JP2007072244A - Inspection method and manufacturing method for electro-optical device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection method and a manufacturing method for an electro-optical device that make it possible to discriminate the type of display panel of the electro-optical device. <P>SOLUTION: The inspection method for the electro-optical device 1 includes a detection stage of detecting whether a plurality of dummy wires 11 differing in interconnection relation and provided on a substrate 2b and a plurality of wires 12 on a flexible printed board 3 connected to the substrate 2b are electrically continuous with each other, according to the kind of the display panel 2 of the electro-optical device 1, and a discrimination stage of discriminating the kind of the display panel 2, based on the detection result of the detection stage about whether the plurality of wires 12 are electrically continuous with each other and the connection relation among the plurality of dummy wires 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection method and a manufacturing method for an electro-optical device, and more particularly, to an inspection method and a manufacturing method for an electro-optical device that determine the type of a display panel.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electro-optical devices such as liquid crystal display devices have been widely used in electronic devices such as liquid crystal projectors and mobile phones. The liquid crystal display device is configured by electrically connecting a display panel and a substrate connected to the display panel.

  In order for the liquid crystal display device to perform a predetermined function, the display panel and the substrate must be well connected. Therefore, whether or not the display panel and the substrate are well connected is determined with the display panel. A method of providing a dummy electrode for inspection on a substrate has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to the proposal, the connection state between the display panel and the substrate is determined by examining the conduction and non-conduction between the dummy electrodes.

In addition, a method has also been proposed in which whether the display panel and the substrate are connected with a shift from a predetermined connection position is also detected (for example, see Patent Document 2). In the proposal, three dummy electrodes are provided on the display panel on each of the display panel and the substrate. The electrodes at both ends of the three dummy electrodes on the display panel are made conductive and the center electrode is formed in a non-conductive state. The three dummy electrodes on the substrate are independent of each other and are formed in a non-conductive state. By determining the conduction state when the display panel and the substrate are connected in a shifted state, the direction of misalignment can be detected.
Therefore, the methods according to these proposals are methods for detecting the connection state between the display panel and the substrate and the direction of displacement.
JP 7-146482 A JP 2004-184839 A

  However, there are various types of display panels of liquid crystal display devices. For example, according to the request from the customer, even if the appearance of the display panel is the same or similar, the display panel characteristics may not be recognized only by the appearance, such as the color tone of the displayed image is different or the viewing angle is different. is there.

  In the method according to the above-described proposal, the connection state between the display panel and the substrate and the direction of displacement can be detected by determining the conduction state between the plurality of dummy electrodes. could not.

  Therefore, when manufacturing a product with a similar appearance such that only the type of the display panel is different, there is a possibility that the liquid crystal display device according to the difference in the type of the display panel cannot be appropriately manufactured.

SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an inspection method and a manufacturing method for an electro-optical device that can identify the type of display panel of the electro-optical device.
According to the inspection method of the electro-optical device of the present invention, the connection relationship differs depending on the type of the display panel of the electro-optical device, and the plurality of dummy wirings provided on the substrate and the flexible printed circuit board connected to the substrate Based on the detection step of detecting the presence or absence of electrical continuity with a plurality of wirings in the circuit, the presence or absence of electrical continuity between the plurality of wirings detected by the detection step, and the connection relationship between the plurality of dummy wirings And a discrimination step for discriminating the type of the display panel.
According to such a configuration, when manufacturing a product with a similar appearance such that only the type of the display panel is different, the liquid crystal display device according to the difference in the type of the display panel can be appropriately manufactured. it can.

In the inspection method of the electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention, the detection step may include a plurality of probes that are in contact with a plurality of inspection terminals provided corresponding to the plurality of wirings, and the plurality of inspection terminals. It is desirable to detect the presence or absence of electrical continuity due to each combination with the plurality of probes.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to easily detect the presence or absence of electrical continuity between a plurality of wirings using a probe.

