KR102355462B1 - System for Inspecting Display Panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The display panel inspection system according to an aspect of the present invention capable of inspecting a display panel without limitation according to the separation distance between the display panel and the infrared sensor or the angle of view of the infrared sensor is to sense the pattern image displayed on the display panel to correspond to RGB. an inspection device including an infrared sensor for outputting a sensed value; and an analysis device for generating luminance information and color information of the display panel by using the sensed value, wherein the analysis device uses at least one of a separation distance between the infrared sensor and the display panel and an angle of view of the infrared sensor and a color coordinate converter for converting the sensed value into the luminance information and the color information.

Description

Display panel inspection system {System for Inspecting Display Panel}

The present invention relates to an inspection system for a display panel.

Recently, along with the development of multimedia, the importance of a display device is increasing. In response to this, various types of display devices, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device, and a micro light emitting display device (Micro LED), are being used. Such display devices are used in various products such as TVs, smartphones, smart watches, smart cars, augmented reality (AR) devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, etc., and their structures are also various is being developed

The above-described display device has been developed in a form capable of high resolution, low power consumption, and miniaturization while having high luminance. Accordingly, the need for inspection equipment capable of evaluating and comparing the performance of the display device is emerging, and the need for various inspection methods using such inspection equipment is also increasing.

1 shows an example of a general inspection equipment capable of inspecting a display device. The inspection equipment shown in FIG. 1 measures the brightness of the display panel by sensing a screen output from the display panel provided in the display device using a silicon photodiode. In the case of the inspection equipment shown in FIG. 1, a standard of view angle according to a certain distance is required to distinguish standardized colors using a silicon photodiode. The angle for doing so is bound to be limited. In addition, in the case of the inspection equipment of FIG. 1, if such an angle limitation is not applied, it has to be spaced apart from the display panel, and thus light loss occurs during inspection, so that the accuracy of the inspection result is inevitably reduced.

Therefore, in order to prevent light loss, the inspection equipment shown in FIG. 1 requires a separate mechanism 5 for preventing light loss, thus limiting the miniaturization of the inspection equipment and complicating the design. There is this.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a display panel inspection system capable of inspecting a display panel by minimizing the limit according to the separation distance between the display panel and the infrared sensor or the angle of view of the infrared sensor. do.

Another technical object of the present invention is to provide a display panel inspection system capable of miniaturization using a sensing device implemented in a board type.

In addition, another technical task of the present invention is to provide a display panel inspection system capable of performing an inspection of a display panel even in an environment where an external light source interferes.

In addition, the present invention provides a display panel inspection system capable of inspecting different types of display panels using a plurality of inspection apparatuses or performing inspections on the same display panel according to different inspection conditions for each inspection apparatus. make it a technical task.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a display panel inspection system capable of improving the consistency of inspection results among a plurality of inspection apparatuses.

A display panel inspection system according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem is an inspection device including an infrared sensor for sensing a pattern image displayed on the display panel and outputting a sensing value corresponding to RGB; and an analysis device for generating luminance information and color information of the display panel by using the sensed value, wherein the analysis device is configured to determine the amount of luminance loss according to the separation distance between the infrared sensor and the display panel and the angle of view of the infrared sensor. and a color coordinate converter converting the sensed value into the luminance information and the color information by using at least one of the luminance loss amounts.

In the above-described embodiment, the inspection device includes a panel seating block having a seating groove formed therein in which the display panel is mounted; a lower case having a receiving groove in which the panel seating block is accommodated; an upper case that is rotatably coupled to one side of the lower case by a predetermined angle and covers the receiving groove to block light flowing into the inspection device from the outside; and a sensing board on which the infrared sensor is mounted, and a sensing board attached to the inner surface of the upper case so that the infrared sensor faces the display panel, the distance between the display panel and the near-infrared sensor according to the height of the panel seating block It is characterized in that the distance is variable.

In addition, the inspection device has an opening for exposing the infrared sensor toward the display panel, and is coupled to the inner surface of the upper case so as to be in contact with the surface of the display panel with the sensing board interposed therebetween in the inspection device. It may further include a panel fixing block for preventing movement of the display panel.

In another embodiment, the display panel inspection system includes a display mounting module on which the display panel is mounted; a module holder formed in a plate shape and on which the display mounting module is mounted; a module holder moving unit for moving the module holder in the X-direction, Y-direction, and Z-direction; a sensing board holder on which the test device is mounted so that the test device faces the display panel; and a sensing board holder moving unit for moving the sensing board holder in the Z direction.

According to the present invention, the amount of luminance loss that may occur depending on the separation distance between the infrared sensor and the display panel or the angle of view of the infrared sensor can be compensated through an algorithm, so that the distance between the display panel and the infrared sensor or the limit according to the angle of view of the infrared sensor can be alleviated, so that the design freedom of the display panel inspection system can be improved.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the infrared sensor can be closely attached to the display panel by implementing the sensing device as a board type, there is an effect that the display panel inspection system can be miniaturized.

In addition, according to the present invention, the sensed value sensed by the infrared sensor can be corrected based on the reference value, so that the accuracy of the inspection result can be improved even when the display panel is inspected in an environment where interference from an external light source exists. It works.

In addition, according to the present invention, a plurality of display panels of the same or different types are simultaneously inspected by mounting a plurality of inspection apparatuses on an inspection board, or the same display panel is inspected according to different inspection conditions or inspection environments for each inspection apparatus. This has the effect that various analysis results can be provided by using the deviation of the inspection results obtained for each type of display panel, inspection condition, or inspection environment.

