Patent ID: 7215404

Claim:
A liquid crystal display device having upper and lower substrates and an active area having pixels for displaying an image, the display device comprising: a supporting column extending from the upper substrate to the lower substrate so as to maintain a uniform cell gap therebetween, said supporting column having an outer surface inclined relative to the lower substrate at a first angle, relative to the lower substrate; a contact part having an interior surface that is inclined with respect to the lower substrate at a second angle, relative to the lower substrate, the second angle being different than the first angle, said contact part being provided for a common line disposed at a peripheral region outside the active area of the lower substrate opposite to the upper substrate, wherein the contact part faces the supporting column at a corresponding position so as to guide electrical communication between the supporting column and the common line; and an electrically conductive layer formed on the outer surfaces of the supporting column and on a corresponding outer surface of the upper substrate, wherein a portion of the electrically conductive layer on the supporting column is joined to the common line within the contact part so as to establish a signal interconnection between the lower substrate and the upper substrate.