Patent ID: 7358935

Claim:
A display device of the digital drive type comprising a display panel comprising a plurality of pixels arranged in the form of a matrix, and a scanning driver and a data driver which are connected to the display panel, each of the pixels of the display panel comprising: a display element operable to luminesce when supplied with current or voltage; a write element to be brought into conduction with scanning voltage applied thereto by the scanning driver; voltage holding means for holding therein data voltage applied thereto by the data driver by the write element conducting; and drive means for supplying current or voltage to the display element only for a period of time corresponding to the magnitude of the voltage held in the voltage holding means; wherein the drive means comprises: a drive element for effecting or interrupting passage of current through the display element in response to the input of an on/off control signal; and a comparison element for comparing ramp voltage having a predetermined variation curve with the output voltage of the voltage holding means and supplying an output signal representing the result of comparison to the drive element as the on/off control signal, wherein one scanning period and one luminescence period are provided within one display cycle of one frame, the scanning voltage is applied to the write element of each pixel by the scanning driver during the scanning period for the voltage holding means of the pixel to hold the data voltage, and the ramp voltage is compared with the output voltage of the voltage holding means by the drive means during the luminescence period to on/off-control the display element of the pixel, the ramp voltage is variable between a first value permitting the output signal of the comparison element to turn on the drive element at all times despite the data voltage and a second value permitting the output signal of the comparison element to turn off the drive element at all times despite the data voltage, and within the display cycle of one frame, retains the second value during the scanning period and varies between the first value and the second value during the luminescence period other than the scanning period, and wherein the ramp voltage for the pixels arranged on odd-numbered lines included in horizontal or vertical lines constituting one frame has a variation curve varying from one of the first value and the second value to the other value, and the ramp voltage for the pixels arranged on even-numbered lines included in the horizontal or vertical lines has a variation curve varying from said other value to said one value.