In addition, according to the present invention, by maintaining the reference value deviation for each inspection apparatus at a certain level, the consistency of the inspection results between the inspection apparatuses can be improved, thereby improving the reliability of the inspection results.

1 is a view showing an example of a general inspection equipment capable of inspecting a display device.
2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a display panel inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing a separation distance between an infrared sensor and a display panel.
4A is a view showing the occurrence of a loss region in which light is not condensed by an infrared sensor according to a uniform filter having a planar structure.
4B is a view showing that light is condensed by an infrared sensor according to a uniform filter having a lens shape.
5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sensing device configured as a board type.
6 is a perspective view of an inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is an exploded perspective view of the inspection device shown in FIG.
8 is a view showing an example in which a plurality of inspection devices are mounted on an inspection board.
9 is a diagram illustrating that the color coordinate converter maps the sensed values to color coordinates according to the CIE color space system.
10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a test apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a flowchart illustrating a display panel inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Like reference numerals refer to substantially identical elements throughout. In the following description, a detailed description of configurations and functions known in the art and cases not related to the core configuration of the present invention may be omitted. The meaning of the terms described in this specification should be understood as follows.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs It is provided to fully inform the possessor of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

When 'including', 'having', 'consisting', etc. mentioned in this specification are used, other parts may be added unless 'only' is used. When a component is expressed in the singular, cases including the plural are included unless otherwise explicitly stated.

In the case of a description of a temporal relationship, for example, 'immediately' or 'directly' when a temporal relationship is described with 'after', 'following', 'after', 'before', etc. It may include cases that are not continuous unless this is used.

Although the first, second, etc. are used to describe various elements, these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. Accordingly, the first component mentioned below may be the second component within the spirit of the present invention.

The term “at least one” should be understood to include all possible combinations from one or more related items. For example, the meaning of “at least one of the first, second, and third items” means that each of the first, second, or third items as well as two of the first, second and third items are It may mean a combination of all items that can be presented from more than one.

Each feature of the various embodiments of the present invention may be partially or wholly combined or combined with each other, technically various interlocking and driving are possible, and each of the embodiments may be independently implemented with respect to each other or implemented together in a related relationship. may be

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings for the embodiments of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a display panel inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The display panel inspection system 100 shown in FIG. 2 (hereinafter referred to as an 'inspection system') is a device for inspecting the display panel 10 included in the display device, and as shown in FIG. 2, the inspection device 110, It includes a pattern image generator 120 , and an analysis device 130 .

First, the inspection apparatus 110 generates a sensing value corresponding to RGB by sensing a pattern image displayed on the display panel 10 to be inspected, and outputs the generated sensing value to the analysis apparatus 130 . To this end, the inspection device 105 includes a sensing device 112 and an analog-to-digital converter 116 as shown in FIG. 2 .

The sensing device 112 generates a sensing value corresponding to the R component included in the pattern image, a sensing value corresponding to the G component, and a sensing value corresponding to the B component by sensing the pattern image displayed on the display panel 10 . do. To this end, the sensing device 112 according to the present invention includes a sensing module 113 and an output control unit 114 , and the sensing module 113 includes an infrared sensor 113a and a uniform filter 113b. Although the uniform filter 113b is shown as an essential component of the sensing module 113 in FIG. 2 , this is only an example, and the uniform filter 113b may be optionally included.

The infrared sensor 113a is disposed to face the display panel 10 and senses a pattern image displayed on the display panel 10 . In one embodiment, the infrared sensor 113a may be implemented as an image sensor. For example, the infrared sensor 113a may be implemented as a silicon photodiode.

As shown in FIG. 3, the infrared sensor 113a according to the present invention is disposed to be spaced apart from the display panel 10 by a preset separation distance V, and the display panel 10 has an angle of view according to the separation distance V. ) to generate a sensed value.

In general, since the amount of light loss increases as the separation distance V between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10 increases, in order to sense the accurate characteristics of the display panel 10, the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel The separation distance (V) between (10) should be set small. However, if the separation distance V between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10 is set too small, the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a decreases, so that the entire display panel 10 cannot be sensed.

However, in the case of the present invention, the distance V between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10 and the amount of light loss caused by the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a are compensated using the analysis device 130 to be described later. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the reduction in the degree of freedom in design of the inspection apparatus 110 due to the limitation of the separation distance V and the angle of view between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10 .

In particular, according to the present invention, it is possible to have a wide angle of view even when a small infrared sensor 113a is used by adjusting the separation distance V, so that it has the same performance compared to when a large infrared sensor is used. It is possible to reduce the cost in terms of sensor size.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the uniform filter 113b is disposed between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a to condense the light output from the display panel 10 to the infrared sensor 113a. Specifically, the uniform filter 113b condenses the light to the infrared sensor 113a by narrowing the waveform interval of the light output from the display panel 10 .

As described above, according to the present invention, by condensing the light through the uniform filter 113b, it is possible to increase the mixing ratio of colors included in the light and to reduce the loss of light (luminance).

In an embodiment, the uniform filter 113b according to the present invention may be formed in a lens shape as shown in FIG. 3 . The reason for forming the uniform filter 113b in a lens shape in the present invention is as follows. First, when the uniform filter 113b is formed in a planar structure as shown in FIG. 4A , since the wavelength interval of the light output from the display panel 10 is maintained, the light is not condensed by the infrared sensor 113a. , resulting in a region (loss region) in which light is not sensed by the infrared sensor 113a and is lost.

