Display system for ferroelectric liquid crystal

Claim 1

A ferroelectric liquid crystal display system suited for use in a matrix liquid crystal display device in which a ferroelectric liquid crystal is filled and which includes a plurality of scanning electrodes Lp (p=1, 2, ...m, wherein m is a positive integer) and a plurality of signal electrodes arranged so as to intersect with the scanning electrodes in the form of a matrix of columns and rows, and a picture element Apj (j=1, 2, ...n, wherein n is a positive integer) disposed at each point of intersection between the scanning electrodes and the signal electrodes, said ferroelectric liquid crystal display system character­ized in that it comprises means for indicating which one of bright and dark displays each picture element Apj on the respective scanning electrode then selected has previously effected, said system being so designed that a voltage to be applied to the picture element Apj in the event that a dark display should be effected while a bright display has previously been effected or a bright display should be effected while a dark display has previously been effected, and a voltage to be applied to the picture element Akj on the scanning electrodes Lk, then not selected, (X) in the event that the bright display should be effected while the dark display has previously been effected, (Y) in the event that the dark display should be effected while the bright display has previously been effected, or (Z) in the event that the bright display should be effected while the bright display has previously been effected or the dark display should be effected while the dark display has previously been effected are so selected as to give a significant difference enough to avoid any possible optical adverse influence which may act on the picture element then held in a bright or dark memory state.