Patent ID: 7750872

Claim:
A method for driving a flat-type display device which includes: (A) a cathode panel having M strip-form first electrodes extending in a first direction and N strip-form second electrodes extending in a second direction different from the first direction, and having N×M electron emitter areas composed of overlap regions between the first electrodes and the second electrodes; and (B) an anode panel having a fluorescent region and an anode electrode, the cathode panel and the anode panel being joined together at their edges through a joint member, the cathode panel and the anode panel having therebetween spacers extending in the first direction arranged in P rows, the method comprising the steps of: in the non-display operation period of the flat-type display device, determining a normalized first current I Nor — near by non-display-driving the electron emitter areas near the spacers and by measuring a first current I near carried by electrons emitted from the electron emitter areas, and determining a normalized second current I Nor — far by non-display-driving the electron emitter areas which are not near the spacers and by measuring a second current I far carried by electrons emitted from the electron emitter areas; and in the actual display operation period of the flat-type display device, setting the driving conditions for the electron emitter areas on the basis of the normalized first current I Nor — near and normalized second current I Nor — far so that the electron emission conditions in the electron emitter areas near the spacers and the electron emission conditions in the electron emitter areas which are not near the spacers are substantially the same.