Patents Examined by William L. Sikes
  • Patent number: 6456350
    Abstract: Wave-form distortion of a reference signal or signals being supplied to an opposed electrode can be suppressed without suffering from an increase in the size of the it “window casing” structure. In a liquid crystal display device having respective pixel regions laid out in a matrix form in a display area on a liquid crystal-side surface of one transparent substrate of respective transparent substrates that are disposed opposite each other with a liquid crystal sandwiched therebetween, and also having a pixel electrode and an opposed electrode that are disposed so that these electrodes are spaced apart from each other in each of these pixel regions, the transmissivity of light travelling between respective electrodes is controlled by an electric field created between respective ones of these electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiichiro Ashizawa, Masayuki Hikiba, Kazuhiko Yanagawa, Kenta Kamoshida
  • Patent number: 6452656
    Abstract: An IPS liquid crystal displaying apparatus includes: a TFT array substrate, an opposite substrate opposed to the TFT array substrate and liquid crystal interposed between the TFT array substrate and the opposite substrate, wherein the TFT array substrate is composed of a glass substrate, a gate insulating film formed on the glass substrate, a possivation film formed on the gate insulating film, a plurality of scanning lines for transmitting a scanning signal, a plurality of signal lines for transmitting an image signal, a plurality of pixels arranged in grid like pattern by crossing the plurality of scanning lines with the plurality of signal lines, a plurality of TFTs implementing switching operation of the image signal on the basis of the scanning signals, a plurality of driving electrodes connected with the TFT, a plurality of opposite electrodes arranged in such a manner that each of the plurality of opposite electrodes is opposed to each of the driving electrodes, and a plurality of common lines for mutu
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasunori Niwano, Yuichi Masutani, Ken Nakashima, Yuuzou Oodoi, Kazuhiro Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 6452657
    Abstract: An in-plane switching scheme LCD (IPS-LCD) unit includes front and rear substrates, a LC layer sandwiched therebetween and having a uniform initial orientation alignment. The rear substrate has in each pixel area a plurality of zones formed by stripes of a pixel electrode and stripes of a common electrode. The electric fields generated by the pixel electrode and the common electrode extend alternately in opposite directions to form a checkered pattern, thereby suppressing color change due to the view angle for the LCD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Teruaki Suzuki, Shin-ichi Nishida, Masayoshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6452648
    Abstract: A simple method for preventing oxidization of an aluminum surface of terminal electrode, increase of pressure contact resistance, unstability and reduction of connection reliability is provided. In a terminal electrode part on a reactive matrix substrate, for being connected to an external drive circuit, connecting electrodes are formed by using aluminum or an aluminum alloy, at least their surfaces connected to TCP are covered with an insulating film of aluminum oxide or consisting of a laminate film of aluminum oxide aluminum hydroxide, and the insulating film is selectively removed in a step subsequent to the final step in a cell formation process. In this way, adverse effects of the heat treatment processes such as the annealing in the array formation process and the orientation film sintering of the cell formation process and the oxidization of the connecting electrode surface in the washing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Akitoshi Maeda
  • Patent number: 6452659
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a transparent substrate provided with a plurality of stripe scanning electrodes, and another substrate provided with a plurality of stripe signal electrodes orthogonal to the scanning electrodes, and a liquid crystal layer enclosed between the two transparent substrates. The scanning electrodes are provided on the transparent substrate via a color filter, under overcoat film, and a hard coat film made of hard silicon resin. In the hard coat film, in order to reduce electrode resistance of the scanning electrodes, there are provided a plurality of metal electrodes which are electrically connected individually to the scanning electrodes. The metal electrodes are also connected to the signal electrodes in the same manner as the scanning electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, The Secretary of State for in Her Brittanic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    Inventors: Hisashi Akiyama, Mitsuhiro Shigeta
  • Patent number: 6452647
    Abstract: A receiver receives a signal transmitted by a time-division multi-access method that divides one frame into a plurality of communication slots in conducting communication. In this receiver, a detection circuit detects whether a received RF signal is stronger than a predetermined level. The received RF signal is demodulated by a demodulation circuit. An oscillation circuit generates a clock that is used to decode the data obtained by demodulation. The data obtained by demodulation is stored in a memory in synchronism with a clock reproduced from the received signal, and is then retrieved from the memory in synchronism with the clock generated by the oscillation circuit. This eliminates jitters. After jitter elimination, the data is decoded by a processing circuit. The writing/reading operation against the memory is initialized in accordance with a result output from the detection circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: National Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventor: Paul McKay Moore
  • Patent number: 6452650
    Abstract: A polymer dispersion type liquid crystal display element according to the invention is structured such that a complex of polymer and liquid crystal droplets is held between a pair of substrates. The liquid crystal droplets are deformed into a compressed structure of their being contracted in a cell gap direction and an amount of deformation of the liquid crystal droplets is set to be in range in which a phenomenon of liquid crystal molecules rising up in the cell gap direction is not caused by excluded volume effects of the liquid crystals. This construction that the amount of deformation of the liquid crystal droplets is set to be in range in which the phenomenon of liquid crystal molecules rising up in the cell gap direction is not caused by excluded volume effects of the liquid crystals can provide an increased tendency of the liquid crystal molecules to align in parallel to a phase boundary of the substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Nakao, Shinya Kosako, Tsuyoshi Uemura, Hirofumi Kubota, Masao Yamamoto, Kazuo Inoue, Seiji Nishiyama
  • Patent number: 6452658
    Abstract: Disclosed is a reflective liquid crystal display having high transmittance and a method for manufacturing the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: Hyundai Display Technology Inc.
