CN115087919A

CN115087919A - Projection type display device

Info

Publication number: CN115087919A
Application number: CN202180014577.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 山田弘和; 甚田诚一郎; 村崎晋平
Original assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp
Current assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp
Priority date: 2020-02-20
Filing date: 2021-02-08
Publication date: 2022-09-20
Also published as: WO2021166711A1; JPWO2021166711A1

Abstract

A projection display device includes a liquid crystal panel including: a first substrate and a second substrate arranged to face each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween; spacers provided for each of a plurality of pixels two-dimensionally arranged in an in-plane direction of the first substrate and the second substrate and sandwiched by the first substrate and the second substrate; and a light shielding pattern provided in the opening of the pixel corresponding to the spacer.

Description

Projection type display device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a projection type display device.

Background

In recent years, projection type display devices (so-called liquid crystal projectors) that project images on screens and the like have been widely used. The projection display device can display an image by projecting image light modulated by the liquid crystal panel onto a screen.

In such a projection display device, in order to further increase the luminance of image light, it is proposed to increase the aperture ratio of the pixels of the liquid crystal panel (for example, patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: international publication No. 2018/142822

Disclosure of Invention

On the other hand, in the projection display device, it is desired to further improve the contrast by suppressing light leakage in the pixels, thereby improving the image quality of the displayed image. Therefore, a projection display device that achieves both high luminance and improved image quality is required.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a projection display device capable of improving the contrast of an image while improving the aperture ratio of pixels.

A projection display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a liquid crystal panel including: a first substrate and a second substrate arranged to face each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween; spacers provided for each of a plurality of pixels two-dimensionally arranged in an in-plane direction of the first substrate and the second substrate and sandwiched by the first substrate and the second substrate; and a light shielding pattern provided in the opening of the pixel corresponding to the spacer.

According to a projection display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a liquid crystal panel is provided, the liquid crystal panel including: a first substrate and a second substrate arranged to face each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween; a spacer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate and provided for each of the plurality of pixels; and a light shielding pattern provided in the opening of the pixel corresponding to the spacer. Thus, in the projection type display device, for example, the number of spacers in the liquid crystal panel is reduced, and the light shielding pattern is provided on the pixel corresponding to the spacer.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a projection display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a liquid crystal panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a plan view schematically showing an example of arrangement of spacers and light-shielding patterns in the in-plane direction of the liquid crystal panel according to the embodiment.

Fig. 4A is a plan view showing a variation of the frequency of providing the spacers for a plurality of pixels.

Fig. 4B is a plan view showing a variation of the frequency of providing the spacers for a plurality of pixels.

Fig. 5 is a plan view schematically showing another example of the arrangement of the light-shielding patterns provided for the spacers.

Fig. 6 is a graph showing changes in evaluation level of subjective evaluation performed on the area ratio of the light-shielding pattern.

Fig. 7A is a plan view schematically showing an example of arrangement of spacers and light-shielding patterns in the in-plane direction of the liquid crystal panel according to the comparative example.

Fig. 7B is a plan view schematically showing an example of arrangement of spacers and light-shielding patterns in the in-plane direction of the liquid crystal panel according to the comparative example.

Fig. 8A is a plan view showing a variation in the structure of the spacer with respect to the opening of the pixel.

Fig. 8B is a plan view showing a variation in the structure of the spacer with respect to the opening of the pixel.

Fig. 8C is a plan view showing a variation in the structure of the spacer with respect to the opening of the pixel.

Fig. 8D is a plan view showing a variation in the structure of the spacer with respect to the opening of the pixel.

Fig. 8E is a plan view showing a variation in the structure of the spacer with respect to the opening of the pixel.

Fig. 9 is a plan view showing a variation of the positional relationship between the spacer and the light-shielding pattern and the dummy light-shielding pattern.

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing a variation of the positional relationship between the spacer and the light-shielding pattern and the dummy light-shielding pattern.

Fig. 11 is a plan view showing a variation of the positional relationship between the spacer and the light-shielding pattern and the dummy light-shielding pattern.

Fig. 12 is a plan view showing a variation of the positional relationship between the spacer and the light-shielding pattern and the dummy light-shielding pattern.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing functions related to control of the light modulation unit including the liquid crystal panel.

Fig. 14 is a graph showing an example of a difference in V-T curves between a pixel adjacent to a spacer and other pixels.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is a specific example of the present disclosure, and the technique of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiment. The arrangement, dimensions, dimensional ratios, and the like of the respective components of the present disclosure are not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

The description is performed in the following order.

1. Structure of projection display device

2. Structure of liquid crystal panel

3. Structure of spacer

4. Effect of action

5. Modification example

6. Supplementary note

< 1. Structure of projection display device >

First, a projection display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a projection display device 100 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, the projection display device 100 includes, for example, a light emitting unit 110, an optical path branching unit 120, an optical modulation unit 130, a combining unit 140, and a projection unit 150. The projection display device 100 may be a so-called 3-plate transmissive projector.

The light emitting section 110 supplies a light beam to be irradiated to the light modulating section 130. The light emitting unit 110 may be configured to include a white light source such as a lamp and a reflector that reflects light from the white light source.

An optical element may be further provided on the optical path of the light 111 emitted from the light-emitting section 110 (i.e., on the optical axis AX of the white light source). For example, a filter for attenuating light in a frequency band other than the visible light frequency band among the light 111 from the white light source and an optical integrator for making uniform the illuminance distribution on the illuminated surface of the light modulation unit 130 may be provided in order from the white light source side on the optical axis AX of the white light source.

The optical path branching unit 120 color-separates the light 111 emitted from the light emitting unit 110 into a plurality of lights having different wavelength bands, and guides each of the color-separated lights to the irradiated surface of the light modulating unit 130. The optical path branching unit 120 may be configured to include, for example, one cross mirror 121, two reflecting mirrors 122, and two reflecting mirrors 123.

Specifically, the cross mirror 121 is configured by connecting two mirrors having different wavelength selectivity to each other so as to intersect with each other. Cross mirror 121 is configured to transmit green light 111G, reflect red light 111R toward mirror 122, and reflect blue light 111B toward mirror 123, for example.

