JP2006019391A - Electrode connecting body with anisotropic conductive film - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To visually and easily decide the attaching position without introduction of an expensive new facility to decide whether the attaching position is adequate or not when high accuracy in attaching position of ACF is particularly requested in the electrode connecting body using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF). <P>SOLUTION: The electrode connecting body electrically and mechanically connects a first electrode group 13 formed on a first substrate (for example, the terminal 12a of a liquid crystal panel 10), and a second electrode group formed on a second substrate (for example, flexible substrate) via the ACF 30. A film position deciding mark MJ including, for example, two dot-marks MJ1, MJ2 for visually (using a microscope) enabling decision of the attaching position of the ACF 30 is provided on at least one of the terminal 12a and flexible substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an anisotropic conductive film formed by electrically and mechanically connecting electrode groups formed on the first and second substrates through an anisotropic conductive film. The present invention relates to an electrode connector.

  Anisotropic Conductive Film (ACF) is a film in which conductive particles are dispersed in a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin film, and exhibits unidirectional conductivity by thermocompression bonding. Therefore, a large number of electrodes can be connected together electrically and mechanically.

  Therefore, as described in Patent Document 1, in the field of liquid crystal display elements, anisotropic conductive films have a TCP (Tape Carrier Package) or COF (Chip) as an external substrate at the terminal portion of the liquid crystal panel from the viewpoint of productivity. on Film) is preferably used when connecting a flexible substrate.

  The case where the flexible substrate 20 is connected to the liquid crystal panel 10 via the anisotropic conductive film 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a connection portion, and FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state during the connection work.

  The liquid crystal panel 10 includes two panel substrates (transparent electrode substrates) 11 and 12 bonded together with a peripheral sealing material (not shown). In this example, a terminal portion 12a is provided on the panel substrate 12 side. The terminal portion 12a corresponds to the first substrate, and the flexible substrate 20 connected thereto corresponds to the second substrate.

  A large number of extraction electrodes (panel side electrodes) 13 drawn from a transparent electrode in a display unit (not shown) are formed as a group in the terminal portion 12 a, and the lead portion 20 a of the flexible substrate 20 corresponds to the panel side electrode 13. A large number of lead electrodes (substrate-side electrodes) 21 are also formed as a group.

  In order to connect the panel side electrode 13 and the substrate side electrode 21, as shown in FIG. 7, the liquid crystal panel 10 is placed on the work table 40 and fixed by, for example, negative pressure adsorption, and then on the terminal portion 12a. The lead portion 20a including the substrate-side electrode 21 of the flexible substrate 20 is disposed via the anisotropic conductive film 30, and the heater bar 50, which is a thermocompression bonding means, is pressed thereon.

  As a result, the resin of the anisotropic conductive film 30 melts and flows, and the panel-side electrode 13 and the substrate-side electrode 21 are electrically connected by the conductive particles contained in the resin, and at the same time by the adhesive action of the resin. The terminal portion 12a and the lead portion 20a of the flexible substrate 20 are mechanically connected.

JP-A-6-45024

  In connecting the terminal portion 12a and the lead portion 20a as described above, the anisotropic conductive film 30 is provided for connection in a state of being attached in advance to either one of them, but the liquid crystal panel 10 is reduced in size. Accordingly, the depth width W of the terminal portion 12a is also reduced to, for example, about 1.5 mm.

  In order to obtain high stability and reliability of connection with an anisotropic conductive film within such a narrow range, high accuracy is required for the position of the anisotropic conductive film, but the problem is that the film Whether or not the sticking position is in an appropriate position can be easily determined without newly introducing expensive equipment such as a length measuring device or an image processing device including a CCD camera.

  This problem applies not only when connecting flexible substrates to the terminals of liquid crystal panels with anisotropic conductive films, but also when connecting flexible substrates or connecting flexible substrates and rigid circuit boards. That is true.

