Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Sharp Corporation

Merck Patent Gmbh

Merck Patent Gesellschaft MIT Beschrankter Haftung

Other

Masako Nakamura

Yoshito Hashimoto

Hideo Ichinose

Tadashi Ohtake

Mitsuhiro Murata

Shuichi Kozaki

Shoichi Ishihara

Takehisa Sakurai

Shinji Nakajima

Takanori Takeda

Eike Poetsch

Kozo Nakamura

Herbert Plach

Toshihiro Matsumoto

Kazuhiko Tsuda

Shigeaki Mizushima

Tokihiko Shinomiya

Akiyoshi Fujii

Naofumi Kimura

Tsuyoshi Okazaki

Yasuhisa Itoh

Hiroshi Numata

Mariko Ban

Masanobu Mizusaki

Makoto Shiomi

Fumiaki Funada

Takashi Katayama

Ekkehard Bartmann

Makoto Kanbe

Yutaka Sawayama

Shuichi Kohzaki

Yasushi Sugiyama

Kei Sasaki

Akiko Takashima

Syuichi Kozaki

Masahiko Okamura

Jeong-Hee Sung

Kazuyoshi Fujioka

Picture element electrodes () and common electrodes () are provided in one of two substrates facing each other. Each picture element () has a plurality of sub picture elements (). In a range in which a signal voltage of an image signal is low, a display is carried out only in a first sub picture element () having narrower electrode spacing, whereas in a range in which the signal voltage of the image signal is high, a display is carried out in both of the first sub picture element () and a second sub picture element () having wider electrode spacing.

Liquid crystal display element, liquid crystal display device, and display method employed in liquid crystal display element

A liquid crystal display element, a liquid crystal display device, and a method for displaying with a liquid crystal display element, wherein picture element electrodes () and a common electrode () are provided, each of a plurality of sub-picture elements () is provided with the common electrode () and a corresponding one of the picture element electrodes () in such a manner that the sub-picture elements () have different distances (a first distance dand a second distance d) between the common electrode () and their corresponding ones of the picture element electrodes (), display in a low gray scale region is carried out by means of a first sub-picture element () that is a sub-picture element () in which the distance is short, display in a middle gray scale region is carried out by means of a second sub-picture element () that is a sub-picture element () in which the distance is long, and display in a high gray scale region is carried out by means of the first sub-picture element () and the second sub-picture element ().

Liquid crystal display element, liquid crystal display device, and method for displaying with liquid crystal display element

A liquid crystal display device () includes a first substrate (), a second substrate () provided to face the first substrate (), a liquid crystal layer () sandwiched between the first substrate () and the second substrate (), a first polarizing plate () and a second polarizing plate () respectively provided on a side of the first substrate () and a side of the second substrate () which are opposed to sides to which the liquid crystal layer () is provided, and a common electrode () and a pixel electrode () provided to the liquid crystal layer () side of the first substrate (). Alignment of liquid crystal molecules () of the liquid crystal layer () is controlled by an electric field generated between the common electrode () and the pixel electrode (). A polarizing layer () is provided on the liquid crystal layer () side of the second substrate () so as to be in contact with the liquid crystal layer (). The polarizing layer () has a uniaxial absorption anisotropy, and serves as an alignment layer for regulating a direction of alignment of the liquid crystal molecules ().

Liquid crystal display device

A liquid crystal panel () includes a pair of substrates () and a liquid crystal layer () sandwiched between the substrates (). At least one of the substrate () is provided with combtooth electrodes (). The liquid crystal layer () is driven by a transverse electric field generated between the combtooth electrodes (). The liquid crystal layer () contains liquid crystal molecules () that align themselves perpendicularly to surfaces of the substrates when no electric field is applied. The liquid crystal panelsatisfies 0.33&#x2266;S/(S+L)&#x2266;0.64, where L is the width of each of the combtooth electrodes () and S is the electrode interval.

Liquid crystal panel and liquid crystal display device

It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer may form a stable transparent state and, in addition, which provides for a black display with an excellent viewing angle characteristic, as well as a high contrast ratio and a high response speed in liquid crystal display. The present invention is directed to a liquid crystal display device comprising an electrode and a liquid crystal layer between substrates, said liquid crystal layer consists of a liquid crystalline material containing liquid crystal molecules and fine particles, and is optically isotropic when the voltage applied to the electrode is lower than a threshold value and undergoes optical transition due to change in the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules when the applied voltage is not lower than the threshold value.