    Inventors: In Cheol Park, Seung Hee Lee, Won Geon Lee
  • Patent number: 6452653
    Abstract: A reflector comprises a substrate provided with a plurality of projecting and depressed structures which are groups of columnar portions each serving as a basic unit and composed of a plurality of minute columnar portions, which are separate from each other or at least partially connected to each other, and with a light reflecting thin film provided over the projecting and depressed structures. This allows incident light to be scattered and reflected in a forward direction or the like, not in the regular reflection direction, and provides a reflector having a superior contrast property and a superior paper-white property, a fabrication method therefor, and a reflective display device comprising the reflector. The reflective display device has a liquid crystal layer provided between a pair of substrates. One of the pair of substrates is provided with projecting and depressed portions covered with a metal film and with a support portion for supporting the counter substrate, which are molded integrally.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhiko Yamanaka, Naohide Wakita, Takeshi Karasawa, Mariko Kawaguri, Seiji Nishiyama
  • Patent number: 6452654
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate includes: a plurality of gate lines; a plurality of source lines arranged to cross with the plurality of gate lines; a plurality of switching elements disposed in the vicinity of crossings of the plurality of gate lines and the plurality of source lines; and a plurality of pixel electrodes connected to the plurality of switching elements. The second substrate includes a counter electrode. A plurality of pixel regions are defined by the plurality of pixel electrodes, the counter electrode, and the liquid crystal layer interposed between the plurality of pixel electrodes and the counter electrode, and each of the plurality of pixel regions includes a reflection region and a transmission region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masumi Kubo, Yozo Narutaki, Atsushi Ban, Takayuki Shimada, Yoji Yoshimura, Mikio Katayama, Yutaka Ishii, Hirohiko Nishiki
  • Patent number: 6449025
    Abstract: The present multi-domain liquid crystal display device includes first and second substrates facing each other, a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates, a plurality of gate bus lines arranged in a first direction on the first substrate and a plurality of data bus lines arranged in a second direction on the first substrate to define a pixel region, a thin film transistor positioned at a crossing area of the data bus line and the gate bus line and comprising a gate electrode, a semiconductor layer, and source/drain electrodes, a pixel electrode in the pixel region, a subsidiary electrode on the second substrate, a color filter layer on the subsidiary electrode, a common electrode on the color filter layer, and an alignment layer on at least one substrate between the first and second substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: LG. Philips LCD Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yun Bok Lee
  • Patent number: 6449026
    Abstract: Disclosed is a fringe field switching liquid crystal display (FFS-LCD) and a method for manufacturing the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: Hyundai Display Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Tae Yup Min, Seung Jun Yi, Seung Hee Lee, In Cheol Park, Youn Hak Jeong
  • Patent number: 6449024
    Abstract: A brighter active matrix type liquid crystal electro-optical device with a higher contrast, yet having a wider visual angle is realized, said liquid crystal electro-optical device comprises a liquid crystal layer and means for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer in the direction parallel to the substrate, wherein the liquid crystal layer comprises a liquid crystal material dispersed in a polymer material. Also a liquid crystal electro-optical device comprising a liquid crystal layer disposed on a substrate is included, wherein the transmission mode or the dispersion mode of an incident light is selected by an electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer in the direction parallel to the liquid crystal layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Hirakata, Takeshi Nishi, Rumo Satake
  • Patent number: 6445431
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display including (a) a backlight source having a dominant emission peak at 380-420 nm, (b) a first polarization layer for selecting a light directed in a predetermined direction among lights emitted from the backlight source, (c) a second polarization layer for receiving a light selected by the first polarization layer, (d) first and second transparent substrates, (e) first and second transparent electrodes, (f) a liquid crystal layer, and (g) a fluorescent material layer receiving lights from the backlight source and emitting a light therefrom. The second polarization layer is located intermediate between the first and second transparent substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Nose, Setuo Kaneko, Masayoshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6445434
