Liquid crystal display device and electronic apparatus

• US 7,760,295 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2006
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Japan Display West Incorporated (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Matsushima, Toshiharu, Tsuchiya, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Uyen-Chau N
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, HOANG Q
• Application Number:
  US11/484,560
• Publication Number:
  US 20070013835A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,469 Days
• Field of Search: 349/113
• US Class Current: 349/113
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133371 Cells with varying thickness of the liquid crystal layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133555 Transflectors
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133753 with different alignment orientations or pretilt angles on a same surface, e.g. for grey scale or improved viewing angle
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133757 with different alignment orientations
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134309 characterised by their geometrical arrangement
• 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 1/134372 for fringe field switching [FFS] where the common electrode is not patterned

Abstract

A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate and a second substrate opposed to each other with a liquid crystal layer having liquid crystal molecules disposed therebetween, in which a first electrode and a second electrode are provided on a side of the first substrate opposed to the liquid crystal layer, the liquid crystal layer is driven by means of an electric field generated between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a reflective display area for reflective display and a transmissive display area for transmissive display are formed in a sub-pixel area. Alignment of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer is different in the transmissive display area and the reflective display area.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display device, comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate opposed to the first substrate;

a liquid crystal layer, having liquid crystal molecules, disposed between the first and second substrates;

a first electrode and a second electrode provided on a side of the first substrate opposed to the liquid crystal layer, the first electrode including a plurality of band-shaped electrodes;

a scanning line provided on the first substrate;

an insulating layer provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, the liquid crystal layer being driven by an electric field generated between the first electrode and the second electrode; and

a reflective display area for reflective display and a transmissive display area for transmissive display formed in a sub-pixel area;

wherein an alignment of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer is different in the transmissive display area relative to the reflective display area,

wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are provided in both the reflective display area and the transmissive display area,

wherein the band-shaped electrodes of the first electrode extend parallel to each other in both the reflective display area and the transmissive display area;

wherein the band-shaped electrodes of the first electrode extend substantially perpendicular to the scanning line in the transmissive area and bend at an angle of approximately 20°

at a boundary between the transmissive area and the reflective area, and

wherein a rotating direction of the liquid crystal molecules at the time of application of a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode in the transmissive display area, and a rotating direction of the liquid crystal molecules at the time of application of a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode in the reflective display area, are equal to each other.

2. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, the alignment being parallel in the transmissive display area, and twisted in the reflective display area.

3. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 2, a twist angle in the reflective display area being in a range of 0°

to 80°

, and a product (Δ

nd) of a cell thickness (d) and a refractive index difference (Δ

n) being in a range of 120 nm to 320 nm.

4. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 3, the twist angle in the reflective display area being in a range of 0°

to 73°

, and the product (Δ

nd) of the cell thickness (d) and the refractive index difference (Δ

n) being in a range of 140 nm to 261 nm.

5. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, further including a color filter in the reflective display area, a cell thickness being different depending upon the color of the color filter.

6. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, an angle of the first electrode being different in the reflective display area relative to the transmissive display area.

7. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, a voltage applied between the first electrode and the second electrode being different in the reflective display area relative to the transmissive display area.

8. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, the first electrode having a plurality of band-shaped electrodes extending in the sub-pixel area, and an extension direction of the plurality of band-shaped electrodes in the reflective display area being disposed between an alignment regulation direction of an alignment layer on the side of the first substrate and an alignment regulation direction of an alignment layer on the side of the second substrate as viewed two-dimensionally.

9. An electronic apparatus, comprising:

the liquid crystal display device according to claim 1.