Abstract: A large-scale display device having a plurality of display units which each include a plurality of elongated plasma tubes each filled with a discharge gas, and at least one pair of display electrodes disposed outside the plasma tubes, voltage applying means which applies a drive voltage to the display electrodes to cause electric discharge in the plasma tubes for display. Vertically adjoining ones of the display units respectively have adjoining portions which are offset thicknesswise from each other for prevention of contact between the plasma tubes of the vertically adjoining display units. The voltage applying means is disposed away from the adjoining portions of the vertically adjoining display units.

Abstract: After rewriting the displayed image by applying a voltage corresponding to desired image data to a ferroelectric liquid crystal through TFTs at a predetermined cycle, the application of voltage to the ferroelectric liquid crystal is stopped, and the image displayed just before stopping the application of voltage is retained. In this memory display period, a gate-off voltage is applied to turn off the TFTs. In this memory display period, the emission intensity of a back-light is lowered compared to that in a normal display period. Before stopping the application of voltage to the ferroelectric liquid crystal, a voltage corresponding to an image to be displayed after stopping the application of voltage is applied. Before resuming the application of voltage corresponding to the image data to the ferroelectric liquid crystal, a voltage for causing all pixels to display black image is applied.

Abstract: A liquid crystal material is used in which the maximum angle of the optical axis change by liquid crystal molecule when a voltage of one polarity is applied is larger than 45 degrees and a condition of |2Ps·A|>|5Clc·A| is satisfied where Ps (nC/cm2) is the magnitude of the spontaneous polarization per unit area, A (cm2) is the electrode area of the pixel and Clc (nF/cm2) is the liquid crystal capacity per unit area. The transmittance in the liquid crystal part is increased and excellent display can be performed without the provision of a storage capacitor. Consequently, the storage capacitor is unnecessary, so that the aperture ratio of the liquid crystal panel can be increased.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device which has a pair of opposing substrates having a gap filled with a liquid crystal material, with a peripheral edge portion of the paired substrates being sealed by a sealing member, between the thickness (ts) of the sealing member and the thickness (tlc) of the liquid crystal layer, a relationship of ts/tlc?2, more preferably, ts/tlc?3, is satisfied. By making a difference smaller between a volume change in the liquid crystal material due to a temperature change and a volume change in a space in which the liquid crystal is sealed, defects caused by the volume difference are restrained from occurring. In order to achieve the relationship between ts and tlc, a flat layer is placed on one or both of the substrates.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device displays an image by stacking a plurality of liquid crystal panels, and by controlling a light transmittance with voltage application to liquid crystal of each panel, wherein during execution of voltage application to the liquid crystal of one of the panels, a voltage to the liquid crystal of the other panel serves as a non-display voltage. No image is displayed simultaneously on the two or more stacked liquid crystal panels. In the liquid crystal panel to which no voltage is applied and on which no image is displayed, the longitudinal axial direction of liquid crystal molecules coincides with the polarizing axial direction of polarizers, or is orthogonal to the polarizing axial direction; therefore, no influence is exerted on the overall double refraction, and the overall voltage-transmitted light intensity characteristic corresponds to the sum of the voltage-transmitted light intensity characteristics of the respective panels.

Abstract: In a field sequential display method the light emission intensities of the luminous colors are controlled to realize a plurality of color reproduction regions having different areas and make the color purity variable. In the case of high-resolution image display, a first control method is adopted in which in synchronism with the input of the pixel data of one of the luminous colors, the light of the one of the luminous colors is emitted and the lights of the other luminous colors are not emitted. In the case of coarse image display, a second control method is adopted in which in synchronism with the input of the pixel data of one of the luminous colors, the light of the one of the luminous colors and the lights of the other luminous colors are emitted. By the second method, the color purity is slightly decreased to suppress the visual irritation.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device, one or a plurality of partition walls adhering to the two substrates are provided in a region between the adhesive member for sealing the peripheral portions of the two substrates and a display region located inside the adhesive member so as to reduce stress applied to the liquid crystal substance. Even when stress is applied to the liquid crystal substance in the peripheral portion of the substrate, the stress is reduced by the partition wall and is not transmitted to the display region on the opposite side of the partition wall. Therefore, even when a crack occurs in the peripheral portion of the substrate due to the stress, the propagation of the crack is stopped by the partition wall, and the crack does not enter the display region.

