JP2003177151A - Display panel inspection socket - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light-weight and compact display panel inspection socket capable of ensuring electrical connection to a display panel, and having excellent workability for mounting or dismounting the display panel. <P>SOLUTION: A guide plate 22 positioned over a contact film 14, abutting on the side face of an insulating substrate 2 of the display panel 1, and forming a plane approximately in connection with the upper surface of the insulating substrate is provided on this socket body 11. A clip 24 having a roughly U-shaped section for pressing the insulating substrate 2 can be moved slidably between a panel substrate pressing position where the insulating substrate and the socket body are clipped and a panel substrate releasing position where the insulating substrate is released. When the clip is on the panel substrate pressing position, the tip part of a protective film 25 having the base end fixed on the guide plate is interposed between one end of the clip and the insulating substrate. When the clip is moved to the panel substrate releasing position, the tip part of a protective film is curled and moved to the outside of an insulating substrate loading region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LC
The present invention relates to a display panel inspection socket that can be suitably used for inspecting the display quality of a panel (hereinafter referred to as a display panel) such as a panel or an electroluminescence (EL) panel.

[0002]

[Prior art]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-308034 Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of this type of display panel,
Each inspection such as a display quality inspection for detecting a display defect portion is performed on the display panel before the peripheral circuit is connected. In that case, in order to inspect the display panel before the peripheral circuit is connected, it is necessary to use a contact member for supplying a signal that comes into contact with the electrode terminal of the display panel. For example, JP-A-6-30
Japanese Patent No. 8034 discloses an inspection device for a display panel including a probe as a contact member or a contact film having a lead pattern formed on the surface of an insulating film. In a conventional display panel inspection device using a probe, for example, a method of sandwiching and fixing a vicinity of a contact end of a probe made of a tungsten needle or the like with a support base made of resin such as polycarbonate and a pressing base is adopted. In a conventional display panel inspecting apparatus using a contact film, a method of disposing and fixing the contact film on a base made of a resin such as polycarbonate is also adopted.

In recent years, as the number of electrode terminals in a display panel has increased and the electrode terminals have become finer and narrower in pitch, the contact members for display panel inspection have also become finer and narrower in pitch. There is a tendency that higher precision is required for the alignment between the contact member and the contact member.

Further, when the display panels are inspected under a temperature environment different from room temperature, such as aging, it is efficient to inspect a plurality of display panels at the same time.

[0005]

In order to efficiently inspect a plurality of display panels before connecting peripheral circuits, it is desirable to use a display panel inspection socket provided with a contact member. This display panel inspection socket is
Although it is necessary to provide a pressing means for bringing the electrode terminal of the display panel and the contact member into contact with each other with a required contact pressure,
Depending on the structure of the pressing means, the workability of attaching / detaching the display panel and the positioning accuracy of the display panel, the electrode terminals, and the contact member are greatly affected. Further, when the display panel inspection socket becomes large, it becomes difficult to mount the display panel on the inspection device at a high density, which causes a decrease in inspection work efficiency.

It is known, for example, from Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-44038 that a clip having a substantially U-shaped cross section is used as a pressing means in a connection structure between a flexible cable and a printed wiring board. It is preferable to use such a clip as a pressing means of the display panel inspection socket in order to reduce the weight and size of the socket.
In a display panel such as D, a large number of electrode terminals are arranged on an insulating substrate at a very narrow pitch, so if the contact member and the display panel slip when the clip moves, It becomes difficult to maintain the alignment accuracy of the electrode terminal and the contact member.

