Abstract:
A display drive circuit for outputting a gray scale voltage according to display data includes a generation circuit generating gray scale voltages of a plurality of levels, and a selection circuit which selects a gray scale voltage according to the display data. When the number of colors to be displayed is small, the generation circuit decreases a current flowing into an internal circuit which generates a gray scale voltage of an intermediate level other than two gray scale voltages of a gray scale voltage of the most lowest level and a gray scale voltage of the most highest level among the gray scale voltages of the plurality of levels, and the selection circuit selects the gray scale voltage according to the display data from the most lowest level gray scale voltage and the most highest level gray scale voltage which are generated.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/918,379, filed Aug. 16, 2004, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/161,638, filed Jun. 5, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,781,605, the subject matter of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a display apparatus having a display panel in which display pixels are arranged in matrix and a driving device for displaying adapted to deliver the display panel gray scale voltages matching with display data and more particularly to, a display apparatus using liquid crystal, organic EL, plasma or the like and a driving device for displaying adapted for use in the same.  
         [0003]     JP-A-6-348235 discloses a liquid crystal panel having X-signal lines and Y-signal lines, a horizontal driver for selecting, on the basis of a data signal of an image to be displayed, one gray scale signal from a plurality of gray scale signals deliver out of a gray scale voltage generating circuit and delivering the selected gray scale voltage to an X-signal line of the liquid crystal panel, and a vertical driver for delivering a scanning signal of the liquid crystal panel to a Y-signal line of the liquid crystal panel. It further discloses that the gray scale voltage generating circuit has a plurality of fixed resistors connected in series between a high-potential reference voltage and a low-potential reference voltage and voltage variable means for varying voltages at connection nodes of the fixed resistors between the high-potential and low-potential reference voltages. It further discloses that voltages at connection nodes of the fixed resistors are delivered as gray scale signals. It further discloses that the voltage variable means includes a variable resistor connected between the high-potential and low-potential reference voltages and an operational amplifier having its one input terminal connected to a voltage variable terminal of the variable resistor and its output terminal connected to a predetermined connection node of the plurality of fixed resistors.  
         [0004]     JP-A-10-142582 discloses that a resistor ladder circuit comprised of resistors R 0 , R 1 , . . . , Rn and a resistor ladder circuit comprised of resistors R 0 ′, R 1 ′, . . . Rn′ are connected between a power supply terminal Vcc and a connection terminal GND, operational amplifiers OP 1 , OP 2 , . . . , OPn are connected between the two resistor ladder circuits, and a constant voltage generating circuit comprised of an operational amplifier OP 0  is connected to a node of the resistors Rn- 1 ′ and Rn′. It further discloses that output currents of the operational amplifiers OPn and OP 1  are adjusted by the resistors Rn and R 1  and an output current of the operational amplifier OP 0  is adjusted by the resistor Rn′.  
         [0005]     JP-A-2001-22325 discloses a liquid crystal display apparatus having a voltage division circuit for generating a plurality of positive-negative symmetrical reference voltages from positive and negative reference voltages, a variable voltage generating circuit for supplying positive-negative symmetrical reference voltages for gray scale adjustment to one pair of positive-negative symmetrical voltage division points corresponding to a specified halftone of the voltage division circuit, and one pair of amplifiers. It further discloses a liquid crystal display apparatus having a voltage division circuit for generating a plurality of positive-negative symmetrical reference voltages from positive and negative reference voltages, a plurality of variable voltage generating circuit for supplying positive-negative symmetrical reference voltages for gray scale adjustment to a plurality of pairs of positive-negative symmetrical voltage division points corresponding to a plurality of specified halftones of the voltage division circuit, and a plurality of differential amplifiers.  
         [0006]     But none of the above prior arts take the following problems into account.  
