Patents by Inventor Masaki Matsumori

Masaki Matsumori has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20110096277
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes: a pair of substrates at least one of which is transparent; a liquid crystal layer disposed between the pair of substrates; an electrode group formed on at least one substrate of the pair of substrates, for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer; a plurality of active elements connected to the electrode group; and a liquid crystal alignment film disposed on at least one substrate of the pair of substrates, in which the liquid crystal alignment film, which is formed by a photo-alignment process, contains polyimide formed using tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride and/or diamine each having a specific chemical structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2010
    Publication date: April 28, 2011
    Inventors: Shoichi UCHINO, Noboru Kunimatsu, Hidehiro Sonoda, Chikae Matsui, Yuko Matsumoto, Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Jun Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20110080547
    Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display device including: a pair of substrates, at least one of which is transparent; a liquid crystal layer arranged between the pair of substrates; an electrode group formed on at least one of the pair of substrates, for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer; and an alignment control film arranged on at least one of the pair of substrates, in which the alignment control film is made of a polyimide and a polyimide precursor, and the polyimide and the polyimide precursor have an aromatic ring and a cross-linking moiety in the main chain in chemical structure, are free from a side chain component having 2 or more carbon atoms in the aromatic ring, contain a cyclobutanetetracarboxylic dianhydride as a raw material, and are irradiated with light that has been substantially linearly polarized to provide an alignment regulating force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Publication date: April 7, 2011
    Inventors: Masaki MATSUMORI, Yasushi Tomioka
  • Patent number: 7916254
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display includes a pair of substrates including at least one transparent substrate, a liquid crystal layer arranged between the substrates, a plurality of electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer, a plurality of active elements connected to the electrodes, an alignment layer formed on the surface of each of the substrates in contact with the liquid crystal layer, and an optical means formed on at least one of the substrates to change the optical characteristics in accordance with the alignment condition of the particles of the liquid crystal layer. The taper angle at the ends of the electrodes is larger than 45 degrees but less than 90 degrees.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: Hitachi Displays, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Shigeru Matsuyama
  • Publication number: 20110051064
    Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display device includes: a first substrate (6); a second substrate (7); a liquid crystal layer (LC); a first alignment film (606) placed on the first substrate; a second alignment film (705) placed on the second substrate; and at least one of: a transparent layer (610) contacting the first alignment film on the other side of the liquid crystal layer and being lower in volume resistivity than the first alignment film; and a transparent layer (710) contacting the second alignment film on the other side of the liquid crystal layer and being lower in volume resistivity than the second alignment film, wherein the transparent layer contains polysiloxane expressed by Chemical Formula 1: where R1 and R2 each represent an alkyl group or alkoxy group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, or a hydroxyl group, and at least 30% of hydroxyl groups are contained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Inventors: Masaki MATSUMORI, Yasushi TOMIOKA
  • Patent number: 7884908
    Abstract: Each pixel has a transmissive area and a reflective area. A first alignment process area and a second alignment process area are placed such that an overlapping region is created in part of the reflective area. A region where the liquid crystal alignment direction shifts continuously is created in a boundary between the transmissive are a and the reflective are a without exception. A first liquid crystal alignment region is formed wider than the transmissive area, and a second liquid crystal alignment region is formed narrower than the reflective area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2011
    Assignee: Hitachi Displays, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoichi Hirota, Masaki Matsumori, Tetsuya Nagata, Shinichiro Oka
  • Publication number: 20100165278
    Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display device including: a plurality of column spacers and a first alignment film which are formed above the first substrate; an insulating layer which is formed on the second substrate and a second alignment film which is formed on the insulating layer; and column spacer receiving members which are provided between the insulating layer and the second alignment film in places opposed to the plurality of column spacers, the column spacer receiving members each being made of a material different from both of a material of the insulating layer and a material of the second alignment film, in which a thickness of the second alignment film in places above the column spacer receiving members is ? or less of a thickness of the second alignment film in places in which the second alignment film is formed directly on the insulating layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2009
