OPTICAL DEVICE INCLUDING OPTICAL MODULATION DEVICE, AND DRIVING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20160275884A1
• Filed: 03/01/2016
• Published: 09/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: YI, Junghwan, CHOI, Chunki, CHO, Jung-Hyun
• Granted Patent: US 10,354,576 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/023 Display panel composed of stacked panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0447 for multi-domain technique to improve the viewing angle in a liquid crystal display, such as multi-vertical alignment [MVA]
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2022 using sub-frames
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/315 the parallax barriers being time-variant
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/337 using polarisation multiplexing

Abstract

An optical device includes a display panel displaying an image and an optical modulation device that includes a first plate and second plate disposed to face each other and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first plate and the second plate and including a plurality of liquid crystal molecules, wherein the first plate includes a plurality of lower electrodes extending in a first direction and arranged in a second direction crossing the first direction and the second plate include and an upper electrode. When the display panel displays a first image during a first subframe, the optical modulation device applies a first driving signal to the plurality of lower electrodes, and when the display panel displays a second image during a second subframe following the first subframe, the optical modulation device applies a second driving signal different from the first driving signal to the plurality of lower electrodes.

Claims

1. An optical device, comprising:

a display panel that displays an image; and

an optical modulation device that includes a first plate and second plate disposed to face each other, a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first plate and the second plate and that includes a plurality of liquid crystal molecules, and a plurality of unit areas,

wherein the first plate includes a plurality of lower electrodes that extend in a first direction and are arranged in a second direction that crosses the first direction, the second plate includes an upper electrode, and

when the display panel displays a first image during a first subframe, the optical modulation device applies a first driving signal to the plurality of lower electrodes, and when the display panel displays a second image during a second subframe following the first subframe, the optical modulation device applies a second driving signal different from the first driving signal to the plurality of lower electrodes.

2. The optical device of claim 1, further comprising

a phase retardation plate disposed on the display panel that includes a quarter-wave plate, wherein

the optical modulation device changes a circular polarization direction of light received from the phase retardation plate during the first subframe, and

the optical modulation device maintains the circular polarization direction of light received from the phase retardation plate during the second subframe.

3. The optical device of claim 2, wherein

the display panel includes a polarizer that linearly polarizes light of an image.

4. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the first plate includes a first aligner, the second plate includes a second aligner, and

an alignment direction of the first aligner and an alignment direction of the second aligner are substantially parallel to each other.

5. The optical device of claim 4, wherein

the plurality of liquid crystal molecules tilt parallel to surfaces of the first plate and the second plate during the first subframe.

6. The optical device of claim 4, wherein

long axes of the plurality of liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a direction parallel to the second direction.

7. The optical device of claim 4, wherein

the plurality of liquid crystal molecules tilt perpendicular to the surfaces of the first plate and the second plate during the second subframe.

8. The optical device of claim 4, wherein

the optical modulation device sequentially applies a first voltage to the lower electrodes included in the unit area along the second direction during the first subframe.

9. The optical device of claim 8, wherein

time intervals of the first voltage respectively applied to the lower electrodes along the second direction during the first subframe are constant.

10. The optical device of claim 4, wherein

the optical modulation device sequentially applies the first voltage to each of a plurality of groups of adjacent lower electrodes included in the unit area along the second direction.

11. The optical device of claim 10, wherein

time intervals of the first voltage respectively applied to the groups along the second direction during the first subframe are constant.

12. The optical device of claim 4, wherein

the optical modulation device simultaneously applies the first voltage to the plurality of lower electrodes during a first time interval of the first subframe, and the optical modulation device simultaneously applies a second voltage greater than the first voltage to the plurality of lower electrodes during a second time interval of the first subframe that follows the first time interval.

13. A method of driving an optical device that includes a display panel that displays an image, and an optical modulation device that includes a first plate and a second plate disposed to face each other, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first plate and the second plate and that includes a plurality of liquid crystal molecules, the method comprising:

displaying, by the display panel, a first image during a first subframe;

applying, by the optical modulation device, a first driving signal to a plurality of lower electrodes included in the first plate during the first subframe wherein the plurality of liquid crystal molecules tilt parallel to surfaces of the first and second plates and long axes of the plurality of liquid crystal molecules arrange in a direction parallel to the second direction, wherein the lower electrodes extend in a first direction and are arranged in a second direction crossing the first direction;

displaying, by the display panel, a second image during a second subframe that follows the first subframe; and

applying, by the optical modulation device, a second driving signal different from the first driving signal to the plurality of lower electrodes during the second subframe wherein the plurality of liquid crystal molecules tilt perpendicular to the surfaces of the first and second plates.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein

the first driving signal sequentially applies a first voltage to the lower electrodes included in a unit area of the optical modulation device along the second direction.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein

time intervals of the first voltage sequentially applied to the lower electrodes along the second direction are constant.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein

the first driving signal sequentially applies a first voltage to each of a plurality of groups of adjacent lower electrodes included in a unit area of the optical modulation device along the second direction.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein

time intervals of the first voltage sequentially applied to the groups along the second direction during the first subframe are constant.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein

the first driving signal simultaneously applies a first voltage to the plurality of lower electrodes during a first time interval of the first subframe, and simultaneously applies a second voltage greater than the first voltage to the plurality of lower electrodes during a second time interval of the first subframe that follows the first time interval.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the optical modulation device changes a circular polarization direction of light received from a phase retardation plate disposed on the display panel during the first subframe, and the optical modulation device maintains the circular polarization direction of light received from the phase retardation plate during the second subframe.

20. A method of driving an optical device that includes a display panel that displays an image, and an optical modulation device that includes a plurality of first electrodes, a second electrode, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the plurality of first electrodes and the second electrode and that includes a plurality of liquid crystal molecules, the method comprising:

displaying, by the display panel, a first image during a first subframe;

applying, by the optical modulation device, a first driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes during the first subframe wherein the plurality of liquid crystal molecules tilt parallel to surfaces of the first and second plates and long axes of the plurality of liquid crystal molecules arrange in a direction parallel to the second direction;

displaying, by the display panel, a second image during a second subframe that follows the first subframe; and

applying, by the optical modulation device, a second driving signal different from the first driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes during the second subframe wherein the plurality of liquid crystal molecules tilt perpendicular to the surfaces of the first and second plates,

wherein a circular polarization direction of light received from the display panel is changed during the first subframe, and the circular polarization direction of light received from the display panel is maintained during the second subframe.