Further, in the inspection method of the electro-optical device of the present invention, the method includes a storage step of storing information on the connection relationship between the plurality of dummy wirings in advance in a storage unit corresponding to the type of the display panel, The determining step determines the type of the display panel by comparing the information on the connection relationship stored in the storage means with the presence or absence of electrical continuity between the plurality of wirings detected by the detecting step. Is desirable.
According to such a configuration, since the patterns can be compared, discrimination processing can be easily performed.

In the inspection method for an electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the substrate includes a wiring pattern for supplying an image signal to the display panel.
According to such a configuration, the type of the display panel can be determined using the substrate connected to the display panel.

The electro-optical device manufacturing method of the present invention uses the electro-optical device inspection method of the present invention.
According to such a configuration, when manufacturing a product with a similar appearance such that only the type of the display panel is different, the liquid crystal display device according to the difference in the type of the display panel can be appropriately manufactured. it can.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration of the electro-optical device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an external view showing a configuration of an electro-optical device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display device 1 as an electro-optical device includes a display panel 2 including a liquid crystal device and a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as FPC) 3 connected to the display panel 2. .

  The display panel 2 is an inspection object for determining the type in the present embodiment. The display panel 2 is configured by bonding two glass substrates 2a and 2b and sealing liquid crystal between the two glass substrates 2a and 2b. The liquid crystal modulates light by changing the orientation and order of the molecular assembly according to the voltage level applied to each pixel. Using such characteristics of the liquid crystal, the display panel 2 can display an image on the display region 2c in which the liquid crystal is sealed, based on the image signal supplied from the FPC 3. For this purpose, various circuit elements such as switching elements and signal lines for image display are formed on the two glass substrates 2a and 2b.

  One glass substrate 2b of the two glass substrates is provided with a plurality of input terminals for inputting image signals and drive signals from the outside. A part of the FPC 3 is connected to one side of the glass substrate 2b so that the terminals of the plurality of wirings provided on the surface of the FPC 3 are in contact with the plurality of input terminals of the glass substrate 2b. A semiconductor chip 4 that is a driver circuit is provided between the glass substrate 2a and the FPC 3 along one side to which the FPC 3 on the glass substrate 2b is connected. Next, the connection between the glass substrate 2b and the FPC 3 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged plan view of the liquid crystal display device 1. On the glass substrate 2b of the display panel 2, a plurality of wiring patterns are provided. FIG. 2 shows a wiring pattern 6 and a wiring pattern 7 as a part of the plurality of wiring patterns. The wiring pattern 6 is a wiring pattern composed of a plurality of wirings for electrical connection between the semiconductor chip 4 and various circuit elements provided on the two glass substrates 2a and 2b. A part of the wiring pattern 7 constitutes a plurality of input terminals to which signals from the FPC 3 are input. The wiring pattern 7 is a wiring pattern including a plurality of wirings for electrical connection between the semiconductor chip 4 and a plurality of terminals thereof. Further, the FPC 3 is also provided with a wiring pattern 8 composed of a plurality of wirings. The wiring pattern 8 is a wiring pattern for supplying an image signal to the display panel 2.

  The plurality of wirings 6 a of the wiring pattern 6 are connected to the first plurality of terminals 4 a of the semiconductor chip 4, respectively. A plurality of ends of the wiring pattern 7 opposite to the input terminals of the plurality of wirings 7 a are respectively connected to the second plurality of terminals 4 b of the semiconductor chip 4.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the substrate surfaces of the two glass substrates 2 a and 2 b bonded together, the ends of the plurality of wirings 7 a of the wiring pattern 7 and the wiring pattern 8 By connecting the end portions in contact with each other so that the end portions of the plurality of wirings 8a overlap each other, the respective wirings 7a of the wiring pattern 7 and the respective wirings 8a of the wiring pattern 8 are electrically connected. Specifically, the portion of the wiring pattern 8 that is electrically connected to the wiring pattern 7 is exposed from the insulating film on the surface of the FPC 3, and the exposed portion is in contact with the wiring pattern 7. The wirings 7a and 8a of the wiring patterns 7 and 8 are electrically connected.

  Accordingly, an image signal input via the plurality of wirings 8a of the wiring pattern 8 is supplied to various circuit elements such as switching elements and signal lines for image display via the semiconductor chip 4, thereby displaying A desired image is displayed in the area.

