JP6042677B2 - Liquid crystal display - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device including an electrode having an opening.

  As one technique for improving the viewing angle characteristics of a liquid crystal display device, a plurality of openings (slits) are provided in each of the upper and lower electrodes that are opposed to each other with the liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween, so that a liquid crystal layer is applied when a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer. There is known a multi-domain alignment technique in which alignment domains of liquid crystal molecules are divided in a plurality of directions within one pixel. For example, in Japanese Patent No. 4107978 (Patent Document 1), liquid crystal at the time of voltage application is arranged by alternately arranging the openings of the upper electrode and the openings of the lower electrode in the short side direction in a plan view. There is disclosed a liquid crystal display device (liquid crystal display element) in which two alignment domains in which the alignment directions of liquid crystal molecules are 180 ° different from each other are obtained in a layer. In Japanese Patent No. 4846402 (Patent Document 2), voltage is applied by setting the longitudinal direction of each opening in two different directions for each of the opening of the upper electrode and the opening of the lower electrode. There is disclosed a liquid crystal display device (liquid crystal display element) in which four alignment domains in which the alignment directions of liquid crystal molecules are 90 ° different from each other are obtained in the liquid crystal layer.

  Further, in Japanese Patent No. 4884176 (Patent Document 3), when the longitudinal direction of each opening is set in two different directions for each of the opening of the upper electrode and the opening of the lower electrode, the plan view is shown. In this embodiment, the openings of the upper electrode and the opening of the lower electrode are alternately arranged with a half-pitch shift, so that the orientation directions of the liquid crystal molecules are different from each other by 90 ° in the liquid crystal layer when a voltage is applied. A liquid crystal display device (liquid crystal display element) in which an alignment domain is obtained is disclosed. According to such a configuration, the distance between adjacent openings can be increased as compared with the liquid crystal display device disclosed in Patent Document 2, so that the electrical resistance of the electrode is increased and the electrode is disconnected. It is possible to greatly reduce the probability of occurrence.

  By the way, generally, when manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, the alignment accuracy when the upper and lower substrates are overlapped is relatively low. Therefore, it is difficult to superimpose the upper and lower substrates while accurately aligning the positions of the openings provided in the respective electrodes of the upper and lower substrates as described above. If the positional relationship between the upper and lower substrates having openings in each electrode is shifted, the alignment uniformity during voltage application may be significantly reduced, resulting in a decrease in transmittance and display due to display unevenness in appearance. There is a concern that the quality will deteriorate.

Japanese Patent No. 4107978 Japanese Patent No. 4846402 Japanese Patent No. 4884176

  A specific aspect according to the present invention is to provide a technique capable of preventing a decrease in transmittance and a decrease in display quality due to a positional shift between upper and lower substrates in a liquid crystal display device using an electrode having an opening. One of the purposes.

A liquid crystal display device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes (a) a first substrate and a second substrate that are arranged to face each other, and (b) a plurality of first openings, and is provided on the first substrate. A first electrode; (c) a second electrode having a plurality of second openings and provided on the second substrate; and (d) a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. (E) Each of the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings has a planar view shape in which a plurality of portions extending in two or more different directions are coupled to each other at the end portions of the respective portions. And a checkered pattern alternately one by one along each of the first direction and the second direction perpendicular to the first direction that do not match at least two of the two or more extending directions of the plurality of portions. one end Jo in are arranged, and a first opening adjacent the second opening is proximate both so as not to overlap each other It is arranged with a gap, a liquid crystal display device.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent a decrease in transmittance and a decrease in display quality due to a positional deviation between the upper and lower substrates in a liquid crystal display device using an electrode having an opening.

