Liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same

• US 20010013853A1
• Filed: 02/01/2001
• Published: 08/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gold Charm Limited (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Seiji Suzuki
• Inventors: Suzuki, Seiji
• Granted Patent: US 6,414,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/92
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133512 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix G02F1/136209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133514 Colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13394 spacers regularly patterned on the cell subtrate, e.g. walls, pillars G02F1/133377 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134363 for applying an electric field parallel to the substrate, i.e. in-plane switching [IPS]

Abstract

An liquid crystal panel is provided which is suitable for a wide screen and for driving by the transverse electric field.

The liquid crystal display is composed of an array substrate on which TFTs are arranged as active switching elements in a matrix form and covered with an orientation film. On the facing surface of the opposing substrate as a color filter, a light shielding film, color layers of red, green, and blue are arranged, and the area excluding the area covered by the light shielding layer is turned into a display pixel area, and all of the surfaces of the opposing subatrate are then covered with an orientation film. The cell gap g at the display pixel area is formed so as to be larger than spacers in the cell, and cell gaps of color layers overlapping the light shielding layer are made smaller than spacers. The cell gaps of these overlapped layers hold spaces at an compressed state with the array substrate. That is, the step configuration is formed between the display pixel area of red, green, and blue color layers R2, G2, and B2 and the overlapped colored layers with the light shielding layers composed of R1, R2, and R3. Thereby, the liquid crystal molecules will not be subjected to the anomalous orientation and the light leakage is avoided. At the same time, an after-image characteristic to the IPS type a-Si TFT liquid crystal panel can be eliminated by regulating the projection of the color layers.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display panel comprising:

an array substrate having switching elements disposed in an matrix form and an orientation film formed on the uppermost layer;

an opposing substrate having a light shielding layer and the color layers and an orientation film on the uppermost layer of those films and the color layers, in which the area excluding the area covered by said light shielding layer is turned into the display area; and

a liquid crystal layer formed in between said array substrate and said opposing substrate;

wherein a cell gap of said display area is formed so as to be larger than the diameter of the spacers, and the cell gap at the color layer area overlapping the light shielding layer is formed so as to be smaller than the diameter of the spacer, such that said spacers in said smaller cell gap are held at the compressed state between said array substrate.

2. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 1

, wherein said color layer is formed higher than said display area such that the cell gap forms a step between the display area and said color layers.

3. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 2

, wherein said color layer area is formed in the form of stripes.

4. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 2

, wherein the height of said projected color layer is determined such that the polarization anisotropy of said orientation film is within a predetermined value.

5. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 1

, wherein said spacers are freely movable in said cell gap of the display area.

6. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 5

, wherein said liquid crystal panel is constructed so as to be able to eliminate the anomalous orientation of liquid crystal molecules and to be able to eliminate the leakage of light by giving said liquid crystal a restraint force (orientation restraining force) to restraint the liquid crystal molecules into a certain direction.

7. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 1

, wherein said array substrate is a TFT (thin film transistor) substrate in which TFT are arranged as switching elements so as to be operated as an active matrix display system.

8. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 7

, wherein said TFTs are formed on the uppermost surface of the layers formed on said array substrate, and the cell gap formed between said TFTs and the concaved area of color layers of the opposing substrate are formed so as to be smaller than diameters of said spacers in the cell.

9. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 1

, wherein said liquid crystal display panel can be enlarged into more than a wide image area of 14.1 inches in diagonal.

10. A liquid crystal display panel according to

claim 9

, wherein said liquid crystal display panel can be driven by the transverse electric field (IPS).

11. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel comprising a liquid crystal layer inserted in between two substrates, one of which is an array substrate having switching elements arranged in a matrix form and an orientation film coated on the upper most layer, and the other of which is a opposing substrate as a color filter having a display pixel area coated by color layers except an area covered by the light shielding film, and an orientation film coated on the uppermost layer of these layers;

wherein, on the opposing substrate, the cell gap at the display pixel area is formed so as to be larger than spacers inserted in the cell, and the cell gap at the area of the color layer including the light shielding layer is formed so as to be smaller than spacers such that the cell gap is formed in a step form, and the difference of heights between the higher display pixel area and the lower color layer is determined such that the polarization anisotropy of the orientation film turns into a predetermined value.