DISPLAY DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

• US 20140118639A1
• Filed: 10/21/2013
• Published: 05/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Inventors: Matsushima, Toshiharu
• Granted Patent: US 9,746,706 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/12
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134318 having a patterned common electrode
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134363 for applying an electric field parallel to the substrate, i.e. in-plane switching [IPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134381 Hybrid switching mode, i.e. for applying an electric field with components parallel and orthogonal to the substrates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer

Abstract

The present display device includes a liquid crystal panel having a liquid crystal layer between an array substrate and a facing substrate. The array substrate has an electrode layer having an upper electrode and a lower electrode facing each other in a Z direction, and an opening including a plurality of slits extending in an X direction is formed in the upper electrode and the lower electrode. The liquid crystal layer is provided on the electrode layer, liquid crystal molecules in vicinity regions on one side and the other side of the opening which face each other in a width direction of each slit are oriented as rotating in reverse to each other, and the facing substrate has a conductive layer.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

an electrode layer being provided above a first substrate and including a first electrode and a second electrode, the second electrode facing the first electrode and having an opening formed therein including a plurality of slits whose extending directions are the same as each other;

a liquid crystal layer being provided between the first substrate and a second substrate facing the first substrate and having liquid crystal molecules oriented as rotating in reverse to each other in vicinity regions on one side and the other side of the opening which face each other in a width direction; and

a conductive layer being provided above the second substrate.

2. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein, when orientation of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer is controlled, the conductive layer has the same potential as a potential of the first electrode or the second electrode.

3. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the display device further includes:

a first orientation film being provided between the first substrate and the liquid crystal layer and being subjected to an orientation process in a first orientation direction which is a substantially parallel direction or substantially orthogonal direction of an extending direction of the slits; and

a second orientation film being provided between the second substrate and the liquid crystal layer and being subjected to an orientation process in a second orientation direction which is a parallel direction of the first orientation direction of the first orientation film,

in an initial orientation state of the liquid crystal layer, long axes of the liquid crystal molecules are aligned in the first orientation direction, and,

in application of the voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode, the long axes of the liquid crystal molecules are oriented as rotating in an in-plane direction of a substrate so that the liquid crystal molecules rotate clockwise in a vicinity region including one side of both sides of an electrode forming each of the slits and the liquid crystal molecules rotate counterclockwise in a vicinity region including the other side thereof.

4. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the first electrode is a common electrode,

the second electrode is a pixel electrode arranged so as to be closer to the liquid crystal layer than the first electrode, and

the conductive layer has the same potential as a potential of the first electrode when orientation of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer is controlled.

5. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the first electrode is a pixel electrode,

the second electrode is a common electrode arranged so as to be closer to the liquid crystal layer than the first electrode, and

the conductive layer has the same potential as a potential of the second electrode when orientation of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer is controlled.

6. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the second substrate has a transmission-side electrode and a reception-side electrode which are electrodes for configuring a touch sensor function as the conductive layer, and

the first electrode or the second electrode has the same potential as a potential of the transmission-side electrode or the reception-side electrode when orientation of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer is controlled.

7. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the second substrate has one electrode of a transmission-side electrode and a reception-side electrode which are electrodes for configuring a touch sensor function as the conductive layer,

the first substrate has the other electrode of the transmission-side electrode and the reception-side electrode, and

the first electrode or the second electrode has the same potential as a potential of the one electrode of the transmission-side electrode and the reception-side electrode when orientation of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer is controlled.

8. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the conductive layer is an electrostatic protective layer.

9. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the display device further includes:

a first drive circuit part connected to the electrode layer; and

a second drive circuit part connected to the conductive layer, and,

in a pixel write period in image display, a first voltage is applied from the first drive circuit part to either the second electrode or the first electrode, and besides, the first voltage is applied from the second drive circuit part to the conductive layer.

10. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the display device further includes

a drive circuit part connected to the first substrate or the second substrate, and

a first end of the first electrode or the second electrode extending to an end of the first substrate and a second end of the conductive layer extending to an end of the second substrate are connected to each other by a conductive material, and a first voltage is applied from the drive circuit part to the first end or the second end.

11. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the display device further includes:

a drive circuit part connected to the first substrate or the second substrate; and

a sealing part which connects between the first substrate and the second substrate and seals liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer, and

a first end of the first electrode or the second electrode and a second end of the conductive layer are connected to each other by a conductive material at a position inside the sealing part itself or inner than the sealing part, and a first voltage is applied from the drive circuit part to the first end or the second end.

12. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein, when two directions which are in-plane directions of a substrate corresponding to a screen and are orthogonal to each other are taken as a first direction and a second direction, and when a direction perpendicular to both of the first direction and the second direction is taken as a third direction,

for each pixel, the opening includes:

a communication opening extending in the second direction;

a plurality of first slits each connected to one side of the communication opening in the first direction and each extending in the first direction; and

a plurality of second slits each connected to the other side of the communication opening in the first direction and each extending in the first direction,

the first slits and the second slits are alternately arranged so that their positions are shifted from each other in the second direction, and

one long side of each of the first slits and one long side of each of the second slits are aligned on a straight line extending in the first direction.

13. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein, when two directions which are in-plane directions of a substrate corresponding to a screen and are orthogonal to each other are taken as a first direction and a second direction, and when a direction perpendicular to both of the first direction and the second direction is taken as a third direction,

for each pixel, the opening includes:

a communication opening extending in the second direction; and

a plurality of slits each connected to one side of the communication opening in the first direction and each extending in the first direction.

14. The display device according to claim 1,

wherein the display device further includes:

a first driver connected to a first electrode line for configuring a pixel;

a second driver connected to a second electrode line for configuring a pixel;

a third driver connected to the second electrode and the first electrode; and

a controller for controlling the first to third drivers.

15. The display device according to claim 6,

wherein the display device further includes:

a first driver connected to a first electrode line for configuring a pixel;

a second driver connected to a second electrode line for configuring a pixel;

a third driver connected to the second electrode and the first electrode;

a fourth driver connected to the transmission-side electrode and the reception-side electrode; and

a controller for controlling the first to fourth drivers.

16. An electronic apparatus comprising:

the display device according to claim 14; and

a control unit for performing a display control process to the display device; and

a storage unit for storing display data to be provided to the display device.