Three-dimensional image display apparatus and method of driving the same

1. A display apparatus comprising:

a display panel comprising a plurality of left-eye pixels and a plurality of right-eye pixels;

a three-dimensional controller which separates a first image signal into a left-eye image signal and a right-eye image signal, outputs a second image signal such that the left-eye image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels during a left-eye frame, a black image signal corresponding to a black data is applied to the right-eye pixels during the left-eye frame, the black image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels during a right-eye frame, and the right-eye image signal is applied to the right-eye pixels during the right-eye frame; and

an image display controller which controls the second image signal in response to a control signal from an external source such that an image is displayed on the display panel based on the second image signal,

wherein the left-eye pixels are alternately arranged with the right-eye pixels in the unit of two pixels in a first direction,

wherein the left-eye pixels are alternately arranged with the right-eye pixels in the unit of a predetermined number of pixels in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and

wherein the three-dimensional controller outputs the second image signal, based on which, the black image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels and the right-eye pixels during a first sub-frame between the left-eye frame and the right-eye frame and the black image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels and the right-eye pixels during a second sub-frame between the right-eye frame the left-eye frame.

2. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein

the second image signal applied to the left-eye pixels during a first sub-frame between the left-eye frame and the right-eye frame is a low gray-scale black image signal corresponding to a gray-scale level lower than a gray-scale level of the black data, and

the second image signal applied to the right-eye pixels during a second sub-frame between the right-eye frame and the left-eye frame is the low gray-scale black image signal.

3. The display apparatus of claim 2 , wherein

the second image signal applied to the right-eye pixels during the first sub-frame is a high gray-scale black image signal corresponding to a gray-scale level higher than the gray-scale level of the black data, and

the second image signal applied to the left-eye pixels during the second sub-frame is the high gray-scale black image signal.

4. The display apparatus of claim 3 , wherein

the second image signal applied to the left-eye pixels changes every frame in order of the left-eye image signal, the low gray-scale black image signal, the black image signal and the high gray-scale level black image signal, and

the second image signal applied to the right-eye pixels changes every frame in order of the black image signal, the high gray-scale level black image signal, the right-eye image signal and the low gray-scale black image signal.

5. The display apparatus of claim 3 , wherein

the left-eye frame comprises a first left-eye frame and a second left-eye frame,

the right-eye frame comprises a first right-eye frame and a second right-eye frame,

each of the left-eye image signal, the left-eye image signal, the low gray-scale black image signal, the low gray-scale black image signal, the high gray-scale black image signal and the high gray-scale black image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels as the second image signal in a corresponding frame of the first left-eye frame, the second left-eye frame, the first sub-frame, the first right-eye frame, the second right-eye frame and the second sub-frame, and

each of the low gray-scale black image signal, the high gray-scale black image signal, the high gray-scale black image signal, the right-eye image signal, the right-eye image signal and the low gray-scale black image signal is applied to the right-eye pixels as the second image signal in a corresponding frame of the first left-eye frame, the second left-eye frame, the first sub-frame, the first right-eye frame, the second right-eye frame and the second sub-frame.

6. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional controller comprises:

a frame rate converter which separates the first image signal into the left-eye image signal and the right-eye image signal; and

a data converter which outputs the second image signal such that the left-eye image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels during the left-eye frame, the black image signal is applied to the right-eye pixels during the left-eye frame, the black image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels during the right-eye frame, and the right-eye image signal is applied to the right-eye pixels during the right-eye frame.

7. The display apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the frame rate converter and the data converter operates in response to a mode signal which indicates a three-dimensional display mode.

8. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional controller comprises:

a frame rate converter which separates the first image signal into the left-eye image signal and the right-eye image signal;

a first calculator which generates a low gray-scale black image signal of a present frame based on the left-eye image signal of a previous frame or the right-eye image signal of the previous frame;

a second calculator which generates a high gray-scale black image signal of the present frame based on the left-eye image signal of the previous frame or the right-eye image signal of the previous frame; and

a data converter which outputs the second image signal such that the left-eye image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels during the left-eye frame, the black image signal is applied to the right-eye pixels during the left-eye frame, the black image signal is applied to the left-eye pixels during the right-eye frame, and the right-eye image signal is applied to the right-eye pixels during the right-eye frame,

wherein the data converter outputs the low gray-scale black image signal to the left-eye pixels as the second image signal during a first sub-frame between the left-eye frame and the right-eye frame, and

wherein the data converter outputs the high gray-scale black image signal to the right-eye pixels as the second image signal during the first sub-frame.

9. The display apparatus of claim 8 , wherein

the data converter outputs the high gray-scale black image signal to the left-eye pixels as the second image signal during a second sub-frame between the right-eye frame, and

the data converter outputs the left-eye frame and the low gray-scale black image signal to the right-eye pixels as the second image signal during the second sub-frame.

10. The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the image display controller comprises:

a data driver which drives a plurality of data lines connected to the left-eye pixels and the right-eye pixels;

a gate driver which drives a plurality of gate lines connected to the left-eye pixels and the right-eye pixels; and

a timing controller which converts the second image signal from the three-dimensional controller to a third image signal in response to the control signal and controls the data driver and the gate driver such that the third image signal is displayed in the left-eye pixels and the right-eye pixels.

11. The display apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising:

a plurality of light source groups arranged opposite to the light-eye pixels and the right-eye pixels, wherein the gate lines are grouped into a plurality of groups of gate lines, and each of the light source groups corresponds to a gate line group of the gate line groups,

wherein each of the light source groups is sequentially enabled when the left-eye pixels connected to a corresponding gate line group of the gate line groups are driven in response to a voltage corresponding to the left-eye image signal by the data driver or when the right-eye pixels connected to a corresponding gate line group of the gate line groups are driven in response to a voltage corresponding to the right-eye image signal by the data driver.

12. The display apparatus of claim 11 , wherein

each of the light source groups is sequentially disabled when the left-eye pixels connected to the corresponding gate line group of the gate line groups are driven in response to a voltage corresponding to the low gray-scale black image signal by the data driver or when the right-eye pixels connected to the corresponding gate line group of the gate line groups are driven in response to the voltage corresponding to the low gray-scale black image signal by the data driver.

13. A method of driving a display apparatus which displays an image based on a three-dimensional image signal, the method comprising:

separating a first image signal into a left-eye image signal and a right-eye image signal;

applying the left-eye image signal to a plurality of left-eye pixels of the display apparatus during a left-eye frame and applying a black image signal corresponding to a black data to a plurality of right-eye pixels of the display apparatus during the left-eye frame;

applying the black image signal to the left-eye pixels during a right-eye frame and applying the right-eye image signal to the right-eye pixels during the right-eye frame,

applying the black image signal to the left-eye pixels and the right-eye pixels during a first sub-frame between the left-eye frame and the right-eye frame; and

applying the black image signal to the left-eye pixels and the right-eye pixels during a second sub-frame between the right-eye and the left-eye frame,

wherein the left-eye pixels are alternately arranged with the right-eye pixels in the display apparatus in the unit of two pixels in a first direction, and

wherein the left-eye pixels are alternately arranged with the right-eye pixels in the display apparatus in the unit of a predetermined number of pixels in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

applying a low gray-scale black image signal corresponding to a gray-scale level lower than a gray-scale level of the black data to the left-eye pixels during a first sub-frame between the left-eye frame and the right-eye frame; and

applying the low gray-scale black image signal to the right-eye pixels during a second sub-frame between the right-eye frame and the left-eye frame.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

applying a high gray-scale black image signal corresponding to a gray-scale level higher than the gray-scale level of the black data to the right-eye pixels during the first sub-frame; and

applying the high gray-scale black image signal to the left-eye pixels during the second sub-frame.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

generating the low gray-scale black image signal of a present frame based on the left-eye image signal of a previous frame or the right-eye image signal of the previous frame; and

generating the high gray-scale black image signal of the present frame based on the left-eye image signal of the previous frame or the right-eye image signal of the previous frame.