KR20140072428A - Liquid crystal display device and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device. Particularly, the technical problem of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device and a driving method thereof, capable of increasing the brightness of an image outputted to pixels near a bezel by attaching an optical film whose refractive index increases in an outer direction to the front side of a liquid crystal panel. For this, the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention for the described technical problem includes: a liquid crystal panel which includes the pixel in an intersection region between a gate line and a data line; the optical film which is attached to the front side of the liquid crystal panel and has a refractive index which increases in the direction of the bezel formed outside the liquid crystal panel; a timing controller which outputs image data with the improved brightness, resolution, or color by improving the brightness, the resolution, or the saturation of input image data outputted to the pixels near the bezel; a data driving unit which converts the image data transmitted from the timing controller into an analog image signal and outputs the analog image signal to the data line; and a gate driving unit which outputs a scan signal to the gate line at one horizontal period to output the image signal according to a control signal transmitted from the timing controller.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD)

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display device without a bezel.

An active matrix type liquid crystal display device displays a moving image by using a thin film transistor (Thin Film Transistor) as a switching element. The liquid crystal display device is applied not only to a display device in a portable information device, an office machine, a computer, but also to a television.

Since the liquid crystal display is not a self-luminous element, a backlight unit is provided under the liquid crystal panel to display an image using light emitted from the backlight unit.

The liquid crystal display device can be classified into an edge type and a direct type according to a method of arranging a light source.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a cross section of a conventional liquid crystal display device, and particularly shows a light-metering type liquid crystal display device.

1, a light source 33 is disposed on a side surface of a light guide plate 23 provided below a liquid crystal panel 21, and light emitted from a light source 33 Is converted into plane light by the light guide plate 23, and is irradiated to the liquid crystal panel 21. [ Such a metering type liquid crystal display device has an advantage that the thickness can be reduced.

The conventional direct type liquid crystal display device has a structure similar to that of the photometric type liquid crystal display device shown in Fig. 1, except that a light source 33 is disposed under the liquid crystal panel.

On the other hand, along with the research and development in the technical aspect of the liquid crystal display device, in recent years, the necessity of research and development in the design of the product, which can be appealed to the consumers, is particularly highlighted.

Accordingly, research and development have been actively conducted to minimize the thickness (slimness) of the liquid crystal display device and to reduce the thickness of the front edge of the liquid crystal display device.

The following methods have been proposed as methods for reducing the bezel.

In other words, to reduce the size of the bezel, first, a method of changing the number and location of driver ICs (driver ICs), and a method of positioning and wiring the wiring for connecting the driver ICs A method of reducing the size or position of the case and various instrument optical parts, and a method of designing a protective metal layer in a non-display area with margin at the outermost part of the liquid crystal panel and then cutting Are proposed.

However, the above-described conventional methods have the following problems.

First, the method of changing the number and position of the driver IC (IC) requires a more complex design and additional components to reduce the bezel.

Second, Narrow bezel is possible because the non-display area does not completely disappear even if the wiring is changed, but it is difficult to implement the Zero bezel. In addition, even if the wiring is different in order to reduce the thickness of the bezel, the circuit wiring necessary for driving the liquid crystal panel can not be completely eliminated, so that the bezel eventually remains.

Third, more complex designs and additional components are required to reduce the size or change the location of the various components.

