# US 2021/0240037 A1 · Liquid crystal display device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2021/0240037 A1 - Document ID: US20210240037A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/050,638 - Filed: 2019-04-12 - Published: 2021-08-05 - Earliest claimed: 2018-04-27 - Assignees: Nitto Denko Corporation - Applicants: Nitto Denko Corporation - Inventors: Mariko Hirai; Hiroyuki Takemoto; Jin Yoshikawa; Masanori Otsuka - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210240037A1 ## CPC - G02F 1/133531: {characterised by the arrangement of polariser or analyser axes} - G02F 1/133615: {Edge-illuminating devices, i.e. illuminating from the side} - G02F 1/133504: {Diffusing, scattering, diffracting elements (associated to illuminating devices G02F1/133606)} - G02F 1/133524: {Light-guides, e.g. fibre-optic bundles, louvered or jalousie light-guides} - G02F 1/13362: {providing polarized light, e.g. by converting a polarisation component into another one} - G02F 1/134363: {for applying an electric field parallel to the substrate, i.e. in-plane switching [IPS]} - G02F 1/134372: {for fringe field switching [FFS] where the common electrode is not patterned} - G02F 1/1347: Arrangement of liquid crystal layers or cells in which the final condition of one light beam is achieved by the addition of the effects of two or more layers or cells - G02B 6/0051: {Diffusing sheet or layer} - G02B 6/0053: {Prismatic sheet or layer; Brightness enhancement element, sheet or layer} - G02B 6/0055: {Reflecting element, sheet or layer} - G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS - G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS ## Abstract The liquid crystal display apparatus of the present invention includes: a liquid crystal panel, a viewer-side polarizing plate arranged on the viewer side of the liquid crystal cell, and a back surface-side polarizing plate, a light control layer and a surface light source device including a light source unit and a light guide plate configured to cause light from the light source unit to enter from a side surface, and to emit the light from a viewer-side surface opposed to the light control layer, wherein the surface light source device is configured to emit light which has directivity in an approximately normal direction of the viewer-side surface, and which contains a linearly polarized light component that vibrates in a plane approximately parallel to a light guide direction of light of the light guide plate at a high ratio, and wherein the linearly polarized light component has a vibration direction. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A liquid crystal display apparatus, comprising in an order from a viewer side: a liquid crystal panel including a liquid crystal cell, a viewer-side polarizing plate arranged on the viewer side of the liquid crystal cell, and a back surface-side polarizing plate arranged on an opposite side to the viewer side of the liquid crystal cell; a light control layer configured to enable a scattering state of transmitted light to be changed; and a surface light source device including a light source unit and a light guide plate configured to cause light from the light source unit to enter from a side surface opposed to the light source unit, and to emit the light from a viewer-side surface opposed to the light control layer, wherein the surface light source device is configured to emit light which has directivity in an approximately normal direction of the viewer-side surface, and which contains a linearly polarized light component that vibrates in a plane approximately parallel to a light guide direction of light of the light guide plate at a high ratio, and wherein a vibration direction of the linearly polarized light component is approximately parallel to a transmission axis of the back surface-side polarizing plate. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a driving mode of the liquid crystal cell is an IPS mode or an FFS mode. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light control layer includes: a first transparent substrate; a first transparent electrode layer; a composite layer of a polymer matrix and a liquid crystal compound; a second transparent electrode layer; and a second transparent substrate in the stated order, and wherein the first transparent substrate and the second transparent substrate are each formed of a material containing a cycloolefin-based resin. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light guide plate has a principal surface having an approximately rectangular shape, and wherein the light guide plate has a side surface opposed to the light source unit, the side surface being a side surface on a long side. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light control layer includes: a first transparent substrate; a first transparent electrode layer; a composite layer of a polymer matrix and a liquid crystal compound; a second transparent electrode layer; and a second transparent substrate in the stated order, wherein the first transparent substrate has a front retardation of 50 nm or less, and wherein the second transparent substrate has a front retardation of 50 nm or less ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light control layer includes: a first transparent substrate; a first transparent electrode layer; a composite layer of a polymer matrix and a liquid crystal compound; a second transparent electrode layer; and a second transparent substrate in the stated order, wherein the first transparent substrate has a front retardation of more than 50 nm, and wherein a slow axis of the first transparent substrate is substantially perpendicular or substantially parallel to a transmission axis of the viewer-side polarizing plate. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the light control layer includes: a first transparent substrate; a first transparent electrode layer; a composite layer of a polymer matrix and a liquid crystal compound; a second transparent electrode layer; and a second transparent substrate in the stated order, wherein the second transparent substrate has a front retardation of more than 50 nm, and wherein a slow axis of the second transparent substrate is substantially perpendicular or substantially parallel to a transmission axis of the viewer-side polarizing plate. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first transparent substrate has a front retardation of more than 50 nm, wherein the second transparent substrate has a front retardation of more than 50 nm, and wherein the slow axis of the first transparent substrate is substantially perpendicular or substantially parallel to the slow axis of the second transparent substrate.