JP2008058602A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multiview directional display device which is high in transmittance by widening a viewing angle and widening the slit width of a parallax optical element. <P>SOLUTION: The display device has a display element which can display a first image visible from a first direction and a second image visible from a second direction different from the first direction on the same screen and a parallax optical element provided with a light transmission slit and a light shielding section. The display element has a pixel greater in the length in the direction parallel to the transverse direction of the parallax optical element than the length in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parallax optical element, and is connected to a driving controller which performs transfer of the color pixel data of three colors for the first image and the color pixel data of three colors for the second image in order. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-view directional display device capable of displaying different images depending on the direction in which a display panel is viewed.

  For a long time, display devices have been one or more users viewing one type of image simultaneously. For this reason, the display characteristics of the display device have been designed so that a plurality of observers can see the same good image from different angles with respect to the display. This is effective when used by a plurality of users who may need the same information, such as a display for displaying departure information at airports and stations.

  On the other hand, display devices have multiple applications where it is desired that individual users can see different information from the same display. For example, in the case of a car, the driver may desire to watch satellite navigation data while the passenger may desire to watch a movie. This different requirement can be met by providing two separate displays, which occupies extra space and is costly. Further, if two separate displays are used in this example, the driver can move his head to see the passenger's display, but will distract the driver. A further example is a display device for playing computer games for two or more players. Each player may desire to view the game from his perspective. This is currently done by each player watching the game on a separate display screen so that each player sees his own unique perspective on a separate screen. However, providing a separate display screen for each player takes up a lot of space, is costly and is not practical for portable games.

  In order to solve these problems, multi-view directional displays have been developed. An application of a multi-view directional display is as a “dual view display”, which can display two or more different images simultaneously, each image only visible in a specific direction, ie one An observer looking at the display device from a direction sees one image, whereas an observer looking at the display device from another different direction sees a different image. A display that can show different images to two or more users provides significant space and cost savings compared to using two or more separate displays.

  While possible applications of multi-view directional display devices have been described so far, there are many other applications. For example, multi-view directional display devices are used in airplanes and each passenger is provided with a separate in-flight entertainment program. Currently, each passenger is typically provided with a separate display device on the back of the front row seat. By using a multi-view directional display, significant cost, space and weight savings can be provided. This is because one display can serve two or more passengers, while each passenger can further select a unique movie according to their preference.

  A further advantage of multi-view directional displays is the ability to make it impossible for users to see each other's screen displays. This is desirable, for example, in applications that require security, such as banking or trading transactions using an automated teller machine (ATM), and in the example computer game described above.

  Generally, the viewing direction of the multi-view directional display device is designed in a direction (substantially vertical direction) intersecting the pixel long side direction of the image display device. That is, the opaque region and the transparent slit of the light shielding part are formed in an arrangement parallel to the pixel long side direction of the image display device. For this reason, each pixel column of the image display device that can be seen through the transparent slit is viewed by scanning in the short side direction of the pixel, and the range (viewing angle) in which the image appears to be separated is very narrow. This problem is particularly noticeable in an image display device with high definition.

  A stripe-shaped light shielding part and a slit-like transparent part are arranged substantially parallel to the RGB pixel long side direction of the image display device, and the first and second views are obtained by observing the pixel through this slit. In the case of a dual-view display device in which the in-window direction is formed, when the viewing direction viewing angle is changed through the slit, the light scanned from the pixel electrodes constituting the first and second images in the short side direction is observed by the observer Therefore, the viewing angle is widened or narrowed depending on the length of the short side of the pixel. In general, in a display device that configures one picture element using three primary colors such as RGB and CMY, the length in the short side of the pixel relative to the long side of the pixel is approximately 1/3. The angle tended to be very narrow (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

On the other hand, when a dual view display device that displays the first and second images using three pixels of RGB or CMY as a set of picture elements is used, the length in the short side direction of the pixel is tripled. In this case, when the viewing direction viewing angle is changed through the slit-shaped transparent portion, the light scanned in the short side direction of RGB or CMY 3 pixels reaches the observer, so that the viewing angle seems to be widened. However, since the pixels scanned according to the viewing direction viewing angle change to RGB or CMY, there is a problem that the color reproducibility changes depending on the viewing angle even in the same image (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP 2005-78076 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a high-definition image display device having a very small pitch in the short side direction of pixels, the viewing angle is wide and the slit width of the parallax optical element is wide. Therefore, an object is to provide a multi-view directional display device with high transmittance.

