IP Library Granted Patent US 12,412,540
Granted Patent B2
US 12,412,540 · App. 18/397,948 · Granted Sep 9, 2025

Liquid crystal panel and display device

Inventors: Junichi Masuda (Kameyama, JP); Koji Murata (Kameyama, JP)
Assignee: Sharp Display Technology Corporation
G09G3/36G02F1/13306G02F1/133531G02F1/133634G02F1/1393G06F3/013G09G3/3406G02F2413/01G02F2413/14G09G2320/028G09G2354/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,412,540
App. No.
18/397,948
Granted
Sep 9, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A liquid crystal panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate disposed to face the first substrate, a liquid crystal layer that is located between the first substrate and the second substrate and contains liquid crystal molecules, a pair of electrodes that apply a voltage to the liquid crystal layer, and a voltage control unit that performs control to alternately apply a first voltage having a first absolute value and a second voltage having a second absolute value different from the first absolute value between the pair of electrodes.

Claims (53)

1. A liquid crystal panel comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate that is disposed to face the first substrate;

a liquid crystal layer that is located between the first substrate and the second substrate and contains liquid crystal molecules;

a pair of electrodes that apply a voltage to the liquid crystal layer; and

a voltage control unit that performs control to alternately apply a first voltage having a first absolute value and a second voltage having a second absolute value different from the first absolute value between the pair of electrodes, wherein

the first voltage includes a voltage V 1 that has the first absolute value and is a positive value, and a voltage −V 1 that has the first absolute value and is a negative value,

the second voltage includes a voltage V 2 that has the second absolute value and is a positive value, and a voltage −V 2 that has the second absolute value and is a negative value,

the voltage control unit repeatedly applies one cycle of the voltage V 1 , the voltage −V 1 , the voltage V 2 , and the voltage −V 2 in this order between the pair of electrodes, and

the voltage V 1 is smaller than the voltage V 2 , and neither of the voltage V 1 and the voltage V 2 is zero.

2. A liquid crystal panel comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate that is disposed to face the first substrate;

a liquid crystal layer that is located between the first substrate and the second substrate and contains liquid crystal molecules;

a pair of electrodes that apply a voltage to the liquid crystal layer; and

a voltage control unit that performs control to alternately apply a first voltage having a first absolute value and a second voltage having a second absolute value different from the first absolute value between the pair of electrodes, wherein:

the voltage control unit further performs control to repeatedly apply the first voltage, the second voltage, and a third voltage having a third absolute value different from the first absolute value and the second absolute value between the pair of electrodes in this order,

the first voltage includes a voltage V 1 that has the first absolute value and is a positive value, and a voltage −V 1 that has the first absolute value and is a negative value, the second voltage includes a voltage V 2 that has the second absolute value and is a positive value, and a voltage −V 2 that has the second absolute value and is a negative value,

the third voltage includes a voltage V 3 that has the third absolute value and is a positive value, and a voltage −V 3 that has the third absolute value and is a negative value, the voltage control unit repeatedly applies one cycle of the voltage V 1 , the voltage −V 1 , the voltage V 2 , the voltage −V 2 , the voltage V 3 , and the voltage −V 3 in this order between the pair of electrodes, and

the voltage V 1 is smaller than the voltage V 2 , the voltage V 2 is smaller than the voltage V 3 , and none of the voltage V 1 , the voltage V 2 , and the voltage V 3 is zero.

3. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , wherein

the voltage control unit makes a time during which the first voltage is applied and a time during which the second voltage is applied different from each other.

4. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a line of sight detection sensor that senses a line of sight of an observer.

5. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a first polarizing plate that is disposed on an observation side of the first substrate and has a first absorption axis, wherein

when viewed in a plan view, an angle a, formed between a direction in which molecular long axes are averagely aligned in nematic liquid crystal molecules as the liquid crystal molecules that are in a state in which no voltage is applied, and the first absorption axis, is 5° or more and 20° or less, or 65° or more and 80° or less.

6. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 5 , further comprising:

a second polarizing plate that has a second absorption axis parallel to the first absorption axis on a side of the second substrate opposite the liquid crystal layer.

7. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , wherein

a tilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules is 1° or more and 5° or less in a state with no voltage applied, and

a tilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules is 40° or more and 75° or less in a state with a voltage applied.

8. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , wherein

the liquid crystal panel is in an electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) mode.

9. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , wherein

a retardation Re of the liquid crystal layer in a state with a voltage applied is 600 nm or more and 1000 nm or less.

10. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , wherein

a thickness d of the liquid crystal layer is 3 μm or more and 10 μm or less.

11. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , wherein

the liquid crystal molecules have a positive anisotropy of dielectric constant.

12. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a negative C plate that has a retardation Rth of 500 nm or more in a thickness direction.

13. A display device comprising:

the liquid crystal panel according to claim 1 ; and

a display panel.

14. The display device according to claim 13 , wherein

the display panel is a liquid crystal display panel in an in-plane switching (IPS) mode or a fringe field switching (FFS) mode.

15. The display device according to claim 13 , further comprising:

a backlight, wherein

the backlight includes a light guide plate, and

the light guide plate functions for a wide viewing angle mode.

16. The display device according to claim 13 , wherein

the display panel is one of an organic electro luminescence (EL) display panel, an inorganic EL display panel, a micro light emitting diode (micro-LED) display panel, or a quantum dot light emitting diode (QLED) display panel.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 27, 2023
From: MASUDA, JUNICHI; MURATA, KOJI
To: SHARP DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 065965/0241 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2023-009444 · Jan 25, 2023 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240257775A1 · Aug 1, 2024
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