JP2010250557A - Touch panel inspection machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a touch panel inspection machine including a mechanism for pressurizing a plurality of arbitrary positions on a panel by arbitrary loads and enabling confirmation of pressure force measured by a measuring instrument. <P>SOLUTION: A pressurization unit includes a pressure mass movably supported in a moving direction of a Z drive shaft, and a compression spring for energizing the pressure mass in one moving direction of the Z drive shaft or a tension spring for tensing the pressure mass. The pressure mass includes: a plurality of pressure pens for vertically pressurizing a touch panel; a plurality of air cylinders for respectively supporting and lifting the plurality of pressure pens; a plurality of drive shafts for respectively supporting the plurality of air cylinders and moving the air cylinders in a horizontal direction; a rotating drive shaft for supporting the plurality of drive shafts and rotating the drive shafts in a horizontal surface; and a load meter for supporting the rotating drive shaft and measuring force applied to the rotating drive shaft. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mechanism of an inspection apparatus that applies an arbitrary pressure to a touch panel in order to test and inspect the touch panel.

  The conventional touch panel inspection machine has a structure in which one substantially cone-shaped pen member is attached to the end of an arm pivotally supported between two support columns in order to apply a load to the panel surface. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-303051 A

  In a conventional touch panel inspection machine, a weight is applied to the position of the pen member at the tip of the arm to generate pressure, so only a constant pressure is applied. When changing the value of the pressure, the mass is different. There is a problem in that the pressure cannot be changed while moving the pressurizing position. Further, since the arm member also has a mass, a pressing force smaller than the arm mass cannot be applied, and since there is one pen member, a plurality of positions cannot be pressurized simultaneously.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and includes a mechanism that pressurizes a plurality of arbitrary positions on the panel with an arbitrary load, and can confirm a pressing force measured by a measuring instrument. The purpose is to obtain a touch panel inspection machine.

  The touch panel inspection machine according to the present invention is a touch panel inspection machine that inspects while applying force to a flat touch panel, a work fixing unit on which the touch panel is placed, a pressure unit that applies a force perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel, and the above A Z drive shaft that moves the pressure unit in an axial direction perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel, an X drive shaft that moves the Z drive shaft in one axial direction perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel, and the work fixing unit And a Y drive shaft that moves in the direction of the other axis orthogonal to each other in the plane of the touch panel, and the pressurizing unit includes a pressurizing mass that is movably supported in the moving direction of the Z drive shaft, and the pressurizing unit. A compression spring that pulls the pressure mass in one moving direction of the Z drive shaft, or a tension spring that pulls the pressure mass; A plurality of pressure pens that pressurize, a plurality of air cylinders that support and move the plurality of pressure pens, and a plurality of drive shafts that respectively support the plurality of air cylinders and move in the horizontal direction; A rotation drive shaft that supports the plurality of drive shafts and rotates in a horizontal plane; and a load meter that supports the rotation drive shaft and measures a force applied to the rotation drive shaft.

  The touch panel inspection machine according to the present invention automatically applies an arbitrary load to a plurality of arbitrary positions on the upper surface of the touch panel by supporting a pressure mass including a plurality of pressure pens with a compression spring and attaching the pressure mass to a load cell. It is possible to check the actual applied pressure with a load meter.