The red light 111R optically branched in one direction intersecting the optical axis AX by the cross mirror 121 is reflected twice by the two mirrors 122 and guided to the surface to be irradiated of the optical modulation unit 130R. Blue light 111B optically branched in the other direction intersecting the optical axis AX by the cross mirror 121 is reflected twice by the two mirrors 123 and guided to the surface to be irradiated of the optical modulator 130B. The green light 111G on the optical axis AX passes through the cross mirror 121 and enters the illuminated surface of the optical modulator 130G disposed on the optical axis AX.

The optical modulation unit 130 includes an optical modulation unit 130R for modulating the red light 111R, an optical modulation unit 130G for modulating the green light 111G, and an optical modulation unit 130B for modulating the blue light 111B. The

light modulation units

130R, 130G, and 130B modulate the respective color lights based on the input image signal to generate modulated lights of the respective color lights. Here, the light modulation unit 130R, the light modulation unit 130G, and the light modulation unit 130B are each configured using a liquid crystal panel according to the present embodiment, which will be described later. By using the liquid crystal panel according to the present embodiment, the projection display apparatus 100 can improve the brightness of a projected image and can improve the contrast of the image.

The light modulation unit 130R is provided to face the first surface of the combining unit 140. The light modulation unit 130R can generate red modulated light 112R by modulating the red light 111R incident on the illuminated surface based on the image signal. The generated red modulated light 112R passes through the light modulation unit 130R and enters the first surface of the combining unit 140.

The light modulation unit 130B is provided so as to face a second surface opposite to the first surface of the combining unit 140. The light modulation unit 130B can generate blue modulated light 112B by modulating the blue light 111B incident on the illuminated surface based on the image signal. The generated blue modulated light 112B is transmitted through the light modulation unit 130B and enters the second surface of the combining unit 140.

The light modulation unit 130G is provided to face a third surface perpendicular to the first surface of the combining unit 140. The light modulation unit 130G can generate green modulated light 112G by modulating green light 111G incident on the illuminated surface based on the image signal. The generated green modulated light 112G is transmitted through the light modulation section 130G and enters the third surface of the combining section 140.

The combining section 140 generates the image light 113 projected onto the screen 200 by combining the plurality of modulated lights (i.e., the red modulated light 112R, the green modulated light 112G, and the blue modulated light 112B). Specifically, the combining unit 140 is a cross prism configured by joining four prisms, and is provided on the optical axis AX.

By providing a multilayer interference film or the like on the prism bonding surface of the combining section 140, two selective reflection surfaces having mutually different wavelength selectivities are formed. Thus, the red modulated light 112R emitted from the light modulation unit 130R is reflected by the first selective reflection surface in a direction parallel to the optical axis AX, and is guided to the projection unit 150. The blue modulated light 112B emitted from the light modulation unit 130B is reflected by the second selective reflection surface in a direction parallel to the optical axis AX, and is guided to the projection unit 150. The green modulated light 112G emitted from the light modulation unit 130G is transmitted through the first selective reflection surface and the second selective reflection surface along the optical axis AX, and is guided to the projection unit 150.

That is, the combining unit 140 can generate the image light 113 by combining the incident red modulated light 112R, green modulated light 112G, and blue modulated light 112B. The image light 113 multiplexed by the combining unit 140 is emitted to the projecting unit 150.

The projection unit 150 projects the image light 113 emitted from the synthesis unit 140 onto the screen 200, thereby displaying an image corresponding to the image signal. The projection unit 150 is constituted by, for example, a projection lens, and is disposed on the optical axis AX.

The technology according to the present disclosure is a technology for improving the aperture ratio of pixels of a liquid crystal panel used for each of light modulation section 130R, light modulation section 130G, and light modulation section 130B while suppressing light leakage. Accordingly, the projection display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can improve the brightness of the projected image and can improve the contrast of the image. Hereinafter, the structure of a liquid crystal panel to which the technology according to the present disclosure is applied will be specifically described.

< 2. Structure of liquid Crystal Panel >

Next, the structure of the liquid crystal panel according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in fig. 2, the liquid crystal panel 1 includes: a first substrate 10 including a driving substrate 11 and a first electrode 12; a second substrate 20 including a counter substrate 21 and a second electrode 22; a liquid crystal layer 30 including liquid crystal molecules 31; an alignment film 32; a spacer 35; and a light shielding pattern 45. In addition, on the surfaces of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 opposite to the surfaces facing the liquid crystal layer 30, polarizing plates, not shown, are provided in a crossed nicol arrangement.

The first substrate 10 is disposed to face the second substrate 20 with the liquid crystal layer 30 interposed therebetween. The first substrate 10 is formed of a laminated structure of a drive substrate 11 and a first electrode 12.

The drive substrate 11 is a substrate on which a drive circuit for controlling the drive of each pixel of the liquid crystal panel 1 is provided. Specifically, the drive substrate 11 is provided with a plurality of scan lines and a plurality of signal lines which extend in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to each other and intersect each other, and a plurality of pixel transistors which control driving of each pixel. For example, the drive substrate 11 may be formed by laminating a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) layer provided with a Transistor and a multilayer wiring layer provided with various wirings on a quartz substrate.

The first electrodes 12 are composed of a transparent conductive material, and are provided so as to be separated from each other every pixel on the surface side of the drive substrate 11 opposed to the liquid crystal layer 30. The transparent conductive material may be, for example, Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), IGZO (oxide containing indium, gallium, and zinc), or the like.

The second substrate 20 is disposed to face the first substrate 10 with the liquid crystal layer 30 interposed therebetween. The second substrate 20 has a laminated structure of a counter substrate 21 and a second electrode 22.

The counter substrate 21 may be a quartz substrate, for example. A color filter and a black matrix layer, not shown, may be provided on the counter substrate 21.

The second electrode 22 is made of a transparent conductive material similarly to the first electrode 12, and is provided on the surface side of the counter substrate 21 facing the liquid crystal layer 30 as an electrode common to the pixels. The transparent conductive material may be, for example, Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), IGZO (oxide containing indium, gallium, and zinc), or the like.

