JP2007164057A - Liquid crystal device and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal device wherein excellent visibility can be obtained and the frame of a liquid crystal panel can be narrowed and to provide an electronic device. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid crystal device has a liquid crystal panel 10 having a pair of substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal layer 8, a polarizing member 22 which is stuck to one substrate 4 on the viewing side of the pair of substrates 4 and 5 and whose flat dimension is formed to be larger than that of the one substrate 4 and a frame body 33 in which a recessed part 33a housing the liquid crystal panel 10 and a peripheral edge part 33b protruded to the viewing side on the outer side of the recessed part 33a are formed is characterized in that the liquid crystal panel 10 is fixed to the frame body 33 in the recessed part 33a and the polarizing member 22 has an overhang part 22a overhanging from the one substrate 4 so as to fill the gap between the one substrate 4 and the peripheral edge part 33b of the frame body 33. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal device and an electronic apparatus including the liquid crystal device.

  In recent years, liquid crystal devices have been widely used as means for displaying various types of information in electronic devices such as notebook computers, mobile phones, and wrist watches. Among electronic devices, in particular, portable electronic devices such as notebook computers, mobile phones, watches, etc., a liquid crystal device or the like is accommodated in a limited space inside the housing. Moreover, in order to increase the amount of information that can be displayed by a liquid crystal device or the like, a configuration is desired in which the display area of the liquid crystal device or the like is made as wide as possible and the area outside the display area, that is, the non-display area is narrowed. . Note that the non-display area is sometimes referred to as a frame area.

A liquid crystal display device capable of narrowing the non-display area has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The liquid crystal display panel described in Patent Document 1 is a liquid crystal panel incorporated in a backlight unit, and a polarizing plate attached to the viewing side of the liquid crystal panel is formed larger than the glass substrate of the liquid crystal panel. . The projecting portion of the polarizing plate projecting from the glass substrate is adhered to the frame, and the liquid crystal panel and the backlight are fixed by this adhesion. In this way, by fixing the liquid crystal panel and the backlight with the polarizing plate, the double-sided tape is not affixed to the non-light emitting area, so that the frame can be narrowed.
JP-A-2005-49450

  However, in the liquid crystal display panel described in Patent Document 1, although it is possible to narrow the frame, the liquid crystal display panel is fixed to the backlight only by the protruding portion of the polarizing plate. The board may be distorted. In addition, even if it is fixed to the frame, due to manufacturing tolerances of the frame and the liquid crystal panel, for example, if the thickness of the liquid crystal panel is smaller than the depth of the frame, It will bend and visibility will be inferior. Furthermore, since the polarizing member is attached to a part of the frame, there is a possibility that dust may enter the frame, resulting in poor visibility.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a liquid crystal device and an electronic apparatus that can obtain excellent visibility and can narrow the frame of a liquid crystal panel. Objective.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The liquid crystal device of the present invention is attached to a liquid crystal panel having a pair of substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal layer and one of the pair of substrates on the viewing side, and has a larger planar dimension than the one substrate. A polarizing member, and a frame body formed with a concave portion that accommodates the liquid crystal panel and a peripheral portion that protrudes toward the viewing side outside the concave portion, and the liquid crystal panel is formed on the frame body by the concave portion. The polarizing member is fixed, and has a projecting portion that projects from the one substrate so as to fill a gap between the one substrate and the peripheral portion of the frame.

  In the liquid crystal device according to the present invention, the liquid crystal panel is fixed to the concave portion of the frame body in a state where the gap between the peripheral portion of the frame body is filled by the projecting portion of the polarizing member that projects from one substrate, The tolerance between the thickness of the liquid crystal panel and the depth of the recessed portion of the frame can be relaxed. That is, in the conventional liquid crystal panel, since the protruding portion of the polarizing member that protrudes from the substrate is fixed to the peripheral portion of the frame, the depth of the concave portion of the frame is greater than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel. In this case, when the liquid crystal panel is fixed at the protruding portion of the polarizing member, the polarizing member is bent. In the present invention, since the liquid crystal panel is fixed to the frame, not the protruding portion of the polarizing member, the depth of the concave portion of the frame becomes larger than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel. The peripheral edge bends. That is, conventionally, the polarizing member bends due to the weight of the liquid crystal panel and affects the effective display area, but in the present invention, the effective display area is not affected. Therefore, since the deformation of the polarizing member can be suppressed with a simple configuration, excellent visibility can be obtained. Furthermore, since the polarizing member covers the liquid crystal panel, the effective display area can be expanded to the full extent of the liquid crystal panel, so that the frame area can be narrowed.

