KR101889911B1 - Stereoscopic image display device and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display apparatus and a method of driving the stereoscopic image display apparatus capable of improving the display quality of a stereoscopic image by increasing luminance while preventing 3D crosstalk of stereoscopic images, A liquid crystal display panel for realizing a stereoscopic image by temporally separating an image and a right eye image; A timing controller for generating left eye image data and right eye image data based on the input data, analyzing the input data and extracting image depth information; A display panel driver configured to temporally separate the left eye image data and the right eye image data and display the separated data on the liquid crystal display panel; A backlight unit having a plurality of light sources for dividing the liquid crystal display panel into a plurality of blocks and irradiating light in units of blocks; And a backlight driver for driving the plurality of light sources in block units according to a backlight dimming signal for each block based on the image depth information.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device,

The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display apparatus, and more particularly, to a stereoscopic image display apparatus and a method of driving the same that can improve display quality of stereoscopic images.

In general, stereoscopic images representing three dimensions are made by the principle of stereoscopic vision through two eyes. Since the time difference of the two eyes, that is, the two eyes are about 65 mm apart, The eyes see slightly different images. Thus, the difference in the image due to the positional difference between the two eyes is referred to as binocular disparity. In addition, the three-dimensional image display apparatus allows the left eye to see only the left eye image of the left eye and the right eye to view only the right eye image of the right eye using the binocular parallax. As a result, the left and right eyes respectively see different two-dimensional images. When these two images are transmitted to the brain through the retina, the brain fuses them to reproduce the depth sense and real feeling of the original three-dimensional image. This capability is commonly referred to as stereography, and an apparatus using the same as a display device is referred to as a stereoscopic image display device.

Such a stereoscopic image display apparatus can be divided into a time division method for realizing a stereoscopic image by temporally separating a left eye image and a right eye image, and a spatial division method for realizing a stereoscopic image by spatially separating a left eye image and a right eye image.

Since the time-division type stereoscopic image display device uses the liquid crystal to temporally separate the left eye image and the right eye image, the left eye image and the right eye image are not completely separated due to the slow response speed of the liquid crystal, A crosstalk phenomenon occurs and the display quality of the stereoscopic image is degraded.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2011-0069483 (hereinafter referred to as " Patent Document ") discloses a stereoscopic image display device capable of improving the response speed of a liquid crystal to prevent the above-described 3D crosstalk phenomenon, .

The patent document includes a light source driving circuit that sequentially turns on light sources when the liquid crystal is maintained in the saturation state, thereby preventing the 3D crosstalk phenomenon described above.

However, the above-mentioned patent document can prevent the 3D crosstalk phenomenon by limiting the duty ratio of the PWM signal for controlling the lighting of the light sources to 50% or less, but it has a drawback that the luminance of the stereoscopic image is low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a stereoscopic image display device and a method of driving the stereoscopic image display device which can improve the display quality of a stereoscopic image by increasing the luminance while preventing the 3D crosstalk phenomenon of the stereoscopic image, We will do it.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stereoscopic image display apparatus including a liquid crystal display panel for realizing a stereoscopic image by temporally separating a left eye image and a right eye image; A timing controller for generating left eye image data and right eye image data based on the input data, analyzing the input data and extracting image depth information; A display panel driver configured to temporally separate the left eye image data and the right eye image data and display the separated data on the liquid crystal display panel; A backlight unit having a plurality of light sources for dividing the liquid crystal display panel into a plurality of blocks and irradiating light in units of blocks; And a backlight driver for driving the plurality of light sources in block units according to a backlight dimming signal for each block based on the image depth information.

Wherein the timing controller generates a left eye image data and a right eye image data based on the input data and provides the left eye image data and the right eye image data to the panel driver; A depth information generator for extracting the image depth information by analyzing the input data and generating depth information for each block according to the extracted image depth information; And generating a dimming value for each block for driving the light sources for each block by analyzing image data to be displayed in each of the plurality of blocks by block and correcting the dimming value for each block according to the depth information per block, And a local dimming control unit for generating a starlight backlight dimming signal.

