re controls the display signal intensity to perform brightness modulation, and also corrects the luminous efficiency of each phosphor. In reality, semiconductor devices are used. Second control electrode wire 17. ~． is connected to the switching terminal side of the switch section l of the second drive circuit that switches this second control electrode line. Then, these nine switch companies successively installed adjacent two
Scan the book's control electrode lines while simultaneously selecting them. Next, the driving state of the driving circuit will be described in an example in which the shaded portions in FIG. 4 are made to emit light in the above configuration. In order to select the next pixel in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction) in the drawing, the switch unit sb
By switching, two lines are scanned from above to below. By the way, if it is assumed that -frame, that is, one completed image can be obtained by scanning the second control electrode line 17j once, the time required to scan one pixel in -frame is t. becomes . For example, frame frequency 60Hz, number of vertical pixels 256
t is approximately 65 μB. This driving method, that is, the second control electrode line 17j or the first control electrode line 16i
With a drive method in which one of the two is scanned and a display signal is given to the other, the duty factor of each pixel can be relatively large even if the number of pixels increases. The control electrode line 17j side is scanned. Therefore, in order to sequentially scan the second control electrode lines 17j two at a time, the switch section sb selects the second control electrode lines 17j two at a time, and at the timings 171 to 174 shown in FIG. , introduces voltage from the second grid power supply. That is, first, the second control electrode lines 17 and 172 are simultaneously selected by the switch section sb, and the control electrode lines 171, 17. A second grid voltage is applied to. Next, the supply of drive voltage to the control electrode line 171 is stopped, and in synchronization with the falling of the drive voltage, the control electrode line 17. Select t2 time control electrode wire 17. and 17. At the same time, a second grid voltage is applied. In this way, the switch section sb switches the second control electrode line 17. and 17. ．． 17. and 178.17. and 17. In this way, two adjacent second control electrode lines are scanned so as to be driven simultaneously. In this embodiment shown in FIG. 4, there are four second control electrode lines, and the number of phosphor blocks in the Y-axis direction surrounded by the two control electrode lines is three. Therefore, three pixels are formed in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the number of pixels on the scanning side is three, so in the embodiment where one pixel is required in one frame, one pixel is formed from three phosphor blocks of R, G, and B, which will be described later. Since a method is adopted in which R, G, and B phosphor blocks are sequentially scanned during one scanning period, the time required for one pixel is i. On the other hand, while one row in the horizontal direction in the figure is selected by the switch section sb, the switch section S& for switching the anode is switched, and the switch section A in FIG.
Sequentially anode wiring A as shown as R, AG, AB
An anode voltage from an anode power source is applied to R, AG, and AH. Further, the switch section Sg connected to each of the first control electrodes @ 16 i is also connected to the anode switching switch section S.
Period 1 is switched in synchronization with a and each row is selected
-, within ts, the movable element sequentially switches the terminals T, -T. Further, the switch section 5eI-yB provided for each first control electrode line 16i is a switch for selecting a pixel to emit light and specifying its color signal, for example, from a line memory (not shown). Its on/off status is controlled by the output. That is, when a display signal for -rows in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) of FIG. ~Sc3 turns on. Assuming that the switch portions Sa and Sg are switched in the order of 1 → 2 → 3 within each scanning period for horizontal rows as shown in the diagram (FIG. 4), if you want the pixels to emit red light, Close Sc, Sc2 for green light, and Sc3 for blue light. Furthermore, when emitting light in an intermediate color between red, green, and blue, - to three switch sections Sc to Sc3 are closed. and a switch section sb that switches the second control electrode wire 17j.
New display signals are sequentially given to the switch units Scl to c3 from the X-axis direction according to the switching timing of
Its open/closed state can be switched. In FIG. 4, the switch section sb is scanned to the state shown, and the second control electrode line 17. and 173 second
Consider the case where grid voltage is applied and the second row is selected. In addition, in accordance with the display signal on the second line, each switch section Sc of the -first control electrode line 16i, ``'' (!3, is assumed to have an open/closed state as shown in the table below. Switch section Sc1 ~ If C8 is in the open/closed state as shown in the table above, the switching timing of the switch section sb, which is switched in synchronization with the anode switching switch, is within the scanning period of the second line (period t2 in FIG. 5). Accordingly, each first control electrode line 16i is given a control voltage from the first grid power source as shown at 161 to 166 in FIG. When the anode power source is connected to the anode conductor 121, 124, 127 on which the movable element is located at the fixed contact 1 and the red light-emitting phosphor R is attached, the switch part Sc is closed.