In the present invention, first, a display capable of displaying a first image visible from the first direction and a second image visible from a second direction different from the first direction on the same screen. And a parallax optical element provided with a light transmission slit and a light shielding unit for controlling the direction of light emitted from the display unit,
The display unit includes pixels having a length in a direction parallel to a width direction of the light transmission slit larger than a length in a direction parallel to a longitudinal direction of the light transmission slit, and pixel data for the first image And a drive control unit for transferring data in the order of the pixel data for the second image.

Secondly, the present invention can display a first image visible from the first direction and a second image visible from a second direction different from the first direction on the same screen. And a parallax optical element provided with a light transmission slit and a light shielding unit for controlling the direction of light emitted from the display unit,
The display unit includes pixels whose length in a direction parallel to the width direction of the light transmission slit is larger than a length in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the light transmission slit, and three colors for the first image And a drive control unit that transfers data in the order of the color pixel data of the second color and the color pixel data of the three colors for the second image.

Thirdly, the present invention provides a display capable of displaying a first image visible from the first direction and a second image visible from a second direction different from the first direction on the same screen. And a parallax optical element provided with a light transmission slit and a light shielding unit for controlling the direction of light emitted from the display unit,
The display unit is connected to a drive control unit that performs data transfer in the order of the three color pixel data for the first image and the three color pixel data for the second image, and 3 A display device is provided in which color pixels are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a width direction of the light transmission slit.

  According to the present invention, a bright display device with a wide viewing angle can be provided with a high yield.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of color pixels of a color filter and parallax optical elements in a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 1A shows a front view of the color pixels of the color filter as viewed from the parallax optical element side.

  FIG.1 (b) shows the figure which looked at Fig.1 (a) from the X-X 'cross section direction.

  As shown in the drawing, on the color filter array 34 used in the present invention, a slit-like light transmission part 32 and a stripe-like light shielding layer 31 are arranged as a parallax barrier layer. For example, in the case of a diagonal 8-type W-VGA panel, the width of the slit-shaped light transmission part 32 can be 25 to 100 μm, and the distance between the parallax barrier layer and the color pixel can be 25 to 100 μm.

  The color filter array 34 includes a plurality of RGB picture elements 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D, 33E, 33F, 33G, 33H, etc., each composed of a color pixel, for example, a red pixel, a green pixel, and a blue pixel. The red pixel, the green pixel, and the blue pixel have substantially the same size as each other, and are rectangles having a long side l and a short side w. In the color filter array 34, the red pixel, the green pixel, and the blue pixel in one picture element are arranged in the direction perpendicular to the width direction of the slit via the long side l, and the long side l is The slits are arranged substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the slits.

  In the pixel arrangement of the conventional color filter array, since the long side of the color pixel is arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the slit, when observing the color pixel through the slit, other color pixels adjacent to the color pixel to be observed are arranged. Since the distance between the color pixels is only the length of the short side, the viewing angle is narrow.

  However, in the pixel arrangement of the color filter array as used in the present invention, the longitudinal direction of the slit-like light transmission part 32 is arranged so that the direction of the long side l of the color pixel RGB or CMY of the color filter is substantially orthogonal, Since the distance from the adjacent color pixel is the length of the long side l of the color pixel, the viewing angle can be made wider than before. For example, in a design in which the distance (L) between the pixel and the parallax barrier is constant, when the ratio of the long side l to the short side w is 3 times, it is approximately 3 times wider than when using a conventional color filter array. A viewing angle can be secured.