         [0007]     Firstly, at the output of the gray scale voltage generating circuit, capacitive components including liquid crystal are charged/discharged simultaneously at a timing of A.C. (Alternating Current) operation. For the purpose of compensating the phase for an abrupt current change due to the charge/discharge, it is general to connect a stabilizing capacitor of 0.1 to 10 μF to the output of a voltage follower circuit. The stabilizing capacitor having a large capacitance as above needs to be provided externally of an IC even when the gray scale voltage generating circuit is implemented in an IC form, thus increasing the number of parts. Secondly, in the liquid crystal display apparatus, with the aim of preventing an image quality degradation similar to print, there needs a so-called A.C. operation for inverting, at a constant period, the polarity of a voltage applied to liquid crystal. In this phase, through a so-called asymmetric drive method for instance that makes individual levels of gradation voltages different at the positive and negative polarities, the amplitude of common voltage can be reduced and an image quality degradation such as flicker can be prevented to advantage. To realize the asymmetric drive with the gray scale voltage generating circuit, the level of reference voltage may be different for the positive and negative polarities. But, with the level of reference voltage changed periodically, the stabilizing capacitor is charged/discharged and as a result, consumption power increases.  
         [0008]     Thirdly, in the liquid crystal display apparatus, an instance is supposed in which the number of colors possessed by input display data is smaller than the number of levels of generated gray scale voltages. In that case, unneeded gray scale voltages are generated by means of a ladder resistor, with the result that a consumptive steady current flows through the ladder resistor.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     A first object of the invention is to provide a display apparatus capable of reducing the number of parts by providing a voltage follower circuit dispensing with a stabilizing capacitor and to provide its driving device for displaying.  
         [0010]     A second object of the invention is to provide a display apparatus capable of avoiding an increase in consumption power by suppressing charge/discharge current of a stabilizing capacitor during asymmetric drive and to provide its driving device for displaying.  
         [0011]     A third object of the invention is to provide a display apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in consumption power by eliminating a waste of steady current flowing through a ladder resistor in match with the number of display colors and to provide its driving device for displaying.  
         [0012]     When the stabilizing capacitor is supposedly removed in the general voltage follower circuit, the most critical problem is that the phase margin decreases, giving rise to a tendency to oscillation. To obviate this problem, insertion of a resistor between the output of the voltage follower circuit and a load is effective.  
         [0013]     Accordingly, to accomplish the first object, a voltage follower circuit according to an aspect of the invention comprises a differential amplifier, first and second buffer circuits, a resistor and two compensating capacitors, wherein outputs of the first and second buffer circuits are connected to each other through a resistor, the output of the first buffer circuit is fed back to one input of the differential amplifier and the output of the second buffer circuit serves as an output of the voltage follower circuit. By providing the resistor between the output of voltage follower circuit and a feedback point of the differential amplifier in this manner, the phase margin can be increased and output operation can be stabilized. At the same time, the output of the second buffer circuit can directly drive the load, thereby ensuring that the time constant can be decreased and the recovery time from voltage variations can be shortened.  
         [0014]     To accomplish the second object, in a display apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention, voltage follower circuits for positive and negative polarities are provided and they are switched. With this construction, a potential applied to the stabilizing capacitor can be constant even in asymmetric drive of the stabilizing capacitor to thereby suppress the charge/discharge.  
         [0015]     To accomplish the third object, in a display apparatus according to still another aspect of the invention, switches are provided which separate a ladder resistor at portions for generating unnecessary gray scale voltages or switch the ladder resistor to a high-resistance resistor. With this construction, steady current flowing through the ladder resistor can be optimized in match with the number of colors possessed by display data to avoid an increase in consumption power.  
         [0016]     Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the construction of a voltage follower circuit according to a first embodiment of the invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a circuit diagram showing the detailed construction of an example of the voltage follower circuit in the first embodiment of the invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a circuit diagram showing the detailed construction of another example of the voltage follower circuit in the first embodiment of the invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit in the first embodiment of the invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing the construction of a drain drive circuit in the first embodiment of the invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a diagram useful to explain operation of the drain drive circuit in the first embodiment of the invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is a timing chart showing operation of the drain drive circuit in the first embodiment of the invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit according to a second embodiment of the invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 9  is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit according to a third embodiment of the invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 10  is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 11  is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.  
