Patent ID: 7773163

Claim:
A projection display apparatus comprising: a light source radiating light; an illuminating optical system receiving the light radiated by the light source; a polarizing beam splitter polarizing the radiated light through the optical system to produce polarized light and separating modulated light and non-modulated light; a reflective liquid crystal display device receiving the polarized light to modulate the received polarized light in response to image signals so that the modulated light is produced and returning the modulated light to the polarizing beam splitter; and a projection lens receiving the modulated light separated by the polarizing beam splitter to project the modulated light to a display plane on which an image is displayed, wherein the reflective liquid crystal display device comprises a first substrate receiving a perpendicular incidence of the polarized light, which is polarized by the polarizing beam splitter, and having a surface on which a transparent electrode is formed, the light being polarized by an optical system including a polarizing beam splitter; a second substrate being disposed in parallel to the second substrate with a space left between the first and second electrodes, having a surface on which both reflective electrodes and drive circuits for respective pixels are formed in a matrix, and causing modulated light to return to the optical system, both surfaces of the first and second substrates being opposed to each other; and a liquid crystal layer held between both surfaces of the first and second substrates, composed of nematic liquid crystal having negative dielectric anisotropy, and given a function of modulating the polarized light into the modulated light, wherein a first liquid crystal orientation direction on the first substrate is set to an angle rotated by “60+−α” degrees in a first rotating direction starting from a reference direction, and a second liquid crystal orientation direction on the second substrate is set to an angle rotated by “60+−β” degrees in a second rotating direction starting from the reference direction, the first and second rotating directions mutually oppositely rotating from the reference direction, the reference direction being parallel to the first and second substrates and being within an angular range defined as a central angle plus .+−0.5 degrees wherein the central angle is +−45 degrees from an oscillation direction of the polarized light entering each substrate, and a relationship of |α|+|β|≦10 (α and β are zero or positive integers) being fulfilled.