KR20080021958A - Element for controlling light and display device comprising thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A light controlling element and a display device having the same are provided to selectively process 2D and 3D images by selectively passing light using a micro shutter. A light controlling element includes a substrate, plural slit electrodes(33,34), and a micro shutter(36). The slit electrodes are arranged on the substrate and include first and second electrodes. The first and second electrodes are arranged to be apart from each other. The micro shutter is arranged between the slit electrodes and arranged to be insulated from the slit electrodes. A common voltage is applied on the micro shutter, while a gate voltage, which is different from the common voltage, is applied on the first or second electrode. A light focusing member(37) is formed under the slit electrodes. The focusing member is a micro lens array.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The optical control device and the display device having the same are provided.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a light control element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a driving state of a light control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a method of displaying a 3D image using a light control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

1: display device according to an embodiment of the present invention

10: transmissive display panel

20: backlight module

30: light control panel

31 substrate 32 insulating film

33: first electrode 34: second electrode

35: third electrode 36: micro shutter

37: light collecting member 38: stopper

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light control element and a display device having the same, and more particularly, to a light control element for controlling light to display a high luminance two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional image, and a display device having the same. .

In general, a display device for displaying a 3D stereoscopic image achieves a 3D effect by allowing a left eye image of a pair of stereoscopic image images to be viewed by a left eye of a user and a right eye image by a right eye.

In particular, a display device capable of realizing both 2D and 3D stereoscopic images has an active pararrax barrier that controls light on the back of a general transmissive display device to control the light emitted from the backlight module to control 2D and 3D images. Implement

In this case, a polarizer and a liquid crystal are used as the element for controlling the light. In the case of using the polarizer and the liquid crystal, the luminance loss due to the polarizer and the liquid crystal is large and there is a problem in that the control is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a light control device having low luminance loss and easy light control using a micro shutter and a display device capable of realizing both 2D and 3D images by using the same. have.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the light control device of the present invention, a substrate; A plurality of slit electrodes provided on the substrate and formed of a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval; And a micro shutter provided between the slit electrodes and insulated from the slit electrodes.

A common voltage is applied to the third electrode, and a gate voltage different from the common voltage is applied to the first electrode or the second electrode.

In addition, it is preferable that a light collecting member provided on the opposite surface of the substrate surface covered with the insulating film and collecting light passing through the side of the light control element can increase the light efficiency.

In this case, the light collecting member is preferably a micro lens array.

In addition, the stopper is disposed on both sides of the third electrode, and further includes a stopper for limiting the angle at which the microshutter is extended, since the microshutter can be prevented from being excessively deformed to prevent damage to the microshutter.

In this case, it is preferable that the stopper has a slanted surface inclined in the direction of the micro shutter, so as to effectively limit the deformed shape of the micro shutter to facilitate the original shape of the micro shutter.

In addition, the stopper may be formed of a non-transparent material through which light does not pass, and it is preferable to effectively control light when implementing a 3D image.

On the other hand, a display device of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, a transmissive display panel for displaying an image using the light irradiated from the rear; A backlight module supplying light to the display panel; And a light control panel disposed between the transmissive display panel and the backlight module and including a light control element for controlling light supplied from the backlight module. A plurality of slit electrodes provided on the substrate and formed of a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval; And a micro shutter provided between the slit electrodes and insulated from the slit electrodes.

In this case, the transmissive display panel is preferably a liquid crystal display panel.

In addition, the light control device may be provided to correspond to each pixel of the liquid crystal display panel, and the light control device may control light for each pixel in a 3D image.

Other technical problems and advantages of the present invention in addition to the above technical problem will be apparent from the description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the display device 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a transmissive display panel 10; Backlight module 20; Light control panel 30; is configured to include.

First, the light control panel 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the light control panel 30 is disposed between the transmissive display panel 10 and the backlight module 20. The light control panel 30 passes all the light supplied from the backlight module 20 when displaying the 2D image using the display device 1, and displays the 3D image. Each light control element is driven independently to determine whether to implement a left image or a right image for each pixel of the transmissive display panel.

As shown in FIG. 1, the light control panel 30 is provided with a plurality of light control elements. This light control element comprises a substrate 31, as shown in FIG. Insulating film 32; A first electrode 33; Second electrode 34; Third electrode 35; And a micro shutter 36.

First, the substrate 31 serves as a base on which each component of the above-described light control element is provided, and is made of a transparent material through which light is transmitted.

Next, the insulating film 32 is formed on the substrate 31 to be coated with a predetermined thickness, and the first and second electrodes 33 and 34 are embedded therein. Accordingly, the insulating layer 32 insulates the first and second electrodes 33 and 34 from the substrate 31 and the third electrode 35.

Next, the first and second electrodes 33 and 34 are electrodes to which a gate voltage is applied. The first and second electrodes 33 and 34 are spaced apart from each other at regular heights, and when a voltage is applied to the first electrode 33 disposed on the left side, the left wing 36a of the micro shutter is provided. When the voltage is applied to the second electrode 34 disposed on the right side, the right wing 36b of the micro shutter is extended. In addition, the first and second electrodes 33 and 34 are preferably formed of a transparent material such as ITO, because they do not block light supplied from the backlight module.

Next, a third electrode 35 is formed on the upper surface of the insulating film 32, as shown in FIG. 2, disposed between the first and second electrodes 33 and 34. The common voltage is applied to the third electrode 35. Therefore, when the common voltage and the gate voltage are respectively applied between the third electrode 35 and the first electrode 33 or between the third electrode 35 and the second electrode 34, the left wing 36a of the micro shutter is applied. Alternatively, the right wing 36b is extended to limit the light supplied from the backlight module.