It is the front view (a) and side view (b) of the touchscreen inspection machine which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The mode when changing the space | interval between pressure pens is shown. The state when changing the direction in which the pressure pen and the pressure pen are arranged is shown. It shows a state in which the pressure pen and the pressure pen are moved to a position to be pressed on the touch panel as a work by the operations of the X drive shaft and the Y drive shaft of the three-axis drive device. This shows a process in which the pressure unit is lowered in the Z-axis direction by the Z drive shaft of the three-axis drive device, and pressure is applied to the touch panel with a pressure pen. It shows a state where the pressure pen is extended by an air cylinder. It is the front view (a) and side view (b) of the touchscreen inspection machine which concern on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the front view (a) and side view (b) of the touchscreen inspection machine which concern on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is the front view (a) and side view (b) of the touchscreen inspection machine which concern on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is the front view (a) and side view (b) of the touchscreen inspection machine which concern on Embodiment 5 of this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a touch panel inspection machine of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
1A and 1B are a front view and a side view of a touch panel inspection machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the touch panel inspection machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention moves an object to three orthogonal axes in space, and includes an X drive shaft 2, a Z drive shaft 3, and a Y drive shaft 4. A pressurizing unit 5 attached to the shaft driving device 1 and the Z driving shaft 3 is provided. When the touch panel inspection machine is viewed from the front, the left-right direction is the X axis, the front-rear direction is the Y axis, and the up-down direction is the Z axis.
The pressurizing unit 5 includes a linear guide 15 fixed to the Z drive shaft 3 and a pressurizing mass 14 that is attached to the linear guide 15 and moved in the vertical direction and is held from below by a compression spring 16.

  The pressurizing mass 14 includes a load meter 13 attached to the linear guide 15, a rotary drive shaft 12 attached to a measurement axis of the load meter 13, a horizontal drive shaft A 8 and a horizontal drive shaft B 11 attached to a lower portion of the rotary drive shaft 12, and a horizontal It has an air cylinder A7 attached to the drive shaft A8, a pressure pen A6 attached to the air cylinder A7, an air cylinder B10 attached to the horizontal drive shaft B11, and a pressure pen B9 attached to the air cylinder B10.

  A workpiece fixing unit 17 is attached to the Y drive shaft 4 of the triaxial drive device 1. The work fixing unit 17 has a touch panel cradle 18 at the top, and has a structure that can fix a touch panel 19 as a work to the touch panel cradle 18.

Next, the operation | movement which test | inspects the touchscreen 19 using a touchscreen inspection machine is demonstrated.
FIG. 2 shows a state where the distance between the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9 is changed.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9 are moved so as to approach the horizontal direction by the horizontal drive shaft A8 and the horizontal drive shaft B11, respectively, and as shown in FIG. Two points at a narrow interval on the touch panel 19 to be pressurized are pressurized.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the direction in which the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9 are arranged is changed.
As shown in FIG. 3 (a), when the pressure pen A 6 and the pressure pen B 9 are aligned in the X-axis direction as a standard, the horizontal drive shaft A 8 and the horizontal drive shaft 12 are driven horizontally by the rotation drive shaft 12. The alignment direction is changed by rotating the axis B11 in a horizontal plane. Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, two points on the touch panel 19 that are rotated 90 degrees in the horizontal plane from the standard arrangement and separated in the Y-axis direction are pressurized.
As described above, the direction in which the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9 are arranged can be arbitrarily changed by the rotation drive shaft 12.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9 are moved to a position to be pressed on the touch panel 19 as a work by the operation of the X drive shaft 2 and the Y drive shaft 4 of the triaxial drive device 1. is there.
As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the pressure unit 5 in which the distance between the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9 and the orientation of the pressure pen B9 are adjusted by the horizontal drive shaft A8, the horizontal drive shaft B11, and the rotation drive shaft 12 is adjusted to X. As shown in FIG. 4B, the work fixing unit 17 is moved back and forth by the Y drive shaft 4 and the pressure pen A6 is added above the desired two points on the touch panel 19 as shown in FIG. Adjust so that pressure pen B9 comes.

FIG. 5 shows a process in which the pressure unit 5 is lowered in the Z-axis direction by the Z drive shaft 3 of the three-axis drive device 1 and pressure is applied to the touch panel 19 that is a work by the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9. Is shown. In addition, although the mass W of the pressurizing mass 14 is applied to the load cell 13 in advance and a negative value is obtained, the display is offset to 0 at that time.
In FIG. 5A, the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9 are in contact with the upper surface of the touch panel 19, and at this time, all the mass W of the pressure mass 14 is received by the compression spring 16. The pressure W2 is 0.

