The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and a mobile terminal device equipped with the liquid crystal display device.
On account of the use of LED, etc. and the progress of constituent members of other backlights, a higher intensity of a backlight employed in a liquid crystal display device can be attained nowadays. In the meanwhile, higher definition and higher color purity of a color liquid crystal for a cellular phone are increasing more and more. It is apparent that a transmittance of the liquid crystal is lowered owing to this higher definition and this higher color purity, which is one of major causes leading to a situation that a high-intensity backlight is desired (see JP-A-11-167112, JP-A-11-202282, JP-A-2003-91269, etc.)
Because of the higher intensity of the backlight, the higher definition and the higher color purity can be achieved not to lower a surface intensity of the liquid crystal rather than the prior art. In case the liquid crystal display device is incorporated into the equipment such as a mobile terminal device, or the like, which is restricted by a space and a power supply capacity, it is desired that such backlight should be utilized more effectively.
The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device capable of utilising the above-mentioned backlight more effectively and more effectually, and a mobile terminal device equipped with the liquid crystal display device.
A liquid crystal display device of the present invention, includes a liquid crystal panel containing a first display area on which a color display is given and a second display area on which a black and white display is given, both areas being formed integrally; and a display controlling portion for controlling a display operation of the first display area and the second display area.
Since such configuration is employed, a fight of the backlight can be utilized effectively, a size reduction of the liquid crystal display device can be attained, and a battery can be utilized effectively. Also, the second display area can foe used in the display that is different from the first display area, and it is facilitated that a light of the backlight can be used as the effective lighting.
In the above configuration, the first display area contains color filters and a black matrix, and the second display area does not contain the color filters and the black matrix.
Since the color filters and the black matrix are deleted, a light of the backlight can be utilized effectively in the second display area.
Other constituent elements except the color filters and the black matrix are used commonly in the first display area and the second display area. According to this configuration, the first display area and the second display area can be formed simply.
Also, a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, includes a liquid crystal panel containing a first display area having first color filters and a second display area having second color filters whose color density is smaller than that in the first color filters, both areas being formed integrally; and a display controlling portion for controlling a display operation of the first display area and the second display area. This liquid crystal display device can achieve the same advantages as the above liquid crystal display device. Also, other constituent elements except the first color filters and the second color filters can be used commonly in the first display area and the second display area.
The liquid crystal panel can contain TFTs that are formed throughout the first display area and the second display area. In this case, the liquid crystal display device can be constructed such that the display controlling portion can control independently the TFTs only in a portion corresponding to the second display area.
According to the above configuration, the first display area and the second display area can be driven mutually independently, and thus an effective utilization of the battery, and the like can be attained.
The liquid crystal display device can be constructed such that a size of one pixel in the first display area is different from a size of one pixel in the second display area.
According to the above configuration, a degree of high definition of display in the second display area can be improved, a utilization factor of light can be improved, and the like.
Also, the second display area is formed in at least a part of peripheries of the liquid crystal panel.
According to the above configuration, the first display area and the second display area can be formed simply.
The above liquid crystal display device can be applied to a mobile terminal device. In this case, reference information acquired from an external equipment, an incoming call message, a charging message, or the like can be displayed in the second display area.
A light of the backlight can be utilized effectively by employing the liquid crystal display device of the present invention. Therefore, a reduction in size of the liquid crystal display device can be achieved and also a battery can be utilized more effectively.
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Embodiments of the present invention will foe explained with reference to the drawings hereinafter.
The liquid crystal panel 6 includes two sheets of polarizers 61 arranged on the outside of the panel two sheets of opposing glass substrates 62, a color filter 63, TFTs (Thin Film Transistors) 64, a common electrode 65, alignment layers 66, a black matrix (black mask) 67, a sealing material 68, and a liquid crystal 69 sealed by two glass substrates 62 and the sealing material 68.
The polarizer 61 transmits or absorbs a particular polarization component. The glass substrate 62 is a transparent substrate, and is formed of a nonalkaline glass that is commonly excellent in flatness. The color filter 63 is formed of a resin film in which dyes or pigments having three primary colors of red/green/blue (RGB) are mixed. The color filter produces various colors by a mixture of three primary colors (color display).
The TFT 64 constitutes a switching element for driving the liquid crystal, and is constructed by a transparent electrode, a metal wiring, and the like. The TFT 64 is arranged at intersection points between gate lines and data lines, which are aligned in a matrix fashion, respectively. When a pulse voltage (scanning signal) is applied to the gate line and a signal voltage is applied from the data fine, the TFT 64 acts as a switching element to control a voltage applied to the pixel. The TFTs 64 are formed throughout a first display area (main display area) and a second display area (sub display area). In contrast, the common electrode 65 is an electrode that is commonly formed of a transparent conductive thin film made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide).
