JP2002098934A - Inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply and precisely confirm the contact state of an input terminal with a contact terminal of a liquid crystal display element. SOLUTION: In an inspection device for inspecting the liquid crystal display element 6 by bringing a contact needle 20 for inspection in contact with the input terminal 17 provided on one glass substrate 14 of the liquid crystal display element 6 having a display part 16, where a liquid crystal is enclosed between a pair of transparent glass substrates 14 and 15 and giving a drive signal to the liquid crystal display element 6 via the contact needle 20 in this state, an electronic camera 30 for photographing the contact state of the input terminal 17, with the contact needle 20 being disposed on the side opposite to the contact needle 20 of the liquid crystal display element 6. Thus, when the liquid crystal display element 6 is inspected, the contact state of the input terminal 17 with the contact needle 20 can be photographed through the transparent glass substrate 14 using the electronic camera 30 and the contact state of the input terminal 17 with the contact needle 20 can be simply and precisely confirmed, and the contact state can be adjusted while a monitor is watched by displaying the photographed image on the monitor and thus inspecting operation can be easily performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection device for inspecting a liquid crystal display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a liquid crystal display device has a display portion in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of transparent substrates, and one of the pair of transparent substrates projects to the side of the other transparent substrate. A plurality of input terminals are provided at the protruding portion, and a drive element such as an LSI is connected to these input terminals, and the drive section drives the display unit to display information. In such a liquid crystal display element, it is necessary to inspect whether or not the display unit is defective before connecting the drive element to the input terminal provided on one of the transparent substrates.

[0003] This inspection apparatus is configured such that a contact needle is brought into contact with an input terminal of a liquid crystal display element, and in this state, a drive signal is applied to the liquid crystal display element via the contact needle to perform inspection. When inspecting a liquid crystal display element with such an inspection apparatus, the liquid crystal display element is set at a predetermined position of the inspection apparatus, and a contact needle is brought into contact with an input terminal of the liquid crystal display element. Scratches,
The flaw is confirmed with a microscope, the degree of displacement of the contact needle with respect to the input terminal is measured, and the position of the contact needle is adjusted based on the measurement result. By repeating such operations, the contact needle is appropriately brought into contact with the input terminal of the liquid crystal display element.

[0004]

However, in such an inspection apparatus, the liquid crystal display element must be removed and checked with a microscope every time the contact needle is brought into contact with the input terminal. Unless the liquid crystal display element is accurately reset every time it is set, the contact needle cannot be brought into accurate contact with the input terminal, which causes a problem that the inspection work is troublesome and time-consuming. In addition, in this inspection device, since the input terminal is damaged by the contact needle, there is a problem that the input terminal is worn or disconnected, and when a drive signal is given to the liquid crystal display element through the contact needle. Also, there is a problem that even if there is a defect in the display unit, it cannot be determined whether the defect is a defect of the contact needle or a contact failure of the contact needle.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily and accurately check a contact state between an input terminal of a liquid crystal display element and a contact.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a contact for inspection is brought into contact with an input terminal provided on one transparent substrate of a liquid crystal display element having a display portion in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of transparent substrates. In this state, in this state, in a test apparatus for testing the liquid crystal display element by applying a drive signal to the liquid crystal display element via the contactor, on a side of the liquid crystal display element opposite to the surface on which the input terminal is provided. And an electronic camera for photographing a contact state between the input terminal and the contact. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when a drive signal is given to a liquid crystal display element via a contact and a liquid crystal display element is inspected, the contact state of an input terminal and a contact can be imaged with an electronic camera through a transparent substrate. Therefore, by displaying the captured image on the monitor, the contact state between the input terminal and the contact can be easily and accurately checked without damaging the input terminal, and the input terminal can be checked while looking at the monitor. Can adjust the contact state with the contactor,
This facilitates the inspection work.

In this case, by providing a moving mechanism for moving the electronic camera with respect to the liquid crystal display element, it is possible to automate photographing by the electronic camera. The contact state between the terminal and the contact can be more easily confirmed. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the electronic apparatus further includes a detecting unit configured to detect a moving position of the electronic camera by the moving mechanism. Can be accurately confirmed, whereby the contact state between the input terminal and the contact can be easily and accurately adjusted. Furthermore, as described in claim 4, between the liquid crystal display element and the electronic camera, a backlight for illuminating the display unit of the liquid crystal display element is movably disposed,
When taking a picture with an electronic camera, it is not necessary to remove the backlight, and simply by moving the backlight to the outside of the liquid crystal display element, it is possible to take a good picture, which also facilitates the inspection work.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG.
1 is a perspective view schematically showing an inspection device of the present invention.
This inspection apparatus includes an apparatus main body plate 1. An element mounting unit 2 and a contact unit 3 for inspection are arranged in this order on a front side (a front side in the figure) of the apparatus body plate 1, and a rear side of the apparatus body plate 1 (in FIG. Rear side)
, A backlight unit 4 and a camera unit 5 are arranged in that order. In addition, the apparatus main body plate 1 is provided with an opening 1a at a location where each of the units 2 to 5 corresponds. Hereinafter, the units 2 to 5 will be described in order.

