KR101107177B1 - Three-dimensional display device - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a stereoscopic image display apparatus includes an image display unit having subpixels corresponding to a left eye image and a subpixel corresponding to a right eye image, and an optical light disposed on either side of the image display unit and optionally having a function of a touch panel. The control unit, the control unit for controlling the image display unit and the light control unit with an electrical signal, and a selection processor for applying a stereoscopic image or a touch panel mode signal to the control unit by a user input.

Stereoscopic Image, 3D Image, Parallax Barrier, Autostereoscopy, 2D / 3D Conversion, Touch Panel, Touch Screen

Description

Stereoscopic Display Device {THREE-DIMENSIONAL DISPLAY DEVICE}

1 is a schematic diagram of a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of operating a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a stereoscopic image display device according to an exemplary embodiment.

4A is a plan view of a substrate on which a segment electrode of the stereoscopic image display device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is formed.

4B is a plan view of a substrate on which a common electrode of a stereoscopic image display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is formed.

5 is a block diagram illustrating an operation in a touch panel mode of a stereoscopic image display device according to an exemplary embodiment.

6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation in a stereoscopic image mode of a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device, and more particularly, to an autostereoscopy type stereoscopic image display device capable of selectively implementing a stereoscopic image display and a touch screen function.

Recently, display apparatuses require various additional functions to meet user needs. Representative of such additional functions are the stereoscopic image function and the touch panel function.

A stereoscopic image display device that provides a stereoscopic image to a user is a display device that provides a different image to the user's left eye and right eye so as to feel a sense of distance and a stereoscopic feeling to the image that the user sees, including a stereoscopic method and an autostereoscopic method. There is this.

Recently, an autostereoscopic method that enables a user to watch a stereoscopic image without wearing equipment such as polarized glasses has been actively developed.

A typical autostereoscopy device includes a parallax barrier, a lenticular lens, or a microlens array in front of the image display unit to display left eye images and right eye images implemented in the image display unit. Each of them adopts a partitioning scheme in the left and right eyes of the user.

In particular, the parallax barrier may be manufactured as a liquid crystal shutter using a transmissive liquid crystal display device. In this case, the parallax barrier may be easily converted to a laptop or a mobile phone because the two-dimensional mode and the three-dimensional mode may be converted.

The right eye image implemented in the right eye subpixels of the image display unit is separated in the direction of the right eye of the user through the light transmitting unit of the parallax barrier, and the left eye image implemented in the left eye subpixels of the image display unit is the light transmitting unit of the parallax barrier. It is separated in the direction of the left eye of the user through. Thus, the user recognizes the image of the image display unit as a stereoscopic image.

A touch panel is an input device that allows a user to interact with a computer by touching a finger or a conductive pen on a picture or text displayed on a screen. The touch panel technology can be divided into various methods according to a detection method. Among them, a resistive component is coated on a glass plate and a constant current flows through both ends of the resistive film. Resistive type to sense, Electro magnetic type to detect the position by reading the LC value induced by touching the conductive film with the electronic pen, and a certain amount of current when the user touches the coated glass surface Is absorbed into the user's body, and the touch screen has a capacitive type for identifying the touched part by recognizing the portion where the amount of current is changed.

Among them, the capacitive type is a rugged and reliable touch panel that can be used even in harsh environments. The capacitive method is more resistant to environmental factors such as dust, grease, water and the like than other methods.

These touch panels are mainly used for information desks, computer-based training devices, and systems designed to help people who have difficulty operating a mouse or keyboard.

The parallax barrier and the touch panel are independently provided on the front of the display to perform a corresponding function. Therefore, in order for a display device to display a stereoscopic image and have a function of a touch panel, both a parallax barrier and a touch panel must be installed in front of the display.

However, in this case, the thickness of the entire display device is increased due to the thickness of the parallax barrier and the touch panel, and the parallax barrier and the touch panel partially absorb visible light emitted from the image display unit, thereby causing a problem in that transmittance is reduced. Such a problem has resulted in deterioration of portability and deterioration of screen brightness, especially when a display device is to be developed for a small size and a mobile device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional image display device by reducing the thickness of the display by increasing the transmittance by implementing a touch screen function in the three-dimensional image display device. .

In order to achieve the above object, a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention,

An image display unit having subpixels corresponding to the left eye image and subpixels corresponding to the right eye image, an optical control unit disposed on either side of the image display unit and optionally having a function of a touch panel, an image display unit and an optical control unit And a selection processing unit for applying a signal of a stereoscopic image or a touch panel mode to the control unit according to a user's input.

The light control unit may be formed of a liquid crystal shutter. The liquid crystal shutter may include a first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate, a segment, a common electrode, and a common electrode formed on inner surfaces of the first and second substrates, respectively. Detection electrodes may be formed on the touch panel to detect current of the touch panel, an alignment layer covering the segment and the common electrode, a liquid crystal layer injected and positioned between the alignment layers, and a polarizing plate formed on the outer surfaces of the first and second substrates.

