Patent ID: 7852445

Claim:
An in-plane switching (IPS) liquid crystal display device comprising: a principal substrate having at least a parallel electrode pair; an opposing substrate being provided so as to face the principal substrate; a liquid crystal layer disposed between the principal substrate and the opposing substrate; and liquid crystal molecules in said liquid crystal layer that are driven by an electric field generated by said parallel electrode pair, wherein a twisting elastic constant of said liquid crystal molecules is smaller than a bending elastic constant thereof; a electrode width of said parallel electrode pair is smaller than a thickness of said liquid crystal layer; a orientation of liquid crystal molecules between said electrodes is changed by the electric field generated by said parallel electrode pair; an electric field region exists where an electric field strength in proximity to the opposing substrate is weaker than an electric field strength in proximity to the principal substrate and where, in proximity to the opposing substrate, an electric field strength between the electrodes is equal to or less than an electric field strength above an electrodes; at least part of said liquid crystal molecules between the electrodes rotates in a plane approximately parallel to said principal substrate face so as to change the orientation of the part of said liquid crystal molecules; the orientation of liquid crystal molecules disposed above the electrodes undergoes a change due to rotation thereof in a plane approximately parallel to said substrate face, the undergone change coinciding with the change in orientation of the part of said liquid crystal molecules between said electrodes; and a director of the liquid crystal molecules disposed above the electrodes is different from a direction of the electric field above the electrodes.