Abstract: When the applied voltages are 7 V and 5 V, a transmittance of equal to or more than 50% is obtained when conditions of |2Ps·A|?|7Clc·A| and |2Ps·A|?|5Clc·A | are satisfied among the magnitude Ps (nC/cm2) of the spontaneous polarization per unit area of the liquid crystal material, the electrode area A (cm2) of the pixels and the capacity of liquid crystal Clc (nF/cm2) per unit area, and a transmittance of equal to or more than 80% is obtained when conditions of |2Ps·A|?|4.5Clc·A| and |2Ps·A|?|3Clc·A| are satisfied thereamong. A sufficiently high transmittance is obtained without the provision of a storage capacitor.

Abstract: Although portions of electrodes in proximity to a driver IC are covered with an insulating film, part of the electrodes is not covered with the insulating film. Thus, this insulating film absent region functions as an external voltage supply region that receives, from the outside, application of a voltage which is different from an output voltage from a driving unit. When the alignment of the initial state is disarranged, an alignment process is performed by short-circuiting all electrodes of the driving unit and applying a voltage from the outside, through the external voltage supply region, whereby the alignment is restored to the initial state with the driving unit being mounted on a liquid crystal panel.

Abstract: In a predetermined period (one frame or one subframe), a backlight is lit between the mid-point of primary data-writing scanning and the mid-point of secondary data-writing scanning for each of lighting regions of which the backlight is divided into four. When the time required for the data-writing scanning is 50% of the predetermined time, the ratio of the time the liquid crystal panel is in the transmission state to the time the backlight is lit (panel-on rate) is high at 93.8%. The ratio of the brightness gradient (luminance at the center of the display area/luminance at the edge of the display area) is low at 1.14 to one. If the backlight is divided into 10 and lit, the panel-on rate can be increased to 97.5%, and the ratio of the brightness gradient can be reduced to 1.05 to one.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device comprising: a peripheral electrode 31 that is formed around the outside of a display region 1a on a liquid crystal panel 1 and that generates an orientation state that is equivalent to that of the display region 1a; and an inverted electrode 32 that is formed around the outside of the peripheral electrode 31 and that generates an orientation state that has polarity opposite to that of the display region 1a; wherein the peripheral electrode 31 and the inverted electrode 32 have bipectinate construction and are arranged on both sides of a non-oriented buffer region 33. Orientation defects that are generated in a seal are trapped inside the buffer region 33 due to the existence of the peripheral electrode 31 and inverted electrode 32 that have different growth directions, so the orientation defects do not intrude into the display region 1a.

Abstract: A liquid crystal panel has: a glass substrate with pixel electrodes that are arranged in a matrix shape, and TFTs that are connected to the pixel electrodes; and a glass substrate with an opposing electrode and color filters that are arranged in a matrix shape. A liquid crystal layer is formed in a space between an oriented film and oriented film by filling a ferroelectric liquid crystal into the space. When writing display data, and when deleting display data that has been written, a voltage, not including 0V, that becomes a voltage potential, or in other words, a voltage that is greater than a threshold voltage at which the optical characteristic of the filled ferroelectric liquid crystal changes is applied between the opposing electrode and pixel electrodes. An image is displayed over all gradation numbers, including the low-gradation side, and the display characteristic is improved.

Abstract: In each sub-frame, data writing scanning is performed twice continuously, and then data erasing scanning is performed twice continuously. The applied voltage in the data writing scanning and the applied voltage in the data erasing scanning are substantially equal in magnitude, but opposite in polarity. After a response of the liquid crystal by the first application of voltage, the cell charge decreases and the responsiveness of liquid crystal decreases. However, with the second application of voltage of the same polarity, charges corresponding to the applied voltage are stored again in the liquid crystal cell, and the liquid crystal responds again. A display of a greater number of grayscales than the number of output grayscales of a driver is achieved according to a combination of magnitude of voltages to be applied to the liquid crystal a plurality of times within each sub-frame.

Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display including a panel using a liquid crystal material having spontaneous polarization, such as ferroelectroic liquid crystal (FLC), having a faster response time suitable to display dynamic images. The FLC has the disadvantage caused by the incomplete memory effect at during driving for displaying “black” in several frames, where the light transmittance is preferably desired zero. The panel in the display are driven signals so that the driving signals are applied across the picture element, where the signals are positively or negatively offset to reference voltage of the panel.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device, halftones are displayed by applying voltages to liquid crystal elements so that the transmittance of liquid crystals is changed. A plurality of gradation-reference-voltage-generation circuits are provided as sources for generating the voltages to be applied to the liquid crystals to realize display of the halftones. With this configuration, gradation-reference voltages for ? characteristics for display colors are generated, and furthermore, applied voltages for the display colors are generated on the basis of the generated gradation-reference voltages. This allows for gradation display for each of the display colors, resulting in excellent image display.

Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display including a panel using a liquid crystal material having spontaneous polarization, such as ferroelectroic liquid crystal (FLC); having a faster response time suitable to display dynamic images. The FLC has the disadvantage caused by the incomplete memory effect at during driving for displaying “black” in several frames, where the light transmittance is preferably desired zero. The panel in the display are driven signals so that the driving signals are applied across the picture element, where the signals are positively or negatively offset to reference voltage of the panel.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device that carries out image display using multiple liquid crystal panels stacked, the average change in the direction of the optical axis due to the response of liquid crystal molecules with respect to the applied voltage, that is, the change in the direction of the long axis of the liquid crystal molecules with respect to the applied voltage, is made different among the liquid crystal panels. The desired brightness is attained at the overlaid portion of the liquid crystal panels.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device which is constructed by sealing a liquid crystal having spontaneous polarization in an active matrix panel including a coloring member and displays an image on a frame by frame basis by repeating a data writing process and a data erasing process for the active matrix panel, the frequency in the data writing process is set at least twice higher than a frame frequency and the data writing process and the data erasing process are completed within one frame time so that time taken for transmission of light through the coloring member is not more than a half of one frame time. The coloring member is in a non-light-transmitting state during a period of not shorter than a half of one frame, and the blurred outline section of a moving image is reduced.

Abstract: One frame is divided into three sub-frames of red, green and blue colors, and, in each sub-frame, the time (TA) necessary for writing scanning, the time (TC) necessary for erasing scanning, the time (TB) from the end timing of writing scanning to the start timing of erasing scanning, and the time (TD) from the end timing of erasing scanning to the start timing of writing scanning of the next color (the next sub-frame) are each 25% of the sub-frame. The relations TB+TC=TA+TD, and TB=TD are satisfied. A back-light is turned on during the time from the start timing of writing scanning to the end timing of erasing scanning, and is turned off during the time from the end timing of erasing scanning to the start timing of writing scanning of the next color. The ON time of the back-light is 75% of the sub-frame.

Abstract: Within one sub-frame or one frame, values of an application voltage of one polarity and an application voltage of the other polarity, and respective retention periods are different. The value of the application voltage of the polarity when dark displaying is carried out is set to be greater than the value of the application voltage of the polarity when bright displaying is carried out, and the retention period thereof is set to be shorter. When the value of the application voltage of the one polarity (the polarity when the bright displaying is carried out correspondingly to a display data) is assumed to be V1, the retention period thereof is assumed to be T1, the value of the application voltage of the other polarity (the polarity when the dark displaying is carried out) is assumed to be V2 and the retention period thereof is assumed to be T2, the value of (V1·T1)/(V2·T2) is set to be in a range between 0.7 and 1.3 and preferably set to be in a range between 0.9 and 1.1.