Therefore, it is lightweight and compact and can be reliably electrically connected to the display panel.
There is a demand for a display panel inspection socket that has excellent workability in attaching and detaching the display panel.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a display panel inspection socket which is lightweight and compact, which can surely be electrically connected to a display panel, and which is excellent in workability for attaching and detaching the display panel. It is in.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 is
The contact film is provided on the socket body, and the electrode terminals arranged and formed on the insulating substrate of the display panel along the side of the insulating substrate are arranged and formed on the surface of the contact film by the pressing force of the pressing member. A contact device for inspecting a display panel which is brought into contact with a lead pattern, wherein the socket body has a flat surface located above the contact film, abutting on a side of the insulating substrate, and opposite to the electrode terminals of the insulating substrate. A guide plate forming a substantially continuous plane is provided, and the pressing member is a panel for pressing the panel substrate between the insulating substrate and the socket body, and a panel for sandwiching the guide plate and the socket body to release the insulating substrate. A clip having a substantially U-shaped cross section and having a spring property, which is slidably movable between the substrate release position and the guide plate. It has a protective film interposed between one end of the clip and the flat surface of the insulating substrate and the guide plate, the protective film, the clip from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate release position. It is characterized in that when it moves, its tip moves out of the insulating substrate mounting region.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the display panel inspection socket according to the first aspect, the tip end portion of the contact film, which extends in the arrangement direction of the lead patterns and is opposite to the lead patterns, is provided in the socket body. It is characterized in that an elastic support body is provided on the back surface so as to elastically contact and support the back surface.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the display panel inspection socket according to the second aspect, a movable support body which further supports the elastic support body is provided on the socket body so as to be movable in a pressing direction of the clip. The clip is formed such that, when one end of the clip presses the insulating substrate, the other end presses the movable support in a direction opposite to the pressing direction of the one end of the clip. Characterize.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the display panel inspection socket according to the first aspect, the elastic support member is
The elastic support has a tubular portion that is brought into contact with the back surface of the tip portion of the contact film and a pedestal portion that is connected to the lower portion of the tubular portion, and the elastic support member has a lower portion of the tubular portion over its entire length. It is characterized in that it is cut at a position where the pedestal part is divided into two parts, and is formed by rolling the tubular part into a flat plate shape and rolling it into a tubular shape.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the display panel inspection socket according to the first aspect, a drive IC is formed by mounting a drive IC on a film having a lead pattern formed thereon.
The C tab is mounted on the contact film and connected to the lead pattern of the contact film.

[0014]

In the display panel inspection socket according to claim 1, after mounting the insulating substrate of the display panel on the contact film on the socket body, the clip is slid from the panel substrate releasing position to the panel substrate pressing position. By moving it, a pressing force can be applied to the insulating substrate of the display panel, so that the electrode terminals of the display panel can be brought into contact with the lead pattern of the contact film with a required contact pressure. Further, since the protective film is interposed between one end of the clip and the flat surface of the insulating substrate and the guide plate, the pressing force in the sliding direction of the clip is prevented from being transmitted to the insulating substrate of the display panel when the clip slides. can do.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the positional deviation between the electrode terminals of the display panel and the lead pattern of the contact film due to the positional deviation of the display panel. Moreover,
When you slide the clip from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, the tip of the protective film moves out of the insulating substrate mounting area, so you can remove the display panel from the socket body or onto the socket body. The mounting work of can be easily performed without any obstacle due to the protective film.

Accordingly, it is possible to provide a display panel inspection socket which is lightweight and compact, can be accurately aligned with the electrode terminals of the display panel, and is excellent in workability of mounting and removing the display panel. You can

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a socket for inspecting a display panel, wherein the socket body is provided with an elastic support member extending in the arrangement direction of the lead pattern of the contact film and elastically contacting and supporting the back surface of the contact film opposite to the lead pattern. Therefore, when pressing the insulating substrate of the display panel with one end of the clip, a part of each lead pattern on the contact film from the back side of the contact film is securely attached to the electrode terminals on the insulating substrate by the elastic support. Can be pressed. Therefore, the electrical connection between the electrode terminal of the display panel and the lead pattern of the contact film can be more reliably performed.

In the display panel inspecting socket according to the present invention, the movable supporting member for supporting the elastic supporting member is provided so as to be movable in the pressing direction of the clip with respect to the socket body, and the clip has one end portion thereof. When pressing the insulating substrate, the other end is formed so as to press the movable support in the direction opposite to the pressing direction of the one end of the clip, so that the pressing force by the one end of the clip and the other end of the clip It is possible to balance the pressing force in the opposite direction.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent inconvenient sinking of the display panel that occurs when only one direction of pressing force is applied to the insulating substrate of the display panel by one end portion of the clip, and to ensure smooth sliding movement of the clip. You can

Further, in the case where only the pressing force in one direction by one end of the clip acts on the insulating substrate of the display panel,
The rigidity of the protective film interposed between the one end of the clip and the insulating substrate causes an inconvenient resistance force against the pressing force, which makes it difficult to effectively transmit the pressing force of the clip to the insulating substrate. However, according to the configuration of the present invention,
As described above, since the pressing force by one end of the clip and the pressing force in the opposite direction by the other end of the clip can be simultaneously applied to the insulating substrate, the pressing force of the clip can be reduced regardless of the rigidity of the protective film. It is possible to effectively act on the contact portion between the electrode terminal of the display panel and the lead pattern of the contact film to improve the contact pressure.