However, when the uniform filter 113b is formed in a lens shape as shown in FIG. 4B , the wavelength interval of light is reduced by the uniform filter 113b and the light is condensed to the infrared sensor 113a, so the infrared sensor By (113a), it is possible to minimize the area where light is not sensed and is lost.

Referring back to FIG. 2 , the output control unit 114 adjusts the scale of the sensed value output from the infrared sensor 113a. Specifically, the output control unit 114 upscaling or downscaling the sensing value output from the infrared sensor 113a according to the sensor sensitivity set by the user.

In an embodiment, the output control unit 114 may adjust the sensing values for each color output from the infrared sensor 113a as different reference values. For example, the output control unit 114 adjusts the sensed value corresponding to R sensed from the pattern image as a first reference value, and adjusts the sensed value corresponding to G sensed from the pattern image as a second reference value, from the pattern image. The sensed value corresponding to sensed B may be adjusted as a third reference value.

In the above-described embodiment, the output control unit 113 may be implemented as a circuit element such as a variable resistor.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the sensing device 112 includes the output control unit 113 to adjust the color ratio, the algorithm implemented according to the present invention can be implemented in various forms. For example, in a specific product, the ratio of red, green, and blue is 10: 8: 7, but in other products, the ratio can be adjusted to 11: 7: 9, so the algorithm can be diversified.

An example of the sensing device 112 according to the above-described embodiment is shown in FIG. 5 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the sensing device 112 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be manufactured in the form of an integrated circuit (IC) and mounted on the sensing board 500 . As described above, according to the present invention, the separation distance V between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10 can be minimized, so that, as shown in FIG. 5 , the sensing device 112 can be manufactured in the form of a miniaturized chip. In addition, since the sensing device 112 manufactured in the form of a chip only needs to be mounted on the sensor board, it can be easily applied to various application fields.

Referring back to FIG. 2 , the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 116 converts the sensed value adjusted by the output control unit 114 into a digital value. The analog-to-digital converter 116 transmits the sensed value converted into a digital value to the analysis device 130 .

In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the inspection device 110 includes the analog-to-digital converter 116 . Through this, there is an advantage that the inspection apparatus 110 can be miniaturized as well as the individual use of the inspection apparatus 110 is possible.

In another embodiment, the analog-to-digital converter 116 may be formed separately from the test device 110 . In particular, when the inspection system 100 according to the present invention includes a plurality of inspection devices 110 , the inspection system 100 includes one analog-to-digital converter 116 capable of simultaneously sensing a plurality of analog channels. By doing so, the sensed value of each inspection apparatus 110 may be converted into a digital value through an analog channel connected to each inspection apparatus 110 . As described above, when a plurality of analog channels are simultaneously sensed using one analog-to-digital converter 116 , there is an effect that the measurement speed can be improved.

6 shows an implementation example of the inspection apparatus according to the present invention. 6 is a perspective view of an inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 and 7, the inspection device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sensing board 500, a panel seating block 610, a lower case 620, and an upper case 630. do.

The sensing device 112 as described above is mounted on the sensing board 500 . The sensing board 500 is coupled to the inner surface of the upper case 630 to face the display panel 10 .

The panel mounting block 610 accommodates the display panel 10 to be inspected. In one embodiment, the panel seating block 610 has a seating groove 610a formed therein for accommodating the display panel 10 . As the display panel 10 is seated in the seating groove 610a of the panel seating block 610 , the display panel 10 is accommodated in the panel seating block 610 .

In one embodiment, the inspection apparatus 110 according to the present invention includes a plurality of panel seating blocks 610 having different heights, thereby replacing the panel seating block 610 to include the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor ( 113a) can vary the separation distance (V). As an example, the present invention accommodates the display panel 10 in a panel mounting block 610 having a high height when it is desired to reduce the separation distance V between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a, and the display panel When it is desired to increase the separation distance V between (10) and the infrared sensor 113a, the display panel 10 may be accommodated in the panel mounting block 610 having a low height.

As described above, according to the present invention, since it is possible to inspect the display panel 10 while changing the separation distance V between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a by replacing only the panel mounting block 610, the inspection system 100 can be configured compactly, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the inspection system 100 .

Meanwhile, in another embodiment, the panel mounting block 610 may be provided for each size of the display panel 10 . In this case, since the large-sized display panel 10 needs a large separation distance V between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a in order to inspect the entire display panel 10, the large-size display panel 10 The height of the panel seating block 610 to be accommodated may be lower than the height of the panel seating block 610 in which the display panel 10 having a small size is accommodated.

The lower case 620 accommodates the panel seating block 610 . To this end, a receiving groove 620a in which the panel mounting block 610 is accommodated is formed in the lower case 620 .

The upper case 630 is coupled to the lower case 620 to cover the sensing device 112 , thereby blocking light from being introduced into the inspection device 110 from the outside. To this end, the upper case 630 is rotatably coupled to one side 622 of the lower case 620 by a predetermined angle.

According to this embodiment, when the upper case 630 rotates with respect to one side 622 of the lower case 620 and is positioned on the lower case 620, it completely covers the lower case 620, so that the external The light from entering into the inspection device 110 is blocked.

Meanwhile, the inspection apparatus 110 according to the present invention may further include a panel fixing block 640 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 .