The element mounting unit 2 is for setting the liquid crystal display element 6 at a predetermined position, as shown in FIG. The mounting plate 7 has an opening 7a at the center thereof, and holding portions 8 for holding the liquid crystal display element 6 at the lower side and the right side of the opening 7a. The display element 6 is held corresponding to the opening 7a. Further, the element mounting unit 2 includes an element moving mechanism 9 for moving the mounting plate 7 to a position corresponding to the contactor unit 3.

In the element moving mechanism 9, a spiral groove is provided on an outer peripheral surface of a guide shaft 11 which is rotated by a motor 10 provided on the apparatus main body plate 1.
The mounting plate 7 is moved along the guide shaft 11 and the guide rail 13 in accordance with the rotation of the guide shaft 11 in this state. In this case, the liquid crystal display element 6
As shown in FIG. 5, a display section 16 in which liquid crystal (not shown) is sealed between a pair of glass substrates 14 and 15 as a pair of transparent substrates. Has a structure in which a plurality of input terminals 17 are provided on the surface of the protruding portion of one of the glass substrates 14, respectively, and the one glass substrate 14 is attached. It is held facing the plate 7.

The contact unit 3 for inspection has an inspection plate 18 arranged on the front side of the element mounting unit 2. The inspection plate 18 has an opening 18a substantially in the center.
Are provided, and contact portions 19 are provided on the upper side and the left side of the inspection plate 18, and a plurality of contact needles 20 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, when the mounting plate 7 of the element mounting unit 2 is arranged corresponding to the back surface of the inspection plate 18, the contact unit 3 approaches the inspection plate 18 toward the mounting plate 7. As shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of contact needles 20 are brought into contact with the respective input terminals 17 provided on one glass substrate 14 of the liquid crystal display element 6. The backlight unit 4 includes a backlight that is a flat light emitter, is disposed on the back side of the apparatus main body plate 1, and illuminates the rear surface of the liquid crystal display element 6 through the opening 1a of the apparatus main body plate 1. As shown in FIG. 1, it is configured to be moved up and down by being guided by guide members 21 provided on both sides thereof.

The camera unit 5 includes, as shown in FIG.
A unit plate 22 fixed to the apparatus main body plate 1 is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the unit plate 22 has
A pair of lateral guide shafts 24 and 25 are provided, and a moving table 23 is attached to the pair of lateral guide shafts 24 and 25 so as to be movable in a lateral direction (X-axis direction). In this case, of the pair of lateral guide shafts 24, 25, the upper lateral guide shaft 24 is a rack, and the first drive gear 26 a which is rotated by the first motor 26 provided on the movable base 23 meshes and rolls. I do. Thereby, the movable table 23 moves in the lateral direction (X-axis direction) according to the rotation of the first drive gear 26a. The lower horizontal guide shaft 25 is a guide member that guides the movable base 23 in the horizontal direction (the same direction).

As shown in FIG. 3, the movable base 23 is provided with a vertical guide shaft 28, on which the camera base 27 can be moved in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction). Attached to. In this case, the vertical guide shaft 28
Is a rack, and a second drive gear 29a rotated by a second motor 29 provided on the camera base 27 meshes and rolls. Thus, the camera base 27 moves in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction) according to the rotation of the second drive gear 29a. In the camera table 27, the locations where the plurality of contact needles 20 and the respective input terminals 17 of the liquid crystal display element 6 correspond to each other are passed through the transparent glass substrate 14 through the opposite side to the surface on which the respective input terminals 17 are provided. An electronic camera 30 for photographing from is mounted. The electronic camera 30 has a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD, and outputs a captured image as an electric signal. The first and second motors 26 and 29 have first and second encoders 31 and 32 for detecting the amount of rotation, respectively.
Is provided.

Next, a circuit configuration of such an inspection apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. This FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration necessary when an electronic camera 30 photographs an area corresponding to 0 and an input terminal 17 of a liquid crystal display element 6. In FIG. 6, the control unit 35 is a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the operation of the entire apparatus in accordance with the inspection program in the storage unit 36. An electronic camera 30, a monitor 37, a backlight 38, a motor drive unit 39, and a detection unit 40, which are input / output peripheral devices, are connected to the control unit 35. According to the input / output program, the control unit 35 Control their behavior.