  In FIG. 5B, the Z drive shaft 3 is further lowered, the pressurizing mass 14 is placed on the touch panel 19, and the lower plate 20 of the compression spring 16 directly connected to the Z drive shaft 3 is kept at the height position. It shows a state in which the compression spring 16 is lowered and slightly extended. At this time, the mass W of the pressurizing mass 14 is dispersed in the touch panel 19 and the compression spring 16. The mass W <b> 2 applied to the touch panel 19 side becomes a force that pressurizes the touch panel 19. As the Z drive shaft 3 is lowered and the compression spring 16 expands, the mass distribution of the pressurizing mass 14 increases toward the touch panel 19 and the compression spring 16 decreases.

  In FIG. 5C, the pressurizing mass 14 is completely separated from the compression spring 16 with the Z drive shaft 3 completely lowered, and the mass W of the pressurizing mass 14 is all handled by the touch panel 19. All 14 masses W become the applied pressure W2. The load meter 13 displays the applied pressure W2 during operation, and the displayed value becomes the applied pressure to the touch panel 19.

In this way, the pressure applied to the touch panel 19 can be arbitrarily changed by moving the Z drive shaft 3 in the vertical direction.
Further, since the pressurizing mass 14 is placed on the touch panel 19 via the compression spring 16, the pressing force can be gently changed with respect to the vertical movement using the spring constant, and the subtle pressing force can be changed. Setting is possible.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the pressure pen A6 is extended by the air cylinder A7. When only one point is pressurized, the touch panel inspection machine is operated in this state.

If this touch panel inspection machine is used with the above configuration, the touch panel 19 at an arbitrary position is fixed by executing an operation program for operating the three-axis drive device 1, the horizontal drive axis A8, the horizontal drive axis B11, and the rotary drive axis 12. Alternatively, it is possible to pressurize with a changing pressure.
In addition, even when the pressure unit 5 is completely lowered due to a malfunction of the triaxial drive device 1, the total mass W of the pressurized mass 14 is only applied to the touch panel 19. The touch panel 19 is not destroyed by keeping it in a range where it is not destroyed.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
7 is a front view (a) and a side view (b) of a touch panel inspection machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
The touch panel inspection machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different in that the angle adjustment mechanism 21 is added to the work fixing unit 17 of the touch panel inspection machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and the rest is the same. The same reference numerals are attached to the parts, and the description is omitted.
The angle adjustment mechanism 21 adjusts the upper surface of the touch panel 19 that is a workpiece so as to be parallel to the plane formed by the X drive shaft 2 and the Y drive shaft 4 of the triaxial drive device 1.
Thus, when the upper surface of the touch panel 19 is adjusted so as to be parallel to the plane formed by the X drive shaft 2 and the Y drive shaft 4, the pressure unit 5 is formed by the X drive shaft 2 and the Y drive shaft 4. Since the change in the Z-axis direction, that is, the thickness direction of the touch panel 19 is reduced when moving in the plane, a precise pressure can be applied to the touch panel 19.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 8: is the front view (a) and side view (b) of the touchscreen inspection machine which concern on Embodiment 3 of this invention.
The touch panel inspection machine according to the third embodiment of the present invention is different in that the rolling shaft 22 is added to the touch panel inspection machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and the other parts are the same. Additional description will be omitted.
The rolling shaft 22 is provided on the back surface of the horizontal drive shaft A8 and the horizontal drive shaft B11, and is a mechanism that rotates the horizontal drive shaft A8 and the horizontal drive shaft B11 around the rolling shaft 22 as a rotation center. . When two points on the touch panel 19 are pressed, even if the upper surface of the touch panel 19 is slanted, rotation of the rolling shaft 22 prevents only one of the pressure pen A6 and the pressure pen B9, Both can apply pressure to the touch panel 19.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 9: is the front view (a) and side view (b) of the touchscreen inspection machine which concern on Embodiment 4 of this invention.
The touch panel inspection machine according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is different in that it has a tension spring 24 instead of the compression spring 16 of the touch panel inspection machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and is otherwise the same. The same reference numerals are given to the portions, and the description is omitted.
Thus, by suspending the pressurizing mass 14 from above using the tension spring 24 instead of the compression spring 16, the same effect as that of the compression spring 16 can be obtained.