The common electrode may be formed as a rectangular through electrode, and the segment electrode may be formed in a stripe shape.

In addition, the detection electrodes may be formed at four corners of one surface of the common electrode, and the stereoscopic image display apparatus may further include a signal processor that calculates position coordinates of the touch panel based on a current signal transmitted from the detection electrode.

The detection electrodes may be formed of silver or a mixture of silver and glass, and the image display portion may be a flat panel display. In addition, the light control unit may optionally have a capacitive touch panel function.

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

1 schematically shows a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, in the present embodiment, the image display unit 2, the light control unit 4, the control unit 6 for controlling the image display unit 2 and the light control unit 4, and the user touch screen mode (M1) or When the stereoscopic image mode M2 is selected, the stereoscopic image display apparatus 100 including the selection processor 8 which transmits the signal to the controller 6 is provided.

As the image display unit 2, all display devices developed so far may be used. For example, the image display unit 2 may be any one of a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a field emission display (FED), and an organic light emitting diode (OLED). have. In addition, the light control unit 4 operates as a touch panel or a barrier for stereoscopic image display according to a user's selection.

2 illustrates an operation of the stereoscopic image display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the drawing, the operating process will be described in brief. First, the user selects the touch panel mode M1 or the stereoscopic image mode M2. When the user selects the touch panel mode M1 and touches the light control unit 4, an electrical signal corresponding thereto is input to the image display unit 2 through the control unit 8, and an image corresponding to the signal is displayed. It is displayed on the display part 2.

In addition, when the barrier mode M2 is selected by the user, the left eye image and the right eye image are separated according to the electrode pattern of the light control unit 4 so that the user can view a stereoscopic image. Details of such an operation process will be described later. Hereinafter, a configuration of a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

3 is a cross-sectional view of a stereoscopic image display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the light control unit 4 includes a liquid crystal shutter 40. As illustrated, the liquid crystal shutter 40 is disposed on one surface of the image display unit 2. Referring to the structure of the liquid crystal shutter 40, the segment electrode 22 and the common electrode 12 are formed on the inner surfaces of the first substrate 20a and the second substrate 20b which are disposed to face each other. In addition, detection electrodes 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are positioned at one edge of the common electrode 12.

A pair of alignment films 24 are formed on the first substrate 20a and the second substrate 20b to cover the segment electrode 22 and the common electrode 12, respectively, and the liquid crystal between the pair of alignment films 24. Layer 26 is formed. In addition, polarizers 28 may be attached to outer surfaces of the first substrate 20a and the second substrate 20b.

Below, the structure of the segment electrode 22 and the common electrode 12 is demonstrated in detail.

The segment electrode 22 is shown in FIG. 4A, and the common electrode 12 is shown in FIG. 4B. As illustrated, the segment electrode 22 may be formed in a stripe-shaped pattern, and the common electrode 12 may be formed as a rectangular cylindrical electrode. In addition, the detection electrodes 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are respectively formed at four corners of the common electrode 12 having a rectangular shape. These detection electrodes 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d may be formed by printing with silver (Ag) having a low resistivity or a mixture of silver and glass. The segment electrode 22 and the common electrode 12 may be formed of a transparent metal such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or tin antimon oxide (TAO).

As described above, the stereoscopic image display apparatus having the above structure may operate as the stereoscopic image display apparatus or the touch panel according to the user's selection. Hereinafter, the operation of the stereoscopic image display device according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a process of operating a 3D image display device in a touch panel mode M1 according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to the drawings, the detection electrodes 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are connected to the signal processor 14, respectively, and the signal processor 14 is connected to a controller 6 that controls the entire stereoscopic image display device.

Referring to the operation of the stereoscopic image display device in the touch panel mode M1, a character or an image is displayed on the image display unit 2, and the signal of the touch panel mode M1 is selected by the selection processor 8 according to the user's selection. When is transmitted, a voltage is applied to the detection electrodes 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d located at four corners of the common electrode 12. As a result, the electric field of the common electrode 12 is widened, and an electric field of uniform voltage is formed in the light control unit 4.

In this state, when the contact portion 50 on the light control portion 4 on which the selection item of a character or image is located is touched with a user's finger or the like, the capacitance of the contact portion 50 is changed by the capacitance such as a finger.

Here, the tool for changing the capacitance should be made of a component that can cause a voltage drop of the contact portion 50 when a contact occurs in the contact portion 50 of the light control unit 4. Therefore, the input tool may be made of a conductive material such as a bare hand or a conductive stylus pen.

