Abstract:
A liquid crystal display can operate with as the small number of control signals supplied to individual drivers as possible while current control functions are maintained. The liquid crystal display comprises a liquid crystal panel containing a data line, a data driver driving a data line, and a controller outputting N control functions controlling a driving operation the data driver driving the data line to less than or equal to (N−1) control signal lines connected to the data driver.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    The present application is based on Japanese priority application No. 2002-025446 filed Feb. 1, 2002, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention generally relates to drivers for driving a liquid crystal display, and more particularly to a gate driver for scanning a gate line of a liquid crystal display and a data driver for driving a data line of the liquid crystal display based on display data.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art In a liquid crystal display (LCD), dots including transistors are provided in the horizontal and vertical directions thereof. Gate lines extending in the horizontal direction are connected to gates of the transistors of the individual dots, and data lines extending in the vertical direction are connected to capacitors of the individual dots via the transistors. When data are displayed on the liquid crystal display, a gate driver sequentially drives an individual gate line so that transistors in the gate line can be charged with electricity. Data from a data driver whose amount corresponds to one horizontal line of the liquid crystal display are simultaneously written in individual dots in the gate line via the transistors charged with electricity.  
           [0005]    [0005]FIG. 1 shows a structure of a conventional liquid crystal display.  
           [0006]    The liquid crystal display in FIG. 1 comprises an LCD panel  10 , a timing controller  11 , a plurality of gate drivers  12 , and a plurality of data drivers  13 . Dots including transistors, which are not illustrated in FIG. 1, are provided in the horizontal and vertical directions of the LCD panel  10 . Gate lines extending in the horizontal direction from the gate driver  12  are connected to gates of transistors of individual dots, and data lines extending in the vertical direction from the data driver  13  are connected to capacitors of the individual dots via the transistors.  
           [0007]    The timing controller  11  receives a clock signal CK, display data IXX, and a display enable signal ENAB for indicating timing with respect to a display position via an interface I/F. The timing controller  11  counts clock pulses of the clock signal CK since the display enable signal ENAB becomes ON in order to determine timing with respect to a horizontal position and generate various control signals. Furthermore, the timing controller  11  examines the number of the display enable signals ENAB to determine timing with respect to a vertical position and generate various control signals. Additionally, the timing controller  11  can detect a position of the head of each frame by finding a position where the display enable signal ENAB remains LOW during more than a predetermined number of clock pulses.  
           [0008]    The control signal supplied to the gate driver  12  by the timing controller  11  contains a gate clock signal GCLK, a gate start signal GST, and a gate output enable signal GOE. The gate clock signal GCLK is a synchronizing signal for sequentially shifting individual gate lines driven synchronously with the rising edge of the gate clock signal GCLK. Additionally, the gate clock signal GCLK also serves as a synchronizing signal for sequentially shifting individual transistors included in a gate line being ON gates in the vertical direction synchronously with the rising edge of the gate clock signal GCLK. The gate start signal GST is a synchronizing signal for designating timing when the head of gate lines is switched ON, that is, the timing corresponding to the start timing of a frame. The gate output enable signal GOE is a signal for designating to make all gate lines non-driven by switching the above-mentioned operation.  
           [0009]    A control signal supplied to the data driver  13  by the timing controller  11  contains a dot clock signal DCK, a data start signal DST, a latch pulse LP, and a polarity signal POL. The dot clock signal DCK is a clock pulse for fetching display data DXX in a register synchronously with the rising edge of the dot clock signal DCK. The data start signal DST is a signal for designating a start position of the display data DXX that the data driver  13  is responsible to display. Timing of the data start signal DST is set as the start point, and the display data DXX corresponding to an individual dot is sequentially fetched in the register in accordance with the dot clock signal DCK. The latch pulse LP is a signal for latching the display data DXX sequentially fetched in the register to an internal latch. The latched display data signal is transmitted to a DA converter. Then, the DA converter converts the transmitted display data signal into an analog gradation signal, and the converted analog gradation signal is supplied to the LCD panel  10  as a data line driving signal. The polarity signal POL is a signal supplied to the DA converter and designates an output polarity of each data line. In order to prevent characteristic deterioration of the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal display, it is necessary to periodically inverse the output polarity of the individual data line. Accordingly, the polarity signal POL is used to determine the output polarity of the data line for a common voltage.  
           [0010]    When these control signals are deteriorated under the influence of noise, there is a probability that the deterioration causes a crucial improper operation of the liquid crystal display. Thus, with respect to wirings for the control signals, it is necessary to care for crosstalk between the wirings and mount the wirings for the control signals without congestion. However, the comparatively large number of the control signal cables compels the wiring board thereof to have a large area and consequently adversely affects the cost reduction. Thus, it is desired to minimize the number of control signals supplied to the individual drivers insofar as the current control functions are maintained.  
           [0011]    Besides the above-mentioned problem on the control signals, there is a similar problem on the display data. A recent liquid crystal display is designed to increase the number of data lines driven by data drivers thereof. Namely, the recent liquid crystal display is formed so as to receive two types of display data with respect to an even dot and an odd dot in order to achieve the high fineness and the high quality display. In this structure, it is possible to finely display the display data, and at the same time to set the transmission speed of the display data at the speed to which devices therein can normally react. For instance, when the transmission path is divided into the two types, it is possible to reduce the transmission frequency to ½.  