Further, since the polarizing member is not fixed to the frame, the polarizing member may protrude from the substrate of the liquid crystal panel, so that the tolerance for attaching the polarizing member to the substrate is further relaxed.
Moreover, since the polarizing member has an overhanging portion so as to fill a gap between the one substrate and the peripheral edge portion of the frame body, the structure is such that dust is not easily mixed into the frame body. Further, since the polarizing member is formed larger than the liquid crystal panel, light emitted from outside the effective display area of the liquid crystal panel easily passes through the polarizing member. That is, in the present invention, light leakage from outside the effective display area of the liquid crystal panel can be prevented, and the visibility of the liquid crystal panel can be improved.

In the liquid crystal device of the present invention, the frame body holds a light source that emits light and a light guide member that guides the light emitted from the light source to the liquid crystal panel, and the frame body, the light source, and the light guide member It is preferable to form a lighting unit.
In the liquid crystal device according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently irradiate the liquid crystal panel with light by including the illumination unit held by the frame.

In the liquid crystal device of the present invention, it is preferable that the projecting portion of the polarizing member is in contact with the peripheral portion of the frame.
In the liquid crystal device according to the present invention, since the projecting portion of the polarizing member is in contact with the end of the frame, it is possible to reliably prevent dust from entering the recess of the frame. That is, since the display area of the liquid crystal panel is not affected, the visibility can be improved.

In the liquid crystal device of the present invention, it is preferable that a gap is provided between the projecting portion of the polarizing member and the peripheral portion of the frame body.
In the liquid crystal device according to the present invention, when a problem occurs when the polarizing member is attached to the liquid crystal panel, it is necessary to rework the polarizing member. At this time, since a gap is provided between the peripheral edge portion of the frame and the protruding portion of the polarizing member, the protruding portion of the polarizing member can be easily grasped and the polarizing member can be easily removed. Therefore, it becomes possible to improve the efficiency of the rework of a polarizing member. Further, although the polarizing member is not in contact with the peripheral edge portion of the frame body, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the concave portion of the frame body because they are overlapped in a plane. Furthermore, even when there is a tolerance between the frame body and the liquid crystal panel, the frame body can be prevented from coming into contact with the polarizing member and distorting the polarizing member due to the gap.

In the liquid crystal device of the present invention, it is preferable that a retardation plate is provided between the one substrate and the polarizing member, and the planar dimensions of the polarizing member and the retardation plate are the same.
In the liquid crystal device according to the present invention, the light emitted from the light source guides the light guide member, and is emitted, for example, to the polarization member attached to the other substrate of the pair of substrates. The light that has passed through the other substrate-side polarizing member further passes through the liquid crystal panel. And it converts into a desired polarization direction by the phase difference plate provided between one board | substrate and the polarizing member. Thus, by providing the retardation plate, the light emitted from the liquid crystal panel is color-adjusted and becomes bright. Furthermore, since the planar dimensions of the polarizing member and the retardation plate are the same, the light that has passed through the retardation plate necessarily passes through the polarizing member. Therefore, it is possible to provide a liquid crystal device with excellent contrast without causing uneven brightness.

According to another aspect of the invention, an electronic apparatus includes the above-described liquid crystal device.
Since the electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes a liquid crystal device that has excellent display characteristics and a narrow frame area of the liquid crystal panel, it is possible to provide an electronic apparatus that has excellent display characteristics.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, in order to make each layer and each member the size which can be recognized on drawing, the scale is varied for every layer and each member.

[Liquid Crystal Device]
FIG. 1 is an overall plan view and a cross-sectional view showing a liquid crystal display device including a thin film transistor, and relates to an embodiment of the liquid crystal device of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall structure of the liquid crystal display device 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX shown in FIG.
It is.

