JP2008134197A - Panel edge part inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform an inspection by one time image reading and one time processing in one system. <P>SOLUTION: This panel edge part inspection device is equipped with: a line sensor capturing an image on the front surface of an inspecting object panel; a reflection means mounted thereon in such a way that its relative position to the line sensor is not shifted for causing an image on the rear surface of an edge part of the object panel to be reflected to the line sensor side and causing the front and rear surfaces of the edge part to be juxtaposed/displayed; and a relative movement means relatively moving the line sensor, the reflection means, and the object panel. Inspection is performed by juxtaposing the image on the edge part on the front surface of the object panel and the image on the rear surface of the edge part obtained by the reflection means positioned on the edge part of the object panel to simultaneously photograph them by the line sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a panel edge portion inspection apparatus for detecting defects by capturing an image of an edge portion of a panel to be inspected with a line sensor.

  In a display panel such as an LCD, it is necessary to inspect whether there are defects on the front and back surfaces of the edge portion where the electrode is located. A panel edge inspection apparatus for detecting defects on the front and back surfaces is generally known. An example of this panel edge inspection apparatus is shown in FIG.

  The panel edge inspection apparatus 1 includes a conveyor 2, an upper line sensor 3, an upper image processing device 4, a lower line sensor 5, a lower image processing device 6, and an edge illumination 7.

  The conveyor 2 is a device that conveys a liquid crystal panel 8 as a panel to be inspected. The upper line sensor 3 is a device for taking an image of the upper side surface of the liquid crystal panel 8 conveyed by the conveyor 2. The upper image processing device 4 is a device for processing image information photographed by the upper line sensor 3 and detecting a defective portion. The lower line sensor 5 is a device for taking an image of the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel 8 conveyed by the conveyor 2. The lower image processing device 6 is a device for processing an image photographed by the lower line sensor 5 and detecting a defective portion. The edge illumination 7 is an illumination device for illuminating the portion of the liquid crystal panel 8 photographed by the upper line sensor 3 and the lower line sensor 5.

  By this panel edge portion inspection device 1, the front and back surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 8 are simultaneously photographed and subjected to image processing by the upper image processing device 4 and the lower image processing device 6 to detect defective portions and the like.

  However, since the panel edge portion inspection apparatus 1 has two systems, that is, the front surface inspection system and the back surface inspection system of the liquid crystal panel 8, the number of parts and the part cost increase.

For this reason, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for simultaneously photographing two surfaces of an inspection object using a mirror. The imaging apparatus of Patent Document 1 reflects images of the bottom surface and the side surface of a reading object with a mirror, combines them with a half mirror, and images with one imaging system.
JP-A-10-78309

  By the way, the imaging apparatus can be applied to a small electronic component, but cannot be applied to a large component such as a liquid crystal panel. In order to project the bottom and side surfaces of a large liquid crystal panel or the like with a single mirror, a large mirror is required, and it is not easy to collect such a large image on one imaging system.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and is a line sensor that captures an image of the surface of the inspection target panel, and an edge portion of the inspection target panel that is attached so as not to shift relative position to the line sensor. Reflecting means for reflecting the image of the back surface to the line sensor side and displaying the front and back surfaces of the edge portion side by side, and relative moving means for relatively moving the line sensor, the reflecting means, and the inspection object panel; It is provided with.

  With the above configuration, the line sensor captures an image of the surface of the panel to be inspected and an image of the reflecting means. In this state, the line sensor, the reflecting means, and the inspection target panel are relatively moved by relative movement means, and the front surface image and the back surface image of the inspection target panel are photographed side by side, Inspect at the same time.

  In this panel edge part inspection apparatus, it is desirable to provide an edge light source for illuminating the edge part of the inspection object panel. The reflecting means is preferably a corner cube prism or a corner cube reflector.

  The line sensor may capture an image of the entire width of the surface of the inspection target panel, and the reflection means may be provided on both sides of the inspection target panel.

  And a controller that accurately detects a relative movement amount or distance between the line sensor, the reflection unit, and the inspection target panel by the relative movement unit, and identifies a defective portion of the inspection target panel. desirable.

  The panel edge portion inspection method includes a line sensor that captures an image of the surface of the inspection target panel, a reflection unit that reflects a back surface of the inspection target panel toward the line sensor, the line sensor, the reflection unit, and the inspection. An image of an edge portion of the surface of the inspection object panel and the edge by the reflection means located at the edge portion of the inspection object panel. It is characterized in that the inspection is performed by simultaneously photographing the images on the back side of the part and photographing them.

  With the above configuration, the line sensor is configured so that the image of the edge part on both sides of the surface of the inspection object panel and the image of the back surface of the edge part on both sides by the reflecting means located on the edge part on both sides of the inspection object panel are obtained. Are inspected at the same time.

  It is desirable to accurately detect a relative movement amount or distance between the line sensor, the reflection unit, and the inspection target panel by the relative movement unit to identify a defective portion of the inspection target panel.

