JP2002196328A - Liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily operate an instrument using a liquid crystal display device in the presence of others. SOLUTION: A liquid crystal display element is provided and a transparent plate body 7A which constitutes the outer surface of the display part of the element is covered by a visual angle suppressing filter 10 for limiting the visible angle to the display part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal display element incorporated therein and used for a cellular phone or the like. The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, an example of a liquid crystal display element used in this type of liquid crystal display device will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a color filter type color liquid crystal display device, in which a transparent substrate 1 made of a material such as glass, which is disposed in parallel with a space therebetween, is used.
A, 1B, and both transparent substrates 1A, 1B
The outer periphery therebetween is sealed by a sealing material 2. Of these, a transparent common electrode 3A is disposed on the lower surface of one of the transparent substrates 1A positioned above so as to be in close contact therewith, and below the transparent common electrode 3A, a non-display area is covered. The light-shielding film 4 is disposed at the center.

Below the light-shielding film 4, an alignment film 6A for controlling the alignment of liquid crystal molecules in accordance with a voltage applied between the electrodes is provided so as to be in close contact with each other. Further, a polarizing plate 7A is provided on the upper surface of the glass substrate 1A.

On the other hand, a transparent segment electrode 3B is disposed on the upper surface of the transparent substrate 1B located below,
A color filter film 5 is disposed above the transparent segment electrode 3B. As a method of forming the color filter film 5, various methods such as a printing method, an electrodeposition method, a dyeing method, and a pigment dispersion method are conventionally known. An alignment film 6B is provided above the color filter film 5 so as to be in close contact therewith. Further, a polarizing plate 7B is provided on the lower surface of the transparent substrate 1B.

A liquid crystal 8 is sealed in a sealed space surrounded by the transparent substrates 1A and 1B and the sealing material 2, and furthermore, the distance between the transparent substrates 1A and 1B is kept accurately and constant. For this purpose, the alignment films 6A, 6B
A plurality of spherical or columnar spacers 9 are interposed between them.

The liquid crystal display device is constructed by connecting the transparent common electrode 3A and the transparent segment electrode 3B of the liquid crystal display element thus constructed to a power supply side circuit board (not shown).

[0008]

In the conventional liquid crystal display device described above, the angle at which the information on the display section can be visually recognized (hereinafter, abbreviated as "viewing angle") is a wide viewing angle and can be viewed from any angle. The information formed on the display unit is configured to be well recognized.

When the above-mentioned liquid crystal display device is used for a monitor of a notebook computer, a mobile phone, or the like, the notebook computer or the mobile phone may be operated in public. At this time, there is a case where the information formed on the display unit of the liquid crystal display device is not desired to be seen by others.

However, since the above-mentioned conventional liquid crystal display device has good visibility, it is sometimes difficult to operate a notebook computer or a mobile phone in public.

In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides a liquid crystal display device in which the viewing angle of the display unit is suppressed so that a device using the liquid crystal display device such as a notebook computer or a mobile phone can be easily operated in public. It is intended to be.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal display element, wherein a transparent plate body constituting an outer surface of a display portion is provided. The point is that it is covered with a viewing angle suppression filter that limits the viewing angle with respect to the display unit. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the viewing angle of the display unit and prevent another person from seeing the information on the display unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, wherein the viewing angle suppressing filter cuts a plurality of bundled optical fibers in a direction orthogonal to an axial direction of each optical fiber to form a flat plate. It is in the point formed. By adopting such a configuration, the viewing angle can be reliably suppressed by a plurality of optical fibers that conduct light only in the axial direction.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.
A viewing angle suppression filter 10 for limiting the visible angle with respect to the display unit is attached to the entire surface 7a of the polarizing plate 7A, which is a transparent plate constituting the outer surface of the display unit, and covers the polarizing plate 7A. This viewing angle suppression filter 10 has a surface 10a.
The information in the display unit can be viewed only in a direction perpendicular to the display. Although the details of the viewing angle suppression filter 10 will be described later, the other configuration in FIG. 1 is the same as that in FIG. 3 described above, and thus the same reference numerals are given in the drawing, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 2 shows a method of manufacturing the above-described viewing angle suppression filter 10.
Uses a large number of optical fibers 11, 11... Having the property that light travels straight in the axial direction. That is, the optical fiber 11 is made of a step-index type multi-component glass, and the central portion is a high refractive index layer 12,
The outer peripheral portion is a low refractive index layer 13. The diameter of each optical fiber 11 should be at least 6 μm in order to make it difficult to break.
m.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, hundreds of thousands of optical fibers 11 are bundled. As shown in FIG. 2B, this bundling method may be arranged so as to form a plurality of rows vertically and horizontally, or may be arranged staggered in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 2C. . When a large number of optical fibers 11 arranged in this manner and adjacent to each other are heated in a heating furnace, they are mutually fused and integrated by heat. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2D, each of the bundled optical fibers 11 is cut twice in a direction orthogonal to the respective axial directions to form a flat plate shape, whereby the viewing angle suppressing filter 10 is formed. The viewing angle of the viewing angle suppression filter 10 decreases as the thickness of the filter 10 increases.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described.