The local dimming control unit detects a brightness limit block and a brightness increment block among a plurality of blocks according to the depth information of each block and corrects the detected brightness limit block and the brightness increment block differently for each block, A separate backlight dimming signal can be generated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of driving a stereoscopic image display device including generating left eye image data and right eye image data based on input data, extracting image depth information by analyzing the input data, Generating a backlight dimming signal for each block based on the image depth information; Displaying the left eye image data and the right eye image data on a liquid crystal display panel in a temporal manner; And driving the plurality of light sources arranged to divide the liquid crystal display panel into a plurality of blocks, in units of blocks according to the backlight dimming signal for each block, and individually irradiating light for each block.

Generating the backlight dimming signal for each block includes: extracting the image depth information by analyzing the input data and generating depth information for each block according to the extracted image depth information; Analyzing image data to be displayed in each of the plurality of blocks on a block-by-block basis, and generating a dimming value for each block for driving the light sources on a block-by-block basis; And a controller configured to detect a brightness limit block and a brightness increment block among a plurality of blocks according to the depth information of each block and correct the dimming values of the detected brightness limit block and each brightness increment block differently, And generating a signal.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stereoscopic image display device and a method of driving the same, wherein the depth of a region to which depth is imparted is limited according to depth information of a stereoscopic image, The brightness of the stereoscopic image is increased and the 3D crosstalk phenomenon is prevented, thereby improving the display quality of the stereoscopic image.

1 is a view schematically showing a stereoscopic image display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram schematically showing the timing controller shown in Fig.
3 is a diagram for explaining a backlight dimming signal for each block generated by the local dimming control unit shown in FIG.
4 is a view schematically showing a stereoscopic image display apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a block diagram schematically showing the timing controller shown in FIG.
6A and 6B are cross-sectional views schematically showing a 3D optical panel according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.
7A and 7B are cross-sectional views schematically showing a modified embodiment of the 3D optical panel according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a stereoscopic image display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the timing controller shown in FIG.

1 and 2, a stereoscopic image display apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a liquid crystal display panel 110, a display panel driver 120, a backlight unit 130, (140), and a timing controller (150).

The liquid crystal display panel 110 displays a predetermined plane image or a stereoscopic image according to the display mode. Hereinafter, the liquid crystal display panel 110 will be described on the assumption that the stereoscopic images, i.e., the left eye image and the right eye image, are alternately displayed on one screen. To this end, the liquid crystal display panel 110 includes a lower substrate and an upper substrate which are bonded to each other with a liquid crystal layer (not shown) for image display interposed therebetween.

The lower substrate is a thin film transistor array substrate and includes a plurality of pixels P formed in regions intersecting with a plurality of gate lines GL and a plurality of data lines DL. Each pixel P includes a thin film transistor (not shown) connected to the gate line GL and the data line DL, a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor, and a common electrode As shown in FIG. At this time, the common electrode may be formed on the lower substrate according to the driving method of the liquid crystal layer for image display. The lower substrate controls an optical transmittance of the liquid crystal layer by forming an electric field corresponding to a difference voltage between a data voltage and a common voltage applied to each pixel.

The upper substrate is a color filter array substrate, and is configured to include a color filter corresponding to each pixel formed on the lower substrate, and is adhered to and opposed to the lower substrate with a liquid crystal layer therebetween. At this time, a common electrode to which a common voltage is supplied may be formed on the upper substrate according to a driving method of a liquid crystal layer for image display. The upper substrate may filter the incident light transmitted through the image display liquid crystal layer by a color filter to emit a predetermined color light to the outside so that a predetermined left eye image and right eye image are displayed alternately on the liquid crystal display panel 110 .

The display panel driving unit 120 temporally separates the left eye image and the right eye image on the liquid crystal display panel 110 under the control of the timing controller 150. For example, the display panel driver 120 displays the left eye image during the Nth frame and the right eye image during the (N + 1) th frame. To this end, the display panel driver 120 includes a gate driver circuit 122 and a data driver circuit 124.