Fourth, the method of cutting after forming the protective metal layer is a method of reducing the thickness of the bezel in a design including a non-display area, so that a perfect zero bezel can not be realized. Further, since the protective metal layer is further formed It costs a lot. Also, since the method of removing margins is adopted, a waste portion occurs.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the width of the bezel A can be minimized by removing the top cover or the like covering the front edge of the panel, but the bezel can not be completely removed. As described above, the liquid crystal display device is an apparatus for outputting an image by using the light source 33 disposed at the lower end of the liquid crystal panel 21. Since the light outputted from the light source has a property of going straight, There is a non-display area (bezel A) in which a screen is not displayed in a certain area of the rim of the panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal display device in which an optical film whose refractive index increases toward the outside is attached to the front surface of a liquid crystal panel, A liquid crystal display device, and a method of driving the same.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device including: a liquid crystal panel having pixels formed at intersecting regions of a gate line and a data line; An optical film attached to a front surface of the liquid crystal panel, the refractive index of which increases toward a bezel formed outside the liquid crystal panel; A timing controller for improving at least one of brightness, sharpness, and saturation of input image data output to pixels adjacent to the bezel, and outputting image data having at least one of brightness, sharpness, and color improved; A data driver for converting the video data transmitted from the timing controller into an analog video signal and outputting the analog video signal to the data line; And a gate driver for outputting a scan signal to the gate line in every one horizontal period in which the video signal is output according to a control signal transmitted from the timing controller.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of driving a liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal panel having an optical film attached to a front surface of the liquid crystal panel, the optical film having a refractive index increased toward a bezel formed on an outer periphery of the liquid crystal panel A driving method, comprising: receiving input image data; Extracting input image data output from pixels of the input image data that are spaced a predetermined distance from the bezel; And increasing a luminance of the input image data by a preset luminance increase rate.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a zero bezel which is not a narrow bezel, so that a multi-screen configuration of a tiled shape is easy.

Further, according to the present invention, since there is no bezel, the image quality can be improved by solely using an algorithm that is advantageous in terms of design and can cope with the problem of image quality degradation at the edge portion due to the zero-bezel design.

Further, according to the present invention, since the image quality improvement algorithm is applied only to the bezel portion, the memory is not consumed much, and the uniformity of the entire display spec is increased, thereby realizing a reliable zero- This is possible.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a cross section of a conventional liquid crystal display device.
2 is a block diagram of an internal configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an internal configuration diagram of a timing controller applied to a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.
4 is an exemplary view showing in detail a configuration of a data arrangement unit of a timing controller applied to a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.
5 is an exemplary view showing a cross section of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal panel and an optical film applied to a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, and is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the portion X shown in FIG. 5;
7 is a view showing widths of respective pixels of a liquid crystal panel applied to a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a method of improving brightness in a method of driving a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention; FIG.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of improving brightness in a method of driving a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.
10 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a method for improving sharpness in a method of driving a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.
11 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a method for improving the chroma saturation in the method for driving a liquid crystal display according to the present invention.

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

2 is a block diagram of the liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes a liquid crystal panel 100 in which pixels are formed at intersecting regions of a gate line and a data line, a liquid crystal panel 100 attached to the front surface of the liquid crystal panel 100, The optical film 500 having a refractive index that increases toward the bezel direction outside the liquid crystal panel, at least one of brightness, sharpness, and saturation of the input image data output to the pixels adjacent to the bezel, A timing controller 400 for outputting enhanced image data of at least one of image quality, sharpness and color, data for converting the image data transmitted from the timing controller 400 into an analog image signal, In accordance with a control signal transmitted from the driving unit 300 and the timing controller 400, This Tra of a gate driver 200 for outputting a scan signal.

First, the liquid crystal panel 100 includes thin film transistors (TFT) and pixels P including pixel electrodes, which are formed for each region defined by intersections of gate lines and data lines DL1 to DLm.

The thin film transistor TFT supplies a video signal transmitted from the data line to the pixel electrode in response to a scan signal from the gate lines GL1 to GLn. The pixel electrode adjusts the transmittance of light by driving a liquid crystal positioned between the pixel electrode and the common electrode in response to the video signal.

The liquid crystal mode of the panel applicable to the present invention may be any mode of liquid crystal mode as well as a TN mode, a VA mode, an IPS mode, and an FFS mode. Further, the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention can be implemented in any form such as a transmissive liquid crystal display device, a transflective liquid crystal display device, and a reflective liquid crystal display device.

Next, the timing controller 400 uses the timing signals input from the external system, that is, the vertical synchronization signal Vsync, the horizontal synchronization signal Hsync, and the data enable signal DE, And a data control signal DCS for controlling the operation timing of the data driver 300 and generates digital image data RGB to be transmitted to the data driver 300 ). The detailed configuration of the timing controller 400 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG.