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Inventors: Masaki MATSUMORI, Yasushi Tomioka, Kotaro Araya
  • Patent number: 7742138
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a liquid crystal display which reduces unsatisfactory display caused by distorted initial alignment direction in a liquid crystal alignment layer for IPS type displays, realizes stable liquid crystal alignment, is high in mass-productivity, and produces high-quality images of increased contrast ratio. The liquid crystal display contains alignment layers 109 placed between a pair of substrates 101 and 102, at least one of which is transparent, liquid crystal layer 110? sealed between the alignment layers, common electrode 103 and source electrode 105 for applying an electrical field to the liquid crystal layer, thin-film transistors connected to each of these electrodes, polarizer plate 114 provided on at least one of the substrates, wherein at least one of the alignment layers 109 is composed of a photo-reactive polyimide and/or polyamic acid which can be provided with a liquid crystal alignment capacity by being irradiated with essentially linearly polarized light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi Displays, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Shigeru Matsuyama
  • Publication number: 20100073609
    Abstract: Provided are a polarizer having high in-plane uniformity and high heat resistance, and a liquid crystal display (LCD) using the polarizer and having the following characteristics: the LCD is excellent in mass productivity, has the contrast ratio being improved, and has high image quality. The LCD includes: a pair of substrates at least one of which is transparent; a liquid crystal layer placed between the pair of substrates; an electrode group for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer, the electrode group being formed on at least one substrate of the pair of substrates; multiple active elements connected to the electrode group; and an alignment control film placed on at least one substrate of the pair of substrates, in which the molecules of a dichroism pigment aligned on at least one surface of the alignment control film and the dichroism pigment are cross-linked with a crosslinkable monomer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2009
    Publication date: March 25, 2010
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka
  • Publication number: 20100060836
    Abstract: An image retention phenomenon and black unevenness generated after long-time operation in the liquid crystal device are prevented. By using a material having a polyamide acid ester as a precursor less likely to adsorb impurities on a boundary for an alignment film and a material having a dielectric constant anisotropy ?? of 5 or less for liquid crystals, adsorption of an antioxidant dispersed in the liquid crystals is suppressed to prevent oxidation of the liquid crystals. The extent that impurities are intruded into the liquid crystals is reduced by restricting the dielectric constant anisotropy ?? of the liquid crystals to 5 or less, thereby capable of preventing the image retention phenomenon and the black unevenness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Publication date: March 11, 2010
    Inventors: Noboru KUNIMATSU, Chikae MATSUI, Shigeru MATSUYAMA, Masaki MATSUMORI, Yasushi TOMIOKA, Katsumi KONDO
  • Publication number: 20090168002
    Abstract: Each pixel has a transmissive area and a reflective area. A first alignment process area and a second alignment process area are placed such that an overlapping region is created in part of the reflective area. A region where the liquid crystal alignment direction shifts continuously is created in a boundary between the transmissive are a and the reflective are a without exception. A first liquid crystal alignment region is formed wider than the transmissive area, and a second liquid crystal alignment region is formed narrower than the reflective area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2008
    Publication date: July 2, 2009
    Inventors: Shoichi Hirota, Masaki Matsumori, Tetsuya Nagata, Shinichiro Oka
  • Publication number: 20090103018
    Abstract: A glass substrate (101) being an active matrix substrate and a resin film substrate (102) being a counter electrode are opposingly arranged on a surface of an alignment layer 132, and a liquid crystal layer (110A) is arranged therebetween. Each of polarizing plates (118, 119) is formed on an outer surface of the glass substrate (101) and the resin film substrate (102) forming a counter electrode. An uniaxial absorption anisotropy is imparted to the resin film substrate (102).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2008
    Publication date: April 23, 2009
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Ayami Ohsato, Yasushi Tomioka
  • Publication number: 20090053430
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an IPS type liquid crystal display device superior in mass productivity and improved in image quality with a higher contrast ratio by decreasing the occurrence of defective display due to the disorder of the initial liquid crystal alignment by the liquid orientation control film and realizing stable alignment of liquid crystals. A liquid crystal display device comprises: a pair of substrates 101 and 102, at least one of which is transparent; a liquid crystal layer 110? disposed between the pair of substrates; a group of electrodes formed on at least one of the pair of substrates to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer; plural active elements 115 connected to the group of electrodes; and an orientation control film 109 disposed on at least one of the pair of substrates, wherein said orientation control film is made of a photosensitive polyimide and a polyamide acid ester and is given orientation control ability by being irradiated with substantially linearly polarized light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2008
