Display apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9804317-B2
Application number	US-201615011936-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 1, 2016
Priority date	Feb 6, 2015
Publication date	Oct 31, 2017
Grant date	Oct 31, 2017

Abstract

A display apparatus includes an image display panel, a light source device, and a control device. The light source device includes a light source that emits light and a light guide member arranged on the back surface side of the panel as seen from the display surface, receives the light via its side surface with respect to its surface facing the panel, and has divided areas arranged in a direction in which the light travels. Each area includes a light modulation layer brought in a light transmission state or in a light scattering state. The control device brings the layers in the scattering state in respective scattering control periods temporally different from each other. When bringing a light modulation layer in the scattering state, the control device controls the light source device with a drive pattern based on a distance between the side surface and the corresponding area.

First claim

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A display apparatus comprising:
an image display panel;
a light source device that includes
a light source that emits light, and
a light guide member that is arranged on a back surface side of the image display panel as seen from a display surface of the image display panel, receives the light via a side surface of the light guide member with respect to a surface of the light guide member, the surface facing the image display panel, and has a plurality of divided areas arranged in a direction in which the light travels, each of the areas including a light modulation layer brought in a transmission state in which the light is transmitted through the light modulation layer or in a scattering state in which the light is scattered in the light modulation layer; and

a control device that brings the light modulation layers of the areas in the scattering state in respective scattering control periods temporally different from each other and that controls, when bringing any one of the light modulation layers in the scattering state, the light source device with a drive pattern based on a distance between the side surface and the area including said one light modulation layer.

2. The display apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein, when one of the areas emits light having less luminance to the image display panel than another of the areas because said one area is located farther from the side surface than said another area is, the control device corrects the less luminance by increasing the duration of a scattering control period in which the control device maintains the light modulation layer of said one area in the scattering state.

3. The display apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein, when one of the areas emits light having less luminance to the image display panel than another of the areas because said one area is located farther from the side surface than said another area is, the control device corrects the less luminance by increasing luminance of the light emitted from the light source.

4. The display apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein, when one of the areas emits light having less luminance to the image display panel than another of the areas because said one area is located farther from the side surface than said another area is, the control device corrects the less luminance by increasing a scattering degree of the scattering state of the light modulation layer of said one area.

5. The display apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control device includes a light source lookup table in which luminance of light emitted from an individual area when the control device controls the light source device with a predetermined drive pattern is stored, and
wherein the control device controls the light source device, based on the light source lookup table.

6. A display apparatus comprising:
an image display panel;
a light source device that includes
a light source that emits light, and
a light guide member that is arranged on a back surface side of the image display panel as seen from a display surface of the image display panel, receives the light via a side surface of the light guide member with respect to a surface of the light guide member, the surface facing the image display panel, and has a plurality of divided areas arranged in a direction in which the light travels, each of the areas including a light modulation layer brought in a transmission state in which the light is transmitted through the light modulation layer or in a scattering state in which the light is scattered in the light modulation layer; and

a control device that brings the light modulation layers of the areas in the scattering state in respective scattering control periods temporally different from each other, causes, as needed, the scattering state of the light modulation layer of one of the areas to temporally overlap a part of the scattering control period of another of the areas located farther from the side surface than said one area is, and controls, when bringing any one of the light modulation layers in the scattering state, the light source device with a drive pattern based on a distance between the side surface and the area including said one light modulation layer.

7. The display apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein, when increasing luminance emitted from one of the areas to the image display panel than luminance emitted from the areas around said one area to the image display panel, the control device causes the scattering state of the light modulation layer of said one area to temporally overlap a part of the scattering control period of the light modulation layer of an area located farther from the side surface than said one area is.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein the control device includes an analysis unit that analyzes an image signal supplied to the image display panel, and
wherein, based on an analysis result of the image signal obtained by the analysis unit, the control device determines said one area whose scattering state of the light modulation layer is caused to temporally overlap the part of the scattering control period of the light modulation layer of the area located farther than the side surface than said one area is.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein, when causing the light modulation layer of said one area to overlap the part of the scattering control period of the light modulation layer of the area located farther from the side surface than said one area is and to be in the scattering state, the control device alternately brings the light modulation layer of said one area in the scattering state and the transmission state at predetermined intervals during the overlapping.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein, when causing the light modulation layer of said one area to overlap the part of the scattering control period of the light modulation layer of the area located farther from the side surface than said one area is and to be in the scattering state, the control device decreases a scattering degree of the scattering state of the light modulation layer of said one area during the overlapping to be lower than a scattering degree of the scattering state of the light modulation layer in the scattering control period.

11. A display apparatus comprising:
an image display panel that sequentially performs display scanning in a first direction;
a light source device that includes
a light source that emits light, and
a light guide member that is arranged on a back surface side of the image display panel as seen from a display surface of the image display panel, receives the light via a side surface of the light guide member with respect to a surface of the light guide member, the surface facing the image display panel, and has a plurality of divided areas arranged in the first direction, each of the areas including a light modulation layer that guides the light in a second direction opposite to the first direction and that is brought in a transmission state in which the light is transmitted through the light modulation layer or in a scattering state in which the light is scattered in the light modulation layer; and

a control device that brings, based on intensity of the light emitted from the areas to the image display panel in respective scattering control periods that are temporally different from each other and that are given to the respective areas in the first direction, the light modulation layer of one of the areas in the scattering state for the duration of the period based on a distance between the side surface and said one area.

Assignees

• Japan Display Inc

Inventors

• Kato Hirofumi

Classifications

• G09G3/3406 Primary

  Control of illumination source (illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336) · CPC title

• G02F1/1326

  Liquid crystal optical waveguides or liquid crystal cells specially adapted for gating or modulating between optical waveguides · CPC title

• G02F1/1334

  based on polymer dispersed liquid crystals, e.g. microencapsulated liquid crystals · CPC title

• G02B6/0035 Primary

  provided on the surface of the light guide or in the bulk of it · CPC title

• G09G3/3473

  based on light coupled out of a light guide, e.g. due to scattering, by contracting the light guide with external means · CPC title