Display device with capacity of displaying three-dimensional images

• US 7,139,042 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2004
• Issued: 11/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Inventors: Kim, Beom-Shik, Song, Myoung-Seop, Nam, Hee, Jang, Hyoung-Wook, Lee, Jang-Doo
• Primary Examiner(s): Schechter, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, WEN YING PATTY
• Application Number:
  US10/858,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20040263698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 349/6, 349/15
• US Class Current: 349/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/32 using arrays of controllable light sources; using moving apertures or moving light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/359 Switching between monoscopic and stereoscopic modes

Abstract

A display device for selectively displaying any one of 2D and 3D images with a capacity of displaying the 3D image with the same resolution as that of the 2D image. The display device includes a light source radiating white colored light, and an image display unit receiving the light from the light source to display the desired images. A beam splitter is placed between the light source and the image display unit to split the light radiated from the light source in the directions of left and right eyes of the user, and feed the split light rays to the image display unit. An optical shutter is provided at any one of front and rear surfaces of the beam splitter. The optical shutter has a plurality of shutter members with variable light transmittance to control the light transmission such that at least one of the two-directional light rays split at the beam splitter reaches the user.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a light source for radiating white colored light;

an image display unit for receiving the white colored light from the light source to display desired images;

a beam splitter placed between the light source and the image display unit to split the white colored light radiated from the light source into a first light ray in a direction of a left eye of a user and a second light ray in a direction of a right eye of the user, and to feed-the first light ray and the second light ray to the image display unit; and

an optical shutter provided at any one of front and rear surfaces of the beam splitter and having a first shutter members and second shutter members with variable light transmittance to control the light transmission such that the first light ray split at the beam splitter reaches the user through the first shutter members and the second light ray split at the beam splitter reaches the user through the second shutter members, wherein the beam splitter has a first pitch and the optical shutter has a second pitch, and wherein the first pitch matches the second pitch.

2. The display device of claim 1 wherein the image display unit is formed with a transmission type liquid crystal display.

3. The display device of claim 1 wherein the beam splitter is formed with a prism sheet having a surface facing the light source with a plurality of triangular prisms.

4. display device of claim 1 wherein the beam splitter is formed with a lenticular lens sheet having a surface facing the light source with a plurality of lenticular lenses.

5. The display device of claim 1 wherein the first shutter members and the second shutter members of the optical shutter are alternately and repeatedly arranged such that the first shutter members and the second shutter members being placed at optical paths respectively direct the first beam and the second beam toward the left eye of the user and toward the right eye of the user.

6. The display device of claim 1 wherein the optical shutter is formed with a normally white mode liquid crystal display.

7. The display device of claim 6 wherein the optical shutter comprises:

a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other;

a common electrode formed on an inner surface of the first substrate;

first electrodes and second electrodes stripe-patterned on an inner surface of the second substrate and alternately and repeatedly arranged such that the first shutter members and the second shutter members respectively direct the first beam and the second beam toward the left eye of the user and toward the right eye of the user;

a pair of alignment layers formed on the inner surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate while covering the common electrode and the first electrodes and the second electrodes;

a liquid crystal layer placed between the pair of the alignment layers, and a first polarizing plate and a second polarizing plate respectively attached to external surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the first electrodes and the second electrodes respectively correspond to the first shutter members and the second shutter members.

8. The display device of claim 1 further comprising a light gathering element placed between the image display unit and the beam splitter to focus the first light ray and the second light ray toward the image display unit.

9. The display device of claim 1 further comprising:

an image control unit connected to the image display unit to repeatedly feed left eyed image signals and right eyed image signals for forming 2D or 3D images to the image display unit; and

a shutter control unit connected to the optical shutter to feed to the optical shutter signals for switching the first shutter members and the second shutter members.

10. A method of driving the display device of claim 9 comprising:

feeding 2D image signals to the image display unit at the image control unit to display the 2D image at the image display unit; and

feeding opening signals to all the first shutter members and the second shutter members at the shutter control unit to provide light transmission at the first shutter members and the second shutter members.

11. A method of driving the display unit of claim 9 comprising:

alternately feeding the left eyed image signals and the right eyed image signals to the image display unit at the image control unit such that the image display unit time-divisionally displays left eyed images and right eyed images;

generating frame synchronization signals between sections of the left eyed image signals and the right eyed image signals at the image control unit to transmit the frame synchronization signals to the shutter control unit; and

upon receipt of the frame synchronization signals at the shutter control unit, feeding first driving signals to the optical shutter in the section of the left eyed image signals to open the first shutter members, and feeding second driving signals to the optical shutter in the section of the right eyed image signals to open the second shutter members.