The alignment layer 66 is an organic thin film to align the liquid crystals, and is formed of a polyimide thin film, or the like. The black matrix (black mask) 67 is a light shielding film that is arranged between the pixels of the color filter. The sealing material 68 is an adhesive that joins respective peripheries of a glass substrate (TFT array substrate), on which the TFTs are formed, and a glass substrate (color filter array substrate), onto which the color filers are pasted, together. The liquid crystal 69 is sealed between the TFT array substrate and the color filter array substrate.
Normally, in the liquid crystal panel, a masking for preventing a light leakage of a backlight is applied to non-display areas except the display area on which the image is actually displayed. This masking is given by the black matrix that is arranged in the peripheral area of the panel.
In the liquid crystal panel 6 of the present embodiment, since an arrangement to transmit/block a light is provided in the non-display areas, so that a predetermined display or lighting such as character display, or the like can be realized. Also, in the non-display areas, a higher transmittance than that in the normal display area can be attained because the color filter is removed.
In
In
Then, in light of a difference in the characteristic between both areas, a size of one pixel (one cell or one dot) in the first display area and a size of one pixel in the second display area can be differentiated. Examples will be explained with reference to
Normally, in the color filter, sub pixels corresponding to RGB respectively are formed and a group of three RGB sub pixels constitute one pixel to display the actual image (
In contrast, as described above, when the gray scale display is given at the same dot pitch as the RGB color display not to reduce an area corresponding to one pixel, an area corresponding to a group of three RGB sub pixels can be handled as one pixel (
In addition, in the second display area, since not only the color filter is removed but also an area corresponding to one pixel is enlarged rather than one pixel (a group of three RGB sub pixels) in the first display area, an aperture ratio can be improved, a transmittance can be improved, and attenuation of a light of the backlight transmitted from the rear portion can be reduced (in an example in
Then, the liquid crystal display device is constructed by the liquid crystal panel 6 and the display controlling portion 5. Also, a configuration constructed by the backlight controlling portion and the backlight 3 in addition to the liquid crystal panel 6 and the display controlling portion 5 can be defined as the liquid crystal display device.
The power supply portion 1 controls ON/OFF of the power supply of the mobile terminal device, and has a battery voltage sensing portion 1a to sense a remaining life of the battery 2. Normally the battery 2 consists of two or three battery bars (cells).
The controlling portion 3 executes the overall control of the mobile terminal device. The controlling portion 3 contains CPU that controls respective portions in compliance with a predetermined program, data, etc. and executes various operating processes, RAM that saves temporarily programs, data, etc., ROM that accumulates predetermined programs, etc., and the like.
The radio portion 4 transmits/receives a radio wave via an antenna, and is constructed by various radio circuits, a matching circuit, etc. The radio portion 4 not only accepts an incoming call from the other side terminal but also receives reference information described later.
The display controlling portion 5 receives the instruction from the controlling portion 3 to execute drive control of the liquid crystal panel 6, and constitutes a so-called liquid crystal driver (liquid crystal driving LSI). The liquid crystal panel 6 has a structure shown in
The backlight controlling portion 7 is constructed by a set-up circuit that controls an intensity of the backlight, a lightening area, etc. The backlight 8 contains light guide plates and LEDs as a light source, and is normally arranged at the back of the liquid crystal panel 6. As the light source, the normal light bulbs can be uses instead of the LEDs. Also, reflectors, prism sheets, diffusers, etc. may be incorporated as the case may be.
The clock controlling portion 9 drives a clock incorporated into the mobile terminal device, controls a timer, etc. The sound processing portion 10 receives a received wave and the instruction issued based on predetermined functions from the controlling portion 3, converts it into sound information to be output from the speaker 11, and converts external sound information picked up via the microphone 12 into a predetermined signal that is output to the controlling portion 3. The input key 13 is constructed by various keys such as a cross key, a ten-key, and the like formed on an enclosure of the mobile terminal device. The memory device 14 is constructed by a nonvolatile memory, a miniature HDD, or the like, and stores data such as an address book, and the like.
According to the above configuration, publicity, news, etc., message of the incoming call message advising the user to charge a battery, message indicating that the battery is being charged, and the like can be displayed in the second display area whose current consumption is small. In other words, even when the backlight is set to a low intensity, the character recognition can be facilitated by using the second display area that has a high degree of definition or a high transmittance of light. Unlike the prior art, there is no need to employ other elements such as LED lamps provided separately, speakers, and the like, which consume a current, and therefore a current consumption can be reduced.
Also, the second display area can be used as the lighting when such area is turned ON at a maximum intensity. In addition, publicity, news, etc. can be displayed without change of a screen layout of the normal display area (first display area).