In the display panel inspection socket according to the fourth aspect, the elastic support member includes a cylindrical portion that is in contact with the lower surface of the tip portion of the contact film and a pedestal portion that is connected to the lower portion of the cylindrical portion. Has an elastic support over its entire length,
It is cut at a position where the lower part of the tubular part and the pedestal part are divided into two parts, and it is formed by rolling the tubular part into a flat plate shape and rolling it into a tubular shape. It is possible to easily obtain a linear support in the longitudinal direction of the contact portion of the tubular portion with respect to the back surface of the film, and an elastic support having high dimensional accuracy such as thickness. Therefore, it is possible to inexpensively provide a display panel inspection socket capable of bringing the electrode terminals of the display panel and the lead pattern of the contact film into contact with each other with a uniform contact pressure.

In the display panel inspection socket according to the present invention, the total length of the lead pattern from the drive IC to the display panel can be shortened. Therefore, when the display quality of the display panel is inspected, each electrode of the drive IC to the display panel is inspected. Mutual interference between the signals applied to the terminals can be prevented, and the display image can be prevented from being disturbed by the interference. Therefore, the display quality inspection of the display panel can be performed accurately.

Further, since the number of wirings required for connecting the external circuit and the driving IC can be made smaller than the number of wirings between the driving IC and the display panel, the number of wirings to be exposed to the outside of the socket body can be reduced. The number of sockets can be reduced to make the entire socket more compact.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 8 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an LCD panel inspection socket, and FIG. 1 shows a socket in which a clip is moved to a panel substrate pressing position. 2 is a plan view of the socket with the clip moved to the panel substrate release position, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the socket shown in FIG. 1 with the clip and cover removed, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 showing a state where the clip is moved to the panel substrate release position, and FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.
7A is a plan view showing a configuration example of a jig useful for the work of attaching / detaching the display panel to / from the socket of FIG. 1, FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 7A, 8A to 8C are sectional views showing the operation of the socket of the first embodiment.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, an LCD panel 1 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view has an insulating substrate 2 made of, for example, glass, and the lower surface of the insulating substrate 2 has three sides of the insulating substrate 2. A plurality of transparent electrode terminals are arrayed in parallel along each other.

The LCD panel inspection socket 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is provided with a socket body 11 made of metal or plastic and having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The upper surface of the socket body 11 is an insulating substrate of the LCD panel 1. Corner engaging pieces 11a that engage with the three corners
The protrusion 11c is formed. Of the three corner engaging pieces 11a to 11c, the two facing engaging pieces 11b and 11c roughly position the insulating substrate 2 of the LCD panel 10, and the remaining corner engaging pieces 11a. Is a substrate positioning means for accurately positioning the short side and the long side of the insulating substrate 2 at the reference plane position.

A board end pressing means 12 for diagonally facing the corner engaging piece 11a and pressing the insulating board 2 toward the corner engaging piece 11a on the socket body 11.
Is provided. The board end portion pressing means 12 has a movable engagement piece 12a that engages with a corner portion of the insulating board 2 and a coil spring 12b that urges the movable engagement piece 12a toward the corner portion engagement piece 11a. However, these movable engaging pieces 1
2a and the coil spring 12b are accommodated in a recess 11d formed in the upper surface of the socket body 11 and are covered with a cover 13. The spring force of the coil spring 12b is set to a strength that allows the dimensional change of the insulating substrate 2 due to linear expansion of the insulating substrate 2 in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, corresponding to the side of the insulating substrate 2 of the LCD panel 1 on which the transparent electrode terminals are formed, the side of the insulating substrate 2 is formed on the upper surface of the socket body 11. A groove 11e extending in parallel is formed. An insulating material having substantially the same linear expansion coefficient as that of the insulating substrate 2, for example, a film mounting plate 15 made of the same material as the insulating substrate 2 is housed in each groove 11e so as to be slidably displaced in its longitudinal direction. The base ends of a plurality of contact films 14 serving as contact members for the transparent electrode terminals of the LCD panel 1 are fixed to the upper surface of the film mounting plate 15 with, for example, an adhesive.

In this embodiment, four contact films 14 are juxtaposed on the film mounting plate 15 for the long side corresponding to the transparent electrode terminal group on the long side of the LCD panel 1, and Two contact films 14 are juxtaposed on the film attachment plate 15 for the short side corresponding to the transparent electrode terminal group of the short side of the LCD panel 1.

