JP2005077169A - Functional inspection device for electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a function inspecting device capable of coping with a type change of inspection-objective equipment at a low cost, and suitable for the inspection-objective equipment that gets precise and accurate. <P>SOLUTION: The same flexible wiring board 12' as a flexible wiring board mounted on a liquid crystal display panel Lp is installed as a contact member for a contact head Hc in a lighting inspection device of the liquid crystal display panel Lp. The flexible wiring board 12' is insertion-attached removably to a connector 16 fixed to a circuit board 14 provided removably in an elevation block 13, and is provided under the condition where its backface is brought into close contact with the circuit board 14. A tip end part of the flexible wiring board 12' serving as a continuity contact part is elastically supported by a cushioning pad 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a function inspection apparatus for inspecting the function of a high-definition electronic device such as a liquid crystal display panel.

  Usually, in the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display module, a signal for driving a liquid crystal is displayed during the manufacturing process in order to detect defective parts early and increase the yield of components and reduce the cost of the liquid crystal display module comprehensively. The function is checked by inputting to the display panel.

  For example, in a COG mounting type liquid crystal display module in which a driver LSI as a driving circuit element is directly mounted on an end portion of a substrate on which connection terminals of a liquid crystal display panel are arranged, an external driving control circuit is mounted after the driver LSI is COG mounted. Before bonding the flexible wiring board for electrical connection with the board to the corresponding connection terminal row portion, a function test is performed to check the presence or absence of a defective portion that has occurred in the manufacturing process so far.

The conventional inspection apparatus that performs the functional inspection described above has the same arrangement pitch so that the necessary number of probes can be brought into contact with each other as a contact member that is in conductive contact with each connection terminal of the liquid crystal display panel to be inspected. (See Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-62451

  In the case of the above-described conventional functional inspection device, the terminal pitch and the number of connection terminals of the connection terminal row change every time the type of the liquid crystal display panel to be inspected changes, so it is necessary to prepare a dedicated probe unit for each model. There is a cost for this, which increases the cost of the inspection apparatus.

  In addition, the minimum pitch of a normal probe is about 0.2 mm, and a connection terminal array with a smaller pitch requires a special type of probe, and the function becomes smaller as the connection terminal pitch of the product to be inspected becomes finer. The cost of the inspection apparatus will increase, and this will go against the higher definition of the product.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a functional inspection apparatus that can flexibly cope with a model change of a device to be inspected at low cost and is suitable for a device to be inspected with higher definition.

  In the present invention, a plurality of wires are drawn out to one end portion of a circuit board, a wiring member is electrically connected to a connection terminal row in which the connection terminals of these wirings are arranged, and is connected to an external circuit via the wiring member. A function inspection apparatus for inspecting a function of an electronic device, comprising: an inspection circuit unit that outputs an inspection signal for inspecting a function of the electronic device; and a member manufactured substantially the same as the wiring member It is used as a contact member that is brought into conductive contact with the connection terminal row, and the inspection circuit portion and the connection terminal row are made conductive through the contact member.

  According to the function inspection apparatus for an electronic device of the present invention, as a contact member for conducting contact with a connection terminal row for inputting an inspection signal of the device to be inspected, electrical connection to a connection terminal row with an external circuit in the product of the device to be inspected Since a member manufactured in the same way as the wiring member to be manufactured, that is, a wiring member of the same production lot is used, there is no need to prepare a dedicated contact member for each model, and the cost is reduced correspondingly, and the connection terminal pitch is fine. It is possible to cope with functional inspection of high-definition equipment at low cost.

  The electronic apparatus functional inspection apparatus of the present invention is suitable for a functional inspection of a liquid crystal display panel in which liquid crystal is sandwiched between a pair of substrates on which electrodes are formed, and a connection terminal at the substrate end of the liquid crystal display panel When the wiring member electrically connected to the row is a flexible wiring substrate, this flexible wiring substrate is suitable as a contact member of the function inspection device, and can always be stably and reliably in contact with the connection terminal row. .