           [0012]    The display data are required to have the number of signals corresponding to bits for the number of the display gradation because the display data have the separate number of signals for individual RGB components. For instance, when 8 bits (256 gradations) are prepared to display a color image, it is necessary to prepare 8 (bits)×3 (3 colors for the RGB)×2 (even and odd dots)=48 signal lines. When the large number of signal lines is mounted, the liquid crystal display is forced to have a large wiring substrate. Then arises the problem of the increasing cost for parts used in the liquid crystal display.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    It is a general object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal display in which the above-mentioned problems are eliminated.  
           [0014]    A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display wherein the number of control signals supplied to each driver can be reduced as much as possible insofar as current control functions are maintained.  
           [0015]    Additionally, another more specific object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display wherein the number of data signals supplied to data drivers of the liquid crystal display can be reduced insofar as compatibility of an interface with a current apparatus.  
           [0016]    In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, there is provided according to one aspect of the present invention a liquid crystal display, comprising: a liquid crystal panel containing a data line; a data driver driving the data line; and a controller outputting N control functions of controlling a driving operation of the data driver driving the data line to less than or equal to (N−1) control signal lines connected to the data driver.  
           [0017]    According to the above-mentioned invention, since the N control functions of controlling the driving operation of the data driver can be aggregated as a signal on less than or equal to (N−1) control signal lines driving the data line, it is possible to reduce the number of control signal lines.  
           [0018]    Additionally, there is provided according to another aspect of the present invention a liquid crystal display, comprising: a liquid crystal panel containing a gate line; a gate driver driving the gate line; and a controller outputting N control functions of controlling a driving operation of the gate driver driving the gate driver to less than or equal to (N−1) control signal lines connected to the gate driver.  
           [0019]    According to the above-mentioned invention, since the N control functions of controlling the driving operation of the gate driver can be aggregated as a signal on less than or equal to (N−1) control signal lines driving the data line, it is possible to reduce the number of control signal lines.  
           [0020]    Further, there is provided according to another aspect of the present invention a liquid crystal display, comprising: a liquid crystal panel containing a data line; a data driver driving the data line based on display data; and a controller receiving two types of display data, even display data and odd display data, from an exterior and supplying single display data formed by integrating the even display data and the odd display data to the data driver.  
           [0021]    According to the above-mentioned invention, when the two types of display data, the even display data and the odd display data, are received from an exterior of the liquid crystal display, the two types of display data are integrated into the single display data and then the integrated display data are transmitted to the data driver. As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of data signal lines supplied to the data driver while the compatibility of an interface with a conventional liquid crystal display can be maintained.  
           [0022]    Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]    [0023]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a conventional liquid crystal display;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a liquid crystal display according to a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 is a signal waveform diagram for explaining generation and detection of a gate control signal GMC;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 4 is diagram illustrating gate control signals GMC supplied to each of a plurality of gate drivers connected in a cascade fashion;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data control signal DMC;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 6 is diagram illustrating data control signals DMC supplied to each of a plurality of gate drivers connected in a cascade fashion;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for generating a gate control signal GMC in a timing controller;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for extracting a gate start signal GST in an individual gate driver and generating a gate control signal for the next stage;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 9 is a waveform diagram for explaining an operation for generating a gate control signal GMCN;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for generating a data control signal DMC in the timing controller;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for extracting various control signals from the data control signal DMC in the individual data driver and generating a data control signal for the next stage;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a liquid crystal display according to a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating control signals DST+LP;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for generating the control signals DST+LP in the timing controller;  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for extracting a data start signal DST and a latch pulse LP from the control signal DST+LP in the data driver;  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for generating an output control signal DST+LP for the next stage from an input control signal DST+LP in the data driver;  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a liquid crystal display according to a third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating control signals LP+POL;  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 19 is a circuit illustrating a circuit structure for generating the control signals LP+POL in the timing controller;  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for extracting the latch pulse LP and a polarity POL from the control signal LP+POL in the data driver;  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a display data processing part in the data driver;  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a liquid crystal display according to another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a circuit structure for integrating two types of display data EVEN and ODD in the timing controller;  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 24 is a timing chart illustrating signal waveforms of individual components in the circuit in FIG. 23;  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating another circuit structure for integrating two types of display data EVEN and ODD in the timing controller; and  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 26 is a timing chart illustrating signal waveforms of individual components in the circuit in FIG. 25. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0049]    In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 2 shows a structure of a liquid crystal display according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0051]    The liquid crystal display shown in FIG. 2 comprises an LCD panel  10 , a timing controller  21 , a plurality of gate drivers  22 , and a plurality of data drivers  23 . Dots including transistors, which are not illustrated in FIG. 2, are provided in the horizontal and vertical directions of the liquid crystal display. Gate lines extending in the horizontal direction from the gate drivers  22  are connected to gates of transistors included in the individual dots, and data lines extending in the vertical direction from the data drivers  23  are connected to capacitors of the individual dots via the transistors.  
         [0052]    The timing controller  21  receives a clock signal CK, display data IXX, and a display enable signal ENAB for indicating timing with respect to a display position via an interface I/F. The timing controller  21  counts a clock pulse of the clock signal CX since the display enable signal ENAB becomes ON in order to determine timing with respect to a horizontal position and generate various control signals. Also, the timing controller  21  examines the number of the display enable signals ENAB to determine timing with respect to a vertical position and generate various control signals. Furthermore, it is possible to detect the head position of each frame by finding a position where the display enable signal ENAB remains LOW during more than a predetermined number of the clock pulses thereof.  