At one end of each groove 11e, a positioning adjusting screw 16 as a mounting plate positioning means for positioning one end of the film mounting plate 15 at a predetermined position, for example, on the same reference plane as one end of the insulating substrate 2. Is provided. The tip of the adjusting screw 16 is in contact with one end of the film mounting plate 15, and the tip position of the adjusting screw 16 can be adjusted by turning the head of the adjusting screw 16 with a tool or the like.

Further, the other end of the groove 11e is in contact with the other end of the film mounting plate 15 to press the film mounting plate 15 against the positioning adjusting screw 16 as a coil spring as a mounting plate end pressing means. The spring force of the coil spring 17 provided with 17 is set to a strength that allows the dimensional change of the film attachment plate 15 due to the linear expansion of the lead pattern in the arrangement direction. Reference numerals 18 to 20 denote covers that cover the end portions of the concave groove 11e.

Each contact film 14 is formed by laminating a plurality of lead patterns (not shown) which are in contact with transparent electrode terminals on the upper surface of an insulating flexible film. The pixel drive signal can be supplied from the lead pattern to each of the transparent electrode terminals in a state where the lead pattern and the transparent electrode terminal of the LCD panel 1 are in contact with each other. The lead pattern on the contact film 14 can be detachably connected to an external circuit device equipped with a pixel driving IC, for example, via a connection socket (not shown).

The socket body 11 is elastically contacted with the back surface of the tip of the contact film 14 to contact the contact film 14.
An elastic support body 21 is provided to support the tip of the above from below. The elastic support member 21 has a tubular portion 21a that abuts against the rear surface of the tip portion of the contact film 14 and a pedestal portion 21b that is connected to the lower portion of the tubular portion 21a.

In this embodiment, the elastic support 21
Over the entire length thereof, the lower portion of the tubular portion 21a and the pedestal portion 2 are
When the elastic support is formed by extrusion, it is cut at a position that bisects 1b and is formed by rolling the tubular portion 21a into a flat plate shape and rolling it into a tubular shape. Especially contact film 1 compared to
The linearity in the longitudinal direction of the contact portion of the tubular portion 21a with respect to the rear surface of the distal end portion of No. 4 and the dimensional accuracy such as the thickness can be easily increased. Therefore, the transparent electrode terminal of the display panel 1 and the lead pattern on the tip of the contact film 14 can be brought into contact with each other with a uniform contact pressure.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a guide plate 22 is fixedly provided on the upper surface of the socket body 11 and is located above the contact film 14 and is in contact with the side edge of the insulating substrate 2. The guide plate 22 has a flat upper surface that is substantially continuous with the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2 that is mounted on the contact film 14. On the lower surface of the guide plate 22, the socket body 1
1 is formed with a plurality of lower ribs 22a that come into contact with the upper surface of the guide plate 22.
It is arranged with a gap between 2a. Instead of the lower rib 22a of the guide plate 22, a similar rib may be formed so as to project on the upper surface of the socket body 11.

The socket 10 has a pressing member 23 for pressing the insulating substrate 2 of the LCD panel 1 from above.
In this embodiment, the pressing member 23 includes a clip 24 having an upper spring piece portion 24a and a lower spring piece portion 24b and having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and a protective film 25.
The panel substrate pressing position (see FIG. 4) sandwiching the insulating substrate 2 and the socket body 11, the guide plate 22 and the socket body 11
It is slidable between a panel substrate release position (see FIG. 5) for sandwiching and and releasing the insulating substrate 2. A pressing portion 24c is bent and formed at the tip of the upper spring piece portion 24a of the clip 24.

The base end of the protective film 25 is the guide plate 22.
Is fixed to the upper surface of the with an adhesive or the like. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the clip 24 is in the panel substrate pressing position, the protective film 25 has a tip portion 25a with the clip 2
The size is set so as to be interposed between the pressing portion 24c at the tip of the upper spring piece portion 24a of No. 4 and the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2. Further, the front end portion 25a of the protective film 25 has the shape shown in FIG.
And as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the clip 24
Is formed at the panel substrate release position, the tip portion 25a of the film itself is separated from the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2 due to the curl habit of the film itself to open the mounting region of the insulating substrate 2. The protective film 25 having such a curl habit can be formed of metal or synthetic resin, but it is preferable to use a material having excellent surface slipperiness.