  In the above liquid crystal display device, each of the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings is, for example, a V-shaped or inverted V-shaped plan view obtained by combining two portions extending in two directions, respectively. It preferably has a shape. In this case, the angle formed by the two directions is more preferably 90 ° ± 10 °. Moreover, it is also preferable that each of the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings has a Y-shaped or inverted Y-shaped plan view shape obtained by combining three portions respectively extending in three directions. Furthermore, it is also preferable that each of the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings has an X-shaped plan view shape in which four portions respectively extending in four directions are combined.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a plan view shape of a plurality of openings in the liquid crystal display device of Reference Example 1. FIG. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the electrode structure of the upper substrate used in the simulation analysis, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the electrode structure of the lower substrate used in the simulation analysis. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the calculation result of the oriented structure. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the calculation result of the oriented structure when the lower electrode is displaced in the right direction. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing the calculation result of the oriented structure when the lower electrode is shifted leftward. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a planar view shape of a plurality of openings in the liquid crystal display device of Reference Example 2. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the electrode structure of the upper substrate used in the simulation analysis, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the electrode structure of the lower substrate used in the simulation analysis. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a calculation result of the oriented structure. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the calculation result of the orientation structure when the lower electrode is shifted by 10 μm in the right direction. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing the calculation result of the oriented structure when the lower electrode is shifted 20 μm to the right. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the basic structure of the liquid crystal display device of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a detailed structure of the first opening and the second opening. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing the structure of the first electrode used in the simulation analysis, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing the structure of the second electrode used in the simulation analysis. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a calculation result of the oriented structure. FIG. 11A is a plan view showing a detailed structure of the first opening and the second opening in the liquid crystal display device of the second embodiment. FIG. 11B is a plan view showing a detailed structure of the first opening and the second opening in the liquid crystal display device of the third embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Reference Example 1)
As a reference example for examining the influence of the positional deviation of the upper and lower substrates, as shown in the above-mentioned Patent Document 3, when a voltage is applied to a liquid crystal display device in which a plurality of openings are provided in each electrode of the upper and lower substrates, respectively. The orientation texture was analyzed by simulation.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a plan view shape of a plurality of openings in the liquid crystal display device of Reference Example 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of first openings 101 extending in one direction are arranged in a checkered pattern on the upper electrode of the upper substrate, and a shape extending in one direction is formed on the lower electrode of the lower substrate. The plurality of second openings 102 are arranged in a checkered pattern. Each of the first openings 101 is arranged along one of two different directions in which the respective longitudinal directions are different, and the longitudinal directions of the first openings 101 adjacent to each other in the left-right direction are aligned in the same direction. The longitudinal directions of the first openings 101 adjacent to each other are staggered. Polarizers are respectively disposed on the outer sides of the upper substrate and the lower substrate. One polarizing plate has its absorption axis set in the horizontal direction, and the other polarizing plate has its absorption axis set in the vertical direction. Each of the two directions described above is rotated approximately 45 ° clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the absorption axis of one polarizing plate. In plan view, when attention is paid to one first opening 101 of the upper substrate, one end thereof partially overlaps one end of each of the two second openings 102 adjacent in the left-right direction. Specifically, the short side of the first opening 101 is in contact with the long side of the adjacent second opening 102. Here, as shown in the figure, the long side length of each first opening 101 and each second opening 102 is L, the short side length (opening width) is S, and the first opening is adjacent in the short side direction. The distance between the long sides of 101 and the second opening 102 is defined as P.

  The conditions for the simulation analysis are as follows (the same applies to Reference Example 2 and each embodiment described later). This analysis was carried out using LCD Master 3D version 7 which is a 3D analysis simulator manufactured by Shintech. The calculation area was set to 80 × 80 μm, the in-plane division number was set to 20 × 20 mesh, the cell thickness was set to 4 μm, and the division number in the thickness direction was set to 20. Each structure of the upper electrode and the lower electrode was defined as a periodic structure in the vertical and horizontal directions. The liquid crystal layer was assumed to have a completely vertical alignment with a pretilt angle of 90 ° when no voltage was applied, and a liquid crystal material having a refractive index anisotropy Δn of approximately 0.09 and a negative dielectric anisotropy was assumed. 4V was applied to the electrode of the upper substrate, and 0V was applied to the electrode of the lower substrate, and an alignment structure image when the alignment state of the liquid crystal layer became a steady state was calculated. In addition, the front side polarizing plate set the absorption axis in the horizontal direction, and the back side polarizing plate set the absorption axis in the vertical direction.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the electrode structure of the upper substrate used in the simulation analysis, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the electrode structure of the lower substrate used in the simulation analysis. The long side length L of each first opening and each second opening is about 56 μm or about 48 μm, the opening width S is about 14 μm, and the long sides of the first opening and the second opening that are adjacent in the short side direction. The distance P is approximately 21 μm. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the calculation result of the oriented structure. A dark region is generated at the bent portion where the first opening and the second opening overlap, because the orientation direction of the liquid crystal molecules is rotated by 90 ° around the bent portion. Furthermore, a dark area having a peculiar pattern in which a substantially circular shape and a linear shape are overlapped is observed on the convex portion side of the bent portion. In other regions, the liquid crystal molecules are generally aligned in the direction orthogonal to the long edge of each of the first opening and the second opening, and a uniform alignment state is obtained. For this reason, it is considered that a uniform display state can be obtained in appearance.

