High-resolution autostereoscopic display

• US 7,750,981 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2006
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Tae-hee, Kim, Dae-sik, Shestak, Sergey
• Primary Examiner(s): KIANNI, KAVEH C
• Application Number:
  US11/498,818
• Publication Number:
  US 20070035672A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,432 Days
• Field of Search: 349/15
• US Class Current: 349/15
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/28 involving active lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/305 using lenticular lenses, e.g. arrangements of cylindrical lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/359 Switching between monoscopic and stereoscopic modes

Abstract

A high-resolution autostereoscopic display is provided. The autostereoscopic display includes a controller; a display panel receiving an image signal from the controller, forming an image, and including pixels and an inactive area between the pixels; a polarizer polarizing light emitted from the display panel to have a first polarization; a polarization switching controller; a polarization switch selectively converting the light with the first polarization into light with a second polarization in response to the electrical control of the polarization switching controller; a selection controller; a first electro-optical birefringent layer having an optical axis that direction is changed by an electrical control of the selection controller and including a plurality of first lenticular lenses separated by a predetermined pitch; and a second electro-optical birefringent layer having an optical axis that direction is changed by the electrical control of the selection controller, includes a plurality of second lenticular lenses that are arranged with the same pitch as the first lenticular lenses are and shifted by half the pitch from the first lenticular lenses.

Claims

1. An autostereoscopic display comprising:

a display panel receiving an image signal from a controller, forming an image, and including pixels and an inactive area between the pixels;

a polarizer polarizing light emitted from the display panel to a first polarization;

a polarization switch selectively converting the light with the first polarization into light with a second polarization in response to the electrical control of a polarization switching controller;

a 2D-3D selection controller;

a first electro-optical birefringent layer having a crystal optical axis that is changed by an electrical control of the selection controller and comprising a plurality of first lenticular lenses separated by a predetermined pitch; and

a second electro-optical birefringent layer having a crystal optical axis that is changed by the electrical control of the selection controller and comprising a plurality of second lenticular lenses that have the same pitch as the first lenticular lenses and are parallel to the first lenticular lenses and are shifted by half the pitch from the first lenticular lenses.

2. The autostereoscopic display of claim 1, further comprising a separator between the first electro-optical birefringent layer and the second electro-optical birefringent layer, the separator having a refractive index equal to an ordinary refractive index of the first and second electro-optical birefringent layers.

3. The autostereoscopic display of claim 1, wherein the first and second electro-optical birefringent layers have positive refractive power or have negative refractive power.

4. The autostereoscopic display of claim 2, wherein profiles of the separator corresponds to profiles of the first and second electro-optical birefringent layers.

5. The autostereoscopic display of claim 2, wherein the separator comprises a plane glass substrate and sub-separators on both sides of the plane glass substrate.

6. The autostereoscopic display of claim 5, wherein the sub separators have convex profiles.

7. The autostereoscopic display of claim 5, wherein the sub-separators have concave profiles.

8. The autostereoscopic display of claim 1, wherein the controller transmits a sync signal to the polarization switching controller.

9. The autostereoscopic display of claim 2, wherein the pitch of the first and second lenticular lenses is equal to or less than a horizontal pitch between the pixels of the display panel.

10. The autostereoscopic display of claim 9, wherein, the pitch of the first and second lenticular lenses satisfies the following equation:

11. The autostereoscopic display of claim 1, wherein the number of the first lenticular lenses and the number of the second lenticular lenses are both the same or greater as the number of pixels in a row in the display panel.

12. The autostereoscopic display of claim 1, wherein, the first electro optical birefringent layer has a ordinary refractive index with respect to light having the first polarization and has an extraordinary refractive index with respect to light having the second polarization and the second electro-optical birefringent layer has the extraordinary refractive index with respect to light having the first polarization and has the ordinary refractive index with respect to light having the second polarization according to a voltage control of the 2D-3D selection controller.

13. The autostereoscopic display of claim 1, wherein, the first and second electro-optical birefringent layers have a ordinary refractive index with respect to an incident light to display an image in a two-dimensional mode according to a voltage control of the selection controller.

14. The autostereoscopic display of claim 1, wherein the first and second electro-optical birefringent layers comprise a liquid crystal.

15. The auto stereoscopic display of claim 1, wherein the crystal optical axis of the first electro-optical birefringent layer is perpendicular to the crystal optical axis of the second electro-optical birefringent layer.

16. The autostereoscopic display of claim 1, wherein the crystal optical axis of the first electro-optical birefringent layer is parallel to the crystal optical axis of the second electro-optical birefringent layer.