As can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 6, the upper surface of the guide plate 22 is in contact with the inner surface or the lower surface of the upper spring piece 24a of the clip 24 to support the upper spring piece 24a in a slidable manner. Guide ribs 22b are provided in a protruding manner.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lower spring piece portion 24b of the clip 24 has an upward protruding portion 24d.
Is bulging. On the bottom surface of the socket body 11,
When the clip 24 is in the panel substrate pressing position and the panel substrate releasing position, the protruding portions 24d of the clip 24 are respectively.
A recessed portion 11g that elastically engages with is formed. Therefore, the clip 24 can be stably locked at the panel substrate pressing position and the panel substrate releasing position.

When the LCD panel 1 is attached to or detached from the socket 10, the socket body 11 is shown in FIG.
It is mounted on the jig 26 shown in FIG. This jig 26 has a base 27 having positioning pins 28 projecting from the upper surface thereof, a movable support piece 29 slidably held in a recess 27a formed in the upper surface of the base 27, and the movable support. The engagement pin 30 is provided on the upper surface of the piece 29. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the socket body 11 is formed with a positioning hole 11h that fits with the positioning pin 28 of the jig 26.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the upper spring piece portion 24a and the lower spring piece portion 24b of the clip 24 are provided with engaging holes 24e, 24 for engaging with the engaging pins 30, respectively.
f is provided. The engagement pin 30 is the socket body 1.
When 1 is mounted on the base 27 of the jig 26 and positioned, it is inserted into the engaging holes 24 e and 24 f of the clip 24.

Therefore, the socket body 11 is attached to the jig 26.
After mounting on the base 27 of, the movable support piece 29 is manually
Alternatively, the clip 24 can be easily slid by automatically sliding it using an actuator (not shown).

In the display panel inspection socket having the above structure, since the pressing member 23 is composed of the slidably movable clip 24 and the protective film 25, the entire socket can be made lightweight and compact. There is.

Further, as described above, when the clip 24 moves from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, the protective film 25 covers the film itself as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b). The tip 25 due to curl
a curls upward and moves out of the insulating substrate mounting area.
Therefore, the LCD panel 1 is mounted on the tip of the contact film 14 on the socket body 11, or L
Since the protective film 25 does not interfere with the LCD panel 1 when the CD panel 1 is taken out from the socket body 11, the workability of mounting and removing the LCD panel 1 is improved.

After mounting the LCD panel 1, the clip 2
When sliding 4 from the panel substrate release position to the panel substrate pressing position, one end of the clip 24, that is, the pressing portion 24c of the upper spring piece 24a slides on the protective film 25 and slides on the guide plate 22 from the insulating substrate 2 Move up. In the meantime, with the movement of the pressing portion 24c, the leading end portion 25a of the protective film 25 is elastically deformed from the state of being curled upward to the state of being extended by the pressing portion 24 and being straightened.

When the clip 24 is in the panel substrate pressing position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8C, the pressing portion 24c of the clip 24 has the pressing portion 24c of the insulating film 2 via the tip portion 25a of the protective film 25. Press the top surface. Since the base end of the protective film 25 is fixed to the guide plate 22, the pressing force of the clip 24 in the sliding direction is not transmitted to the insulating substrate 2 via the protective film 25 when the clip 24 slides. .

Therefore, the transparent electrode terminal of the display panel 1 and the contact film 14 due to the displacement of the insulating substrate 2
It is possible to prevent misalignment with the lead pattern. Therefore, the alignment accuracy between the transparent electrode terminals of the LCD panel 1 and the lead patterns of the contact film 14 can be maintained.

Further, in the socket 10 having the above-mentioned structure, the socket body 11 is provided with the elastic support 21 extending in the arrangement direction of the lead pattern of the contact film 14 and elastically supporting the rear surface of the front end portion of the contact film 14 from below. Therefore, the pressing portion 24c of the clip 24 is L
When pressing the insulating substrate 2 of the CD panel 1, surely press a part of each lead pattern on the contact film 14 from the back side of the contact film 14 to the transparent electrode terminal on the insulating substrate 2 by the elastic support 21. You can
Therefore, the electrical connection between the transparent electrode terminal of the LCD panel 1 and the lead pattern of the contact film 14 can be made more reliably.

