Liquid crystal display device and liquid crystal display apparatus incorporating the same

• US 6,750,938 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2002
• Issued: 06/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Koyama, Yoshihide
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Robert H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHUNG, DAVID Y
• Application Number:
  US10/162,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20030071959A1
• Time in Patent Office: 742 Days
• Field of Search: 349/155, 349/156, 349/149, 349/150, 349/151, 349/152, 349/153, 349/139, 349/143, 349/157
• US Class Current: 349/156
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133388 with constructional differences between the display region and the peripheral region
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13394 spacers regularly patterned on the cell subtrate, e.g. walls, pillars G02F1/133377 takes precedence

Abstract

A liquid crystal display device includes: a first substrate; a second substrate opposing the first substrate via a large number of columnar spacers therebetween, the columnar spacers being fixed on the first substrate; and a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate. The liquid crystal display device has a display area for displaying an image, and a non-display area adjacent to the display area. In the display area of the liquid crystal display device, a plurality of display electrodes that are used when applying a voltage across the liquid crystal layer are provided at an interval on one side of the first substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer, whereas in the non-display area, a plurality of peripheral electrodes are provided with substantially no interval therebetween on the side of the first substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer. Among the large number of columnar spacers in the liquid crystal display device, the columnar spacers in the display area are provided on the display electrodes while the columnar spacers that define a thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the non-display area are provided on the peripheral electrodes.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display device having a display area for displaying an image and a non-display area adjacent to the display area the liquid crystal display device, comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate opposing the first substrate via a large number of columnar spacers therebetween, the columnar spacers being fixed on the first substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein;

in the display area, a plurality of display electrodes that are used when applying a voltage across the liquid crystal layer are provided at an interval on one side of the first substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer;

in the non-display area, a plurality of peripheral electrodes are provided with substantially no interval therebetween on the side of the first substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer; and

the large number of columnar spacers on the first substrate are all of the same size and are arranged in a uniform pattern across an entire area including the display area and the non-display area; and

among the large number of columnar spacers, the columnar spacers in the display area are provided on the display electrodes and the columnar spacers that define a thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the non-display area are provided on the peripheral electrodes.

2. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein:

second peripheral electrodes are provided in the non-display area on one side of the second substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer; and

40% or more of the columnar spacers in the non-display area are interposed between the peripheral electrodes on the first substrate and the second peripheral electrodes on the second substrate.

3. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein a minimum outside diameter of the columnar spacers is 6 to 50 μ

m.

4. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the peripheral electrodes have areas where an inter-electrode interval therebetween is smaller than 15 μ

m.

5. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the non-display area is provided so as to surround the display area, and the plurality of peripheral electrodes in the non-display area are provided so as to surround the display electrodes in the display area.

6. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the first substrate is made of a plastic.

7. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the columnar spacers in the display area are directly fixed on the display electrodes, and the columnar spacers in the non-display area are directly fixed on the peripheral electrodes.

8. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein a display mode is an STN mode.

10. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the columnar spacers in the display area are arranged so as to form a first uniform pattern across an entirety of the display area and the columnar spacers in the non-display area are arranged so as to form a second uniform pattern across an entirety of the non-display area.

11. The liquid crystal display device of claim 10, wherein the second uniform pattern is established such that each of the columnar spacers in the non-display area are provided on each of the peripheral electrodes.

9. A liquid crystal display apparatus, comprising a liquid crystal display device having display area for displaying an image and a non-display area adjacent to the display area, the liquid crystal display device including:

a first substrate;

a second substrate opposing the first substrate via a large number of columnar spacers therebetween, the columnar spacers being fixed on the first substrate;

a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate;

wherein;

in the display area a plurality of display electrodes that are used when applying a voltage across the liquid crystal layer are provided at an interval on one side of the first substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer;

in the non-display area, a plurality of peripheral electrodes are provided with substantially no interval therebetween on the side of the first substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer;

the large number of columnar spacers on the first substrate are all of the same size and are arranged in a uniform pattern across an entire area including the display area and the non-display area; and

among the large number of columnar spacers, the columnar spacers in the display area are provided on the display electrodes and the columnar spacers that define a thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the non-display area are provided on the peripheral electrodes.

12. A liquid crystal display device having a display area for displaying an image, and a non-display area adjacent to the display area, the liquid crystal display device comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate opposing the first substrate;

a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate;

a large number of columnar spacers being provided between the first and second substrates, where a plurality or more of the large number of columnar spacers are configured and arranged respectively in each of the display area and the non-display area between the first and second substrates so as to define a thickness of the liquid crystal layer;

a plurality of display electrodes that are used when applying a voltage across the liquid crystal layer being provided in the display area and at an interval on one side of the first substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer;

a plurality of peripheral electrodes being provided in the non-display area and with substantially no interval therebetween on the side of the first substrate that is closer to the liquid crystal layer;

wherein the large number of columnar spacers on the first substrate are all of the same size and are arranged in a uniform pattern across an entire area including the display area and the non-display area;

wherein the plurality or more of columnar spacers in the display area are arranged so the plurality or more of columnar spacers are provided on the display electrodes; and

wherein 40% or more of the plurality or more of columnar spacers in the non-display area are are provided on the peripheral electrodes.

13. The liquid crystal display device of claim 12, wherein the columnar spacers in the display area and the columnar spacers in the non-display area are arranged so as to form a uniform pattern respectively across an entirety of each of the display area and the non-display area.

14. The liquid crystal display device of claim 12, wherein the columnar spacers in the display area are arranged so as to form a first uniform pattern across an entirety of the display area and the columnar spacers in the non-display area are arranged so as to form a second uniform pattern across an entirety of the non-display area.

15. The liquid crystal display device of claim 14, wherein the second uniform pattern is established such that each of the plurality or more of columnar spacers in the non-display area are provided on each of the peripheral electrodes.

16. The liquid crystal display device of claim 12, wherein the columnar spacers in the non-display area are arranged so as to form a uniform pattern across an entirety of the non-display area, the uniform pattern for the non-display area being established such that each of the more than a plurality of columnar spacers in the non-display area are provided on each of the peripheral electrodes.

17. The liquid crystal display device of claim 12, wherein the plurality or more of columnar spacers in the non-display area are arranged so each of the plurality or more of columnar spacers are provided on each of the peripheral electrodes in the non-display area.