Next, the gate driver 200 supplies the scan signals to the gate lines using the gate control signals GCS generated by the timing controller 400. The gate driver 200 may include at least one gate drive IC. The gate driver 200 applied to the present invention may be applied to a conventional liquid crystal display. Meanwhile, the gate driver 200 according to the present invention may be formed independently of the panel 100 and may be electrically connected to the panel in various ways. However, the gate driver 200 may be mounted in the panel Or a gate-in-panel (GIP) method.

Next, the data driver 300 may include at least one source drive IC. The data driver 300 converts the digital image data RGB transmitted from the timing controller 400 into an analog video signal and supplies the analog video signal to the gate line And supplies a video signal to the data lines.

That is, the data driver 300 converts the digital image data into the analog image signal using gamma voltages supplied from a gamma voltage generator (not shown), and outputs the analog image signal to the data line. To this end, each of the source driver ICs constituting the data driver 300 includes a shift register unit, a latch unit, a digital-analog converter (DAC), and an output buffer.

Lastly, the optical film 500 is attached to the front surface of the liquid crystal panel and functions to refract and reflect the light output to the outside of the liquid crystal panel toward the bezel formed on the outer periphery of the liquid crystal panel . For this, the optical film 500 does not refract light at the central portion of the liquid crystal panel, but may be formed so that the refractive index increases toward the bezel direction formed on the outer periphery of the liquid crystal panel.

The optical film 500 having the above-described characteristics can be manufactured through various methods.

First, the optical film 500 may be formed to have a different refractive index for each position by changing the density or material type of the material constituting the optical film.

That is, a material for refracting light is formed in an outer region of the optical film, and a portion where the material is formed covers an area adjacent to the bezel and the bezel of the liquid crystal panel 100. Particularly, since the density of the light refracting material increases gradually toward the end of the bezel, the refractive index of the optical film 500 can be gradually increased as the refractive index of the optical film 500 approaches the bezel.

Second, the optical film 500 can be manufactured by a method of forming a pattern capable of refracting light on a base film.

Various types of optical sheets are applied to a liquid crystal display device. For example, there are a light-converging film, a diffusing film, a polarizing film and the like, and a lenticular film or a barrier film for stereoscopic image display.

These optical sheets can pattern various patterns on the surface of the film using a patterning technique, and the light path is changed according to the purpose of collecting (concentrating) and spreading (spreading) light according to the pattern.

For example, a lenticular film used in the spectacles 3D technology is formed by forming a semicircular shape on a base film to guide the refraction direction of light in various directions, so that the stereoscopic image is displayed on the liquid crystal panel.

That is, the direction of light refraction can be variously set by a method of varying the shape of the pattern on the base film, a method of varying the position of the pattern, or a method of varying the size of the pattern.

Therefore, the optical film 500 according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the region covering the portion corresponding to the bezel of the liquid crystal panel, of the surface of the base film, the refractive index of light is constant By the method of forming a pattern as described above.

Further, the optical film 500 may be manufactured using a technique disclosed in, for example, Publication No. 10-2012-0042180.

That is, the optical film 500 may be configured to guide the light output from the outer frame portion of the liquid crystal panel toward the bezel using at least one of refraction and reflection by a patterning method or a method of changing the refractive index .

The present invention does not relate to the construction of the optical film 500, and the optical film as described above has already been disclosed and used, and a detailed description of the optical film 500 is omitted.

However, the structure and characteristics of the optical film 500 related to the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 11. Fig.

FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram of a timing controller applied to a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing in detail a configuration of a data arrangement part of a timing controller applied to a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, 3 illustrates an internal configuration of the data arrangement unit 430 shown in FIG.

3, the timing controller 400 applied to the liquid crystal display according to the present invention includes a receiving unit 410 for receiving a timing signal and input image data from an external system, A data sorting unit 430 for improving at least one of brightness, sharpness, and saturation (color) of input image data output to pixels formed adjacent to a bezel formed on the outer periphery of the liquid crystal panel, A control signal generator 420 for generating a gate control signal GCS and a data control signal DCS using the timing signal, a control signal generator 420 for generating a control signal, 420 and outputs the data control signal to the data driver 300. The control signal generator 420 outputs the data control signal, And a transmitter 440 for transmitting a signal to the gate driver 200.

