Display apparatus and electronics device

• US 7,978,167 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2006
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• 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: Imai, Akira, Fukushima, Hiroshi, Yabuta, Koji, Takatani, Tomoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia; Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US11/525,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20070070004A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,754 Days
• Field of Search: 345 7- 9, 345 87-103, 345/168, 345/173, 345/204, 345/210, 345/211, 345/530, 345/629, 345/634, 349/96, 349113-123, 349/15, 349/63, 349/8, 349/16, 349/196, 349/197, 353/10, 353/28, 353/119, 368/242, 348/51, 348/47, 348/42, 455/566
• US Class Current: 345/98
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1323 Arrangements for providing a switchable viewing angle
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133753 with different alignment orientations or pretilt angles on a same surface, e.g. for grey scale or improved viewing angle
• 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 2300/023 Display panel composed of stacked panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/068 for control of viewing angle adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/28 using luminous gas-discharge panels, e.g. plasma panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3208 organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers

Abstract

A display section of a portable phone includes a first polarizer, a switching panel section, a reflective polarizer, and a main panel section. The switching panel section has a liquid crystal layer including a plurality of regions having at least two different alignment directions. This makes it possible, by utilizing the difference in the alignment direction of the liquid crystal layer, to make the image difficult to observe by a sight-line from an oblique direction. Furthermore, it is also possible, by utilizing the mirror-surface displaying caused by the reflective polarizer, to make the image significantly difficult to observe.

Claims

1. A display apparatus, comprising:

a picture display section for displaying an image;

a display switching section, on a front face of the picture display section, for electrically switching observation statuses of the picture display section in viewing-angle directions without changing the image displayed on the picture display section;

a first polarizer on a front face of the display switching section;

a second polarizer between the picture display section and the display switching section; and

a reflective polarizer between (i) a rear side of the display switching section and (ii) the second polarizer,

the display switching section being a liquid crystal layer including a plurality of regions having at least two different alignment directions of liquid crystal molecules of TN mode,

the liquid crystal layer switching, in response to a voltage that is applied to the liquid crystal layer, to at least (A) a narrow viewing-angle mode where an image displayed on the picture display section is (i) visible from a front direction but (ii) difficult to be observed from an oblique direction, wherein

during the narrow viewing-angle mode, a region where the image is difficult to be observed is partially displayed in mirror-surface displaying caused by the reflective polarizer by utilizing orientation of the liquid crystal layer.

2. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display switching section is sandwiched between a pair of substrates.

3. The display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the liquid crystal layer switches, in response to a voltage that is applied to the liquid crystal layer, to one of following modes:

(A) a narrow viewing-angle mode where an image displayed on the picture display section is (i) visible from a front direction but (ii) difficult to be observed from an oblique direction;

(B) a wide viewing-angle mode where the image displayed on the picture display section is visible from any direction; and

(C) a mirror mode where the picture display section is observed in a form of mirror-surface display from any direction.

4. The display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the liquid crystal layer includes an electrode via which a voltage is applied in accordance with the modes (A) to (C).

5. The display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a voltage, causing the liquid crystal layer to be switched into one of the modes (A) to (C), is set at 0V.

6. The display apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a voltage, causing the liquid crystal layer to be switched into the wide viewing-angle mode, is set at 0V.

7. The display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a voltage, causing the liquid crystal layer to be switched into the narrow viewing-angle mode, is set more proximate to a voltage causing the liquid crystal layer to be switched into the wide viewing-angle mode than to a voltage causing the liquid crystal layer to be switched into the mirror mode.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the picture display section causes light that is emitted from a rear side of the picture display section to be off during the mirror mode.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the liquid crystal layer is normally-white.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein (C)>

(A)>

(B), where (C) is a voltage causing the liquid crystal layer to be switched into the mode (C), (A) is a voltage causing the liquid crystal layer to be switched into the mode (A), and (B) is a voltage causing the liquid crystal layer to be switched into the mode (B).

11. An electronic device including the display apparatus set forth in claim 1.