US 7,580,085 B2
Optical device and display operating in two dimensional and autostereoscopic three dimensional modes
Adrian Marc Simon Jacobs, Littlemore (United Kingdom); Martin David Tillin, Abingdon (United Kingdom); and David James Montgomery, Bampton (United Kingdom)
Assigned to Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/519,264
PCT Filed Jun. 19, 2003, PCT No. PCT/JP03/07834
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Aug. 26, 2005,
PCT Pub. No. WO2004/003630, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 08, 2004.
Claims priority of application No. 0215059.7 (GB), filed on Jun. 28, 2002.
Prior Publication US 2006/0082702 A1, Apr. 20, 2006
Int. Cl. G02F 1/1335 (2006.01); G02F 1/1333 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 349—15  [349/96; 349/117] 41 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An optical device comprising an input polarizer (4) for passing light having a first polarization direction (11), a polarization modifying element (5) for receiving light of the first polarization direction from the input polarizer (4), and an output polarizer (7) for analysing light from the polarization modifying element (5), the polarization modifying element (5) comprising polarization directions of at least first and second sets of regions (8,9) asymmetric with respect to the first polarization direction, each region (8) of the first set changing the polarization of light from the input polarizer (4) to a second polarization direction different from the first polarization direction and each region (9) of the second set supplying light of a third polarization direction different from the second polarization direction to output a non-uniform wavefront,
wherein the output polarizer (7) cooperates with the polarization modifying element (5) such that each first light path through each region (8) of the first set and the output polarizer (7) has substantially the same attenuation and phase change to light from the input polarizer (4) as each second light path through each region (9) of the second set and the output polarizer (7) to output a uniform wavefront,
the output polarizer (7) is arranged to transmit only the slow axis component of light from the first and second sets of regions (8,9), and
the polarization modifying element (5) comprises a patterned retarder, and wherein the output polarizer (7) is arranged to transmit equal proportions of slow and fast axis components of light from each of the first and second sets of regions (8,9).