Liquid crystal cells – elements and systems – Particular structure – Having significant detail of cell structure only
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-14
2003-12-16
Ngo, Julie (Department: 2871)
Liquid crystal cells, elements and systems
Particular structure
Having significant detail of cell structure only
C349S139000, C349S145000, C349S143000, C349S149000, C349S152000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06665037
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-optic device having an electro-optic substance held between a pair of substrates, and an electronic apparatus employing the electro-optic device. More specifically, the present invention relates to the structure of electrodes and terminals in each of the substrates constituting the electro-optic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Of various types of electro-optic devices, one (liquid crystal device) utilizing a liquid crystal as an electro-optic substance comprises, as shown in
FIG. 21
, a first transparent substrate
10
Z and a second transparent substrate
20
Z arranged in an opposed relation, a sealing material
30
for bonding both the substrates to each other, and a liquid crystal sealed in an area surrounded by the first transparent substrate
10
Z, the second transparent substrate
20
Z and the sealing material
30
. In a state of the first transparent substrate
10
Z and the second transparent substrate
20
Z being bonded to each other in an opposed relation, the first transparent substrate
10
Z has a portion
25
′ extending out of an edge of the second transparent substrate
20
Z, and the second transparent substrate
20
Z has a portion
25
″ extending out of an edge of the first transparent substrate
10
Z.
A plurality of first electrodes
40
Z are formed on a surface of the first transparent substrate
10
Z opposing to the second transparent substrate
20
Z. The first electrodes
40
Z are formed to extend up to the extended portion
25
′ of the first transparent substrate
10
Z for connection to a driving IC
7
Z′ mounted in the extended portion
25
′. On the other hand, a plurality of second electrodes
50
Z are formed on a surface of the second transparent substrate
20
Z opposing to the first transparent substrate
10
Z in a crossed relation to the first electrodes
40
Z. The second electrodes
50
Z are formed to extend up to the extended portion
25
″ of the second transparent substrate
20
Z for connection to a driving IC
7
Z″ mounted in the extended portion
25
″. Thus, output signals from the driving IC
7
Z′ are supplied to the first electrodes
40
Z, and output signals from the driving IC
7
Z″ are supplied to the second electrodes
50
Z.
However, such a construction has the problem that the size of the electro-optic device is increased because the first transparent substrate
10
Z and the second transparent substrate
20
Z have the extended portions
25
′,
25
″.
To overcome the above problem, there has been proposed an electro-optic device of the type that permits signals to be inputted from one substrate to the other substrate by utilizing electrical conduction between both the substrates. This electrical conduction between both the substrates is established as shown in
FIGS. 22 and 23
. When a first transparent substrate
10
Z and a second transparent substrate
20
Z are bonded to each other, inter-substrate conducting terminal portions
60
Z constituted by ends of the first electrodes
40
Z formed on the first transparent substrate
10
Z and end portions
70
Z of terminals formed on the second transparent substrate
20
Z are placed in an opposed relation. In this condition, the sealing material
30
is hardened while applying forces to narrow a gap between the inter-substrate conducting terminal portions
60
Z and the terminal end portions
70
Z so that conductive particles
31
dispersed in the sealing material
30
are collapsed between the first transparent substrate
10
Z and the second transparent substrate
20
Z. As a result, the conductive particles
31
present between the inter-substrate conducting terminal portions
60
Z and the terminal end portions
70
Z establish electrical conduction between them, while the other conductive particles
31
present in other areas than the areas, in which the inter-substrate conducting terminal portions
60
Z and the terminal end portions
70
Z are opposed to each other, are not collapsed and do not take part in the electrical conduction between them. Therefore, only the inter-substrate conducting terminal portions
60
Z and the terminal end portions
70
Z are electrically conducted to each other.
As described below in connection with
FIG. 23
, the size of the electro-optic device can be reduced by utilizing the electrical conduction thus established between both the substrates. Referring to
FIG. 23
, the second transparent substrate
20
Z is formed to be greater than the first transparent substrate
10
Z, and the second transparent substrate
20
Z has a portion
25
Z extending out of an edge of the first transparent substrate
10
Z. In the extended portion
25
Z, a driving IC
7
is mounted for supplying predetermined signals to first electrodes
40
Z of the first transparent substrate
10
Z and second electrodes
50
Z of the second transparent substrate
20
Z. By utilizing the electrical conduction, described above with reference to
FIG. 22
, in a region circumscribed by a circle C in
FIG. 23
, output terminals of the driving IC
7
Z mounted on the second transparent substrate
20
Z are connected to the first electrodes
40
Z of the first transparent substrate
10
Z as well through the electrical conduction between both the substrates.
Employing such a construction reduces the size of the electro-optic device as compared with the electro-optic device shown in
FIG. 21
because only the one extended portion
25
′ is needed.
Further, even in an electro-optic device not employing the COG mounting, it is only necessary to connect a flexible board to one extended portion as shown in
FIGS. 24
to
29
.
FIGS. 24 and 25
are respectively a perspective view and an exploded perspective view of a conventional electro-optic device.
FIG. 26
is a sectional view of one end of the electro-optic device on the side indicated by XIV′ when sectioned along line XIV-XIV′ in FIG.
24
.
FIG. 27
is a plan view showing, in enlarged scale, electrodes and terminals formed on a first transparent substrate of the electro-optic device shown in
FIGS. 24
,
25
and
26
, and
FIG. 28
is a plan view showing, in enlarged scale, electrodes and terminals formed on a second transparent substrate of the electro-optic device shown in FIG.
25
.
FIG. 29
is a plan view showing, in enlarged scale, the electrodes and the terminals in a state where the first transparent substrate shown in FIG.
27
and the second transparent substrate shown in
FIG. 28
are bonded to each other.
The electro-optic device shown in those drawings is also a liquid crystal device of passive matrix type. As schematically shown in
FIGS. 24
,
25
and
26
, a pair of substrates each being made of a rectangular glass, for example, are bonded to each other by a sealing material
30
with a predetermined gap left therebetween, and a liquid crystal sealed-in space
35
is defined by the sealing material
30
between both the substrates. A liquid crystal as an electro-optic substance is sealed in the liquid crystal sealed-in space
35
to form a liquid crystal layer
4
(electro-optic layer), and an inner area of the liquid crystal sealed-in space
35
serves as an image display area
2
. In this description, of the pair of substrates, one provided with first electrodes
40
X (pixel addressing electrodes) including drive portions
41
X formed thereon to extend over the image display area
2
in the direction of length is assumed to be a first transparent substrate
10
X, and the other provided with second electrodes
50
Y (pixel addressing electrodes) including drive portions
51
Y formed thereon to extend over the image display area
2
in the direction of width is assumed to be a second transparent substrate
20
Y.
On the second transparent substrate
20
Y, as shown in
FIG. 26
, sets of color filters
7
R,
7
G and
7
B of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) are formed in areas corresponding to points at which the first electrodes
40
X intersect the second ele
Harness & Dickey & Pierce P.L.C.
Ngo Julie
Seiko Epson Corporation
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