The panel fixing block 640 is coupled to the upper case 630 so as to contact the surface of the display panel 10 accommodated in the panel seating block 610 to prevent movement of the display panel 10 in the inspection device 110 . do. In this case, the panel fixing block 640 may be coupled to the inner surface of the upper case 630 with the sensing board 500 interposed therebetween. Accordingly, the panel fixing block 640 has an opening 640a for exposing the sensing device 112 mounted on the sensing board 500 toward the display panel 10 .

In one embodiment, the panel fixing block 640 is coupled to the inner surface of the upper case 630 through a coupling member 644 having an elastic member 642 to absorb a height change of the panel seating block 610 . can be For example, the panel fixing block 640 may be coupled to the inner surface of the upper case 630 using a bolt 644 including a spring 642 .

For example, when the panel seating block 610 having a high thickness is accommodated in the lower case 620 , the elastic member 642 is compressed and closely adhered to the upper case 630 to absorb the thickness change of the panel seating block 610 . And, when the panel seating block 610 having a low thickness is accommodated in the lower case 620, the elastic member 642 is extended to move the panel fixing block 640 toward the lower case 630, thereby causing the panel seating block 610 to move toward the lower case 630. ) to absorb the change in thickness.

As described above, since the panel fixing block 640 according to the present invention is coupled to the inner surface of the upper case 630 through a coupling member 644 having an elastic member 642, the panel seating block 610 having a high height. Even if the upper case 630 is accommodated in the lower case 620, the upper case 630 can completely cover the lower case 610, and through this, there is no gap between the upper case 630 and the lower case 610, so that external light is not generated. It is possible to block the inflow into the inspection device (110).

Referring back to FIG. 2 , the pattern image generating unit 120 generates a pattern image and inputs it to the display panel 10 . In an embodiment, the pattern image generator 120 may sequentially generate a plurality of predetermined pattern images and input them to the display panel 10 . Accordingly, different pattern images are sequentially input to the display panel 10 , and each pattern image is sensed by the sensing device 112 , thereby more accurately sensing the characteristics of the display panel 10 .

The reason that the pattern image is used for inspection of the display panel 10 in the present invention is that it is difficult to obtain various information when the entire display panel 10 displays a single-color image, but the display panel 10 is displayed in different colors or shapes. This is because, when a patterned image is displayed, various information such as a change in an afterimage of a panel, a change in lifespan according to a color of a panel, and a temperature deviation according to a color can be obtained.

The above-described pattern image generator 120 may be electrically connected to the display panel 10 . In this case, the pattern image generator 120 may be connected to the display panel 10 through a cable. However, since this is only one embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the pattern image generator 120 may be connected to the display panel 10 in various ways.

In FIG. 2 , the inspection system 100 has been described as including one inspection device 110 . However, in another embodiment, the inspection system 100 may include a plurality of inspection devices (110). According to this embodiment, the plurality of inspection apparatuses 110 are connected to one analysis apparatus 130 , and each inspection apparatus 110 is displayed on the display panel 10 accommodated for each inspection apparatus 110 . The sensed value obtained by sensing the pattern image is transmitted to the analysis device 130 . In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8 , when the inspection system 100 includes a plurality of inspection devices 110a to 110n, each of the inspection devices 110a to 110n is on the inspection board 800 . can be mounted.

According to this embodiment, the same type of display panel 10 may be mounted on the plurality of inspection apparatuses 110a to 110n, but different types of display panels 10 may be mounted thereon. For example, one inspection device is equipped with a display panel including a glass film, and the other inspection device is equipped with a display panel that does not include a glass film to perform the inspection, thereby inspecting the characteristics of the presence or absence of the glass film.

As another example, a display panel including a glass film is inspected, but one inspection device is equipped with a display panel having a glass film formed thereon according to the first coating method, and the other inspection device is a display in which a glass film is formed according to the second coating method. It is also possible to inspect the properties of the glass film coating method by mounting the panel and performing the inspection.

As another example, the display panel 10 of the same type is mounted on the plurality of inspection devices 110a to 110n, and different inspection conditions are set for each inspection device 110a to 110n, or inspection is performed in different inspection environments. can be performed. For example, the test may be continued for a first time in one test apparatus, and the test may be continued for a second time in the other test apparatus. In this way, by performing the inspection under different inspection conditions for each inspection apparatus, the display panel 10 can be inspected based on the deviation rate of the characteristics of the display panel 10 measured in each condition.

As another example, the inspection system 100 according to the present invention includes a plurality of inspection boards 800 on which a plurality of inspection devices 110a to 110n are mounted, and different inspection conditions or inspection environments for each inspection board 800 . can be set. For example, one inspection board may be inspected at a first temperature and the other inspection board may be inspected at a second temperature.

Although the inspection system 100 is illustrated as including 10 inspection devices in FIG. 8 , this is only an example, and the inspection system 100 includes 9 or less inspection devices 110 or 11 or more inspection devices ( 110) may be included.

In this case, the pattern image generating unit 120 shown in FIG. 2 may be provided for each inspection apparatus 110a to 110n, but in another embodiment, the inspection system 100 includes one pattern image generating unit 120 . includes, and the plurality of inspection apparatuses 110a to 110n may share one pattern image generating unit 120 .

Referring back to FIG. 2 , the analysis device 130 converts the sensed value generated by the sensing device 112 into luminance information and color information, and analyzes the result of the display panel using the converted luminance information and color information. create In particular, the analysis device 130 according to the present invention converts the sensed value into luminance information and color information by using at least one of the separation distance between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10 and the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a. can do.