Control electrode wire 16. , 16. The phosphor layer underneath emits red light. Next, when the switch parts Sa and Sg move to the fixed contact 2, the anode conductor 122°125.12. An anode voltage is applied to the switch section Sc
The phosphor layer 16° below the closed first control electrode wire 162 emits green light. Further, when the switch parts Sa and Sg are on the fixed contact 3 side and an anode voltage is applied to the anode conductors 12s, 12g, 12s, the first switch part Sc3 is closed.
The phosphor layer under the control electrode wire 163 emits blue light. In this case, the phosphors of each color generally have different luminous efficiencies;
If the same anode voltage is applied, there is a risk that variations in brightness will occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, variable resistors Rcl to C8 are interposed between the first grid power source and each first control electrode line, and as shown in FIG. The peak value of the first grid voltage applied to 16i is adjusted to make the brightness uniform. . Alternatively, three first grid power supplies with output voltages suitable for the phosphors of each luminescent color may be prepared in advance. Therefore, during the period t2, the pixel portion shown with diagonal lines in FIG. 4 is designated. It emits light in each color according to the color signal received, and color display is performed. In addition, the first control electrode wire 16. The pixel area controlled by the color emits red light followed by green light, and the viewer sees a mixture of these two colors.
In addition to displaying red, green, and blue, it is also possible to display colors intermediate between them. In this way, two adjacent second control electrode lines 17j
are sequentially scanned, and within this scanning period, switches Sc, to C are closed depending on the pixel to emit light and its emitted light color.
3, a control voltage is applied to the first control electrode wire 16, and the first and second control electrode wires 16i and 17j cooperate to sequentially cause the phosphor layer in the micro region controlled to emit light. , - A display of frames is obtained. Therefore, in the structure of this embodiment, the first . Other than the second control electrode wire and the cathode lead wire, it is sufficient to have the number of anode lead wires corresponding to the number of emitted light colors (three in this example), which is useful for multicolor display. This has the advantage of greatly reducing the number of lead wires. Furthermore, since the time required for one pixel in a -frame can be increased, sufficient brightness for display can be obtained without increasing the anode voltage. Incidentally, in the above-described embodiment, the first control electrode 16 was configured to apply a display signal to each control electrode line 16i, but it is also possible to apply a display signal to two control electrode lines 16i as a set. You can also do this. Further, the second control electrode line 17j is used as a scanning side electrode, and the first control electrode line 16i is used as a front side electrode.
An example is shown in which the electrode is used as an indicator signal electrode.
The control electrode line may be used as a scanning side electrode, and the second control electrode line may be used as a display signal electrode. Moreover, it goes without saying that each switch section can be constructed entirely of semiconductor switching elements. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be implemented with various modifications without changing the gist of the invention. The color fluorescent display device is
Multiple strip-shaped anode conductors are arranged in parallel on one surface of a substrate made of insulating material! Fluorescent materials of different luminescent colors are repeatedly coated on the plurality of anode conductors in a predetermined order.Fluorescent materials of the same luminescent color are applied to each of the nine anode conductors, and the nine anode conductors are electrically connected in common. A first control electrode made of a plurality of linear conductors is disposed in a direction perpendicular to or parallel to the anode conductor so as to cover the entire display area formed by the phosphor layer above facing the conductor, and , a second control electrode made of a plurality of linear conductors is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the first control electrode, slightly spaced above the first control electrode, and facing the first control electrode. The area on the anode conductor controlled by the second control electrode is defined as one pixel, and within this one pixel, a plurality of anode conductors each coated with a phosphor layer of a different emission color are located, and this anode While sequentially applying an anode voltage to the conductor, the first. By simultaneously applying a control voltage to the second control electrode, the phosphor of the target emission color of the selected pixel is caused to emit light with sufficient brightness to perform display. Therefore, in the fluorescent display device according to the present invention, since the control electrode can be made of a linear material with a minute diameter or width, it is possible to narrow the arrangement interval between each pixel, and a high-density luminescent display can be achieved. This is an excellent effect that can be easily achieved. In addition, since a plurality of anode conductors coated with phosphor layers of different emission colors are arranged in one pixel, light is emitted not only from one type of phosphor layer, but also from two types of phosphor layers. Since light emission of intermediate colors can be obtained by the combination, any color can be displayed, and an excellent effect can be obtained in that a fluorescent display device with color display can be provided. Furthermore, it is only necessary to lead out several lead wires corresponding to the type of phosphor from the anode, and the second control grid only needs to be installed every other pixel, so the number of lead wires is reduced and the structure is simplified. This has the effect of providing a display device that has fewer failures and is highly reliable, has a relatively large duty factor, and can obtain sufficient brightness for display with a low drive voltage. 