Patents by Inventor Takeshi Nishi

Takeshi Nishi 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: 20120228661
    Abstract: External light is reflected due to a difference in refractive indices of a black matrix and a glass substrate. When the black matrix is a black resin, there is a difference in refractive indices of the black resin and a first substrate. Also, there is a difference in refractive indices of the colored layer and the first substrate. Therefore, external light is slightly reflected. There is a problem in that the reflected light reduces contrast. A structure in which one polarizing element having dichroism is interposed between a pair of substrates is employed, and a light interference layer is provided between a color filter and a glass substrate, whereby a difference in refractive indices is moderated to reduce light reflection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2012
    Publication date: September 13, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuji ISHITANI, Daisuke Kubota, Takeshi Nishi
  • Patent number: 8247250
    Abstract: An object is to uniformly align liquid crystal molecules without requiring a step of forming an alignment film. A material for forming a self-assembled monolayer is dispersed in a liquid crystal material, and the mixture is interposed between a pair of substrates by a liquid crystal injection method or a liquid crystal dropping method. A silane coupling agent (the material for forming a self-assembled monolayer) injected or dropped with the liquid crystal material adsorbs to a substrate interface (or a surface of an electrode formed over a substrate) after the injection or dropping, thereby forming a self-assembled monolayer. This self-assembled monolayer serves as an alignment film, and enables long axes of liquid crystal molecules to be approximately perpendicular to a substrate and the liquid crystal molecules to be uniformly aligned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Daisuke Kubota, Takeshi Nishi, Akio Yamashita
  • Patent number: 8243233
    Abstract: A liquid crystal device comprising: a pair of substrates having an electrode arrangement thereon; an orientation control means provided on at least one of said substrates; and a ferroelectric or antiferroelectric liquid crystal layer interposed between said substrates, said liquid crystal layer being uniaxially oriented by virtue of said orientation control means, wherein means for suppressing an orientation control effect of said orientation control means with respect to said liquid crystal layer is provided between said liquid crystal layer and said orientation control means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshimitsu Konuma, Takeshi Nishi, Michio Shimizu, Harumi Mori, Kouji Moriya, Satoshi Murakami
  • Patent number: 8237349
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an antireflective film having an anti-reflection function with which reflection of external light which is incident on the antireflective film can be further reduced and a high-visibility display device having such an antireflective film. The tops of the plurality of pyramidal projections are evenly spaced and each side of the base of a pyramidal projection is in contact with one side of the base of an adjacent pyramidal projection. That is, one pyramidal projection is surrounded by other pyramidal projections, and the base of the pyramidal projection and the base of the adjacent pyramidal projection have a side in common.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jiro Nishida, Yuji Egi, Takeshi Nishi, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8237346
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a PDP and an FED with excellent visibility and a high level of reliability that each have an antireflective function by which reflection of external light can be reduced. A plurality of adjacent pyramidal-shaped projections and an antireflective layer equipped with a covering film that covers the projections are provided. The reflection of light is prevented by the index of refraction of incident light from external being changed by a pyramid, which is a physical shape, projecting out toward an external side (atmosphere side) of a substrate that is to be used as a display screen as well as by the covering film used to cover the projections being formed of a material that has a higher index of refraction than the index of refraction of the pyramidal projection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Egi, Jiro Nishida, Takeshi Nishi
  • Publication number: 20120194754
    Abstract: There is disclosed a lightweight and small liquid crystal display which achieves low power consumption and in which the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal material is compensated for in order to enhance the viewing angle characteristics and the response speed of the liquid crystal material. Display electrodes and a common electrode are formed on one of the substrates. The orientation of the liquid crystal material is of the HAN (hybrid alignment nematic) type. This compensates for the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal material and improves the response speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2012
    Publication date: August 2, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Takeshi NISHI
  • Publication number: 20120176560
    Abstract: In an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, a plurality of pixels connected to thin film transistors (TFTs) are arranged in an active matrix form in a pixel portion, and driven by a driver circuit portion. The pixel portion and the driver circuit portion are formed on one of a pair of insulating substrates. A liquid crystal material is interposed between the insulating substrates. An black matrix material made of an organic resin is formed over the one insulating substrate in which the driver circuit portion has been formed. An flat film is formed on the black matrix material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2012