  Thus, in the present invention, the configuration in which three pixels of RGB or CMY are set as a set of picture elements is the same, but when the viewing angle in the viewing direction is changed, the color mixing ratio of RGB or CMY is changed at all angles. By adopting a pixel arrangement with equality, it is possible to provide a multi-viewing direction display having a wide viewing angle that is bright and has no color change.

  Further, although it is a secondary action, the configuration of the present invention is advantageous for improving the manufacturing yield. In the conventional design, in order to distribute RGB or CMY in the first and second viewing directions for each pixel, the distance between the barrier layer and the pixel is reduced to about √3 / 2 of the length of the short side of the pixel. It was necessary and greatly affected the manufacturing yield.

  On the other hand, since the RGB or CMY3 pixel of the present invention is one picture element, the length in the short side direction of the pixel is almost tripled, so the distance between the barrier layer and the pixel is almost tripled compared to the conventional case. And lead to yield improvement.

  As described above, in the display device according to the present invention, the display unit includes pixels whose length in the direction parallel to the width direction of the parallax optical element is larger than the length in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parallax optical element. Bright, wide viewing angle and high yield.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows a circuit configuration of an example of the display device of the present invention.

  The liquid crystal display device includes a gate driver 10, a liquid crystal drive circuit (source driver) 20, a drive control unit 30, and an image signal processing unit 40.

  The liquid crystal display panel 100 has a structure in which the liquid crystal layer 4 is sandwiched between the array substrate 2 and the counter substrate 3. The array substrate 2 includes a plurality of pixel electrodes 11 arranged in a matrix on a transparent insulating substrate such as glass, a plurality of gate lines Y (Y1 to Ym) arranged along a row of the plurality of pixel electrodes 11, A plurality of source lines X (X1 to Xn) arranged along a column of the plurality of pixel electrodes 11 and a plurality of pixel switching elements (not shown) arranged in the vicinity of intersection positions of the gate lines Y and the source lines X are included. .

  The gate driver 10 and the source driver 20 are provided on the array substrate 2. The gate driver 10 sequentially drives the plurality of gate lines Y, and the source driver 20 drives the plurality of source lines X while each gate line Y is driven. Each pixel switching element is made of, for example, a polysilicon thin film transistor. In this case, the gate of the thin film transistor is connected to one gate line Y, and the source and drain paths are connected between one source line X and one pixel electrode 11, respectively. The gate driver 10 is configured using a polysilicon thin film transistor that is formed simultaneously in the same process as the pixel switching element. The source driver 20 is an integrated circuit (IC) chip mounted on the array substrate 2 by COG (Chip On Glass) technology.

  The counter substrate 3 is, for example, a color filter having a color pixel arrangement as shown in FIG. 1 disposed on a transparent insulating substrate such as glass, and a common electrode disposed on the color filter so as to face the plurality of pixel electrodes 11. including. Each pixel electrode 11 and the common electrode are made of, for example, a transparent electrode material such as ITO, and are arranged between the pixel electrode and the common electrode, together with the pixel region of the liquid crystal layer 4 controlled by the liquid crystal molecular arrangement corresponding to the electric field from these electrodes. A liquid crystal pixel is configured. All the pixels have auxiliary capacitors. These auxiliary capacitances are obtained by electrically connecting a plurality of auxiliary capacitance lines that are capacitively coupled to pixel electrodes in a plurality of rows on the array substrate 2 side to the common electrode.

  The image signal processing unit 40 is connected to the drive control unit 30, the first direction, for example, the right side image data memory 41, and the second direction, for example, the left side image data memory 42.

  The drive control unit 30 controls the gate driver 10 and the source driver 20.

  The drive control unit 30 is a control signal CTY for sequentially selecting a plurality of gate lines Y for each vertical scanning period, and pixels for one row (line) included in the video signal for each horizontal scanning period (1H). A control signal CTX for assigning pixel data DATA for PX to a plurality of source lines X is generated.