         [0053]    The timing controller  21  supplies a gate control signal GMC to the gate drivers  22 . The gate control signal GMC integrally contains a gate clock signal GCLK and a gate start signal GST mentioned in FIG. 1. The gate driver  22  extracts logic levels of the gate clock signal GCLK and the gate start signal GST from the received gate control signal GMC, and at the same time uses a gate output enable signal GOE received from the timing controller  21  to perform a predetermined operation like the gate driver described with respect to FIG. 1.  
         [0054]    A control signal supplied to the data driver  23  by the timing controller  21  contains a dot clock signal DCK and a data control signal DMC. The data control signal DMC integrally contains a data start signal DST, a latch pulse LP, and a polarity signal POL described with respect to FIG. 1. The data driver  23  extracts logic levels of the data start signal DST, the latch pulse LP and the polarity signal POL from the received data control signal DMC, and at the same time uses a dot clock signal DCK and display data DXX received from the timing controller  21  to perform a predetermined operation like the data driver described with respect to FIG. 1.  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 3 is a signal waveform diagram for explaining generation and detection of the gate control signal GMC.  
         [0056]    In FIG. 3, the gate clock signal GCLK and the gate start signal GST are sorts of control signal based on the conventional liquid crystal display shown in FIG. 1. As is shown in FIG. 3, a pulse signal GSTP, which is initially at the same logic level as the gate start signal GST, becomes HIGH at one clock of the clock signal CK after the gate clock signal GCLK becomes LOW and LOW at one clock of the clock signal CK before the gate clock signal GCLK becomes HIGH. The gate control signal GMC is generated by taking OR of the gate clock signal GCLK and the pulse signal GSTP. As the liquid crystal display shown in FIG. 2, when a liquid crystal display uses a plurality of the gate drivers  22 , the gate drivers  22  are connected in a cascade fashion to supply the gate control signal GMC thereto.  
         [0057]    When the input gate control signal GMC is stayed in a predetermined time interval “a” within the gate driver  22  and then released, a delayed gate control signal GMCD is produced. The predetermined time interval “a” may be an arbitrary length as long as “a” is longer than the time interval (“b” in FIG. 3) in which the gate control signal GMC is LOW within the HIGH interval of the gate start signal GST. It is noted that the time interval “b” has to be shorter than a half of the frequency of the gate clock signal GCLK.  
         [0058]    Next, the delayed gate control signal GMCD is read at a rising edge of the gate control signal GMC. That corresponds to reading the signal level of the gate control signal GMC being at a predetermined number of clocks before the gate control signal GMC becomes HIGH. In a portion of the gate clock signal GCLK where the gate start signal GST is LOW, the delayed gate control signal GMCD being LOW is read at a rising edge of the gate control signal GMC. In contrast, in a portion of the gate clock signal GCLK where the gate start signal GST is HIGH, the delayed gate control signal GMCD being HIGH is read two times in a row at the rising edge of the gate control signal GMC. The second HIGH signal timing of these HIGH signal timings is set as timing when the gate driver  22  of interest drives the head of gate lines. Hereinafter, the remaining gate lines are sequentially driven at the rising edge of the gate clock signal GCLK included in the gate control signal GMC.  
         [0059]    [0059]FIG. 4 shows gate control signals GMC supplied to the individual gate drivers  22  connected in the cascade fashion. In FIG. 4, the notation GMCn represents a gate control signal supplied to the n-th gate driver  22 .  
         [0060]    As is shown in FIG. 2, the gate control signals GMC are propagated to the gate drivers in the cascade fashion. When each of the gate drivers  22  transmits a gate control signal GMC to a gate driver  22  being at the next stage, the gate driver  22  directly transmits the gate control signal GMC to the gate driver being at the next stage in the portion of the gate clock signal GCLK where the gate start signal GST becomes LOW. As a result, the gate control signal GMC is almost simultaneously transmitted to all of the gate drivers  22  in the above-mentioned portion of the gate clock signal GCLK.  
         [0061]    Regarding the signal waveform for indicating a position of the gate start signal GST, the gate start signal GST has to be provided for each of the gate drivers  22  at a position corresponding to timing when a gate line starts to be driven. The head gate driver  22  is provided with the position of the start pulse signal GST by the timing controller  21 . A subsequent gate driver  22  is provided with the position of the gate start signal GST by the gate driver  22  being at the previous stage and then transmits the gate control signal GMC received from the gate driver  22  being at the previous stage to the gate driver  22  being at the next stage.  
         [0062]    [0062]FIG. 4 shows a case where four 256-output gate drivers  22  are connected in the cascade fashion. A portion corresponding to the gate start signal GST is supplied to the head gate driver  22  by the timing controller  21  at timing when display data start to be written to the head gate line. The head gate driver  22  transmits the portion corresponding to the gate start signal GST to the gate driver  22  being at the next stage at timing when the head gate driver  22  reads the 256th gate clock signal GCLK. Similarly, the portion corresponding to the gate start signal GST is supplied to the third gate driver  22  at the 512th clock timing and the fourth gate driver  22  at the 768th clock timing. In this fashion, an operation to drive a gate is performed for entire one frame.  
         [0063]    [0063]FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the data control signal DMC.  