Further, in the socket 10 having the above structure, as described above, the contact film 14 is the LCD.
One end of the insulating substrate 2 is fixed to the film mounting plate 15 having substantially the same linear expansion coefficient as the insulating substrate 2 of the panel 1, and the socket body 11 has one end in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals of the LCD panel 1. The corner engaging pieces (substrate positioning means) 11a for positioning the parts and the other end of the insulating substrate 2 with a strength that allows the dimensional change of the insulating substrate 2 due to linear expansion in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals. Substrate end pressing means 12 for pressing against the corner engaging piece 11a and an adjusting screw for positioning one end of the film mounting plate 15 in the arrangement direction of the lead pattern on the same reference plane as one end of the insulating substrate 2. The (mounting plate positioning means) 16 and the film mounting plate 15 are strong enough to allow dimensional changes of the film mounting plate 15 due to linear expansion in the arrangement direction of the lead patterns.
Since the coil spring (mounting plate end pressing means) 17 for pressing the other end of the LCD against the adjusting screw 16 is provided, the insulating substrate 2 of the LCD panel 1 is mounted on the contact film 14 of the socket body 11. At this time, the transparent electrode terminal of the LCD panel 1 and the lead pattern of the contact film 14 can be accurately aligned by abutting and positioning one end of the insulating substrate 2 against the corner engaging piece 11a. .

When the inspection environment temperature of the socket on which the LCD panel 1 is mounted changes, the film mounting plate 1
5 and one end of the insulating substrate 2 of the LCD panel 1 can be kept on the same reference plane by the corner engaging piece 11a and the adjusting screw 16, and the side of the insulating substrate 2 and the film mounting plate 15 can be kept. Can be dimensionally changed in the same direction along the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals by linear expansion, and the amount of dimension change due to the linear expansion of the insulating substrate 2 and the film mounting plate 15 in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals and the lead pattern. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the positional deviation between the transparent electrode terminal and the lead pattern of the contact film 14 due to the linear expansion of the insulating substrate 2 and the film mounting plate 15 because the same can be maintained.

Therefore, the LCD under a wide temperature environment
Since the transparent electrode terminals of the panel 1 and the lead patterns of the contact film can be surely maintained in the electrically connected state, the display quality inspection of the LCD panel 1 can be accurately performed in a wide temperature environment.

Further, in the socket 10 having the above structure, the contact position between the mounting plate positioning means and one end of the film mounting plate can be adjusted by the adjusting means in the arrangement direction of the lead patterns, so that the arrangement of the lead patterns is arranged. The one end of the film mounting plate 15 in the direction and the one end of the insulating substrate 2 in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals of the LCD panel 1 can be accurately aligned on the same reference plane. Therefore, since the transparent electrode terminals of the LCD panel 1 and the lead patterns of the contact film 14 can be surely aligned with each other, the display quality inspection of the LCD panel 1 can be accurately performed.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a main part similar to FIG. 4 of the inspection socket according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. In this second embodiment, the elastic support 21
A movable support body 31 for supporting the movable body 31 is provided so as to be movable in the pressing direction of the clip 24 with respect to the socket body 11, and the clip 24 has one end portion, that is, the other end portion when the pressing portion 24c presses the insulating substrate. Since the movable support 31 is formed so as to be pressed in the direction opposite to the pressing direction of the one end of the clip 24, the pressing force by one end of the clip 24 and the pressing force by the other end of the clip 24 in the opposite direction are Can be balanced.

Clip 2 on insulating substrate 2 of LCD panel 1
When only the pressing force in one direction by one end of 4 acts, the LCD panel 1 is likely to have an inconvenient sinking. However, according to the configuration of the second embodiment, the LCD panel 1 is prevented from sinking. Since this can be prevented, the slide movement of the clip 24 can be performed smoothly.

In addition, when the pressing force in one direction by the one end of the clip 24 acts on the insulating substrate 2 of the LCD panel 1, the protective film 25 interposed between the one end of the clip 24 and the insulating substrate 2 is formed. Due to the rigidity of the pressing force, an unfavorable resistance force is generated against the pressing force, which makes it difficult to effectively transfer the pressing force of the clip 24 to the insulating substrate 2. However, in the configuration of the second embodiment. Therefore, as described above, the pressing force by the one end of the clip 24 and the clip 24
The pressing force in the opposite direction by the other end of the insulating substrate 2
Irrespective of the rigidity of the protective film 25, the pressing force of the clip 24 can be effectively applied to the contact portion between the transparent electrode terminal of the LCD panel 1 and the lead pattern of the contact film 14. Therefore, the contact pressure can be improved.

