Patents by Inventor Yasushi Tomioka

Yasushi Tomioka 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: 20140009711
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device in a lateral electric field mode includes: a metal wiring formed on a transparent substrate; an inorganic insulating film and an organic insulating film formed on the metal wiring; and a first transparent electrode and a second transparent electrode formed on the inorganic insulating film and the organic insulating film so that the first and the second transparent electrodes are opposite to each other through an interlayer insulating film. The film thickness of the organic insulating film on the metal wiring is made thicker than the film thickness of the organic insulating film inside a pixel display region including the contact hole, and a projecting portion of the organic insulating film is formed on the metal wiring. A pixel electrode formed of the first electrode or the second electrode is formed on an image display region including a slope portion of the projecting portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Inventors: Yasushi TOMIOKA, Chikae MATSUI, Noboru KUNIMATSU, Hidehiro SONODA
  • Patent number: 8610855
    Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display device having a structure in which one surface of the alignment film contacts a liquid crystal layer, the other surface of the alignment film contacts an underlying layer, the refractive index of the alignment film monotonically increases in a film thickness direction of the alignment film from a boundary surface between the liquid crystal layer and the alignment film to a boundary surface between the underlying layer and the alignment film, and the minimum refractive index nLC of the liquid crystal layer, the refractive index nF2 of the alignment film at the boundary surface between the liquid crystal layer and the alignment film, the refractive index nF1 of the alignment film at the boundary surface between the alignment film and the underlying layer, and the refractive index nS2 of the underlying layer have a relationship of an equation (I) in which nLC?nF2<nF1?nS2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignees: Japan Display Inc., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuo Imanishi, Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka
  • Patent number: 8593596
    Abstract: In the step of curing a resin for bonding a TFT substrate and a counter substrate each having an alignment film that has been optically aligned by using UV-light, damage to the alignment film due to the UV-light can be prevented without using a light shielding mask. A UV-light absorption layer is formed between each black matrix on the counter substrate. The TFT and the counter substrates are sealed at their periphery by a resin that is cured by UV-light radiated from the counter substrate side. Since the absorption layer has a high absorbability to UV-light at a wavelength of 300 nm or less that degrades the alignment film, damage to the alignment film due to the UV-light for curing the resin can be prevented. Thus, provision of a light shielding mask for shielding the UV-light for the display region can be saved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Displays, Ltd.
    Inventors: Noboru Kunimatsu, Yuko Matsumoto, Yasushi Tomioka, Masateru Morimoto, Atsuhiro Katayama
  • Patent number: 8592009
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device superior in mass productivity and improved image quality with a higher contrast ratio by decreasing the occurrence of defective display due to the disorder of the initial liquid crystal alignment and realizing stable alignment of liquid crystals, comprising: 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 made of a photosensitive polyimide, a polyamide acid ester and a polyamide acid is given orientation control ability by being irradiated with substantially linearly polarized light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Display, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Noboru Kunimatsu
  • Patent number: 8580357
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device 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, 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 placed on at least one of the pair of substrates, in which the alignment control film is formed of polyimide and a precursor of the polyimide, each of the polyimide and the precursor of the polyimide contains, as a material, a specific cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride derivative and aromatic diamine, and the alignment control film is provided with alignment capability by photo-alignment treatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka
  • Publication number: 20130293814
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device 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, 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 placed on at least one of the pair of substrates, in which the alignment control film is formed of polyimide and a precursor of the polyimide, each of the polyimide and the precursor of the polyimide contains, as a material, a specific cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride derivative and aromatic diamine, and the alignment control film is provided with alignment capability by photo-alignment treatment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2013
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicants: PANASONIC LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY CO., LTD., HITACHI DISPLAYS, LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka
  • Patent number: 8553179