         [0064]    In the liquid crystal display according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the data control signal DMC represents the data start signal DST, the latch pulse LP, and the polarity signal POL as time series codes. A signal corresponding to the data start signal DST is generated similarly to the conventional data start signal DST and becomes HIGH only in one period of a dot clock DCK. As is shown in FIG. 5, the latch pulse LP and the polarity signal POL are represented as the time series codes “LHHLL” or “HHLH”. In the case of “LHHLL”, the codes “HH” indicate the latch timing. Thus, the code “L” at the timing skipped in one clock from the codes “HH” indicates that the polarity signal POL is LOW. In the case of “HHLH”, the codes “HH” indicate the latch timing. Thus, the code “H” at the timing skipped in one clock from the codes “HH” indicates that the polarity signal POL is HIGH.  
         [0065]    The data control signal DMC is sequentially propagated to the data drivers  23  connected in the cascade fashion. When the individual data drivers  23  receive the data control signal DMC, the individual data drivers  23  have to transmit the signal corresponding to the latch pulse LP and the polarity signal POL in the data control signal DMC without any timing modification to the next data driver  23 . Consequently, a signal for defining the time interval in which the data driver  23  directly passes the received signal to the next data driver  23  is provided in advance to the liquid crystal display according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Namely, the gate driver  22  directly supplies the received signal to the next data driver  22  in the time interval between a through start key “LHHHL” and a through end key “HHHH”. As a result, it is possible to almost simultaneously supply the latch pulse LP and the polarity signal POL to all the data drivers  23 .  
         [0066]    [0066]FIG. 6 shows data control signals DMC supplied to individual data drivers  23  connected in the cascade fashion. In FIG. 6, DMCn is a data control signal supplied to the n-th data driver  23 . FIG. 6 shows a case where eight data drivers  23  are connected in the cascade fashion.  
         [0067]    DMC 1 is supplied to the head data driver  23  by the timing controller  21  of the liquid crystal display. The head data driver  23  takes the DHC 1 synchronously with a clock. When the head data driver  23  finds that the DMC 1 becomes “LHL”, the head data driver  23  starts to take the display data DXX with the next clock timing. For instance, when the 79th data are read, the head data driver  23  sets DMC 2 supplied to the next data driver  23  as “H” at the rising edge of the dot clock signal DCK. Then, when the 80th data are read, the head data driver  23  sets the DMC 2 supplied to the next data driver  23  as “L” at the rising edge of the dot clock signal DCK. The second data driver  23  starts to take the display data with the next timing when the DMC 2 becomes “LHL”. In this fashion, it is possible to smoothly link and take the display data between the head data driver  23  and the second data driver  23 . Hereinafter, the remaining data drivers  23  similarly fetch the display data.  
         [0068]    Next, in order to prepare to transmit the latch pulse LP, the timing controller  21  transmits the through start key “LHHHL” to the head data driver  23 . When a data driver  23  receives the through start key, the data driver  23  sequentially transmits the through start key to the next data driver  23 . After the through start key is transmitted to the last data driver  23 , the timing controller  21  transmits the signal for indicating the latch pulse LP to the head data driver  23 . At this time, since all the data drivers  23  are in a through mode, the signal for indicating the latch pulse LP is immediately propagated to all the data drivers  23 . After that, the timing controller  21  transmits the through end key “HHHH” and releases the through mode for all the data drivers  23 .  
         [0069]    A description will now be given of a circuit structure for implementing the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0070]    [0070]FIG. 7 shows a circuit structure for generating the gate control signal GMC in the timing controller  21 .  
         [0071]    The circuit in FIG. 7 contains a counter circuit  31 , a decoder circuit  32 , JK flip-flops  33  and  34 , an AND circuit  35 , and an OR circuit  36 . The counter circuit  31  serves to count the clock signal CK for determining timing within one horizontal period with respect to a horizontal position. In response to the enable signal ENAB, the counter circuit  31  resets an internal count value by loading data DATA being zero. Then, the count value obtained through the counting of the clock signal CK is supplied to the decoder circuit  32 . By decoding the count value of the counter circuit  31 , the decoder circuit  32  generates a pulse signal P 100  that becomes HIGH at the 100th clock pulse, a pulse signal P 101  that becomes HIGH at the 101st clock pulse, a pulse signal P 499  that becomes HIGH at the 499th clock pulse, and a pulse signal P 500  that becomes HIGH at the 500th clock pulse.  
         [0072]    The JK flip-flop  33  receives the pulse signal P 500  as the J input and the pulse signal P 100  as the K input and then outputs a gate clock signal GCLK being LOW between the clock timing 100 and the clock timing 500 and HIGH otherwise. On the other hand, the JK flip-flop  34  receives the pulse signal P 101  as the J input and the pulse signal P 499  as the K input and then outputs a signal being HIGH between the clock timing  101  and the clock timing 499 and LOW otherwise. The AND circuit  35  takes AND of the signal being HIGH between the clock timing 101 and the clock timing 499 and LOW other than the interval of the clock timing and a signal being HIGH only in the first one horizontal period to generate the pulse signal GSTP for indicating a gate start. The OR circuit  36  takes OR of the gate clock signal GCLK and the pulse signal GSTP to generate the gate control signal GMC. The gate clock signal GCLK, the pulse signal GSTP, and the gate control signal GMC have been described with respect to FIG. 3.  
         [0073]    [0073]FIG. 8 shows a circuit structure for extracting the gate start signal GST in an individual gate driver  22  and generating a gate control signal to be supplied to the next gate driver  22 .  