First, a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the liquid crystal device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a liquid crystal panel 10 including a pair of TFT array substrates (one substrate on the viewing side) 4 and a color filter substrate (the other substrate) 5. As shown in FIG. 2, an illumination unit 30 that irradiates the liquid crystal panel 10 with light as a backlight is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a TFT array substrate (active matrix substrate) 4 and a color filter substrate 5 disposed to face the TFT array substrate 4 in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The frame-shaped sealing material 7 is bonded together with a certain gap. As shown in FIG. 2, the region surrounded by the seal material 7 has a configuration in which a TN (Twisted Nematic) type liquid crystal 8 is sealed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the data line driving circuit 101 and the external circuit mounting terminal 102 are formed along one side (lower side in the drawing) of the TFT array substrate 4 in the region outside the sealing material 7. Scan line driving circuits 104a and 104b are formed along two sides adjacent to the side, respectively. On the remaining one side (the upper side in the figure) of the TFT array substrate 4, a plurality of wirings 105 are provided for connecting the scanning line driving circuits 104a and 104b. In addition, an inter-substrate conductive material 106 for providing electrical continuity between the TFT array substrate 4 and the color filter substrate 5 is disposed at each corner of the TFT array substrate 4.

  Instead of forming the data line driving circuit 101 and the scanning line driving circuits 104 a and 104 b on the TFT array substrate 4, for example, a COF (Chip On Film) substrate on which a driving LSI is mounted and a TFT array substrate 4 are mounted. You may make it electrically and mechanically connect with the terminal group formed in the periphery part via an anisotropic conductive film.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an incident-side polarizing plate 21 is attached to the outer surface 5 a of the color filter substrate 5, and an emission-side polarizing plate (polarizing member) 22 is attached to the outer surface 4 a of the TFT array substrate 4. It is worn. As shown in FIG. 2, the emission-side polarizing plate 22 has a planar dimension larger than that of the TFT array substrate 4.
The incident-side polarizing plate 21 has a size that covers a region partitioned by the sealing material 7 of the liquid crystal panel 10.

Next, details of the liquid crystal panel 10 will be described.
On the surface of the color filter substrate 5 on the liquid crystal 8 side, a color filter 12, an overcoat layer 13, a common electrode 14, and an alignment film 15 are laminated in this order. Further, a peripheral light shielding film 11 having a rectangular frame shape in plan view is provided along the inner peripheral side of the sealing material 7 to define an effective display area A of the image.
The color filter 12 includes a light shielding portion 12a and red, green, and blue colored portions 12R, 12G, and 12B. The light shielding portion 12a forms a matrix so as to partition the colored portions 12R, 12G, and 12B. Is formed. The light shielding portion 12a is made of, for example, a black photosensitive resin film.

A plurality of scanning lines (not shown) and a plurality of data lines (not shown) are formed in a matrix on the surface of the TFT array substrate 4 on the liquid crystal 8 side, and an area surrounded by these scanning lines and data lines A pixel electrode 17 is provided for each. A TFT element 18 is provided at a position where the scanning line and the data line intersect, and each pixel electrode 17 is connected to the data line via the TFT element 18. Thereby, when a signal is applied to the scanning line and the data line, the TFT element 18 is turned on / off, and the signal writing of the pixel electrode 17 is performed. An alignment film 19 that has been subjected to a rubbing process is formed on the entire surface of the TFT element 18 and the pixel electrode 17.
The common electrode 14 and the pixel electrode 17 are made of a light-transmitting conductive material such as ITO, and the alignment films 15 and 19 are made of polyimide or the like. Furthermore, the TFT array substrate 4 and the color filter substrate 5 are light-transmitting substrates made of a transparent material such as glass.