The gate driving circuit 122 generates a gate signal in response to a gate control signal GCS supplied from the timing controller 150 and sequentially supplies the gate signal to the gate line GL of the liquid crystal display panel 110. [ At this time, the gate driving circuit portion 122 may be formed on one side or both sides of the lower substrate so as to be connected to each of the gate lines GL together with the thin film transistor manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel 110.

The data driving circuit 124 converts the left eye and right eye data voltages of the analog form into the left eye image data and the right eye image data supplied from the timing controller 150 in accordance with the data control signal DCS supplied from the timing controller 150 And supplies it to the data line DL of the liquid crystal display panel 110 in synchronization with the gate signal.

The backlight unit 130 includes a plurality of light sources 134 that individually irradiate light to each of a plurality of blocks 132 in which the liquid crystal display panel 110 is divided into a lattice form.

Each of the plurality of light sources 134 may include a light emitting diode (LED), and each block 132 includes at least one light source 134. Each of the plurality of light sources 134 is individually driven in units of blocks in accordance with the driving of the backlight driver 140, and irradiates the brightness-adjusted light to each region of the liquid crystal display panel 110 superimposed on each block.

The backlight driving unit 140 drives the light source 134 in units of blocks 132 in accordance with the backlight dimming signal BBDS for each block provided from the timing controller 150 to thereby display the liquid crystal display panel 110 ) Is irradiated to each region of the light-shielding layer (not shown).

The timing controller 150 generates left eye and right eye image data based on the input data RGB and outputs the generated left eye and right eye image data R'G'B 'to be suitable for driving the liquid crystal display panel 110 And provides them to the display panel driver 120. At the same time, the timing controller 150 generates the gate control signal GCS and the data control signal DCS, respectively, based on the timing synchronization signal TSS supplied together with the input data RGB, And the data driving circuit section 124, respectively. The timing controller 150 analyzes the input data RGB and extracts image depth information to generate a backlight control signal BBDS for each block and provides the generated backlight control signal BBDS to the backlight driver 140. [ The timing controller 150 controls the timing of the left eye shutter control signal LSCS for providing only the left eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 to the viewer and the right eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 And generates right eye shutter control signals (RSCS) to be transmitted in a wireless communication manner. The timing controller 150 includes a data processing unit 151, a control signal generating unit 153, a shutter control signal generating unit 155, a depth information generating unit 157, and a local dimming control unit 159 Lt; / RTI >

The data processing unit 151 separates the left eye image data and the right eye image data from the input data RGB and scales each of the separated left eye image data and right eye image data to be suitable for driving the liquid crystal display panel 110 To the data driving circuit unit 124 of the display panel driving unit 120. Accordingly, the data driving circuit 124 converts the left-eye and right-eye data voltages of the left-eye image data and the right-eye image data alternately provided on a frame-by-frame basis from the data processing unit 151 and outputs them to the liquid crystal display panel 110 To the data line DL.

On the other hand, the data processor 151 modulates the input data RGB based on the block-by-block dimming value or the block backlight dimming signal BBDS generated by the local dimming controller 159 to be described later, To the data driving circuit unit 124 of FIG. That is, the data processing unit 151 reflects the input data RGB of each block by applying a predetermined gain value set in accordance with the block-by-block dimming value or the block backlight dimming signal BBDS, To generate modulation data (R'G'B ') that compensates the luminance of the luminance signal R'G'B'.

The control signal generation unit 153 generates the gate control signal GCS and the data control signal DCS based on the timing synchronization signal TSS input together with the input data RGB.

The timing synchronization signal TSS may include a vertical synchronization signal Vsync, a horizontal synchronization signal Hsync, a data enable DE, and a reference clock DCLK.

The gate control signal GCS is a signal for sequentially supplying a gate signal to the plurality of gate lines GL by controlling the driving timing of the gate driving circuit 122. The gate control signal GCS includes gate start pulses And a gate clock signal of the gate signal.

The data control signal DCS controls the driving timing of the data driving circuit 124 so as to synchronize with the gate signal and supplies a signal for supplying the left eye data voltage and the right eye data voltage alternately to the plurality of data lines DL on a frame- And may include a source start pulse, a source sampling clock, a source output enable, and a polarity control signal POL.