To this end, as shown in FIG. 2 , the analysis device 130 includes a sensed value correction unit 132 , a color coordinate conversion unit 134 , and a performance evaluation unit 136 .

The sensed value calibration unit 132 compares the first reference value with the sensed value, and calibrates the sensed value according to the comparison result. The reason for calibrating the sensed value by using the sensed value calibrating unit 132 in the present invention is that an inaccurate sensed value may be obtained when the inspection of the display panel 10 is not performed in a complete dark room condition.

Therefore, the present invention calculates the deviation between the first reference value and the sensed value through the sensed value calibration unit 132 and determines the calculated deviation as the corrected sensed value, so that the inspection of the display panel 10 is performed in a perfect darkroom condition. Even if not, that is, even when the display panel 10 is inspected in an environment in which various types of external light sources exist, the sensing accuracy can be improved.

In an embodiment, the sensed value calibrator 132 may set a sensed value obtained by the sensing device 112 when a black image is displayed on the display panel 10 as a first reference value. As described above, according to the present invention, by setting the sensing value obtained when the black image is displayed on the display panel 10 as the first reference value, the sensing value obtained when the pattern image of the low grayscale is input to the display panel 10 . can also be easily corrected.

In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the analysis device 130 necessarily includes the sensing value correcting unit 132, but in a modified embodiment, the sensing value correcting unit 132 may be optionally included.

The color coordinate conversion unit 134 generates color information and luminance information by converting the sensed values corrected by the sensing value correcting unit 312 into predetermined color coordinates. In this case, the color information may be expressed as chromaticity coordinates. In an embodiment, the color coordinate converter 134 converts the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value according to a Commission Internationale De'Eclairage (CIE) color space, and obtains color information and luminance information from the converted color stimulus value. have. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9 , the color stimulus value for the calibrated sensed value may be mapped to chromaticity coordinates according to the CIE color space system.

In particular, when the color coordinate converter 134 according to the present invention converts the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value, at least one of the separation distance V between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a and the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a It is possible to reflect the amount of luminance loss caused by That is, since the luminance loss may occur due to the separation distance V between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10 or the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a, the color coordinate converter 134 compensates for the luminance loss. This is to reflect this amount of luminance loss when converting color coordinates.

In an embodiment, the color coordinate converter 134 converts the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space according to Equation 1 below, and converts the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value according to Equation 2 and 3 below from the color stimulus value according to Equation 2 and 3 below. chromaticity coordinates can be obtained according to Equation 1 represents an equation for reflecting the amount of luminance loss according to the separation distance V between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a when converting the corrected sensed value into a color stimulus value, and Equations 2 and 3 are converted An equation for obtaining chromaticity coordinates from the obtained color stimulus values is shown.

In Equation 1, R represents a calibrated sensed value corresponding to the R component, G represents a calibrated sensed value corresponding to the G component, and B represents a calibrated sensed value corresponding to the B component. Xd, Yd, and Zd represent color stimulus values according to the CIE color space. In particular, Yd represents luminance information when a corrected sensing value corresponding to each RGB is converted into a CIE color space. In addition, Krd·V, Kgd·V, and Kbd·V represent the amount of luminance loss in each wavelength range of Red, Green, and Blue when the separation distance between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a is V, and Krd It is calculated by multiplying the separation distance V by , Kgd, and Kbd. At this time, when the separation distance is V, the luminance loss Krd, Kgd, and Kbd are Red sensed by the infrared sensor 113a when the distance between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a is a reference value (eg, 0); When the distance between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a is V and the amount of luminance in the wavelength range of Green and Blue, the difference between the amount of luminance in the wavelength range of Red, Green, and Blue sensed by the infrared sensor 113a It may be defined as a value, and the amount of luminance loss for each separation distance V may be stored in the first luminance loss table through a pre-test.

In addition, in Equation 1, the infrared sensors infrared sensors xrd, xgd, xbd, yrd, ygd, ybd, zrd, zgd, and zbd are each infrared sensor 113a to convert the calibrated sensing value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space. Indicates the eigenvalue to be set.

Meanwhile, in Equations 2 and 3, x and y represent chromaticity coordinates when the calibrated sensing value corresponding to each RGB is converted to the CIE color space, and the corrected sensing corresponding to each RGB through these chromaticity coordinates It is possible to know the color information when the value is converted to the CIE color space.

In another embodiment, the color coordinate converter 134 converts the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space according to Equation 2 below, and converts the color stimulus value through Equation 4 to the above-described Equation According to 2 and 3, chromaticity coordinates according to the CIE color space can be obtained. Equation 4 is an equation for reflecting the amount of luminance loss according to the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a when the corrected sensing value is converted to a color stimulus value.

In Equation 4, R represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the R component, G represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the G component, and B represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the B component. Xd, Yd, and Zd represent color stimulus values according to the CIE color space. In particular, Yd represents luminance information when a corrected sensing value corresponding to each RGB is converted into a CIE color space. In addition, Krd, Kgd, and Kbd represent the amount of luminance loss in each wavelength range of Red, Green, and Blue at a predetermined separation distance, θ represents the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a, α ₁ ·θ, α ₂ ·θ , α ₃ ·θ, β ₁ ·θ, β ₂ ·θ, β ₃ ·θ, γ ₁ ·θ, γ ₂ ·θ, γ ₃ ·θ is the display panel ( 10) represents the amount of luminance loss occurring in the space between the infrared sensor 113a, and xrd, xgd, xbd, yrd, ygd, ybd, zrd, zgd, and zbd convert the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space. In order to do this, a unique value set for each infrared sensor 113a is shown. In this case, the amount of luminance loss generated according to the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a may be stored in the second luminance loss table through a pre-test.