The liquid crystal layer 30 includes liquid crystal molecules 31, and controls polarization of light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer 30 according to voltages supplied via the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 22. Specifically, the liquid crystal layer 30 can also control the polarization of light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer 30 by controlling the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules 31 In a VA (Vertical Alignment) mode, a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, an ECB (Electrically Controlled Birefringence) mode, an FFS (Fringe Field Switching) mode, an IPS (In Plane Switching) mode, or the like. The liquid crystal molecules 31 may use any known liquid crystal material.

The alignment film 32 is provided to cover the first electrode 12, the second electrode 22, and a spacer 35 described later, so as to align the liquid crystal molecules 31 contained in the liquid crystal layer 30 in a desired direction.

For example, the alignment film 32 may be an inorganic alignment film formed of silicon oxide or the like having anisotropy in a desired direction. Such an inorganic alignment film can be formed by forming a film of silicon oxide or the like by oblique vapor deposition, for example. Thus, the inorganic alignment film has a columnar structure grown obliquely, and thus can have anisotropy in the growth direction of the columnar structure.

Alternatively, the alignment film 32 may be an organic alignment film such as polyimide having anisotropy in a desired direction. Such an organic alignment film can be formed by rubbing (buffing) the surface of the film-formed polyimide in one direction using a roller wound with cloth such as nylon. Thereby, the organic alignment film can have anisotropy in the direction rubbed (rubbed) with a roller.

The spacers 35 are columnar or spherical structures sandwiched between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, and are provided for each of a plurality of pixels. For example, the spacer 35 may also be provided between the first electrodes 12 (i.e., between pixels) for each of a plurality of pixels.

The spacer 35 is provided to define the distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 in the in-plane direction with high accuracy. By providing the spacer 35, the liquid crystal panel 1 can make the thickness of the liquid crystal layer 30 injected between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 uniform in the in-plane direction. Thereby, the liquid crystal panel 1 canThe thickness of the liquid crystal layer 30, which is one of the control factors of the light transmittance of the liquid crystal layer 30 and the polarization control sensitivity with respect to the applied voltage, can be made uniform in the in-plane direction, and thus the occurrence of unevenness in image quality can be suppressed. The spacer 35 may be made of, for example, silicon oxide (SiO) _x ) An inorganic insulating material such as silicon nitride (SiN) or silicon oxynitride (SiON), or an organic insulating material such as a resist.

The spacer 35 may be provided in any thickness as long as it can define the distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. However, as described later, the spacer 35 may cause light leakage, and therefore, it is preferable to be as thin as possible from the viewpoint of manufacturing process.

The light-shielding pattern 45 is made of a material having light-shielding properties and is provided around the spacer 35 in order to suppress light leakage due to the spacer 35. Specifically, around the spacers 35, the anisotropy of the alignment film 32 may be disturbed due to the presence of the spacers 35, and the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules 31 of the liquid crystal layer 30 may be disturbed. This makes it impossible for the liquid crystal layer 30 to sufficiently control polarization in the periphery of the spacer 35, and hence there is a high possibility of light leakage. The light-shielding pattern 45 is provided to suppress such light leakage due to the spacer 35.

For example, when the alignment film 32 is an inorganic alignment film, the spacers 35 protruding from the first substrate 10 block oblique deposition when the alignment film 32 is formed. Therefore, the alignment film 32 is formed more densely with respect to the spacer 35 on the vapor deposition source side (i.e., the side on which atoms of the vapor deposition material are incident), and thus the liquid crystal molecules 31 may be aligned at an angle deviating from a desired pretilt angle. In this case, since the liquid crystal molecules 31 on the vapor deposition source side exhibit different behaviors from the other liquid crystal molecules 31 with respect to the spacers 35, light transmission cannot be sufficiently suppressed in the case of full black display (that is, in the case where the transmittance of light of the liquid crystal panel 1 is controlled to 0%), and light leakage may occur. Further, the alignment film 32 is formed more sparsely than the spacer 35 on the side opposite to the vapor deposition source side, and the force of aligning the liquid crystal molecules 31 of the alignment film 32 is weakened. In this case, since the liquid crystal molecules 31 on the opposite side of the vapor deposition source side with respect to the spacers 35 are randomly aligned, light transmission cannot be sufficiently suppressed in the case of full black display, and light leakage may occur.

On the other hand, for example, in the case where the alignment film 32 is an organic alignment film, since a cloth of nylon or the like wound around a roll is pressed by the spacer 35 protruding from the first substrate 10, a region where the alignment film 32 cannot be polished normally is generated until the pressed cloth is returned to its original state. Therefore, the anisotropy of the alignment film 32 is lowered on the side of the direction in which the spacer 35 is rubbed (i.e., the side through which the cloth wound on the roll passes after coming into contact with the spacer 35), and the force for aligning the liquid crystal molecules 31 of the alignment film 32 may be weakened. In this case, since the liquid crystal molecules 31 on the side of the direction of rubbing against the spacer 35 are randomly aligned, light transmission cannot be sufficiently suppressed in the case of full black display, and light leakage may occur.

The light-shielding pattern 45 is provided for each spacer 35 in an arrangement corresponding to the spacer 35 in order to shield the light leakage caused by the spacer 35 and improve the contrast of the image of the liquid crystal panel 1. The light-shielding pattern 45 is provided on an arbitrary layer of the liquid crystal panel 1 with, for example, tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), or the like. For example, the light shielding pattern 45 may be provided on any one of a TFT layer or a multilayer wiring layer of the driving substrate 11, or may be provided on the counter substrate 21 of the second substrate 20. The positional relationship between the light-shielding pattern 45 and the spacer 35 in the plane will be specifically described below.

< 3. Structure of spacer >

Next, the spacer 35 and the light-shielding pattern 45 in the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 3 to 5. Fig. 3 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the arrangement of the spacers 35 and the light-shielding patterns 45 in the in-plane direction of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 4A and 4B are plan views showing a variation of the frequency of disposing the spacers 35 for a plurality of pixels. Fig. 5 is a plan view schematically showing another example of the arrangement of the light-shielding patterns 45 provided for the spacers 35.