The shutter control signal generating unit 155 generates only the left eye shutter control signal LSCS for providing only the left eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 to the viewer and the right eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 to the viewer And transmits the generated right eye shutter control signals RSCS in a wireless communication manner. Accordingly, the viewer views the stereoscopic image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 by using the shutter glasses including the left-eye shutter and the right-eye shutter. At this time, the shutter eyeglasses include a receiving section (not shown) for receiving the left-eye shutter control signal LSCS and the right-eye shutter control signal RSCS respectively transmitted from the shutter control signal generating section 155, and a left- And a shutter driving unit (not shown) for alternately driving the left eye shutter and the right eye shutter for each frame in accordance with the signal LSCS and the right eye shutter control signal RSCS, respectively. Accordingly, the left eye shutter transmits only the left eye image according to the driving of the shutter driving unit in accordance with the left eye shutter control signal, and the right eye shutter transmits only the right eye image according to the driving of the shutter driving unit in accordance with the right eye shutter control signal.

The shutter control signal generator 155 is not embedded in the timing controller 150 but mounted on a printed circuit board or a control board on which the timing controller 150 is mounted so as to generate a gate control signal GCS or a vertical The left-eye shutter control signal LSCS and the right-eye shutter control signal RSCS may be generated according to the synchronization signal Vsync and may be transmitted in a wireless communication manner.

The depth information generation unit 157 analyzes the input data RGB to extract the image depth information, and generates depth information BDI for each block according to the extracted image depth information. The depth information generator 157 may extract image depth information according to various depth extraction algorithms.

The depth information generating unit 157 analyzes input data RGB to be supplied to each pixel P of the liquid crystal display panel 110 and extracts characteristic information of the image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 , The extracted feature information may be mapped to a depth map of each block corresponding to each of the plurality of blocks 132, and depth information BDI may be generated according to the depth map of each block. Here, the characteristic information of the image may be edge information, color information, luminance information, motion information, histogram information, or the like.

As another example, the depth information generation unit 157 extracts depth data for each pixel in the input data (RGB), maps the depth data to each depth map corresponding to each of the plurality of blocks 132, It is possible to generate depth information (BDI) for each block.

As another example, the depth information generating unit 157 compares the left eye image data and the right eye image data with each other to extract regions having different data values and maps the extracted regions to a depth map for each block corresponding to each of the plurality of blocks 132 , The depth information (BDI) for each block can be generated according to the depth map for each block.

The local dimming control unit 159 analyzes the image data (G 'G' B ') to be displayed in each of the plurality of blocks 132 on a block-by-block basis, Value. The local dimming control unit 159 corrects the dimming value for each block according to the depth information BDI of each block provided from the depth information generating unit 157 to generate a backlight dimming signal BBDS for each block.

In generating the dimming value for each block, the local dimming control unit 159 calculates a representative value for each block by summing and averaging the maximum value (or average value) of the input data RGB for each pixel on a block-by-block basis. Then, the local dimming control unit 159 selects and outputs a dimming value for each block corresponding to a representative value for each block in a preset look-up table (not shown). The lookup table selects and outputs a dimming value stored in an address corresponding to each of the representative values for each block inputted as a dimming value for each block among the dimming values previously mapped so as to correspond to a predetermined dimming curve.

In generating the backlight dimming signal BBDS for each block, the local dimming control unit 159 sets the depth of the plurality of blocks 132 according to the block-by-block depth information (BDI) The brightness restricting block B1 and the brightness increasing block B2 overlapping the area to which the depth is not added are detected and the brightness restricting block B1 and the brightness increasing block B2 are detected, And generates a backlight dimming signal (BBDS) for each block by correcting the individual dimming value. Specifically, the stereoscopic image SI implemented by the left eye image LI and the right eye image RI is divided into an area A1 in which a depth is generally given and a region A2 in which a depth is not given, . In this case, since the region A2 in which the depth is not given in the stereoscopic image SI means that the left eye image LI and the right eye image RI are the same, the region A2 is divided into the left eye image LI and the right eye image LI, (RI) need not be separated. Accordingly, the luminance loss and the 3D crosstalk phenomenon do not occur even if the brightness is increased for the region A2 to which no depth is imparted.