    Publication date: July 12, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Takeshi Nishi
  • Publication number: 20120168788
    Abstract: It is an object to manufacture a highly reliable backlight device with less color unevenness and less luminance unevenness, and a high-performance and highly reliable display device including the backlight device, which can display a high quality image. A light emitting diode (LED) is used as a light source of a backlight device and thermoelectric elements are provided in a chassis for holding the light emitting diode so as to surround the light emitting diode (the thermoelectric elements are provided under the light emitting diode and on the four sides thereof). A temperature in the backlight device is adjusted by cooling and heating by the thermoelectric elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2012
    Publication date: July 5, 2012
    Inventors: Koji Moriya, Takeshi Nishi
  • Patent number: 8212968
    Abstract: A liquid crystal device comprising: a pair of substrates having an electrode arrangement thereon; an orientation control means provided on at least one of said substrates; and a ferroelectric or antiferroelectric liquid crystal layer interposed between said substrates, said liquid crystal layer being uniaxially oriented by virtue of said orientation control means, wherein means for suppressing an orientation control effect of said orientation control means with respect to said liquid crystal layer is provided between said liquid crystal layer and said orientation control means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshimitsu Konuma, Takeshi Nishi, Michio Shimizu, Harumi Mori, Kouji Moriya, Satoshi Murakami
  • Patent number: 8203686
    Abstract: To improve the response speed of liquid crystal molecules when a liquid crystal display device is changed from an on state to an off state. A liquid crystal display device that includes a liquid crystal material between a substrate and a counter substrate; a plurality of pixels over the substrate; and a microstructure which is provided over the substrate, is in contact with the liquid crystal material, and includes a movable portion and a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device are provided. The microstructure may include a lower electrode, an upper electrode, and a space between the lower electrode and the upper electrode. The microstructure is manufactured through the steps of forming the lower electrode over the substrate, forming a sacrificial layer over the lower electrode, forming the upper electrode over the sacrificial layer, and removing the sacrificial layer by etching to form the space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kaoru Hatano, Takeshi Nishi, Shuji Fukai
  • Patent number: 8199300
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate opposed to the first substrate with a gap therebetween, a thin film transistor formed over the first substrate, an interlayer insulating film formed over the thin film transistor, a pixel electrode electrically connected to the thin film transistor, at least one common electrode formed over the interlayer insulating film such that an electric field in parallel with the first substrate is produced by the common electrode and the pixel electrode, and a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Hirakata, Takeshi Nishi, Rumo Satake
  • Patent number: 8189139
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a display device having a high contrast ratio by a simple and easy method. Another object of the present invention is to manufacture such a display device having a high contrast ratio at low cost. The present invention relates to a display device including a first substrate; a second substrate; a layer including a display element, wherein the layer including the display element is interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate; and stacked polarizers on the outer side of the first substrate or the second substrate. The stacked polarizers are arranged to be in a parallel Nicols state and the wavelength distributions of the extinction coefficients of the stacked polarizers are different from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuji Ishitani, Takeshi Nishi, Yuji Egi
  • Patent number: 8189141
    Abstract: External light is reflected due to a difference in refractive indices of a black matrix and a glass substrate. When the black matrix is a black resin, there is a difference in refractive indices of the black resin and a first substrate. Also, there is a difference in refractive indices of the colored layer and the first substrate. Therefore, external light is slightly reflected. There is a problem in that the reflected light reduces contrast. A structure in which one polarizing element having dichroism is interposed between a pair of substrates is employed, and a light interference layer is provided between a color filter and a glass substrate, whereby a difference in refractive indices is moderated to reduce light reflection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuji Ishitani, Daisuke Kubota, Takeshi Nishi
  • Publication number: 20120113378
    Abstract: To control the positioning of a spacer more accurately in a liquid crystal display device to prevent display defects due to incorrect positioning in a display region. To provide a liquid crystal display device with higher image quality and reliability, and to provide a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device with high yield. In a liquid crystal display device, a region onto which a spherical spacer is discharged is subjected to liquid-repellent treatment in order to reduce the wettability with respect to a liquid in which the spherical spacer is dispersed. The liquid (the droplet) does not spread over the liquid-repellent region and is dried while moving the spherical spacer toward the center of the liquid. Thus, incorrect positioning shortly after discharging, which has been caused by the loss of control in the liquid, can be corrected by moving the spherical spacer while drying the liquid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2012
