Patent Publication Number: US-8537305-B2

Title: Liquid crystal display with narrow angular range of incident light

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the invention 
     The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display and, more particularly, to a liquid crystal display which exhibits an increased contrast ratio while maintaining a wide viewing angle. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Liquid crystal displays are used in various fields, from home use to medical use, because of their features such as low profile, light weight, and low power consumption; furthermore, their use is on the rise. Generally, in a liquid crystal display, a polarizing plate, liquid crystals, and a further polarizing plate are arranged in this order on a backlight. The liquid crystal display controls the quantity of light passing through the polarizing plate on the exit side by applying a voltage to the liquid crystal and performs display of an image. 
     The viewing angles of liquid crystal displays are steadily increasing due to previous technical developments, including in-plane switching mode (IPS mode) and vertical alignment mode (VA mode) in medical monitors, flat-screen televisions and the like. In-plane switching mode liquid crystal displays are preferred at present because of the smoothness of their viewing angle characteristics. 
     However, the demands for higher image quality on medical liquid crystal monitors, flat-screen liquid crystal televisions and the like continue to grow. Examples of requirements for higher-quality display include an increase in contrast ratio (the ratio between a luminance with which black is displayed (black luminance) and a luminance with which white is displayed (white luminance)). The contrast ratio increases with increasing white luminance and decreasing black luminance. That is, as the contrast ratio increases, the difference between white and black becomes clearer, and image quality improves. In particular, a contrast ratio of 1,000 or higher is strongly desired for medical monochrome liquid crystal monitors. 
     A technique for increasing the contrast ratio in a liquid crystal display is described in JP11-337922 (reference 1). 
     In the liquid crystal display of reference 1, only those light components whose angles of incidence are less than a predetermined angle relative to the perpendicular are permitted to impinge on the pixels from the backlight. More specifically, by limiting the angle of light incident on the liquid crystal panel, the light incident in a more oblique direction is reduced, and light scattering that would otherwise occur within the liquid crystal panel is prevented. As a result the black luminance is reduced, and in turn the contrast ratio is increased. 
     However, since the liquid crystal display disclosed in reference 1 limits the angle of incident light in all directions parallel to the substrate, the increase in contrast ratio comes at the expense of reduced viewing angle and reduced luminance. The decreases in viewing angle and luminance are serious drawbacks, especially in liquid crystal panels intended to have a wide viewing angle such as the in-plane switching mode displays. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to solve or at least to lessen the above-described problem by providing a liquid crystal display which exhibits a high contrast ratio while maintaining a wide viewing angle and high luminance. 
     In order to achieve that object, a first embodiment of the invention includes a liquid crystal display including a liquid crystal panel in which at least one of a pixel electrode and a common electrode formed within a pixel comprises repeating structures, and a light source illuminating said liquid crystal panel, wherein an angle range of light incident from the light source on the liquid crystal panel along a direction of the repeating structures is narrower than that along an orthogonal direction. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view showing a liquid crystal display according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view showing the liquid crystal display of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a graph showing the light distribution characteristics in the vertical and horizontal directions of a backlight used in the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a chart showing a difference in black luminance between the liquid crystal display of the present invention and a conventional liquid crystal display. 
         FIG. 5  is a chart showing a difference in contrast ratio between the liquid crystal display of the present invention and the conventional liquid crystal display. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view showing a liquid crystal display according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view showing the structure of a light-absorbing anisotropic member used in a liquid crystal display of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view showing a liquid crystal display according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a sectional view showing a liquid crystal display according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a view showing a modified electrode structure used in the liquid crystal display of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a view showing another modified electrode structure used in the liquid crystal display of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing terminal equipment to which the present invention is applied. 
         FIG. 13  is a sectional view showing the liquid crystal display according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     To widen the viewing angle, the present inventors have thoroughly investigated the causes of low contrast ratio in liquid crystal displays wherein the pixel electrode or common electrode (or both) of a given pixel has repeating structures arising from coupling pattern units. 
     Examples of a liquid crystal display with the above-described structure include an in-plane switching mode display, a fringe-field switching mode display, and a patterned vertical alignment mode display. 
