Liquid crystal display device and a method of manufacturing the same

1. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate;

a plurality of spacers disposed between said first substrate and said second substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer filled between said first substrate and said second substrate supported by said plurality of spacers;

wherein,

each of said plurality of spacers includes a multiple step structure with one or more steps,

each of said plurality of spacers comprises (i) a core portion protruding from said second substrate to said liquid crystal layer, (ii) a cap portion covering said core portion, and (iii) a step corresponding to a protrusion end face edge of said core portion on an outer surface of said cap portion,

an alignment protrusion is provided below said second substrate and protrudes from said second substrate to said liquid crystal layer to align liquid crystal molecules, and

said core portion of each of said plurality of spacers is made of the same material as said alignment protrusion, and has the same shape as said alignment protrusion.

2. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate;

a plurality of spacers disposed between said first substrate and said second substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer filled between said first substrate and said second substrate supported by said plurality of spacers,

wherein,

(a) each of said plurality of spacers includes

(1) a multiple step structure with one or more steps,

(2) a spacer main body formed below said first substrate,

(3) a sensor electrode disposed on a side of said first substrate and on a protrusion end face of said spacer main body, and

(4) an inter-electrode short circuit preventing layer formed in a sensor electrode portion on said protrusion end face of said spacer main body, a cross-sectional area of said inter-electrode short-circuit preventing layer being smaller than a cross-sectional area of said spacer main body, said inter-electrode short-circuit preventing layer being made of an insulating material; and

(b) each of said plurality of spacers serves as an assembly of said electrode for an electrode contact type sensor.

3. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising the steps of:

forming a plurality of spacers for holding a first substrate and a second substrate at a predetermined facing interval in at least one of said first substrate and said second substrate between which a liquid crystal layer is held; and

sticking said first substrate and said second substrate to each other through said plurality of spacers, and enclosing a liquid crystal within a gap defined by the predetermined facing interval;

wherein the step of forming the plurality of spacers includes the steps of

forming a first resist pattern becoming a core portion on said first substrate either after the formation of said plurality of spacers or after the sticking of said first substrate and said second substrate so that a multiple step structure having one or more steps is formed; and

forming a second resist pattern so as to cover the first resist pattern thus formed, a step being formed on an outside surface of the second resist pattern due to presence of the first resist pattern.

4. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 3 , wherein vertical alignment protrusions, each made of the same material as that of the first resist pattern, for adjusting vertical alignment angles of liquid crystal molecules are regularly disposed in an effective display area of said liquid crystal layer concurrently with the formation of said first resist pattern.