Liquid crystal display and driving method thereof

• US 7,420,533 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Issued: 09/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Philips LCD Company Limited (LG Display Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yun, Sang Chang
• Primary Examiner(s): LAO, LUN YI
• Application Number:
  US10/183,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20030189537A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,258 Days
• Field of Search: 345 87-103, 345208-210, 345204-205
• US Class Current: 345/96
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0439 Pixel structures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3614 Control of polarity reversal in general
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3688 suitable for active matrices only

Abstract

A liquid crystal display and a dot inversion driving technique for that liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal display panel having liquid crystal cells defined by intersections of gate and data lines. Each liquid crystal cell includes a thin film transistor. Those thin film transistors are connected in a zigzag pattern to the gate lines. Pixel voltage signals are applied in a line inversion fashion to the liquid crystal cells such that the pixel voltage signal polarities (referenced to a common electrode) are inverted in every horizontal period. The common electrode can be an AC voltage that changes in each horizontal period.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display, comprising:

a liquid crystal display panel having liquid crystal cells defined between intersecting gate lines and data lines;

thin film transistors connected in a zigzag pattern to the gate lines; and

a liquid crystal display panel driver applying pixel voltage signals to the data lines, wherein the pixel voltage signals on each data line have the same polarity in a horizontal period, wherein the liquid crystal display panel driver includes;

a data driver that converts input pixel data into the pixel voltage signals; and

a timing controller that controls the data driver and that combines pixel data in a current horizontal period with pixel data from a previous horizontal period to produce combined pixel data, wherein the input pixel data includes the combined pixel data.

2. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, further comprising:

a common electrode disposed adjacent to the liquid crystal display panel; and

liquid crystal disposed between the common electrode disposed and the liquid crystal display panel, wherein

the liquid crystal display panel driver further includes;

a gate driver sequentially driving the gate lines, the gate driver being controlled by the timing controller; and

a common voltage generator supplying a common voltage to the common electrode.

3. The liquid crystal display according to claim 2, wherein:

the data driver converts input pixel data into pixel voltage signals into pixel voltage signals used in a line inversion system; and

the common voltage generator supplies an AC common voltage to the common electrode;

the timing controller controls the gate driver.

4. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein odd-numbered liquid crystal cells of the ith horizontal line (wherein i is an integer) are connected to the ith gate line, and wherein even-numbered liquid crystal cells of the ith horizontal line are connected to the (i+1)th gate line.

5. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein even-numbered liquid crystal cells of the liquid crystal cells on the ith horizontal line (wherein i is an integer) are connected to the ith gate line, and wherein odd-numbered liquid crystal cells on the ith horizontal line are connected to the (i+1)th gate line.

6. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the timing controller combines odd-numbered pixel data of a horizontal period with even-numbered pixel data from a previous horizontal period, to produce the combined input pixel data, wherein the even-numbered pixel data is delayed by one horizontal period.

7. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the timing controller combines even-numbered pixel data of a horizontal period with odd-numbered pixel data from a previous horizontal period, to produce the combined input pixel data, wherein the odd-numbered pixel data is delayed by one horizontal period.

8. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the timing controller includes:

a pixel data aligner dividing odd-numbered pixel data from even-numbered pixel data, wherein one of the divided odd- and even-numbered pixel data is applied to the data driver as the pixel data in the current horizontal period; and

a line memory coupled between the pixel data aligner and the data driver, the line memory storing the other of the divided odd- and even-numbered pixel data for one horizontal period as the pixel data from the previous horizontal period.

9. The liquid crystal display according to claim 8, wherein the line memory stores odd-numbered pixel data for one horizontal period.

10. The liquid crystal display according to claim 8, wherein the line memory stores even-numbered pixel data for one horizontal period.

11. A liquid crystal display, comprising:

a liquid crystal display panel having liquid crystal cells defined between intersecting gate lines and data lines;

thin film transistors connected in a zigzag pattern to the gate lines; and

a liquid crystal display panel driver applying pixel voltage signals to the data lines, wherein the pixel voltage signals on each data line has the same polarity in a horizontal period, wherein the liquid crystal display panel driver includes;

a data driver that combines pixel data in a current horizontal period with pixel data in a previous horizontal period to produce combined pixel data and that converts the combined pixel data into pixel voltage signals that are applied to the data lines; and

a timing controller that controls the data driver and that supplies pixel data to the data driver.

12. The liquid crystal display according to claim 11, wherein the data driver combines odd-numbered pixel data of one horizontal line with even-numbered pixel data that is delayed by one horizontal period to produce the combined pixel data.

13. The liquid crystal display according to claim 11, wherein the data driver combines even-numbered pixel data of one horizontal line with odd-numbered pixel data that is delayed by one horizontal period to produce the combined pixel data.

14. The liquid crystal display according to claim 11, wherein the data driver includes:

a shift register array that applies sequential sampling signals;

a latch array that latches and outputs pixel data in response to the sequential sampling signals;

a digital-to-analog converter array that converts pixel data into pixel voltage signals;

a buffer array that buffers pixel voltage signals and outputs buffered pixel voltage signals; and

a delay array that delays odd-numbered pixel data by one horizontal period.

15. The liquid crystal display according to claim 11, wherein the data driver includes:

a shift register array that applies sequential sampling signals;

a latch array that latches and outputs pixel data in response to the sequential sampling signals;

a digital-to-analog converter array that converts pixel data into pixel voltage signals;

a buffer array that buffers pixel voltage signals and outputs buffered pixel voltage signals; and

a delay array that delays even-numbered pixel data by one horizontal period.

16. The liquid crystal display according to claim 11, wherein odd-numbered liquid crystal cells of the ith horizontal line (wherein i is an integer) are connected to the ith gate line, and wherein even-numbered liquid crystal cells of the ith horizontal line are connected to the (i+1)th gate line.

17. The liquid crystal display according to claim 11, wherein even-numbered liquid crystal cells of the liquid crystal cells on the ith horizontal line (wherein i is an integer) are connected to the ith gate line, and wherein odd-numbered liquid crystal cells on the ith horizontal line are connected to the (i+1)th gate line.

18. The liquid crystal display according to claim 11, further comprising:

a common electrode disposed adjacent to the liquid crystal display panel; and

liquid crystal disposed between the common electrode disposed and the liquid crystal display panel, wherein the liquid crystal display panel driver further includes;

a gate driver sequentially driving the gate lines, the gate driver controlled by the timing controller; and

a common voltage generator supplying a common voltage to the common electrode.

19. The liquid crystal display according to claim 18, wherein the:

the data driver produces combined pixel voltage signals used in a line inversion system;

the common voltage generator supplies an AC voltage to the common electrode; and

the timing controller controls the gate driver.

20. A method of driving a liquid crystal display, comprising the steps of:

combining pixel data in a current horizontal period with pixel data in a previous horizontal period to produce combined pixel data in every horizontal period; and

applying the combined pixel data to liquid crystal cells that are connected together in a zigzag pattern.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein, said step of combining pixel data includes combining odd-numbered pixel data of a current horizontal line with even-numbered pixel data that is delayed by one horizontal period.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein, said step of combining pixel data includes combining even-numbered pixel data of a current horizontal line with odd-numbered pixel data that is delayed by one horizontal period.