     The present inventors have discovered that in such a liquid crystal display, the contrast ratio degrades because scattering occurs at intervals in the plane of a liquid crystal panel due to repeating structures of an electrode. In particular, it is believed that scattered light beams which occur at intervals are intensified by interference, and scattering from repeating portions within a pixel contributes most significantly to degrading the contrast ratio. 
     Also, the present inventors have evaluated the contrast ratio using a backlight whose output angle range varies depending on the direction of light incident on the liquid crystal panel and found from the result that the contrast ratio increases by limiting the incident light angle in a direction which coincides with the direction of the cycles of the repeating structures of an electrode within one pixel and that the contrast ratio does not change by limiting the incident light angle in a direction orthogonal to that direction. Thus, it was found that the incident light angle need not be limited in a direction other than the direction of the repeating structures of the electrode. 
     The present invention is therefore able to achieve a high contrast ratio while maintaining a wide viewing angle, by causing the incident angle range along a direction of repeating structures of the electrode on the liquid crystal panel to be narrower than that along an orthogonal direction. 
     Thus, in a first aspect of the present invention, a backlight whose output angle range varies depending on the direction of light radiation is arranged behind a liquid crystal panel, and a direction in which the output angle range of light radiation from the backlight on the liquid crystal panel is relatively narrow is made to coincide with the direction of the repeating structures of an electrode formed within a pixel. 
     Whereas conventional liquid crystal displays limit the incident light angle in all directions around the normal axis, thereby impairing the viewing angle and luminance, with the arrangement of the present invention it becomes possible to minimize the sacrifice of the viewing angle and the luminance, and to increase the contrast ratio. 
     A second aspect of the present invention is that an output angle range ratio between a direction in which the output angle range is wide and a direction in which the output angle range is narrow is 1:3 or more. 
     This ratio makes it possible to increase the contrast ratio to 1.7 times or more than that of a conventional liquid crystal display while maintaining a wide viewing angle and to achieve a contrast ratio of 1,000 or more. 
     A backlight ( FIG. 3 ) whose half-luminance angle in the horizontal direction is ±20° and whose half-luminance angle in the vertical direction is ±60° was arranged behind the liquid crystal panel, and the contrast ratio was evaluated as an example. The result showed that when the direction of the cycles of the repeating structures of an electrode within one pixel of the liquid crystal panel is made to coincide with the incident direction whose half-luminance angle is ±20°, the black luminance of the liquid crystal display is reduced to ⅔ or less than that of a conventional display, and the contrast ratio is increased by 1.7 times or more. Since the contrast ratio of a conventional in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display is approximately 600, the effect makes it possible to achieve a contrast ratio of 1,000 or more. 
     Since the incident direction whose half-luminance angle is ±20° is made to coincide with the direction of the cycles of the repeating structure of the electrode within one pixel, the viewing angle and the luminance in this direction are somewhat affected in this direction only. The viewing angle and the luminance in all other directions can be kept as wide as that of a conventional liquid crystal display. 
     A third aspect of the present invention is a liquid crystal display according to the first aspect of the present invention, further including a light-absorbing anisotropic member having repeating structures in which light-transmitting regions and light-shielding regions are alternated in a plane, wherein the light-absorbing anisotropic member is arranged between the liquid crystal panel and the light source, and a direction of repeating structures of the electrode coincides with a direction of cycles of the repeating structures of the light-absorbing anisotropic member. 
     In this aspect, only the incident light angle in a direction which coincides with the direction of the repeating cycles of the light-transmitting regions and light-shielding regions can be limited by the light-absorbing anisotropic member. Accordingly, this aspect increases the contrast ratio while maintaining a wide viewing angle and high luminance, while permitting a conventional backlight to be used without any modification. 
     A fourth aspect of the present invention is a liquid crystal display according to the first aspect of the present invention, further including an anisotropic diffuser arranged between the liquid crystal panel and the light source, wherein a direction of repeating structures of the electrode coincides with a direction in which diffusivity of the anisotropic diffuser is small. 