         [0074]    The circuit in FIG. 8 contains D flip-flop  41  through  43 , AND circuits  44  and  45 , an OR circuit  46 , a delay circuit  47 , a buffer circuit  48 , inverters  49  and  50 , and an XOR circuit  51 .  
         [0075]    The delay circuit  47 , which is formed of a delay element, generates the delayed gate control signal GMCD by delaying the gate control signal GMC. The delayed gate control signal GMCD has been shown in FIG. 3. The D flip-flop  41  receives the gate control signal GMC as the clock input CLK and latches the delayed gate control signal GMCD at a rising edge of the clock input CLK. An output signal of the D flip-flop  41  is LOW in the portion of the gate clock signal GCLK where the gate start signal GST is LOW. On the other hand, in the portion of the gate clock signal GCLK where the gate start signal GST is HIGH, the D flip-flop  41  reads the gate control signal being HIGH two times in a row at a rising edge of the gate control signal GMC. Furthermore, the D flip-flop  42  reads the output signal of the D flip-flop  41  at a rising edge of the gate control signal GMC. The AND circuit  44  takes AND of the outputs of the D flip-flops  41  and  42  and outputs the gate start signal GST only when the gate control signal GMCD being HIGH two times in a row is read.  
         [0076]    [0076]FIG. 9 shows a waveform diagram for explaining an operation for generating a gate control signal GMCN supplied from a gate driver  22  to the next gate driver  22 . The XOR circuit  51  in FIG. 8 takes exclusive OR of the gate control signal GMC and the delayed gate control signal GMCD to generate a signal GXOR shown in FIG. 9. Here, a signal STM shown in FIG. 9 is the output signal of the D flip-flop  41 . As is shown in FIG. 8, the AND circuit  45  takes AND of the signal GXOR and the inverted signal of the signal STM to remove pulse portions shown by dot lines of the signal GXOR in FIG. 9. The D flip-flop  43  latches the delayed gate control signal GMCD at a rising edge of the resulting signal. As a result, an output signal of the D flip-flop  43  has a waveform as shown in the last signal DFF 43  in FIG. 9. If a gate start signal GSTN, which serves to indicate the start timing of the next gate driver  22 , is added to the output signal of the D flip-flop  43  to generate the gate control signal GMCN to be supplied to the next gate driver  22 .  
         [0077]    [0077]FIG. 10 shows a circuit structure for generating the data control signal DMC in the timing controller  21 .  
         [0078]    The circuit in FIG. 10 contains JK flip-flops  61  and  62 , a counter circuit  63 , AND circuits  64  and  65 , OR circuits  66  through  68 , NOR circuits  69  and  70 , an XNOR circuit  71 , inverters  72  and  73 , OR circuits  74  and  75 .  
         [0079]    The JK flip-flop  61  latches the latch pulse LP. At the same time, the latch operation resets the counter circuit  63  as zero. Then, the counter circuit  63  counts pulses of the clock signal CK. A logic circuit in FIG. 10 performs some logic operations for counter outputs QA through QD of the counter circuit  63 , and finally the OR circuit  68  outputs the time series codes for indicating the latch pulse LP and the polarity POL. The JK flip-flop  62  receives signals THSTRJ and THSTRK for indicating timing of a through start key and outputs a through start key signal being HIGH at the timing of the signal THSTRJ and LOW at the timing of the signal THSTRK. Furthermore, the JK flip-flop  62  receives signals THENDJ and THENDK for indicating timing of a through end key and outputs a through end key signal. The OR circuit  67  takes OR of the signal for indicating the latch pulse LP and the polarity POL from the OR circuit  68 , the through key from the JK flip-flop  62 , and a data start signal DST to generate the data control signal DMC.  
         [0080]    [0080]FIG. 11 shows a circuit structure for extracting various signals from the data control signal DMC provided to an individual data driver  23  and generating a data control signal for the next data driver  23 .  
         [0081]    The circuit in FIG. 11 contains a shift register circuit  81 , a decoder circuit  82 , JK flip-flops  83  and  84 , a counter circuit  85 , an AND circuit  86 , NOR circuits  87  and  88 , and an OR circuit  89 . The shift register circuit  81  sequentially stores the supplied data control signal DMC in an internal register circuit synchronously with a dot clock signal DCK. The decoder circuit  82  decodes data formed of a plurality of cycles of the data control signal DMC stored by the shift register circuit  81  and outputs detection signals THSTR, THEND, DST, LPPPOL, and LPNPOL. The detection signals THSTR, THEND, DST, LPPPOL, and LPNPOL represent through start key detection, through end key detection, data start signal detection, latch pulse and positive polarity detection, and latch pulse and negative polarity detection, respectively. For instance, the detection signal THSTR is implemented by a logic circuit that sets the detection signal THSTR as HIGH only if the DMC being at a current cycle is LOW, the DMC being at the first previous cycle is HIGH, the DMC being at the second previous cycle is HIGH, the DMC being at the third previous cycle is HIGH, and the DMC being at the fourth previous cycle is LOW.  
         [0082]    By using the through start key detection as the start timing, the JK flip-flop  84 , the counter circuit  85 , the NOR circuits  87  and  88  generate a signal being HIGH in the interval of 3 clocks. This signal is supplied to the next data driver  23  as the through start key via the OR circuit  89 . A data start signal DSTN for indicating the data start timing for the next data driver  23  is generated in the data driver  23  similarly to a conventional fashion. The data start signal DSTN is supplied as the data start signal to the next data driver  23  via the OR circuit  89 .  