Next, the lighting unit 30 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the illumination unit 30 includes a light source 31 that emits light, a light guide plate (light guide member) 32 that allows the light emitted from the light source 31 to enter the liquid crystal panel 10, and a recess 33a. In addition, a frame (frame body) 33 that holds the light source 31 and the light guide member 32 is provided. The liquid crystal panel 10 is accommodated in the recess 33 a of the frame 33. Moreover, the light source 31 shall be comprised by LED (Light Emitting Diode: Light emitting diode), for example.
The light source 31 and the light guide plate 32 are provided so as to face the incident side polarizing plate 21, and the light emitted from the light source 31 is guided through the light guide plate 32 and incident from the incident side polarizing plate 21. It has become.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the emission side polarizing plate 22 is formed to have a larger plane dimension than the liquid crystal panel 10 accommodated in the recess 33 a of the frame 33. Specifically, the exit-side polarizing plate 22 covers the entire upper end portion (peripheral portion) 33 b protruding to the viewing side outside the concave portion 33 a of the frame 33, and the plane dimension is substantially the same size as the frame 33. It has become. That is, the exit-side polarizing plate 22 has an overhanging portion 22 a that protrudes from the TFT array substrate 4 so as to fill a gap between the TFT array substrate 4 and the upper end portion 33 b of the frame 33. Then, with the exit side polarizing plate 22 covering the recess 33 a of the frame 33, the liquid crystal panel 10 and the illumination unit 30 are placed between the outer surface 5 a of the color filter substrate 5 and the frame 33 as shown in FIG. It is adhered by a double-sided tape 35 provided. The double-sided tape 35 is provided at a position that does not cover the effective display area A of the liquid crystal panel 10. With this configuration, the effective display area A of the liquid crystal panel 10 is not narrowed.

  The depth L of the recess 33 a of the frame 33 is smaller than the thickness M including the incident side polarizing plate 21, the TFT array substrate 4, and the color filter substrate 5. Thereby, in a state where the liquid crystal panel 10 is housed in the recess 33 a of the frame 33, the liquid crystal display device 1 has a configuration in which the gap 40 is provided between the emission-side polarizing plate 22 and the upper end portion 33 b of the frame 33. Yes. In addition, since the thickness of the double-sided tape 35 is thinner than the thickness M, it is not included in the thickness M in this embodiment.

  In the liquid crystal display device 1 according to the present embodiment, the liquid crystal panel 10 and the illumination unit 30 are not fixed by the exit-side polarizing plate 22 as in the prior art, but the outer surface 5a of the color filter substrate 5 and the illumination unit 30 are fixed. In addition, since the gap 40 is provided between the upper end portion 33 b of the frame 33 and the exit side polarizing plate 22, the exit side polarizing plate 22 does not bend. That is, even when the depth L of the recess 33a of the frame 33 becomes larger than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel 10, the exit-side polarizing plate 22 does not only cover the recess 33a of the frame 33. The deformation of the plate 22 can be suppressed. Therefore, excellent display characteristics can be obtained with a simple configuration. In addition, since the emission side polarizing plate 22 covers the liquid crystal panel 10, the effective display area A can be expanded to the full extent of the liquid crystal panel 10, and thus the non-display area can be narrowed. Further, since the exit-side polarizing plate 22 has the overhanging portion 22 a so as to fill the gap 40 between the TFT array substrate 4 and the upper end portion 33 b of the frame 33, it is difficult for dust to be mixed into the frame 33. It has a configuration. Therefore, the liquid crystal display device 1 with improved visibility can be provided.

<Electronic equipment>
Next, the electronic apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the mobile phone. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1000 denotes a mobile phone, and reference numeral 1001 denotes a display unit. The liquid crystal display device of this embodiment is employed for the display unit 1001 of the mobile phone 1000. Therefore, an image can be displayed with high quality, and a thin and lightweight mobile phone 1000 can be provided.
The present invention is not limited to the above mobile phone, but is an electronic book, personal computer, digital still camera, liquid crystal television, viewfinder type or monitor direct-view type video tape recorder, car navigation device, pager, electronic notebook, calculator, word processor, work It can be suitably used as an image display means for electronic devices such as stations, videophones, POS terminals, touch panels, etc. In any case, an image can be displayed with high quality, and a thin and light electronic device can be provided. it can.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the frame 33 is formed such that the depth L of the recess 33a is smaller than the thickness M including the incident side polarizing plate 21, the TFT array substrate 4, and the color filter substrate 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the gap portion 40 is provided between the exit side polarizing plate 22 and the upper end portion 33b of the frame 33. However, the depth L of the concave portion 33a, the incident side polarizing plate 21, the TFT array substrate 4, and the color filter substrate 5 are used. The liquid crystal display device 50 in which the protruding portion 22a of the exit side polarizing plate 22 is in contact with the upper end portion 33b of the frame 33 may be used, as shown in FIG. In the case of this configuration, since the overhanging portion 22a of the emission side polarizing plate 22 is in contact with the upper end portion 33b of the frame 33, it is possible to reliably prevent dust from entering the recess 33a of the frame 33. That is, since the light guide plate 32 is not affected, it is possible to improve the utilization efficiency of the light that illuminates the liquid crystal panel 10 after the light guide plate 32 is guided.

