JP2012242574A - Liquid crystal element and stereoscopic display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal element that allows stereoscopic vision without deteriorating resolution and transmittance.SOLUTION: A liquid crystal element includes: a first transparent substrate; a first transparent electrode formed on the first transparent substrate; a second transparent substrate facing the first transparent substrate; a prism layer formed on the second transparent substrate; a second transparent electrode formed on the prism layer; a liquid crystal layer held between the first and second transparent substrates and having a liquid crystal molecule exhibiting a cholesteric blue phase; and control means for changing a traveling direction of light passing through the prism layer at an invisible speed by changing a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer in a manner that a voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer is switched at high speed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal element and a stereoscopic display device.

  Conventionally, a stereoscopic image using polarizing glasses that displays a left-right image with a polarization direction different by 90 ° on a display device, and that has polarizing plates that respectively correspond to the polarization directions of the left-right image so as to fit the left and right eyes, respectively. Vision is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, in order to perform stereoscopic display, liquid crystal shutter glasses are known that display a left-eye image and a right-eye image alternately by driving the display device in a time-sharing manner, and open and close the left and right shutters in synchronization with this. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2). When the left eye image is displayed on the display device, the left liquid crystal shutter is opened and the right liquid crystal shutter is closed. When the right eye image is displayed, the right liquid crystal shutter is opened and the left liquid crystal shutter is opened. By closing, the display image on the display device is stereoscopically viewed.

  In recent years, a lenticular lens system and a parallax barrier system that perform 3D display without glasses are known as next-generation 3D display systems expected to be applied to video observation, game machines, and the like. In these methods, a right-eye image and a left-eye image are created spatially, and a stereoscopic display is realized by an observer viewing the display from a specific position.

JP 05-257083 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-178325

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the pixels for the right eye and the left eye are separated, the resolution is halved. In addition, the polarizing plate has a problem of low transmittance. Furthermore, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a stereoscopic display device is limited to a polarization type device such as a liquid crystal display device.

  The technique described in Patent Document 2 enables stereoscopic viewing using a display device other than the polarization type without reducing the resolution. However, the liquid crystal shutter according to the technique described in Patent Document 2 has a very low transmittance. Even a bright one has a transmittance of 45% or less, and a dark one has a transmittance of 30% or less.

  In addition, the resolution is lowered in the lenticular lens method or the parallax barrier method. For example, in the case of the twin lens system, the resolution is ½, and in the case of the multi-lens system, the resolution is 1 / (number of multiple eyes).

  An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal element that enables stereoscopic viewing without using glasses.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a stereoscopic display device that enables stereoscopic viewing without using glasses.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal element includes a first transparent substrate, a first transparent electrode formed on the first transparent substrate, and a second transparent electrode facing the first transparent substrate. Cholestic sandwiched between a transparent substrate, a prism layer formed on the second transparent substrate, a second transparent electrode formed on the prism layer, and the first and second transparent substrates By changing the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer by switching the liquid crystal layer having liquid crystal molecules exhibiting a blue phase and the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer at high speed, the traveling direction of light passing through the prism layer cannot be visually recognized. And control means for changing at a speed.

  Moreover, according to the other viewpoint of this invention, the three-dimensional display apparatus was installed in the display surface side of the display apparatus and the said display apparatus, and was formed on the 1st transparent substrate and the said 1st transparent substrate. A first transparent electrode; a second transparent substrate facing the first transparent substrate; a prism layer formed on the second transparent substrate; and a second transparent formed on the prism layer By reversing the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer at high speed, an electrode, a liquid crystal layer having liquid crystal molecules sandwiched between the first and second transparent substrates and exhibiting a cholesteric blue phase, and refraction of the liquid crystal layer And a light deflecting liquid crystal element having control means for changing the rate of travel of light incident from the display device and passing through the prism layer at a speed that cannot be visually recognized.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a liquid crystal element that enables stereoscopic viewing without using glasses.

