Liquid crystal display device

• US 7,663,587 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2006
• Issued: 02/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Central Incorporated (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Yoshihiro, Kinoshita, Masaki, Fujibayashi, Sadayasu, Watanabe, Ryoichi, Yoshida, Norihiro, Yamada, Yoshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu; Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bolotin; Dmitriy
• Application Number:
  US11/468,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20070075950A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 345/55, 345/89, 345/690, 345/694, 345/698, 349/129
• US Class Current: 345/89
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1393 the birefringence of the liquid crystal being electrically controlled, e.g. ECB-, DAP-, HAN-, PI-LC cells G02F1/1396, G02F1/141 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0271 Adjustment of the gradation levels within the range of the gradation scale, e.g. by redistribution or clipping
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0285 using tables for spatial correction of display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/068 for control of viewing angle adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2007 Display of intermediate tones
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence

Abstract

A liquid crystal display device has a gradation display function of at least an n-number of gray levels and has a viewing angle characteristic of Mi/Mj≦1.3 in a case where a display luminance range in a normal direction to a display surface in a gradation range of predetermined gray levels i to j is Li to Lj and a display luminance range in an oblique viewing-angle direction of 30° or more is Mi to Mj (where n, i and j are real numbers, and n≧i>j≧0). The liquid crystal display device has a display mode in which a display image is displayed with a display luminance range of the display image being limited to Li to Lj.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display device having a gradation display function comprising:

first color pixels which display an image in the gradation range of an n-number of gray levels in a first color; and

second color pixels which display an image in the gradation range of the n-number of gray levels in a second color with a lower relative visibility than the first color;

wherein the first color pixels have a viewing angle characteristic of Mi/Mj≦

1.3 in a case where a display luminance range in a normal direction to a display surface in a gradation range of a gray level i to a gray level j is Li to Lj and a display luminance range in an oblique viewing-angle direction of 30°

or more is Mi to Mj (where n, i and j are real numbers, and n≧

i>

j≧

0), and

wherein the liquid crystal display device has a display mode in which a display image is displayed in the gradation range of i to j with respect to the first color pixels, and a display image is displayed with respect to the second color pixels in a gradation range that is wider than the gradation range for the first color pixels.

2. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein when the display luminance range in the normal direction to the display surface is Li to Lj, Li/Lj≧

1.5.

3. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the display mode comprises a narrow viewing angle mode in which a display image is displayed in the gradation range of i to j with respect to the first color pixels, and a wide viewing angle mode in which a display image is displayed in a gradation range of 0 to n−

1 with respect to the first color pixels, and

the liquid crystal display device includes switching means for effecting switching between the narrow viewing angle mode and the wide viewing angle mode.

4. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 3, further comprising data conversion means for converting, upon switching to the narrow viewing angle mode by the switching means, image data of the display image with respect to the first color pixels, which is displayed in the gradation range of 0 to n−

1, to image data of the gradation range of i to j.

5. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 4, wherein upon switching to the narrow viewing angle mode by the switching means, the data conversion means converts the gradation of at least one of a background image, which is displayed with a single gray level, and a main image, which is displayed with a single gray level, such that a difference in gradation between the background image and the main image becomes smaller than in the wide viewing angle mode.

6. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display device comprises:

an array substrate including active switching elements and pixel electrodes in association with pixels;

a counter-substrate including a counter-electrode which is disposed to be opposed to the pixel electrodes;

a liquid crystal layer with a negative dielectric-constant anisotropy, which is held between the array substrate and the counter-substrate; and

a structure for dividing a direction of alignment into at least two directions in each of the pixels,

wherein liquid crystal molecules in each pixel are aligned substantially vertical to the substrate surface in a state in which no voltage is applied to the pixel or a voltage less than a threshold is applied to the pixel, the liquid crystal molecules in each pixel are aligned oblique or substantially parallel to the substrate surface in a state in which a voltage not less than the threshold is applied to the pixel, and the direction of inclination is substantially determined by a direction of lines of electric force.

7. A mobile terminal device comprising the liquid crystal display device according to claim 1.

8. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, further comprising data conversion means for converting first image data of the display image with respect to the first color pixels, which is displayed in the gradation range of 0 to n−

1, to second image data of the display image, which is displayed in the gradation range of i to j,

wherein as regards a number of gray levels of the first image data, which are to be assigned to the second image data, the first data is converted such that the number of gray levels on a higher gradation side of the first image data is smaller than the number of gray levels on a lower gradation side of the first image data.

9. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein the data conversion means converts the gradation of the first image data to the gradation of the second image data on the basis of a function of an order of 1 or more.

10. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, further comprising data conversion means for converting a part of first image data of the display image with respect to the first color pixels, which is displayed in the gradation range of 0 to n−

1, to second image data of the display image, which is displayed in the gradation range of i to j.

11. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein the first image data includes data corresponding to a description in which a plurality of characters are arranged, and

the data conversion means converts a part of characters of the description to the gradation range of i to j.

12. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein the first image data includes data corresponding to a character, and

the data conversion means converts a segment of the character to gradation range of i to j.

13. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein the data conversion means converts a geometrical part of the first image data of the display image with respect to the first pixels, which is displayed on the basis of the first image data, to the gradation range of i to j.

14. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the gradation range of i to j is a gradation range in which the number of gray levels is n/2 or less.

15. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 14, wherein the gray level i is equal to a light-side maximum gray level of the n-number of gray levels.