  A wiring pattern 11 for identifying the type of the display panel 1 according to the present embodiment is further provided on the glass substrate 2b. The wiring pattern 11 includes a plurality of, here three, wirings 11a, 11b, and 11c as dummy wirings. The wiring pattern 11 formed on the glass substrate 2b is formed so that the electrical connection relationship between the plurality of wirings 11a, 11b, and 11c differs depending on the type of the display panel 2.

  On the other hand, the FPC 3 is provided with a wiring pattern 12 corresponding to the wiring pattern 11 including a plurality of dummy wirings. The wiring pattern 12 includes a plurality of wirings 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c that correspond to the wiring pattern 11 here. An inspection terminal portion (hereinafter referred to as an inspection terminal portion) 13 is provided at one end of the wiring pattern 12. The inspection terminal portion 13 formed on the FPC 13 includes inspection terminals (hereinafter referred to as inspection terminals) 13a, 13b, and 13c corresponding to the wirings 12a, 12b, and 12c. Thus, since the FPC 3 is provided with the wiring pattern 12 together with the wiring pattern 8, the type of the display panel 2 can be determined using the FPC 3 connected to the display panel 2, as will be described later. it can.

  And as shown in FIG. 2, when it sees from the direction orthogonal to the board | substrate surface of the two glass substrates 2a and 2b bonded together, the edge part of wiring 11a, 11b, 11c of the wiring pattern 11, and a wiring pattern By making the ends of the 12 wirings 12a, 12b, and 12c overlap each other, the wirings of the wiring pattern 11 and the wirings of the wiring pattern 12 are electrically connected. Specifically, the portion of the wiring pattern 12 that is electrically connected to the wiring pattern 11 is exposed from the insulating film on the surface of the FPC 3, and the exposed portion comes into contact with the wiring pattern 11. The wirings 11a, 11b, 11c and 12a, 12b, 12c of the wiring patterns 11 and 12 are electrically connected.

  An inspection terminal portion 13 including three inspection terminals 13a, 13b, and 13c is provided on the end portion of the wiring pattern 12 opposite to one end where the wiring pattern 11 is electrically connected. It is exposed from the insulating film on the surface. Specifically, the three inspection terminals 13a, 13b, and 13c are formed on the surface of the FPC 3 on the same side as the surface to be bonded to the substrate 2b, and are used for inspection described later when determining the type of the display panel 2. This is a portion where the probe group 22 contacts. The probe group 22 includes three probes 22a, 22b, and 22c corresponding to the three inspection terminals 13a, 13b, and 13c.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the end of the wiring 11a opposite to one end in contact with the wiring 12a is not connected to any of the other wirings 11b and 11c. The wirings 11b and 11c are electrically conductive by the conductive pattern part 14 at the ends opposite to the respective ends that are in contact with the wirings 12b and 12c.

  In FIG. 2, an example of the wiring pattern 11 in which the wirings 11b and 11c are in an electrically conductive state is shown. As will be described later, the connection relationship between the three wirings depends on the type of the display panel 1. Is different.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view for explaining an inspection apparatus for determining the type of the display panel 2. In FIG. 3, a part of the liquid crystal display device 1 is shown in a perspective view. The display panel inspection device 21 includes a probe group 22 for inspection and a determination device 23 that receives a signal from the probe group 22 and determines the type of the display panel 2. The discriminating device 23 includes a CPU (not shown) and a storage device (not shown), and executes a discriminating process of the type of the display panel 2 by executing a predetermined program stored in the storage device in advance. .

  Specifically, when inspecting the type of the display panel 2 in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device 1, the display panel inspection device 21 is used. As described above, the display panel 2 has various types such as different color tone and different viewing angles even if the appearance is the same or similar. The type may not be recognized.