  In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a stereoscopic display device that enables stereoscopic viewing without using glasses.

1 is a cross-sectional view in a thickness direction schematically showing a light deflection liquid crystal cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a prism layer 3. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a prism layer 3 on a glass substrate 1. FIG. It is the schematic showing the structure of the three-dimensional display liquid crystal display device 200 incorporating the light deflection | deviation liquid crystal cell 100 by the Example of this invention. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing how light propagates when a high voltage is applied to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing how light propagates when a low voltage is applied to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100. FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a light deflection liquid crystal cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. A glass substrate 11 on which one glass substrate 1 and a transparent electrode 12 were formed was prepared. The glass substrate 1 has a thickness of 0.7 mmt or less and is made of alkali-free glass.

  The glass substrate 11 has a thickness of 0.7 mm and is made of alkali-free glass. The transparent electrode 12 has a thickness of 150 nm, is made of indium tin oxide (ITO), and is patterned into a desired planar shape. The patterning was performed by a well-known photolithography process after the glass substrate 11 was washed with a washing machine. As an ITO etching method, wet etching (secondary iron chloride) can be used. The cleaning method is the same as the glass substrate 12 cleaning method described later.

  First, a prism layer (prism layer) 3 is formed on the glass substrate 1. The prism layer 3 has a shape in which prisms 3 a are arranged on a base layer 3 b formed on the glass substrate 1. The thickness of the base layer 3b is, for example, about 2 μm to 30 μm.

  In this embodiment, the prism layer 3 is formed using a material (hereinafter, simply referred to as a heat-resistant prism material) having a small change in characteristics (transmittance) with respect to heat treatment at 180 ° C. or higher, such as UV curable acrylic resin. It should be noted that by using a material such as a UV curable acrylic resin that has little change in characteristics (transmittance) with respect to heat treatment at 180 ° C. or higher (heat treatment at 180 ° C. or higher is possible), high transparency (low resistance value) is achieved. A transparent electrode can be formed on the prism. In this specification, “less change in characteristics (transmittance)” indicates a state where the change in characteristics (transmittance) is approximately within 2% of that before the heat treatment. The UV curable acrylic resin has not only heat resistance but also excellent adhesion to glass and has a property of being difficult to adhere to metal (good releasability). It is suitable as a material for forming the prism according to one embodiment. Epoxy resin is also excellent in heat resistance, and is considered to be usable as a material for forming the prism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Polyimide can also be used.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the prism layer 3, and an enlarged view of the cross-sectional shape of the prism 3a is shown on the right side. Each prism 3a has, for example, a triangular prism shape with an apex angle of about 45 ° and a base angle of about 45 ° and about 90 °, and a plurality of prisms 3a are orthogonal to the prism length direction (this direction is defined as the prism width). The direction is lined up in the same direction. The height of the prism 3a is about 20 μm (minimum 0 μm to maximum 20 μm), and the length of the bottom of the prism 3a (prism pitch) is about 20 μm. The height of the base layer 3b of the prism layer 3 is 2 μm to 30 μm. In this embodiment, since the light is bent only on one side, the shape of the prism 3a is preferably an asymmetric structure (a piece saw shape) as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the prism layer 3 on the glass substrate 1. A method for producing the prism layer 3 will be described. A predetermined amount of heat-resistant prism material 3R (for example, an ultraviolet (UV) curable acrylic resin) is dropped on the transparent electrode 2 on the glass substrate 1 (length 150 mm × width 150 mm × thickness 0.7 mmt). The prism mold in which the mold of the prism layer 3 with a release agent or a coating agent was formed was placed at a predetermined position above, and pressing was performed in a state where a thick quartz member or the like was placed on the back side of the substrate and reinforced. . The size of the mold (the size of the prism formation region) is 80 mm long × 80 mm wide.

