Patent ID: 8259039

Claim:
A method for driving a display panel, the display panel comprising a plurality of row wirings, a plurality of column wirings that intersect the plurality of row wirings, and a plurality of display elements each connected to one of the row wirings and one of the column wirings, a display operation being performed on a display surface of the display panel by sequentially applying a selection potential to each of the row wirings and applying, to each of the column wirings, a potential in the range from a first potential to a second potential in synchronization with the application of the selection potential to the row wiring, the display operation being performed within a range of an emission luminance of the display element which is connected to one of the row wirings having the applied selection potential, the range of the emission luminance being higher than or equal to an emission luminance obtained when the first potential is applied to one of the column wirings connected to the display element and lower than or equal to an emission luminance obtained when the second potential is applied to the column wiring connected to the display element, the method comprising the step of: making a change between (i) a first environment in which a diffuse reflection luminance occurring on the display surface when ambient light is incident on the display surface is equal to the emission luminance of the display element connected to the row wiring having the applied selection potential and the column wiring having the applied first potential and (ii) a second environment in which the diffuse reflection luminance is higher than the diffuse reflection luminance in the first environment, wherein the change is such that (a) a difference between the first potential and the second potential in the second environment is smaller than a difference between the first potential and the second potential in the first environment, and (b) the emission luminance of the display element connected to the row wiring having the applied selection potential and the column wiring having the applied first potential in the second environment is lower than or equal to the diffuse reflection luminance in the second environment and higher than the emission luminance of the display element connected to the row wiring having the applied selection potential and the column wiring having the applied first potential in the first environment.