         [0028]      FIG. 12  is a block diagram of an information processing apparatus provided with the gray scale voltage generating circuit according to the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]      FIG. 1  illustrates the fundamental construction of a voltage follower circuit according to a first embodiment of the invention. The voltage follower circuit, as designated at reference numeral  101 , in the present embodiment comprises a differential amplifier  102 , first and second buffer circuits  103  and  104 , a resistor  105  and two compensating capacitances (for example, capacitors)  106  and  107 . This circuit construction is featured in that outputs of the first and second buffer circuits  103  and  104  are connected to each other through the resistor  105 , with the output of first buffer circuit  103  being fed back to one input of the differential amplifier  102  and the output of the second buffer circuit  104  being connected to serve as an output of the voltage follower circuit  101 . By providing the resistor  105  between the output of voltage follower circuit  101  and a node for feedback to the differential amplifier  102  in this manner, the phase margin can be increased to stabilize output operation. In addition, since the output of second buffer circuit  104  can directly drive a load, the time constant can be reduced and the recovery time from voltage variations can be shortened. In other words, the first buffer circuit  103  has a high phase margin to function to prevent oscillation. The second buffer circuit  104  has a high through rate to function to reduce the feedback time.  
         [0030]     The differential amplifier  102  receives at the other input an input from the outside of the voltage follower circuit  101  and, at one input, the fed back input. The output of differential amplifier  102  connects to ground through the compensating capacitor  107 . The first and second buffer circuits  103  and  104  receive the output of the differential amplifier  102 . The compensating capacitor  106  is connected in parallel with the first buffer circuit  103 . The output of the second buffer circuit  104  serves as the output of the voltage follower circuit  101 . The output of first buffer circuit  103  and the output of second buffer circuit  104  routing through the resistor  105  are fed back to the differential amplifier  102 .  
         [0031]     The first embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.  2  to  7 . The first embodiment of the invention is directed to a voltage follower circuit dispensing with the aforementioned stabilizing capacitor, the detailed circuit construction of which is exemplified in  FIGS. 2 and 3 .  
         [0032]     In  FIG. 2 , a voltage follower circuit  201  comprises MOS transistors  202  to  211 , a resistor  212  and compensating capacitances (for example, capacitors)  213  and  214 . For the correspondence with components of  FIG. 1 , it will be appreciated that the differential amplifier  102  corresponds to a component constituted by the MOS transistors  202  to  205 , the first buffer circuit  103  corresponds to a component constituted by the MOS transistor  206  and the second buffer circuit  104  corresponds to a component constituted by the MOS transistors  207  to  211 .  
         [0033]     A voltage follower circuit  301  shown in  FIG. 3  differs from the voltage follower circuit  201  shown in  FIG. 2  in that interchange of P channel with N channel of the MOS transistors and interchange of connection of power supply voltage are carried out.  
         [0034]     When considering the range of available voltage level, the voltage follower circuit  201  has the output range close to ground voltage GND (low voltage) and the voltage follower circuit  301  has the output range close to power supply voltage VDV (high voltage). Accordingly, it is desirable that the two circuits be used purposively in accordance with the level of a gray scale voltage to be delivered. A voltage follower circuit with stabilizing capacitor based on a so-called class “A” amplifier has a wider output range than that of the voltage follower circuit of the present invention. Therefore, for only a gray scale voltage at a level close to the power supply voltage VDD or ground voltage GND, the voltage follower circuit with stabilizing capacitor may be used.  
         [0035]     An example of the circuit construction based on this idea and used for generating  64  kinds of gray scale voltages will be described.  
