Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Katsuhiko Morishita

Takehiko Sakai

Dai Chiba

Yoshiharu Kataoka

Chikanori Tsukamura

Tsuyoshi Okazaki

Masumi Kubo

Takashi Ochi

Akihiro Yamamoto

Naoshi Yamada

Kiyoshi Ogishima

Kazuhiro Maekawa

Tetsuhiro Yamaguchi

Shogo Nishiwaki

Masashi Chino

Masatoshi Kondo

Takahiro Sasaki

Toshihiro Matsumoto

Hisashi Nagata

Tetsuo Fujita

Kazunori Morimoto

Masahiko Kondoh

Kumi Furukawa

A display device includes a display panel and imaging means. The display panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and an electrooptical substance layer between the first and second substrates. The display panel has a first substrate side as an external light entering side and is partitioned into a display area and a non-display area. The non-display area includes a light-transmitting area through which the external light entering the display panel is transmitted toward a second substrate side of the display panel. The imaging means is disposed on the second substrate side so as to receive the external light transmitting through the light-transmitting area, and a short-wavelength-light absorption layer capable of absorbing light having a wavelength shorter than visible light is disposed on the external light entering side with respect to the electrooptical substance layer and the short-wavelength-light absorption layer extends over an entire area of the light-transmitting area.

Display device

A liquid crystal display device includes a counter substrate and an active matrix substrate, and a liquid crystal layer that is provided between the counter substrate and the active matrix substrate. The active matrix substrate includes gate interconnect lines, data interconnect lines, a thin film transistor, a pixel electrode that is connected to the thin film transistor via a through hole, a common electrode, and an interlayer insulating layer that is disposed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode. Also, a photo spacer for providing a constant spacing between the counter substrate and the active matrix substrate is provided inside the liquid crystal layer, and equipotential lines having a voltage less than a threshold value are formed inside the photo spacer.

Liquid crystal display device

According to the present invention, a liquid crystal display device driven by a transverse electric field system, which can prevent the occurrence of color unevenness in display, is provided. Namely, the liquid crystal display device of the present invention includes: a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate includes a first shield electrode with translucency, a supporting substrate, a light shielding layer, and a colored layer. The second substrate includes a common electrode and a pixel electrode, and assuming that the liquid crystal layer is the center of the liquid crystal display device, the first shield electrode is provided outwardly from the supporting substrate when seen from the center. The liquid crystal display device further comprises a first controlling circuit configured to apply a positive electric potential to the first shield electrode.

The present invention provides an FFS-mode liquid crystal display device which can prevent trace unevenness during white screen display. The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device including: a pair of substrate; and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the pair of substrates, wherein one of the pair of substrates includes a scanning signal line, a data signal line, pixel electrodes with a comb-tooth portion, a plate-like common electrode, and an interlayer insulating film provided between the pixel electrodes and the common electrode, the comb-tooth portion of each of the pixel electrodes includes a straight portion and a bent portion, the bent portion is provided at least at one end of the comb-tooth portion, and the interlayer insulating film is thinner at a position overlapping with the bent portion than at a position overlapping with the straight portion.

A liquid crystal display device which can suppress generation of a locally luminous part where a dark line disappears. The display device includes: a pair of substrates, a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, wherein one of the pair of substrates includes a pair of electrodes in pixel. At least one of the electrodes may include a comb-tooth portion. A first comb-tooth portion of one of the pair of electrodes and a second comb-tooth portion of the other one of the pair of electrodes may be disposed to face each other. The distance between the pair of electrodes in a transverse direction of the comb-tooth portions of the pair of electrodes is at most 10 &#x3bc;m in example embodiments, and a rotational viscosity of the p-type nematic liquid crystals may be at least 130 mPa&#xb7;s.

The liquid crystal display device of this invention includes picture element regions each defined by a first electrode provided on a first substrate and a second electrode provided on a second substrate so as to oppose the first electrode via a liquid crystal layer sandwiched therebetween. In each of the picture element regions, the first electrode includes a solid portion and a nonsolid portion. The liquid crystal display device further includes a pair of polarizing plates disposed with polarization axes thereof crossing each other substantially perpendicularly. The polarization axis of one of the pair of polarizing plates is substantially parallel to a direction in which the solid portion extends. When a voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, in each of the picture element regions, liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are in a radially-inclined orientation state.

The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device which can suppress generation of an afterimage. The present invention is a liquid crystal display device, includes:

It is an object to provide a display that can reliably shield visible light in the entire wavelength regions when viewed from an oblique direction and a viewing angle control element used for the display. A viewing angle control liquid crystal panel () is comprised of a liquid crystal cell () and an emission-side polarizing plate (). When light having a part of wavelength components (R,G) in the visible wavelength regions enters at least at a predetermined angle, the liquid crystal cell () provides the incident light with a phase difference so as to function as a first light-shielding layer that shields the light of the R and G components not to pass through the emission-side polarizing plate (). A retardation plate () and a polarizing plate () function as auxiliary light-shielding layers, more specifically, when the light that has passed through the first light-shielding layer enters at least at the predetermined angle, the retardation plate () provides the light with a phase difference so that at least light having a wavelength component (B) is shielded and thus not transmitted by the polarizing plate ().

