Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

Rodic Co., Ltd.

Tetsushi Yoshida

Tomio Tanaka

Jun Ogura

Jiro Takei

Hisashi Aoki

Zenta Kikuchi

Satoru Shimoda

Manabu Takei

Toshiomi Ono

Soichi Sato

Kazuhiko Ohsawa

Tetsuo Muto

Takashi Miyashita

Toshiharu Nishino

Shinichi Shimomaki

Katsuhito Sakamoto

Ken Kozima

Toshihiro Mannoji

Naoshige Sugimoto

Tomoyuki Shirasaki

Kunpei Kobayashi

Masaharu Shioya

Hiroyasu Yamada

Minoru Kanbara

Yasuhiro Daiku

Masaru Higuchi

Mamoru Yoshida

Katsuhiko Morosawa

Kazuhito Sato

Yutaka Fujita

Yoshinaga Miyazawa

Yasushi Nakajima

Makoto Iwasaki

Tetsuya Kusuno

Tsuyoshi Toyoshima

Tomoko Tano

Hidetoshi Akao

Tadahisa Toyama

Toshiyuki Matsuda

Kunihiko Kotani

Toshihiro Mannouji

Hiroko Awata

Yoshiaki Sawano

Keiichi Ishida

A photovoltaic light-polarizing element includes a first transparent electrode, an alignment film, an electron collector, dichroic dye molecules, a second transparent electrode and an electron supplier. The first transparent electrode is formed on a first transparent substrate. The alignment film is formed on the first transparent electrode and is alignment-processed in a first direction. The electron collector is formed on the alignment film as a porous layer having pores aligned in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The second transparent electrode is formed on a second transparent substrate, the second transparent electrode facing the first transparent electrode with a predetermined gap. The electron supplier is arranged in the gap between the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode. And the dichroic dye molecules are arranged in the pores of the porous layer such that the dichroic dye molecules are aligned in the second direction.

Photovoltaic polarizing element and method of manufacturing the same

A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal cell including a liquid crystal layer twist-aligned at 90&#xb0; sandwiched between a pair of substrates, first and second polarizing layers arranged to sandwich the liquid crystal cell therebetween so that their absorption axes set to parallel with directions crossing aligning treatment directions of the substrates at 45&#xb0;, and viewing angle compensating plates respectively arranged between the polarizing layers and the liquid crystal cell. A total value of retardations in a thickness direction, defined as a value of a product of a phase difference within a plane perpendicular to substrate surfaces of the liquid crystal cell and a layer thickness, of optical layers present between the polarizing layers is set to a value that substantially cancels out a retardation in a liquid crystal layer thickness direction when a saturation voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer.

Liquid crystal display device

An indicated position detecting apparatus includes a display module having a display screen, and a plurality of microphones to detect a contact sound to the display screen. The plurality of microphones are arranged at an outer peripheral portion of the display screen to be apart from each other. A time difference acquisition unit acquires arrival time differences of the contact sound between two microphones in each of two combinations of the plurality of microphones. A positional information acquisition unit derives two hyperbolas corresponding to the arrival time differences acquired by the time difference acquisition unit, each hyperbola having focal points at the two microphones in each of the two combinations of the plurality of microphones, and acquires an intersection of the two derived hyperbolas as information of a position where the contact sound is generated.

Indicated position detecting apparatus and indicated position detecting method

A broadcasting receiving apparatus includes a liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal cell in which a liquid crystal layer that is twist-aligned at 90&#xb0; and sandwiched between a pair of substrates, first and second polarizing layers arranged to sandwich the cell therebetween so that their absorption axes are set in parallel with directions crossing aligning treatment directions of the substrates at 45&#xb0;, and viewing angle compensating plates respectively arranged between the polarizing layers and the cell. A total value of retardations in a thickness direction, defined as a value of a product of a phase difference within a plane perpendicular to substrate surfaces of the cell and a layer thickness, of optical layers present between the polarizing layers is set to a value that substantially cancels out a retardation in a liquid crystal layer thickness direction when a saturation voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer.

Television set using liquid crystal display apparatus having improved viewing angle

A liquid crystal display device includes first and second display units for controlling transmission and interception of a light incident upon a front side on an observation side of display, whose rear surfaces are disposed to face each other in reverse directions, and an irradiation member. The member including an illumination device for generating a light from opposite surfaces is disposed between two polarized-light split elements between the display units and which reflects a light of a polarized-light components transmitted through one of the polarized-light split elements by the other polarized-light split element and reflects a light of the polarized-light component transmitted through the other polarized-light split element by the one reflective polarized-light split element to irradiate the first and second display units with the light.

Liquid crystal display device including two liquid crystal display units disposed on opposite sides of the devices so that display can be observed from the opposite sides

A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a liquid crystal element including a front substrate positioned on the side of an observer and having a first electrode mounted to one surface, a rear substrate having a second electrode arranged to face said first electrode, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between these substrates, said liquid crystal layer controlling the polarized state of the transmitted light in accordance with the electric field applied between the first and the second electrodes. A first reflection polarizing plate is arranged on the front side of the liquid crystal element and reflects the light of one of the two polarized components of the incident light. Two polarized components are perpendicular to each other, and transmit the light of the other polarized component.