As shown in fig. 3, the wiring of the drive circuit of the liquid crystal panel 1 provided in the TFT layer or the multilayer wiring layer of the drive substrate 11 includes a plurality of first pixel wirings 41 extending parallel to a first direction and a plurality of second pixel wirings 42 extending parallel to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The first pixel wiring 41 and the second pixel wiring 42 are, for example, a data signal line and an address signal line, and are provided between the pixels of the liquid crystal panel 1. That is, a region surrounded in a rectangular shape by the first pixel wiring 41 and the second pixel wiring 42 corresponds to the opening 50 of one pixel. As shown in fig. 2, the first electrode 12 is formed in the opening 50 of the pixel.

Here, the spacer 35 is provided to overlap with the first pixel wiring 41 or the second pixel wiring 42. For example, the spacer 35 may be provided to overlap an intersection of the first pixel wiring 41 and the second pixel wiring 42. When the spacer 35 is provided at the intersection of the first pixel line 41 and the second pixel line 42, the liquid crystal panel 1 can further improve the aperture ratio of the pixel.

In addition, the spacers 35 are periodically provided for each of a plurality of pixels. Thereby, the total number of spacers 35 in the liquid crystal panel 1 can be reduced as compared with the case where the spacers 35 are provided for each pixel. Therefore, the liquid crystal panel 1 can reduce the total amount of light leakage caused by the spacers 35, and improve the contrast of an image.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 3, the spacers 35 may also be provided periodically for every 4 pixels. Alternatively, the spacers 35 may be periodically provided for every 2 pixels as shown in fig. 4A, or may be periodically provided for every 25 pixels as shown in fig. 4B. The spacers 35 may be provided periodically so as not to cause density. In this case, the spacer 35 can further improve uniformity in the in-plane direction of the liquid crystal panel 1, and thus can suppress occurrence of unevenness in image quality in the in-plane direction.

On the other hand, in order to block light leakage due to the spacer 35, a light-shielding pattern 45 is provided at the opening 50 of the pixel adjacent to the region where the spacer 35 is provided corresponding to the spacer 35. Specifically, the light-shielding pattern 45 is not uniformly provided in the openings 50 of all the pixels, but is provided in the openings 50 of the pixels in which the anisotropy of the alignment film 32 is lost or disturbed by the presence of the spacers 35. In this way, in the liquid crystal panel 1, the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided in the opening 50 of the pixel where light leakage may occur, and thus, the reduction in aperture ratio due to the light-shielding pattern 45 can be further suppressed.

That is, in the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment, the number of spacers 35 is reduced with respect to the number of pixels, and the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided only in pixels where light leakage may occur due to the spacers 35. Thus, the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment can improve the aperture ratio and the contrast of an image.

For example, when the alignment film 32 is an inorganic alignment film, the light-shielding pattern 45 may be provided in the opening 50 of the pixel existing on the anisotropic direction side of the inorganic alignment film with respect to the spacer 35.

Specifically, in fig. 3, the alignment film 32 as an inorganic alignment film is formed by oblique vapor deposition in a direction from the top right to the bottom left of the drawing. Therefore, the alignment film 32 becomes an inorganic alignment film having a columnar structure that grows obliquely from the bottom left to the top right, and has anisotropy from the bottom left to the top right. In this case, the spacers 35 are formed more densely in the upper right alignment film 32 where the vapor deposition source is present during oblique vapor deposition, and therefore light leakage tends to occur in the openings 50 of the upper right pixels. Therefore, the light-shielding pattern 45 may be provided in the opening 50 of the pixel on the upper right side with respect to the spacer 35.

In addition, since the spacers 35 are formed to make the alignment films 32 on the upper right side and the lower left side opposite to the evaporation source more sparse during oblique evaporation, light leakage is likely to occur in the openings 50 of the pixels on the lower left side. Therefore, as shown in fig. 5, the light-shielding pattern 45 may be provided in the opening 50 of the pixel located on the left lower side with respect to the spacer 35, in addition to the opening 50 of the pixel located on the right upper side with respect to the spacer 35. That is, the light-shielding patterns 45 may be provided in the openings 50 of the pixels facing each other with the spacers 35 interposed therebetween in the anisotropic direction of the alignment film 32 as an inorganic alignment film.

At this time, the upper right pixel of the spacer 35 has a higher possibility of generating light leakage than the lower left pixel. Therefore, as shown in fig. 5, the light-shielding pattern 45A of the opening 50 of the pixel disposed on the upper right side of the spacer 35 may be disposed to have a larger area than the light-shielding pattern 45B of the opening 50 of the pixel disposed on the lower left side of the spacer 35.

On the other hand, for example, in the case where the alignment film 32 is an organic alignment film, the light-shielding pattern 45 may be provided in the opening 50 of the pixel existing on the anisotropic direction side of the organic alignment film with respect to the spacer 35.

Specifically, in fig. 3, the alignment film 32 as an organic alignment film is formed by rubbing in the direction from the lower left toward the upper right of the drawing, and the alignment film 32 has anisotropy from the lower left toward the upper right. In this case, since a defective polishing occurs in the upper right pixel after the spacer 35 in polishing the spacer 35, light leakage is likely to occur in the opening 50 of the upper right pixel. Therefore, the light-shielding pattern 45 may be provided in the opening 50 of the pixel on the upper right side with respect to the spacer 35.

The light-shielding pattern 45 may be provided in any size with respect to the opening 50 of the pixel, but is preferably provided in an area of less than 8% with respect to the entire area of the opening 50 of the pixel. In this case, the light shielding pattern 45 can further reduce the luminance difference between the pixels where the light shielding pattern 45 is provided and the pixels where the light shielding pattern 45 is not provided. In the case where a plurality of light-

shielding patterns

45A and 45B corresponding to one spacer are provided, the area of the light-shielding pattern 45 represents the sum of the areas of the plurality of light-

shielding patterns

45A and 45B.