Accordingly, the local dimming control unit 159 maintains the dimming value of each block of the brightness restricting block B1 detected according to the block-by-block depth information BDI as it is, The brightness of the stereoscopic image SI is increased and the 3D crosstalk phenomenon is prevented by generating a backlight dimming signal BBDS for each block by performing correction to increase the dimming value. At this time, the local dimming control unit 159 sets the duty ratio of the backlight dimming signal of the brightness limit block B1 to 50% or less to prevent the 3D crosstalk phenomenon. On the other hand, the local dimming control unit 159 increases the luminance of the stereoscopic image SI by setting the duty ratio of the backlight dimming signal BBDS of the luminance increasing block B2 to not less than 60%, preferably not less than 80% .

The local dimming control unit 159 is not embedded in the timing controller 150 but is mounted on the printed circuit board or the control board on which the timing controller 150 is mounted so that the backlight dimming signal BBDS for each block, Lt; / RTI >

In the stereoscopic image display apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention as described above, the luminance of the area A1 to which the depth is given according to the depth information of the stereoscopic image is limited, and the area A2 The luminance of the stereoscopic image SI can be increased and the 3D crosstalk phenomenon can be prevented.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a stereoscopic image display apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the timing controller shown in FIG.

4 and 5, the stereoscopic image display apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a liquid crystal display panel 110, a display panel driver 120, a backlight unit 130, A display controller 140, a timing controller 250, a 3D optical panel 260, and a 3D panel driver 270. The stereoscopic image display apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration implements a stereoscopic image using an active retarder method, which is a kind of polarization filter method, and includes a timing controller 250 ), The 3D optical panel 260, and the 3D panel driver 270 are the same as those of the first embodiment of the present invention, so that the duplicated description of the same components will be omitted.

The timing controller 250 generates left eye and right eye image data based on the input data RGB and outputs the generated left eye and right eye image data R'G'B 'to be suitable for driving the liquid crystal display panel 110 And provides them to the display panel driver 120. At the same time, the timing controller 250 generates the gate control signal GCS and the data control signal DCS, respectively, based on the timing synchronization signal TSS supplied together with the input data RGB, As shown in Fig. The timing controller 250 analyzes the input data RGB and extracts image depth information to generate a backlight control signal BBDS for each block and provides the backlight control signal BBDS to the backlight driver 140. The timing controller 250 generates an optical panel control signal OPCS for driving the 3D optical panel 260 according to the left eye image and the right eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110, .

The timing controller 250 includes the data processing unit 151, the control signal generating unit 153, the optical panel control signal generating unit 255, the depth information generating unit 157, and the local dimming control unit 159 . The timing controller 250 having such a configuration includes the optical panel control signal generator 255 in place of the shutter control signal generator 155 in the timing controller 150 shown in Fig. Accordingly, the description of the other components of the timing controller 250, except for the description of the optical panel control signal generator 255, will be omitted.

The optical panel control signal generating unit 255 generates an optical panel control signal (OPCS) in a first logic state for polarizing the left eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 to the first polarization state, Generates an optical panel control signal (OPCS) in a second logic state for polarizing the right-eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 into a second polarization state, and provides the generated optical panel control signal OPCS to the 3D panel driver 270. [

The 3D optical panel 260 separates the left eye image and the right eye image, which are separated temporally in the liquid crystal display panel 110 according to the driving of the 3D panel driver 270, into different first and second polarization states. To this end, the 3D optical panel 260 includes first and second substrates which are bonded together with a stereoscopic liquid crystal layer (not shown) therebetween.

The first substrate includes a plurality of lower electrodes formed to have a predetermined gap. The plurality of lower electrodes are connected to the 3D panel driver 270 to receive the optical panel drive voltage from the 3D panel driver 270.

The second substrate includes an upper electrode of the barrel formed to face the plurality of lower electrodes, and is adhered to and opposed to the first substrate with the liquid crystal layer therebetween. The upper electrode is connected to the 3D panel driver 270 and receives a reference voltage from the 3D panel driver 270.