  Next, as an example of the case where the positional accuracy at the time of bonding the upper and lower substrates is not sufficient, when the lower electrode of the lower substrate is overlaid with a deviation of about 10 μm in the right direction or the left direction, the orientation structure simulation is performed in the same manner as described above. Analysis was performed. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the calculation result of the oriented structure when the lower electrode is displaced in the right direction. The first opening and the second opening arranged near the center of the image of the oriented tissue have a structure that does not overlap, and one end of either the first opening or the second opening arranged near the upper side of the image is The structure protrudes outward from the other long side. A dark region having the same pattern as that in the case of FIG. 2A described above is formed at the center of the image of the oriented tissue, but a dark region having a complicated pattern is formed above the image of the oriented tissue. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing the calculation result of the oriented structure when the lower electrode is shifted leftward. The first opening and the second opening arranged in the vicinity of the center of the image of the oriented tissue have a structure in which either one end protrudes outward from the other long side, and is arranged in the vicinity of the upper side of the image of the oriented tissue. The first opening and the second opening have a structure that does not overlap. Compared to the case of FIG. 2A described above, a dark region having a very complicated pattern is formed at the center of the image of the oriented tissue. A dark region having a similar pattern is formed. As described above, it is considered that even when the substrate is displaced by about 10 μm in the left-right direction, the change in the orientation structure is remarkably large, the area of the dark region is increased, and there is a possibility of inducing orientation non-uniformity in appearance. .

(Reference Example 2)
As a reference example for examining the influence of the positional deviation of the upper and lower substrates, as shown in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, when a voltage is applied to a liquid crystal display device in which a plurality of openings are provided in each electrode of the upper and lower substrates, respectively. The orientation texture was analyzed by simulation.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a planar view shape of a plurality of openings in the liquid crystal display device of Reference Example 2. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of first openings 101 that are periodically bent and extend in one direction are arranged in the upper electrode of the upper substrate, and the first openings 101 are arranged in the lower electrode of the lower substrate. Similarly, a plurality of second openings 102 that are periodically bent and extend in one direction are arranged. The bending direction of each of the first openings 101 and each of the second openings 102 is approximately 45 ° clockwise and counterclockwise with respect to the left-right direction as the extending direction. In addition, the first openings 101 and the second openings 102 are alternately arranged in the vertical direction without overlapping each other. Polarizers are respectively disposed on the outer sides of the upper substrate and the lower substrate. One polarizing plate has its absorption axis set in the horizontal direction, and the other polarizing plate has its absorption axis set in the vertical direction. Each of the first direction and the second direction described above is rotated approximately 45 ° clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the absorption axis of one polarizing plate. Here, as shown in the drawing, the first opening portions 101 adjacent to each other in the short side direction are set to L, the opening portion width is S, and the adjacent bent portions of the first opening portions 101 and the second opening portions 102 are adjacent to each other. And the distance between the long sides of the second opening 102 is defined as P.

  FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the electrode structure of the upper substrate used in the simulation analysis, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the electrode structure of the lower substrate used in the simulation analysis. The mutual length L of the bent portions of each first opening and each second opening is about 56 μm, the opening width S is about 14 μm, and the long sides of the first opening and the second opening adjacent in the short side direction The distance P is about 21 μm. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a calculation result of the oriented structure. A dark region is generated between the bent portions of the first opening and the second opening by rotating the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules by 90 °, but good alignment uniformity is obtained otherwise. Most of the liquid crystal molecules are aligned in the direction orthogonal to the long edge of each first opening or each second opening, and the effective aperture ratio is high, and it is considered that the display uniformity in appearance is excellent. .