    Publication date: February 26, 2009
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Noboru Kunimatsu
  • Publication number: 20080284949
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device having a wide view angle, reduced power consumption and high quality with an absorption axis of a polarizing plate and an optical axis of a retardation plate made to coincide with high accuracy without using expensive equipment and complicated steps. On a transparent substrate 11 is formed a retardation film 21 that is self-organized due to irregularities on a surface of a metal wire 12 formed on a wire grid polarizer to thereby generate a retardation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2008
    Publication date: November 20, 2008
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Katsuyuki Funahata
  • Publication number: 20080007666
    Abstract: The present invention is intended to attain an electrode structure and a pixel design which are the most suitable for effective utilization of optically isotropic liquid crystals in a device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2007
    Publication date: January 10, 2008
    Inventors: Shintaro Takeda, Osamu Itou, Masaki Matsumori
  • Publication number: 20070160778
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device that has an excellent mass-productivity and gives an image improved by the reduction of the chromaticity difference between white display and black display, the reduction of coloring and luminance in black display, and the improvement of the contrast ratio. In the present invention, of a pair of alignment films 131 and 132 formed on a pair of substrates 101 and 102, respectively, the alignment film 132 formed on the glass substrate 102 on the observer side is made of a material obtained by adding a photoisomerized compound to a photosensitive polymer and has anisotropic absorption all over the visible light wavelength region (approximately 400 nm to 750 nm).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2007
    Publication date: July 12, 2007
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tamioka, Noboru Kunimatsu
  • Publication number: 20060066788
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display apparatus including one pair of substrates, at least one of said substrates being transparent, one pair of polarizing plates arranged on the paired substrates respectively, a liquid crystal layer sandwiched by the paired substrates, a liquid crystal display panel in which an electrode group is formed on at least one of the paired substrates and is to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer, and a light source unit arranged on a rear surface of the liquid crystal display panel, a monoaxial absorption anisotropic layer provided between the paired polarizing plates. In such apparatus, a high contrast ratio can be achieved due to suppression of black luminance. Also, better display qualities can be achieved by reducing a blue changing phenomenon of black representation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2005
    Publication date: March 30, 2006
    Inventors: Yuka Utsumi, Yasushi Tomioka, Masaki Matsumori, Shigeru Matsuyama, Noboru Kunimatsu, Tsunenori Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20050271833
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a liquid crystal display which reduces unsatisfactory display caused by distorted initial alignment direction in a liquid crystal alignment layer for IPS type displays, realizes stable liquid crystal alignment, is high in mass-productivity, and produces high-quality images of increased contrast ratio. The liquid crystal display contains alignment layers 109 placed between a pair of substrates 101 and 102, at least one of which is transparent, liquid crystal layer 110? sealed between the alignment layers, common electrode 103 and source electrode 105 for applying an electrical field to the liquid crystal layer, thin-film transistors connected to each of these electrodes, polarizer plate 114 provided on at least one of the substrates, wherein at least one of the alignment layers 109 is composed of a photo-reactive polyimide and/or polyamic acid which can be provided with a liquid crystal alignment capacity by being irradiated with essentially linearly polarized light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2005
    Publication date: December 8, 2005
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Shigeru Matsuyama
  • Publication number: 20050088598
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display includes a pair of substrates including at least one transparent substrate, a liquid crystal layer arranged between the substrates, a plurality of electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer, a plurality of active elements connected to the electrodes, an alignment layer formed on the surface of each of the substrates in contact with the liquid crystal layer, and an optical means formed on at least one of the substrates to change the optical characteristics in accordance with the alignment condition of the particles of the liquid crystal layer. The taper angle at the ends of the electrodes is larger than 45 degrees but less than 90 degrees.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2004
    Publication date: April 28, 2005
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Shigeru Matsuyama