JP2987788B2 - LCD panel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel used for a liquid crystal display, a liquid crystal projector and the like, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display panel having a practical aperture ratio improved by using a microlens.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of liquid crystal display panel has already been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
-26213, JP-A-2-115889,
JP-A-2-257119, JP-A-3-13600
No. 4 and the like.

For example, when this type of liquid crystal display panel is applied to a liquid crystal projector, its optical system is shown in FIG.
It becomes like. At that time, a condenser lens 2 is generally arranged on the rear side of the liquid crystal display panel 1 so as to focus the illumination light into the projection lens. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the illumination light is obliquely incident particularly on the periphery of the liquid crystal display panel 1. Therefore, the pitch of the microlenses is gradually increased toward the periphery of the panel 1 so that the optical axes of light incident on all the microlenses pass through the openings of the liquid crystal pixels.

[0004]

FIG. 4 (a) and FIG. 4 (b)
2 shows a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a central portion and a peripheral portion of the panel 1, respectively. Here, 8 is a GI microlens, 3c is a microlens substrate, 4 is a liquid crystal layer, 5 is a TFT (thin film transistor) substrate, 6 is a non-opening, and 7 is an opening. As shown by arrows in the figure, both the central portion and the peripheral portion are configured such that the optical axis of the light incident on each microlens passes through the center of the opening 7. However, in the case of the peripheral portion, since the incident light beam is oblique to the panel, the path of the light beam from the microlens to the opening becomes longer than that of the central portion as shown in (b). Therefore, the focal point of the light condensed by the microlens comes before the opening, and when the light beam passes through the opening, it is in a spread state again,
One part of the light beam is blocked by the non-opening. Therefore, as described above, the pitch of the microlenses is gradually increased toward the peripheral portion so that the optical axes of the light incident on all the microlenses pass through the openings of the liquid crystal pixels, but still at the central portion. In comparison, there is a problem that the transmission efficiency in the peripheral portion is reduced.

In order to avoid this problem, the power of the microlens is reduced from the center to the periphery of the panel so that the focus of the light beam passing through the microlens is always brought to the center of the opening. JP-A-2-25
No. 7119 has proposed this. However, changing the power of the microlens within one panel requires a change in the manufacturing conditions of the microlens each time, which has caused a new problem that the manufacturing process becomes very complicated.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention disposes the microlenses so that the principal ray of light incident on each microlens passes through the center of the opening of each liquid crystal pixel. The distance between the liquid crystal layer and the micro lens only in the peripheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel is tapered such that the distance gradually decreases linearly from the center to the peripheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel.

[0007]

The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples.

Reference Example FIG. 1 shows a reference example according to the present invention . Here, reference numeral 2 denotes a condenser lens, and 1a denotes a liquid crystal display panel. 3a is a microlens substrate, 4 is a liquid crystal layer, 5 is a TFT substrate, and the microlens substrate 3a is gradually thinned from the center to the periphery. FIGS. 2A and 2B show partially enlarged cross-sections of the central portion and the peripheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel 1a, respectively. The arrangement of the microlenses 8 is configured such that the optical axis of the light incident on each microlens passes through the center of the opening 7 in both the central part and the peripheral part as in the above-described conventional example.

Furthermore always be at a distance what position the microlens 8 and the aperture 7 the distribution of thickness towards the periphery was Tsu along the optical axis of the light rays coming obliquely incident on the condenser lens 2 of the substrate 3a It is prepared to be constant. Therefore, as shown in (b), the focal point of the light beam passing through the microlens is always located at the center of the opening even in the peripheral portion of the panel, so that the same good transmission efficiency as in the central portion of the panel can be obtained. In the present reference example, since good for all regardless of the power position of the microlens constant, its production process is also simple.

[0010] translation microlens this reference example that assumes a two-dimensional thickness change distribution of the microlens substrate corresponding thereto and the fly-eye 2-D array, to be limited to such type Instead, the present invention can be applied to a one-dimensional array type of linear microlenses. It is sufficient to vary the thickness of the same microlens substrate I along the arrangement direction of the linear micro lenses one-dimensionally in the case of one-dimensional array of line-shaped micro lenses.

[0011] was used GI microlenses in this reference example, by a method such as such form a normal micro convex lens with a resin or the like is not necessarily limited to this glass substrate, which corresponds to a microlens substrate 3a good.

Embodiment FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention . 3b is a microlens substrate on which micro-lenses are formed on the surface, the thickness of only the peripheral portion has a tapered over varying linearly.
Forming microlenses side of the microlens substrate in order to prepare to always become constant in distance which position of the microlens 8 and the aperture 7 Tsu along the optical axis of the light rays coming incident as described above Has a curved surface,
This embodiment approximates the curved surface tapered over the periphery. Therefore, although the transmission efficiency is slightly smaller than that of the reference example, the manufacturing method is further simplified.

[0013]

As described above, in the liquid crystal display panel of the present invention, the same good transmission efficiency can be obtained in the peripheral portion of the panel as in the central portion of the panel, and uniform high-quality display can be performed on the entire surface of the panel. In addition, since the manufacturing process is simple, it can be provided at a lower cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a reference example according to a liquid crystal display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a central portion and a peripheral portion of the reference example of FIG . 1 ;

3 is a cross-sectional view of the solid施例of the liquid crystal display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a central portion and a peripheral portion of a conventional liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an optical system of the liquid crystal projector.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional liquid crystal display panel.

[Description of Signs] 1, 1a, 1b Liquid crystal display panel 2 Condenser lens 3a, 3b, 3c Micro lens substrate 4 Liquid crystal layer 5 TFT substrate 6 Non-opening 7 Opening 8 GI micro lens 9 Transparent counter electrode

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A microlens is arranged so that a principal ray of light incident on each microlens passes through a center of an opening of each liquid crystal pixel, and a microlens is provided only at a peripheral portion of a liquid crystal display panel. A liquid crystal display panel having a taper in which the distance between the liquid crystal display panel and the liquid crystal layer linearly and gradually decreases from the center to the periphery of the liquid crystal display panel. 2. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein one microlens corresponds to one liquid crystal pixel, and these are arranged in a two-dimensional array. 3. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein one linear microlens corresponds to one line of the liquid crystal pixels, and these are arranged in an array.