Liquid crystal display device with particular angle between optical axis of optically anisotropic material and observation direction

• US 5,212,819 A
• Filed: 04/09/1991
• Issued: 05/18/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Wada, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Sikes, William L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GROSS, ANITA P
• Application Number:
  US07/683,419
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 350/347 R, 350/337, 359/63, 359/73, 359/102
• US Class Current: 349/102
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133531 characterised by the arrangement of polariser or analyser axes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13363 Birefringent elements, e.g. for optical compensation
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1396 the liquid crystal being selectively controlled between a twisted state and a non-twisted state, e.g. TN-LC cell G02F1/141 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2202/40 Materials having a particular birefringence, retardation
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2413/02 Number of plates being 2
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2413/08 with a particular optical axis orientation

Abstract

A super twisted nematic liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal cell, upper and lower polarizing plates, and at least one phase difference plate between the polarizing plates. The angle between the direction of the optical axis of the phase difference plate and the observation direction of the device is set between about 0°-30° or 60°-90°.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display device, comprising:

a twisted nematic liquid crystal display cell including a pair of spaced apart opposed substrates with electrodes selectively disposed thereon and a twisted nematic liquid crystal material disposed in the space between the substrates;

a pair of polarizing plates disposed on opposite sides of the liquid crystal cell, one of which defines a display screen; and

at least one layer of an optically anisotropic substance disposed between the liquid crystal cell and one of the pair of polarizing plates;

the display screen having a rear edge as viewed from a user and an observation direction which is both in the plane of the display screen and substantially perpendicular to the rear edge thereof, the observation direction being the direction of the projection in the plane of the display screen of the direction from which a user of said display device most frequently views said display screen, the device being constructed and arranged to have a viewing angle with respect to the observation direction at which the display will have acceptable contrast to accurately convey information to a user, the angle between the direction of the optical axis of the optically anisotropic substance layer and the observation direction of the display device being set at a predetermined angle to produce substantially bilateral symmetry of the contrast distribution with respect to the observation direction as the user moves in the direction of the viewing angle β

between a projection of the direction of viewing by the user in the plane of the display screen and the observation direction or in the direction of the viewing angle α

between the direction of viewing of the user and an axis perpendicular to the observation direction and the plane of the display screen.

2. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal material is twisted at least about 120°

.

3. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle is between one of about 0°

and 30° and

about 60° and

90°

.

4. The liquid crystal display device of claim 3, wherein the optically anisotropic substance layer is made of a uniaxial high molecular weight polymers sheet.

5. The liquid crystal display device of claim 4, wherein the polymer sheet is a polymer selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate, diacetyl cellulose, polyamide, polyimide, polyether sulfone, polysulfone, polyolefin, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl alcohol, acryl, and polymethyl methacrylate.

6. The liquid crystal display device of claim 5, wherein the polymer is polycarbonate.

7. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the device includes at least two optically anisotropic layers of uniaxial high molecular weight polymer sheets disposed between the liquid crystal cell and one of the pair of polarizing plates, and wherein the predetermined angle between the direction of the optical axis of at least one of the sheets and the display device direction of observation is between one of about 0°

and 30° and

about 60° and

90°

.

8. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the device includes at least one optically anisotropic substance layer between the liquid crystal cell and one of the pair of polarizing plates and at least another optically anisotropic substance layer between the liquid crystal cell and the other polarizing plate, and the angle between the direction of the optical axis of at least one of the optically anisotropic substance layers and the display device direction of observation is between one of about 0°

and 30° and

about 60° and

90°

.

9. The liquid crystal display device of claim 8, wherein the optically anisotropic substance layers are a uniaxial high molecular weight polymer.

10. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the device includes at least one optically anisotropic substance layer between the liquid crystal cell and one of the pair of polarizing plates and at least another optically anisotropic substance layer between the liquid crystal cell and the other polarizing plate, and the angle between the bisector of the optical axes of the two optically anisotropic sheets adjacent to the liquid crystal cell and the display device direction of observation is between one of about 0°

and 30° and

about 60° and

90°

.

11. The liquid crystal display device of claim 10, wherein each of the optically anisotropic substrate layers is a uniaxial high molecular weight polymer layer.

12. A liquid crystal display device having a display screen with a rear edge as viewed from a user, comprising:

a super twisted nematic liquid crystal cell including first and second opposed electrode substrates with a twisted nematic liquid crystal material therebetween with an angle of twist between about 180° and

260°

from the first substrate to the second, the cell having an observation direction, the observation direction being a direction of the projection in the plane of the display screen of the direction from which a user of said display device most frequently views said display screen, the observation direction being both in the plane of the display screen and substantially perpendicular to the rear edge thereof;

a pair of polarizing plates disposed on opposite sides of the liquid crystal cell with Θ

₁ being the angle between the observation direction and the axis of polarization of the first polarizer adjacent the first substrate of the liquid crystal cell and Θ

₂ being the angle between the observation direction and the axis of polarization of the other polarizer; and

at least one layer of an optically anisotropic material between the liquid crystal cell and one polarizer with Θ

₃ being the angle between the optical axis of the at least one layer of optically anisotropic material and the observation direction,

Θ

₃ between one of about 0° and

30° and

about 60° and

90°

.

13. The liquid crystal display device of claim 12, wherein Θ

₁ is between about 15° and

75°

.

14. The liquid crystal display device of claim 13, wherein Θ

₂ is between about 0° and

45°

.

15. The liquid display device of claim 13, wherein the first substrate has a rubbing direction, and an angle Θ

₄ is defined between the observation direction and the rubbing direction of the first substrate and is between about 55° and

90°

.