Patent ID: 7978167

Claim:
A display apparatus, comprising: a picture display section for displaying an image; a display switching section, on a front face of the picture display section, for electrically switching observation statuses of the picture display section in viewing-angle directions without changing the image displayed on the picture display section; a first polarizer on a front face of the display switching section; a second polarizer between the picture display section and the display switching section; and a reflective polarizer between (i) a rear side of the display switching section and (ii) the second polarizer, the display switching section being a liquid crystal layer including a plurality of regions having at least two different alignment directions of liquid crystal molecules of TN mode, the liquid crystal layer switching, in response to a voltage that is applied to the liquid crystal layer, to at least (A) a narrow viewing-angle mode where an image displayed on the picture display section is (i) visible from a front direction but (ii) difficult to be observed from an oblique direction, wherein during the narrow viewing-angle mode, a region where the image is difficult to be observed is partially displayed in mirror-surface displaying caused by the reflective polarizer by utilizing orientation of the liquid crystal layer.