In this case, the electronic camera 30 is a photographing device provided with a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD. Monitor 37
Is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or a CRT which performs color display. The backlight 38 is a flat light-emitting body including a light source such as a fluorescent tube and an EL panel. In addition, the motor drive unit 39 is to supply a drive signal to the first and second motors 26 and 29. The detecting unit 40 includes the first and second motors 2.
First, the respective rotation amounts of 6, 29 are respectively detected and output.
These are the second encoders 31 and 32.

Next, a case where the liquid crystal display element 6 is inspected by such an inspection apparatus will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, each input terminal 1 is attached to the mounting plate 7 of the element mounting unit 2.
The liquid crystal display element 6 is set with the one glass substrate 14 provided with 7 facing. At this time, the element mounting unit 2
Is moved to the right side of the contactor unit 3, and in this state, the lower and right sides of the liquid crystal display element 6 are held by the holding portions 8 provided on the mounting plate 7, and the liquid crystal display element 6 is moved. It corresponds to the opening 7a of the mounting plate 7. As a result, the liquid crystal display element 6 is set at a predetermined position of the element mounting unit 2, and the liquid crystal display element 6 is positioned in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction).

In this state, the mounting plate 7 is
Side to correspond to the contactor unit 3. At this time, the motor 10 of the element moving mechanism 9 is driven to rotate the guide shaft 11. Then, the mounting plate 7 moves along the guide shaft 11 and the guide plate 13 in response to the rotation of the guide shaft 11, and as shown in FIG. The liquid crystal display element 6 held on the plate 7 corresponds to the contact unit 3. Thereby, the input terminal 17 of the liquid crystal display element 6 corresponds to the contact needle 20 of the contact unit 3. In this state, the inspection plate 18 of the contactor unit 3 is brought close to the liquid crystal display element 6 of the element mounting unit 2, and the plurality of contact needles 20 are connected to the respective input terminals 17 of the liquid crystal display element 6 as shown in FIGS. Move to the side and make contact.

Thereafter, the electronic camera 30 checks whether or not the plurality of contact needles 20 are in contact with the respective input terminals 17 of the liquid crystal display element 6 as shown in FIG. At this time, first, the backlight unit 4 is moved upward along the guide member 21 so that the backlight unit 4 does not disturb the photographing by the electronic camera 30 and is arranged above the camera unit 5 and the element mounting unit 2. I do. In this state, the control unit 35 gives an operation command to the motor driving unit 39 to drive the first and second motors 26 and 29 to move the electronic camera 30. As a result, the contact points between the input terminals 17 of the liquid crystal display element 6 and the contact needles 20 are sequentially photographed by the electronic camera 30 through the transparent glass substrate 14.

At this time, for example, the motor driving unit 39
When the second motor 29 is driven, the second drive gear 29a rotates and meshes with the vertical guide shaft 28 to roll as shown in FIG. 3, and the camera base 27 is moved from the lower side in accordance with the rotation. By moving toward the upper side, the electronic camera 30 is moved in the same direction. At this time, the input terminal 17 on the left side of the liquid crystal display element 6 shown in FIG.
Photographs are sequentially taken from the lower part to the upper part in contact with 0.

When the first motor 26 is driven by the motor drive unit 39 in a state where the electronic camera 30 is positioned above the left side of the liquid crystal display element 6, the first drive gear 26a shown in FIG. It rotates and engages with the lateral guide shaft 24 to roll, and the moving table 23 moves from the left end to the right end in accordance with the rotation, whereby the electronic camera 30 moves in the same direction with the camera stand 27. I do. At this time,
The contact point between the input terminal 17 on the upper side of the liquid crystal display element 6 shown in FIG. 5 and the corresponding contact needle 20 is sequentially photographed from the left end to the right end.

When the electronic camera 30 sequentially captures images in this manner, the captured images are sequentially displayed on the monitor 37. At this time, the first and second encoders 31 and 32 of the detection unit 40 detect the rotation amounts of the first and second motors 26 and 29, and based on the detection signals, the number of contact points of the imaged position by the electronic camera 30 is determined. Calculate whether it is the position of the needle 20,
An image of the photographing location corresponding to the calculation result is displayed on the monitor 37. At this time, for example, when an image in which the contact needle 20 is not in contact with the input terminal 17 is displayed on the monitor 37, while watching the monitor 37, the motor 10 of the element moving mechanism 9 of the element mounting unit 2 is turned on. By driving and moving the mounting plate 7 of the element mounting unit 2 in a desired direction, the contact state between the contact needle 20 and the input terminal 17 can be adjusted.

As described above, when each of the contact needles 20 comes into contact with each of the input terminals 17, the backlight unit 4 is moved downward along the guide member 21 to correspond to the back surface of the element mounting unit 2. . In this state, the backlight 38 is turned on to illuminate the back surface of the liquid crystal display element 6, and a driving signal is given to the liquid crystal display element 6 via each contact needle 20 to drive the display unit 16. Thus, by visually confirming the display information displayed on the display unit 16 from the front side through the opening 3a of the inspection plate 18 of the contact unit 3, it is possible to confirm whether or not the liquid crystal display element 6 is good. it can.