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal layer, an alignment layer orientating the liquid crystal layer, and a driving circuit that drives the liquid crystal layer. The alignment layer is divided into a plurality of specified regions, each having a recognizable size. The orientation direction of adjacent regions is different from one another. This makes it difficult to resolve a displayed image from directions other than that from the front of the display, and instead a fixed pattern is seen when the display is viewed from directions other than that from the front. This fixed pattern can be chosen as desired and can be, e.g., a figure or a trade name of a product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Kohki Takato, Seiichi Nakamura
  • Patent number: 6445432
    Abstract: First and second transparent substrates which are arranged to face each other are provided to a color liquid crystal display panel. A liquid crystal layer is provided between the first and the second transparent substrates. A plurality of thin film transistors are provided on the first transparent substrate. An insulation film provided on the first transparent substrate so as to cover the thin film transistors. A color filter which includes first to third color layers stacked on the insulation layer is provided. A contacting color layer is provided on the insulation film in a region above the thin film transistors. The contacting color layer has at least one color layer selected from a group of composed of the first to third color layers. A black matrix is provided on the contacting color layer. The black matrix has opening portions for transmitting light from the color filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Yuji Yamamoto, Mamoru Okamoto, Michiaki Sakamoto, Takahiko Watanabe, Hironori Kikkawa, Muneo Maruyama
  • Patent number: 6445429
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display panel in a mobile telephone is directly mounted to either a printed circuit board or a frame portion of a mobile telecommunication instrument, e.g., a telephone. An angular mounting structure for the liquid crystal display panel has a pair of support ribs that extend outwardly from a substantially planar portion of a frame, or back cover, of a telephone. Thus, the need for additional mounting parts is obviated. In one embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel is biasedly received within recesses provided on distal ends of support ribs extending from the frame portion. Preferably, the distal ends of the ribs have distal end surfaces which are adapted to fixedly support the liquid crystal display panel in predefined nonparallel relationship with respect to the planar portion of the back cover, with the aid of an adhesive material, e.g., a two sided adhesive tape. A method of assembly for mounting the liquid crystal display using the two sided adhesive tape is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)
    Inventors: Erik Möster, Paul Larsson, Mats Olsson, Olof Simonsson, Mats Larsson, Rafael Portela
  • Patent number: 6445436
    Abstract: A liquid crystal sealing device which supplies sealing material for sealing liquid crystal injection holes of sealing areas of a multiplicity of liquid crystal cells simultaneously. This device has a multiplicity of pins which are arranged to match the arrangement of the sealing areas of the multiplicity of liquid crystal cells so that the sealing material can be transferred from a container storing the sealing material to the corresponding sealing area of the liquid crystal cell. This device also has a reciprocating mechanism for reciprocating the multiplicity of pins, as one unit, between a position where the sealing area is to be positioned and the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Lan Technical Service Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiie Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 6445438
    Abstract: The liquid crystal display device of this invention includes a first substrate, a second substrate opposing the first substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first and the second substrates, wherein the liquid crystal layer includes a polymer region and a liquid crystal domain surrounded by the polymer region in which liquid crystal molecules are oriented in an axial symmetrical manner, the first substrate includes a dry film having a concave portion on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer, and a symmetric axis in the liquid crystal domain substantially extends through the concave portion and is substantially perpendicular to the first substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Wataru Horie, Takayoshi Nagayasu, Toshio Fujii
  • Patent number: 6445433
    Abstract: A light valve capable of operating in an “off” state for reflecting light and in an “on” state for diffracting and reflecting light. The valve includes a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of electrodes formed therein for receiving voltages and for generating an electric field in response to the received voltages. A layer of transparent deformable dielectric material is disposed on the reflective electrodes which deforms in response to the generated electric field. When the valve is in its “on” state, the electric field causes deformities in the dielectric material which diffract incident light reflected off of the valve. In another embodiment, the dielectric material is placed on the reflective electrodes or on a transparent substrate having a transparent electrode formed thereon. The transparent substrate is then disposed in spaced relation from the semiconductor substrate containing the reflective electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    Inventor: Tapani Levola