Abstract: A liquid crystal display unit produces image carrying light through a liquid crystal layer having a positive anisotropy of refractive index; an optically compensating layer with a negative anisotropy of refractive index is provided on an optical path of the image carrying light so as to compensate the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal, and the image carrying light is incident onto an optically diffusing layer after the optical compensation so as to widen the viewing angle of the liquid crystal display unit without deterioration of image contrast.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display cell comprises two cell walls spaced apart to enclose a layer of liquid crystal material. The cell walls carry electrode structures, e.g. arranged in rows and columns to give an x, y matrix of addressable elements or pixels. The liquid crystal material is aligned by a grating (grooved) structure on one or both cell walls. This grating structure is a bigrating with one symmetrical grating and an asymmetric grating which may be orthogonal to the symmetric grating. The grooves of the asymmetric grating varying their depth or asymmetry along the lengths to give a locally varying pretilt whose longer range average provides a pretilt in a preferred range, e.g. about 2-24 degrees.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display unit using a back light uses a light guiding sheet to transfer to a liquid crystal display panel the light from a light source, and provides a liquid crystal display unit where a display of images is obtained with uniform brightness and high brightness. The light guiding sheet is formed by stacking two or more kinds of transparent amorphous layers different in refractive index at a predetermined angle with respect to a sheet surface. This light guiding sheet is constructed so as to be employed in a back light.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device is constituted by a first electrode substrate having thereon a group of first electrodes, a second electrode substrate having thereon a group of second electrodes intersecting the first electrodes, and a liquid crystal disposed between the first and second electrode substrates so as to form a pixel at each intersection of the first and second electrodes. The liquid crystal device is driven for gradational display by selecting and writing in a pixel plural times in one frame of display for gradational display, wherein a second and a subsequent writing among the plural times of writing is performed by applying a bipolar pulse of identical shapes in positive and negative polarities.

Abstract: Material made up of a thin layer between two surfaces, a first and a second, to be used as the third layer of a transparent goggles face, the first layer being a screen and the second layer being a thickness layer, remarkable in that the material consists of a formable transparent polymer matrix having a refractive index and containing micro-cavities in the form of lenses, the micro-cavities being made from a transparent material different from that of the matrix, the refractive index of the material of the micro-cavities changing under the influence of an electric field applied across it, for a first field value the refractive index being equal to that of the matrix, and for a second field value being greater than that of the matrix, a pair of electrodes being associated with each micro-cavity.

Abstract: An electro-optical plasma addressing device comprises a first substrate; a set of parallel first electrodes formed on the first substrate, a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate; a set of parallel second electrodes formed on the second substrate; a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first and second substrates; walls formed on the second electrodes so as to form discharge chambers by partitioning a space formed between the liquid crystal layer and the second substrates; and an ionizable gas sealed in the discharge chambers. Each second electrode has a terminal portion, resistive portions connected to the terminal portion, and discharge portions connected respectively to the extremities of the resistive portions, and these portions of the second electrode are formed in a plane.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device including a first transparent insulating substrate having a common electode formed theron; a second transparent insulating substrate having gate lines formed in a first direction; data lines formed in a second direction so as to intersect said gate lines, liquid crystal display cells, each at a crosspoint of said gate and data lines; the cells having a thin film transistor and a display electrode; a light shielding layer having an aperture for exposing a display area of each display electrode; a liquid crystal material retained between said first and second substrates, and a liquid crystal orientating layer on at least one of the substrates, the improvement comprising, the light shielding layer at an edge of said aperture being located in an up stream direction with respect to a rubbing direction of the orientating layer of the substrate, comprising a thin light shielding layer formed at a periphery of the display electrode for defining an edge of the aperture, and a thick l

Abstract: There is provided a display device in a viewfinder, including a diffraction grating whose shape is determined at an interface between first and second materials, at least one of the first and second materials being adapted to have a variable refractive index for light reflected by an object to be photographed, and control means for changing the refractive index of the first and/or second materials, wherein the control means causes the light from the object to substantially pass through the diffraction grating in a first state and causes the diffraction grating to partially diffract the light from the object to display a pattern in a second state.

Abstract: A driving method for an optical modulation device comprising matrix picture elements each formed at intersecting points of scanning lines and data lines between which a bistable optical modulation material represented by a ferroelectric liquid crystal is interposed. The driving method comprises an erasure step of applying a voltage signal orienting the optical modulation material to the first stable state between the scanning and data lines, at all or a part of the matrix picture elements, and a writing step of sequentially applying a scanning selection signal to the scanning lines and applying an information orientation signal orienting the optical modulation material to the second stable state to the data lines in phase with the scanning selection signal.