The receiving unit 410 receives the input image data and the timing signal from the external system and transmits the input image data to the data sorting unit 420. The timing signal received through the receiving unit 410 may be directly transmitted from the receiving unit 410 to the control signal generating unit 420 but may be transmitted to the control signal generating unit 420 through the data arranging unit 420 ). ≪ / RTI >

The control signal generator 420 controls the timing of the gate driver 200 and the timing of the data driver 300 using the timing signals received from the receiver 410. [ Thereby generating a gate control signal.

Lastly, the data arranging unit 430 may improve at least one of brightness, sharpness, and saturation of the input image data output to the pixels adjacent to the bezel, and may adjust at least one of the brightness, sharpness, Performs the function of outputting enhanced image data.

4, the data sorting unit 430 includes an input image data receiving unit 431 for receiving the input image data, and a plurality of pixels arranged at predetermined distances from the bezel A luminance compensating unit 432 for enhancing luminance of the input image data by using a high luminance increasing rate from input image data to input image data output to pixels adjacent to the bezel, A sharp walking stepping unit for extracting an edge of an image output to the pixels using the input image data output from the pixels formed between predetermined distances and improving the sharpness of the input image data corresponding to the edge, 433), and enhances the saturation of the input image data output to the pixels formed between the predetermined distance from the bezel The holding comprises a foot section (434) and an output unit 435 for at least one of brightness, sharpness, saturation outputs the enhanced image data by the correction portions for Pointing.

The specific functions of the respective elements constituting the data arrangement unit 430 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 11. FIG.

5 is an exemplary view showing a cross section of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

5, a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes a cover bottom 610, a light guide plate 620 disposed on the cover bottom, a light guide plate 620 disposed on an upper end of the light guide plate, A light source 630 disposed on a side surface of the light guide plate on the cover bottom to allow light to be incident on a side surface of the light guide plate; a light source 630 for guiding the light guide plate 620 and supporting the liquid crystal panel 100; A guide panel 640, the optical film 500 attached to the front surface of the liquid crystal panel, and an optical sheet 650 for diffusing light emitted from the light guide plate 620 to enter the liquid crystal panel. Although not shown in the figure, a first polarizing film is attached to the rear surface of the liquid crystal panel, and between the liquid crystal panel 100 and the optical film 500 or on the front surface of the optical film 500, A polarizing film is attached.

Although not shown in the figure, the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes a gate driver 200, a data driver 300, and a timing controller 400 as shown in FIG.

5, the liquid crystal display according to the present invention is shown in a photometric mode, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention may be configured to be a direct-type type in which the light source 630 is disposed at a portion where the light guide plate 620 is located in FIG.

The configuration of the cover bottom 610 and the guide panel 640 according to the present invention may also be configured in various forms.

5, the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 100 corresponding to the bezel is shown attached to the guide panel 640, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention can fix the liquid crystal panel 100 to the guide panel 640 while covering a part of the upper surface of the bezel, which is the edge of the liquid crystal panel 100 And a top cover provided with a top cover.

6 is an enlarged sectional view of a liquid crystal panel and an optical film applied to a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, and is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the portion X shown in Fig.

6, an optical film 500 attached to the front surface of the liquid crystal panel 100 and having a refractive index increased toward the bezel direction formed outside the liquid crystal panel, Features of the optical film 500 will be described as follows.

The optical film 500 uses total reflection by Snell's law.

Snell's law is a theory of the relationship between the incident angle and the refracted angle according to the medium, and the path of incident light and refracted light can be known by Snell's law.

When light is incident on a small material from a material having a high refractive index, if the angle of incidence is increased, the light is not transmitted but totally reflected. The angle at this time is called the critical angle. 6, the light outputted from each pixel P of the liquid crystal panel 100 is incident on the optical film 500 of the optical film 500, And totally travels between faces having different refractive indices.

At this time, the angle at which the light output from the pixel P1 closest to the bezel is refracted first is larger than the angle at which light output from the pixel Pn far from the bezel is refracted first.

To this end, the refractive index of the optical film 500 is differently configured for each region, and is designed so that the total reflection occurs as much as possible.