Here, a preferable range of the area ratio of the light-shielding pattern 45 to the opening 50 of the pixel will be described with reference to fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a graph showing changes in the evaluation level of subjective evaluation performed on the area ratio of the light-shielding pattern 45.

In fig. 6, whether or not a pixel provided with a light-shielding pattern 45 is recognized as a dark spot at the time of full white display is subjectively evaluated using a 5-stage evaluation level specified in recommendation bt.500 of ITU-R (international telecommunication union radio communication sector). Specifically, the evaluation level is determined by the following subjective evaluation. In the following evaluation levels, 4.5 corresponds to a detection limit, 3.5 corresponds to an allowable limit, 2.5 corresponds to a tolerance limit, and 1.5 corresponds to a reception limit.

5.0: no interference (dark spots) is known.

4.0: interference (dark spots) is known but not intended.

3.0: interference (dark spots) is deliberate but not an obstacle.

2.0: the interference (dark spots) is severe and constitutes an obstacle.

1.0: no information is transmitted due to interference (dark spots).

In addition, in fig. 6, "1/2" is a result of the evaluation level of the liquid crystal panel 1 in which the spacer 35 is provided for every 2 pixels as shown in fig. 4A, "1/4" is a result of the evaluation level of the liquid crystal panel 1 in which the spacer 35 is provided for every 4 pixels as shown in fig. 3, and a plot of "1/25" is a result of the evaluation level of the liquid crystal panel 1 in which the spacer 35 is provided for every 25 pixels as shown in fig. 4B.

From the results shown in fig. 6, it is understood that when the area ratio of the light-shielding pattern 45 is 8% or more with respect to the entire area of the opening 50 of the pixel, the pixel provided with the light-shielding pattern 45 is easily recognized as a dark spot at the time of full white display, and the evaluation level is lowered. Therefore, the light-shielding pattern 45 is preferably provided in an area smaller than 8% of the entire area of the opening 50 of the pixel.

In addition, in the results shown in fig. 6, "1/25" in which the spacers 35 were provided every 25 pixels, had a larger decrease in evaluation level than "1/2" or "1/4" in which the spacers 35 were provided every 2 or every 4 pixels. This is because the sensitivity of a human being to a visual defect is high due to a change in spatial frequency (a change in distance between defects), and the defect is easily recognized by the human eye.

Here, when the density of the spacers 35 is further reduced from "1/25", the sensitivity of a human to visual defects is reduced, and therefore, a reduction in the evaluation level can be suppressed. In this case, however, it may be difficult to control the distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. The smaller the number of spacers 35 provided between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, the more the total amount of light leakage can be reduced, but the smaller the number, the better the total amount of light leakage, and in view of the above-mentioned problem, it is preferable to provide the spacers in an appropriate number or density.

< 4. Effect

Next, referring to fig. 7A and 7B, the structure of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the comparative example is illustrated, and the operational effects of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment are described. Fig. 7A and 7B are plan views schematically showing an example of the arrangement of the spacers 35 and the light-shielding patterns 45 in the in-plane direction of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the comparative example.

As shown in fig. 7A, in the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the first comparative example, the spacer 35 is provided for each pixel, and the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided in the opening 50 of all the pixels. As shown in fig. 7B, in the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the second comparative example, the spacer 35 is provided for each 2 pixels, and the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided in the opening 50 of all the pixels.

In the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the first and second comparative examples, the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided so that the aperture ratio becomes uniform in all the pixels. This is because the aperture ratio of the pixel greatly affects the image quality of the liquid crystal panel 1, and the risk of changing the aperture ratio for each pixel is high from the viewpoint of uniformity of the image quality. Since the liquid crystal panel 1 used in the projection display device 100 is a monochrome panel, it generally has the same configuration in all pixels.

In the liquid crystal panels 1 according to the first and second comparative examples, since the aperture ratios are the same in all the pixels, dark spots ( spots) are less likely to occur during full white display, bright spots are less likely to occur during full black display, and image quality unevenness in the in-plane direction of the liquid crystal panel 1 is less likely to occur. However, since the light-shielding patterns 45 are provided in the openings 50 of all the pixels, the luminance of the entire liquid crystal panel 1 is greatly reduced.

In recent years, in the projection display apparatus 100, further enhancement of the luminance is desired in order to improve the image quality. The projection display device 100 may increase the output of the light emitting section 110 in luminance, but in this case, the lower the aperture ratio of the liquid crystal panel 1, the more the amount of heat the liquid crystal panel 1 receives from the irradiated light increases. Therefore, since the temperature of the liquid crystal panel 1 becomes higher, the life of the liquid crystal panel 1 is reduced and image quality unevenness due to temperature distribution occurs.

Therefore, in order to increase the luminance of the projection display device 100, it is desirable to increase the aperture ratio of the pixels of the liquid crystal panel 1.

In the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment, the number of spacers 35 that cause light leakage is reduced, and the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided only in the pixels around the spacers 35 where light leakage is likely to occur. Accordingly, the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment can suppress light leakage due to the spacer 35, improve the contrast of an image, and suppress a decrease in luminance due to the light-shielding pattern 45.

In the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment, the ratio of the area of the light-shielding pattern 45 is smaller than 8% of the area of the opening 50 of the pixel, so that the possibility that the pixel provided with the light-shielding pattern 45 is recognized as a dark spot can be reduced. Thus, the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment can maintain the in-plane uniformity of an image even when the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided in a specific pixel corresponding to the spacer 35 provided for each of a plurality of pixels.

< 5. modified example >

(first modification)

Next, a first modification of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 8A to 8E. The first modification is a modification showing a change in the structure of the spacer 35. Fig. 8A to 8E are plan views showing changes in the structure of the spacer 35 with respect to the opening 50 of the pixel.