After pressing and leaving for 1 minute or longer to sufficiently spread the heat-resistant prism material 3R, ultraviolet rays were irradiated from the back side of the glass substrate 1 to cure the heat-resistant prism material 3R. The irradiation amount of ultraviolet rays was 20 mJ / cm ² . What is necessary is just to set suitably the irradiation amount of an ultraviolet-ray so that resin may harden | cure.

  After the heat-resistant prism material 3R is cured, quartz, a pressing jig, and the like are removed, and the glass substrate 1 on which the prism layer 3 is formed is pressed down to peel from the prism mold.

  The size of the prism layer 3 can be adjusted by adjusting the dropping amount of the heat-resistant prism material 3R. The drop amount was adjusted to form the prism layer 3 in the necessary area A2 (length 60 mm x width 60 mm) of the entire prism formation area A1 (length 80 mm x width 80 mm). The refractive index of the UV curable acrylic resin constituting the prism layer 3 is 1.51.

  The prism layer 3 cooperates with the liquid crystal layer 15 and has a function of changing the traveling direction of light incident from one side and emitted from the other side depending on the angle of the apex angle.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. Next, the glass substrate 1 with a prism was washed with a washing machine. The cleaning method was performed in the order of brush cleaning using an alkaline detergent, pure water cleaning, air blow, ultraviolet irradiation, and infrared drying. The cleaning method is not limited to this, and high pressure spray cleaning, plasma cleaning, or the like may be performed.

Thereafter, a thin SiO ₂ film 4 was formed on the glass substrate 1 on the side where the prism layer 3 was formed in order to improve the adhesion of the ITO film described later. A sputtering method (AC discharge) was used to form the SiO ₂ film 4. The substrate was heated to 80 ° C. to form a thickness of 500 mm. The SiO ₂ film 4 can be omitted. Note that a layer having a uniform thickness has a function of shifting incident light in an in-plane direction according to an incident angle, but does not have a function of changing the traveling direction of light.

Subsequently, the ITO film 2 was formed on the SiO ₂ film 4 by using a sputtering method (AC discharge). Here, the substrate was heated to 100 ° C., and the ITO film 2 was formed to a thickness of 1000 mm. At this time, an ITO film may not be formed in an extra portion by using a SUS mask or the like. The ITO film 2 is not limited to the sputtering method, and may be formed by a vacuum deposition method, an ion beam method, a CVD method, or the like.

  Next, the glass substrate 1 with a prism and the glass substrate 11 with an ITO were washed with a washing machine. The cleaning method was performed in the order of brush cleaning using an alkaline detergent, pure water cleaning, air blow, ultraviolet irradiation, and infrared drying. The cleaning method is not limited to this, and high pressure spray cleaning, plasma cleaning, or the like may be performed.

  Next, the main sealant 16 containing 2 wt% to 5 wt% of the gap control agent was formed on the non-prism formed portion on the glass substrate 1 with prism. As a forming method, screen printing or a dispenser is used. The gap control agent was selected so that the liquid crystal layer 5 had a thickness of, for example, 10 μm to 20 μm. Since the prism layer 3 changes in height depending on the position, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer 5 also changes accordingly.

  Here, a plastic ball made by Sekisui Chemical having a diameter of 30 μm was selected as a gap control agent, and 4 wt% was added to a sealing agent ES-7500 made by Mitsui Chemicals to make a main sealing agent 16.

  On the glass substrate 11 (glass substrate with ITO) on the side where the prism is not formed, Sekisui Chemical plastic balls having a diameter of 17 μm as a gap control agent 14 were dispersed using a dry gap spreader.

  Next, both the glass substrates 1 and 11 were overlapped, and the main sealant was cured by heat treatment in a state where pressure was constantly applied by a press machine or the like. Here, heat treatment was performed at 150 ° C. for 3 hours. Thus, an empty cell having a cell thickness of 5 to 25 μm was produced. The cell thickness varies depending on the location depending on the shape of the prism layer 3. In this embodiment, the refractive index difference at the interface between the prism layer 3 and the liquid crystal layer 5 is important, and the performance hardly depends on the cell thickness. In the blue phase, although the response speed does not depend on the cell thickness, the drive voltage depends on the cell thickness, and the drive voltage increases as the cell pressure increases. The liquid crystal layer 5 was formed by injecting the liquid crystal into the empty cell thus produced. After liquid crystal injection, an end sealant was applied to the inlet and sealed.