         [0036]      FIG. 4  is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit  401 . Comprises voltage follower circuits with stabilizing capacitors  402 ,  403  and  408 ,  409  based on so-called class “A” amplifiers, voltage follower circuits  404 ,  405  each implemented with the aforementioned voltage follower circuit  301  according to the present embodiment and voltage follower circuits  406 ,  407  each implemented with the aforementioned voltage follower circuit  201  also according to the present embodiment. As will be seen from  FIG. 4 , the voltage follower circuits  402  to  409  are arranged in such a manner that the levels of voltages delivered out of these circuits become lower in this order. More particularly, the voltage level gradually decreases from the voltage follower circuit  402  to the voltage follower circuit  409 . A ladder resistor  410  divides outputs of the voltage follower circuits  402  to  409  to generate gray scale voltages V 0  to V 63 . In the gray scale voltage generating circuit  401  of the present invention, reference voltages, generally designated at Vref, are not inputted externally but are generated by inputting a 2-level reference voltage of reference voltage VH at a high level and reference voltage VL at a low level and dividing the 2-level reference voltage by a ladder resistor  411 . Advantageously, this can reduce the number of wiring lines leading to the outside. With the circuit construction described above, the gray scale voltage generating circuit  401  can generate 64 kinds of gray scale voltages. In each of the voltage follower circuits with stabilizing capacitor  402 ,  403 ,  408  and  409 , the differential amplifier has its output fed back to its input. The output of the differential amplifier is connected on the other hand to ground through a stabilizing capacitance  412  (for example, capacitor).  
         [0037]     Next, construction and operation of a drain drive circuit including the gray scale voltage generating circuit  401  will be described by taking an instance where so-called Vcom modulation drive s carried out.  
         [0038]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of the drain drive circuit designated at  501 . The circuit  501  comprises a data latch circuit  502  for latching display data for one line, a data inversion circuit  503  for inverting the polarity of the display data, and gray scale voltage selecting circuits  504  each adapted to select a gray scale voltage matching with the data from a plurality of gray scale voltages V 0  to V 63  generated by the gray scale voltage generating circuit  401 . Firstly, the drain drive circuit  501  receives from an external liquid crystal controller a signal of CL 1  indicative of one scanning period (one horizontal period), a signal of EN indicative of a period for transfer of effective display data, a signal of M indicative of the polarity of alternation (making it alternate), a signal of CL 2  indicative of a transfer clock of the display data and a signal of DATA indicative of the display data. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the DATA has gray scale information of plural bits (for example,  6  bits) in respect of each pixel.  
         [0039]      FIG. 6  shows an example of operation of the drain drive circuit  501 . The data latch circuit  502  repeats an operation in which it stores DATA for one line during a period of the EN being high (=1) by using the CL 2  as fetching clock and delivers, as LD (line data), the stored DATA at a time in synchronism with the CL 1 . The data inversion circuit  503  receives inputs of the LD and M and delivers a PD while keeping the LD unchanged when the M is at low level (=0) or after inverting the LD when the M is at high level (=1). Each of the gray scale voltage selecting circuits  504  selects one gray scale voltage from the inputted gray scale voltages V 0  to V 63  in accordance with a value of the PD so as to deliver a VD.  
         [0040]      FIG. 7  shows a timing chart useful to sum up the operation of the drain drive circuit  501 . As will be seen from  FIG. 7 , voltage levels matching with the display data are delivered in accordance with the CL 1 , thus realizing driving waveforms of general Vcom modulation drive.  
         [0041]     The drain drive circuit  501  described herein was made in the form of an IC and actual characteristics were measured. Firstly, as for the output range, the voltage follower circuits  404  and  405  of the invention had (VDD−0.6V) or less and the voltage follower circuit  406  and  407  of the embodiment had (GND+0.8V) or more. In addition, when a 2-inch TFT liquid crystal device of 120×160 pixels was connected to the drive circuit to carry out the Vcom modulation drive at a frame frequency of 60 Hz, all gray scale voltages can be freed from adversity such as oscillation and an excellent display can be obtained.  
