Liquid crystal display device

• US 9,465,259 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2014
• Issued: 10/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kim, Heera, Jang, Chang-Soon, Shim, YiSeop, Huh, Chul
• Primary Examiner(s): Islam, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehta, Ratisha
• Application Number:
  US14/536,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20150234224A1
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13398 Spacer materials; Spacer properties
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1262 with a particular formation, treatment or coating of the substrate

Abstract

Provided is an LCD device including a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer, a main spacer, and a supplementary spacer. The liquid crystal layer is interposed between the first and second substrates. The main spacer makes contact with the first and second substrates. The supplementary spacer makes contact with one of the first and second substrates and is spaced apart from the other. A first area ratio defined by dividing the area of a first top surface by that of a first bottom surface of the main spacer may be smaller than a second area ratio defined by dividing the area of a second top surface by that of a second bottom surface of the supplementary spacer.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display (LCD) device, comprising:

a first substrate having a plurality of pixels;

a second substrate facing the first substrate;

a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first and second substrates;

a main spacer disposed between the first and second substrates and making contact with the first and second substrates, and the main spacer having a first top surface and a first bottom surface having an area larger than that of the first top surface; and

a supplementary spacer disposed between the first and second substrates to make contact with one of the first and second substrates and be spaced apart from the other, and the supplementary spacer having a second top surface and a second bottom surface having an area larger than that of the second top surface,

and the supplementary spacer being harder than the main spacer,

wherein a first area ratio, which is defined by dividing the area of the first top surface by that of the first bottom surface, is smaller than a second area ratio, which is defined by dividing the area of the second top surface by that of the second bottom surface.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the main spacer has a first side surface connecting the first top surface to the first bottom surface, and the supplementary spacer has a second side surface connecting the second top surface to the second bottom surface,

wherein the first side surface has a curvature radius that is smaller than that of the second side surface.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the first area ratio ranges from about 38% to about 44%, and the second area ratio ranges from about 45% to about 52%.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second bottom surfaces are in contact with the first substrate, the first top surface is in contact with the second substrate, and the second top surface is spaced apart from the second substrate.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the supplementary spacer has a thickness that is smaller than that of the main spacer.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein each of the main and supplementary spacers is provided in plural numbers on a non-pixel region of the first substrate, and the number of the main spacers is smaller than the number of the supplementary spacers.