Liquid crystal device and electronic apparatus

1. A liquid crystal device, comprising:

a pair of polarizing plates having a transmission axis;

a display panel being disposed between the pair of polarizing plates and having a function of displaying an image; and

a viewing angle control panel having a liquid crystal layer that is disposed at a position adjacent to one of the pair of polarizing plates between the pair of polarizing plates with liquid crystal molecules aligned in a predetermined direction and controlling a viewing angle of a display on the display panel,

wherein the display panel has a liquid crystal layer in which the dielectric anisotropy is negative and has a vertical alignment mode in which circularly polarized light is emitted toward the viewing angle control panel,

wherein a phase difference film for converting the circularly polarized light into linearly polarized light is provided between the display panel and the viewing angle control panel, and

wherein the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the viewing angle control panel is substantially parallel or perpendicular to a transmission axis of the one polarizing plate.

2. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , wherein the one polarizing plate is disposed on a viewing side in which the image on the display panel can be viewed.

3. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , wherein light reaching the viewing angle control panel through the polarizing plates is substantially linearly polarized, and

wherein the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the viewing angle control panel is substantially parallel or perpendicular to the transmission axis of the substantially linearly polarized light.

4. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a viewing angle control circuit outputting a viewing angle control signal for driving the liquid crystal layer of the viewing angle control panel to the viewing angle control panel,

wherein the viewing angle control panel is switched to any one of a wide viewing angle display mode for gaining a wide viewing angle and a narrow viewing angle display mode for gaining a narrow viewing angle on the basis of the viewing angle control signal output from the viewing angle control circuit.

5. The liquid crystal device according to claim 4 , wherein a range of the viewing angle in the narrow viewing angle display mode is adjusted by changing a product Δnd of a refractive anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal layer of the viewing angle control panel and a thickness d of the liquid crystal layer.

6. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , further comprising another viewing angle control panel having a liquid crystal layer disposed between the pair of polarizing plates with the liquid crystal molecules aligned in a predetermined direction and controlling a viewing angle of the display panel,

wherein the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the viewing angle control panel is substantially perpendicular to the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules of said another viewing angle control panel.

7. A liquid crystal device, comprising:

a pair of polarizing plates having a transmission axis;

a display panel being disposed between the pair of polarizing plates and having a function of displaying an image;

a viewing angle control panel having a liquid crystal layer that is disposed at a position adjacent to one of the pair of polarizing plates between the pair of polarizing plates with liquid crystal molecules aligned in a predetermined direction and controlling a viewing angle of a display on the display panel; and

another viewing angle control panel having a liquid crystal layer disposed between the pair of polarizing plates with the liquid crystal molecules aligned in a predetermined direction and controlling a viewing angle of the display panel,

wherein the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the viewing angle control panel is substantially perpendicular to the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules of said another viewing angle control panel, and

wherein the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the viewing angle control panel is substantially parallel or perpendicular to a transmission axis of the one polarizing plate.