Patents Examined by William L. Sikes
  • Patent number: 6411352
    Abstract: A slim liquid crystal display is adapted to fixing a printed circuit board (PCB) to a frame and making a slimmer liquid crystal display. The slim liquid crystal display includes a frame mounted with a liquid crystal module, a printed circuit board, and a board holder engaged with the frame and loaded on the printed circuit board, thereby securing the printed circuit board to the frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: LG. Philips LCD Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Byoung Ku Kim
  • Patent number: 6411359
    Abstract: A frame area of a liquid crystal display device is reduced by improving the layouts of extraction lines DTM of drain wiring of a TFT liquid crystal display device, a driving IC of the TFT liquid crystal display device and a flexible board FPC2 for a drain driving circuit of the TFT liquid crystal display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Device Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kengo Kobayashi, Kaoru Hasegawa, Katsuhiko Yarita, Yoshio Toriyama
  • Patent number: 6411350
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing an electrode substrate includes providing an insulating substrate and forming a first conductive layer on the insulating substrate. The first conductive layer has a narrowed wiring region and forms a first wiring pattern and a second wiring pattern. The narrowed wiring region defines a boundary region disposed between the first wiring pattern and the second wiring pattern. The method also includes forming a second conductive layer in electrical contact with the first conductive layer. The second conductive layer has a narrowed wiring region and forms a third wiring pattern and a fourth wiring pattern. The narrowed wiring region of the second conductive layer defines another boundary region disposed between the third wiring pattern and the second wiring pattern. The first and second conductive layers are formed such that the boundary regions of each of the first and second conductive layers do not overlap each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tadashi Ejiri, Ryuji Tada
  • Patent number: 6411354
    Abstract: A broad class of lyotropic liquid crystals of a non-surfactant nature, the so-called lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs), are alignable in bulk. LCLCs can be aligned in bulk as a uniform liquid crystalline monodomain within a closed cell. The method for bulk alignment of LCLCs is based on a unidirectional treatment of the aligning substrate such as a polymer layer. The feature of controlling the alignment of LCLCs enables one to create practical devices from them. For example, bulk alignment of LCLCs allows one to use them in detection and amplification of ligands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Kent State University
    Inventors: Oleg D. Lavrentovich, Tomohiro Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 6411351
    Abstract: An active matrix type display device includes a discharge pattern or a short ring. The display device includes an active matrix circuit and a driver circuit for driving said active matrix circuit. The active matrix circuit and the driver circuit are provided over the same substrate and at least the active matrix circuit is surrounded by discharge patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hongyong Zhang, Satoshi Teramoto
  • Patent number: 6411357
    Abstract: An electrode structure for a liquid crystal display includes a layer of pixel electrodes each having a herringbone-shaped structure, a passivation layer and a layer of common electrodes. The pixel electrodes are formed in parallel above the common electrodes. The herringbone-shaped structure of a pixel electrode has a predefined turning angle between 45 degrees to 90 degrees. The pixel electrode structure allows the liquid crystals in the display to rotate in two directions, clockwise and counterclockwise, to compensate for the color dispersion caused by a wide viewing angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Dai-Liang Ting, Lisen Chuang, Ching-Chao Chang
  • Patent number: 6411353
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display element having a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between a pair of upper and lower substrates, a flexible circuit board disposed around a periphery of the liquid crystal display element, an illuminating light source having a line light source, a light guide and a reflector and disposed behind the liquid crystal display element, a metal upper case having a sidewall bent back and a display window, a resin lower case for housing the illuminating light source. The upper and lower cases are clamped by crimping plural nails formed in the sidewall of the upper case at an outer surface of the lower case after stacking the liquid crystal display element, the flexible circuit board and the illuminating light source between the upper and lower cases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsuhiko Yarita, Kaoru Hasegawa, Kengo Kobayashi, Yoshio Toriyama
  • Patent number: 6411358
    Abstract: A gate wire including a gate line, a gate electrode, a gate pad and a gate line connector and a common signal wire are formed on a substrate, and a gate insulating layer is formed over the gate wire and the common signal wire. A semiconductor layer and an ohmic contact layer are sequentially formed on the gate insulating layer, a data wire including a source and a drain electrode, a data line, a data pad and a data line connector and a pixel electrode are formed thereon. The thickness of the data wire and the pixel electrode is equal to or less than 500 Å. A passivation layer is formed on the data wire and the pixel electrode, a redundant data wire is formed thereon, and a redundant gate pad and a redundant gate line connector are formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun-Ho Song, Kyeong-Nam Lee