The 3D panel driving unit 270 generates an optical panel driving voltage for driving the liquid crystal layer for the stereoscopic body of the 3D optical panel 260 according to the logic state of the optical panel control signal OPCS provided from the timing controller 250, And supplies the liquid crystal molecules to the lower electrodes of the optical panel 260 to turn on / off the driving of the liquid crystal layer for stereoscopic images. For example, while the left eye image is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110, the 3D panel drive unit 270 generates a high-level optical panel drive voltage, and while the right eye image is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110, The 3D panel driver 270 can generate the optical panel drive voltage in the low state. The 3D panel driver 270 converts the left eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 into the first polarization state by turning on / off the driving of the liquid crystal layer for stereoscopic images according to the optical panel driving voltage , And converts the right eye image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 to the second polarization state. For example, when the stereoscopic liquid crystal layer is turned on, the left eye image is converted to the first polarization state, and when the stereoscopic liquid crystal layer is turned off, the right eye image can be converted to the second polarization state.

On the other hand, the viewer views the stereoscopic image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 110 using the polarizing filter glasses including the left and right polarizing filters having different polarized states. At this time, the left eye polarizing filter of the polarizing glasses transmits only the left eye image converted (or separated) into the first polarization state by the 3D optical panel 260. On the other hand, the right eye polarizing filter of the polarizing glasses transmits only the right eye image converted (or separated) into the second polarization state by the 3D optical panel 260.

The stereoscopic image display apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention can be applied to the liquid crystal display panel 110 according to the on / off state of the stereoscopic liquid crystal layer formed on the 3D optical panel 260 The left eye image and the right eye image displayed in the left eye image and the right eye image are separated into different polarized states to realize a stereoscopic image. As shown in FIG. 3, the stereoscopic image display apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention limits the brightness of the area A1, which is given a depth according to the depth information of the stereoscopic image, It is possible to increase the luminance of the stereoscopic image SI and to prevent the 3D crosstalk phenomenon by increasing the luminance of the area A2 to which the luminance is not imparted.

6A and 6B are cross-sectional views schematically showing a 3D optical panel according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

6A and 6B, the 3D optical panel 260 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a lower substrate 314 formed on a first substrate 312, a lower substrate 310 having a lower orientation film 316, An upper plate 320 having an upper electrode 324 and an upper alignment layer 326 formed on the second substrate 322 so as to be opposite to the lower plate 310 and a lower alignment layer 316 and an upper alignment layer 326 And a three-dimensional liquid crystal layer 330 arranged in a predetermined direction.

For example, a glass substrate, a plastic, or a film of the first substrate 312.

The lower electrode 314 is made of a transparent conductive material and is formed on the first substrate 312 so as to be spaced apart at a predetermined interval. The lower electrode 314 is supplied with the optical panel driving voltage from the 3D panel driver 270 described above.

The ON or OFF voltage may be supplied to each of the lower electrodes 314 or an ON voltage or an OFF voltage may be supplied to each of the lower electrodes 314. [

The lower alignment layer 316 is formed on the first substrate 312 so as to cover the lower electrodes 314 to align the liquid crystal molecules of the three-dimensional liquid crystal layer 330 in a predetermined direction.

The upper plate 320 is adhered to and opposed to the lower plate 310 with the liquid crystal layer 330 therebetween.

The second substrate 322 is formed of the same transparent material as that of the first substrate 312.

The upper electrode 324 is formed on the second substrate 322 so as to be opposed to the first substrate 312. The lower electrode 314 is supplied with a reference voltage having a constant DC voltage level from the 3D panel driver 270 described above.

The upper alignment film 326 is formed so as to cover the upper electrode 324 and arranged in a predetermined direction of the liquid crystal layer 330 for stereoscopic purposes.