  Since there is a possibility that such a display panel 2 is transported to the wrong process, the display panel inspection apparatus 21 of the present embodiment contacts the probe group 22 with the inspection terminal portion 13 of the FPC 3 in the manufacturing process. The type of the display panel 2 is determined by inspecting the presence or absence of electrical continuity between the plurality of wirings of the wiring pattern 11. By using such a probe group 22, it is possible to easily detect the presence or absence of electrical continuity between a plurality of inspection terminals.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a pattern example of a connection relationship between a plurality of wirings in the wiring pattern 11. FIG. 4A shows the pattern 1 in which the wirings 11a and 11b are electrically connected by the conductive pattern portion 14a, and the wiring 11c is not connected to any of the other wirings 11a and 11b. FIG. 4B shows the pattern 2 in which the wirings 11a and 11c are electrically connected by the conductive pattern portion 14b, and the wiring 11b is not connected to any of the other wirings 11a and 11c. FIG. 4C shows the pattern 3 in which the wiring 11a is not connected to any of the other wirings 11b and 11c, and the wirings 11b and 11c are electrically conductive by the conductive pattern portion 14c. FIG. 4D shows a pattern 4 in which all of the wiring 11a, the wirings 11b and 11c are connected in common, and are electrically connected to each other by the conductive pattern portion 14d. FIG. 4E shows a pattern 5 in which the wiring 11a, the wirings 11b and 11c are not connected to each other, and the wiring 11a, the wirings 11b and 11c are not electrically connected to each other.

  FIG. 5 is a table showing a connection relation pattern between the plurality of wirings. The discrimination device 23 detects the presence / absence of electrical continuity between the wirings 11a, 11b, and 11c of the wiring pattern 11 based on the electrical signal from the probe group 22, and the presence / absence of the detected electrical continuity is described above. It is determined which of the two patterns is connected. Pattern 1 in FIG. 5 is the pattern in FIG. 4 (a), pattern 2 is in the pattern in FIG. 4 (b), pattern 3 is in the pattern in FIG. 4 (c), and pattern 4 is in the pattern in FIG. 4 (d). The pattern 5 corresponds to the pattern of FIG. The wiring pattern in FIG. 2 corresponds to (c) in FIG. Therefore, the wiring pattern 11 can represent any of the five types of display panels 2 by including the three wirings 11a, the wirings 11b and 11c having a predetermined connection relation.

  In the present embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, an example in which the wiring pattern 11 has three wirings will be described. However, in order to express and distinguish more types, the wiring pattern 11 has four or more wirings. You may have.

  The discrimination device 23 stores the table data of FIG. 5 in a storage device (not shown) in advance. That is, the information on the connection relationship between the wirings of the wiring pattern 11 in the table data of FIG. 5 corresponds to the type of the display panel 2. During the process of discriminating the type of the display panel 2, an electrical signal from the probe group 22 is detected, and the presence or absence of electrical continuity between the three inspection terminals 13a, 13b, 13c is checked based on the detected electrical signal. Then, the determination device 23 determines the type of the display panel 2 to be inspected based on the presence / absence of electrical continuity and the stored connection relationship between the three wirings of the wiring pattern 11. As described above, the determination device 23 can easily perform the determination process by pattern comparison.

  Next, a discrimination process for discriminating the type of the display panel 2 performed in the process after the FPC 3 is connected to the display panel 2 in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of determination processing for determining the type of the display panel 2. The processing in FIG. 6 is performed by a predetermined program being executed by a CPU (not shown) in the determination device 23.

  A step of previously providing a plurality of wiring patterns 11 as dummy wirings having different connection relations according to the type of the display panel 2 on the substrate 2b of the display panel 2 is performed. And the display panel 2 and FPC3 are connected, and the liquid crystal display device 1 of FIG. 1 is manufactured. In the subsequent process, the process of FIG. 6 is executed.

  First, the determination device 23 brings the three probes 22a, 22b, and 22c into contact with the three terminals 13a, 13b, and 13c of the FPC 3 of the liquid crystal display device 1 (step S1). In a state where the FPC 3 is supported by a support member (not shown) from the surface opposite to the surface on which the terminal portion 13 of the FPC 3 is provided, the three probes 22a, 22b, 22c are moved by a moving device (not shown), Each contacts with three terminals 13a, 13b, 13c.