  In the example, as a material to be injected into the produced empty cell, a liquid crystal exhibiting a cholesteric blue phase in a certain temperature range and a mixture of a photopolymerizable monomer and a photopolymerization initiator for stabilizing a polymer are mixed. Use the selected materials.

  Specifically, as the liquid crystal, JC1041-XX (manufactured by Chisso, Δn: 0.142, no: 1.507, ne: 1.649) and 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) are used as the liquid crystal. ) (Merck, Δn: 0.184, no: 1.534, ne: 1.718) were mixed at a ratio of 1: 1, and 5.6 wt% of the chiral agent ZLI-4572 (Merck) was added thereto. did. In the case of this mixed liquid crystal material, the refractive index in the optically isotropic phase state is about 1.574, and no and ne are about 1.683 and about 1.521, respectively.

  In addition, a monofunctional material and a bifunctional material were mixed and added as a photopolymerizable monomer. Here, 2-ethylhexylacrylate (EHA) (manufactured by Aldrich) is mixed as a monofunctional material, RM257 (manufactured by Merck) is mixed in a molar ratio of 70:30 as a bifunctional material, and a photopolymerization initiator is used. It added so that it might become 5 mol% with respect to a mixed monomer using 2, 2-dimethyl-2-phenylacetophenone (DMPAP). This mixed monomer was added so as to be 8 mol% with respect to the liquid crystal mixed system to prepare a liquid crystal for injection. The liquid crystal, the chiral agent, the monomer, and the photopolymerization initiator are not limited to these, but it is desirable that the photopolymerizable monomer is a mixture of a monofunctional material and a bifunctional material.

As described above, when the liquid crystal cell sealed by injecting liquid crystal was heated, a blue phase was exhibited in a certain temperature range (around 60 ° C.). While maintaining the temperature showing the blue phase, ultraviolet rays were irradiated for a long time to form a polymer network in a part of the liquid crystal layer 5 to stabilize the polymer. Here, light of 30 mW / cm ² (365 nm) was irradiated, but intermittent exposure was first performed in a short cycle, and finally, exposure was performed for a long time. Specifically, after 1-second irradiation and 10-second non-irradiation were repeated 10 times, finally, continuous irradiation was performed for 3 minutes. Note that the exposure conditions are not limited to this. For example, the exposure may be performed with a weaker illuminance, but in this case, the time required for ultraviolet curing becomes longer. The liquid crystal cell stabilized in this manner exhibited a cholesteric blue phase over a wide temperature range (about -5 ° C to 60 ° C). This temperature range can be expanded depending on the materials used, their mixing ratio, polymerization conditions, and the like. As described above, the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 of this embodiment is completed.

  Since the blue phase is optically isotropic, the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer viewed from the normal direction of the substrate of the light deflecting liquid crystal cell 100 of the example is the ordinary ray refractive index no and the extraordinary ray refractive index of the liquid crystal material. The average value of ne ((2no + ne) / 3), which is equal for both of the polarization components orthogonal to each other of the light incident on the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 (light traveling in the normal direction of the substrate).

  On the other hand, in the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 of the example, when a voltage is applied, a voltage is applied in the thickness direction of the liquid crystal layer, and the twisted structure of liquid crystal molecules in the blue phase is eliminated due to the positive dielectric anisotropy. Liquid crystal molecules stand up in the direction perpendicular to the substrate and exhibit a homeotropic phase.

  In the homeotropic phase, the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer viewed from the normal direction of the substrate is an ordinary ray refractive index no, and the incident light rays entering the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 (light rays traveling in the normal direction of the substrate) are orthogonal to each other. It is equal for both polarization components.

