Patent ID: 8786571

Claim:
A liquid crystal display device, comprising: a plurality of pixels disposed in a matrix, each pixel having a pixel area including (i) an effective pixel area for an image display, and (ii) a peripheral pixel area surrounding said effective pixel area; a first substrate on a display surface side; a second substrate on a back surface side; a liquid crystal layer between said first and second substrates; a first alignment film carried on a side of said first substrate proximate to said liquid crystal layer; a first sensor electrode (i) carried on said first alignment film in a light blocking area where a transistor is disposed, and (ii) having a pattern of rectangles elongated in one direction at least within said effective pixel area; a height adjusting protrusion (i) carried on a side of said second substrate proximate to said liquid crystal layer, (ii) extending into said liquid crystal layer, and (iii) extending toward said first sensor electrode in said light blocking area; a pixel electrode carried on said second substrate and covering an entirety of said pixel area of each of said plurality of pixels, a first part of said pixel electrode (i) formed on said height adjusting protrusion, (ii) configured as a second sensor electrode, and (iii) operable to approach or contact said first sensor electrode when said first substrate is pressed toward said second substrate; a second alignment film (i) carried on said second substrate, (ii) formed on a second part of said pixel electrode surrounding said height adjusting protrusion, (iii) not formed on said first part of said pixel electrode on said height adjusting protrusion, and (iv) having a variable thickness; and a circuit (i) configured to read an electrical change between said first sensor electrode and said first part of said pixel electrode configured as said second sensor electrode, and (ii) electrically connected with a signal line, said signal line disposed along pixel columns in said matrix of said plurality of pixels to permit touch detection for each of said plurality of pixels.