Display apparatus

• US 7,898,602 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2006
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Fukushima, Hiroshi, Yabuta, Koji, Takatani, Tomoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelms; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chien; Lucy P
• Application Number:
  US11/910,889
• Publication Number:
  US 20090015732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 349/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13471 in which all the liquid crystal cells or layers remain transparent, e.g. FLC, ECB, DAP, HAN, TN, STN, SBE-LC cells G02F1/13475 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers

Abstract

On the display surface side of a DV display apparatus which performs image separation via a parallax barrier, a normally-white TN liquid crystal section is arranged such that a viewing angle direction heads toward the passenger seat. In a case where display is performed for both the driver'"'"'s seat and the passenger seat, a drive voltage of the TN liquid crystal section is switched off. In a case where display for the driver'"'"'s seat is set to non-display and an image is displayed only for the passenger seat, a halftone voltage is applied as the drive voltage of the TN liquid crystal section. In the case where display for at least one display direction is set to non-display in a display apparatus which can display different images in plural display directions by using a common display screen, it is possible to prevent image light for other directions from leaking to the non-display direction.

Claims

1. A display apparatus for displaying different images in plural display directions, the display apparatus comprising:

a display device in which plural pixels arranged to display images in predetermined directions are disposed in a predetermined order in accordance with directions of displaying the images; and

a light shielding member arranged to prevent light emitted from the pixels from being viewed in directions other than display directions of the pixels; and

a barrier liquid crystal panel which is arranged to;

(i) allow the light emitted from the pixels which has passed through the light shielding member to pass through in the plural display directions, when a drive voltage is not applied,

(ii) decrease a transmittance in at least one display direction out of the plural display directions, when the drive voltage is applied, and

(iii) maintain a transmittance in all of the plural display directions except for the at least one display direction when the drive voltage is applied.

2. The display apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein, the barrier liquid crystal panel includes:

a pair of substrates opposing each other;

a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates;

an electrode arranged to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer; and

an orientation member arranged to orient liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer so as to decrease the transmittance in the particular direction, when the driver voltage is applied to the electrode.

3. The display apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the liquid crystal layer is made of nematic liquid crystal, the electrode is arranged on the liquid crystal layer so as to apply the electric field along a direction that is normal to surfaces of the pair of substrates, the orientation member includes orientation films which are provided on opposing surfaces of the pair of substrates and are oriented in directions substantially perpendicular to each other, and the orientation films are disposed so that the particular display direction is set at an anti-viewing angle direction.

4. The display apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein the drive voltage is a halftone voltage.

5. The display apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein, the display device includes:

a pair of second substrates opposing each other;

a second liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of second substrates;

a second orientation member arranged to orient liquid crystal molecules constituting the second liquid crystal layer; and

a second electrode arranged to apply electric fields independently to areas of the second liquid crystal layer, the areas corresponding to the respective pixels;

wherein ,

the second orientation member is arranged to orient the liquid crystal molecules in the areas corresponding to the pixels so as to cause the display directions of the pixels to be substantially parallel to the viewing angle direction.

6. The display apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the display apparatus is an in-vehicle display apparatus displaying different images in respective display directions including a driver'"'"'s seat direction, the driver'"'"'s seat direction being set at the particular direction.