  In the present embodiment, the ordinary ray refractive index no of the liquid crystal material is 1.521, and the extraordinary ray refractive index ne is 1.683. Therefore, the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer with respect to incident light is estimated to be about 1.574 in the blue phase when no voltage is applied and 1.521 in the homeotropic phase when voltage is applied, regardless of the polarization direction. The refractive index of the prism material is 1.51.

  As described above, in the light deflecting liquid crystal cell 100 according to this embodiment, when the voltage indicating the blue phase is not applied, the liquid crystal layer 15 and the prism layer 3 have different refractive indexes, so that the incident light is deflected by the action of the prism. On the other hand, when a voltage indicating a homeotropic phase is applied, the refractive indexes of the liquid crystal layer 15 and the prism layer 3 are equal, and the incident light travels straight as it is regardless of the direction of the prism slope. These actions do not depend on the polarization direction of incident light.

  Note that the difference between the refractive index of the first material and the refractive index of the second material is within 3% (more preferably within 2%) of the refractive index of the first material or the refractive index of the second material. ), It is assumed that the refractive indexes of both materials are equal.

  In the light deflecting liquid crystal cell 100 of the embodiment, the angle can be controlled with respect to all the light even with one light deflecting liquid crystal cell 100. When changing the bending angle, it is necessary to change the angle of the prism 3a or change the liquid crystal material.

  As described above, the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 according to the present embodiment includes the prism layer 3 formed of minute inclined protrusions on both the substrates 1 and 11, and the liquid crystal layer exhibiting a blue phase within a certain temperature range. 5 and transparent electrodes 2 and 12. A voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 5 through the transparent electrodes 2 and 12 to change the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules in the cell thickness direction, that is, to change the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer 5, so that the slope of the prism layer 3 and the liquid crystal layer The refraction angle of the light transmitted through the interface 5 can be changed according to Snell's law, and the direction of the transmitted light can be electrically controlled.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a stereoscopic display liquid crystal display device 200 incorporating the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The stereoscopic display liquid crystal display device 200 includes a liquid crystal display 101, the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 shown in FIG. 1 arranged on the display surface side of the liquid crystal display 101, a drive circuit 102 for driving the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100, and a liquid crystal display. And a control unit 103 for controlling 101.

  The light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 has been described with reference to FIG. 1, and changes the direction of light transmitted through the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 in accordance with the applied voltage.

  The drive circuit 102 is a circuit that applies a voltage to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 while changing a voltage value of an AC voltage (frequency of about 1 KHz). By synchronizing with the control unit 103, an image displayed on the liquid crystal display 101 is displayed. In synchronization, the voltage value applied to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 can be changed, and the direction of light transmitted through the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 can be changed.

  The liquid crystal display 101 is, for example, a liquid crystal display element 50 in which a directional backlight 51 is disposed on the back, and a left eye image and a right eye image are respectively displayed at high speed in order to perform stereoscopic display under the control of the control unit 103. Display while switching with. The liquid crystal display element 50 is a well-known device and includes a liquid crystal cell, a deflection plate, and the like.

  The directional backlight 51 includes a light source 52 such as an LED, a light guide plate 53 that guides light from the light source 52, a prism sheet (BEF or the like) 54, and the like. Light incident from the light source 52 disposed on one side surface of the light guide plate 53 is directed obliquely by the light guide plate 53. The obliquely directed light is tilted in the normal direction by the prism sheet 54 while maintaining the directivity, and enters the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 disposed on the display surface.

  For details of the directional backlight 51, refer to the section “Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention” in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-142078.

  In addition, a directional light emitting display can be used as the liquid crystal display 101. In the directional light emitting display, directivity can be given by arranging a microlens or the like corresponding to the light emitting portion of the light emitting display.