  • Patent number: 6407791
    Abstract: A multi-domain liquid crystal display device having sharp contrast and excellent viewing angle characteristics is provided without increased complicated processes such as microfabrication for a common electrode or without the necessity for highly sophisticated laminating technology. The multi-domain liquid crystal display device is composed of a control electrode connected to a source terminal being one of terminals of a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) serving as a switching device, a picture electrode having an aperture section provided with one coupling capacitor connected between the pixel electrode and the control electrode, wherein a partial voltage of a signal voltage is applied to the pixel electrode through the other coupling capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Teruaki Suzuki, Masayoshi Suzuki, Toshiya Ishii, Hiroshi Hayama, Hiroshi Kanoh, Naoyasu Ikeda, Ken-Ichi Takatori, Takashi Nose, Takahiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6407782
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of fabricating array substrates (and the resulting substrates themselves) for use in a liquid crystal display device, one such method including: forming a gate line having a gate electrode on a substrate; forming a color filter layer on the substrate, the color filter layer being spaced apart; forming an insulating layer; forming a semiconductor layer and an ohmic contact layer; forming a data line crossing the gate line; forming source and drain electrodes on the active layer to produce an intermediate structure; forming a protecting layer of transparent insulating material on the intermediate structure; and forming a pixel electrode on the protecting layer while contacting the drain electrode through the drain contact hole. Some processing steps can be eliminated by using the gate and date lines as the black matrix. Having the insulation layer between data line and pixel electrode include BCB can reduce the parasitic capacitance between them.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: LG. Philips LCD Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Woong-Kwon Kim
  • Patent number: 6407784
    Abstract: There is provided a reflection type liquid crystal display including (a) a first substrate, (b) a second substrate having a transparent electrode formed thereon in facing relation to the first substrate, and (c) a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first and second substrates, the first substrate including (a1) an insulating substrate, (a2) a switching device fabricated on the insulating substrate, (a3) at least one projection projecting towards the second substrate and formed on the insulating substrate in a line with the switching device, (a4) a first insulating film covering both the switching device and the projection therewith and having first raised and recessed portions formed in accordance with height of the switching device and the projection, and (a5) a light-reflective plate formed over the first insulating film and having second raised and recessed portions formed over the first raised and recessed portions, the switching device being in electrical connection with the light-reflective pla
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kanou, Yuichi Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 6407785
    Abstract: A reflection type semiconductor display device which can make satisfactory display even when external light is not satisfactorily intense is provided. A reflection type semiconductor display device according to the present invention can take in light other than incident light on a liquid crystal panel to be an auxiliary light source using optical fibers, and thus, display of high quality level can be made even indoors or in a place where light is faint. Further, by combining the semiconductor display device with a front light, insufficient amount of light can be supplemented with the front light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 6407792
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate and a second substrate facing the first substrate. A liquid crystal layer is provided between the first and second substrates. First and second gate lines are extending in a first direction, and first and second drain lines are extending in a second direction. A pixel area is defined by the gate lines and drain lines. A counter electrode assigned to the pixel area and having a hollow portion is provided adjacent to a solid portion. The hollow and solid portions are extending in the second direction. One hollow portion is provided after N number of the solid portions, the N being a number equal to or greater than 3. A pixel electrode is assigned to the pixel area and is opposing the counter electrode. The pixel electrode has a connecting portion extending in the first direction and first and second extending portions extending in the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masuyuki Ohta, Junichi Ohwada, Nobutake Konishi, Masayuki Hikiba
  • Patent number: 6407787
