Liquid crystal display apparatus

1. A liquid crystal display apparatus comprising:

a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix as a whole and each having a liquid crystal element, each of the pixels including a first sub-pixel and a sub-pixel group having a plurality of second sub-pixels, a lower gray level voltage being applied to the first sub-pixel, and higher gray level voltages with different values being applied to the second sub-pixels, respectively; and

driving means for driving the liquid crystal elements in the pixels by applying drive voltage based on a video signal,

wherein

area of the first sub-pixel is smaller than whole area of the sub-pixel group,

the driving means drives each of the pixels based on the video signal in a manner of space-divisional-driving which allows each of the first and the second sub-pixels to be driven separately,

the sub-pixel group includes two sub-pixels so that each of the pixels has three respective sub-pixels which include a respective first sub-pixel and respective two second sub-pixels such that the three respective sub-pixels for each pixel are separate or distinct from the sub-pixels of other pixels, and

the driving means drives each second sub-pixel of the respective two second sub-pixels with a different drive voltage.

2. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving means:

applies a first input-versus-output luminance characteristic, in which output luminance rises from a first input luminance position, to the first sub-pixel;

applies a second input-versus-output luminance characteristic, in which output luminance rises from a second input luminance position which is higher in position than the first input luminance position, to one of the two second sub-pixels; and

applies a third input-versus-output luminance characteristic, in which output luminance rises from a third input luminance position which is higher in position than the second input luminance position, to the other one of the two second sub-pixels,

thereby performing the space-divisional-driving which allows each of the first and the two second sub-pixels to be driven separately.

3. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein each of the pixels includes:

a first switching element for driving the first sub-pixel; a second switching element for driving the sub-pixel group;

a capacitive element provided between the second switching element and the other one of the two second sub-pixels, and

the driving means performs the space-divisional-driving on the first and the two second sub-pixels through using a first look-up table in which input luminance level of the video signal is associated with output luminance level to be applied to the first sub-pixel and output luminance level to be applied to the sub-pixel group.

4. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the driving means drives each of the pixels in a line-sequential manner, and

a single gate line and two data lines are provided in correspondence with each of pixels, the gate line selecting a pixel to be driven in the line-sequential manner, the two data lines supplying the drive voltage to the pixel to be driven.

5. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the driving means drives each of the pixels in a line-sequential manner, and

two gate lines and a single data line are provided in correspondence with each of pixels, the two gate lines selecting a pixel to be driven in the line-sequential manner, the single data line supplying the drive voltage to the pixel to be driven.

6. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein each of the pixels includes three switching elements for driving the first and the two second sub-pixels, respectively, and

the driving means performs the space-divisional-driving on the first and the two second sub-pixels through using a second look-up table in which input luminance level of the video signal is associated with output luminance level to be applied to the first sub-pixel and output luminance level to be applied to each of the two second sub-pixels.

7. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the area of the first sub-pixel is equal to or less than ⅓ of whole area of the pixel.

8. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the following equation (1) is satisfied, where ‘Sa’ is area of the first sub-pixel, ‘Sb 1 ’ is area of one of the two second sub-pixels, and ‘Sb 2 ’ is area of the other one of the two second sub-pixels

Sa<Sb1<Sb2  (1).

9. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving means performs the space-divisional-driving while executing overdrive process on the drive voltage of each of the first and the second sub-pixels so that an overdrive level for the first sub-pixel is different from that for the sub-pixel group.

10. The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystal element includes a liquid crystal in a vertical alignment (VA) mode.

11. A liquid crystal display apparatus comprising:

a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix as a whole and each having a liquid crystal element, each of the pixels including a first sub-pixel and a sub-pixel group having a plurality of second sub-pixels, a lower gray level voltage being applied to the first sub-pixel, and higher gray level voltages with different values being applied to the second sub-pixels, respectively; and

a driving section for driving the liquid crystal elements in the pixels by applying drive voltage based on a video signal,

wherein

area of the first sub-pixel is smaller than whole area of the sub-pixel group,

the driving section drives each of the pixels based on the video signal in a manner of space-divisional-driving which allows each of the first and the second sub-pixels to be driven separately,

the sub-pixel group includes two sub-pixels so that each of the pixels has three respective sub-pixels which include a respective first sub-pixel and respective two second sub-pixels such that the three respective sub-pixels for each pixel are separate or distinct from the sub-pixels of other pixels, and

the driving section drives each second sub-pixel of the respective two second sub-pixels with a different drive voltage.

12. A liquid crystal display apparatus comprising:

a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix as a whole and each having a liquid crystal element, each of the pixels including a first sub-pixel and a sub-pixel group having a plurality of second sub-pixels, a lower gray level voltage being applied to the first sub-pixel, and higher gray level voltages with different values being applied to the second sub-pixels, respectively; and

a driving section for driving the liquid crystal elements in the pixels by applying drive voltage based on a video signal,

wherein

area of the first sub-pixel is smaller than whole area of the sub-pixel group,

the driving section drives each of the pixels based on the video signal in a manner of space-divisional-driving which allows each of the first and the second sub-pixels to be driven separately, and

the sub-pixel group includes three sub-pixels so that each of the pixels has four respective sub-pixels which include a respective first sub-pixel and respective three second sub-pixels such that the four respective sub-pixels for each pixel are separate or distinct from the sub-pixels of other pixels.