  The control signal CTY is supplied from the controller to the gate driver 10, and the control signal CTX is supplied from the controller 5 to the source driver 20 together with the pixel data DATA.

  Image data from the right side image data memory 41 and the left side image data memory 43 is processed by the image signal processing unit 40, and a liquid crystal driving circuit (source driver) is obtained as right side still image data and left side moving image data, respectively. 20 is sent. The source driver 20 converts, for example, three colors of still image data for the right side by a digital / analog (D / A) conversion circuit for converting each of them into an analog pixel voltage, and converts the pixel voltage obtained from the D / A conversion circuit. Can be output to the source lines X1, X2, and X3. On the other hand, the moving image data of the three colors for the left side can be similarly converted into analog pixel voltages, and the pixel voltages can be output to the source lines X4, X5, and X6.

  FIG. 3 schematically shows a transfer pattern of image data.

  In the figure, R represents a red pixel, G represents a green pixel, and B represents a blue pixel.

  In the figure, red, green, and blue pixel data are sequentially transferred as right-side still image data so that R right, G right, and B right are displayed, and then R left, G left, B As displayed on the left, red, green, and blue pixel data can be sequentially transferred as left-side still image data.

  Further, instead of the RGB color pixel data, YMC color pixel data can be applied.

  The left-side image data memory 43 can be connected to the external input 43 and can capture image data from a camera or a VTR as left-side moving image data.

  The above embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the content of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

The figure for demonstrating arrangement | positioning of the color pixel of a color filter, and a parallax optical element The figure which represents roughly the circuit structure of an example of the display apparatus of this invention A diagram schematically showing the transfer pattern of image data

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Gate driver, 20 ... Source driver, 30 ... Drive control part, 31 ... Light shielding layer, 32 ... Light transmission part, 33 ..., 34 ... Color filter array, 40 ... Image signal processing part, 41 ... Image data for right side Memory, 42 ... Left side image data memory

Claims (5)

A display unit capable of displaying a first image visible from the first direction and a second image visible from a second direction different from the first direction on the same screen, and radiation from the display unit A parallax optical element provided with a light transmission slit and a light shielding part for controlling the direction of the light to be emitted,
The display unit includes pixels having a length in a direction parallel to a width direction of the light transmission slit larger than a length in a direction parallel to a longitudinal direction of the light transmission slit, and pixel data for the first image And a drive control unit that performs data transfer in the order of the pixel data for the second image. A display unit capable of displaying a first image visible from the first direction and a second image visible from a second direction different from the first direction on the same screen, and radiation from the display unit A parallax optical element provided with a light transmission slit and a light shielding part for controlling the direction of the light to be emitted,
The display unit includes pixels whose length in a direction parallel to the width direction of the light transmission slit is larger than a length in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the light transmission slit, and three colors for the first image The display device is connected to a drive control unit that performs data transfer in the order of the color pixel data of the second color and the color pixel data of the three colors for the second image. A display unit capable of displaying a first image visible from the first direction and a second image visible from a second direction different from the first direction on the same screen, and radiation from the display unit A parallax optical element provided with a light transmission slit and a light shielding part for controlling the direction of the light to be emitted,
The display unit is connected to a drive control unit that performs data transfer in the order of the three color pixel data for the first image and the three color pixel data for the second image, and 3 A display device, wherein color pixels are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a width direction of the light transmission slit.   The display section includes first image red pixel data, first image green pixel data, first image blue pixel data, second image red pixel data, and second image green pixel data. 4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is connected to a drive control unit that performs data transfer in the order of the second image blue pixel data. 5.   The display section includes first image yellow pixel data, first image magenta pixel data, first image cyan pixel data, second image yellow pixel data, and second image. 4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is connected to a drive control unit that performs data transfer in the order of magenta color pixel data for the image and cyan pixel data for the second image. .

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