Display and viewing angle control element used for same

There are provided a viewing angle control device that can provide a pure black display without coloring and have a significantly improved shielding ability in the narrow viewing angle state, and a display using the viewing angle control device. To adjust the VT (voltage-transmittance) characteristics of a viewing angle control liquid crystal panel () that switches a viewing angle between a wide viewing angle state and a narrow viewing angle state by using birefringence of liquid crystal, translucent electrode films (), to which alternating-current voltages with different frequencies are applied, are provided on a portion of at least one of a pair of translucent substrates () sandwiching the liquid crystal, the portion corresponding to at least one color of a picture element of a display liquid crystal panel (), so that the voltage-transmittance characteristics of the liquid crystal are adjusted.

Viewing angle control device and display provided with the same

A negative C plate () is arranged to be between a polarizing plate () and a reflective liquid crystal panel (). A retardation of the negative C plate () is set so that a combination of the negative C plate () and the liquid crystal panel () generates a phase difference of 'n&#x3bb;/4+&#x3bb;/8 (n is 0, or a positive or negative integer)' for a one-way light path with respect to linearly-polarized light entering into the liquid crystal display device. This makes it possible to provide, at low cost, a liquid crystal display device whose viewing angle can be narrowed by arbitrarily setting a direction in which visibility is limited.

A viewing angle controlling liquid crystal panel in which uniformity of a shielding effect in a screen is further improved is provided. Linearly polarized light enters a liquid crystal layer. Further, the liquid crystal layer is provided, on a light exit side of the liquid crystal layer, with a polarizing plate transmitting only a component of light having exited from the liquid crystal layer which component is parallel to a polarization axis of the linearly polarized light having entered the liquid crystal layer. Liquid crystal molecules contained in the liquid crystal layer are tilted in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the polarization axis of the linearly polarized light having entered the liquid crystal layer. In addition, an electrode () is provided so that two or more different voltages can be applied to the liquid crystal layer simultaneously.

Viewing angle controlling liquid crystal panel and display device

There are provided a display that can block light so that a display on an image display device is invisible from a wide range of view angles in an oblique direction, and a view angle control element employed therein. In a narrow view angle state, a view angle control liquid crystal panel () prevents light in a predetermined wavelength region that has been incident at a polar angle of &#x3c6;or more from being transmitted through a polarizing plate () by using a phase difference imparted by a liquid crystal cell (). In the narrow view angle state, a view angle control liquid crystal panel () prevents light that has been incident at a polar angle of &#x3c6;or more, among light that has been transmitted through the polarizing plate (), from being transmitted through a polarizing plate () by using a phase difference imparted by a liquid crystal cell (). Consequently, light forming a polar angle of &#x3c6;or more is blocked as a whole, which allows the narrow view angle state to cover a wide range.

Display and view angle control element employed therein

The liquid crystal display device of this invention includes a plurality of picture element regions each defined by a first electrode provided on a face of a first substrate facing a liquid crystal layer and a second electrode provided on a second substrate so as to oppose the first electrode via the liquid crystal layer sandwiched therebetween. In each of the picture element regions, the first electrode has a plurality of openings and a solid portion, the liquid crystal layer is in a vertical orientation state when no voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, and when a voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, a plurality of liquid crystal domains each in a radially-inclined orientation state are respectively formed in the plurality of openings and the solid portion by inclined electrode fields generated at respective edge portions of the openings of the first electrode.

There are provided a viewing angle control device that can provide a black display without coloring and achieve a significantly improved shielding ability during a narrow viewing angle state, and a display using the same. In order to adjust VT (voltage-transmittance) characteristics of a viewing angle control liquid crystal panel () that switches a viewing angle between a wide viewing angle state and a narrow viewing angle state by using birefringence of liquid crystal, the viewing angle control liquid crystal panel () includes a translucent dielectric film () for adjusting the voltage-transmittance characteristics of the liquid crystal at a position corresponding to a picture element of at least one color in a display liquid crystal panel () on at least one of a pair of translucent substrates () that sandwich the liquid crystal therebetween.

In a liquid crystal display device including a display liquid crystal panel and a viewing-angle-control liquid crystal panel and capable of switching viewing angle characteristics, a half wavelength plate for setting a viewing restricted direction is provided between the display liquid crystal panel and the viewing-angle-control liquid crystal panel. This makes it possible to realize a liquid crystal display device that allows a viewing restricted direction to be set as appropriate.

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Osaka, Japan

Katsuhiko Morishita