         [0083]    The JK flip-flop  83  is outputting HIGH from timing when the through start key is detected to timing when the through end key is detected. Since the HIGH signal causes the AND circuit  86  to be in the through status, the data control signal DMC passes through the AND circuit  86 . As a result, it is possible to supply the data control signal DMC from the data driver  23  being at the current stage to the data driver  23  being at the next stage in the simultaneous timing while the AND circuit  86  is in the through status.  
         [0084]    [0084]FIG. 12 shows a structure of a liquid crystal display according to the second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0085]    The liquid crystal display according to the second embodiment differs from that according to the first embodiment in only a portion related to the data control signal. Accordingly, FIG. 12 shows only components related to the data driver. As is shown in FIG. 12, a control signal supplied to a data driver  23 A by a timing controller  21 A contains a dot clock signal DCK, a control signal DST+LP, and a polarity signal POL. The single control signal DST+LP integrally contains the data start signal DST and the latch pulse LP mentioned with respect to FIG. 1. The data driver  23 A extracts logical levels of the start signal DST and the latch pulse LP from the received control signal DST+LP and uses the dot clock signal DCK, the polarity signal POL and the display data DXX that are received from the timing controller  21 A to perform the predetermined operation similar to the data driver mentioned in FIG. 1.  
         [0086]    [0086]FIG. 13 shows the control signal DST+LP. FIG. 13 shows a control signal DST+LP for the head data driver  23 A and a control signal DST+LP for the eighth data driver  23 A together with the latch pulse LP.  
         [0087]    As is shown in FIG. 13, the control signal DST+LP becomes HIGH at timing of the data start signal DST and LOW at timing of the latch pulse LP. In a case where data drivers  23 A are connected in the cascade fashion, after an input control signal DST+LP becomes HIGH, each of the data drivers  23 A sets an output control signal DST+LP as HIGH at one clock before the data driver  23 A finishes reading data. It is desired that the display data are transmitted to an internal DA converter at the same timing for all the data drivers  23 A. Thus, when the input control signal DST+LP becomes HIGH, the output control signal is set to become LOW asynchronously with a clock.  
         [0088]    [0088]FIG. 14 shows a circuit structure for generating the control signal DST+LP in the timing controller  21 A.  
         [0089]    The circuit in FIG. 14 contains a JK flip-flop  91 . The JK flip-flop  91  receives a signal DSTJ for designating a conventional data start signal DST to become HIGH as the J input and a signal LPJ for designating a conventional latch pulse LP to become HIGH as the K input in order to generate a control signal DST+LP.  
         [0090]    [0090]FIG. 15 shows a circuit structure for extracting the data start signal DST and the latch pulse LP from the control signal DST+LP in a data driver  23 A.  
         [0091]    The circuit in FIG. 15 contains D flip-flops  101  and  102 , inverters  103  and  104 , AND circuits  105  and  106 , a JK flip-flop  107 , a counter circuit  108 , inverters  109  and  110 , and an AND circuit  111 .  
         [0092]    The AND circuit  105  takes AND of the inverted signal of the control signal DST+LP fetched by the D flip-flop  101  synchronously with a clock signal, which is delayed because of the clock synchronization, and the control signal DST+LP to generate a data start signal DST. Also, the AND circuit  106  takes AND of the inverted signal of the control signal DST+LP fetched by the D flip-flop  102  synchronously with a clock signal, which is delayed because of the clock synchronization, and the control signal DST+LP to generate a signal for indicating timing of the latch pulse LP. Based upon the timing signal, the JK flip-flop  107  resets the counter circuit  108 , and the counter circuit  108  starts to count with the reset timing. A data output start timing LPK within the data driver  23 A is generated at predetermined timing when the counter circuit  108  counts.  
         [0093]    [0093]FIG. 16 shows a circuit structure for generating an output control signal DST+LP for the next data driver  23 A from an input control signal DST+LP in a data driver  23 A.  
         [0094]    The circuit in FIG. 16 contains an inverter  121 , a JK flip-flop  122 , and an AND circuit  123 . The JK flip-flop  122  receives a signal DSTN for indicating a data start timing for a data driver  23 A being at the next stage as the J input and the inverted signal of a control signal DST+LP as the K input. The signal DSTN causes an output signal of the JK flip-flop  122  to become HIGH synchronously with a clock. The control signal DST+LP causes the output signal of the JK flip-flop  122  to become LOW synchronously with the clock. As is describe with respect to FIG. 13, the AND circuit takes AND of the output of the JK flip-flop  122  and the control signal DST+LP so that an output control signal DST+LP(N) for the next data driver  23 A can become LOW asynchronously with the clock.  
         [0095]    [0095]FIG. 17 shows a structure of a liquid crystal display according to the third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0096]    The liquid crystal display according to the third embodiment differs from that according to the first embodiment in only a portion related to a data control signal. Accordingly, FIG. 17 shows only components related to a data driver. As is shown in FIG. 17, a control signal supplied to a data driver  23 B by a timing controller  21 B contains a dot clock signal DCK, a data start signal DST, and a control signal LP+POL. The single control signal LP+POL integrally contains the latch pulse LP and the polarity signal POL described with respect to FIG. 1. The data driver  23 B extracts logic levels of the data start signal DST and the polarity signal POL from the received control signal LP+POL and uses the data start signal DST and the display data DXX to perform the predetermined operation similar to the data driver mentioned with respect to FIG. 1.  
