Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Chisso Corporation

Other

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government

Kashima Oil Co., Ltd.

Takashi Kaneko

Mitsuhiro Koden

Hitoshi Takeda

Shinichi Saito

Eiji Okabe

Mayumi Tanabe

Masami Kido

Makoto Shiomi

Makoto Kikuchi

Katsuyuki Murashiro

Akira Sakaigawa

Masatoshi Fukushima

Motonari Matsuki

Mitsuhiro Shigeta

Tomoo Furukawa

Ryushi Shundo

Hideo Saito

Nobuyuki Itoh

Teiyu Sako

Masaaki Kabe

Mitsunori Takeda

Hisashi Takeichi

Keizou Itoh

Hideki Ishikawa

Tetsuya Ogasawara

Masahiro Aono

Mitshuhiro Koden

An air conditioner capable of achieving both user comfort and power reduction is provided. The air conditioner includes a mean room temperature sensing mechanismfor sensing the mean room temperature of an indoor space, a normal target pressure memorystoring a normal target pressure set to a target value during normal control operation of a compressor controller and related with the outdoor temperature and air-conditioning load of the indoor space, a normal temperature difference computation unitfor calculating a temperature difference between a normal saturation temperature corresponding to the normal target pressure and the mean room temperature as a normal temperature difference, and a power reduction temperature difference computation unitfor calculating a power reduction temperature difference reduced from the normal temperature difference on the basis of a target power consumption decrement with respect to power consumption during normal control of the air conditioner, a compressor controlleris configured to control a compressorby changing a power reduction target pressure, which is a saturation pressure corresponding to a power reduction saturation temperature calculated on the basis of the mean room temperature and the power reduction temperature difference, to the target value.

Air conditioner

A method of aligning a liquid crystal includes a step of fixing on a hot plate and heating a liquid crystal cell in which a liquid crystal composed of a ferroelectric liquid crystal material sealed between electrode substrates respectively having alignment films having applied thereto a uniaxial alignment by rubbing. According to the described method, a pressure is applied to the liquid crystal cell by a roller, and a portion subjected to an application of pressure is moved by moving the roller. Further, the liquid crystal is heated within a temperature range between a phase transition temperature of SmA phase SmC* phase and a temperature 10&deg; C. below the phase transition temperature, and the portion subjected to an application of pressure is moved in the same direction as the rubbing direction, thereby achieving the C,orientation at higher yield. Within the described temperature range, by moving the portion in an opposite direction to the rubbing direction, a C,orientation can be always achieved at high yield (almost 100%). As a result, the C,orientation can be surely achieved in the liquid crystal display element with ease.

Method for aligning liquid crystals, alignment device and liquid crystal display element

Ferroelectric liquid crystal compositions having a large dependency of spontaneous polarization on temperature; liquid crystal display devices exhibiting a small dependency of response speed on temperature and making it possible to obtain a wide temperature margin in practical use, and fabricated by using the ferroelectric liquid crystal composition; and methods for driving the devices are provided; the compositions comprising at least one compound expressed by the following general formula (1) ##STR1## at least one compound expressed by the following general formula (2), and ##STR2## at least one compound expressed by the following general formula (3) ##STR3## wherein R.sub.1 to R.sub.6, ring A-B, A, X.sub.1, and X.sub.2 are herein defined.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal display

In a ferroelectric liquid crystal element, in order to excite a reverse electric field within the element in response to a waveform of a non-rewriting voltage, properties of the ferroelectric liquid crystal material, an element structure, driving waveforms, or other factors are adjusted so that molecules of the ferroelectric liquid crystal are allowed to switch between bistable states in response to a waveform of a rewriting voltage, while the ferroelectric liquid crystal exerts an anti-memory phenomenon in response to a waveform of a non-rewriting voltage.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal element and ferroelectric liquid crystal

Smectic liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal device

A composition containing a smectic C compound, having a .DELTA..epsilon. of negative value and enabling to effect a high speed response; a ferroelectric chiral smectic C liquid crystal composition using the same; and a ferroelectric liquid crystal display device using the ferroelectric chiral smectic C liquid crystal composition are provided, which composition containing a smectic C compound comprises at least one compound expressed by the formula (I) ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each represent different linear alkyl groups of 1 to 9 C, and at least one compound-expressed by the formula (II) ##STR2## wherein R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 each represent the same or different linear alkyl groups of 1 to 18 C and X is H or F.

Smectic C liquid crystal composition and a liquid crystal display element

A ferroelectric liquid crystal device includes: a pair of insulating substrates having alignment films and electrodes thereon; and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the pair of insulating substrates, the liquid crystal layer including a ferroelectric liquid crystal material being capable of exhibiting at least the smectic A phase and the chiral smectic C phase in its phase sequence, and the ferroelectric liquid crystal device being driven by switching an optic axis of the liquid crystal layer by selectively applying a driving voltage to at least one of the electrodes, wherein ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer have a tilt angle of 8.degree. or less at a (Tc-1).degree.C. where Tc.degree.C. is an uppermost temperature limit of the chiral smectic C phase of the ferroelectric liquid crystal material.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal display device including a ferroelectric

A composition containing a smectic C compound, having a .DELTA..epsilon. of negative value and enabling to effect a high speed response; a ferroelectric chiral smectic C liquid crystal composition using the same; and a ferroelectric liquid crystal display device using the ferroelectric chiral smectic C liquid crystal composition are provided,

A ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture containing at least one chiral compound, having negative dielectric anisotropy and exhibiting a chiral smectic C phase includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a compound represented by the following general Formula I and a compound represented by the following general Formula II: ##STR1## where R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are the same or different straight-chain or branched chain alkyl groups having 1 to 15 carbon atoms; X.sup.1 is a single bond, --O--, --COO--, or --OCO--; X.sup.2 is --O-- or --OCO--; Y is --COO-- or --CH.sub.2 O--; A and B are independently a group including a six membered ring which can be substituted by halogen, a cyano group, a lower alkoxy group, or a fluorine-containing alkyl group; and Z is a single bond, --COO--, or --OCO--.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture and liquid crystal device using the

Growing community of inventors

Kashiwa, Japan

Takashi Kaneko