  When the contact member is a flexible wiring board, a heater for heating the flexible wiring board and a thermocouple for detecting the temperature of the flexible wiring board are provided in the functional testing device, and the heater is sent to the heater according to the thermocouple temperature detection signal. It is preferable that the temperature of the flexible wiring board be maintained within an appropriate range by controlling the energization of the flexible wiring board, whereby the flexible wiring board used as the contact member is connected to the connection terminal side board by heating during bonding. Even when the wiring pitch is reduced in advance in order to compensate for the positional deviation due to the difference in expansion coefficient, the connection terminal row can be brought into conductive contact without positional deviation.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a function testing device for a liquid crystal display panel and a function testing operation using the same as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a liquid crystal display module comprising a liquid crystal display panel to be tested. It is.

  First, a liquid crystal display module including a liquid crystal display panel to be inspected by the functional inspection apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid crystal display module ML according to the present embodiment employs a COG (Chip On Glass) system as a system for mounting a driver LSI on the liquid crystal display panel Lp. That is, one end of one glass substrate 2 of the pair of glass substrates 1 and 2 sandwiching the liquid crystal is projected from the corresponding end surface of the other glass substrate 1, and the driver LSI 3 is COG mounted on the projected portion 2a. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display panel Lp to be inspected is formed by joining a pair of glass substrates 1 and 2 with a sealing material 6 with the surfaces on which the electrodes 4 and 5 are formed facing each other. The liquid crystal L is sealed in a space surrounded by the formation surface and the sealing material 6. In addition, alignment films 7 and 8 for regulating the alignment of liquid crystal molecules are respectively deposited on the electrode formation surfaces of the glass substrates 1 and 2.

  Further, the liquid crystal display panel Lp of the present embodiment is one in which the connection terminals corresponding to the electrodes 4 and 5 provided on the glass substrates 1 and 2 are arranged together on one glass substrate 2 side, Lead wirings 9 connected to both electrodes 4 and 5 are drawn out from the projecting portion 2a of the substrate 2, and the driver LSI 3 is anisotropically conductively bonded to the chip mounting area where the connection terminals 9a of the lead wirings 9 are arranged. The COG is mounted via the material 10.

  A plurality of input wirings 11 are arranged from the input port in the chip mounting area toward the projecting side end of the projecting portion 2a, and the external connection terminals 11a of each input wiring 11 have a predetermined pitch at the projecting portion 2a end. Are arranged in As shown in FIG. 2, a flexible wiring board 12 that electrically connects an external drive control circuit (not shown) and the liquid crystal display panel Lp is connected to the external connection terminal 11a. The function inspection according to the present invention is performed before the flexible wiring board 12 is attached.

Next, the function inspection apparatus of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, this functional inspection device is generally composed of a contact head portion Hc and a tester portion T that outputs an inspection signal.

  In the contact head portion Hc, the circuit board 14 is detachably installed on the lower surface of the elevating block 13 that is raised and lowered by a driving mechanism (not shown), for example, by screwing or the like. The circuit 15 is electrically connected. On the lower surface of the circuit board 14, a flexible wiring board 12 ′ manufactured as substantially the same as the above-described flexible wiring board 12 installed in a liquid crystal display module as a product is provided as a contact member via a connector 16. It is installed detachably. Here, the flexible wiring board 12 ′ manufactured substantially in the same manner is a board manufactured as the flexible wiring board 12 but used as a contact member.

  The flexible wiring board 12 'has its base film 12'a side surface in close contact with the circuit board 14, and one end of the flexible wiring board 12' is attached to and detached from the connector 16 with the surface on which the wiring 12'b is formed facing downward. It is inserted freely. Thereby, the wiring 12′b of the flexible wiring board 12 ′ and the corresponding wiring (not shown) of the circuit board 14 are conductively connected.

  The end of the flexible wiring board 12 'opposite to the end inserted into the connector 16 protrudes from the end face of the circuit board 14, and this protrusion 12'c is the liquid crystal display panel to be inspected. Lp is a conductive contact portion for the external circuit connection terminal 11a. A buffer pad 17 made of an elastic material such as rubber is interposed between the protruding conduction contact portion 12 ′ c and the lower surface of the lifting block 13. An insulating protective film (not shown) is attached to the surface of the flexible wiring board 12 'where the wiring 12'b is formed, but the insulating protective film is not attached to the conductive contact portion 12'a. b is exposed.