  In order to perform stereoscopic display, the control unit 103 causes the liquid crystal display 101 to display the right-eye image and the left-eye image while switching at high speed. The display switching frequency is, for example, 120 Hz or 240 Hz. The display switching frequency is, for example, 120 Hz or 240 Hz. When the display switching frequency is 120 Hz, the display is switched about every 8.3 msec, and when it is 240 Hz, the display is switched about every 4.2 msec.

  The response speed of the liquid crystal cell (blue phase) of the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 is about 200 μsec at the rise and about 20 μsec at the fall at room temperature, and is not only a stereoscopic display at 120 Hz drive but also a stereoscopic display at 240 Hz drive. The response speed required for the system is sufficiently fast and can be handled with a margin.

  FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing how light propagates when a high voltage is applied to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100.

  In this embodiment, the ordinary ray refractive index no of the liquid crystal material is about 1.521, and the extraordinary ray refractive index ne is about 1.683. Therefore, it is estimated that the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer with respect to incident light is about 1.574 in the blue phase when no voltage is applied and about 1.521 in the homeotropic phase when no voltage is applied, regardless of the polarization direction. The refractive index of the prism material is 1.51.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when an image for the left eye is displayed, a high voltage (LCD ON: for example, 20V) is applied to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100, and the alignment of liquid crystal molecules is in a homeotropic alignment state. The refractive index (1.51) of the prism layer 3 and the refractive index (about 1.521) of the liquid crystal layer 5 are substantially equal, and the light incident on the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 is bent by the prism layer 3 and the liquid crystal layer 5. The light of the left-eye image is incident on the left eye, and the image is not incident on the right eye.

  FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing how light propagates when a low voltage is applied to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the right-eye image is displayed, a low voltage is applied to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 (or no voltage is applied (LCD OFF)), and the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules is blue. The phase alignment state (optical isotropic phase state) is established, and the refractive index (1.51) of the prism layer 3 becomes smaller than the refractive index (about 1.574) of the liquid crystal layer 5, and the light incident on the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100. Is bent by the prism layer 3 and the liquid crystal layer 5 so that the right-eye image light enters the right eye and the left eye does not receive the image.

  By switching the operation in FIG. 5 and the operation in FIG. 6 at a high speed, the observer can see a stereoscopic display.

  When stereoscopic display is not performed, if the high voltage and the low voltage are alternately applied to the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 at high speed, an image can be viewed almost simultaneously with the right eye and the left eye, which is not stereoscopic display. A normal image can be seen. Alternatively, by continuing to apply the intermediate voltage, the light transmitted through the light deflecting liquid crystal cell 100 is advanced in the normal direction so that both the right eye and the left eye can see the image simultaneously, and normal display can be performed. it can. The transmittance of the light deflecting liquid crystal cell 100 at this time is at least 90% or more (when using an antireflection film), and a bright image is not much different from when the light deflecting liquid crystal cell 100 is not disposed on the optical path. Can see.

  As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a liquid crystal element having a very high transmittance of incident light. In addition, since a blue phase liquid crystal is used, the response speed is sufficiently high and there is no flickering of the image. Furthermore, since a polarizing plate is unnecessary, it is advantageous in terms of cost, transmittance, weight, thickness, and reliability.

  Further, since it does not depend on deflection, not only the LCD but also any display device such as a plasma display (PDP), an organic EL display, a field emission display (FED), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, etc. is used instead of the liquid crystal display 101. You can also. In addition, it is possible to realize a three-dimensional display with almost the same transmittance as a normal display without reducing the resolution.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 can change the direction of transmitted light. Therefore, the left eye image can be viewed by the left eye and the right eye image can be viewed by the right eye to the observer, and stereoscopic display without glasses can be performed.

  In addition, since the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be disposed at or close to the screen of the liquid crystal display 101, image disturbance due to a prism shape defect or the like hardly occurs.

  In the above-described embodiment, only the case where the inclination angle of the prism 3a is constant has been described. However, it may be different depending on the location.