Liquid crystal display apparatus using polarizing element transmitting one of two polarizing components crossing at right angles and reflecting the other component

A liquid crystal display device is provided which includes a scattering/transparent liquid crystal cell having a liquid crystal layer for controlling incident light in a scattered or transparent state in accordance with an applied electric field, and a selective reflector arranged on a side of the liquid crystal layer opposite to a side where observation is performed. The reflector has reflecting characteristics to cause light, which has come incident from a direction within a predetermined range of a viewing angle that allows observation of the liquid crystal cell, to reflect in a direction outside the range of the viewing angle on the side where observation is performed.

Reflection type liquid crystal display with selective reflector

A display device includes a non light-emitting type display element for controlling the transmission of incident light to display an image, a light radiating unit having a light source and a photoconductor, and arranged at the back of the display element for emitting illuminating light toward the display element and reflecting ambient light incident from the front of the display element at a given reflectivity toward the display element. An illumination brightness controller is provided for controlling the intensity of the illuminating light so that the screen brightness of the display element comprising the total of reflected light of the ambient light reflected on the photoconductor and transmitted light of the illuminating light is set up into a predetermined range according to the reflectivity of the photoconductor and the environmental illumination of the ambient light radiated from the front of the display element.

Display device using ambient light a lighting panel

An antiferroelectric liquid crystal display device includes: an active matrix type LC cell and an antiferroelectric liquid crystal sealed in the cell. Liquid crystal molecules aligned to one of a first aligning direction and a second aligning direction are aligned in the other aligning direction in accordance with an applied voltage, thus forming a plurality of regions of different alignment states in a range shorter than a wavelength of light in a visible light band, and directions of said directors are changed in accordance with a ratio of regions in a first alignment state to regions in a second alignment state. The liquid crystal molecules may behave along a predetermined cone by a phase transition precursor in accordance with an applied voltage. The liquid crystal molecules may behave so as to be inclined in a direction perpendicular to an electric field, in accordance with an applied voltage.

Antiferroelectric liquid crystal display device

A liquid crystal material which exhibits an antiferroelectric phase while the liquid crystal material is in a bulk state, is sealed between substrates. The liquid crystal layer sealed between the substrates exhibits a mixed phase wherein the liquid crystal layer contains liquid crystal molecules aligned in a plurality of alignment states which differ from each other in the alignment order of the liquid crystal molecules forming adjoining smectic layers. The direction of the director of the liquid crystal layer varies continuously in accordance with the polarity and magnitude of a voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer. Gradation display can be achieved by arranging polarization plates such that the substrates are sandwiched therebetween.

Liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal layer which contains liquid crystal molecules in a plurality of alignment state and method for driving the same

Placed between a pair of substrates is a liquid crystal which has a first ferroelectric phase where liquid crystal molecules are aligned substantially in a first direction in accordance with an applied voltage, a second ferroelectric phase where the liquid crystal molecules are aligned substantially in a second direction in accordance with an applied voltage, and an intermediate alignment state where the director of the liquid crystal is directed between the first and second directions. The liquid crystal in use is selected so that the first and second directions intersect each other at an angle of greater than 45.degree.. The transmission axis of one of a pair of polarization plates is set inclined to an intermediate direction between the first and second directions by 22.5.degree., and the optical axis of the other polarization plate is set perpendicular to the transmission axis of the former polarization plate. A voltage of a range which does not set the liquid crystal in a ferroelectric phase and can provide maximum and minimum transmittances is applied between electrodes which are so arranged as to sandwich a layer of the liquid crystal.

Liquid crystal display apparatus

A liquid crystal cell is formed by bonding a first substrate on which a first electrode and a first aligning film are formed, and a second substrate on which a second electrode and a second aligning film are formed by a seal member. A liquid crystal is filled in the liquid crystal cell. The thicknesses of the aligning films are set to 10 nm to 35 nm. An aligning treatment is performed twice on each of the aligning films in the opposite directions. The first aligning treatment is performed to give a pretilt angle of 5 degrees to the liquid crystal, and the second aligning treatment is performed to give a pretilt angle of 6 degrees to the liquid crystal, with the result that a pretilt angle of 1 degree is actually given to the liquid crystal. The glass-transition temperatures of the aligning films are selected to be about 250.degree. C., so that the aligning films are not transformed at the time of baking the seal member.

LCD using liquid crystal of ferroelectric and/or antiferroelectric phase

In a liquid crystal display device using color filters, the area of each of color filters arranged on the inner surface of one of substrates in correspondence with the pixel areas is set to be smaller than that of each pixel area to form non-colored light exit areas, and color pixels are displayed with non-colored light which is not transmitted through the color filters and colored light which is transmitted through the color filters. Since high-luminance color pixels are displayed with these colored light and non-colored light, the screen can be made brighter. The liquid crystal display device further includes a reflecting member for reflecting external light incident from the front side of the device and transmitted through the liquid crystal layer toward the front side. In addition, in the liquid crystal display device, reflecting films for reflecting light incident from the front side of the device toward the front side are arranged on the inner surface of the front-side substrate in correspondence with the areas between the respective pixel areas, thereby making the portions between the respective pixel areas bright and further increasing the overall brightness of the screen.

Color liquid crystal display device having a plurality of pixel areas

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Kanagawa-ken, Japan

Tetsushi Yoshida