That is, the optical film 500 includes a first region R1 formed at a position corresponding to an area adjacent to the bezel and the bezel of the liquid crystal panel 100, And a second region R2 that is formed between the first region R1 and the third region R3.

Here, the refractive index of the second region R2 is larger than that of the third region R3 and smaller than that of the first region R1.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, since the third region R3 has a low refractive index or is formed so as not to be refracted, the light incident on the third region R3 continues to be straight .

However, the lights incident on the second region R2 and the first region R1 are totally refracted at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical plane with respect to the front face of the liquid crystal panel 100, ). In particular, the light incident on the first region R1 is refracted to a greater angle with respect to the perpendicular surface than the light incident on the second region R2.

The optical sheet 660 attached to the front surface (upper surface) of the optical film 500 has a function of allowing the light passing through the optical film 500 to go straight in a direction perpendicular to the front surface of the liquid crystal panel 100 . The light beams passing through the optical film 500 and being refracted at different angles travel straight through the optical sheet 660 in a direction perpendicular to the front surface of the liquid crystal panel 100. Therefore, the lights output from the respective pixels of the liquid crystal panel 100 can be incident on the viewer's eyes without causing interference.

In the case of the light output from the pixels adjacent to the bezel and incident on the optical film 500, the incident angle may be smaller than the critical angle, so that different faces of the optical film 500 having different refractive indices To some extent. However, as shown in FIG. 6, the light reaches the upper portion of the non-display region corresponding to the bezel through several reflections, and the image can be expressed.

Meanwhile, in the structure shown in FIG. 6, a color change due to luminance reduction, sharpness reduction, and color mixing may be generated toward the first region.

That is, the increase in the number of reflection means that the amount of light absorbed and transmitted increases, which leads to a reduction in luminance. In addition, the light not totally reflected in the first region R1 and the second region R2 can affect the adjacent regions other than the originally intended region, thereby changing the color tone.

To solve these problems, the following method is used in the present invention.

First, as shown in Fig. 7, the widths of the pixels of the first and second regions are formed to be smaller than the widths of the pixels of the third region R3.

Second, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the data arrangement unit 430 improves the luminance of input image data output to the first and second areas.

Third, as shown in FIG. 10, the data arrangement unit 430 improves the sharpness of the input image data output to the first and second areas

Fourth, as shown in FIG. 11, the data arrangement unit 430 enhances the saturation of input image data output to the first and second areas.

By using the above-described method, the uniformity of the image output to the liquid crystal panel can be increased.

Hereinafter, the above four methods will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

7 is a view illustrating widths of respective pixels of a liquid crystal panel applied to a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

The present invention is applicable to the first region R1 and the second region R2 in order to prevent the image outputted from the pixels corresponding to the first region R1 and the second region R2 from blurring The width of the pixels P of the liquid crystal panel may be smaller than the width of the pixels corresponding to the third region R3.

That is, the widths of the pixels of the first and second regions are formed to be smaller than the widths of the pixels of the third region R3.

Here, the width of the pixels of the first area and the width of the pixels of the second area may be the same, but they may become smaller as the area goes from the second area to the first area, The width of the pixels of the second region may be smaller than the width of the pixels of the second region.

As described above, since the widths of the pixels of the first region and the second region are smaller than the widths of the pixels of the third region, more pixels than the first region can be formed in the first region and the second region have. Therefore, since the resolution is increased, the quality of the image transmitted through the optical film 500 can be prevented from deteriorating.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of improving brightness in a method of driving a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a method of improving brightness in a method of driving a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention .

In order to compensate for the luminance of the image refracted and outputted in the bezel direction, in the present invention, the luminance gain can be applied differently depending on the position of the pixel.

That is, the luminance increment unit 432 increases the luminance of the input image data output from the pixels corresponding to the second region and the first region among the pixels. In particular, the luminance stepping unit 432 may be configured to select, from the boundary between the second region and the third region, the bezel direction (the first direction) from the boundary between the second region and the third region among the input image data output to the pixels corresponding to the second region and the first region The ratio of increasing the luminance of the input image data can be increased.