In the liquid crystal display device of this embodiment, a viewing angle suppression filter 10 is laminated on the polarizing plate 7A, and each optical fiber 11 constituting the viewing angle suppression filter 10 is
Only the central portion has a high refractive index, and light travels only in the axial direction of each optical fiber 11. Therefore, if the display unit of the liquid crystal display device is viewed from the front via the viewing angle suppression filter 10, the information of the display unit can be satisfactorily seen. When viewed from an oblique direction through the intermediary, the information on the display unit cannot be viewed due to the optical characteristics of each optical fiber 11.

As described above, the liquid crystal display device of this embodiment is
Since the display unit is viewed through the viewing angle suppression filter 10, the viewing angle at which the information on the display unit can be viewed is narrow. There is no risk of information being stolen.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made as necessary. For example, the liquid crystal display device of the present invention is most suitable for a transmissive or transflective liquid crystal display device. Also,
If the viewing angle suppression filter is separated from the transparent plate without making close contact with the transparent plate constituting the outer surface of the display unit, the viewing angle can be further reduced.

Further, if the polarizing plate on the observer side of the liquid crystal display device is removed, and the operator of the liquid crystal display device wears polarizing glasses having the function, the technique is also used.
Even if the display surface is tilted, the display content cannot be perceived by other people, and even if another person wears similar polarized glasses, the angle at which the information can be viewed can be further limited, so that the information on the display unit by another person Can be more surely prevented.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when a device using a liquid crystal display device such as a notebook computer or a mobile phone is operated in public by suppressing the viewing angle of the display unit, the display unit can be displayed to others. Since the information is not stolen, the operation becomes easy in public.

That is, the viewing angle of the display section is suppressed by covering the transparent plate which comprises the liquid crystal display element and constitutes the outer surface of the display section with a viewing angle suppression filter which limits the viewing angle with respect to the display section. Of the information on the display unit can be prevented.

Further, the viewing angle suppression filter is formed in a plate shape by cutting a plurality of bundled optical fibers in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of each optical fiber, so that light is conducted only in the axial direction. The viewing angle can be reliably suppressed by the plurality of optical fibers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a liquid crystal display device showing an embodiment of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a method of manufacturing the viewing angle suppression filter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional liquid crystal display element.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1A, 1B Transparent substrate 2 Sealing material 3A Transparent common electrode 3B Transparent segment electrode 3C Lead terminal 8 Liquid crystal 9 Spacer 10 Viewing angle suppression filter 11 Optical fiber 12 High refractive index layer 13 Low refractive index layer

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal display element, wherein a transparent plate constituting an outer surface of the display unit is covered with a viewing angle suppression filter for limiting a visible angle with respect to the display unit. 2. The viewing angle suppressing filter is formed in a flat plate shape by cutting a plurality of bundled optical fibers in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of each optical fiber. 3. The liquid crystal display device according to 1.