     The anisotropic diffuser used in the fourth aspect of the present invention has a diffusing power for light radiation which varies depending on the output angle. Accordingly, the range of an incident angle on the liquid crystal panel can be controlled by an incident direction. As a result, there is produced the effect that a conventional backlight can be used without any modification, similarly to the third aspect of the present invention. 
     A fifth aspect of the present invention involves using a liquid crystal display according to the first aspect of the present invention, and including an anisotropic lens sheet arranged between the liquid crystal panel and the light source, wherein a direction in which an incident angle range of light incident from the anisotropic lens sheet on the liquid crystal panel becomes relatively narrow, coincides with a direction of repeating structures of the electrode. 
     The anisotropic lens sheet used in the fifth aspect of the present invention can control the output angle range of light radiation from the backlight in accordance with the incidence direction, similarly to the third aspect of the present invention. Accordingly, in the fifth aspect of the present invention a conventional backlight can be used without any modification, similarly to the third aspect of the present invention and fourth aspect of the present invention. 
     A sixth aspect of the present invention involves a liquid crystal display wherein the vertical direction of display is the direction in which the angular range of light incident on the liquid crystal panel is relatively narrow. 
     With this arrangement, even though the viewing angle and the luminance in the vertical direction are limited, the viewing angle and the luminance in the horizontal direction are normal. This allows the display to be viewed with less discomfort than for a conventional liquid crystal display and at the same time makes it possible to provide a liquid crystal display with a wide viewing angle and high luminance whose contrast ratio has been increased as compared to a conventional liquid crystal display. 
     A seventh aspect of the present invention is a liquid crystal display according to the first aspect of the invention further comprising an anisotropic reflector plate arranged behind the light source, wherein the anisotropic reflector plate has a reflection angle which varies depending on a direction of light reflection, and a direction in which the reflection angle range is relatively narrow coincides with a direction of repeating structures of the electrode. 
     An eighth aspect of the present invention is terminal equipment having the above-described liquid crystal display. This invention makes it possible to provide terminal equipment with a wider viewing angle and higher contrast ratio than conventional terminal equipment. 
     As has been explained above, according to the present invention, a liquid crystal display which exhibits a high contrast ratio while maintaining a wide viewing angle and a high luminance can be provided by causing the angular range of light incident from a light source on the liquid crystal panel to be relatively narrow in a direction coinciding with the direction of the repeating structures of an electrode formed within a pixel. 
     A conventional backlight can be used by inserting a photoanisotropic member between the liquid crystal panel and the backlight, forming anisotropy in the incident angle range of the incident direction from the backlight on the liquid crystal panel, and/or making the direction of the repeating cycles of the electrode structure coincide with a direction in which the incident angle range of incident light is narrow. 
     The present invention will be further explained in detail below on the basis of preferred embodiments of the present invention and with reference to the drawings. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic plan view on an enlarged scale of a one-pixel region of a liquid crystal display serving as a first embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 2  shows a section taken along the line A-B of the liquid crystal display shown in  FIG. 1 . The components in  FIGS. 1 and 2  are not drawn to scale, for ease of explanation. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , each of pixels of the liquid crystal display according to this embodiment is located in a region delimited by signal lines  11 , and a scanning line  12  and common electrode line  13 . The pixel comprises a drain electrode line  14 , pixel electrode line  15 , common electrode  16 , pixel electrode  17 , and TFT transistor  18 . Each of the pixel electrode  17  and common electrode  16  forms a comb-shaped electrode structure and has repeating structures in the horizontal direction of the sheet surface shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     As for the TFT transistor  18  of each pixel, the source is connected to the corresponding pixel electrode  17  through the corresponding pixel electrode line  15  while the drain is connected to the corresponding signal line  11  through the corresponding drain electrode line  14 . The TFT transistor  18  controls the signal input from the signal line  11  to the pixel electrode line  15  on the basis of the presence/absence of a voltage applied to the scanning line  12 . Although no storage capacitor is shown for the sake of clarity, in practice a storage capacity is formed at a predetermined position in accordance with the layout of the liquid crystal display. 