  Next, as an example of the case where the positional accuracy at the time of bonding the upper and lower substrates is not sufficient, the orientation structure simulation is performed in the same manner as described above in the case where the lower electrode of the lower substrate is superimposed with a deviation of about 10 μm or about 20 μm in the right direction Analysis was performed. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the calculation result of the orientation structure when the lower electrode is shifted by 10 μm in the right direction. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing the calculation result of the oriented structure when the lower electrode is shifted 20 μm to the right. As shown in FIGS. 6 (B) and 6 (C), even if the lower electrode is displaced, the dark region connecting the respective bending points of the first opening and the second opening is maintained, and its periphery Generation of a dark region due to disorder of the orientation of is not observed. It is conceivable that the disorder of orientation is difficult to be observed in appearance. Therefore, the liquid crystal display device using the opening portion having the structure shown in FIG. 4 is considered to have a relatively large margin with respect to the positional deviation in the horizontal direction of the upper and lower substrates. However, since each opening is continuous in the left-right direction while being bent, the electrode is likely to be disconnected. Further, the areas of the domains corresponding to the four orientation directions are easily affected by the positional deviation of the upper and lower substrates, and there is a concern about the influence on the viewing angle characteristics. Therefore, it is conceivable to provide a split part at the bent part or straight part so as not to cause the electrode breakage.However, depending on the arrangement of the split part, the alignment uniformity is disturbed and the dark area increases or the display uniformity is improved. It may be damaged. Moreover, the device which suppresses the raise of the electrical resistance of an electrode is also required.

  An embodiment of a liquid crystal display device capable of preventing a decrease in transmittance and a decrease in display quality due to such positional deviation between the upper and lower substrates will be described in detail below.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the basic structure of the liquid crystal display device of the first embodiment. The liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate 11 and a second substrate 12 which are disposed to face each other, a first electrode 13 provided on the first substrate 11, a second electrode 14 provided on the second substrate 12, A liquid crystal layer 17 disposed between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 is provided as a basic configuration. For example, the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment is configured so that a region where electrodes overlap with each other forms a character or design to be displayed, and can basically display only a predetermined character or the like. This is a segment display type liquid crystal display device in which an area ratio of about 50% or less contributes to the display of characters and the like. Note that the liquid crystal display device may be a dot matrix display type in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix, or may be a mixture of a segment display type and a dot matrix type.

  The first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are transparent substrates such as a glass substrate and a plastic substrate, respectively. As illustrated, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are bonded to each other with a predetermined gap (for example, about 4 μm).

  The first electrode 13 is provided on one surface side of the first substrate 11. Similarly, the second electrode 14 is provided on one surface side of the second substrate 12. The first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 are each configured by appropriately patterning a transparent conductive film such as indium tin oxide (ITO), for example. The first electrode 13 is provided with a plurality of first openings 18, and the second electrode 14 is provided with a plurality of second openings 19. The detailed structure of each first opening 18 and each second opening 19 will be described later.

  The first alignment film 15 is provided on one surface side of the first substrate 11 so as to cover the first electrode 13. The second alignment film 16 is provided on one surface side of the second substrate 12 so as to cover the second electrode 14. As the first alignment film 15 and the second alignment film 16, vertical alignment films that restrict the alignment state of the liquid crystal layer 17 to the vertical alignment are used. Each alignment film is not subjected to uniaxial alignment treatment such as rubbing treatment.

  The liquid crystal layer 17 is provided between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12. In the present embodiment, the liquid crystal layer 17 is configured using a liquid crystal material having a negative dielectric anisotropy Δε. The refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal material is, for example, about 0.09. The thick line shown in the liquid crystal layer 17 schematically shows the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer 17. The liquid crystal layer 17 of the present embodiment is set to a vertical alignment in which the alignment direction of liquid crystal molecules when no voltage is applied is perpendicular to the substrate surfaces of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12.

  The first polarizing plate 21 is disposed outside the first substrate 11. Similarly, the second polarizing plate 22 is disposed outside the second substrate 12. The first polarizing plate 21 and the second polarizing plate 22 are arranged so that their absorption axes are substantially orthogonal to each other. In addition, an optical compensation plate such as a C plate may be appropriately disposed between each polarizing plate and each substrate. For example, in the present embodiment, optical compensation plates 23 and 24 are disposed between the first substrate 11 and the first polarizing plate 21 and between the second substrate 12 and the second polarizing plate 22, respectively.

  FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a detailed structure of the first opening and the second opening. Each first opening 18 has an inverted V-shape formed by joining two portions extending in two different directions at the respective ends in plan view. Each illustrated first opening 18 is joined at an angle of approximately 90 ° in the longitudinal direction of the two portions. The first openings 18 are periodically arranged in a checkered pattern with respect to the vertical direction in the figure, which is a direction different from the extending direction of each part, and the horizontal direction perpendicular thereto. Similarly, each second opening 19 has an inverted V-shape formed by joining two portions extending in two different directions at the respective ends in plan view. Each of the illustrated second openings 19 is joined at an angle of approximately 90 ° in the longitudinal direction of the two portions. And each 2nd opening part 19 is periodically arranged in the checkered pattern with respect to each of the up-down direction in the figure which is a direction different from the direction where each site | part extended, and the left-right direction.