Embodiment 5 FIG.
FIG. 10: is the front view (a) and side view (b) of the touchscreen inspection machine which concern on Embodiment 5 of this invention.
The touch panel inspection machine according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention is different from the touch panel inspection machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention in that a horizontal drive shaft C25, an air cylinder C26 and a pressure pen C27 are added. Since it is the same, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part and description is abbreviate | omitted.
The horizontal drive shaft C25 is attached to the lower part of the rotary drive shaft 12, the air cylinder C26 is attached to the horizontal drive shaft C25, and the pressure pen C27 is attached to the horizontal drive shaft C26.
When a set of the horizontal drive shaft C25, the air cylinder C26 and the pressure pen C27 is added in this way, three points can be inspected at the same time.
In addition, by preparing four or more horizontal drive shafts, air cylinders, and pressure pens, it is possible to perform inspection at four or more points at the same time.

  In the first embodiment described above, the horizontal drive shaft A8 and the horizontal drive shaft B11 and the rotary drive shaft 12 are electrically operated. Arbitrary pressure can be obtained at an arbitrary position on the upper surface of the touch panel with a fixed position.

  Although the present invention has been described for the case of inspecting a touch panel, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be used for inspecting keys on other switches and buttons and slides on a panel surface.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 3 axis drive device, 2 X drive axis, 3 Z drive axis, 4 Y drive axis, 5 Pressure unit, 6, 9, 27 Pressure pen, 7, 10, 26 Air cylinder, 8, 11, 25 Horizontal drive Axis, 12 Rotation drive shaft, 13 Load meter, 14 Pressure mass, 15 Linear guide, 16 Compression spring, 17 Work fixing unit, 18 Touch panel stand, 19 Touch panel, 20 Lower plate, 21 Angle adjustment mechanism, 22 Rolling shaft, 24 Tension spring.

Claims (5)

In a touch panel inspection machine that inspects while applying force to a flat touch panel,
A work fixing unit on which the touch panel is placed;
A pressure unit that applies a force perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;
A Z drive shaft that moves the pressure unit in an axial direction perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;
An X drive shaft that moves the Z drive shaft in one axial direction orthogonal within the plane of the touch panel;
A Y drive shaft for moving the work fixing unit in the other axial direction perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;
With
The pressurizing unit has a pressurizing mass that is movably supported in the moving direction of the Z drive shaft, and a compression spring or a tension spring that urges the pressurizing mass in one moving direction of the Z drive shaft. And
The pressurized mass is
A plurality of pressure pens for vertically pressing the touch panel;
A plurality of air cylinders supporting and supporting the plurality of pressure pens, respectively;
A plurality of drive shafts that respectively support the plurality of air cylinders and move in the horizontal direction;
A rotary drive shaft that supports the plurality of drive shafts and rotates in a horizontal plane;
A load cell that supports the rotational drive shaft and measures the force applied to the rotational drive shaft;
Touch panel inspection machine characterized by including.   The touch panel inspection machine according to claim 1, further comprising an angle adjustment mechanism for tilting a surface of the touch panel placed on the work fixing unit.   The touch panel inspection machine according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism for rolling the drive shaft.   The touch panel inspection machine according to claim 1, wherein the pressure mass includes at least three sets of a drive shaft, an air cylinder, and a pressure pen.   The touch panel inspection machine according to claim 1, wherein the drive shaft and the rotary drive shaft are electrically operated or manually operated.

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