         [0042]     As will be seen from the above, the voltage follower circuits  404  to  407  of the present embodiment can provide good characteristics even without resort to the stabilizing capacitor  412  and therefore, in comparison with the conventional drain drive circuit, can reduce the number of parts of stabilizing capacitor. In the gray scale voltage generating circuit  401  in the present embodiment, the voltage follower circuits with stabilizing capacitor are used in combination but this construction is not limitative. For example, if the ranges close to the power supply voltage VDD and the ground voltage GND are not used, the circuit may be constructed of only the voltage follower circuits  201  and  301  in the present embodiment.  
         [0043]     Next, other embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS.  8  to  10 . In other embodiments, gray scale voltage generating circuits are provided which can realize suppression of charge/discharge of a stabilizing capacitor during asymmetrical drive. Like the foregoing, voltage follower circuits for positive and negative polarities are provided and they are used in switching fashion.  
         [0044]      FIG. 8  illustrates a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit according to a second embodiment of the invention. The circuit comprises switches for switching gray scale voltages for positive and negative polarities, a ladder resistor  803  for generating gray scale voltages for positive polarity, and a ladder resistor  804  for generating gray scale voltages for negative polarity. Other components are identical to those of the gray scale voltage generating circuit  401  shown in  FIG. 4 . This circuit construction is featured in that there are provided two kinds of ladder resistors  803  and  804  for positive and negative polarities and two kinds of voltage follower circuits  402  and  408  for positive polarity and voltage follower circuits  403  and  409  for negative polarity and that switches are provided which respond to an A.C. signal from the liquid crystal controller to switch the two kinds of ladder resistors and the two kinds of voltage follower circuits. In connection with the voltage follower circuits  402 ,  403  and  408 ,  409 , outputs of these circuits are switched by means of the switches. The switches  801  succeed the voltage follower circuits with stabilizing capacitors  402 ,  403  and  408 ,  409  whereas the switches  802  precede voltage follower circuits without stabilizing capacitors  404  to  407  in this embodiment. For example, during a period for the A.C. signal to be low (=0), the switch  801  selects a reference voltage obtained by dividing a potential difference between reference voltages VHP and VLP by means of the ladder resistor  803  for positive polarity and during a period for the A.C. signal to be high (=1), selects a reference voltage obtained by dividing a potential difference between reference voltages VHN and VLN by means of the ladder resistor  804  for negative polarity. With this construction, the outputs of the voltage follower circuits  402 ,  403  and  408 ,  409  can be unvarying and charge/discharge of the stabilizing capacitor  412  can be avoided. On the other hand, for the voltage follower circuits  404  to  407  dispensing with stabilizing capacitor in this embodiment, the switches  802  precede amplifier inputs. This is because the number of amplifiers to be used can be decreased in comparison with the construction in which the amplifier input is followed by the switch. Like the foregoing, during a period for the A.C. signal to be low (=0), the switch  802  selects a reference voltage obtained by dividing a potential difference between reference voltages VHP and VLP by means of the ladder resistor  803  for positive polarity and during a period for the A.C. signal to be high (=1), selects a reference voltage obtained by dividing a potential difference between reference voltages VHN and VLN by means of the ladder resistor  804  for negative polarity.  