  Further, the knurled angle of the light guide plate 53 may be different depending on the location for the same reason as the inclination angle of the prism 3a. Since the lower side of FIG. 4 and the right side of FIGS. 5 and 6 need to bend greatly in order to send light to the right eye, the lower side of FIG. 4 and the right side of FIG. 5 and FIG. The angle may be increased.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the knurled angle of the light guide plate 53 is set so that the light deflects the liquid crystal cell 100 so that the light travels in the right eye direction when the direction of the transmitted light does not change. Although the light incident on the cell 100 is directed in the right eye direction, the light may enter the light deflecting liquid crystal cell 100 vertically. In this case, the refraction of the liquid crystal material and the prism material is such that when the voltage is on, the direction of transmission through the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 is bent to the right, and when the voltage is off, the direction of transmission through the light deflection liquid crystal cell 100 is bent to the left. It is necessary to adjust the rate. Even if the mixed liquid crystal material according to the above-described embodiment is used as the liquid crystal material, for example, the prism layer 3 is formed by using a prism material having a refractive index of about 1.54 to 1.55, thereby deflecting light. Light incident perpendicularly to the plane of the liquid crystal cell 100 can be swung to the left and right by turning the voltage ON / OFF (applied voltage level).

  In addition, a minute groove for air bleeding may be formed in the mold for prism formation. Further, the mold and the substrate may be superposed in a vacuum. Note that the liquid crystal injection method is not limited to vacuum injection, and, for example, a One Drop Fill (ODF) method may be used. At this time, curing by ultraviolet rays and polymerization of blue phase liquid crystals by ultraviolet rays may be simultaneously performed by irradiating the entire surface with ultraviolet rays while heating to a predetermined temperature of about 45 to 60 ° C.

  In the liquid crystal cell of the embodiment, a rectangular electrode pattern that intersects 90 ° between the upper and lower substrates wider than the prism pattern is used, terminals are taken from both sides, and the electrodes on the upper and lower substrates intersect at the main seal portion. I tried not to. The short circuit is suppressed by not crossing the electrodes of the upper and lower substrates at the main seal portion. If you want to take a terminal from one side, add a member with conductivity and gap stability, such as styrene balls with gold plating, such as micropearl AU (manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) for vertical conduction on the main seal. What is necessary is just to make the structure etc. which do.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, improvements, combinations, and the like can be made.

1, 11 Glass substrate 2, 12 Transparent electrode 3 Prism layer (prism layer)
3a, 3b Prism 4 SiO ₂ film 5 Liquid crystal layer 14 Gap control agent 16 Main sealant 50 Liquid crystal display element 51 Directional backlight 52 Light source 53 Light guide plate 54 Prism sheet 100 Light deflection liquid crystal cell 101 Liquid crystal display 102 Drive circuit 103 Control unit 200 stereoscopic display liquid crystal display device

Claims (2)

A first transparent substrate;
A first transparent electrode formed on the first transparent substrate;
A second transparent substrate facing the first transparent substrate;
A prism layer formed on the second transparent substrate;
A second transparent electrode formed on the prism layer;
A liquid crystal layer having liquid crystal molecules sandwiched between the first and second transparent substrates and exhibiting a cholesteric blue phase;
A liquid crystal element comprising: a control unit that changes a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer by changing a voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer at a high speed so as to change a traveling direction of light passing through the prism layer at a speed that cannot be visually recognized. A display device;
A first transparent substrate, a first transparent electrode formed on the first transparent substrate, and a second transparent substrate that is disposed on the display surface side of the display device and that faces the first transparent substrate A prism layer formed on the second transparent substrate; a second transparent electrode formed on the prism layer; and a first and second transparent substrate, and a cholesteric blue phase By switching the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer at high speed by changing the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer at high speed, the refractive index of the liquid crystal layer is changed, and the light incident from the display device and passing through the prism layer A three-dimensional display device comprising: a light deflecting liquid crystal element having control means for changing a traveling direction at a speed at which the traveling direction cannot be visually recognized.

Images