Assuming the same luminance, the brightness of an image displayed through the optical film 500 decreases as the direction of the bezel increases. Therefore, as shown in the above description and FIG. 8, by increasing the width (luminance increase / decrease rate) for increasing the brightness toward the bezel direction, the luminance difference of the first to third regions can be reduced. 8 (a) shows that the luminance increase / decrease rate increases toward the bezel direction, FIG. 8 (b) shows a change in luminance increase / decrease in the vertical direction of the panel, and FIG. 8 And shows the change in the luminance variation ratio in the horizontal direction of the panel.

Such an effect may be achieved by a method in which the brightness stepping unit 432 increases the brightness of the input image data, but may also be performed by a method of controlling the brightness of the light source 630. [

That is, when the light source 630 is configured to be on and off for each region, a method of controlling the brightness of the light source as described above may also be applied.

In other words, since the amount of light per unit area decreases as the area increases, in the case of FIG. 6, the brightness of the image output through the bezel decreases. Therefore, in the present invention, a method of increasing the brightness of the input image data output to the pixels corresponding to the first area and the second area is further increased toward the bezel direction.

A method of increasing the brightness of an image output from the brightness stepping unit 432 to the first area and the second area is as follows.

The brightness incrementing unit 432 counts the vertical synchronization signal Vsync or the horizontal synchronization signal Hsync generated by the control signal generating unit 420 so that the currently input image data is input to the liquid crystal panel 100) (step S102). In step S102, it is determined whether or not the pixel can be output.

Next, the luminance controller 432 extracts luminance (brightness) information of the input image data output to the pixels corresponding to the first area and the second area (S104).

Lastly, the luminance stepping unit 432 increases the luminance of the input image data in consideration of a preset luminance change ratio according to the position of the pixel to which the input image data is to be output.

10 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a method for improving sharpness in a method of driving a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

As described above, the sharpness of the image can be lowered due to the spreading of light and the change in resolution in the optical film 500. Therefore, in the present invention, by using the input image data output from the pixels formed between the predetermined distance from the bezel, the edge of the image output to the pixels is extracted, and the input image data corresponding to the edge The sharpness can be improved.

When applying filtering for edge extraction of the image, the size and the pad portion of the filter window may be considered. Also, only the sharpness of the input image data constituting the edge can be improved by using only the edge information of the portion represented by the actual bezel among the extracted results.

In addition, the edge can be extracted through first and second differential peeling tangling, and the extracted information is multiplied by a coring function and a gain to highlight the edge information, Thereby improving the sharpness of the input image data to be output to the bezel.

In other words, the sharpness correcting unit 433 extracts an edge from the images that are displayed on the second and third areas and the images output to the first area, Thereby improving the sharpness of input image data to be output to the first area and the second area. At this time, the edge can be extracted through various methods other than the method described above.

Meanwhile, FIG. 10A shows a process of extracting an edge of an image to be output to the first area and the second area.

10B shows a state in which only the sharpness of the input image data to be output to the first area and the second area is actually improved, out of the extracted edges.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of improving chroma saturation in the method of driving a liquid crystal display according to the present invention.

As described above, the saturation of the image may be lowered due to spreading of light and a change in resolution in the optical film 500. Accordingly, in the present invention, the saturation of the input image data output to the pixels formed between the predetermined distance from the bezel can be improved.

That is, a color difference may appear due to color mixture of the first region and the second region. Accordingly, the present invention increases the saturation of the input image data to match the hue of the input image data output to the area with the original hue.

For example, in FIG. 6, when the first pixel P1 adjacent to the bezel is red, the blue transmitted through the second pixel P2 from the red color is mixed.

Also, in the case of the second pixel P2, the original color is blue, and the red color output from the first pixel P1 and the green color output from the third pixel P3 are combined to reduce saturation.

Therefore, the chroma counter 434 adjusts the RGB ratio according to the chrominance of the input image data output to the bezel, increases the chroma using the chrominance component, not the luminance, .

To this end, the chroma counter 434 extracts input image data output to the first area and the second area.

The stepping unit 434 adjusts the ratio of RGB by grasping the degree of experimentally color degradation in the first area and the second area. That is, the chromaticity adjusting unit adjusts the RGB ratio of the input image data by using the ratio information of the RGB considering the color blending degree, which is grasped by experiments and simulations.