The liquid crystal layer for stereoscopic image 330 is formed between the lower alignment film 316 of the lower plate 310 and the upper alignment film 326 of the upper plate 320 to be adhered to each other. Accordingly, the liquid crystal molecules of the three-dimensional liquid crystal layer 330 are arranged in a predetermined direction in accordance with the alignment directions of the lower and upper alignment films 316 and 326. The three-dimensional liquid crystal layer 330 converts light incident through the arrangement state of the liquid crystal molecules into a left-handed linear polarization or a first-preferred polarization state according to an optical panel driving voltage applied to the lower electrode 314. To this end, the stereoscopic liquid crystal layer 330 is driven in a liquid crystal mode having a? / 2 phase difference. For example, the liquid crystal mode having the? / 2 phase difference may be TN (Twisted Nematic), VA (Vertical Alignment), OCB (Optical Compensated Bend), or ECB (Electrically Controlled Birefringence) Or the ECB liquid crystal mode.

The 3D optical panel 260 according to the embodiment of the present invention drives the stereoscopic liquid crystal layer 330 according to the optical panel driving voltage applied to the lower electrode 314, (Or converts) the left eye image LI and the right eye image RI, which are temporally separated and incident on the liquid crystal display panel 110, into different linearly polarized light states.

6A, when the driving of the stereoscopic liquid crystal layer 330 is turned off according to the optical panel driving voltage supplied from the 3D panel driving unit 270, for example, in the Nth frame, The 3D optical panel 260 converts the right eye image RI into the first linearly polarized light state, that is, the first polarized light state, through the liquid crystal layer 330 for three- 6B, when the driving of the stereoscopic liquid crystal layer 330 is turned on in accordance with the optical panel driving voltage supplied from the 3D panel driver 270 in the (N + 1) th frame, The left eye image LI is converted into the second linearly polarized light state, that is, the left-handed linearly polarized light state, through the liquid crystal layer 330 for three-

In the case where the 3D optical panel 260 according to the embodiment of the present invention separates the left eye image LI and the right eye image RI into different linearly polarized light states, And a right eye polarizing filter having a polarization axis of a first polarization state.

Meanwhile, the 3D optical panel 260 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described as separating the left eye image LI and the right eye image RI into different linearly polarized light states. However, the present invention is not limited to this, LI) and the right eye image RI may be separated into different circularly polarized states. To this end, the 3D optical panel 260 according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention further comprises a? / 4 wave plate 340 as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

The? / 4 wave plate 340 is attached to the front surface of the upper plate 320, that is, the front surface of the second substrate 322, and has a? / 4 phase difference. The λ / 4 wave plate 340 polarizes left-handed or first-polarized light incident on the upper plate 320 into left-handed circularly polarized light or right-handed circularly polarized light.

7A, when the driving of the three-dimensional liquid crystal layer 330 is turned off according to the optical panel driving voltage supplied from the 3D panel driving unit 270 in the Nth frame, The 3D optical panel 260 converts the right eye image RI into the first circularly polarized light state, that is, the right-handed circularly polarized light state through the liquid crystal layer 330 and the? / 4 wave plate 340 in the off state . 7B, when the driving of the three-dimensional liquid crystal layer 330 is turned on in accordance with the optical panel driving voltage supplied from the 3D panel driving unit 270 in the (N + 1) -th frame, The left eye image LI is converted into the second circularly polarized light state, that is, the left-handed circularly polarized light state, through the three-dimensional liquid crystal layer 330 and the? / 4 wave plate 340 in the On state.

In the case where the 3D optical panel 260 according to another embodiment of the present invention separates the left eye image LI and the right eye image RI into different circularly polarized light states, And a right-eye polarized light filter having a polarization axis in a right-handed circular polarization state.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

110: liquid crystal display panel 120: display panel drive unit
130: Backlight unit 140: Backlight driver
150: Timing controller

Claims (13)

