Japan Display Inc.

Japan Display West Inc.

Sony Corporation

Kojiro Ikeda

Masaaki Kabe

Takeo Koito

Kentaro Okuyama

Tae Kurokawa

Akira Sakaigawa

Tenfu Nakamura

Amane Higashi

Toshiyuki Nagatsuma

Tsutomu Harada

Fumitaka Gotoh

Toshinori Uehara

Daichi Suzuki

Hideki Kaneko

Chikyu Nakaoka

Shinichiro Oka

Shinichiro Tanaka

Koichi Nagao

Fumitaka Goto

Keiji Takizawa

Hiroki Uchiyama

Naoyuki Takasaki

Masashi Mitsui

Hirokazu Tatsuno

Tatsuya Yata

Yoshikatsu Imazeki

Hidemasa Yamaguchi

Kazuhiko Sako

Hisanori Kawakami

Tomoaki Sekime

Zhengyi Gou

Yudai Numata

Takayuki Imai

Yoshifumi Kamei

Takeyuki Tsuruma

Jin Ota

Tae Nakahara

Disclosed is a lighting device including a light source, a first liquid crystal panel over the light source, and a second liquid crystal panel over the first liquid crystal panel. Each of the first liquid crystal panel and the second liquid crystal panel includes: a substrate; a plurality of lower electrodes arranged over the substrate in a stripe shape; a first orientation film over the plurality of lower electrodes; a liquid crystal layer over the first orientation film; a second orientation film arranged over the liquid crystal layer and having an orientation direction orthogonal to that of the first orientation film; a plurality of upper electrodes arranged over the second orientation film, orthogonal to the plurality of lower electrodes, and arranged in a stripe shape; and a counter substrate over the plurality of upper electrodes.

Lighting device with liquid crystal panels

An optical element includes at least four liquid crystal cells stacked in sequence. Each of the at least four liquid crystal cells includes a first substrate on which a first transparent electrode and a second transparent electrode each extending in a first direction are alternately arranged in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, a second substrate on which a third transparent electrode and a fourth transparent electrode each extending in the second direction are alternately arranged in the first direction, and a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate.

Optical element

According to one embodiment, each of a first liquid crystal to a fourth liquid crystal cell includes a first strip electrode, a second strip electrode, a third strip electrode, and a fourth strip electrode, the first strip electrode to the fourth strip electrode of the first liquid crystal cell and the first strip electrode to the fourth strip electrode of the third liquid crystal cell have a first shape, and the first strip electrode to the fourth strip electrode of the second liquid crystal cell and the first strip electrode to the fourth strip electrode of the fourth liquid crystal cell have a second shape that is different from the first shape.

Liquid crystal device

A lighting device includes a light source, a first liquid crystal cell over the light source, and a second liquid crystal cell over the first liquid crystal cell. The light source includes light-emitting elements arranged in a matrix shape with m rows and n columns. The first and second liquid crystal cells each include: a first substrate; first electrode groups located over the first substrate and arranged in a matrix shape with m rows and n columns; a liquid crystal layer over the first electrode groups; and a second substrate over the liquid crystal layer. In each of the first and the second liquid crystal cells, the first electrode groups each have first electrodes extending in a row direction, and the light-emitting elements in a jth row and a kth column overlaps the first electrode group located in the jth row and the kth column.

Lighting device and optical element

According to one embodiment, a liquid crystal device includes a first liquid crystal cell and a second liquid crystal cell. The first liquid crystal cell and the second liquid crystal cell each include a first strip electrode, a second strip electrode, a third strip electrode and a fourth strip electrode. The extension direction of each of the first strip electrode and the second strip electrode in the first liquid crystal cell is different from the extension direction of each of the first strip electrode and the second strip electrode in the second liquid crystal cell. The extension direction of each of the first strip electrode and the second strip electrode is orthogonal to the extension direction of each of the third strip electrode and the fourth strip electrode.

An optical device comprises a first liquid crystal cell, a second liquid crystal cell overlapped with the first liquid crystal cell. Each of the first liquid crystal cell and the second liquid crystal cell includes a first substrate arranged with a first electrode extending in a direction inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a first direction, a second substrate arranged with a second electrode extending in a direction inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a second direction, and a liquid crystal layer. An extension direction of the first electrode and an that of the second electrode intersect each other without being perpendicular. The extension directions of the first electrode and the second electrode in the first liquid crystal cell and that of the first electrode and the second electrode in the second liquid crystal cell are different from each other.