Disclosed are a liquid crystal medium having a birefringence at 20&#xb0; C. that is lower than 0.08 and contains and the use of the medium for electro-optical purposes, and to displays containing the medium.

Liquid crystal medium

Liquid crystal display device with fine particles in liquid crystal layer

Liquid crystal (LC) media based on a mixture of polar compounds having negative dielectric anisotropy, their use in electro-optical displays, especially those having active matrix addressing based on the ECB (electrically controlled birefringence) or VA (vertically aligned) mode or similar modes, and LC displays of these types, are described.

Liquid crystal media based on a mixture of polar compounds of formulae I-VIII, their use for electro-optical purposes, and displays containing this medium, are described.

A liquid crystal display device includes a pair of polarizing plates; a liquid crystal panel interposed between the pair of polarizing plates and including a liquid crystal layer having a pair of regions corresponding to each of pixels, alignment directions of liquid crystal molecules in the pair of regions being different by about 180 degrees from each other, the liquid crystal panel having a first slow axis; a first phase plate having a second slow axis which is horizontal to a surface thereof and perpendicular to the first slow axis; and a second phase plate having a third slow axis which is perpendicular to both of the first slow axis and the second slow axis. The liquid crystal material has a dependency of birefringence anisotropy (&Dgr;n) from 20&deg; C. to 60&deg; C. (&lsqb;&Dgr;n(20&deg; C.)&minus;&Dgr;n(60&deg; C.)&rsqb;/40) of 0.00026 or less.

A reflector includes a substrate, a plurality of convex/concave portions formed on the substrate, and a thin reflective film formed over the convex/concave portions. When light is incident upon the reflector from a certain direction, an intensity of reflected light in a viewing angle range of about &minus;45&deg; to &plus;45&deg; with respect to a regular reflection direction of the incident light 10 is about 60% or more of an intensity of light which is incident upon a standard white plate from a direction inclined by about 30&deg; from a direction normal to the plate and is reflected to the direction normal to the plate.

Reflector, method for fabricating the same and reflective liquid crystal display device incorporating the same

The invention relates to dielectrically positive nematic liquid crystal compositions for active matrix displays with high voltage holding ratio and very low birefringence. The composition of the mixtures is given in claim The compositions are particularly suited for reflective displays. The invention further relates to particular reflective displays with low optical retardation.

Nematic liquid crystal composition for active matrix application and reflective liquid crystal displays

A reflector includes a substrate, a plurality of convex/concave portions formed on the substrate, and a thin reflective film formed over the convex/concave portions. When light is incident upon the reflector from a certain direction, an intensity of reflected light in a viewing angle range of about -45.degree. to +45.degree. with respect to a regular reflection direction of the incident light is about 60% or more of an intensity of light which is incident upon a standard white plate from a direction inclined by about 30.degree. from a direction normal to the plate and is reflected to the direction normal to the plate.

Reflector, method for fabricating the same and reflective liquid crystal

Nematic liquid-crystal composition for active matrix application

A liquid crystal display device of the present invention includes: a pair of substrates, at least one of which is transparent; and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the pair of substrates, the liquid crystal layer having a helical structure including: a liquid crystal material having a positive dielectric constant anisotropy; a pleochroic dye; and at least one of a cholesteric liquid crystal material and a chiral agent as an optical active material, wherein the liquid crystal layer has a helical axis in a thickness direction of the liquid crystal layer, and longitudinal axes of liquid crystal molecules in a vicinity of the pair of substrates are substantially parallel to the substrates, a ratio of a natural pitch (p.sub.0) and a thickness (d) of the liquid crystal layer of the helical structure satisfies a relationship: (2.theta.-.pi.)/4.pi.&lt;d/p.sub.0 .ltoreq..theta./2.pi., where a twisted angle of the helical structure is .theta. rad, and the twisted angle .theta. rad of the helical structure is within a range: 2.pi..infin..theta..ltoreq.5.pi./2.

Liquid crystal display device having pleochroic dye and particular

Growing community of inventors

Yamatokoriyama, Japan

Masako Nakamura