         [0097]    [0097]FIG. 18 shows a control signal LP+POL.  
         [0098]    As is shown in FIG. 18, the control signal LP+POL is a signal that becomes HIGH at timing when the latch pulse LP becomes HIGH. After the control signal LP+POL becomes HIGH, the polarity signal POL is determined based on the logical level of the control signal LP+POL in a predetermined clock interval “b” after a predetermined clock number “a”. FIG. 18 shows an example where the polarity signal POL is a negative polarity if the control signal LP+POL is LOW in one clock after the control signal LP+POL becomes HIGH in two clocks, and the polarity signal POL is a positive polarity if the control signal LP+POL is HIGH in one clock after the control signal LP+POL becomes HIGH in two clocks.  
         [0099]    [0099]FIG. 19 shows a circuit structure for generating a control signal LP+POL in the timing controller  21 B.  
         [0100]    The circuit in FIG. 19 contains a JK flip-flop  131 , a counter circuit  132 , inverters  133  and  134 , an OR circuit  135 , and an AND circuit  136 . The JK flip-flop  131  receives a signal LPJ for indicating timing when the latch pulse LP becomes HIGH as the J input. The JK flip-flop  131  causes the counter circuit  132  to be reset as zero at timing when the latch pulse LP becomes HIGH. Then, the counter circuit  132  starts to count clock pulses of a clock signal CK. The inverters  133  and  134  and the OR circuit  135  perform logical operations for an output of the counter circuit  132  to generate a signal being LOW only in the clock interval “b” in FIG. 18. An output of the OR circuit  135  is a disjunction of the generated signal and the polarity POL. Thus, when the polarity POL is LOW, the output of the OR circuit  135  is LOW only in the clock interval “b”, and when the polarity POL is HIGH, the output of the OR circuit  135  is HIGH regardless of the other factors. The AND circuit  136  takes AND of the output signal of the OR circuit  135  and the latch pulse LP to generate the control signal LP+POL.  
         [0101]    [0101]FIG. 20 shows a circuit structure for extracting a latch pulse LP and a polarity POL from the control signal LP+POL in a data driver  23 B.  
         [0102]    The circuit in FIG. 20 contains a shift register circuit  141 , a decoder circuit  142 , and a JK flip-flop circuit  143 . The shift register circuit  141  sequentially stores a control signal LP+POL supplied thereto in an internal register circuit synchronously with a dot clock signal DCK. The decoder circuit  142  decodes data formed of a plurality of cycles of the control signal LP+POL stored by the shift register circuit  141  to generate detection signals PPOL, NPOL, LPJ, and LPK. Here, the detection signals PPOL, NPOL, LPJ, and LPK represent positive polarity detection, negative polarity detection, latch pulse HIGH detection, and latch pulse LOW detection. For instance, the detection signal PPOL is implemented by a logic circuit to set the detection signal PPOL to become HIGH only if a control signal LP+POL at a current cycle is HIGH, a control signal LP+POL at the first previous cycle is HIGH, a control signal LP+POL at the second previous cycle is HIGH, a control signal LP+POL at the third previous cycle is HIGH, and a control signal LP+POL at the fourth previous cycle is HIGH.  
         [0103]    By considering the positive polarity detection as a start point, the JK flip-flop  143  is generating a polarity signal POL being HIGH until a negative polarity is detected. The polarity signal POL controls the polarity of an output data of a data driver  23 B.  
         [0104]    [0104]FIG. 21 shows a structure of a display data processing part of a data driver to which the present invention is applied.  
         [0105]    The data driver in FIG. 21 contains a shift register circuit  151 , a data register circuit  152 , a latch circuit  153 , a DA converter  154 , and an output buffer circuit  155 .  
         [0106]    A data start signal DST is a signal for indicating the start position of a portion of the display data DXX displayed by the data driver. Timing of the data start signal DST is set as the start point, and a data sampling signal is supplied to the data register circuit  152  by sequentially shifting registers synchronously with the dot clock signal DCK. The data register circuit  152  sequentially stores the display data DXX corresponding to each dot through the data sampling signal in the register. The latch pulse LP is a signal for latching the display data DXX sequentially stored by the data register circuit  152  in the latch circuit  153 . The latched display data signal is transmitted to the DA converter  154 . The DA converter  154  converts the transmitted display signal into an analog gradation signal and then outputs the resulting signal to the LCD panel as a data line driving signal via the output buffer circuit  155 . Also, the DA converter  154  uses the polarity signal POL to determine the output polarity of an individual data line for a common voltage.  
         [0107]    As mentioned with respect to the above-mentioned embodiments, the control signals DCK, DST, LP, and POL are generated according to need under the present invention.  
         [0108]    A description will now be given of an additional embodiment of the present invention. The following embodiments are related to a liquid crystal display that can reduce the number of data signal lines supplied to a data driver thereof as the compatibility of an interface with a conventional apparatus is maintained.  
         [0109]    [0109]FIG. 22 shows a structure of a liquid crystal display according to the additional embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0110]    The liquid crystal display in FIG. 22 contains an LCD panel  210 , a timing controller  211 , a plurality of gate drivers  212 , and a plurality of data drivers  213 . Dots including transistors, which are not illustrated in FIG. 22, are provided in the horizontal and vertical directions of the LCD panel  210 . Gate lines extending in the horizontal direction from the gate drivers  212  are connected to gates of the transistors in the individual dots, and data line extending in the vertical direction from the data drivers  213  are connected to capacitors of the individual dots via the transistors.  