     In this embodiment, each of the common electrodes  16  and pixel electrodes  17  is formed of a metal film. Each common electrode  16  is connected to the corresponding common electrode line  13  of an underlying layer through a first contact hole  19 . Each pixel electrode  17  is connected to the corresponding pixel electrode line  15  of an underlying layer through a second contact hole  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the liquid crystal display according to this embodiment has a structure in which a backlight  34 , TFT substrate  21 , liquid crystal  23 , and counter substrate  22  are stacked in order from the bottom layer. In the liquid crystal display, a portion formed by stacking the TFT substrate  21 , liquid crystal  23 , and counter substrate  22  in this order constitutes a liquid crystal panel portion. A cold-cathode tube is used as the backlight  34 . 
     The counter substrate  22  comprises a glass substrate  30 , black matrix (BM)  33 , protective film  31 , and alignment layer  32 .  FIG. 2  envisions a monochrome liquid crystal panel to simplify the explanation of the present invention. The liquid crystal panel may instead be a color liquid crystal panel in which an RGB color filter layer is formed on the glass substrate  30 . 
     The TFT substrate  21  comprises at least a glass substrate  24 , a first inorganic insulating film (gate insulating film)  25 , the signal lines  11 , the pixel electrodes  17 , a second inorganic insulating film (protective film)  26 , the common electrodes  16 , and an alignment layer  29 , from the side of the backlight  34 . Depending on the design guidelines for the liquid crystal display, an organic insulating film may be added on the second inorganic insulating film  26 . 
     The first inorganic insulating film  25  is used to insulate the scanning lines  12  and common electrode lines  13  shown in  FIG. 1  from upper layers. The signal lines  11  and pixel electrodes  17  are formed on the first inorganic insulating film  25  and are insulated from upper layers by the second inorganic insulating film  26 . The wiring width and thickness and the wiring material are selected for each of the signal lines  11 , scanning lines  12 , and common electrode lines  13  such that the lines serve as desired wiring resistors. Each TFT transistor  18  is formed at a predetermined position of the upper portion of the corresponding scanning line  12  using the first inorganic insulating film  25  as a gate insulating film. The common electrodes  16  are arranged on the second inorganic insulating film  26 . The liquid crystal  23  sandwiched between the TFT substrate  21  and the counter substrate  22  is driven by a lateral electric field (the horizontal direction of the sheet surface shown in  FIG. 2 ) formed between the common electrodes  16  and the pixel electrodes  17 . 
     The backlight  34  is arranged behind the TFT substrate  21 . A surface of the glass substrate  24  which comes in contact with the backlight  34  has a polarizer (not shown) to limit polarization of the backlight  34 . 
     A polarizer (not shown) is positioned on the outer surface of the glass substrate  30 . The polarization direction of the polarizer is orthogonal to that of the polarizer behind the glass substrate  24 . For this reason, when no electric field is applied to the liquid crystal  23 , light from the backlight  34  that has passed through the glass substrate  24  cannot pass through the glass substrate  30 , and the liquid crystal display shows black. The black mask (BM)  33 , which blocks light, is disposed on the inner surface of the glass substrate. The BM  33  shields the signal lines  11 , scanning lines  12 , and common electrode lines  13  and virtually delimits the pixels. 
       FIG. 3  shows the light distribution characteristics in the vertical and horizontal directions of the backlight  34  used in this embodiment. In  FIG. 3 , a solid line denoted by reference numeral  41  represents the luminance distribution in the vertical direction of the sheet surface of  FIG. 1  of the backlight used in this embodiment while a dotted line denoted by reference numeral  42  represents the luminance distribution in the horizontal direction of the sheet surface of  FIG. 1  of the backlight used in this embodiment. According to  FIG. 3 , an angle at which a luminance is reduced to half of the front luminance (to be referred to as a half-luminance angle hereinafter) is ±60° in the vertical direction of the sheet surface of  FIG. 1  of the backlight and is ±20° in the horizontal direction of the sheet surface of  FIG. 1  of the backlight. The ratio between the half-luminance angle in the vertical direction of the sheet surface of  FIG. 1  of the backlight and that in the horizontal direction of the sheet surface of  FIG. 1  of the backlight is thus 3:1. 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the backlight  34  is arranged on the back of the liquid crystal panel such that the direction of the repeating structures of the pixel electrode  17  and common electrode  16  within one pixel coincides with a direction in which the half-luminance angle of the backlight  34  is small. In other words, in the horizontal direction of the sheet surface of  FIG. 1 , the direction of the repeating structures of the electrodes  16  and  17  coincides with a direction in which the incident angle range of light incident from the backlight  34  on the liquid crystal panel is narrow. 
