Patent ID: 7141928

Claim:
A method of driving a flat lamp including a front panel and a rear panel, which are spaced a predetermined distance apart from each other and hermetically sealed, and a spacer, which is provided between the front panel and the rear panel to maintain the front and rear panels separated by the predetermined distance and secure a discharge space, wherein a predetermined discharge gas exists in the discharge space, a fluorescent layer is formed on an inner surface of at least one of the front and rear panels, and a plurality of electrode groups each comprising first, second, and third electrodes are provided in the rear panel, the method comprising: (a) applying a first voltage to a first selected electrode among the first through third electrodes, taking account of a wall charge distribution and a space charge distribution, which were formed previously; (b) applying a second voltage to a second selected electrode adjacent to the first selected electrode among the first through third electrodes, taking account of a wall charge distribution and a space charge distribution, which result from the application of the first voltage; (c) applying a third voltage to the first selected electrode, taking account of a wall charge distribution and a space charge distribution, which result from the application of the second voltage; and (d) applying a fourth voltage to an unselected electrode among the first through third electrodes.