DISPLAY DEVICE AND LIGHT BARRIER ELEMENT

• US 20120236237A1
• Filed: 02/23/2012
• Published: 09/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Hironao, Higashi, Amane, Kanari, Yuzo, Okuno, Harumi, Ito, Masayuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,025,125 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/110
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/31 involving active parallax barriers involving directional light or back-light sources G02B30/33
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13392 spacers dispersed on the cell substrate, e.g. spherical particles, microfibres
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13394 spacers regularly patterned on the cell subtrate, e.g. walls, pillars G02F1/133377 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13396 Spacers having different sizes
• 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: H04N 13/31 using parallax barriers

Abstract

A display device includes a display section, and a light barrier element. The light barrier element includes a pair of substrates, a liquid crystal layer that is provided between the pair of substrates and has a plurality of sub-regions that transmit or block light, and a plurality of spacers provided between the pair of substrates. The plurality of spacers are randomly arranged in part or all of a region in surfaces of the substrates.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a display section; and

a light barrier element,

wherein the light barrier element includes

a pair of substrates,

a liquid crystal layer that is provided between the pair of substrates and has a plurality of sub-regions that transmit or block light, and

a plurality of spacers provided between the pair of substrates,

wherein the plurality of spacers are randomly arranged in part or all of a region in surfaces of the substrates.

2. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the display section includes a display region and a plurality of pixels in the display region, and

an arrangement of the plurality of spacers is non-periodical with respect to an arrangement of the plurality of pixels in part or all of the region.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the respective spacers are irregularly positioned in the pixels.

4. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of pixels include pixels corresponding to a plurality of colors, and

a total value of area of overlapped regions between the pixels and the spacers is substantially equal between the plurality of colors in part or all of the display region.

5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the total value of area is substantially equal between the plurality of colors in part or all of the region in the surfaces of the substrates.

6. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the total value of area is substantially equal between the plurality of colors over an entire region of the display region.

7. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the pixels corresponding to the plurality of colors are configured of a red (R) pixel, a green (G) pixel, and a blue (B) pixel.

8. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein a light barrier region is formed of the plurality of sub-regions,

the light barrier region is partitioned into a plurality of unit regions, and

the plurality of spacers are randomly arranged in each of the unit regions.

9. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein a light barrier region is formed of the plurality of sub-regions, and

the plurality of spacers are randomly arranged over an entire region of the light barrier region.

10. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of spacers are fixed between the pair of substrates.

11. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of spacers each have a columnar shape.

12. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display section is configured of a liquid crystal display section.

13. A light barrier element comprising:

a pair of substrates;

a liquid crystal layer that is provided between the pair of substrates and has a plurality of sub-regions that transmit or block light, and

a plurality of spacers provided between the pair of substrates,

wherein the plurality of spacers are randomly arranged in part or all of a region in surfaces of the substrates.