In another embodiment, the color coordinate converter 134 converts the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space according to Equation 5 below, and uses the above-described math from the color stimulus value converted through Equation 5 According to Equations 2 and 3, chromaticity coordinates according to the CIE color space can be obtained. Equation 5 is to reflect both the amount of luminance loss according to the separation distance V between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a and the amount of luminance loss according to the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a when the calibrated sensed value is converted into color coordinates. is a mathematical expression

The performance evaluation unit 136 calculates the amount of change in the color information and the amount of change in the luminance information by comparing the color information and the luminance information in the form of chromaticity coordinates obtained for each pattern image. In addition, the performance evaluation unit 136 calculates the amount of change in the color information and the amount of change in the luminance information by comparing the color information and the luminance information obtained for each time with respect to the same pattern image. The performance evaluation unit 136 may provide the calculated change amount of color information and change amount of luminance information to the user.

In another embodiment, the performance evaluation unit 136 records the calculated color information and luminance information, analyzes the amount of change, and uses statistical data such as individual data, trending data, graphing, change rate (%), etc. Thus, the performance of the display panel 10 may be evaluated, and the evaluation result may be provided to the user. In an embodiment, the performance evaluation unit 136 may predict the lifespan of the display panel 10 using the calculated change amount of color information and change amount of luminance information, and provide the predicted result to the user.

In the above-described embodiment, the performance evaluation unit 136 may transmit the change amount of the color information and the change amount of the luminance information or the performance evaluation result to an external device through a wireless or wired network. In this case, the external device may include a computer (PC) or notebook computer, a mobile terminal, a personal communication system (PCS), a global system for mobile (GSM) terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a smart phone (Smart Phone). can

Meanwhile, the analysis apparatus 130 according to the present invention may further include a reference value deviation calculating unit 138 . The reference value deviation calculating unit 138 is a microcurrent output from the infrared sensor 113a by the electrical characteristics of the infrared sensor 113a in an environment in which an image is not displayed on the display panel 10 when the inspection device 110 is initially driven. A value of is set as a second reference value, and the reference value deviation is calculated by comparing the second reference value with the first reference value.

The reference value deviation calculating unit 1380 may calculate a reference value deviation for each inspection apparatus 110 , compare the reference value deviation calculated for each inspection apparatus 110 , and provide a comparison result to the user. Accordingly, the user can improve the consistency of the inspection results between the inspection apparatuses 110 by adjusting the inspection apparatus 110 so that the deviation of the reference value between the inspection apparatuses 110 is the same.

10 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a test apparatus for calculating the amount of luminance loss according to a separation distance or an angle of view of an infrared sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The test apparatus 1000 shown in FIG. 10 acquires the luminance value of the display panel 10 through the infrared sensor 113a while changing the separation distance V between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10, and , calculates the amount of luminance loss for each separation distance by comparing the obtained luminance values. As described above, according to the present invention, the amount of luminance loss is calculated for each separation distance between the infrared sensor 113a and the display panel 10 using the test apparatus 1000 , and the first luminance loss table is generated using the calculated luminance loss amount. can do.

In addition, the test apparatus 1000 according to the present invention acquires the luminance value of the display panel 10 while changing the angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a, and compares the luminance values obtained for each angle of view to determine the amount of luminance loss for each angle of view. Calculate. As described above, according to the present invention, the amount of luminance loss may be calculated for each angle of view of the infrared sensor 113a using the test apparatus 1000 and a second luminance loss table may be generated using the calculated amount of luminance loss.

To this end, as shown in FIG. 10 , the test apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a module holder 1010 , a display panel mounting module 1020 , a sensing board holder 1030 , and a module holder moving unit. 1040 , and a sensing board cradle moving unit 1050 .

The display panel mounting module 1020 is mounted on the module holder 1010 . The module holder 1010 may be formed in a plate shape. The module holder 1020 may be moved in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction by the module holder moving unit 1040 .

The display panel 10 to be inspected is mounted on the display panel mounting module 1020 . To this end, as shown in FIG. 10 , a panel seating part 1022 on which the display panel 10 is mounted is formed in the display panel seating module 1020 . In this case, the display panel 10 may be seated on the panel mounting unit 1022 in a form accommodated in the panel mounting block 610 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 described above. Since the description of the panel seating block 610 has been described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 , a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The module holder moving unit 1040 moves the module holder 1010 in a direction, a Y direction, and a Z direction. To this end, the module holder moving unit 1040 may include an X-direction moving unit 1042 , a Y-direction moving unit 1044 , and a Z-direction moving unit 1046 . When the X-direction moving unit 1042 is rotated by the user, the module holder 1010 moves in the X-direction, that is, horizontally in a two-dimensional plane, and when the Y-direction moving unit 1044 is rotated by the user, the module The holder 1010 moves in the Y-direction, that is, in a vertical direction in a two-dimensional plane, and when the Z-direction moving unit 1046 is rotated by the user, the module holder 1010 moves in the Z-direction, that is, in the vertical direction. The separation distance V between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a included in the sensing device 112 may be primarily adjusted according to the rotation of the Z-direction moving unit 1046 .