For example, as shown in fig. 8A to 8C, the spacer 35 may be provided to overlap with a wiring intersection portion 43, the wiring intersection portion 43 being provided at an intersection of a plurality of first pixel wirings 41 extending in parallel with a first direction and a plurality of second pixel wirings 42 extending in parallel with a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The wiring intersection 43 is formed at the intersection of the first pixel wiring 41 and the second pixel wiring 42 in a rectangular shape from the same conductive material as the first pixel wiring 41 and the second pixel wiring 42.

For example, as shown in fig. 8A, the spacer 35 may be provided substantially at the center of the wiring intersection 43. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 8B and 8C, the spacer 35 may be provided near one end of the wiring intersection 43.

Specifically, the spacer 35 may be provided near the end opposite to the side where the vapor deposition source is present when the alignment film 32 as the inorganic alignment film is obliquely vapor-deposited. In this case, the wiring intersection 43 can block light leakage caused by abnormal alignment of the liquid crystal molecules 31 on the vapor deposition source side with respect to the spacers 35, and therefore the liquid crystal panel 1 can reduce light leakage on the vapor deposition source side due to the spacers 35. The spacer 35 may be provided near the end on the side where the vapor deposition source is present when the alignment film 32 as the inorganic alignment film is obliquely vapor deposited. In this case, the wiring line intersection portion 43 can block light leakage caused by random alignment of the liquid crystal molecules 31 generated on the side opposite to the vapor deposition source side with respect to the spacer 35, and therefore the liquid crystal panel 1 can reduce light leakage caused on the side opposite to the vapor deposition source side by the spacer 35.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 8D, the spacer 35 may be provided to overlap with any one of a plurality of first pixel wirings 41 extending in parallel to the first direction or a plurality of second pixel wirings 42 extending in parallel to the second direction orthogonal to the first direction. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 8E, the spacer 35 may be provided so as to overlap the opening 50 of the pixel.

In the case where the liquid crystal panel 1 is formed by bonding the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, the spacer 35 may be provided on the first substrate 10 before being bonded to the second substrate 20, or may be provided on the second substrate 20 before being bonded to the first substrate 10.

(second modification)

Next, a second modification of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 9 to 12. The second modification is a modification in which a dummy light-shielding pattern is further provided on pixels around the pixel provided with the light-shielding pattern 45 to suppress a change in aperture ratio between adjacent pixels. Fig. 9 to 12 are plan views showing modified examples of the spacers 35 and the positional relationship between the light-shielding pattern 45 and the dummy light-shielding pattern 47.

As shown in fig. 9 to 10, the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the second modification may be provided with a dummy light-shielding pattern 47 in addition to the light-shielding pattern 45. Specifically, the spacer 35 is disposed at an intersection of a plurality of first pixel wirings 41 extending parallel to a first direction and a plurality of second pixel wirings 42 extending parallel to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the light shielding pattern 45 is disposed at an opening 50 of a pixel adjacent to a region where the spacer 35 is disposed. In addition, the dummy light-shielding patterns 47 may be respectively provided at the openings 51 of the pixels around the pixel where the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided.

For example, as shown in fig. 9, the dummy light-shielding patterns 47 may be provided in openings 51 of 8 pixels surrounding the pixel in which the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided in the opening 50. As shown in fig. 10, the dummy light-shielding patterns 47 may be provided in the openings 51 of 4 pixels adjacent to the pixel in which the light-shielding pattern 45 is provided in the opening 50.

At this time, the area of the dummy light shielding pattern 47 may be set smaller than the area of the light shielding pattern 45. Thus, the pixels provided with the light-shielding patterns 45 sandwich the pixels provided with the dummy light-shielding patterns 47, and the aperture ratio can be reduced in stages from the pixels not provided with the light-shielding patterns 45 and the like. Therefore, the pixels provided with the light-shielding pattern 45 can suppress a rapid change in aperture ratio between adjacent pixels, and thus can further reduce the possibility of being recognized as dark spots. Therefore, according to the second modification, the liquid crystal panel 1 can improve the uniformity of the image quality.

As shown in fig. 11 to 12, the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the second modification may be provided with a first dummy light-shielding pattern 48 and a second dummy light-shielding pattern 49 in addition to the light-shielding pattern 45. Specifically, the first dummy light-shielding patterns 48 may be respectively disposed at the openings 51 of the pixels around the pixel where the light-shielding pattern 45 is disposed, and the second dummy light-shielding patterns 49 may be further respectively disposed at the openings 52 of the pixels around the pixel where the first dummy light-shielding pattern 48 is disposed.

For example, as shown in fig. 11, the first dummy light-shielding patterns 48 may be respectively provided in openings 51 of 8 pixels surrounding the pixel provided with the light-shielding pattern 45 in the opening 50, and the second dummy light-shielding patterns 49 may be further respectively provided in openings 52 of 16 pixels surrounding the pixel provided with the first dummy light-shielding pattern 48. As shown in fig. 12, the first dummy light-shielding patterns 48 may be provided in openings 51 of 4 pixels adjacent to the pixel having the light-shielding pattern 45 provided in the opening 50, and the second dummy light-shielding patterns 49 may be provided in openings 52 of 8 pixels adjacent to the pixel having the first dummy light-shielding pattern 48 provided therein.

At this time, the area of the first dummy light-shielding pattern 48 may be set smaller than that of the light-shielding pattern 45, and the area of the second dummy light-shielding pattern 49 may be set smaller than that of the first dummy light-shielding pattern 48. That is, the first and second dummy light-shielding

patterns

48 and 49 may be disposed to decrease in area as the distance from the pixel where the light-shielding pattern 45 is disposed increases. Thus, the pixels provided with the light-shielding pattern 45 sandwich the pixels provided with the first dummy light-shielding pattern 48 and the second dummy light-shielding pattern 49, and the aperture ratio can be lowered in stages from the pixels not provided with the light-shielding pattern 45 and the like. Therefore, the pixels provided with the light-shielding pattern 45 can suppress a rapid change in aperture ratio between adjacent pixels, and thus can further reduce the possibility of being recognized as a dark spot. Therefore, according to the second modification, the liquid crystal panel 1 can improve the uniformity of the image quality.