     A direction in which the backlight  34  has a narrow or wide half-luminance angle has the same meaning as a direction in which the angular range of light incident from the backlight  34  on the liquid crystal panel is narrow or wide, respectively. 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  show the black luminances and the contrast ratios, respectively, of the liquid crystal display of this embodiment and a conventional liquid crystal display.  FIGS. 4  and  5  show that the black luminance of the liquid crystal display according to this embodiment is reduced to ⅔ or less than that of the conventional display, and the contrast ratio is increased by 1.7 times or more. Since the contrast ratio of a conventional in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display is approximately 600, the liquid crystal display of this embodiment can achieve a contrast ratio of 1,000 or more. 
     Since a direction in which the half-luminance angle of the backlight is ±20° is made to coincide with the direction of the repeating structures of the electrodes within one pixel, the viewing angle and the luminance in this direction is somewhat decreased. However, the half-luminance angle is equivalent to that of a conventional liquid crystal display in any other direction, and thus a wide viewing angle and high luminance can be maintained. 
     In this embodiment, each of the pixel electrodes  17  and common electrodes  16  has a linear comb-shaped electrode structure. However, even if each comb tooth portion of the comb-shaped electrode structures is V-shaped (dogleg-shaped) or Z-shaped (zigzag-shaped), an increase in black luminance can be suppressed by limiting the incident light angle in a direction which coincides with the direction of repetitions of the comb tooth portions, such that the contrast ratio increases. For example, if each electrode structure is as shown in  FIG. 10  or  11  in which Z-shaped comb teeth are formed repeatedly at regular intervals, the direction  55  in which the incident angle range of light incident on the liquid crystal panel of the backlight is narrow may be chosen as either the direction of an arrow shown in  FIG. 10  or the direction of the arrow shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     In this embodiment, both the pixel electrodes and common electrodes are formed of a metal film. Even when they are formed of a transparent electrode such as an ITO (indium tin oxide) film, the same effects can be obtained. 
     Second Embodiment 
       FIG. 6  shows a sectional view of a liquid crystal display according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 6 , a light-absorbing anisotropic member  35  is arranged between a backlight  34  and a TFT substrate  21 , and the direction of the repeating structures of electrodes within a pixel is made to coincide with the direction of the cycles of the repeating structures in the light-absorbing anisotropic member. Note that the same liquid crystal display as in the first embodiment is used. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the light-absorbing anisotropic member  35  has repeating structures of light-transmitting regions  51  and light-shielding regions  52  (in the horizontal direction on the sheet surface) and can limit the angle of incident light only in the direction of the repetitions. For example, Light Control Film (manufactured by Sumitomo 3M Limited) commercially available as a viewing angle control film can be used in this embodiment. 
     This embodiment increases the contrast ratio while maintaining a wide viewing angle and high luminance. Also, since the angle of light incident from the backlight is limited by the light-absorbing anisotropic member, a conventional backlight can be used without any modification. 
     Note that although this embodiment has explained in connection with a light-absorbing anisotropic member  35  whose light-transmitting regions and light-shielding regions have a lattice structure corresponding to the electrode structures within a pixel, the present invention is not limited to this. The photoanisotropic member may have any shape cooperating with the electrode structures. For example, if the comb tooth portions of a comb-shaped electrode structure are dogleg-shaped, a light-absorbing anisotropic member with dogleg-shaped light-shielding regions can be used. 
