LIQUID CRYSTAL DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

• US 20070195230A1
• Filed: 01/04/2007
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: KURIBAYASHI, Mitsuru, ARUGA, Kazumi, INAGAKI, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 7,791,688 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/106
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133514 Colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133707 Structures for producing distorted electric fields, e.g. bumps, protrusions, recesses, slits in pixel electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1393 the birefringence of the liquid crystal being electrically controlled, e.g. ECB-, DAP-, HAN-, PI-LC cells G02F1/1396, G02F1/141 take precedence

Abstract

A liquid crystal device includes an electrode substrate having a plurality of pixel electrodes; an opposing substrate opposing the electrode substrate;

a color filter having color elements colored with four colors or more, each color element opposing each of the pixel electrodes; a liquid crystal disposed between the electrode substrate and the opposing substrate; and an alignment control member extending on a face of at least one of the electrode substrate or the opposing substrate, the face contacting with the liquid crystal, wherein the alignment control member is formed in a position where corresponds to the color element colored with one of at least predetermined three colors among the four colors or more, and an area of which the alignment control member extends is determined by color and differs among the colors.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal device, comprising:

an electrode substrate having a plurality of pixel electrodes;

an opposing substrate opposing the electrode substrate;

a color filter having color elements colored with four colors or more, each color element opposing each of the pixel electrodes;

a liquid crystal disposed between the electrode substrate and the opposing substrate; and

an alignment control member extending on a face of at least one of the electrode substrate or the opposing substrate, the face contacting with the liquid crystal, wherein the alignment control member is formed in a position where corresponds to the color element colored with one of at least predetermined three colors among the four colors or more, and an area of which the alignment control member extends is determined by color and differs among the colors.

2. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined colors are three primary colors of red, green and blue.

3. The liquid crystal device according to claim 2, wherein the alignment control member is formed in a position where corresponds to the color element that is colored with a color other than the three primary colors, and an area of which the alignment control member extends is determined by color and differs among the colors.

4. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined colors are any of complementary colors of the primary three colors of the red, green and blue, which are cyan, magenta and yellow.

5. The liquid crystal device according to claim 4, wherein the alignment control member is formed in a position where corresponds to the color element that is colored with a color other than the complementary colors of the three primary colors, and an area of which the alignment control member extends is determined by color and differs among the colors.

6. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein a first alignment control member is formed in a position where corresponds to a color element that is colored with a color other than the predetermined colors, an area of which the first alignment control member extends is determined by color and differs among the colors, and this area is different from an area of which a second alignment control member formed in the position corresponding to the color element colored with any of the predetermined color extends.

13. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the area of which the alignment control member extends in the color element is changed by changing a number of the alignment control members extending in the color element.

14. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the area of which the alignment control members extend in the color element is changed by changing an area of each of the alignment control members extending in the color element.

15. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the alignment control member extends in a first direction and a second direction, and the alignment control member that is formed corresponding to the single color element includes an first alignment control member extending in the first direction and an second alignment control member extending in the second direction.

16. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the alignment control member is a projection or a concave portion formed on the face contacting with the liquid crystal.

17. The liquid crystal device according to claim 16, wherein either the projection or the concave portion or both of the projection and the concave portion are formed by each of the color elements.

18. The liquid crystal device according to claim 16, wherein the concave portion is formed by forming a slit in the pixel electrode.

19. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the alignment control member is a gap between the adjacent pixel electrodes.

20. Electronic equipment, comprising the liquid crystal device according to claim 1.

7. A liquid crystal device, comprising:

an electrode substrate having a plurality of pixel electrodes;

an opposing substrate opposing the electrode substrate;

a color filter having color elements colored with three primary colors of red, green and blue and complementary colors of the three primary colors which are cyan, magenta and yellow, each color element opposing each of the pixel electrodes;

a liquid crystal disposed between the electrode substrate and the opposing substrate; and

an alignment control member extending on a face of at least one of the electrode substrate or the opposing substrate, the face contacting with the liquid crystal, wherein a first alignment control member is formed in a position where corresponds to the color element colored with one of the three primary colors, an area of which the first alignment control member extends is determined by color and differs among the colors, a second alignment control member is formed in a position where corresponds to the color element colored with one of the complementary colors, and an area of which the second control member extends is determined by color and differs among the colors.

8. A liquid crystal device, comprising:

an electrode substrate having a plurality of pixel electrodes;

an opposing substrate opposing the electrode substrate;

a color filter having color elements colored with three primary colors of red, green and blue and complementary colors of the three primary colors which are cyan, magenta and yellow, each color element opposing each of the pixel electrodes;

a liquid crystal disposed between the electrode substrate and the opposing substrate; and

an alignment control member extending on a face of at least one of the electrode substrate or the opposing substrate, the face contacting with the liquid crystal, the alignment control member being formed in a position where corresponds to each of the color element, an area of which the alignment control member extends is determined by color, wherein the areas of the alignment control members formed in positions corresponding to the color elements colored with one of the colors and that complementary color are different each other.

9. A liquid crystal device, comprising:

an electrode substrate having a plurality of pixel electrodes;

an opposing substrate opposing the electrode substrate;

a color filter having color elements, each color element opposing each of the pixel electrodes;

a liquid crystal disposed between the electrode substrate and the opposing substrate; and

an alignment control member extending on a face of at least one of the electrode substrate or the opposing substrate, the face contacting with the liquid crystal,

wherein the color element includes a first color element whose effective area through which light is transmitted is a first area and a second color element whose effective area through which light is transmitted is a second area, an area of which the alignment control member formed in a position corresponding to at least one of the first color element or the second color element extends is determined by color, and the area differs among colors of the first color element or of the second color element.

10. A liquid crystal device, comprising:

an electrode substrate having a plurality of pixel electrodes;

an opposing substrate opposing the electrode substrate;

a color filter having color elements, each color element opposing each of the pixel electrodes;

a liquid crystal disposed between the electrode substrate and the opposing substrate; and

an alignment control member extending on a face of at least one of the electrode substrate or the opposing substrate, the face contacting with the liquid crystal,

wherein the color element includes a first color element whose effective area through which light is transmitted is a first area and a second color element whose effective area through which light is transmitted is a second area, an area of which the alignment control member formed in a position corresponding to the first color element or the second color element extends is determined by color, and an third area of which the alignment control member formed in the position corresponding to the first color element extends is different from a fourth area of which the alignment control member formed in the position corresponding to the second color element extends.

11. The liquid crystal device according to claim 10, wherein an area of which the alignment control member formed in the position corresponding to the first color element or the second color element extends is determined by color, and a ratio of the third area of which the alignment control member formed in the position corresponding to the first color element extends to an area of the first color element is same as a ratio of the fourth area of which the alignment control member formed in the position corresponding to the second color element extends to an area of the second color element.

12. The liquid crystal device according to claim 77 wherein an area of which the alignment control member extends is determined by color and differs among the colors of the color elements.