Abstract: A bi-directional shift register capable of transferring bit data in either a forward or reverse direction. The shift register includes multiple transfer elements (e.g., flip-flop circuits) cascaded together which provide synchronous transfer of the bit data from one stage to an adjacent stage in either direction. The shift register further includes two switching circuits for electrically connecting an input terminal of one transfer element to an output terminal of the adjacent transfer element. The first switching circuit is enabled to cause the transfer of the bit data in the forward direction, and the second switching circuit is enabled to cause the transfer of the bit data in the reverse direction.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device and its driving method of the present invention have a voltage application scheme to control a stable condition of a gap between pixels, by applying a voltage to a liquid crystal panel in which ferroelectric liquid crystal is sandwiched between substrates each having a plurality of electrodes. It is possible to implement the black matrix conditions with a simple configuration without a light shielding layer by controlling the stable condition of the gap, to display a grey tone with a combination of pixels and a gap, or to raise the opening ratio by making the condition between adjacent pixels and a gap the same condition.

Abstract: A driving method for an optical modulation device comprising matrix picture elements each formed at intersecting points of scanning lines and data lines between which a bistable optical modulation material represented by a ferroelectric liquid crsytal is interposed. The driving method comprises an erasure step of applying a voltage signal orienting the optical modulation material to the first stable state between the scanning and data lines, at all or a part of the matrix picture elements, and a writing step of sequentially applying a scanning selection signal to the scanning lines and applying an information orientation signal orienting the optical modulation material to the second stable state to the data lines in phase with the scanning selection signal.

Abstract: An a:Si diode (7) for use in LCDs is located between two metal contacts (10, 15) which extend throughout the diode surface. This reduces the detrimental effect due to the light sensitivity of (amorphous) silicon. A MIM element (8) parallel to the diode (7) is obtained by having the metal contacts project further and by providing a thin layer of insulating material (13, 19) between these contacts.

Abstract: An active matrix liquid crystal display includes a number of scan lines, a number of signal lines intersecting the scan lines to cooperate with the scan lines so as to form a matrix. A number of driving thin film transistors are arranged in the form of a matrix and positioned one for each of intersecting points between the scan lines and the signal lines. Each of the driving thin film transistors is connected to one scan line and one signal line. A number of liquid crystal display elements are connected one to each of the driving thin film transistors so that the liquid crystal display elements are selectively driven by the associated thin film transistors. Each of the liquid crystal display elements has a display electrode, a counter electrode opposing the display electrode and a liquid crystal between the display electrode and the counter electrode.

Abstract: Liquid crystal devices whose light transmission properties are respectively responsive to the polarity of an applied voltage enable the realization of high-speed modulators useful for communication and display purposes. Such a polar effect is achieved by establishing asymmetrical interfacial interactions between the surfaces of a liquid crystal layer and alignment layers disposed in respective contact with the surfaces. Asymmetry is introduced in the form of either different anchoring strengths or different tilt angles for liquid crystal molecules at the two surfaces. In either case, both quiescently and in response to an electric field applied perpendicular to the surfaces of the liquid crystal layer, the contour of the longitudinal axes of the molecules is thereby established to have different curvatures, each less than about 45 degrees, at the two surfaces.

Abstract: An active liquid crystal matrix display panel has a plurality of display-driving circuit elements arranged in a matrix on one of the cell substrates, the circuit elements being interconnected by bus-bars. The circuit elements are produced by a group exposure method. The bus-bars are formed wider at the group exposure boundaries so as to ensure continuity of the bus-bars.

Abstract: A liquid-crystal multi-color display panel structure comprising a transparent substrate, pixel electrodes disposed on the substrate to form a matrix having columns each in a first direction and rows each in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the pixel electrodes consisting of those of first, second and third types respectively for displaying in first, second and third preselected colors, the pixel electrodes of each of row being each one and a half pitch distance offset from the pixel electrodes of the adjacent row, signal lines disposed between adjacent two columns of the matrix and extending in the first direction, scanning lines disposed in every other intervals between adjacent two rows of the matrix and extending in the second direction, switching transistors each having a first terminal connected to one of the pixel electrodes, a second terminal connected to one of the signal lines, a third terminal connected to one of the scanning lines to control the conductivity between the firs

Abstract: In a method of construction of an electrooptical display screen and especially a liquid-crystal screen, a control point of an image element is provided with a coupling element of ferroelectric material between an electrode and a control lead.

Abstract: A projection-type liquid-crystal display in which a Fresnel lens in placed on the exit side of the liquid crystal panel to focus the image toward a projection lens. Preferably, the Fresnel lens has a non-symmetric pattern so as to efficiently gather light propagating through the display panel at an oblique angle coinciding with a reorientation angle of the liquid crystal. Additional optics on the incident side of the panel, perhaps including another non-symmetric Fresnel lens, collimates the light at the oblique angle.

Abstract: An optical modulation device includes scanning electrodes and signal electrodes disposed opposite to and intersecting with the signal electrodes, and an optical modulation material disposed between the electrodes, a pixel being formed at each intersection of the electrodes so as to provide a matrix of pixels as a whole and having a contrast depending on the polarity of a voltage applied thereto. The device is driven by a method including, in a writing period for writing in the respective pixels on a selected scanning electrode: at least two repeating sets of phases, each set of phases comprising a state-determining phase for determining the contrast of a pixel and an auxiliary phase for not determining the contrast of the pixel.