A liquid crystal display panel for realizing a stereoscopic image by temporally separating a left eye image and a right eye image;
A backlight unit having a plurality of light sources for dividing the liquid crystal display panel into a plurality of blocks and irradiating light in units of blocks;
Eye image data and right-eye image data based on the input data, extracts depth information of each block unit by analyzing the input data, and calculates a duty ratio of the light sources in each block unit based on the extracted depth information of each block A timing controller for generating a backlight dimming signal for each block for setting;
A display panel driver configured to temporally separate the left eye image data and the right eye image data and display the separated data on the liquid crystal display panel; And
And a backlight driver for driving the plurality of light sources on a block-by-block basis according to the backlight dimming signal for each block. The method according to claim 1,
The timing controller includes:
A data processing unit for generating left eye image data and right eye image data based on the input data and providing the left eye image data and the right eye image data to the display panel driving unit;
A depth information generator for extracting image depth information by analyzing the input data and generating depth information for each block according to the extracted depth information; And
The image data to be displayed in each of the plurality of blocks is analyzed block by block to generate a dimming value for each block for setting the duty ratio of the light sources for each block, and the dimming value for each block is corrected according to the depth information for each block And a local dimming control unit for generating a backlight dimming signal for each block. 3. The method of claim 2,
The local dimming control unit detects a brightness limit block and a brightness increment block among a plurality of blocks according to the depth information of each block and corrects the detected brightness limit block and the brightness increment block differently for each block, And generates a backlight dimming signal. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the local dimming control unit sets the duty ratio of the backlight dimming signal of the luminance limiting block to 50% or less and sets the duty ratio of the backlight dimming signal of the luminance increasing block to 60% or more. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the data processor modulates each of the left eye image data and the right eye image data based on the block-by-block dimming value or the block-by-block backlight dimming signal to provide the display panel driver. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Further comprising a shutter control signal generator for generating a left eye shutter control signal for providing only the left eye image to the viewer and a right eye shutter control signal for providing only the right eye image to the viewer and transmitting the generated right eye shutter control signal to the shutter eyeglasses. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A 3D optical panel disposed on the liquid crystal display panel for separating the left eye image and the right eye image into different polarization states; And
And a 3D panel driver for driving the 3D optical panel under the control of the timing controller. A liquid crystal display panel for realizing a stereoscopic image by temporally separating a left eye image and a right eye image, and a backlight unit including a backlight unit having a plurality of light sources for dividing the liquid crystal display panel into a plurality of blocks and irradiating light in units of blocks, A method of driving a video display device,
Eye image data and right-eye image data based on the input data, extracts depth information of each block unit by analyzing the input data, and calculates a duty ratio of the light sources in each block unit based on the extracted depth information of each block Generating a backlight dimming signal for each block for setting;
Displaying the left eye image data and the right eye image data on a liquid crystal display panel in a temporal manner; And
And driving the plurality of light sources on a block-by-block basis according to the backlight dimming signal for each block to individually irradiate light for each block. 9. The method of claim 8,
The step of generating the backlight dimming signal for each block includes:
Extracting image depth information by analyzing the input data, and generating depth information for each block according to the extracted image depth information;
Analyzing image data to be displayed in each of the plurality of blocks on a block-by-block basis, and generating a dimming value for each block for setting a duty ratio of the light sources on a block-by-block basis; And
A brightness limiting block and a brightness increasing block are detected from a plurality of blocks according to the depth information of each block and the dimming values of the detected brightness limiting blocks and the brightness increasing blocks are corrected differently, Wherein the step of generating the three-dimensional image comprises the steps of: 10. The method of claim 9,
The duty ratio of the backlight dimming signal of the brightness limit block is set to 50% or less,
Wherein the duty ratio of the backlight dimming signal of the brightness increasing block is set to 60% or more. 9. The method of claim 8,
Further comprising the step of analyzing image data to be displayed in each of the plurality of blocks and generating a dimming value for each block for setting the duty ratio of the light sources in each block,
Wherein the left eye image data and the right eye image data displayed on the liquid crystal display panel are modulated in accordance with the block-by-block dimming value or the block-by-block backlight dimming signal. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11,
Further comprising: generating a left eye shutter control signal for providing only the left eye image to the viewer and a right eye shutter control signal for providing only the right eye image to the viewer, and transmitting the generated right eye shutter control signal to the shutter glasses. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11,
And separating the left eye image and the right eye image into different polarized states according to driving of the 3D optical panel disposed on the liquid crystal display panel.

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