  On the lower surface of the circuit board 14 on which the flexible wiring board 12 'is installed, positioning pins 18 for determining the installation position of the flexible wiring board 12' are projected. The positioning pin 18 is erected at a predetermined position on the lower surface of the elevating block 13 and penetrates the circuit board 14 and protrudes from the lower surface. By passing a positioning hole 12'd formed in the flexible wiring board 12 'through the protruding tip of the positioning pin 18, the contact head Hc of the flexible wiring board 12' having one end inserted into the connector 16 is inserted. The installation position at is determined.

Next, the lighting function testing operation of the liquid crystal display panel by the function testing machine will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the above-described flexible wiring board 12 ′ as a contact member is mounted on the contact head Hc. In this case, after the end of the flexible wiring board 12 ′ opposite to the end serving as the conductive contact portion is securely inserted into the connector 16, the positioning hole 12 ′ c is passed through the positioning pin 18 and the flexible wiring board. The installation position in the contact head Hc of 12 'is fixed and fixed in a state of being in close contact with the lower surface of the circuit board 14 by a fixing pin (not shown).

  Next, the liquid crystal display panel Lp to be inspected is placed on a predetermined inspection table (not shown), and positioning is performed with reference to the end surfaces of the glass substrates 1 and 2. Thereby, each wiring 12'b, that is, each connection terminal in the conductive contact portion 12'c of the flexible wiring board 12 'is arranged to face each external circuit connection terminal 11a of the liquid crystal display panel Lp corresponding thereto. Note that when the inspection object is a high-definition liquid crystal display panel, it is preferable to position the connection terminals by an imaging camera.

  Thereafter, the flexible wiring board 12 'is lowered integrally with the elevating block 13 and the like, and the connection terminal portion of each wiring 12'b is brought into contact with the corresponding external circuit connection terminal 11a of the liquid crystal display panel Lp. At this time, the downward stroke of the flexible wiring board 12 'is set slightly larger, and the connection terminal portion 12'c of each wiring 12'b is caused by the elasticity of the buffer pad 17 with respect to each corresponding external circuit connection terminal 11a. Let it come into contact. As a result, the connection terminal portions 12'c of the wirings 12'b can always be in proper conductive contact with the corresponding external circuit connection terminals 11a while ensuring a sufficient contact area.

  An inspection signal is output from the inspection signal generation circuit 15 of the tester unit T in a state in which the connection terminal portions 12′c on the contact head Hc side are appropriately brought into conductive contact with the corresponding external circuit connection terminals 11a. The liquid crystal display panel Lp is turned on to check for pixel defects.

  Next, the liquid crystal display panel to be inspected is changed to a different type. As shown in FIG. 3, the new liquid crystal display panel to be inspected is a TAB / COF mounting type liquid crystal display panel Lp ′. That is, as a wiring member to be electrically connected to an external drive control circuit, a TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) in which a driver LSI 21 of a drive circuit element is directly mounted by a COF (Chip On Film) method on a film sheet 22 on which a wiring pattern is formed. A wiring sheet 20 is used.

  The TAB wiring sheet 20 is a wiring member whose outer shape is greatly different from the FPC of the wiring member used in the previous liquid crystal display panel to be inspected, and the TAB wiring sheet 20 cannot be inserted into the connector 16 used in the previous inspection. Therefore, the connector 16 is replaced with a circuit board 14 to which the TAB wiring sheet 20 can be inserted.

  After the TAB wiring sheet 20 is inserted into the replaced connector, the lighting function test may be performed in the same procedure as that for the liquid crystal display panel Lp.

  As described above, according to the functional inspection device of the present embodiment, the wiring member mounted when the liquid crystal display panel to be inspected is commercialized as a liquid crystal display module is used as a contact member of the functional inspection device. There is no need to prepare a dedicated contact member for each target LCD panel model, and it can be applied to the function inspection of many types of products. It has excellent versatility, and the wiring connection terminal pitch is extremely fine. It is possible to provide a functional inspection device suitable for functional inspection of equipment products at a low cost.

Next, a modification of the liquid crystal display panel function testing device will be described with reference to FIG.
The function inspection apparatus of this modification is a function inspection apparatus according to the above-described embodiment in which a heater 24 for heating a contact member and a thermocouple 25 for detecting the temperature of the contact member are newly provided.