    Abstract: The reflective liquid crystal display device uses only one polarizing film but achieves display of bright white and achromatic color with high contrast. The twisting angle of a nematic liquid crystal is set to 45° to 90°, and the retardation value of a liquid crystal layer is set to &Dgr;nLC·dLC=0.20 &mgr;m to 0.30 &mgr;m. Two retardation films are configured with a structural component having small chromatic dispersion in refractive index anisotropy and a z coefficient from 03 to 1.0. Retardation values of these two retardation films are set to RF1=0.23 &mgr;m to 0.28 &mgr;m, and RF2=0.13 &mgr;m to 0.18 &mgr;m. When the angle of an absorption axis direction of the polarizing film is denoted by &phgr;P, and the angles of retardation axes directions of the two retardation films are denoted by &phgr;F1 and &phgr;F2, a set of Formulae &phgr;P=75°-195°, &phgr;P-&phgr;F1=95°-115°, and &phgr;P-&phgr;F2=155°-175° are satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoaki Sekime, Hisanori Yamaguchi, Yoshio Iwai
  • Patent number: 6404468
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display unit having uniformity of luminance and color in a region with a large angle of view is obtained. The liquid crystal display unit includes: a liquid crystal holding member having a display surface and a back surface; first and second electrodes formed on planes which are almost parallel to the back surface of liquid crystal holding member for generating an electric field which is almost parallel to the back surface; and a light quantity adjusting member formed on the side of the back surface of liquid crystal holding member for decreasing a quantity of light diagonally directed from the back surface through the display surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasunori Niwano, Kazuhiro Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 6404479
    Abstract: An electronic device having an active matrix Liquid Crystal Device comprising a sealing layer with a region overlapping an insulating film formed over another insulating film, which extends beyond said insulating film and forms on a peripheral switching device, a region in contact with said another insulating film, and a region where said second insulating film is not formed over said another insulating film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hongyong Zhang, Shunpei Yamazaki, Satoshi Teramoto, Yoshiharu Hirakata
  • Patent number: 6404465
    Abstract: Parasitic capacity between Cs lines and source lines forming a pixel section is reduced, whereby characteristic resistant to crosstalk is achieved, aperture ratio is increased, and brightness of LCD is increased. The Cs lines are arranged on the source lines in such a manner as to cover the source lines, and pixel electrodes are arranged and formed on the Cs lines in such a manner as to partially overlap. By forming a structure in which the source lines, the Cs lines and the pixel electrodes are laminated in order, parasitic capacity between the Cs lines and the source lines forming a pixel section can be reduced, and crosstalk can be minimized. As a distance between the source lines and the pixel electrodes can be reduced from the viewpoint of a plan view, aperture ratio can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Advanced Display
    Inventors: Akio Nakayama, Yoshinori Numano
  • Patent number: 6404473
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device comprising a wiring line of a laminated structure over an insulating substrate. The laminated structure includes a first layer made of a first metal layer, and a second layer formed over the first layer and made of a second metal layer having the same principal component as that of the first metal layer but a different added element and/or a different composition. The first layer has a side end face of a right-tapered shape, whereas the second layer has a side end face set at a right angle or counter-tapered with respect to the substrate face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiki Kaneko, Yuichi Hashimoto, Kikuo Ono, Kazuhiro Ohhara, Takahiro Ochiai, Masaru Takabatake, Kenichi Onisawa, Kenichi Cyahara
  • Patent number: 6404480
    Abstract: There is disclosed a contact structure for electrically connecting conducting lines formed on a first substrate of an electrooptical device such as a liquid crystal display with conducting lines formed on a second substrate via conducting spacers while assuring a uniform cell gap among different cells if the interlayer dielectric film thickness is nonuniform across the cell or among different cells. A first conducting film and a dielectric film are deposited on the first substrate. Openings are formed in the dielectric film. A second conducting film covers the dielectric film left and the openings. The conducting spacers electrically connect the second conducting film over the first substrate with a third conducting film on the second substrate. The cell gap depends only on the size of the spacers, which maintain the cell gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Hirakata, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 6404475
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device suitable for generating an electric field sufficiently between the pixel electrode and the counter electrode to control the orientations of the liquid crystal molecules lying therebetween has a simple structure. A liquid crystal display device has a pair of substrates superposed on one another between which a liquid crystal layer is sealed, at least one video signal line and at least one pixel being formed on a surface of one of the pair of substrates confronting the liquid crystal layer. The pixel has at least one pixel electrode and at least two counter electrodes spaced from each other, and one of the counter electrodes is disposed adjacent to the one video signal line. The one video signal line and the one of the counter electrodes are spaced from one another by at least two insulating regions disposed along the surface, and one of the insulating regions comprises a material having a higher permittivity than that of the other regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Nakayoshi, Kikuo Ono, Junichi Hirakata, Masahiro Ishii, Masuyuki Ohta, Nobuyuki Suzuki