Patent ID: 7432882

Claim:
A driving circuit for a plasma display panel including a plurality of cells each having a pair of display electrodes covered with a dielectric layer, the driving circuit comprising: a scan circuit for selecting a cell to be lit; and a sustain voltage applying circuit for applying a sustain voltage between the display electrodes of the selected cell so that sustain discharges are generated between the display electrodes for the number of times corresponding to a light intensity, the sustain voltage applying circuit including a sustain pulse generating circuit for generating a sustain pulse of a predetermined waveform and an offset pulse generating circuit for generating an offset pulse higher in peak value than the sustain pulse, the sustain pulse generating circuit and the offset pulse generating circuit being connected in parallel, wherein the offset pulse generating circuit includes a source of a first voltage for applying a offset voltage, a first switching circuit for applying the first voltage between the display electrodes, an inductance component of generating a resonance voltage for applying the offset voltage, and a forward diode for permitting a current supplied to the display electrodes to flow forward so that the resonance voltage is maintained at a higher voltage level than a voltage level of the sustain voltage for a predetermined period of time, and the sustain pulse generating circuit includes a source of a second voltage for applying a sustain voltage and a second switching circuit for applying the second voltage between the display electrodes.