Liquid crystal display device with roughened surfaces to reduce moiré fringe effects

• US 7,030,944 B2
• Filed: 12/14/1999
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gold Charm Limited (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC LCD Technologies Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujimoto, Kazushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Schechter, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Qi, Mike
• Application Number:
  US09/460,075
• Publication Number:
  US 20030142249A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,317 Days
• Field of Search: 349/96, 349/95, 349 61- 65, 349/112, 349/137
• US Class Current: 349/64
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133528 Polarisers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133615 Edge-illuminating devices, i.e. illuminating from the side
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133707 Structures for producing distorted electric fields, e.g. bumps, protrusions, recesses, slits in pixel electrodes

Abstract

A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel obtained by adhering upper and lower polarizing plates to upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of an electrode substrate. The upper polarizing plate has a first roughened surface on its outer surface. The first roughened surface is formed for the purpose of antiglare. The lower polarizing plate has a second roughened surface on its outer surface. The second roughened surface is formed to have a surface roughness equivalent to or less than that of the first roughened surface. As a result, a moiré fringe is decreased.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a liquid crystal display panel having an electrode substrate unit and upper and lower polarizing plates, said electrode substrate unit being comprised of upper and lower electrode substrates arranged adjacent to each other, and said upper and lower polarizing plates being adhered to two outer surfaces, respectively, of said electrode substrate unit so as to transmit only light having a polarization plane in a constant direction;

a backlight unit having a fluorescent tube serving as a light source, a reflector, a light guide plate, a reflecting sheet and a diffusing sheet sequentially arranged above said light guide plate to be substantially parallel to said light guide plate, and a plurality of lens sheets inserted between said diffusing sheet and said electrode substrate unit to be substantially parallel to each other; and

a driver IC for driving said liquid crystal display panel and a signal control circuit for said driver IC,

said upper polarizing plate having a first roughened surface on an outer surface thereof, which is formed for antiglare, and said lower polarizing plate having a second roughened surface on an outer surface thereof, which is formed so as to have a surface roughness not more than that of said first roughened surface, so that a moiré

fringe generated by a presence of said plurality of lens sheets is decreased,

said plurality of lens sheets being two sheets consisting of an upper lens sheet arranged near said liquid crystal display panel and a lower lens sheet arranged to be separate from said liquid crystal display panel,

each of said upper and lower lens sheets being formed with a group of small prisms on one surface thereof,

said group of small prisms of said upper lens sheet being formed of at least one of rounded vertices and vertices of random pitch,

said upper lens sheet having a third roughened surface which is formed on the other surface thereof, and said lower lens sheet having a fourth roughened surface which is formed on the other surface thereof,

said third and fourth roughened surfaces excluding a group of small prisms,

said upper and lower lens sheets being arranged such that the major axes of said small prisms of the upper lens sheet are perpendicular to those of the lower lens sheet.

2. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said lower polarizing plate has a haze (value of cloudiness) of approximately 5% to 13%.

3. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower lens sheets are arranged such that the major axes of the prisms of the upper lens sheet do not become parallel to the arrays of pixels on the liquid crystal display panel.

4. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the relationship between the roughness of the roughened surface of said lower polarizing plate and each roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets is preset, and each of the roughened surfaces are formed by adding or dispersively applying a matting agent on a flat sheet serving as a base material.

5. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets can be made to a suitable combination by allowing to differ from each other.

6. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower lens sheets are arranged such that the major axes of the prisms of the upper lens sheet do not become parallel to the arrays of pixels on the liquid crystal display panel, and

wherein the relationship between the roughness of the roughened surface of said lower polarizing plate and each roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets are preset, and each of the roughened surfaces are formed by adding or dispersively applying a matting agent on a flat sheet serving as a base material.

7. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower lens sheets are arranged such that the major axes of the prisms of the upper lens sheet do not become parallel to the arrays of pixels on the liquid crystal display panel, and

wherein said polarizing plate has a haze (volume of cloudiness) of approximately 5% to 13%.

8. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower lens sheets are arranged such that the major axes of the prisms of the upper lens sheet do not become parallel to the arrays of pixels on the liquid crystal display panel, and

wherein the roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets can be made to a suitable combination by allowing to differ from each other.

9. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the relationship between the roughness of the roughened surface of said lower polarizing plate and each roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets are preset, and each of the roughened surfaces are formed by adding or dispersively applying a matting agent on a flat sheet serving as a base material, and

wherein said polarizing plate has a haze (volume of cloudiness) of approximately 5% to 13%.

10. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the relationship between the roughness of the roughened surface of said lower polarizing plate and each roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets are preset, and each of the roughened surfaces are formed by adding or dispersively applying a matting agent on a flat sheet serving as a base material, and

wherein the roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets can be made to a suitable combination by allowing to differ from each other.

11. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower lens sheets are arranged such that the major axes of the prisms of the upper lens sheet do not become parallel to the arrays of pixels on the liquid crystal display panel,

wherein the relationship between the roughness of the roughened surface of said lower polarizing plate and each roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets are preset, and each of the roughened surfaces are formed by adding or dispersively applying a matting agent on a flat sheet serving as a base material, and

wherein said polarizing plate has a haze (volume of cloudiness) of approximately 5% to 13%.

12. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower lens sheets are arranged such that the major axes of the prisms of the upper lens sheet do not become parallel to the arrays of pixels on the liquid crystal display panel,

wherein the relationship between the roughness of the roughened surface of said lower polarizing plate and each roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets are preset, and each of the roughened surfaces are formed by adding or dispersively applying a matting agent on a flat sheet serving as a base material, and

wherein the roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets can be made to a suitable combination by allowing to differ from each other.

13. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower liens sheets are arranged such that the major axes of the prisms of the upper lens sheet do not become parallel to the arrays of pixels on the liquid crystal display panel,

wherein the relationship between the roughness of the roughened surface of said lower polarizing plate and each roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets are preset, and each of the roughened surfaces are formed by adding or dispersively applying a matting agent on a flat sheet serving as a base material,

wherein said polarizing plate has a haze (volume of cloudiness) of approximately 5% to 13%, and

wherein the roughness of the roughened surfaces of said upper and lower lens sheets can be made to a suitable combination by allowing to differ from each other.