  In the liquid crystal display device 1 and the liquid crystal display device 50, at least a part of the protruding portion 22 a of the emission side polarizing plate 22 may cover the concave portion 33 a of the frame 33. That is, the liquid crystal display devices 1 and 50 have a configuration in which the protruding portion 22a of the exit-side polarizing plate 22 covers the entire upper end portion 33b of the frame 33, but covers the upper end portions on both sides or covers only the upper end portion on one side. It may be a configuration.

  Furthermore, a phase difference plate may be provided between the TFT substrate 4 and the exit-side polarizing plate 22. In this case, it is preferable that the exit side polarizing plate 22 and the retardation plate have the same size. In this configuration, first, the light emitted from the light source 31 is guided through the light guide plate 32 and emitted to the incident-side polarizing plate 21. The light emitted to the incident side polarizing plate 21 passes through the incident side polarizing plate 21 and then passes through the liquid crystal panel 10. Then, it is converted into a desired polarization direction by a phase difference plate provided between the TFT array substrate 4 and the exit-side polarizing plate 22. Thus, by providing the retardation film, the light emitted from the liquid crystal panel 10 is color-adjusted and becomes bright. Furthermore, since the exit side polarizing plate 22 and the retardation plate have the same size, the light that has passed through the retardation plate always passes through the exit side polarizing plate 22. Therefore, it is possible to provide a liquid crystal device with excellent contrast without causing uneven brightness.

In addition, the light source 31 may be configured by a device other than an LED, and for example, the light source may be configured by a semiconductor laser such as an organic electroluminescence element, an edge emitting semiconductor laser, or a surface emitting semiconductor laser. Moreover, you may comprise a light source with a cold cathode tube.
Further, in the liquid crystal display devices 1 and 50, the liquid crystal 8 employs a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, but may employ a vertical alignment mode (VAN mode).

It is a top view which shows the liquid crystal device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing in the XX line of the liquid crystal device of FIG. FIG. 2 is a top view showing a positional relationship among a liquid crystal panel, a frame, and a polarizing member of the liquid crystal device of FIG. 1. FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of an electronic apparatus according to the invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the liquid crystal device of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,50 ... Liquid crystal display device (liquid crystal device), 22 ... Ejection side polarizing plate (polarizing member), 30 ... Illumination unit, 31 ... Light source, 32 ... Light guide plate (light guide member), 33 ... Frame (frame body), 33a ... concave portion, 33b ... upper end (periphery)

Claims (6)

A liquid crystal panel having a pair of substrates sandwiching the liquid crystal layer;
A polarizing member that is attached to one of the pair of substrates on the viewing side and whose plane dimension is larger than that of the one substrate;
A frame in which a concave portion that accommodates the liquid crystal panel and a peripheral portion that protrudes toward the viewing side outside the concave portion are formed;
The liquid crystal panel is fixed to the frame body at the recess,
The liquid crystal device, wherein the polarizing member has an overhanging portion that projects from the one substrate so as to fill a gap between the one substrate and a peripheral portion of the frame.   The frame body holds a light source that emits light and a light guide member that guides light emitted from the light source to the liquid crystal panel, and an illumination unit is formed by the frame body, the light source, and the light guide member The liquid crystal device according to claim 1.   The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting portion of the polarizing member is in contact with the peripheral portion of the frame.   The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein a gap is provided between the projecting portion of the polarizing member and the peripheral portion of the frame. A retardation plate is provided between the one substrate and the polarizing member,
5. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the polarizing member and the retardation plate have the same planar dimensions. An electronic apparatus comprising the liquid crystal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images