  Next, the determination device 23 checks the presence or absence of electrical continuity between the three probes 22a, 22b, and 22c (step S2). This check is performed by using two of the three probes and sequentially checking whether or not an electric signal flows between the two probes. For example, first, it is checked whether an electric signal flows between the terminals 13a and 13b as the first pair, that is, between the wirings 11a and 11b, and then, as the second pair, between the terminals 13a and 13c, that is, It is checked whether an electric signal flows between the wirings 11a and 11c. Finally, it is checked whether an electric signal flows between the terminals 13b and 13c, that is, between the wirings 11b and 11c, as a third pair.

  Check in order and determine whether or not all pairs have been checked for electrical continuity (step S3). If the check is not completed for all pairs, NO is determined in step S3, and the remaining pairs Check about. When all the pairs have been checked, YES is obtained in step S3. Next, the discriminating device 23 is stored in advance in a storage device (not shown) and whether or not there is electrical continuity between the plurality of terminals obtained by checking. Which of the five patterns is compared (step S4). And the discrimination | determination apparatus 23 discriminate | determines the kind of the display panel 2 by specifying the pattern which corresponds with the presence or absence of the electrical continuity between the some terminals obtained by checking from the comparison result (step S5). . In other words, the type of the display panel 2 is determined based on the presence / absence of electrical continuity between the three inspection terminals obtained by detection and the connection relationship between the plurality of wirings 11a, 11b and 11c which are dummy wirings. Done.

The type information obtained as a result of the processing of FIG. 6 is used in the manufacturing process of the electro-optical device 1, and the process corresponding to the difference in the type of the display panel 2 can be appropriately performed.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize an inspection method and a manufacturing method of an electro-optical device that can identify the type of the display panel of the electro-optical device.

  The electro-optical device of the present invention includes not only a passive matrix liquid crystal display device but also an active matrix liquid crystal display device (for example, a liquid crystal display including a TFT (thin film transistor) or a TFD (thin film diode) as a switching element. The same applies to the panel). In addition to liquid crystal display panels, electroluminescence devices, organic electroluminescence devices, plasma display devices, electrophoretic display devices, devices using electroluminescent elements (Field Emission Display, Surface-Conduction Electron-Emission Display, etc.), etc. The present invention can be similarly applied to various electro-optical devices.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 is an external view illustrating a configuration of an electro-optical device according to an embodiment of the invention. 1 is a partially enlarged plan view of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The typical explanatory view for explaining the inspection device concerning an embodiment of the invention. Explanatory drawing of the example of a pattern of the connection state between the some wiring concerning embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the pattern of the connection relation between the some wiring concerning embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the example of the flow of the discrimination | determination process concerning embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid crystal display device, 2 Display panel, 3 Flexible printed circuit board, 4 Semiconductor chip, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 Wiring pattern, 13 Terminal part, 14 Conductive pattern part, 21 Display panel inspection apparatus, 22 Probe, 23 Discrimination apparatus

Claims (5)

An inspection method for an electro-optical device,
The presence or absence of electrical continuity between the plurality of dummy wirings provided on the substrate and the plurality of wirings on the flexible printed circuit board connected to the substrate, the connection relationship of which differs depending on the type of the display panel of the electro-optical device A detection step for detecting
A determination step of determining the type of the display panel based on the presence or absence of electrical continuity between the plurality of wirings detected by the detection step, and the connection relationship between the plurality of dummy wirings;
An inspection method for an electro-optical device, comprising:   In the detecting step, a plurality of probes are brought into contact with a plurality of inspection terminals provided corresponding to the plurality of wirings, respectively, and electrical conduction by each combination of the plurality of inspection terminals and the plurality of probes is performed. The inspection method for an electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein presence or absence is detected. A storage step of storing information on the connection relationship between the plurality of dummy wirings in advance in a storage unit corresponding to the type of the display panel;
The determining step determines the type of the display panel by comparing the information on the connection relationship stored in the storage means with the presence or absence of electrical continuity between the plurality of wirings detected by the detecting step. An inspection method for an electro-optical device according to claim 1 or 2.   4. The electro-optical device inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate includes a wiring pattern for supplying an image signal to the display panel. An electro-optical device manufacturing method using the electro-optical device inspection method according to claim 1.

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