(third modification)

Next, a third modification of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 13 and 14. The third modification is a modification for reducing the possibility that light leakage due to the spacers 35 is visually recognized as bright spots by controlling the gradation of an image displayed on the liquid crystal panel 1. Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing functions related to control of the

light modulation units

130R, 130G, and 130B including the liquid crystal panel 1. Fig. 14 is a graph showing an example of gradation change in a pixel adjacent to the spacer 35 and in other pixels.

As shown in fig. 13, the

light modulation units

130R, 130G, and 130B include, for example, a liquid crystal panel 1 and a circuit unit 70 that drives each pixel of the liquid crystal panel 1. The circuit unit 70 includes a luminance correction unit 71, an image control unit 72, a data driver 73, and a gate driver 74.

The liquid crystal panel 1 includes: the liquid crystal display device includes a pixel region 1A in which a plurality of pixels P are arranged in a matrix, and a peripheral region 1B provided in the periphery of the pixel region 1A. The liquid crystal panel 1 can display an image based on the image signal Din by actively driving each pixel P by the data driver 73 and the gate driver 74.

The luminance correcting section 71 corrects the supplied image signal Din for a luminance difference between the pixels P which may occur due to the provision of the spacer 35 or the light shielding pattern 45. The luminance correcting section 71 corrects the luminance difference as will be described later.

The image control unit 72 stores the image signal Din with the corrected luminance in the frame memory, and controls the data driver 73 and the gate driver 74 in conjunction with each other, thereby displaying an image based on the image signal Din in the pixel region 1A. Specifically, the image control section 72 supplies the scan timing control signal to the data driver 73, and supplies the image signal of one horizontal line based on the image signal Din held in the frame memory and the display timing control signal to the data driver 73.

The data driver 73 supplies the image signal of one horizontal line supplied from the image control section 72 as a signal voltage to each pixel P of one horizontal line selected by the gate driver 74. The gate driver 74 selects one row of the pixels P arranged in a matrix in the pixel region 1A as a driving target based on the scanning timing control signal supplied from the image control section 72. In the selected pixel P, an image of one horizontal line is displayed according to the signal voltage supplied from the data driver 73. The gate driver 74 can display an image of the entire pixel region 1A by sequentially scanning one horizontal line by one horizontal line in a time division manner.

Here, in the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the present embodiment, due to light leakage by the spacers 35, the luminance of the pixel adjacent to the region where the spacers 35 are provided may be higher than that of the surrounding pixels, or the luminance of the pixel where the light shielding pattern 45 is provided may be lower than that of the surrounding pixels. In the third modification, the luminance of these pixels is brought closer to the luminance of the surrounding pixels by the luminance correcting section 71, whereby the in-plane uniformity of the liquid crystal panel 1 can be further improved.

Specifically, the luminance correcting section 71 may calculate the difference (for example, Δ V) between the drive voltages of the pixels adjacent to the region where the spacer 35 is provided and the other pixels on the plurality of correction surfaces (under the same illuminance condition) ₁ And Δ V ₂ ) As a correction value. The luminance correcting section 71 may correct the luminance of the pixel adjacent to the region where the spacer 35 is disposed using the calculated correction value. Alternatively, the luminance correcting section 71 may generate a V-T curve obtained by measuring a change in illuminance with respect to the drive voltage as shown in fig. 14 for the pixel adjacent to the spacer 35 and the other pixels, and set the difference in the drive voltage calculated based on the generated V-T curve as the correction value. The luminance correcting section 71 may correct the luminance of the pixel adjacent to the region where the spacer 35 is disposed using the calculated correction value.

For example, when the luminance reduction due to the light shielding pattern 45 is corrected, the luminance correction by the luminance correcting section 71 may be performed for the pixel provided with the light shielding pattern 45. In addition, in the case of correcting the light leakage caused by the spacer 35, the luminance correction by the luminance correcting portion 71 may be performed individually for each pixel which is adjacent to the region where the spacer 35 is provided and may generate the light leakage.

The luminance correcting unit 71 may calculate the above-described correction value for each of the plurality of divided regions of the pixel region 1A, and change the correction value for the luminance of the pixel P for each of the divided regions. For example, the luminance correcting section 71 may divide the pixel region 1A into 9 regions of 3 × 3 vertical and horizontal lines, and change the correction value of the luminance for the pixel P for each of the divided regions. In this case, by changing the correction value of the luminance, it is possible to recognize the boundary of the divided region. Therefore, the luminance correcting unit 71 may further control the correction values so that the difference in the correction values of the luminance between the divided regions becomes smaller in the vicinity of the boundary between the divided regions.

Note that the luminance correcting section 71 may calculate the correction value in the representative liquid crystal panel 1 and apply the calculated correction value to all the other liquid crystal panels 1, or may calculate the correction value for each liquid crystal panel 1 and apply the calculated correction value to each liquid crystal panel 1.

According to the third modification, the liquid crystal panel 1 can correct an image so that bright spots or dark spots generated by the spacers 35 or the light-shielding patterns 45 are not visually recognized, and therefore, the generation of image quality unevenness in the in-plane direction can be further suppressed.

< 6. supplementary notes >

The technique of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments and the modifications. However, the technique of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and the like, and various modifications are possible.

For example, the spacer 35 and the light shielding pattern 45 may not be provided near the outermost periphery of the liquid crystal panel 1. This is because the outermost periphery of the liquid crystal panel 1 is more easily visually recognized as a bright point or a dark point than the frame (i.e., the frame edge) of the liquid crystal panel 1. Therefore, the spacer 35 and the light shielding pattern 45, which may cause bright spots or dark spots, may not be provided in pixels located in a predetermined range from the outermost periphery of the liquid crystal panel 1.

The light-shielding pattern 45 may change the area ratio of the pixels to the openings 50 in the in-plane direction of the liquid crystal panel 1. For example, in the liquid crystal panel 1, from the viewpoint of manufacturing process, the luminance of the pixels in the central portion of the pixel region 1A may become higher, and the luminance of the pixels in the peripheral portion may become lower. Therefore, the liquid crystal panel 1 may correct the difference between the luminance of the pixels in the central portion and the luminance of the pixels in the peripheral portion of the pixel region 1A by changing the area ratio of the light shielding pattern 45 between the pixels in the central portion and the pixels in the peripheral portion to control the amount of light leakage in the pixels.