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Erika TAKAHASHI, Gen FUJII, Shuji FUKAI, Takeshi NISHI
  • Patent number: 8164726
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a high-visibility antireflection film having an antireflection function which can further reduce reflection and a display device that has the antireflection film. A plurality of projections in a pyramidal shape (hereinafter, referred to as pyramidal projection) that are adjacent to each other are provided, and the refractive index of the projection is made to change by the physical pyramidal shape to the outer side (air side) from a surface of a display screen, so that reflection of light is prevented. In addition, the plurality of pyramidal projections are each covered with a film formed of a material having a higher refractive index than the pyramidal projections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Egi, Jiro Nishida, Takeshi Nishi
  • Patent number: 8164245
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a plasma display and a field emission display that each have high visibility and an anti-reflection function that can further reduce reflection of incident light from external. Reflection of light can be prevented by having an anti-reflection layer that geometrically includes a plurality of adjacent pyramidal projections. In addition, a plurality of hexagonal pyramidal projections, each of which is provided with a protective layer formed of a material having a lower refractive index than a refractive index of the pyramidal projection so as to fill a space among the plurality of pyramidal projections, can be provided to be packed together without any spaces. Further, six sides of a pyramidal projection face different directions with respect to a base. Therefore, light can be diffused in many directions efficiently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jiro Nishida, Yuji Egi, Takeshi Nishi, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8164557
    Abstract: In the case of conducting an overdriving with a liquid crystal display device, the circuit for comparing the previous and present gray-scale data, the circuit for converting the gray-scale data upon the comparison result, and the like complicate the structure of the liquid crystal display device. Further, since hold driving by which the voltage applied is kept throughout one frame period is conducted in a liquid crystal display device, it is not sufficient to decrease the rise time due to high applied voltage for a countermeasure against blur of moving images. In the present invention, in one frame period, a high voltage is applied to a liquid crystal element and a constant voltage is applied after the high voltage is applied. The absolute value of the high voltage is equal to or higher than the constant voltage, in other words, equal to or higher than a reference voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Daisuke Kubota, Takeshi Nishi
  • Publication number: 20120094411
    Abstract: In a horizontal electric field drive type liquid crystal electro-optic device, a gate electrode, a source electrode, a drain electrode, a semiconductor film and a common electrode are formed on a glass substrate and a liquid crystal material is driven by controlling the strength of an electric field substantially parallel to the glass substrate. The electrodes and the semiconductor film are made curved, for example semi-circular or semi-elliptical, in sectional profile. These curved sectional profiles can be formed by suitably selecting and combining various patterning and etching methods.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2011
    Publication date: April 19, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Takeshi Nishi, Rumo Satake
  • Patent number: 8154697
    Abstract: There is disclosed a lightweight and small liquid crystal display which achieves low power consumption and in which the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal material is compensated for in order to enhance the viewing angle characteristics and the response speed of the liquid crystal material. Display electrodes and a common electrode are formed on one of the substrates. The orientation of the liquid crystal material is of the HAN (hybrid alignment nematic) type. This compensates for the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal material and improves the response speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Takeshi Nishi
  • Publication number: 20120081909
    Abstract: An anti-reflection film that can provide high visibility and has an anti-reflection function by which reflection of incident light from external can be further reduced, and a display device having such an anti-reflection film. A plurality of contiguous pyramidal projections is arranged in a geometric pattern, so that reflection of incident light is prevented. In addition, a protective layer formed of a material having a lower refractive index than the pyramidal projections is provided so as to fill a space between the plurality of pyramidal projections. The plurality of pyramidal projections has a hexagonal shape and can be densely arranged with no space therebetween. Further, since six sides of each pyramidal projection are provided at a different angle from the base, light can be effectively scattered in many directions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2011
    Publication date: April 5, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jiro NISHIDA, Yuji Egi, Takeshi Nishi, Shunpei Yamazaki