The chroma counter 434 converts the RGB into a YCbCr domain and then increases the saturation of the input image data. The saturation control can be achieved by adjusting the CbCr value.

The chroma counter 434 converts the chroma adjusted input image data (YCbCr coordinates) back to the RGB domain and outputs the RGB domain.

That is, if the Y value is adjusted in the YCbCr coordinate, the brightness can be adjusted while leaving the color unchanged. Also, if the Cb and Cr values are adjusted, the color can be adjusted. The present invention can increase the saturation of the input image data using the above-described principle.

In order to perform the above three conversion processes, the following functions are required.

That is, the function of converting the RGB ratio of the input image data before the color improvement and YCbCr conversion, the function of converting the RGB input image data into the YUV / YCbCr, and the synchronization signal for displaying the input image data are counted, Function to compensate brightness by multiplying the luminance increase / decrease ratio of the bezel part, function to improve sharpness, function to improve color feeling by compensating for saturation, function to convert RGB (memory used for picture quality improvement algorithm, A display section and a sensing section may be adjusted), a buffer function for adjusting timings between modules, and functions for outputting data with improved final image quality are required.

The functions may be performed in the data arrangement unit 430 or the timing controller 400. [

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.

100: liquid crystal panel 200: gate driver
300: Data driver 400: Timing controller
500: Optical film 410: Receiver
420: control signal generator 430:
440: Transmitting section 431: Input image data receiving section
432: luminance correction unit 433: sharpness correction unit
434: saturation correction unit 435: output unit

Claims (10)

A liquid crystal panel in which pixels are formed at intersecting regions of gate lines and data lines;
An optical film attached to a front surface of the liquid crystal panel and refracting and reflecting the light output to an outer periphery of the liquid crystal panel toward a bezel formed on an outer periphery of the liquid crystal panel;
A timing controller for improving at least one of brightness, sharpness, and saturation of input image data output to pixels adjacent to the bezel, and outputting image data having at least one of brightness, sharpness, and color improved;
A data driver for converting the video data transmitted from the timing controller into an analog video signal and outputting the analog video signal to the data line; And
And a gate driver for sequentially driving the gate lines according to a control signal transmitted from the timing controller. The method according to claim 1,
In the optical film,
A first region formed at a position corresponding to a region adjacent to the bezel and the bezel of the liquid crystal panel;
A third region formed at a predetermined distance from the first region; And
And a second region formed between the first region and the third region,
Wherein the refractive index of the second region is larger than that of the third region and smaller than that of the first region. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the width of the pixels formed in the regions corresponding to the first region and the second region of the liquid crystal panel is smaller than the width of pixels formed in the region corresponding to the third region. Device. The method according to claim 1,
The timing controller includes:
Wherein a luminance increase rate is increased from input image data output to pixels spaced a predetermined distance from the bezel to input image data output to pixels adjacent to the bezel, Device. The method according to claim 1,
The timing controller includes:
An edge of an image output to the pixels is extracted using input image data output from pixels formed between predetermined distances from the bezel to improve sharpness of input image data corresponding to the edge . The method according to claim 1,
The timing controller includes:
And enhances the saturation of the input image data output to the pixels formed between the predetermined distance from the bezel. A method of driving a liquid crystal display device having an optical film attached to a front surface of a liquid crystal panel to refract and reflect light output to an outer periphery of the liquid crystal panel toward a bezel formed on an outer periphery of the liquid crystal panel,
Receiving input image data;
Extracting input image data output from pixels of the input image data that are spaced a predetermined distance from the bezel; And
And increasing a luminance of the input image data by a predetermined luminance increase rate. 8. The method of claim 7,
The luminance increasing rate
Wherein the driving method of the liquid crystal display device is increased from input image data output to pixels spaced a predetermined distance from the bezel to input image data output to pixels adjacent to the bezel . 8. The method of claim 7,
A step of extracting an edge of an image output to the pixels by using input image data output from the bezel in a predetermined distance between pixels to improve the sharpness of the input image data corresponding to the edge, Further comprising the steps of: 10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
And enhancing the saturation of the input image data output to the pixels formed between the predetermined distance from the bezel.

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