12. The display device of claim 1 wherein the image display unit comprises a plurality of pixels, and wherein the first shutter members and the second shutter members of the optical shutter are alternately and repeatedly arranged such that one of the first shutter members and a corresponding one of the second shutter members are paired to correspond to a corresponding one of the plurality of pixels.

13. The display device of claim 1 further comprising a light gathering element placed between the image display unit and the optical shutter to focus the first light ray and the second light ray toward the image display unit.

14. The display device of claim 1 wherein the first light ray split is controlled to reach the user through the first shutter members at a first time period and the second light ray is controlled to reach the user through the second shutter members at a second time period.

15. A display device comprising:

a light source for radiating white colored light;

an image display unit for receiving the white colored light from the light source to display desired images;

a beam splitter placed between the light source and the image display unit to split the white colored light radiated from the light source into a first light ray in a direction of a left eye of a user and a second light ray in a direction of a right eye of the user, and to feed the first light ray and the second light ray to the image display unit; and

an optical shutter provided at any one of front and rear surfaces of the beam splitter and having a first shutter members and second shutter members with variable light transmittance to control the light transmission such that the first light ray split at the beam splitter reaches the user through the first shutter members and the second light ray split at the beam splitter reaches the user through the second shutter members, wherein the beam splitter is formed with a prism sheet having a surface facing the light source with a plurality of triangular prisms, and wherein the first shutter members and the second shutter members of the optical shutter are alternately and repeatedly arranged such that one of the first shutter members and a corresponding one of the second shutter members are paired to correspond to a corresponding one of the triangular prisms.

16. A display device comprising:

a light source for radiating white colored light;

an image display unit for receiving the white colored light from the light source to display desired images;

a beam splitter placed between the light source and the image display unit to split the white colored light radiated from the light source into a first light ray in a direction of a left eye of a user and a second light ray in a direction of a right eye of the user, and to feed the first light ray and the second light ray to the image display unit; and

an optical shutter provided at any one of front and rear surfaces of the beam splitter and having a first shutter members and second shutter members with variable light transmittance to control the light transmission such that the first light ray split at the beam splitter reaches the user through the first shutter members and the second light ray split at the beam splitter reaches the user through the second shutter members, wherein the beam splitter is formed with a lenticular lens sheet having a surface facing the light source with a plurality of lenticular lenses, and wherein the first shutter members and the second shutter members of the optical shutter are alternately and repeatedly arranged such that one of the first shutter members and a corresponding one of the second shutter members are paired to correspond to a corresponding one of the lenticular lenses.

17. A display device comprising:

a light source for radiating white colored light;

an image display unit for receiving the white colored light from the light source to display desired images;

a beam splitter placed between the light source and the image display unit to split the white colored light radiated from the light source into a first light ray in a direction of a left eye of a user and a second light ray in a direction of a right eye of the user, and to feed the first light ray and the second light ray to the image display unit; and

an optical shutter provided at any one of front and rear surfaces of the beam splitter and having a first shutter members and second shutter members with variable light transmittance to control the light transmission, wherein the beam splitter is placed between the image display unit and the optical shutter, wherein the beam splitter has a first pitch and the optical shutter has a second pitch, and wherein the first pitch matches the second pitch.

18. A display device comprising:

a light source for radiating white colored light;

an image display unit for receiving the white colored light from the light source to display desired images;

a beam splitter placed between the light source and the image display unit to split the white colored light radiated from the light source into a first light ray in a direction of a left eye of a user and a second light ray in a direction of a right eye of the user, and to feed the first light ray and the second light ray to the image display unit; and

an optical shutter provided at any one of front and rear surfaces of the beam splitter and having a first shutter members and second shutter members with variable light transmittance to control the light transmission such that the first light ray split at the beam splitter reaches the user through the first shutter members and the second light ray split at the beam splitter reaches the user through the second shutter members, wherein the beam splitter is formed with a prism sheet having a surface facing the light source with a plurality of triangular prisms, wherein the triangular prisms have a first pitch and the optical shutter has a second pitch, and wherein the first pitch matches the second pitch.

19. The display device of claim 18 wherein the optical shutter comprises;

a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other;

a common electrode formed on an inner surface of the first substrate;

first electrodes and second electrodes stripe-patterned on an inner surface of the second substrate and alternately and repeatedly arranged such that the first shutter members and the second shutter members respectively direct the first beam and the second beam toward the left eye of the user and toward the right eye of the user;

a pair of alignment layers formed on the inner surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate while covering the common electrode and the first electrodes and the second electrodes;

a twisted nematic (TN) liquid crystal layer placed between the pair of the alignment layers, and a first polarizing plate and a second polarizing plate respectively attached to external surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the first electrodes and the second electrodes respectively correspond to the first shutter members and the second shutter members, wherein the first electrodes and the second electrodes have a third pitch, and wherein the third pitch is half the first pitch of the triangular prisms.