  Therefore, the problem of the present invention is that, when high accuracy is required for the application position of the anisotropic conductive film, whether or not the application position is appropriate can be visually (microscope) without newly introducing expensive equipment. It is to make it easy to judge visually.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a first electrode group formed on a first substrate and a second electrode group formed on a second substrate electrically and electrically via an anisotropic conductive film. In an electrode assembly using an anisotropic conductive film formed by mechanical connection, a film that enables visual determination of the position of the anisotropic conductive film on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate It is characterized in that a position determination mark is provided.

  In the present invention, the film position determination marks are preferably arranged as a pair on the left and right sides of the first electrode group or the second electrode group. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the film position determination mark has an upper limit indicating the allowable deviation of the anisotropic conductive film along the depth direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the electrode group of the electrode connector. The position and the lower limit position are included.

  In the present invention, the film position determination mark may be composed of either two dot marks arranged at the upper limit position and the lower limit position or a continuous mark formed between the upper limit position and the lower limit position. Good.

  If neither the first substrate nor the second substrate has enough space to place the film position determination mark, the outermost electrode of the first electrode group or the second electrode group is a dummy. As the electrode, the film position determination mark may be formed on the dummy electrode. More preferably, the film position determination mark may further include a left limit position and a right limit position that define a horizontal position parallel to the arrangement direction of the electrode group of the anisotropic conductive film. .

  According to the present invention, the attachment position of the anisotropic conductive film is placed on at least one of the first substrate (for example, a terminal portion of a liquid crystal panel) and the second substrate (for example, a flexible substrate such as TCP or COF). By forming a film position determination mark that can be visually determined, the anisotropic conductive film is properly positioned by visual inspection (microscopic observation) without newly introducing expensive equipment such as an image processing device. It can be easily determined whether or not it is a position.

  Next, embodiments included in the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The embodiment described here relates to a case where a flexible substrate is connected to a liquid crystal panel through an anisotropic conductive film, as in the conventional example described above, but the liquid crystal panel, the anisotropic conductive film, and the flexible Since the basic configuration of the substrate does not require any particular change, the same reference numerals are used. In the description of this embodiment, the anisotropic conductive film may be simply referred to as “ACF”.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which the lead portion 20a of the flexible substrate 20 is connected to the terminal portion 12a of the liquid crystal panel 10 via the ACF 30. FIG. Prior to the connection, the ACF 30 is affixed to either the terminal portion 12a or the lead portion 20a. When the ACF 30 is affixed to the terminal portion 12a, the film length G is longer than the width H of the flexible substrate 20. When the film is attached to the lead portion 20a side, the film length G is the same as the width H of the flexible substrate 20.

  If the depth width W of the terminal portion 12a is 1.5 mm, for example, the width of the ACF 30 is about 1.1 mm. In the present invention, a film position determination mark is installed to enable easy determination of such a narrow ACF 30 application position by visual observation (microscopic observation). Is the portion between C and D shown in FIG. 1, that is, between the outermost electrode of the panel side electrode 13 and the end of the anisotropic conductive film 30, and when installed on the lead portion 20a side, E shown in FIG. , F, that is, between the outermost electrode of the substrate side electrode 21 and the end of the lead portion 20a.

  FIGS. 2A and 2B show two examples when the film position determination mark MJ is installed on the terminal portion 12a side. Although the film position determination marks MJ are arranged as a pair on the left and right sides of the panel side electrode (group) 13, since they may have the same configuration, only the film position determination marks MJ on the left side are shown here.

  In the region overlapping the E and F portions on the lead portion 20a side of the C and D portions of the terminal portion 12a, the alignment mark MB for the flexible substrate shown in FIG. 3 formed on the lead portion 20a side. Is provided with an alignment mark MA. If the search range (imaging area) of the alignment mark MA (not shown), for example, by a CCD camera is MS, the film position determination mark MJ is arranged in principle avoiding the search range MS. Usually, the search range MS is about 0.8 to 1.0 mm in diameter.

  The example of FIG. 2A is a case where there is a space for installing the film position determination mark MJ in the C and D portions, and the film position determination mark MJ is composed of two dot marks MJ1 and MJ2. The dot mark MJ1, MJ2 is preferably the upper side 30a, where one side of the ACF 30 affixed to the terminal part 12a is the upper side (position reference side) 30a and one side of the terminal part opposite to the terminal side is the lower side 30b. Are arranged along the direction (depth direction) of the depth width W of the terminal portion 12a.