10 to 12 show a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a sectional view of an essential part similar to FIG. 4, FIG. 11 (a) is a plan view of an IC tab, The same figure (b)
Is a schematic plan view of the IC tab, FIG. 11C is a schematic plan view of the contact film 14, and FIG. 12 is a plan view similar to FIG. 3 of the socket. In these figures, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the third embodiment, the IC tab 32 is mounted on each contact film 14. The IC tab 32 is formed by mounting a driving IC 36 on a film 33 in which lead patterns 34 and 35 are laminated. As such an IC tab 32, one having the same structure as the pixel driving IC tab connected to the LCD panel 1 after the inspection can be used. On the contact film 14, a lead pattern 14a for connecting to the output side lead pattern 34 of the IC tab 32 and the transparent electrode terminal of the LCD panel 1, and a lead pattern 14b for connecting to the input side lead pattern 35 of the IC tab 32. And are respectively laminated.
The lead patterns 34, 35 of the IC tab 32 can be connected to the lead patterns 14a, 14b on the contact film 14 with a conductive adhesive, for example. The lead pattern 14b of the contact film 14 can be detachably connected to an external circuit via a connection socket (not shown).

In the socket of the third embodiment having the above structure, the total length of the lead pattern from the driving IC 36 to the LCD panel 1 is shortened as compared with the case where the driving IC is provided in a circuit outside the socket. I can, so L
When the display quality of the CD panel 1 is inspected, the drive IC 36 outputs L
Mutual interference of signals given to the respective transparent electrode terminals of the CD panel 1 can be prevented, and the disturbance of the display image due to the interference can be prevented. Therefore, the display quality inspection of the LCD panel 1 can be accurately performed. In addition, the number of wiring lines required to connect the external circuit and the driving IC 36 is set to the driving IC.
Since it is possible to reduce the number of wirings between 36 and the LCD panel 1, the number of wirings to be output to the outside of the socket body 11 can be reduced, and the entire socket can be made compact.

13 to 15 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a plan view of a display panel inspection socket, and FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. FIG. 15 and FIG. 15 are sectional views similar to FIG. 14 showing the operation of the pressing means. In these figures, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the fourth embodiment, the cover 37 for covering the upper surface of the socket body 11 is used as the pressing means 22. One side of the cover 37 is the socket body 1
1 is rotatably supported with respect to the socket body 11 through a rotation support shaft 38 provided on one side portion of the socket body 1, and the other side portion of the cover 37 has the other side portion of the socket body 11. Locking claw piece 40 that can be elastically engaged with a locking portion 39 formed on the portion
Is provided. Further, an elastic pressing piece 41 for pressing the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2 of the LCD panel 1 is fixedly provided above the elastic support body 21 on the inner surface of the cover 37. Further, a spring (not shown) for urging the cover in the opening direction is attached to the rotation support shaft 38. In this fourth embodiment, since the insulating substrate 2 can be pressed from above by the elastic pressing piece 41 of the cover 37, the protective film of the first embodiment is omitted.

LCD panel 1 in the fourth embodiment
Supporting structure for the insulating substrate 2 and supporting film mounting plate 15 for supporting the contact film 14.
Since the positioning structure is similar to that of the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the positional deviation between the transparent electrode terminal and the lead pattern of the contact film 14 due to the linear expansion of the insulating substrate 2 and the film mounting plate 15.

Therefore, the LCD under a wide temperature environment.
Since the transparent electrode terminals of the panel 1 and the lead patterns of the contact film can be surely maintained in the electrically connected state, the display quality inspection of the LCD panel 1 can be accurately performed in a wide temperature environment.

Although the illustrated embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the aspect of the above embodiment. For example, the contact film 14 for the socket body
The arrangement and the number of can be changed according to the arrangement form of the electrode terminal row in the display panel.

In the first embodiment, when the clip 24 moves from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, the tip of the protective film 25 is outside the insulating substrate mounting region due to its curl tendency. However, the tip of the protective film may be connected to the tip of the clip instead of curling the tip of the protective film. In this case, when the clip moves from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, the tip portion of the protective film is pulled by the clip by the tip and moves to the outside of the insulating substrate mounting area.

Further, in the first embodiment, one protective film 25 is used for the plurality of contact films 14 in each row, but a plurality of protective films corresponding to the number of contact films 14 in each row are used. The film may be fixed on the guide plate 22.

Further, a plurality of slits are formed in one end portion of the clip 24, that is, the pressing portion 24c in correspondence with the number of arranged contact films 14 in each row, so that the pressing portion 24c is formed in a comb shape. Good. By thus forming the pressing portion 24c of the clip 24 in a comb-tooth shape, the pressing force can be uniformly applied to the insulating substrate 2. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to an inspection socket such as an EL panel as well as an LCD panel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a socket showing a first embodiment when the present invention is applied to an LCD panel inspection socket,
The state where the clip is moved to the panel substrate pressing position is shown.

