Patent ID: 7864253

Claim:
An image display comprising: a display panel having a plurality of pixels arrayed in a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction; a light source that emits light toward the display panel; a polarization-axis control unit disposed between the display panel and the light source, the polarization-axis control unit separating the light emitted from the light source into light having a first polarization axis and light having a second polarization axis different from the first polarization axis; and an optical element arranged between the display panel and the polarization-axis control unit, the optical element allowing the light emitted from the light source to travel in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction, wherein the polarization-axis control unit includes: a first substrate; a second substrate; a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first and second substrates; a first electrode having a first connecting part and a first plurality of strip electrode segments extending from the first connecting part in the first direction arranged at a predetermined pitch in the second direction on the first substrate; a second electrode having a second connecting part and a second plurality of strip electrode segments extending from the second connecting part in the first direction arranged at a predetermined pitch in the second direction on the first substrate; and a third electrode on the second substrate, the first electrode and the second electrode arranged with the first connecting part and the second connecting part each in opposite end portions of the first substrate, and the first plurality of strip electrode segments and the second plurality of strip electrode segments extending from the first connecting part and the second connecting part in opposite directions and alternately arranged over a surface of the first substrate, and the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged separately and without overlapping, and are electrically driven separately, and the third electrode being superposed over the first electrode and second electrode in a region corresponding to a pixel array area of the display panel.