In-plane switching type liquid crystal display device

• US 8,436,972 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2010
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unified Innovative Technology, LLC
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Arai, Norihiro, Kobayashi, Kunpei, Nishino, Toshiharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chiem, Erin
• Application Number:
  US12/716,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20100157222A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 349/141
• US Class Current: 349/141
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1337 Surface-induced orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, e.g. by alignment layers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134363 for applying an electric field parallel to the substrate, i.e. in-plane switching [IPS]

Abstract

A liquid crystal display device comprises a pair of substrates subjected to an aligning treatment in mutually parallel but opposite directions, a liquid crystal layer interposed between the pair of substrates, a first electrode bent into a “<” shape, and a second electrode formed via an insulating film with the first electrode. The first electrode comprises one linear section and another linear section that extend in directions that intersect the alignment treatment direction at different angles, a bent section that is provided at each end where the one linear section and the other linear section adjacent to each other and that extends in a direction that intersects the alignment treatment direction at an angle that is greater than each of the intersecting angles of the one linear section and the other linear section and the alignment treatment direction with respect to the alignment treatment directions.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display device comprising a pair of substrates having aligning-treated surfaces that have been subjected to an aligning treatment in directions parallel but opposite to each other, the substrates being arranged so that the respective aligning-treated surfaces are opposed to each other with a liquid crystal layer therebetween;

wherein, for forming each of a plurality of pixels in a matrix shape in a row direction and a column direction and thus forming a display region, a first electrode, a thin film transistor, a signal line, and a second electrode are provided at a first substrate of the pair of substrates,

wherein the first electrode has a plurality of slits each of which comprises a plurality of opening regions that are formed so as to be serially continuous, wherein the opening regions extend in directions different from each other and different from the directions of the aligning treatment,

wherein the thin film transistor has a source electrode, a drain electrode and a semiconductor film, wherein the source electrode is connected to the first electrode,

wherein the signal line is connected to the drain electrode and is formed in the column direction,

wherein the second electrode overlaps in a plan view with a region of the plurality of slits via an insulating layer,

wherein the first electrode comprises a transparent conductive film corresponding to one of the plurality of pixels, and wherein the plurality of slits are arranged on the transparent conductive film along the row direction,

wherein each of the plurality of slits has;

first and second linear sections, the first linear section extending in a first direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a first crossing angle, and the second linear section extending in a second direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a second crossing angle, wherein the first crossing angle is different from the second crossing angle;

a first bent section that extends in a third direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a third crossing angle larger than the first crossing angle, wherein the first bent section is continuous to a first end of the first linear section;

a second bent section that extends in a fourth direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a fourth crossing angle larger than the second crossing angle, wherein the second bent section is continuous to a first end of the second linear section, and wherein the first end of the first linear section and the first end of the second linear section are adjacent to each other; and

a connection section that connects the first and second bent sections,

wherein given a length A1 of the semiconductor film of the thin film transistor in the directions of the aligning treatment and a length A2 of the source electrode of the thin film transistor in the directions of the aligning treatment, A1 is larger than A2,

wherein the second electrode has first and second notches so as not to overlap with a region corresponding to the thin film transistor, and given a length B1 of the first notch corresponding to the semiconductor film in the directions of the aligning treatment and a length B2 of the second notch corresponding to the source electrode in the directions of the aligning treatment, B1 is larger than B2,

wherein slits on a side closer to the signal line among the plurality of slits of the first electrode are provided with lengths shorter than lengths of the other slits so as not to overlap with the region corresponding to the thin film transistor, and

wherein a slit adjacent to the source electrode in the directions of the aligning treatment among the slits on the side closer to the signal line extends to a bump formed in the second electrode by the first and second notches, the slit being provided with a length longer than a length of a slit adjacent to the semiconductor film in the directions of the aligning treatment.

2. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein outside dimensions of the first electrode are larger than outside dimensions of the second electrode.

3. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the transparent conductive film of the first electrode surrounds the plurality of slits.

4. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a side edge of the connection section of each of the plurality of slits has an arc shape.

5. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal layer is aligned so that long axes of liquid crystal molecules become parallel with the aligning-treated surfaces of the substrates.

6. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal layer comprises liquid crystal molecules having positive dielectric anisotropy.

7. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode is positioned closer to the liquid crystal layer than the second electrode.

8. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate further comprises a scan line which extends in the row direction.

9. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein the first electrode is a pixel electrode connected to the signal line and the scan line via the thin film transistor, and the second electrode is a common electrode which is set to an equal potential between display pixels.

10. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a pair of substrates having aligning-treated surfaces that have been subjected to an aligning treatment in directions parallel but opposite to each other, the pair of substrates being arranged so that the respective aligning-treated surfaces are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween;

a liquid crystal layer which is sealed in the gap between the pair of substrates and in which liquid crystal molecules are aligned substantially parallel to surfaces of the pair of substrates such that orientations of long axes of the liquid crystal molecules are aligned in the directions of the aligning treatment;

a plurality of first electrodes that are provided in an aligning-treated surface of a first substrate among the aligning-treated surfaces of the pair of substrates for arranging a plurality of pixels in a matrix shape in a row direction and a column direction and thus forming a display region;

a plurality of thin film transistors that are provided in the aligning-treated surface of the first substrate, each of the plurality of thin film transistors having a source electrode, a drain electrode and a semiconductor film, wherein the source electrode is connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of first electrodes;

a plurality of signal lines that are arranged in the column direction, wherein the plurality of signal lines are connected to the drain electrodes of the plurality of thin film transistors; and

a plurality of second electrodes that are disposed closer to the first substrate than the plurality of first electrodes so as to be insulated from the plurality of first electrodes, wherein the plurality of second electrodes generate a transversal electric field between the plurality of second electrodes and the plurality of first electrodes for changing the orientations of the long axes of the liquid crystal molecules within a plane substantially parallel to the surfaces of the pair of substrates;

wherein each of the plurality of second electrodes has a plurality of opposing sections that are formed so as to overlap with first electrodes among the plurality of first electrodes in a plan view in respective regions opposing to the first electrodes, and a common connection section that connects the plurality of opposing sections, wherein the plurality of second electrodes are provided corresponding to a plurality of rows of the plurality of pixels over an entire length of a row,

wherein the plurality of first electrodes comprise a plurality of transparent conductive films respectively corresponding to the plurality of pixels, wherein a plurality of slits are provided in each transparent conductive film along the row direction,

wherein each of the plurality of slits has;

first and second linear sections, the first linear section extending in a first direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a first crossing angle, and the second linear section extending in a second direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a second crossing angle, wherein the first crossing angle is different from the second crossing angle;

a first bent section that extends in a third direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a third crossing angle larger than the first crossing angle, wherein the first bent section is continuous to a first end of the first linear section;

a second bent section that extends in a fourth direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a fourth crossing angle larger than the second crossing angle, wherein the second bent section is continuous to a first end of the second linear section, and the first end of the first linear section and the first end of the second linear section are adjacent to each other; and

a connection section that connects the first and second bent sections,

wherein for each of the plurality of thin film transistors, given a length A1 of the semiconductor film of the thin film transistor in the directions of the aligning treatment and a length A2 of the source electrode of the thin film transistor in the directions of the aligning treatment, A1 is larger than A2,

wherein each of the opposing sections has first and second notches so as not to overlap with a region corresponding to a corresponding thin film transistor, and given a length B1 of the first notch corresponding to the semiconductor film in the directions of the aligning treatment and a length B2 of the second notch corresponding to the source electrode in the directions of the aligning treatment, B1 is larger than B2, and

wherein for each of the plurality of first electrodes;

(i) slits on a side closer to a corresponding signal line among the plurality of slits of the first electrode are provided with lengths shorter than lengths of the other slits so as not to overlap with the region corresponding to the corresponding thin film transistor, and (ii) a slit adjacent to a corresponding source electrode in the directions of the aligning treatment among the slits on the side closer to the corresponding signal line extends to a bump formed at a corresponding opposing section by the first and second notches, the slit being provided with a length longer than a length of a slit adjacent to a corresponding semiconductor film in the directions of the aligning treatment.

11. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein a side edge of the connection section of each of the plurality of slits has an arc shape.

12. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of first electrodes forms first and second regions for aligning the orientations of the long axes of the liquid crystal molecules in first and second orientations that differ from each other by applying an electric field between the first electrode and a second electrode, wherein the first linear section is formed in the first region, and the second linear section is formed in the second region.

13. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein given an incline angle θ

a of the first and second linear sections with respect to the directions of the aligning treatment and an incline angle θ

b of the first and second bent sections between the first and second linear sections and with respect to the directions of the aligning treatment, the incline angle θ

a of the first and second linear sections and the incline angle θ

b of the first and second bent sections are set to;

0°

<

θ

a<

20°

; and

20°

<

θ

b<

40°

.

14. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 13, wherein the incline angle θ

a of the first and second linear sections and the incline angle θ

b of the first and second bent sections are set to;

θ

a=10°

±

5°

; and

θ

b=30°

±

5°

.

15. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein given a length La of the first and second linear sections and a length Lb of the first and second bent sections, the two lengths La and Lb are set so that 10Lb>

La>

4Lb.

16. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein given a width D of the first and second linear sections and an interval W between the first and second linear sections of adjacent slits among the plurality of slits, a ratio D:

W of the two lengths D and W is set to be equal to or larger than 1;

3 and equal to or smaller than 3;

1.

17. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 16, wherein the ratio D:

W of the two lengths D and W is set to be 1;

1.

18. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of slits further has an end bent section that is continuous to at least one of second ends opposite to the first ends of the first and second linear sections, wherein the end bent section extends in a direction that crosses the directions of the aligning treatment at a fifth crossing angle larger than the first or second crossing angles.

19. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 18, wherein given an incline angle θ

c of the end bent section with respect to the directions of the aligning treatment, the incline angle θ

c is set to 20°

<

θ

c<

40°

.

20. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 19, wherein the incline angle θ

c of the end bent section is set to;

θ

c=30°

±

5°

.

21. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 18, wherein given a length La of the first and second linear sections and a length Lc of the end bent section, the length Lc is set so that:

10Lc>

La>

4Lc.