Note that all the structures and operations described in the above embodiments are not necessarily essential to the structures and operations of the present disclosure. For example, among the components of the above-described embodiments, components that are not recited in the independent claims indicating the uppermost concept of the present disclosure should be understood as arbitrary components.

The terms used throughout this specification and the appended claims should be construed as "non-limiting" terms. For example, the terms "include" or "include" should be interpreted as "not limited to the case of being described as including". The term "having" should be interpreted as "not limited to the case of having".

The terms used in the present specification include terms used for convenience of description, and are not used for the purpose of limiting the structure and operation. For example, the terms "right", "left", "upper", "lower", etc. merely indicate directions on the drawings to which reference is made. The terms "inside" and "outside" merely indicate a direction toward the center of the attention element and a direction away from the center of the attention element, respectively. The same applies to similar terms or terms with the same subject.

The technique of the present disclosure can also adopt the following configuration. According to the technique of the present disclosure having the following configuration, a liquid crystal panel included in a projection display device includes: a first substrate and a second substrate arranged to face each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween; a spacer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate and provided for each of the plurality of pixels; and a light shielding pattern provided in the opening of the pixel corresponding to the spacer. Thus, in the projection type display device, for example, the number of spacers in the liquid crystal panel is reduced, and the light shielding pattern is provided on the pixel corresponding to the spacer. Therefore, the projection display device can improve the aperture ratio of the pixels and improve the contrast of the image. The effects obtained by the technique of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects described herein, and may be any of the effects described in the present disclosure.

(1)

A projection display device includes a liquid crystal panel including:

a first substrate and a second substrate arranged to face each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween;

spacers provided for each of a plurality of pixels two-dimensionally arranged in an in-plane direction of the first substrate and the second substrate and sandwiched by the first substrate and the second substrate; and

and a light shielding pattern provided in the opening of the pixel corresponding to the spacer.

(2)

The projection display apparatus according to the above (1),

the spacers are disposed to overlap with pixel wirings disposed between the pixels.

(3)

The projection display apparatus according to the above (2),

the pixel wiring includes a first pixel wiring extending in a first direction and a second pixel wiring extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction,

the spacer is provided to overlap an intersection of the first pixel wiring and the second pixel wiring.

(4)

The projection display apparatus according to the above (3),

the light shielding pattern is provided in the opening of the pixel adjacent to the intersection.

(5)

The projection display apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (4),

an alignment film having anisotropy is further provided on a main surface of the first substrate or the second substrate on the liquid crystal layer side,

the light-shielding pattern is provided in the opening of the pixel that is present in the anisotropic direction of the alignment film with respect to the spacer.

(6)

The projection display apparatus according to the above (5),

the light-shielding patterns are respectively provided in the openings of the pixels facing each other with the spacers interposed therebetween in the anisotropic direction of the alignment film.

(7)

The projection type display device according to the above (5) or (6),

the alignment film is an inorganic alignment film having a columnar structure grown obliquely,

the light shielding pattern is provided at the opening of the pixel existing in the growth direction of the columnar structure with respect to the spacer.

(8)

The projection display apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (7),

the ratio of the area of the light-shielding pattern is less than 8% of the entire area of the opening of the pixel.

(9)

The projection display apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (8),

in the pixels around the pixel provided with the light shielding pattern, a dummy light shielding pattern is further provided in the opening.

(10)

The projection display apparatus according to the above (9),

the area of the virtual shading pattern is smaller than that of the shading pattern.

(11)

The projection display apparatus according to the above (10),

the area of the dummy light-shielding pattern becomes smaller as being distant from the pixel where the light-shielding pattern is disposed.

(12)

The projection display apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (11),

further comprises an image control section for controlling an image displayed on the liquid crystal panel,

the image control section includes a luminance correction section that corrects luminance of the pixel provided with the light shielding pattern.

(13)

The projection display apparatus according to the above (12),

the luminance correcting section divides a display area of the liquid crystal panel into a plurality of sections, and corrects the luminance of the pixel provided with the light shielding pattern for each of the divided display areas.

(14)

The projection type display device according to the above (12) or (13),

the luminance correcting section performs correction for reducing luminance of the pixel provided with the light shielding pattern.

(15)

The projection display apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (14),

the liquid crystal panel is a monochrome panel.

(16)

The projection display device according to any one of the above (1) to (15), further comprising:

a light emitting section;

an image generation optical system that generates image light modulated by the liquid crystal panel by guiding light from the light emitting section to the liquid crystal panel; and

a projection optical system that projects the image light.

This application claims priority based on japanese patent application No. 2020-.

Various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations, and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art based on design requirements or other primary reasons, but are to be understood to be within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A projection display device includes a liquid crystal panel including:

a spacer provided for each of a plurality of pixels two-dimensionally arranged in an in-plane direction of the first substrate and the second substrate, the spacer being sandwiched by the first substrate and the second substrate; and

2. The projection type display device according to claim 1,

3. The projection type display device according to claim 2,

4. The projection type display device according to claim 3,

5. The projection-type display device according to claim 1,

6. The projection-type display device according to claim 5,

the light shielding patterns are respectively provided in the openings of the pixels facing each other with the spacers interposed therebetween in the anisotropic direction of the alignment film.

7. The projection-type display device according to claim 5,

8. The projection type display device according to claim 1,

9. The projection type display device according to claim 1,

10. The projection-type display device according to claim 9,

11. The projection-type display device according to claim 10,

12. The projection type display device according to claim 1,

the projection display device further includes an image control unit for controlling an image displayed on the liquid crystal panel,

13. The projection-type display device according to claim 12,

14. The projection-type display device according to claim 12,

15. The projection type display device according to claim 1,

the liquid crystal panel is a monochrome panel.

16. The projection type display device according to claim 1,

the projection display device further includes:

a light emitting section;

a projection optical system that projects the image light.