     Third Embodiment 
       FIG. 8  shows a section of a liquid crystal display according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that an anisotropic diffuser  36  is used instead of the light-absorbing anisotropic member, and a direction in which the diffusivity is small is made to coincide with the direction of the repeating structures of electrodes. This increases the contrast ratio while maintaining a wide viewing angle and a high luminance. Since the directivity of a backlight is shaped by the anisotropic diffuser, a conventional backlight can be used without any modification. A holographic diffuser can be used as a specific example of the anisotropic diffuser  36 . A holographic diffuser is an aggregation of nonperiodic uneven patterns and can arbitrarily set the diffusion angle of light. Accordingly, the holographic diffuser can control the orthogonal diffusing power in accordance with the diffusion angle of a currently used backlight. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view showing a liquid crystal display according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
     This embodiment is characterized in that an anisotropic lens sheet is arranged between a backlight and a liquid crystal panel, and the direction of the repeating structures of electrodes is made to substantially coincide with a direction in which the angular range of light incident on the liquid crystal panel is narrow. 
     More specifically, a prism sheet in which prisms are arranged in an array or a lenticular lens in which plano-convex cylindrical lenses are arranged in an array can be used. The incident angles from such prisms or plano-convex cylindrical lenses on a liquid crystal panel are different in respective directions orthogonal to the liquid crystal panel. The arrangement of a prism sheet or a lenticular lens in the same manner as in this embodiment permits a conventional backlight to be used without any modification, similarly to the second embodiment and third embodiment. 
     As for the arrangement of the anisotropic lens sheet on the backlight, the incidence angles from the prisms (or cylindrical lenses) on the liquid crystal panel need to be respectively different only in two directions orthogonal to each other and parallel to the liquid crystal panel, regardless of whether the prisms (or lenses) are arranged such that their prism planes (or lens planes) face the liquid crystal panel side or backlight side. 
     Although this embodiment has been explained using a lattice-shaped anisotropic lens so as to fit the repeating structures of linear electrodes, the present invention is not limited to this. The anisotropic lens sheet may have any shape as far as it cooperates with the electrode structures. For example, if the comb tooth portions of a comb-shaped electrode structure are dogleg-shaped, an anisotropic lens with a dogleg shape can be used. 
     Fifth Embodiment 
       FIG. 13  is a sectional view showing a liquid crystal display according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
     This embodiment is characterized in that an anisotropic reflector plate  38  is arranged on a back of the backlight, and the direction of the repeating structures of electrodes is made to substantially coincide with a direction in which the reflection angle range is narrow. 
     More specifically, a metal coating prism sheet in which prisms are arranged in an array can be used. The reflecting angles from such prisms are different in respective orthogonal directions. Light radiating from the backlight is reflected by the anisotropic reflector plate and passes through the backlight to the liquid crystal panel. Thus, the arrangement of a metal coating prism sheet in this embodiment permits a conventional backlight to be used without any modification, similarly to the second embodiment and third embodiment. 
     Preferably, in the various forms of liquid crystal displays described above, the vertical direction of display is a direction in which the incident” angle range of light incident on a liquid crystal panel is narrow. With this arrangement, even when the viewing angle in the vertical direction of display is limited, the viewing angle in the horizontal direction of display exhibits characteristics as usual, thus allowing the display to be viewed with less discomfort than for a conventional liquid crystal module. In addition, since the direction of the repeating structures of electrodes within a pixel coincides with a direction in which the incident angle range of light incident on the liquid crystal panel is narrow, there can be provided a liquid crystal module with a wide viewing angle whose contrast ratio has been increased as compared to a conventional liquid crystal module. 
     On the other hand, if it is desired to limit the viewing angle in the horizontal direction, as might be desired for example in an automated teller machine or a cell-phone, the horizontal direction may be chosen as the direction in which the angular range of light incident on the liquid crystal panel is narrow. 
     The present invention has been explained with reference to a number of preferred embodiments. However, liquid crystal displays according to the present invention are not limited to the various forms described above. A liquid crystal display obtained by changing or combining, as appropriate, the above-described various forms falls within the scope of the present invention. 
     For example, a light source may be a front light instead of a back light. 
     Applications of the present invention include a liquid crystal display used in terminal equipment ( FIG. 12 ) such as a television, a monitor of a personal computer, a medical monitor, a car navigation system, a pachinko monitor or the like. 
     The previous description of embodiments is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. Moreover, various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles and specific examples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without the use of inventive faculty. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope as defined by the limitations of the claims and equivalents.