Patent ID: 7518593

Claim:
A display apparatus, comprising (1) a display panel having a display area on which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix, for displaying at least one image by the plurality of pixels when a display signal corresponding to image data for displaying an image is supplied to each of the plurality of pixels, (2) an illuminator disposed at a back of the display panel and comprising (I) a light guide plate having: a light entrance end surface, provided on one end surface of a plate-like transparent material, from which a light from a light source enters; a light exit surface, provided on a plate surface intersecting with the light entrance end surface, from which a light entering from the light entrance end surface goes out as guided in a predetermined direction; an opposite surface, provided on the other plate surface opposite to the light exit surface; and a plurality of circular-arcing slanted surfaces, provided on either the opposite surface or the light exit surface, and forming circular-arcs concentric with a semicircle having its center at substantially a center of a length of an edge of the light entrance end surface intersecting with the light exit surface, for emitting, from the light exit surface, lights entering from at least two positions on the light entrance end surface, which positions are apart from the center of the light entrance end surface by a predetermined distance on both sides of the center, by changing advancing directions of the lights to directions inclined with respect to a vertical reference plane at respective angles corresponding to the distance from the center, of the positions from which the lights have entered, and parallel with respective planes perpendicular to a horizontal reference plane, where the vertical reference plane is a plane perpendicular to both the light exit surface and the light entrance end surface, and the horizontal reference plane is a plane including a normal line of the light exit surface and perpendicular to the vertical reference plane, and (ii) first and second light emitting elements, disposed on the light entrance end surface of the light guide plate at positions on both sides of a center, which is a center of a longer dimension of the light entrance end surface at which a center of curvature of arcs of the circular-arcing slanted surfaces is defined, so as to face each other at the positions apart from the center by a substantially same distance, for entering illumination lights into the light guide plate from the light entrance end surface, and (3) a control device comprising a display drive circuit for sequentially displaying two different images on the display panel, and a light source drive circuit for alternately lighting the first and second light emitting elements in accordance with the two different images displayed on the display panel.