Optical device

According to one embodiment, a display device including a liquid crystal layer containing strip-like polymers and liquid crystal molecules, a third transparent substrate, and a transparent layer disposed on the third transparent substrate and having a refractive index lower than that of the third transparent substrate, wherein the transparent layer includes strip portions which include first and second end portions, and a middle portion, the first end portion has a first width greater than a width of the middle portion, the second end portion has a second width greater than the width of the middle portion, and first wiring lines overlap the strip portions, respectively and extend in a same direction.

Display device

A light adjustment device includes a panel unit in which a plurality of light adjustment panels are stacked in a first direction, each light adjustment panel being shaped as a polygon and including a first substrate that is translucent and a second substrate that is translucent and overlapping the first substrate, and a light source disposed on one side relative to the panel unit in the first direction.

Light adjustment device and panel unit

An optical element includes a plurality of stacked liquid crystal cells. The plurality of stacked liquid crystal cells each includes a first substrate on which a first transparent electrode, a second transparent electrode, a first pad, a second pad, and a third pad are arranged, a second substrate on which a third transparent electrode and a fourth transparent electrode are arranged, and a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first pad, the second pad, and the third pad of each of the plurality of stacked liquid crystal cells are electrically connected to a first inter-cell conductive member, a second inter-cell conductive member, and a third inter-cell conductive member, respectively, extending in a stacking direction.

A lighting device includes a light source including at least two types of light emitting elements with different color temperatures, an optical element including a plurality of liquid crystal cells and configured to control a distribution of light emitted from the light source, and a control unit configured to control the light source. The control unit controls the optical element to change from a first light distribution state to a second light distribution state different from the first light distribution state. The control unit controls the light source so that a color temperature of light emitted in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the optical element is the same in the first light distribution state and the second light distribution state.

Lighting device

Disclosed is an illumination device including a light source, a first liquid crystal cell over the light source, and a second liquid crystal cell over the first liquid crystal cell. Each of the first liquid crystal cell and the second liquid crystal cell includes a first substrate, a plurality of first lower electrodes and a plurality of second lower electrodes driven independently, a first liquid crystal layer, and a second substrate. The first substrate has a first region and a second region. The plurality of first lower electrodes is located over the first region and extends in a column direction. The plurality of second lower electrodes is located over the second region and extends in the column direction. The first liquid crystal layer is located over the plurality of first lower electrodes and the plurality of second lower electrodes. The second substrate is located over the first liquid crystal layer.

Illumination device and optical element

A first liquid crystal cell of a plurality of liquid crystal cells of an optical element includes a first alignment film covering first and second transparent electrodes on a first substrate, a second alignment film covering third and fourth transparent electrodes on a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first liquid crystal cell includes the first and second transparent electrodes extending in a first direction, the third and fourth transparent electrodes extending in a second direction, the first alignment film aligning liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer in the second direction when no voltages are applied to the first and second transparent electrodes, and the second alignment film aligning liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer in the second direction when no voltages are applied to the third and fourth transparent electrodes.

Optical element including stacked liquid crystal cells

In a method for driving an optical element including a first liquid crystal cell, the first liquid crystal cell includes a first substrate on which first and second transparent electrodes are arranged in a first direction, a second substrate on which third and fourth transparent electrodes are arranged in a second direction, and a first liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the method includes the steps of inputting a first signal to the first transparent electrode, inputting a second signal having a phase difference of π with respect to the first signal to the second transparent electrode, inputting a third signal having a phase difference of α with respect to the first signal to the third transparent electrode, and inputting a fourth signal having a phase difference of π with respect to the third signal to the fourth transparent electrode.

Method for driving optical element

A liquid crystal light control device in an embodiment according to the present invention includes a first liquid crystal cell, a second liquid crystal cell overlapping the first liquid crystal cell, a third liquid crystal cell overlapping the second liquid crystal cell, and a fourth liquid crystal cell overlapping the third liquid crystal, each of the first liquid crystal cell, the second liquid crystal cell, the third liquid crystal cell, and the fourth liquid crystal cell includes a first substrate arranged with a first electrode having a strip pattern, a second substrate arranged with a second electrode having a strip pattern, and a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate and the second substrate are arranged with a longitudinal direction of the strip pattern of the first electrode and second electrode intersecting.

Liquid crystal light control device

A liquid crystal light control device includes a plurality of liquid crystal cells arranged in a stack. Each of the plurality of liquid crystal cells includes a first substrate and a second substrate opposite the first substrate, a first electrode and a second electrode both of which have a strip pattern arranged on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate, a first alignment film on the first substrate and a second alignment film on the second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate. The strip pattern is arranged alternately with the first electrode and the second electrode, an alignment direction of the first alignment film is aligned with a direction of extension of the strip pattern, and an alignment direction of the second alignment film is arranged intersecting the alignment direction of the first alignment film.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Kojiro Ikeda