The first openings 18 and the second openings 19 are arranged so as to be shifted from each other by approximately ½ pitch in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. For this reason, the 1st opening part 18 and the 2nd opening part 19 are alternately arrange | positioned 1 each in either the up-down direction and the left-right direction. The first opening 18 and the second opening 19 that are adjacent in the left-right direction in plan view may slightly overlap each other at one end (one short side), but the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 In order to further expand the alignment margin, it is preferable that the two do not overlap as shown in FIG. 8, that is, a gap is provided between adjacent portions .

  Next, the simulation analysis result of the orientation structure of the liquid crystal display device having the electrode structure shown in FIG. 8 will be described. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing the structure of the first electrode used in the simulation analysis, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing the structure of the second electrode used in the simulation analysis. The distance L from the apex of each bent portion of each of the first opening and the second opening to one short side end is approximately 54 μm, the opening width S is approximately 14 μm, and the adjacent first opening and second opening The distance P between the long side edges was set to about 21 μm. The angle of the bent portion is approximately 90 °. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a calculation result of the oriented structure. As shown in the drawing, a dark region is formed between the bent portions of the first opening and the second opening, but both are uniform. In addition, a loop-shaped dark region is observed below between the adjacent first opening and the second opening. This is because the adjacent first opening and the second opening are arranged apart from each other. Because it is.

  As described above, in the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment, even when the first substrate and the second substrate are displaced, the area of the dark region is reduced as compared with the case of the above-described Reference Examples 1 and 2, and in the appearance observation It is considered that the uniformity of alignment is improved and the increase in resistance of each electrode can be suppressed. In addition, it is considered that the influence on the non-uniform area of the domains corresponding to the four orientation directions can be suppressed, and the deterioration of display quality during appearance observation can be suppressed.

  Each of the first opening and the second opening described above is formed in an inverted V shape in plan view, but may be formed in a V shape rotated by 180 ° within the substrate surface or within the substrate surface. It is good also as a shape (horizontal V shape) rotated 90 degrees or 270 degrees. Furthermore, it is good also as V shape rotated 45 degrees with each polarizing plate, and V shape rotated 135 degrees. Moreover, it is preferable to set the angle of each bent portion of the first opening and the second opening to about 90 ° ± 10 °. Furthermore, the effective display area of the liquid crystal display device may be divided into a plurality of portions, and the angles of the bent portions may be different from each other. In the above-described example, the long side portions of the first opening and the second opening are linear, but they may be curved, or a collective linear shape in which many line segments are bent and joined. Also good. Further, the bent portion may be a curved corner instead of an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 11A is a plan view showing a detailed structure of the first opening and the second opening in the liquid crystal display device of the second embodiment. The overall configuration of the liquid crystal display device is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 7). Each first opening 18 has an inverted Y-shape formed by joining three portions extending in three different directions at the respective ends in plan view. And each 1st opening part 18 is periodically arranged in a checkered pattern with respect to each of the up-down direction in a figure which is a direction different from the extending direction of two of each site | part, and the left-right direction orthogonal to this Has been. Similarly, each second opening 19 has an inverted Y-shape formed by joining three portions extending in three different directions at the respective ends in plan view. And each 2nd opening part 19 is periodically arranged in the checkered pattern with respect to each of the up-down direction and the left-right direction in a figure which are directions different from the two extending directions of each site | part. In the illustrated example, each of the first opening 18 and the second opening 19 has three portions coupled with each other at an angle of approximately 120 °, and the three portions have substantially the same longitudinal length.

The first openings 18 and the second openings 19 are arranged so as to be shifted from each other by approximately ½ pitch in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. For this reason, the 1st opening part 18 and the 2nd opening part 19 are alternately arrange | positioned 1 each in either the up-down direction and the left-right direction. The first opening 18 and the second opening 19 that are adjacent in the left-right direction in plan view may slightly overlap each other at one end (one short side), but the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 In order to further increase the alignment margin, it is preferable that the two do not overlap as shown in FIG. 11A , that is, a gap is provided between the adjacent ends .

  By using the first opening 18 and the second opening 19 as described above, an alignment domain divided into two alignment directions is formed by two portions (branches) extending in the left oblique direction and the right oblique direction, respectively. In doing so, the position of these domain boundaries can be controlled by the site extending vertically. Therefore, an effect of improving the alignment uniformity of the appearance observation can be expected.

