Liquid crystal display and manufacturing method thereof

• US 7,796,233 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2006
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co. Ltd. (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Seo, Bong-Sung, Heo, Jeong-Uk, Sung, Byoung-Hun, Jeon, Baek-Kyun, Park, So-Youn
• Primary Examiner(s): Pak; Sung H
• Application Number:
  US11/586,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20070097312A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 349/155
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133512 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix G02F1/136209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13394 spacers regularly patterned on the cell subtrate, e.g. walls, pillars G02F1/133377 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13396 Spacers having different sizes

Abstract

A liquid crystal display includes a first substrate having a display area and a peripheral area and including a plurality of pixels formed in the display area, a second substrate facing the first substrate, and a plurality of first groups of bead spacers and a plurality of second groups of bead spacers disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first groups of bead spacers have a different size or different elasticity coefficient than the second groups of bead spacers, and include a plurality of bead spacers, respectively.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display (LCD) comprising:

a first substrate having a display area and a peripheral area and including a plurality of pixels formed in the display area;

a second substrate facing the first substrate; and

a plurality of first bead spacers and a plurality of second bead spacers disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the first bead spacers have a different size from that of the second bead spacers, and the first bead and the second bead spacers are disposed in the display area.

2. The LCD of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of light blocking members formed on the second substrate and overlapping the second bead spacers.

3. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the first bead spacers do not overlap the second bead spacers.

4. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the first bead spacers are disposed near the center of the display area, and the second bead spacers are disposed about an edge of the display area.

5. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the first bead spacers and the second bead spacers are arranged by one per six pixels, respectively.

6. The LCD of claim 5, wherein the first bead spacers and the second bead spacers disposed in the display area are alternately arranged by one per three pixels.

7. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the first bead spacers and the second bead spacers are disposed on the first substrate and the second substrate, respectively.

8. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the first bead spacers and the second bead spacers are attached to one of the first and second substrates.

9. The LCD of claim 1, further comprising:

a gate line and a data line formed on the first substrate;

a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line; and

a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor.

10. The LCD of claim 1, further comprising:

a color filter formed on the second substrate; and

a common electrode formed on the color filter.

11. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the first bead spacers have a smaller size than that of the second bead spacers.

12. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the first bead spacers have a different coefficient from that of the second bead spacers.

13. The LCD of claim 1, further comprising:

a sealing member disposed at an edge of the peripheral area, and wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are combined.

14. The LCD of claim 13, wherein the second bead spacers are disposed near the center of the display area and in the peripheral area between the display area and the sealing member, and the first bead spacers are disposed at an edge of the display area and in the peripheral area between the display area and the sealing member.

15. The LCD of claim 14, wherein the first bead spacers and the second bead spacers disposed in the peripheral area between the display area and the sealing member are alternately arranged at regular intervals.

16. The LCD of claim 14, wherein the first bead spacers and the second bead spacers disposed in the display area are arranged by one per three pixels, and the first bead spacers and the second bead spacers disposed at the peripheral area between the display area and the sealing member are closely and alternately arranged.

17. The LCD of claim 12, wherein the beads of the first bead spacers has a lower elasticity coefficient than that of the beads of the second bead spacers.

18. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the first bead spacers comprises a plurality of first groups of bead spacers and the second bead spacers comprises a plurality of second groups of bead spacers.

19. The LCD of claim 18, wherein the first groups of bead spacers and the second groups of bead spacers are arranged by one per six pixels, respectively.

20. The LCD of claim 18, wherein the first groups of bead spacers and the second groups of bead spacers are alternately arranged by one per three pixels.

21. The LCD of claim 18, further comprising:

a sealing member disposed at an edge of the peripheral area, and wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are combined.

22. The LCD of claim 21, wherein the second groups of bead spacers are disposed near the center of the display area and in the peripheral area between the display area and the sealing member, and the first groups of bead spacers are disposed at an edge of the display area and in the peripheral area between the display area and the sealing member.

23. The LCD of claim 21, wherein the first groups of bead spacers and the second groups of bead spacers disposed in the peripheral area between the display area and the sealing member are alternately arranged at regular intervals.

24. The LCD of claim 21, wherein the first groups of bead spacers and the second groups of bead spacers disposed in the display area are arranged by one per three pixels, and the first groups of bead spacers and the second groups of bead spacers disposed at the peripheral area between the display area and the sealing member are closely and alternately arranged.

25. The LCD of claim 18, wherein the first groups of bead spacers and the second groups of bead spacers have a hexagonal shape.

26. The LCD of claim 18, wherein the first groups of bead spacers and the second groups of bead spacers have a circular shape.