         [0045]      FIG. 9  illustrates a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit according to a third embodiment of the invention. The circuit comprises switches  901  each adapted to selectively switch connection between a voltage follower circuit and two stabilizing capacitors  412  and switches  902  each adapted to make a choice of a reference voltage generated by a ladder resistor for positive polarity or a reference voltage generated by a ladder resistor for negative polarity. It will be seen from  FIG. 9  that with this circuit construction, only the stabilizing capacitors  412  are provided for positive and negative polarities and the switch is provided which selectively switches connection of each of the voltage follower circuits  402 ,  403  and  408 ,  409  to each of the stabilizing capacitors. This construction is advantageous over the gray scale voltage generating circuit in the second embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  in that the number of the voltage follower circuits  402 ,  403  and  408 ,  409  can be one for one reference voltage to reduce the circuit scale. The switches  902  precede the voltage follower circuits. The switch  901  selects one, for positive polarity, of the two stabilizing capacitors  412  during a period for the A.C. signal to be low (=0) and selects the other, for negative polarity, of the two stabilizing capacitors during a period for the A.C. signal to be high (=1).  
         [0046]      FIG. 10  illustrates a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. The circuit comprises resistors  1001  for positive polarity, resistors  1002  for negative polarity, and switches  1003  each adapted to selectively switch connection between a ladder resistor for generation of reference voltages and each of the resistors  1001  and  1002  for positive and negative polarities. The circuit construction shown in  FIG. 10  intends to singularize the ladder resistor for generation of reference voltages. Specifically, any one of the ladder resistors  803  and  804  in the gray scale voltage generating circuit shown in  FIG. 8  can be unneeded. Namely, by making resistance of the resistor  1001  different from that of the resistor  1002 , gray scale voltages at different levels can be generated at positive and negative polarities. This construction is preferably applied to upper and lower ends of the ladder resistor so as to enhance the degree of freedom of adjustment. The switch  1003  selects the resistor  1001  for positive polarity during a period for the A.C. signal to be low (=0) and selects the resistor  1002  for negative polarity during a period for the A.C. signal to be high (=1).  
         [0047]     In the gray scale voltage generating circuits according to the second to fourth embodiments of the invention set forth so far, even when the so-called asymmetric drive is carried out, charge/discharge of the stabilizing capacitor connected to the voltage follower circuit can be avoided. Accordingly, a drain drive circuit of more reduced consumption power can be provided.  
         [0048]      FIG. 11  illustrates a circuit diagram showing the construction of a gray scale voltage generating circuit according to a fifth embodiment of the invention. In the fifth embodiment of the invention, a method is disclosed which can optimize steady current flowing through a ladder resistor in match with the number of colors possessed by display data with the aim of eliminating any consumptive steady current flowing the through the ladder resistor. In the fifth embodiment, color number information possessed by display data is of multiple bits (for example, plural bits amounting to 6 bits) or is of minor bits (for example, a single bit amounting to one bit) and it is assumed that either state is determined by information supplied from the external liquid crystal controller. It is also assumed that when the color number information possessed by the display data is of 6 bits, all of 64 kinds of gray scale voltages (V 0  to V 63 ) are used and in case of one bit, only gray scale voltages at opposite ends (V 0  and V 63 ) are used.  
         [0049]     The circuit of  FIG. 11  comprises resistors  1101  for 6 bits, resistors  1102  for one bit, and switches  1103  each adapted to switch connection to the resistor  1101  for 6 bits and connection to the resistor  1102  for one bit in accordance with the color number information. For example, when the color number information is high (=1), the switch  1103  recognizes a 6-bit display mode to select the resistor  1101  for 6 bits and when the color number information is low (=0), it recognizes a one-bit display mode to select the resistor  1102  for one bit. Here, the resistance of the one-bit display resistor  1102  is so determined in advance as to be sufficiently larger than that of the 6-bit resistor  1101  in order that when the resistor  1102  is selected, the current flowing through the ladder resistor can be reduced. This takes advantage of the fact that in the display mode of the color number being one bit, only the gray scale voltages at opposite ends (V 0  and V 63 ) are used as described previously and consequently, even if the levels of other gray scale voltages vary, this variation does not affect display. In case the display data is of minor bits, the number of gray scales of the display data is small but in case the display data is of multiple bits, the number of gray scales of the display data is large. In place of the resistor  1101  for 6 bits, resistor  1102  for one bit and switch  1103 , a variable resistor can be used and in place of the switch  1103 , a variable resistor control circuit can be used. For example, if the color number information is high (=1), the variable resistor control circuit recognizes the 6-bit display mode to decrease the resistance of the variable resistor and if the color number information is low (=0), it recognizes the one-bit display mode to increase the resistance of the variable resistor.  