  That is, it is preferable that the dot marks MJ1 and MJ2 are arranged with a distance α / 2 from the reference position of the upper side 30a, where α is the allowable displacement width along the depth direction of the terminal portion 12a of the ACF 30. As an example, when the deviation allowable width α is 0.2 mm, the dot marks MJ1 and MJ2 are arranged at a distance of 0.1 mm from the attachment reference position of the upper side 30a.

  The shapes of the dot marks MJ1 and MJ2 can be arbitrarily selected. In this example, the dots are square dots, but may be circular dots, for example. The size of the dots is preferably in the range of 0.05 to 0.2 mm on one side (or diameter) in consideration of visibility.

  The example of FIG. 2B is a case where there is no space for installing the film position determination mark MJ in the C and D portions. In this case, a dummy electrode 14 is separately formed on the outermost side of the panel side electrode (group) 13, or the outermost electrode of the panel side electrode (group) 13 is used as the dummy electrode 14 and the film position on the dummy electrode 14 is set. A determination mark MJ is formed. A dummy electrode is an electrode having no electrical function.

  In this example, a part of the dummy electrode 14 is cut out to form a position determination mark MJ. Even in this case, it is preferable that the notch width of the position determination mark MJ is set to a distance α / 2 upward and downward from the reference reference position of the upper side 30a of the ACF 30, respectively.

  As another example of the position determination mark MJ, instead of the dot marks MJ1 and MJ2 in FIG. 2A, a continuous dot mark is formed between the upper limit position of the dot mark MJ1 and the lower limit position of the dot mark MJ2. Also good. Similarly, in the case of FIG. 2B as well, the notched portion as the position determination mark MJ in the dummy electrode 14 may be used as a continuous dot mark and other portions may be removed. In any case, it is preferable to form a mark such as a protrusion or a notch at the central portion of the side of the continuous dot mark so that the reference position of the upper side 30a of the ACF 30 can be known.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B show two examples when the film position determination mark MJ is installed on the lead portion 20a side of the flexible substrate 20. FIG. Also in this case, the film position determination marks MJ are arranged as a pair on the left and right sides of the substrate-side electrode (group) 21. However, since they may have the same configuration, only the film position determination marks MJ on the left side are shown here. .

  The example of FIG. 3A is a case where there is a space for installing the film position determination mark MJ in the E and F portions, except that the positions of the upper side 30a and the lower side 30b of the ACF 30 are switched in the drawing. Since this corresponds to the example of FIG.

  The example of FIG. 3B is a case where there is no space for installing the film position determination mark MJ in the E and F portions, and the substrate side electrode (group) 21 is similar to the example of FIG. A dummy electrode 22 is separately formed on the outermost side, or a film position determination mark MJ is formed by cutting out, for example, a part of the dummy electrode 22 using the outermost electrode of the substrate-side electrode (group) 21 as the dummy electrode 22. In addition, another example (modified example) described in FIGS. 2A and 2B may be applied to each example in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

  In addition, when forming the film position determination mark MJ on the terminal portion 12a side, it can be formed simultaneously with the panel side electrode 13 by using, for example, an ITO material. When the film position determination mark MJ is formed on the lead portion 20a side, the film position determination mark MJ can be formed simultaneously with the substrate-side electrode 21 with a copper foil material, or when the symbol mark is printed on the flexible substrate 20 in the final process. You can also print at the same time. The same applies to the alignment marks MA and MB.

  Therefore, when there is a space for installing the film position determination marks MJ in the C and D portions of the terminal portion 12a and / or the E and F portions of the lead portion 20a, various patterns are provided on the film position determination marks MJ. As an example, FIG. 4A shows a blank pattern BP1 having a rectangular blank inside, and FIG. 4B shows a blank pattern BP2 having a circular blank inside. In any case, it is preferable to align the center with the reference reference position of the upper side 30a of the ACF 30.

