JPH04307588A - Flat display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a feeling of roughness of picture elements by bringing picture elements apparently into contact and to increase the effective area rate without increasing the number of the picture elements unnecessarily by arranging cylindrical transparent bodies in front of the picture elements. CONSTITUTION:The picture elements 6 are arranged in matrix in front of a flat display 5 and the transparent bodies 7 are arranged at the same pitches with the picture element 6. This transparent body 7 is a cylindrical lens in a meniscus shape which has its one surface made convex and the opposite surface made concave and also forms a straight image face when a plane wave is made incident on the lens. The light emitted from the picture element part is refracted by the cylindrical lens of glass or acryl in the meniscus shape and projected. Thus, the cylindrical lenses 7 are arranged in front of the picture elements 6, so the picture elements 6 continue and are apparently connected.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Object of the invention]

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat display device in which pixels are arranged in a matrix on a flat surface.

0003

[Prior Art] In recent years, flat displays that use liquid crystal, plasma, EL, etc. as pixels have attracted attention because they can be made smaller, lighter, and thinner than CRT displays.
The scope of use is expanding to include pocketable TVs, general home TVs, and wall-mounted TVs.

[0004] Incidentally, a common feature of the above-mentioned flat displays is that their effective area ratio is less than 100%.

Taking a liquid crystal display panel as an example, each pixel 1 is driven by a drive line formed by row electrodes 2 and a data line formed by column electrodes 3, as shown in FIG. A space for wiring is required between pixel 1 and pixel 1. Therefore, as the number of pixels increases to improve resolution, the area occupied by the wiring space within the display panel increases.

The actual display area of one pixel used in a flat display device is smaller than the area allocated to each pixel. Here, in the liquid crystal display panel of FIG. 7, if the effective area ratio is the ratio of the display area of one pixel (indicated by cross hatching) to the area allocated to one pixel (indicated by diagonal lines), then the liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. The effective area ratio of the display panel ends up being about 50%. In order to increase the value of this effective area ratio, it is necessary to make all the electrode intervals as narrow as possible, and also to make the width of the conductive metal part thinner, which requires improvement in processing accuracy.

[0007] A decrease in the effective area ratio not only causes a decrease in the aperture ratio for a transmissive display panel and a decrease in the brightness of the screen, but also causes a lattice mesh to be more obtrusive than the roughness of the pixels in terms of display quality. There is a problem with becoming. In particular, this is a major drawback in projection type liquid crystal display devices that use liquid crystal as a light valve.

[0008]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As mentioned above, in conventional flat display devices, spaces are provided between pixels for wiring, so the aperture ratio decreases.
The lattice mesh was very unsightly.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned problem and provides a flat display device that can eliminate the roughness of pixels without increasing the number of pixels.

[Configuration of the invention]

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A flat display device according to the present invention includes pixels arranged in a matrix on a flat display, pixels arranged pixel by pixel in front of the flat display, and a light beam near the center of each pixel. and a cylindrical lens having an axis.

0012

[Operation] In the flat display device having the above configuration, the pixels are optically continuous by arranging the cylindrical lens in front of the pixels, so that each pixel appears to be in contact with the other.
It is possible to eliminate the roughness of pixels.

[0013]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 relate to one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the basic configuration of a flat display device, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a lens, and FIG. 3 is an illustration of light emitted from a pixel. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when the display device is viewed from the normal direction of the display surface.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of pixels 6 are arranged on the front surface of the flat display 5, and a transparent body 7 corresponding to the pitch of the pixels 6 is arranged for each pixel 6. The transparent body 7 is formed in a meniscus shape with one side convex and the opposite side concave, and is a cylindrical lens characterized in that when a plane wave is incident on the lens, the imaging plane becomes a straight line. The light emitted from the pixel section is refracted by a meniscus-shaped cylindrical lens made of glass or acrylic, and then emitted.

The above-mentioned meniscus-shaped cylindrical lens will be explained with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a cylindrical lens formed in a meniscus shape, and if the curvatures of the convex and concave surfaces of the meniscus are R1 and R2, then R1 = R2. If the refractive index is n, the focal length f is f=nR
1R2/(n-1)・{n(R2-R1)+(n-1)
d} (1). Here R1=n-1/n・d+R2

If (2) is used, f = ∞ from (1) and it becomes a kind of telephoto system, so the light a emitted from the pixel in parallel to the optical axis enters the meniscus-shaped cylindrical lens 7 and is refracted to become b, and b is , when the light exits the meniscus-shaped cylindrical lens, it is refracted again to become c and exit parallel to the optical axis.

The refraction state of light will be explained with reference to FIG. By setting the refractive index and curvature of each pixel of the transparent body 7 to the characteristics shown in FIG. 2, the light a1 emitted from the right end of the pixel 6A shown in FIG. It is refracted to become b1, and when b1 exits the meniscus-shaped cylindrical lens 7, it is refracted again to become c1 and exits parallel to the optical axis. Similarly, light a2 emitted from the left end of the pixel 6B in parallel to the optical axis enters the meniscus-shaped cylindrical lens 7 and is refracted to become b2, and when b2 exits the meniscus-shaped cylindrical lens 7, it is refracted again and becomes c2. Emit light parallel to the optical axis. By appropriately selecting the refractive index, curvature, and lens thickness, a pixel can be enlarged and brought into contact with adjacent pixels. That is, c1 and c2 are emitted in an overlapping manner, and the apparent pixel 8 and the apparent pixel 9 are in contact with each other.

Referring to FIG. 4, the appearance of pixels from the normal direction of the display surface will be explained. FIG. 4(a) shows how the pixel looks when the cylindrical lens 7 is not placed in front of the pixel 6, and FIG. 4(b) shows the appearance of the pixel when the cylindrical lens 7 is placed in front of the pixel 6. This is how the pixels appear when the upper pixel 8 and the apparent pixel 9 are in contact with each other. That is, when the cylindrical lens 7 is placed in front of the pixels a1 and b1 and the pixels a2 and b2, the pixels a1 and b1 and the pixels a2 and b2 appear to be in contact with each other, and the horizontal pixel grid pattern is This eliminates the mesh and reduces the roughness.

In the above explanation, pixels are expanded in the horizontal direction, but the same effect can be obtained in the vertical direction, and it is also effective to expand in both the horizontal and vertical directions at the same time. Furthermore, substantially the same effect can be obtained even if each element of the transparent body is enlarged with a convex lens.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are examples of lenses for simultaneously enlarging pixels in two directions, horizontal and vertical. In FIG. 5, the lens surface is hemispherical, and in FIG. 6, the periphery of the lens surface is rounded, and the center of the pixel is flat. Both are meniscus-like cylindrical lenses, and the pixels appear to be continuous as a whole.

[0021]

As described above, in the flat display device according to the present invention, when a cylindrical transparent body is arranged in front of pixels, the pixels appear to be in contact with each other, eliminating the roughness of the pixels. Furthermore, there is an effect that the effective area ratio can be increased without increasing the number of pixels more than necessary.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the basic configuration of a flat display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a lens.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of light emitted from a pixel. (When apparent pixels touch)

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the display device viewed from the normal direction of the display surface.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a flat display.

[Explanation of symbols] 5...Flat display 6...Pixel 7...Transparent body (meniscus-shaped cylindrical lens) 8...
Apparent pixel 9...apparent pixel

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical lens having pixels arranged in a matrix on a flat display, and a cylindrical lens arranged for each pixel in front of the flat display and having an optical axis near the center of each pixel. flat display device.