  In each first opening 18 and each second opening 19, the portion extending in the vertical direction is preferably arranged between alignment domains whose alignment directions are different by 90 °, but the length is right The length in the longitudinal direction may be set shorter than the portion extending in each of the diagonal direction and the diagonal left direction. In addition, a part of the first opening 18 and the second opening 19 that are adjacent in the vertical direction may overlap each other or may not overlap as illustrated. Further, the angles formed by the three portions of each first opening 18 and each second opening 19 are preferably equal as in the illustrated example, but may not be equal. For example, the angle formed by the part extending in the vertical direction and the part extending in the diagonally right direction and the part extending in the diagonally left direction are equal, and the part extending in the diagonally right direction You may make it smaller or larger than the angle which the site | part which extends in the diagonally left direction makes. In the illustrated example, each first opening 18 and each second opening 19 are formed in an inverted Y shape. However, the first opening 18 and the second opening 19 may be turned upside down to form a Y shape, or a shape rotated by 90 ° or 270 °. It is good. At this time, if the polarizing plate is also rotationally arranged, each absorption axis may be rotated approximately 45 ° or approximately 135 ° clockwise or counterclockwise.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 11B is a plan view showing a detailed structure of the first opening and the second opening in the liquid crystal display device of the third embodiment. The overall configuration of the liquid crystal display device is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 7). Each of the first openings 18 has an X-shape formed by joining four portions extending in four different directions from each other in plan view. And each 1st opening part 18 is periodically arranged in the checkered pattern with respect to each of the up-down direction in the figure which is a direction different from the direction where each site | part extended, and the left-right direction. Similarly, each second opening 19 has an inverted Y-shape formed by joining three portions extending in three different directions at the respective ends in plan view. And each 2nd opening part 19 is periodically arranged in the checkered pattern with respect to each of the up-down direction in the figure which is a direction different from the direction where each site | part extended, and the left-right direction orthogonal to this. In the illustrated example, each of the first opening 18 and the second opening 19 has four portions coupled to each other at an angle of approximately 90 °, and the longitudinal lengths of the four portions are substantially equal.

The first openings 18 and the second openings 19 are arranged so as to be shifted from each other by approximately ½ pitch in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. For this reason, the 1st opening part 18 and the 2nd opening part 19 are alternately arrange | positioned 1 each in either the up-down direction and the left-right direction. The first opening 18 and the second opening 19 that are adjacent in the left-right direction in plan view may slightly overlap each other at one end (one short side), but the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 to further enlarge the alignment margin, to ensure that do not overlap each other as shown in FIG. 11 (B), i.e. preferably it is disposed with a gap between one end adjacent the two. In addition, although it is more preferable that the angle which the four parts in each 1st opening part 18 and each 2nd opening part 19 mutually form is equal like the example shown in figure, it does not need to be equal.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the content of embodiment mentioned above, In the range of the summary of this invention, it can change and implement variously.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11: 1st board | substrate 12: 2nd board | substrate 13: 1st electrode 14: 2nd electrode 15: 1st orientation film 16: 2nd orientation film 17: Liquid crystal layer 18: 1st opening part 19: 2nd opening part 21: First polarizing plate 22: Second polarizing plate 23, 24: Optical compensation plate

Claims (5)

A first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite to each other;
A plurality of first openings, a first electrode provided on the first substrate;
A plurality of second openings, a second electrode provided on the second substrate;
A liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate;
Including
Each of the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings has a planar view shape in which a plurality of portions extending in two or more directions different from each other are coupled at the ends of the respective portions. The checkerboard is alternately arranged in a checkered pattern along each of a first direction that does not coincide with at least two of the two or more extending directions of the plurality of portions and a second direction orthogonal thereto. And the first opening and the second opening that are adjacent to each other are arranged with a gap between their adjacent ends so as not to overlap each other .
Liquid crystal display device.   2. Each of the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings has a V-shaped shape or an inverted V-shaped plan view shape that combines two portions extending in two directions, respectively. A liquid crystal display device according to 1.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 2, wherein an angle formed by the two directions is 90 ° ± 10 °.   2. Each of the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings has a Y-shaped or inverted Y-shaped plan view shape obtained by combining three portions respectively extending in three directions. A liquid crystal display device according to 1.   2. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings has an X-shaped plan view shape obtained by combining four portions respectively extending in four directions. apparatus.