         [0050]     As described above, the gray scale voltage generating circuit according to the fifth embodiment of the invention can control the value of current flowing through the ladder resistor for generation of gray scale voltages in accordance with the color number information. Accordingly, a drain drive circuit of more reduced consumption power can be provided. In the fifth embodiment of the invention, two kinds of resistors for 6 bits and one bit are provided but this is not limitative and for example, in the one-bit display mode, V 0  and V 63  can be completely disconnected from the ladder resistor.  
         [0051]     Thus, in an application of the gray scale voltage generating circuit according to the fifth embodiment of the invention to a handy phone or an information processing apparatus requiring low power such as PDA, when the information processing apparatus is in waiting condition, the MPU of the information processing apparatus may command information purporting that the number of colors is small to the gray scale voltage generating circuit and when the information processing apparatus is in call condition (during communication), the MPU of the information processing apparatus may command information purporting that the number of colors is large to the gray scale voltage generating circuit. In other words, the information processing apparatus gives a display of multiple gray scale when the user makes use of it but gives a display of minor gray scale when the user does not make use of it. Through this, power consumption in the gray scale voltage generating circuit can be reduced when the user does not make use of it, thus reducing power consumption in the information processing apparatus.  
         [0052]      FIG. 12  illustrates a block diagram of an information processing apparatus provided with the gray scale voltage generating circuit according to the invention. The information processing apparatus, as generally designated at reference numeral  1 , comprises a display apparatus  2  for displaying display data and a MPU  3  for performing operation processing. The display apparatus  2  includes a display panel  4  having display pixels arranged in matrix, a drain drive circuit  501  for generating gray scale voltages corresponding to the display data and applying the gray scale voltages to the display panel  4 , a gate drive circuit  5  for selecting a line of pixels to be applied with the gray scale voltages, and a system power supply generating circuit  6  for generating operating power supply for the drain drive circuit  501  and gate drive circuit  5 . The system power supply generating circuit  6  generates reference voltages VH, VL, VHP, VLH, VHN and VLN and a power supply voltage VDD for the drain drive circuit  501 . The drain drive circuit  501  includes a gray scale voltage generating circuit  401  for generating a plurality of gray scale voltages V 0  to V 63 , a gray scale voltage selecting circuit  504  for selecting one gray scale voltage matched with the display data from the plurality of gray scale voltages V 0  to V 63 , a system interface  505  for receiving the display data and control signals from the MPU  3 , a display memory  506  (for example, RAM) for temporarily storing one frame of the display data, and a control register  507  for setting gray scale voltage characteristics matching with characteristics of the display panel  4 . The control register  507  includes a register for adjusting the amplitude, a register for adjusting the gradient and a register for performing fine adjustment, in the relation between gray scale number and gray scale voltage.  
         [0053]     The first to fifth embodiments of the invention have been described by way of example of the Vcom modulation drive but this is not limitative and the invention may also be applied, on the basis of a similar idea, to dot inversion drive and column inversion drive known as other drive methods.  
         [0054]     Advantageously, the drain drive circuit according to the invention can reduce the number of external stabilizing capacitors used or dispense with the external stabilizing capacitor to thereby attain cost reduction. Further, even when external stabilizing capacitors are provided, the circuit can be so constructed as to prevent the stabilizing capacitor per se from being charged/discharged and consequently, consumption power can be reduced. Further, the necessary steady current can be controlled in match with the number of colors possessed by input display data, thereby making it possible to further reduce consumption power.  
         [0055]     It should be further understood by those skilled in the art that although the foregoing description has been made on embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited thereto and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.