         [0111]    The timing controller  211  receives a clock signal CK, two types of display data ODD and EVEN, and a display enable signal ENAB for indicating timing of a display position. The timing controller  211  counts the number of the display enable signals ENAB to determine timing with respect to a vertical position, and additionally counts clock pulses of the clock signal CK since the display enable signal ENAB becomes HIGH in order to determine timing of a horizontal position. Then, the timing controller  211  generates various control signals and the display data DXX.  
         [0112]    The liquid crystal display according to this embodiment differs from that according to the first embodiment in the supply method of the display data. Although especially not illustrated in FIG. 1, the timing controller  11  receives the two types ODD and EVEN of input display data IXX and also generates the two types ODD and EVEN of output display data DXX. On the other hand, while the timing controller  211  in FIG. 22 receives the two types ODD and EVEN of input display data IXX and serves as a conventional interface with a host apparatus, the timing controller  211  outputs as the display data a single signal DXX_ODD&amp;EVEN formed by integrating the two types ODD and EVEN. However, the liquid crystal display according to this embodiment performs the same operations with respect to the signal control as that according to the first embodiment except that the two types of display data EVEN and ODD are integrated into the signal DXX_ODD&amp;EVEN.  
         [0113]    [0113]FIG. 23 shows a circuit structure of an integrating part integrating the two types of display data EVEN and ODD in the timing controller  211 . Also, FIG. 24 is a timing chart illustrating signal waveforms of individual components in the circuit shown in FIG. 23.  
         [0114]    The circuit in FIG. 23 contains flip-flops  221  through  223 , a selector circuit  224 , a double speed clock generator  225 , and an inverter  226 . The flip-flop  221  and  22  fetches odd number display data ODD_DATA and even number display data EVEN_DATA synchronously with the clock signal CK, respectively. As is shown in FIG. 24, the fetched signals a and b are supplied to the A input and the B input of the selector circuit  224 , respectively. The selector circuit  224  uses the clock signal CK as a selection signal SEL to select the signal a of the A input and the signal b of the B input alternately. The selected signal is supplied as a signal d to the flip-flop  223 . The double speed clock generator  225 , which is formed of a PLL circuit and the like, generates a clock signal e having the double frequency based on the clock signal CK. The flip-flop  223  fetches the signal d selected by the selector circuit  224  synchronously with the clock signal e having the double frequency. The fetched signal in the flip-flop  223  is output as a single signal DXX_ODD&amp;EVEN. Also, the inverter  226  inverts the clock signal e having the double frequency and then outputs the inverted signal as a dot clock signal DCK.  
         [0115]    As mentioned above, in the embodiment described with respect to FIGS. 22 through 24, the timing controller  211  serves to integrate the two types of display data EVEN and ODD into single display data and then supplies the single display data to the data driver  213 . As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of display data lines from the timing controller  211  to the data driver  213  as the compatibility of the conventional interface with an external apparatus is maintained. The data driver  213  has the same fundamental structure as the data driver shown in FIG. 21 except for the number of display data lines. If the improved working speed of a driver due to the recent development of the process technique is taken into account, it is possible to easily fabricate a driver that can correspond to the double transmission speed by integrating conventional two types of transmission paths into a single path.  
         [0116]    [0116]FIG. 25 shows another circuit structure of the part for integrating the two types of display data EVEN and ODD in the timing controller  211 . Also, FIG. 26 is a timing chart illustrating signal waveforms of components in the circuit shown in FIG.  25 .  
         [0117]    The circuit in FIG. 25 contains flip-flops  231  through  233 , a selector circuit  234 , a double speed clock generator  235 , and a toggle flip-flop  236 . The flip-flops  231  and  232  fetch odd number display data ODD_DATA and even number display data EVEN_DATA, respectively. The fetched signals a and b are supplied to an A input and a B input of the selector circuit  234 , respectively. The selector circuit  234  uses a clock signal CK as a selection instruction signal SEL to select the signals a and b alternately. As is shown in FIG. 26, the selected signal is supplied as a signal d to the flip-flop  233 . The double speed clock generator  235 , which is formed of a PLL circuit and the like, generates a clock signal e having the double frequency based on the clock signal CK and then supplies the signal e to the flip-flop  233 . The flip-flop  233  fetches the selected signal d synchronously with the clock signal e having the double frequency. The fetched signal is output as a single signal DXX_ODD&amp;EVEN. Heretofore, the timing controller according to this embodiment operates similarly to the timing controller shown in FIGS. 23 and 24.  
         [0118]    In FIG. 25, the toggle flip-flop  236  is synchronized with the rising edge of the clock signal e having the double frequency and repeats inversion operations for the output so as to alternate HIGH and LOW. As a result, as is shown in FIG. 26, it is possible to generate a dot clock DCK having the half frequency of the signal e.  
         [0119]    The timing controller in FIG. 25 has the structure corresponding to the case where the double edge clock method is applied. Under the double edge clock method, display data are stored in a data register circuit in the data driver  213  synchronously with both the rising edge and the falling edge of the dot clock signal DCK. Thus, it is possible to divide the frequency of the dot clock DCK into ½ compared with the case where either the rising edge or the falling edge of the dot clock signal DCK is only used as the synchronization timing.  
         [0120]    The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.