During a normal standby operation (step S101), if it is sensed that any key operation is applied via the input key 13 (step S102; Yes), it is decided whether or not reception of publicity/news (reference information) is set by this operation (step S103). If no key operation is sensed (step S102; No) or if the key operation does not set the reception of publicity/news (step S103; No), the mobile terminal device is set in a standby operation mode again.
If it is decided that the key operation sets the reception of publicity/news (step S103; Yes), it is decided whether or not the received information should foe displayed in the second display area (sub display area) (sub display area partial drive) (step S104). This decision is made based on information regarding a display method contained in the received information (which display mode should be selected).
If it is decided that publicity/news, or the like should be displayed in the second display area (step S104; Yes), the second display area is selected as the display area (step S105). Then, the backlight is set to a low intensify (step S106). Then, reception of the publicity/news via the radio portion 4 is started (step S107). Then, the received information is displayed in the second display area (step S108).
In contrast, if it is decided that publicity/news, or the like should not be displayed in the second display area (step 104; No), reception of the publicity/news is started directly (step S109). Then, the received information is displayed in the first display area (main display area) (step S110).
During the normal standby operation (step S201), if it is sensed that the incoming call arrives (step S202), the backlight is set to the low intensity (step S203). Then, the received message is displayed in the second display area (step S204).
During the normal standby operation (step S301), it is decided via the battery voltage sensing portion 1a whether or not there is merely one battery bar of the battery 2 left (step S302). If it is decided that the remaining battery bar is only one (step S302; Yes), an intensity of the backlight is set to a low intensity (step S303). In contrast, if it is not decided that the remaining battery bar is only one (step S302; No), the mobile terminal device is set to a standby operation mode again.
After an intensity of the backlight is set to a low intensify, it is decided based on default whether or not the displayed in the first display area should be continued subsequently (step S304). If the setting in the default indicates that the display should be switched to the second display area (step S304; Yes), the display in the second display area is started (step S305). Then, data and time, battery bar, etc, are displayed in the second display area (step S308). Then, a low voltage alarm is generated (step S307). Then, the message advising a charging is displayed in the second display area (step S308).
In contrast, if the setting in the default does not indicate that the display should be switched to the second display area (step S304; No), the display in the first display area is continued (step S309). Then, a low voltage alarm is generated (step S307). Then, the message advising a charging is displayed in the second display area (step S303).
In respective modes in
Also, an auxiliary light can be obtained by employing the liquid crystal display device of the present invention. Such auxiliary light can be used as an auxiliary light in the illumination applied to the device itself (own illumination) or the illumination applied to the equipment except the device itself (illumination for an external equipment).
In the case of own illumination, this illumination is used as the illumination that is available for a talking over a television telephone in a dark place or a self-shooting by a camera, and thus there is no need to provide the illumination unit separately. Also, even when an intensity of the backlight is reduced to an undazzling extent in a dark place, an intensity can be ensured sufficiently as the auxiliary light because no color filter is provided.
In the case of illumination for an external equipment, an overall area of the first display area and the second display area is displayed by a white light and also the backlight is set to a high intensity, and thus this mobile terminal device can be used as the illumination in the dark, or the like. Only the second display area a light utilization efficiency of which is high can be lightened fully.
Also, date and time, time, antenna bar, battery bar, pict (pictorial symbol), etc., which seem to be considered as the required minimum, can be displayed in the second display area. In this case, the sufficient recognition can be attained even when the setting of the backlight is changed to the low intensify. When the display in the first display area is turned OFF, i.e., the display only in the second display area is turned ON, and the backlight is turned OFF (partial display), a further low consumption power can be realized.
Because the color filter 70 is present, the second display area gives not the black & while display but the color display. However, since a color density of the color filter 70 is small, a transmittance of a light from the backlight is large rather than a transmittance of the color filter 63. Therefore, an intensity of the backlight can be lowered in the display of the second display area and as a result a low consumption power can be attained. Namely, the liquid crystal in another example can be used by the same method as the liquid crystal in
The liquid crystal display device of the present invention can derive its advantage particularly when this device is incorporated into a small-sized equipment. But the equipment as the object of incorporation is not limited to the mobile terminal device, and this liquid crystal display device may be incorporated into other equipments.
With the above, various embodiments of the present invention are explained, but the present invention is not limited to the matters illustrated in the embodiments. The present invention is susceptible to various modifications and adaptations that are made by those skilled in the art based on the description of the specification and the well-known technologies and are contained in a scope in which protection is demanded.
This application is based upon Japanese Patent Application (Patent Application No. 2005-074982) filed Mar. 16, 2005; the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
According to the present invention, the liquid crystal display device capable of utilizing effectively a light of the backlight and attaining easily a reduction in size can be provided.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2005-074962 | Mar 2005 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP2006/303625 | 2/27/2006 | WO | 00 | 9/14/2007 |