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes: a liquid crystal layer which contains a liquid crystal composition; a pair of substrates opposed to each other across the liquid crystal layer; alignment layers placed on liquid crystal layer sides of the pair of substrates, respectively; and polarization plates placed on opposite sides from the liquid crystal layer sides, respectively. The pair of substrates includes a thin-film transistor substrate including a thin-film transistor for controlling molecule alignment of the liquid crystal composition, and a color filter substrate including a color layer containing pixels of different colors. A blue pixel, which is one of the pixels of different colors, is larger in area than any of the pixels of other colors. A loss of light in a short-wavelength range is thus reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuka Utsumi, Yasushi Tomioka, Ikuo Hiyama
  • Patent number: 8514351
    Abstract: Manufacture of a liquid crystal display is disclosed. The liquid crystal display includes a backlight unit, a backlight unit-side polarizing plate, and a liquid crystal cell held by two glass plates, the liquid crystal cell having an electrode, a liquid crystal layer, an alignment layer, and a color filter arranged between the glass plates. The liquid crystal display also includes a transparent front plate arranged at a side of the liquid crystal cell opposite to the backlight unit, a polarizing plate attached to the liquid crystal cell, and a transparent organic medium layer arranged between the front plate and the liquid crystal cell. Since the front plate is provided at the outermost surface of an image display portion, and the transparent organic medium is filled between the front plate and the liquid crystal module, it is possible to achieve an improvement in wear resistance and a reduction in reflectance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sasaki, Makiko Sugibayashi, Yuka Utsumi, Yasushi Tomioka, Katsumi Kondo
  • Patent number: 8514359
    Abstract: Provided is a liquid crystal display device, including: a liquid crystal layer filled between a first and a second substrate; two polymer structures; and a plurality of pixels each including a first and a second electrode, one of the first and the second electrode being a pixel electrode, in which: each of the plurality of pixels is provided within a region surrounded by a signal line, a part of the signal line being formed between adjacent two of the plurality of pixels; each of the two polymer structures, which extends along the part of the signal line so as to sandwich the part of the signal line in plan view and is formed from one of the first and the second substrate toward another thereof, is formed so as to overlap with any of the region; and the two adjacent polymer structures has the liquid crystal layer provided therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shintaro Takeda, Kotaro Araya, Yasushi Tomioka, Masaki Matsumori, Yoshiro Mikami
  • Patent number: 8512819
    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: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka
  • Patent number: 8502938
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes: a liquid crystal layer which contains a liquid crystal composition; a pair of substrates opposed to each other across the liquid crystal layer; alignment layers placed on liquid crystal layer sides of the pair of substrates, respectively; and polarization plates placed on opposite sides from the liquid crystal layer sides, respectively. The pair of substrates includes a thin-film transistor substrate including a thin-film transistor for controlling molecule alignment of the liquid crystal composition, and a color filter substrate including a color layer containing pixels of different colors. A blue pixel, which is one of the pixels of different colors, is larger in area than any of the pixels of other colors. A loss of light in a short-wavelength range is thus reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuka Utsumi, Yasushi Tomioka, Ikuo Hiyama
  • Patent number: 8395750
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal device that exhibits excellent response properties over a wide temperature range even when the weight percentage of the polymerizable monomer used for generating polymers is decreased. The liquid crystal device according to the present invention is a liquid crystal device which includes a first substrate and a second substrate, at least one of which has an electrode group formed thereon for driving liquid crystals; and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate, in which the liquid crystal layer contains a polymer which is eccentrically distributed on at least one substrate side among the first substrate and the second substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kotaro Araya, Shintaro Takeda, Yasushi Tomioka
  • Publication number: 20130057820
    Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device using a cylindrical spacer to define the gap between a TFT substrate and a counter substrate, the TFT substrate does not include an organic passivation film, in which the cylindrical spacer is formed on an inorganic passivation film. An overcoat film is formed to cover a black matrix and color filters in the counter substrate. A concavo-convex mount is formed in the overcoat film. The top of the cylindrical spacer is brought into contact with the concavo-convex mount. The oriented film is not attached to the top of the cylindrical spacer and the convex portion of the concavo-convex mount. Thus, even if horizontal displacement occurs in the TFT substrate or the counter substrate, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of bright spots due to the scraping of the oriented film caused by the friction between the TFT substrate and the counter substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2012
    Publication date: March 7, 2013
    Inventors: Yosuke HYODO, Yasushi Tomioka, Masahiko Suzuki, Toshiki Kaneko, Noboru Kunimatsu
  • Publication number: 20130039030