In response to the change in capacitance, current signals S1, S2, S3, and S4 in proportion to the distance to the contact portion 50 flow through the signal processing units 14 to the detection electrodes 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, respectively. In accordance with the current values of the current signals S1, S2, S3, and S4, the signal processing unit 14 calculates the position coordinates of the contact portion and sends the coordinate signal S5 indicating the position coordinates to the controller 6. The control unit 6 causes the image display unit 2 to display a character or image corresponding to the coordinate signal S5. By such a process, the stereoscopic image display device of the present exemplary embodiment functions as a touch panel.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation in a stereoscopic image mode M2 of the stereoscopic image display apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to the drawings, the operation of the stereoscopic image display device in the stereoscopic image mode M2 will be described in detail. The image display unit 2 includes subpixels of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), respectively. The subpixels are formed of subpixels 30a corresponding to the left eye image and subpixels 30b corresponding to the right eye image according to the left eye or right eye image signal applied to the image display unit 2.

In this case, the left eye image and the right eye image may configure one unit by selecting one, two, or three sub pixels among the above-described sub pixels. Accordingly, the subpixels 30a corresponding to the left eye image and the subpixels 30b corresponding to the right eye image are formed to be repeatedly arranged in units of 1 to 3 sub pixels.

The liquid crystal shutter 40 has a slit shape arranged long along the column direction (Y-axis direction in the drawing) of the array of subpixels 30a and 30b by the driving signals applied to the common electrode and the segment electrode described above. The light blocking portions 42 and the light transmitting portions 44 are formed. At this time, the light transmitting unit 44 has one light for at least two subpixels among the subpixels 30a and 30b positioned along the row direction (X-axis direction of the drawing) of the array of subpixels 30a and 30b. The transmissive portion 44 may be configured to correspond correspondingly.

According to the above-described configuration, the left eye image and the right eye image respectively implemented in the subpixels 30a corresponding to the left eye image of the image display unit 2 and the sub pixels 30b corresponding to the right eye image are respectively included in the light control unit. Through the light transmitting part 44 of 4) is separated in the left or right eye direction of the user, respectively. As a result, the user recognizes the image of the image display unit 2 as a stereoscopic image.

When the light control unit 4 is formed of the liquid crystal shutter 40 as shown in FIG. 3, the arrangement state of the liquid crystal molecules included in the liquid crystal layer 26 is changed at the portion where the segment electrode 22 is positioned according to the application of the driving voltage. It blocks the light and transmits the light in the non-located part.

Accordingly, the left eye image and the right eye image of the image display unit 2 are separated into the left eye and the right eye of the user through the light control unit 4, respectively, and the user recognizes it as a stereoscopic image. In addition, a two-dimensional image may be implemented by inputting a two-dimensional image signal to the pixels of the image display unit 2 and turning off the entire liquid crystal shutter as necessary.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, Of course.

As described above, the stereoscopic image display apparatus according to the present invention integrates the touch panel and the stereoscopic barrier so that the thickness thereof can be reduced as compared with the case where the touch panel and the stereoscopic barrier are separately provided. In addition, the transparent electrode of the three-dimensional image barrier is used as the electrode for the touch panel without using a separate electrode to use the touch panel, and thus the light transmittance does not decrease, and the light transmittance is relatively higher than that in the case where the touch panel is separately provided. This is improved. Accordingly, the present invention provides a touch panel embedded stereoscopic image device that can be applied to a small size and a mobile display.

Claims (10)

An image display unit having subpixels corresponding to the left eye image and subpixels corresponding to the right eye image; An optical control unit disposed on one surface of the image display unit and switched to a touch panel mode or a barrier mode by a user's selection; A controller configured to control the image display unit and the light control unit with electrical signals; And And a selection processor configured to apply a stereoscopic image or a touch panel mode signal to the controller in response to a user input. The method according to claim 1, And the light control unit is a liquid crystal shutter. The method of claim 2, The liquid crystal shutter, A first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite the first substrate; Segment and common electrodes formed on inner surfaces of the first and second substrates, respectively; Detection electrodes formed on one surface of the common electrode to detect a current of the touch panel; And A liquid crystal layer injected and positioned between the first substrate and the second substrate; Stereoscopic image display device comprising a. The method of claim 3, The common electrode is formed of a rectangular through electrode, And the segment electrode is formed in a stripe shape. 5. The method of claim 4, And the detection electrodes are formed at four corners of one surface of the common electrode. The method of claim 3, And a signal processor configured to calculate a position coordinate of the touch panel based on the current signal transmitted from the detection electrode. The method of claim 3, An alignment layer covering the segment and the common electrode; And Polarizers formed on the outer surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate Stereoscopic display device further comprising. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 7, And the detection electrodes are formed of silver or a mixture of silver and glass. The method according to claim 1, And the image display unit is a flat panel display. The method according to claim 1, And the light controller selectively has a capacitive touch panel function.

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