The sensing board 500 is mounted on the sensing board holder 1030 . At this time, the sensing device 112 shown in FIG. 2 is mounted on the sensing board 500 to face the display panel 10 . In one embodiment, the sensing board 500 may be mounted on the sensing board holder 1030 through a separate support 510 . At this time, a magnet is attached to one surface of the support part 510 and one surface of the sensing board holder 1030, respectively, and the magnet and the sensing board holder 1030 attached to one surface of the support part 510 are on one surface As the attached magnet is coupled by magnetic force, the support 510 is mounted on the sensing board 1030 .

The sensing board holder moving unit 1050 moves the sensing board holder 1030 in the Z direction, that is, in the vertical direction, on the support unit 1040 supporting the sensing board holder 1030 . Accordingly, the separation distance V between the display panel 10 and the infrared sensor 113a included in the sensing device 112 may be secondarily adjusted.

In the above embodiment, it has been described that the test apparatus 1000 calculates the amount of luminance loss according to the separation distance or the angle of view of the infrared sensor. When the pattern image is displayed on the display panel 10 after being seated in the module 1020, the sensing device 112 acquires a sensed value from the pattern image, and the analysis device 130 receives luminance information and color information from the sensed value. It is also possible to directly inspect the display panel 10 by obtaining . Since the functions of the sensing device 112 and the analysis device 130 are the same as those shown in FIG. 2 , a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, the test apparatus 1000 shown in FIG. 10 further includes a multi-gauge 1060, so that the user easily recognizes the change in the movement distance of the module holder 1010 in the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction. can do it

Although it is shown in FIG. 10 that a separate mechanism for configuring a darkroom does not exist between the sensing device 112 and the display panel 10, in another embodiment, the test device 1000 includes the sensing device 112 and the display. A separate mechanism for configuring a darkroom between the panels 10 may be added.

Hereinafter, a display panel inspection method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 11 .

11 is a flowchart illustrating a display panel inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The display panel inspection method illustrated in FIG. 11 may be performed by the display panel inspection system (hereinafter, referred to as an inspection system) illustrated in FIG. 2 .

First, the inspection system inputs a predetermined reference image to the display panel to be inspected (S1100), and senses the reference image to obtain a first reference value (S1110). In an embodiment, the reference image may be a black image.

Thereafter, the inspection system inputs a predetermined pattern image for inspection of the display panel to the display panel (S1120), and obtains a sensed value by sensing the pattern image (S1130). In this case, the sensing value may include a sensing value corresponding to the R component included in the pattern image, a sensing value corresponding to the G component, and a sensing value corresponding to the B component.

Thereafter, the inspection system converts the sensed value into a digital value (S1140). In an embodiment, the inspection system may further include adjusting the sensed value by adjusting the sensing sensitivity of the infrared sensor before converting the sensed value into a digital value.

Thereafter, the inspection system calibrates the sensed value by comparing the first reference value obtained in S1110 with the sensed value converted into a digital value in S1140 ( S1150 ). The reason why the inspection system calibrates the sensed value by comparing the sensed value with the first reference value is that an inaccurate sensed value may be obtained when the test of the display panel is not performed in a completely dark room.

Therefore, the present invention calculates the deviation between the first reference value and the sensed value and determines the calculated deviation as the corrected sensed value, so that even if the display panel is not inspected under perfect darkroom conditions, that is, various types of external light sources exist. Even when inspection of the display panel is performed in an environment, it is possible to improve sensing accuracy.

Thereafter, the inspection system acquires luminance information and color information through predetermined color coordinate conversion from the sensed value corrected in S1150 ( S1160 ). In an embodiment, the inspection system may convert the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space, and obtain color information and luminance information from the converted color stimulus value. In this case, the color information may be expressed in the form of chromaticity coordinates in the CIE color space system. In particular, the inspection system according to the present invention may reflect the amount of luminance loss caused by at least one of the separation distance between the display panel and the infrared sensor and the angle of view of the infrared sensor when the color coordinates of the calibrated sensed value are converted.

In one embodiment, the inspection system converts the calibrated sensed value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space system according to any one of Equation 1, Equation 4, and Equation 5 described above, and from the converted color stimulus value Chromaticity coordinates can be obtained according to Equations 2 and 3. Since the description of Equations 1 to 5 has already been described in the description of the color coordinate converter, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Thereafter, the inspection system calculates the change amount of the luminance information and the change amount of the color information ( S1170 ). In one embodiment, the inspection system compares the color information and the luminance information obtained for each pattern image with each other to calculate the change amount of the color information and the change amount of the luminance information, or the color information obtained for each time for the same pattern image and By comparing the luminance information with each other, it is possible to calculate the amount of change in the color information and the amount of change in the luminance information.

Thereafter, the inspection system may evaluate the performance of the display panel using the calculated amount of change in color information and change in luminance information ( S1180 ). In an embodiment, the inspection system may predict the lifespan of the display panel, etc. by using the change amount of the color information and the change amount of the luminance information.

In the above embodiment, it has been described that the inspection system evaluates the performance of the display based on the change amount of the luminance information and the change amount of the color information, but this is only an example. A change amount of information may be provided to the user.

Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the above-described present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

For example, all disclosed methods and procedures described herein may be implemented, at least in part, using one or more computer programs or components. These components may be configured as a series of series via any conventional computer-readable medium or machine-readable medium including volatile and non-volatile memory such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks, optical memory, or other storage media. They may be provided as computer instructions. The instructions may be provided as software or firmware, and may be implemented, in whole or in part, in a hardware configuration such as ASICs, FPGAs, DSPs, or any other similar device. The instructions may be configured to be executed by one or more processors or other hardware components, which when executing the series of computer instructions perform all or part of the methods and procedures disclosed herein or make it possible to perform

Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the following claims rather than the above detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

100: display panel inspection system 110: inspection device
120: pattern image generator 130: analysis device

Claims (13)

an inspection device including an infrared sensor for sensing a pattern image displayed on a display panel and outputting a sensing value corresponding to RGB; and
and an analysis device for generating luminance information and color information of the display panel by using the sensed value,
The analysis device uses at least one of a luminance loss according to a separation distance between the infrared sensor and the display panel and a luminance loss according to an angle of view of the infrared sensor to convert the sensed value into the luminance information and color information. Display panel inspection system, characterized in that it comprises. According to claim 1,
The inspection device is
a panel seating block having a seating groove formed therein in which the display panel is mounted;
a lower case having a receiving groove in which the panel seating block is accommodated;
an upper case that is rotatably coupled to one side of the lower case by a predetermined angle and covers the receiving groove to block light flowing into the inspection device from the outside; and
and a sensing board on which the infrared sensor is mounted and attached to the inner surface of the upper case so that the infrared sensor faces the display panel,
The display panel inspection system, characterized in that the separation distance between the display panel and the infrared sensor is variable according to the height of the panel seating block. 3. The method of claim 2,
The inspection device is
An opening for exposing the infrared sensor toward the display panel is formed, and is coupled to the inner surface of the upper case so as to be in contact with the surface of the display panel with the sensing board interposed therebetween to prevent movement of the display panel in the inspection device Display panel inspection system, characterized in that it further comprises a panel fixing block to prevent. 4. The method of claim 3,
The panel fixing block is a display panel inspection system, characterized in that coupled to the inner surface of the upper case through a coupling member including an elastic member to absorb a change in height of the panel seating block. According to claim 1,
The inspection device further comprises a uniform filter formed in a lens shape to condense the light output from the display panel. According to claim 1,
The display panel inspection system according to claim 1, further comprising: a pattern image generator for generating the pattern image according to at least one of the size of the display panel, the separation distance, and the angle of view, and inputting the pattern image to the display panel. According to claim 1,
The color coordinate conversion unit,
formula

to obtain a color stimulus value from the sensed value using

and formula

to calculate chromaticity coordinates corresponding to the color information from the color stimulus values,
In the above equation, R represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the R component, G represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the G component, B represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the B component, Xd, Yd, Zd represents the color stimulus value according to the CIE (Commission Internationale De'Eclairage) color space, Yd represents the luminance information, and Krd·V, Kgd·V, and Kbd·V are the separation distances between the display panel and the infrared sensor. When V represents the amount of luminance loss in each wavelength range of Red, Green, and Blue, xrd, xgd, xbd, yrd, ygd, ybd, zrd, zgd, and zbd convert the sensed value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space. A display panel inspection system, characterized in that it indicates a unique value set for each infrared sensor in order to do so. According to claim 1,
The color coordinate conversion unit,
formula

to obtain a color stimulus value from the sensed value using

and formula

to calculate chromaticity coordinates corresponding to the color information from the color stimulus values,
In the above equation, R represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the R component, G represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the G component, B represents the calibrated sensed value corresponding to the B component, Xd, Yd, Zd represents a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space, Yd represents the luminance information, and Krd·V, Kgd·V, and Kbd·V are Red, Green, Blue represents the amount of luminance loss in each wavelength range, θ represents the angle of view of the infrared sensor, α ₁ ·θ, α ₂ ·θ, α ₃ ·θ, β ₁ ·θ, β ₂ ·θ, β ₃ · θ, γ ₁ ·θ, γ ₂ ·θ, γ ₃ ·θ denote the amount of luminance loss occurring in a space between the display panel and the infrared sensor when the angle of view of the infrared sensor is θ, xrd, xgd, xbd, yrd , ygd, ybd, zrd, zgd, and zbd represent eigenvalues set for each infrared sensor in order to convert the sensed value into a color stimulus value according to the CIE color space. According to claim 1,
The analyzer is
A performance evaluation unit for evaluating the performance of the display panel by using at least one of the amount of change of color information and luminance information obtained for each pattern image and the amount of change of color information and luminance information obtained for each time with respect to the same pattern image is further included Display panel inspection system, characterized in that. According to claim 1,
The analyzer is
The display panel further comprises a sensing value correction unit that sets a sensed value obtained when a reference image is displayed as a first reference value, and corrects the sensed value by using a deviation between the sensed value and the first reference value,
The color coordinate converter converts the calibrated sensed value into the luminance information and the color information. According to claim 1,
The inspection device is a plurality,
The plurality of inspection devices is a display panel inspection system, characterized in that mounted on the inspection board. 12. The method of claim 11,
The analyzer is
Calculating a deviation between a first reference value, which is a sensed value obtained when a reference image is displayed on the display panel, and a second reference value, which is a sensing value output from the inspection device before power is applied to the display panel for each inspection device, each Display panel inspection system, characterized in that it further comprises a reference value deviation calculation unit for comparing the calculated deviation for each inspection device to output a comparison result. According to claim 1,
a display mounting module on which the display panel is mounted;
a module holder formed in a plate shape and on which the display mounting module is mounted;
a module holder moving unit for moving the module holder in the X-direction, Y-direction, and Z-direction;
a sensing board holder on which the test device is mounted so that the test device faces the display panel; and
Display panel inspection system, characterized in that it further comprises a sensing board holder moving unit for moving the sensing board holder in the Z direction.

Images