1 is a schematic plan view of a conventional color fluorescent display, FIGS. 2 and 3 are a sectional view and a partially omitted plan view of an embodiment of the fluorescent display device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a conventional color fluorescent display. , a circuit diagram showing the driving state of the same embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a timing chart diagram of the driving state of the same embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Substrate, 12... Anode conductor, 13... Fluorescent layer, 16... First control electrode, 17... Second control electrode, 20... Envelope, 22... ··cathode. Patent applicant Futaba Electronics Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Norihitsu Nishimura Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) An anode conductor having a phosphor layer coated on a substrate made of an insulating material and spaced apart from the anode conductor. a first control electrode formed by a plurality of control electrode lines arranged in parallel so as to cover the entire surface of the phosphor layer; and a first control electrode spaced above the first control electrode. a second control electrode including a plurality of control electrode lines arranged in parallel in a direction intersecting the control electrode line; a filament-shaped cathode stretched above the first control electrode and the second control electrode; A fluorescent display tube section is formed by sealing an envelope to the substrate so that the inside becomes a vacuum, and a first control electrode and a second control electrode of this display tube section correspond to the display contents. In a fluorescent display device equipped with a drive circuit capable of displaying light emission by applying an anode voltage to the anode conductor, the region on the anode conductor is treated as one pixel, and a region on the anode conductor is controlled by applying a control voltage to the anode conductor. , an anode conductor corresponding to each pixel is divided vertically or horizontally into a plurality of strips to form a plurality of band-shaped anode conductors, and a phosphor layer emitting light of a different color is applied to the surface of each of the anode conductors. , the anode conductors coated with phosphor layers emitting light of the same color are commonly connected to each other, and the first
A multicolor fluorescent display device comprising a control electrode and a drive circuit that applies an anode voltage to each of the commonly connected anode conductors in synchronization with a control signal applied to the second control electrode. (2) A multicolor fluorescent display tube according to claim 1, wherein the substrate and the anode conductor are made of a translucent material, and the luminescent display is observed through the substrate. (3) The drive circuit includes a first drive circuit that controls the first control electrode, a second drive circuit that controls the second control electrode, and an anode drive circuit that controls the anode.
By synchronizing the control circuit, the second control circuit, and the anode drive circuit,
3. The multicolor fluorescent display device according to claim 1, wherein the multicolor fluorescent display device is configured to apply a control voltage to the first control electrode, the second control electrode, and the anode conductor, which are simultaneously operated and targeted. (4) One of the first drive circuit and the second drive circuit simultaneously applies a control voltage to two adjacent control electrode lines of the corresponding control electrode, and the other drive circuit applies a control voltage to each two adjacent control electrode lines of the corresponding control electrode. Claim 1, wherein a control voltage is applied to each control electrode line of the control electrodes, and an area controlled by these control electrode lines is treated as one pixel to perform light emitting display.
The multicolor fluorescent display device according to item 1 or 2 or 3. (5) One of the first drive circuit and the second drive circuit sequentially applies a control voltage to the control electrode line of the corresponding control electrode to cause scanning, and the other drive circuit applies the control voltage to the control electrode line of the corresponding control electrode. 4. The multicolor fluorescent display device according to claim 1, wherein a control voltage is applied to the control electrode line in synchronization with the scanning signal to perform a luminescent display. (6) One of the first drive circuit and the second drive circuit scans by sequentially applying a control voltage to two adjacent control electrode lines of the control electrode arranged in parallel with the anode conductor. and the other drive circuit applies a control voltage to the control electrode line corresponding to the display content of the corresponding control electrode in synchronization with the scanning signal, and applies an anode voltage corresponding to the display content to the commonly connected anode conductor. The multicolor fluorescent display device according to item 1, item 2, or item 3, wherein the multicolor fluorescent display device is configured to perform a luminescent display by applying