    Abstract: By narrowing the length of an irradiation area, a scan distance is shortened and a process time of a light irradiation process is shortened. A light irradiation apparatus irradiating light to a substrate by using a long arc lamp includes: a reflection mirror having a cross-sectional shape which is an oval or parabolic shape and having a shape as if light irradiated is condensed on the surface of the substrate; and a slit limiting an irradiation area of the irradiated light, wherein on a section perpendicular to a long axis of the long arc lamp, a main irradiation area length X and a gap H between the long arc lamp and the substrate satisfy a relationship of X<0.087H.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2012
    Publication date: February 14, 2013
    Inventors: Noboru KUNIMATSU, Yasushi TOMIOKA, Hidehiro SONODA
  • Publication number: 20130021552
    Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device, a TFT substrate retains a contact hole that is formed in a passivation film, and is for connecting the TFT and the pixel electrode. And an opposite substrate retains a columnar spacer for ensuring a cell gap, and a columnar projection for misalignment prevention formed at a position corresponding to a position of the contact hole. Accordingly, misalignment between the TFT substrate and the opposite substrate is suppressed, occurrence of uneven brightness due to misalignment between pixel regions and a bright spot caused by shaving of an orientation film is prevented, and a favorable image is obtained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2012
    Publication date: January 24, 2013
    Inventors: Yasushi TOMIOKA, Noboru KUNIMATSU, Hidehiro SONODA, Yasuo IMANISHI, Koichi IGETA
  • Patent number: 8339356
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a white color light source and a coloring light source, a detection circuit which detects a brightness of an input image signal, an image quality processing calculation circuit, a light source control circuit, and an image control circuit. The coloring light source includes a blue light source. The image quality processing calculation circuit outputs to the light source control circuit a light source control signal for (1) increasing a light intensity of the coloring light source when an average luminance of the input image signal is detected to be higher than a predetermined luminance based on a detection result of the detection circuit, and for (2) turning-on only the white color light source without turning-on the coloring light source when the average luminance of the input image signal is detected to be lower than the predetermined luminance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuka Utsumi, Yasushi Tomioka, Akitoyo Konno, Katsumi Kondo
  • Patent number: 8330930
    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: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Matsumori, Yasushi Tomioka, Kotaro Araya
  • Publication number: 20120268702
    Abstract: Provided is a high quality liquid crystal display device adapted to suppress scraping of alignment film and prevent micro light spot fault. The liquid crystal display device comprises: a plurality of columnar spacers and a first alignment film disposed over a first substrate; an insulation film disposed over a second substrate; and a second alignment film disposed over the insulation layer; receiving pedestals for the columnar spacers, wherein: the second alignment film is not formed over the central portion of each of the receiving pedestals; and around the outer peripheral portion of each receiving pedestal, the second alignment film has an inclined thickness distribution which is such that the thickness thereof increases gradually from the central portion to the outside position of the receiving pedestal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2012
    Publication date: October 25, 2012
    Inventors: Yasuo IMANISHI, Hidehiro Sonoda, Noboru Kunimatsu, Yasushi Tomioka, Masaki Matsumori
  • Publication number: 20120268678
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to enhance transmissivity and the luminance of a screen in an IPS liquid crystal display device. To achieve the object, in the IPS liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, a counter electrode is formed flatly and solidly on an organic passivation film, a pixel electrode having a slit is formed on the counter electrode via an interlayer insulation film, and an alignment film the orientation of which is controlled by optical orientation is formed on the pixel electrode. The transmissivity is enhanced by also making the inside of the contact hole function as a transmissible area for image formation by applying optical orientation to the alignment film in the contact hole to result in enhancement of the luminance of the screen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2012
    Publication date: October 25, 2012
    Inventors: Yasushi TOMIOKA, Noboru KUNIMATSU, Takeshi SATO, Masaki MATSUMORI
  • Publication number: 20120224114
    Abstract: The present invention prevents the shaving of an alignment film caused by a columnar spacer in a liquid crystal display device of an IPS method using photo-alignment. A plinth higher than a pixel electrode is formed at a part where a columnar spacer formed over a counter substrate touches a TFT substrate. When an alignment film of a double-layered structure is applied over the pixel electrode and the plinth, the thickness of the alignment film over the plinth reduces by a leveling effect. When photo-alignment is applied in the state, a photodegraded upper alignment film over the plinth disappears and a lower alignment film having a high mechanical strength remains. As a result, it is possible to prevent the shaving of the alignment film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Publication date: September 6, 2012
    Inventors: Noboru Kunimatsu, Masaki Matsumori, Hidehiro Sonoda, Yasushi Tomioka, Toshiki Kaneko