  That is, an electric heater 24 is built in the tip of the lift block 13, and a thermocouple 25 is installed on the tip surface of the lift block 13. Accordingly, the electric heater 24 is controlled to be turned on / off in accordance with a temperature detection signal from the thermocouple 25, so that at least the electric heater 24 and the temperature detecting portion 25a of the thermocouple 25 among the flexible wiring boards 26 installed as contact members. The conductive contact portion (connection terminal portion of the wiring 26b) 26c close to is heated and held within a certain temperature range.

  The functional inspection device of the present modification is suitably used when the flexible wiring board 26 is formed so as to be smaller by expecting that the connection terminal pitch widens due to thermal expansion when the flexible wiring board 26 is heat-bonded during bonding. Used.

  When the flexible wiring board 26 formed so as to be small by that amount is used as a contact member on the assumption that the connection terminal pitch is thermally expanded at the time of bonding, if the functional inspection is performed without heating the flexible wiring board 26, the positional deviation will occur. Therefore, the connection terminal portions 26c of the corresponding wirings 26b of the flexible wiring board 26 cannot be brought into conductive contact with the connection terminals of the liquid crystal display panel to be inspected.

  However, according to the functional inspection device of the present modification, when the flexible wiring board 26 is for thermal expansion during bonding, at least the connection terminal portion 26c of the conductive contact portion is used during bonding during mounting. Since it can be heated to the same temperature as the temperature to be heated, the corresponding connection terminal portion 26c of the flexible wiring board 26 is surely brought into conductive contact with each connection terminal of the liquid crystal display panel to be inspected without causing any positional deviation. Can be made.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the connection terminal 12′c, which is the conductive contact portion of the wiring 12′b of the flexible wiring board 12 ′ as the contact member, is in direct contact with the external connection terminal 11a of the liquid crystal display panel Lp to be inspected. However, it may be configured to contact through a conductive bonding member such as an anisotropic conductive sheet, thereby suppressing the degree of wear of the connection terminal 12'c of the conductive contact portion as the number of inspections is repeated, The durability of the function testing device is improved.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to a liquid crystal display panel lighting inspection device, but is an electronic device in which a plurality of wiring connection terminals are arranged at a fine pitch and are electrically connected to an external drive control circuit via a wiring member. It is widely applicable as a function inspection device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a function testing device for a liquid crystal display panel and its function testing operation as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the liquid crystal display module as a test object of the said function test | inspection apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the liquid crystal display module as another test object of the said function test | inspection apparatus. It is typical sectional drawing which shows the modification of the said embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2 Glass substrate 3, 21 Driver LSI
4 Sealing material 9 Lead wiring 11 Input wiring 12 Flexible wiring board 12 ', 26 Flexible wiring board (contact member)
13 Lifting Block 14 Circuit Board 15 Inspection Signal Generating Circuit 16 Connector 17 Buffer Pad 18 Positioning Pin Lp, Lp ′ Liquid Crystal Display Panel Hc Contact Head Part T Tester Part

Claims (3)

A function of an electronic device in which a plurality of wires are drawn out to one end portion of a circuit board, a wiring member is electrically connected to a connection terminal row in which connection terminals of these wires are arranged, and is connected to an external circuit through the wiring member A functional inspection device for inspecting
An inspection circuit unit for outputting an inspection signal for inspecting the function of the electronic device, and a member manufactured substantially the same as the wiring member is used as a contact member for conducting contact with the connection terminal row; A function inspection device for an electronic apparatus, wherein the inspection circuit unit and the connection terminal row are conductively connected through a member.   The electronic device is a liquid crystal display panel in which liquid crystal is sandwiched between a pair of substrates on which electrodes are formed, and the wiring member is a flexible wiring substrate that is conductively connected to a connection terminal row that is wire-connected to the electrodes. The function inspection apparatus for an electronic device according to claim 1.   The functional inspection device further includes a heater for heating a contact member manufactured in the same manner as the flexible wiring board, and a thermocouple for detecting the temperature of the contact member, and according to the temperature detection signal of the thermocouple, The electronic device function inspection device according to claim 2, wherein the temperature of the contact member is maintained within a predetermined range by controlling energization to the heater.

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