Next, the micro shutter 36 is insulated from the third electrode on the third electrode 35. The micro shutter 36 is deformed by an electric field formed by the third electrode 35 and the first electrode 33 or the third electrode 35 and the second electrode 34 to control light. It plays a role.

Herein, the micro shutter refers to a micro digital shutter having a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) structure. In general, MEMS is known as a technology that combines a computer with very small machinery such as sensors, valves, gears, reflectors and actuators embedded in semiconductor chips.

As display devices have attracted much attention, micro digital shutters having a MEMS structure have been developed. After the first roll-shaped structure was first published by Kalt in 1979, Fiat recently developed a micro-digital shutter by using the thermal expansion coefficient between metals using electrostatic force. Was announced. And in North Carolina, we have introduced a micro digital shutter that uses the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between metals. The micro digital shutter having such a roll-shaped drying structure is advantageous in terms of easy operation and reliability. In addition, there is an advantage that it is easy to control the transmission and reflection of light by using a characteristic that the degree and speed of drying is different depending on the difference of the applied voltage.

In this embodiment, such a micro shutter is used, and this micro shutter has a structure in which a thin metal film is attached in two layers.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the light control element according to the present embodiment is further provided with a light collecting member 37. The light collecting member 37 is provided on an opposite surface of the substrate 31 covered with the insulating film 32, and collects light passing through the side of the light control element as shown in FIG. 2. Component. When light is collected using the light collecting member 37 as described above, the light efficiency is not only increased, but the light passing through the light collecting member is collected as though it passed through a pinhole.

At this time, the light collecting member 37 is preferably a micro lens array. The micro lens array is preferably formed in a space between the third electrode and another neighboring third electrode to collect light passing through the space between the third electrodes.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the light control device according to the present embodiment is disposed on both sides of the third electrode 35, and a stopper 38 for limiting the angle at which the micro shutter 36 is extended. It is preferable that further be provided. If the micro shutter 36 is unfolded excessively, problems may occur in implementing 3D images by excessively controlling light. Therefore, this stopper 38 limits the angle at which the micro shutter 36 is extended. In this case, the stopper 38 preferably has a slanted surface inclined in the micro shutter direction as shown in FIG. 2. That is, by having the inclined surface inclined in the micro shutter direction, the micro shutter is prevented from being damaged by repeated deformation of the micro shutter in response to the shape in which the micro shutter 36 is extended.

In addition, the stopper 38 is preferably formed of a non-transparent material through which light does not pass. This is to easily control the light passing through each light control element.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the transmissive display panel 10 is disposed in front of the light control panel 32 to display an image using light emitted from the backlight module 20. In this case, since the transmissive display panel 10 is controlled by the light control panel 30, the transmissive display panel 10 should be a transmissive display panel that displays an image while transmitting light supplied from a separate backlight module instead of emitting light by itself. . In this embodiment, the transmissive display panel 10 is configured as a liquid crystal display panel.

When the transmissive display panel 10 is a liquid crystal display panel, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the light control elements of the light control panel correspond to each pixel of the liquid crystal display panel. Then, light may be controlled for each pixel of the liquid crystal display panel. When a light control element is provided corresponding to each pixel as shown in FIG. 4, one pixel is controlled by one light control element. That is, since whether to implement the left image or the right image is determined for each pixel, there is an advantage in that light can be controlled independently for each pixel.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the backlight module 20 is a component that supplies light to the display panel 10.

According to the present invention, since a micro shutter is used, luminance loss is low, and light control is easy, and various and realistic 3D images can be displayed. In addition, since the display device of the present invention using the micro shutter of the MEMS structure implements selective transmission of light using the micro shutter, the 2D image and the 3D image can be selectively processed.

Claims (16)

Board; A plurality of slit electrodes provided on the substrate and formed of a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval; And a micro shutter provided between the slit electrodes and insulated from the slit electrodes. The method of claim 1, A common voltage is applied to the micro shutter, and a gate voltage different from the common voltage is applied to the first electrode or the second electrode. The method of claim 2, And a light collecting member for collecting light under the slit electrode. The method of claim 3, wherein the light collecting member, A light control element, characterized in that a micro lens array. The method of claim 4, wherein And a stopper disposed at a lower side of the micro shutter, the stopper restricting an angle at which the micro shutter is extended. The method of claim 5, wherein the stopper, And a slanted surface inclined in the micro shutter direction. The method of claim 6, wherein the stopper, Light control element, characterized in that formed of a non-transmissive material that does not pass light. A transmissive display panel displaying an image using light emitted from the rear side; A backlight module supplying light to the display panel; And a light control panel disposed between the transmissive display panel and the backlight module and including a light control element for controlling light supplied from the backlight module. The light control element, Board; A plurality of slit electrodes provided on the substrate and formed of a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval; And a micro shutter disposed between the slit electrodes and insulated from the slit electrodes. The method of claim 8, A common voltage is applied to the micro shutter, and a gate voltage different from the common voltage is applied to the first electrode or the second electrode. The method of claim 9, And a light collecting member for collecting light under the slit electrode. The method of claim 10, wherein the light collecting member, A display device, characterized in that it is a micro lens array. The method of claim 11, And a stopper disposed at a lower side of the micro shutter and limiting an angle at which the micro shutter is extended. The method of claim 12, wherein the stopper, And a slanted surface inclined in the micro shutter direction. The method of claim 13, wherein the stopper, Display device, characterized in that formed of a non-transparent material that does not pass light. The display panel of claim 12, wherein the transmissive display panel is It is a liquid crystal display panel, The display apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 15, wherein the light control element, And a display unit corresponding to each pixel of the liquid crystal display panel.

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