Liquid crystal display apparatus which performs display by using electric field in direction substantially parallel with substrate surfaces to control alignment direction of liquid crystal molecules

A liquid crystal display apparatus comprising:

• first and second substrates arranged to face each other with a gap therebetween;
• a liquid crystal layer which is disposed in the gap between the pair of substrates with molecular long axes of liquid crystal molecules being aligned in one direction, in substantially parallel with substrate surfaces;
• a plurality of thin film transistors which are arranged in a row direction and a column direction on an inner surface side of the first substrates that faces the second substrate, and to which display signals corresponding to display data are supplied;
• a plurality of pixel electrodes which are provided on the inner surface side of the first substrate to be electrically connected with the thin film transistors, and to which the display signals are supplied from the thin film transistors;
• a plurality of signal lines which are respectively arranged between respective pixel electrode rows along the row direction on the inner surface side of the first substrate and which supply scanning signals to the thin film transistors in the respective rows;
• a plurality of signal lines which are respectively arranged between respective pixel electrode columns along the column direction on the inner surface side of the first substrate and which supply display signals to the thin film transistors in the respective columns;
• and
• a common electrode which is formed on an insulating film on the inner surface side of the first substrate to correspond to the pixel electrodes between the pixel electrodes and the liquid crystal layer, and the common electrode being constituted of a transparent electroconductive film in which a plurality of edge portions aligned in parallel with each other at intervals in a region corresponding to each pixel are formed, and of a metal electroconductive film which is formed along at least the scanning line of the scanning line extending in the row direction between the pixels adjacent to each other and the scanning line extending in the column direction between the same to cover the scanning line and the thin film transistor, wherein the common electrode generates an electric field which controls an alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules in a plane substantially parallel with the substrate surfaces between itself and the pixel electrode.

A liquid crystal display apparatus comprising:

• a pair of substrates arranged to face each other with a predetermined gap therebetween;
• a liquid crystal layer which is disposed in the gap between the pair of substrates with molecular long axes of liquid crystal molecules being aligned in a predetermined direction, in substantially parallel with substrate surfaces;
• a plurality of thin film transistors which are arranged in a row direction and a column direction on an inner surface side of one of the pair of substrates that faces the other substrate, and to which display signals corresponding to display data are supplied;
• a plurality of pixel electrodes which are provided on the inner surface side of the one substrate to be electrically connected with the tin film transistors, and to which the display signals are supplied from the thin film transistors;
• a plurality of scanning lines which are respectively arranged between respective pixel electrode rows along the row direction on the inner surface side of the one substrate and which supply scanning signals to the thin film transistors in the respective rows;
• a plurality of signal lines which are respectively arranged between respective pixel electrode columns along the column direction on the inner surface side of the one substrate and which supply display signals to the thin film transistors in the respective columns;
• a common electrode which is constituted of a transparent electroconductive film which is formed to correspond to the pixel electrode on the liquid crystal layer display side apart from the pixel electrode through an insulating film, between the pixel electrodes and the liquid crystal layer, and in which a plurality of edge portions aligned in parallel with each other at intervals in a region corresponding to each pixel are formed, and a metal electroconductive film which is formed along both the scanning line extending in the row direction between pixels adjacent to each other and the signal line extending in the column direction between the same at a part excluding a region corresponding to the thin film transistor to cover the scanning line and the signal line on the inner surface side of the one substrate, the common electrode generating an electric field which controls an alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules in a plane substantially parallel with the substrate surfaces between itself and the pixel electrode;
• and
• a light shielding film which is formed in a region corresponding to the thin film transistor formed on one substrate on an inner surface side of the other one of the pair of substrates.