As described above, according to this inspection apparatus, when the drive signal is applied to the liquid crystal display element 6 via the contact needle 20 to inspect the display section 16 of the liquid crystal display element 6, the input terminal 1
The contact state between the contact 7 and the contact needle 20 can be photographed by the electronic camera 30 through the transparent glass substrate 14, and the photographed image is displayed on the monitor 37 so that the input terminal 17 is not damaged by the contact needle 20. In addition, the contact state between the input terminal 17 and the contact needle 20 can be easily and accurately confirmed, and the input terminal 1
The contact state between the contact needle 7 and the contact needle 20 can be adjusted, thereby facilitating the inspection work.

In this case, by moving the electronic camera 30 with respect to the liquid crystal display element 6, the photographing by the electronic camera 30 can be automated.
The contact state between 7 and contact needle 20 can be more easily confirmed. Also, the first and second encoders 31,
By detecting the movement position of the electronic camera 30 by using the number 32, it is possible to accurately confirm the position of the contact needle 20 where the electronic camera 30 takes an image. The contact state can be easily and accurately adjusted. Further, the liquid crystal display element 6
Display section 16 of the liquid crystal display element 6 between the camera and the electronic camera 30
When the electronic camera 30 takes an image of the contact point between the contact needle 20 and the input terminal 17, the backlight unit 4 does not need to be removed, and the backlight unit 4 can be moved. 4
By simply moving the image above the liquid crystal display element 6, it is possible to take a good image, which also facilitates the inspection work.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the electronic camera for photographing the contact state between the input terminal and the contact is arranged on the side of the liquid crystal display element opposite to the surface on which the input terminal is provided. Therefore, when a driving signal is applied to the liquid crystal display element through the contact to inspect the display unit, the contact state between the input terminal and the contact can be photographed by the electronic camera through the transparent substrate, and thus the photographing can be performed. By displaying the image on the monitor, the contact state between the input terminal and the contact can be easily and accurately checked without damaging the input terminal. Can be adjusted, thereby facilitating inspection work.

In this case, by providing a moving mechanism for moving the electronic camera with respect to the liquid crystal display element, it is possible to automate the photographing by the electronic camera, and thereby, the contact state between the input terminal and the contact can be reduced. It can be more easily confirmed. In addition, by providing a detecting means for detecting the moving position of the electronic camera by the moving mechanism, it is possible to accurately confirm the photographing position of the electronic camera between the input terminal and the contact. Thereby, the contact state between the input terminal and the contact can be easily and accurately adjusted. Furthermore, the backlight for illuminating the display unit of the liquid crystal display element is movably arranged between the liquid crystal display element and the electronic camera, so that it is not necessary to remove the backlight when shooting with the electronic camera. By simply moving the image to the outside of the liquid crystal display element, it is possible to take a good image, which also facilitates the inspection work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an embodiment of an inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main part of the element mounting unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the camera unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing a correspondence between a liquid crystal display element and an electronic camera in a state where a contact needle is in contact therewith.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an example of a contact state between a contact needle and an input terminal of a liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a main part of the inspection device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device main body board 2 Element mounting unit 3 Contact unit 4 Backlight unit 5 Camera unit 6 Liquid crystal display element 14, 15 Glass substrate 16 Display unit 17 Input terminal 20 Contact needle 23 Moving table 24, 25 Horizontal guide shaft 26, 29 1, second motor 27 camera base 28 vertical guide shaft 30 electronic camera 35 control unit 37 monitor 40 detection unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page F term (reference) 2G011 AA02 AA15 AB07 AC06 AC09 AC14 AE01 AF06 2G032 AA00 AE04 AE09 AF01 AL04 2G051 AA73 AB14 BA20 CA03 CA11 CB01 DA06 2H088 FA12 FA16 FA30 HA02 HA06 MA20 2H092 GA40 NA30

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A contact for inspection is brought into contact with an input terminal provided on one of the transparent substrates of a liquid crystal display element having a display portion in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of transparent substrates. An inspection apparatus for applying a drive signal to the liquid crystal display element through the liquid crystal display element to inspect the liquid crystal display element, wherein the input terminal and the contact are provided on a side of the liquid crystal display element opposite to a surface on which the input terminal is provided. An inspection apparatus, comprising: an electronic camera for photographing a contact state with the electronic camera. 2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a moving mechanism for moving the electronic camera with respect to the liquid crystal display device. 3. The inspection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a detection unit configured to detect a moving position of the electronic camera by the moving mechanism. 4. A backlight for illuminating the display section of the liquid crystal display element is movably disposed between the liquid crystal display element and the electronic camera. The inspection device according to any one of the above.