  According to the present invention, whether the ACF 30 is attached to either the terminal portion 12a side of the liquid crystal panel 10 or the lead portion 20a side of the flexible substrate 20, the upper side 30a of the ACF 30 is determined by film observation before thermocompression bonding. By checking whether or not the mark is within the range of the mark MJ, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the ACF 30 attachment position is appropriate.

  When the film position determination mark MJ is provided on the terminal portion 12a side, as shown in FIG. 5A, two dot marks MJ3 and MJ3 are further added to the two dot marks MJ1 and MJ2 shown in FIG. In addition to MJ4, four dot marks are included in the film position determination mark MJ, and the four dot marks MJ1 to MJ1 are enclosed so as to surround the corner 30R between the upper side 30a of the ACF 30 and the adjacent side (the left side 30c in this example). By disposing MJ4, it is possible to easily confirm not only the positional displacement of the ACF 30 in the depth direction (Y direction) but also the lateral displacement (X direction) perpendicular thereto.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B as a modified example, the corner portion of the ACF 30 is replaced with a blank pattern BP1 in which the inside of FIG. 4A is a rectangular blank instead of the four dot marks MJ1 to MJ4. Similarly, even if it surrounds 30R, the positional deviation in the Y direction and the positional deviation in the X direction of the ACF 30 can be easily confirmed. In some cases, a blanking pattern BP2 in which the inside of FIG. 4B is a circular blank may be applied instead of the blanking pattern BP1.

  The present invention has been described above by taking the case of connecting a flexible substrate to a liquid crystal panel as an example. However, the present invention is also used for connection between flexible substrates using an anisotropic conductive film or connection between a flexible substrate and a hard circuit substrate. be able to.

The top view which shows the state which connected the liquid crystal panel and the flexible substrate through the anisotropic conductive film as an example of embodiment of this invention. (A) (b) The top view which shows typically a part of terminal part of the liquid crystal panel in which the film position determination mark was provided. (A) (b) The top view which shows typically a part of lead part of the flexible substrate in which the film position determination mark was provided. (A) (b) is a schematic diagram which shows another example of the said film position determination mark. (A) (b) The top view which shows typically a part of terminal part of the liquid crystal panel in which the modification of the film position determination mark was provided. The disassembled perspective view which shows the connection part of a liquid crystal display panel and a flexible substrate. The side view which shows the state at the time of the connection operation | work of a liquid crystal display panel and a flexible substrate.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Liquid crystal display panel 11,12 Panel board | substrate 12a Terminal part 13 Panel side electrode 14 Dummy electrode 20 Flexible board 20a Lead part 21 Substrate side electrode 22 Dummy electrode 30 Anisotropic conductive film (ACF)
30a Upper side 30b Lower side 30c Left side 30R Corner part MA, MB Alignment mark MJ Film position determination mark MJ1-MJ4 Dot mark

Claims (6)

Anisotropic conduction formed by electrically and mechanically connecting a first electrode group formed on a first substrate and a second electrode group formed on a second substrate via an anisotropic conductive film. In the electrode connection body by film,
An anisotropic conductive film characterized in that a film position determination mark is provided on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate so that the position of the anisotropic conductive film can be visually determined. Electrode connection body by.   2. The electrode connection body using an anisotropic conductive film according to claim 1, wherein the film position determination marks are arranged as a pair on both left and right sides of the first electrode group or the second electrode group.   The film position determination mark includes an upper limit position and a lower limit position that indicate a permissible width of sticking deviation of the anisotropic conductive film along a depth direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the electrode group of the electrode assembly. The electrode assembly by the anisotropic conductive film of Claim 1 or 2.   4. The film position determination mark according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the film position determination mark includes two dot marks arranged at the upper limit position and the lower limit position or a continuous mark formed between the upper limit position and the lower limit position. The electrode assembly by the anisotropic conductive film of description.   5. The anisotropic conductive film according to claim 1, wherein the film position determination mark is formed on a dummy electrode disposed on the outermost side of the first electrode group or the second electrode group. 6. Electrode connection body by.   The said film position determination mark further includes a left limit position and a right limit position that define a horizontal position parallel to the arrangement direction of the electrode group of the anisotropic conductive film. Electrode connection body using anisotropic conductive film.

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