Patent ID: 7916221

Claim:
A liquid crystal display apparatus comprising: a liquid crystal display panel which includes a first polarizing plate, and in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix form; a surface light source which includes (i) a light guide unit having first and second end surfaces which are opposite each other, (ii) a first light source, which faces the first end surface, for emitting a first light to the first end surface, (iii) a first linear polarization element which is positioned between the first light source and the first end surface and which has a first transmission axis extending in a first direction, (iv) a second light source, which faces the second end surface, for emitting a second light to the second end surface, and (v) a second linear polarization element which is positioned between the second light source and the second end surface and which has a second transmission axis normal to the first transmission axis; a retardation element which is arranged between the first polarizing plate and the surface light source, and which includes a plurality of retardation strip portions and non-retardation strip portions, wherein the retardation strip portions and the non-retardation strip portions are extended in a first direction, and are alternately arranged in a second direction normal to the first direction with a pitch corresponding to a pitch of the pixels, and wherein the retardation strip portions rotate a polarized plane of incident light by 90° to emit a polarized light to the first polarizing plate; a light source driving unit configured to control the surface light source to alternately emit the first light which has been polarized in a direction normal to a transmission axis of the first polarizing plate by the first linear polarization element and the second light which has been polarized in a direction parallel with the transmission axis of the first polarizing plate by the second linear polarization element in a time divisional manner; and a panel driving unit configured (i) to perform control to display part of a left-eye image on a first row of pixels of the liquid crystal display panel and to perform control to display part of a right-eye image on a second row of pixels adjacent to the first row of pixels, when the surface light source emits the first light and does not emit the second light, and (ii) to perform control to display part of a right-eye image on the first row of pixels of the liquid crystal display panel and to perform control to display part of a left-eye image on the second row of pixels adjacent to the first row of pixels, when the surface light source emits the second light and does not emit the first light.