2 is a plan view showing a state where a clip of the socket shown in FIG. 1 is moved to a panel substrate releasing position. FIG.

3 is a plan view showing a state where a clip, a protective film, a cover and the like of the socket shown in FIG. 1 are removed.

4 is a sectional view of the socket shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line AA in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 with the clip moved to the panel substrate release position.

6 is a sectional view of the main part of the socket shown in FIG. 1, taken along the line BB in FIG.

7 (a) is a plan view showing a configuration example of a jig used for attaching / detaching the display panel to / from the socket shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 (b) is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 7 (a). .

8A to 8C are cross-sectional views showing the operation of the socket shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 of a display panel inspection socket according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 of a display panel inspection socket showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

11A is a plan view of an IC tab used in the socket of FIG. 10, FIG. 11B is a schematic plan view of an IC tab, and FIG. 11C is a schematic plan view of a contact film.

12 is a plan view similar to FIG. 3 of the socket shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a display panel inspection socket showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a sectional view of the socket shown in FIG. 13 taken along the line DD in FIG.

15 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 14 showing the operation of the pressing means of the socket shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 LCD panel (display panel) 2 insulating substrate 10 Display panel inspection socket 11 Socket body 11a Corner engaging piece (board positioning means) 11e concave groove 12 Board edge pressing means 15 Film mounting plate 16 Adjustment screw (mounting plate positioning means) 17 Coil spring (mounting plate end pressing means) 21 Elastic support 21a tubular part 21b Pedestal 22 Guide plate 24 clips 25 Protective film 25a tip 26 jigs 31 Movable support 32 IC tab

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H01R 33/76 503 H01R 9/09 C 5G435 F term (reference) 2G011 AA14 AA15 AB01 AB04 AB05 AB06 AB08 AC14 AC21 AE01 AE22 AF02 AF07 2G036 BA32 BA33 BB12 CA09 2H088 FA12 FA13 FA30 HA02 MA20 5E024 CA09 5E077 BB05 BB32 CC06 CC24 DD15 HH02 HH07 JJ21 JJ27 5G435 AA17 BB12 KK05 KK10

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A contact film disposed on a socket body, wherein electrode terminals arranged and formed on the insulating substrate of a display panel along a side of the insulating substrate are pressed by a pressing member to form a contact film of the contact film. In a display panel inspection contact device for contacting a lead pattern arranged on a surface, the socket body is located above the contact film and abuts a side of the insulating substrate, and an electrode terminal of the insulating substrate. A guide plate is provided that forms a flat surface that is substantially continuous with the flat surface on the opposite side, and the pressing member includes a panel substrate pressing position that sandwiches the insulating substrate and the socket body, and the insulating body that sandwiches the guide plate and the socket body. A clip having a substantially U-shaped cross section and having a spring property, which is slidable between a panel substrate releasing position for releasing a substrate and the guide; A protective film fixed to a plate and interposed between one end of the clip and the flat surface of the insulating substrate and the guide plate, wherein the protective film has the clip from the panel substrate pressing position; A display panel inspection socket, characterized in that, when the panel substrate is moved to a panel substrate release position, its tip portion moves to the outside of the insulating substrate mounting area. 2. The socket body is provided with an elastic support member extending in the arrangement direction of the lead patterns and elastically contacting and supporting the back surface of the tip end portion of the contact film on the side opposite to the lead patterns. The display panel inspection socket according to claim 1. 3. The socket main body is further provided with a movable supporter for supporting the elastic supporter so as to be movable in the pressing direction of the clip, and when the one end of the clip presses the insulating substrate. The display panel inspection socket according to claim 2, wherein the other end is formed so as to press the movable support in a direction opposite to the pressing direction of the one end of the clip. 4. The elastic support member has a tubular portion that is in contact with the back surface of the tip portion of the contact film, and a pedestal portion that is connected to a lower portion of the tubular portion. Along the entire length, it is cut at a position that bisects the lower part of the tubular part and the pedestal part, and is formed by rolling the tubular part into a flat plate shape and rolling it into a tubular shape. The display panel inspection socket according to claim 2. 5. A drive IC tab having a drive IC mounted on a film having a lead pattern formed thereon is mounted on the contact film and connected to the lead pattern of the contact film. The display panel inspection socket according to claim 1.