  Since the image on the front surface and the image on the back surface of the panel to be inspected are arranged side by side with a single line sensor, only one system of inspection device is required, and inspection can be performed with one image reading and one processing. Become.

  Hereinafter, an inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the panel edge portion inspection apparatus 11 according to the present embodiment includes a line sensor 12, an image processing apparatus 13, a reflection means 14, a relative movement means 15, and an edge illumination 16. ing.

  The line sensor 12 is a camera for capturing an image of the surface of the inspection target panel 17. The line sensor 12 is fixed to the frame side of the panel edge inspection apparatus 11. Thus, the line sensor 12 is provided above the inspection target panel 17 and at a position facing the edge portion. The line sensor 12 images the edge portion of the inspection object panel 17 over its entire length. That is, when the inspection object panel 17 is transported by the relative movement means 15, the line sensor until the rear end part comes out from the leading edge part of the edge part of the inspection object panel 17 in the imaging region of the line sensor 12. 12 is imaged over the entire length from one end to the other end of the edge portion of the panel 17 to be inspected.

  The image processing device 13 captures image data captured by the line sensor 12 and performs image processing, and detects a defective portion such as a chip or a scratch on the inspection target panel 17. Furthermore, the image processing device 13 also has a function as a control device that controls the entire device.

  The reflection means 14 is a member that is attached so as not to be displaced relative to the line sensor 12 and reflects the back surface of the panel to be inspected 17 toward the line sensor. The reflecting means 14 is fixed to the frame side of the panel edge inspection apparatus 11, and similarly the relative position to the line sensor 12 fixed to the frame side is fixed. As the reflecting means 14, a corner cube prism or a corner cube reflector can be used. Further, one or two flat reflection mirrors may be used. In the case of a single reflection mirror, the back surface of the inspection object panel 17 is projected on the line sensor 12 as an image viewed obliquely. In the case of the two reflecting mirrors, like the corner cube prism, the back surface of the inspection target panel 17 is displayed on the line sensor 12 as an image viewed from directly below.

  By this reflection means 14, the image on the back surface of the inspection object panel 17 is reflected as if there is another inspection object panel 17 outside the edge portion of the inspection object panel 17, and the image on the front surface Display them side by side.

  The relative movement means 15 is a means for relatively moving the line sensor 12 and the reflection means 14 and the inspection object panel 17. Here, the relative movement means 15 is comprised with the roller conveyor. When the inspection object panel 17 is moved by the relative movement means 15, the inspection object panel 17, the line sensor 12, and the reflection means 14 are moved relative to each other. A driving motor (not shown) of the roller conveyor is constituted by a stepping motor or the like so that the amount of rotation can be accurately controlled. As a result, the movement amount of the inspection object panel 17 can be accurately controlled.

  An edge illumination 16 for illuminating the edge portion of the panel to be inspected 17 is provided at a position facing the reflecting means 14 in the side portion of the relative moving means 15 in the panel edge portion inspection apparatus 11. The edge illumination 16 illuminates the upper and lower side surfaces of the edge portion from the side of the inspection object panel 17.

  Further, the panel edge inspection apparatus 11 includes a control unit for specifying the defective portion of the inspection object panel 17. The control unit may be configured as an independent device, but here, the image processing device 13 has the function. By the control function of the image processing device 13, the relative movement means 15 accurately detects the relative movement amount or distance between the line sensor 12 and the reflection means 14 and the inspection object panel 17, and the inspection object panel 17 is defective. Identify the location. As a method for identifying the defective portion, in addition to the case of detecting from the amount of movement of the inspection object panel 17 by the relative movement means 15, image processing by the image processing device 13 is performed from the image of the inspection object panel 17 by the line sensor 12. The defective portion may be specified by

[Panel edge inspection method]
Next, a panel edge portion inspection method using the panel edge portion inspection apparatus 11 having the above configuration will be described.

  The inspection object panel 17 is placed on the relative movement means 15 and conveyed below the line sensor 12.

  At this time, the edge illumination 16 illuminates the side portion of the inspection object panel 17 and illuminates both the upper and lower side surfaces of the edge portion of the inspection object panel 17.

  The reflecting means 14 displays an image of the lower side surface of the edge portion of the inspection object panel 17 moving on the relative moving means 15 in a state where it is aligned with the upper side surface of the edge portion.

  The line sensor 12 simultaneously shoots the upper side surface of the edge portion of the inspection object panel 17 and the lower side surface displayed side by side and transmits the image information to the image processing device 13. The imaging by the line sensor 12 continues from the time when the head part of the inspection object panel 17 conveyed by the relative moving means 15 enters the imaging area of the line sensor 12 until the rear end part exits from the imaging area. The entire area of the edge portion of the target panel 17 is photographed.

  The inspection target panel 17 that has been photographed is conveyed as it is by the relative moving means 15, and the next inspection target panel 17 is moved to the lower part of the line sensor 12.

  The image processing device 13 processes the image information to detect a defective portion, for example, as shown in FIG. When a defective portion is detected, the amount by which the inspection object panel 17 is moved by the relative movement means 15 from the reference position to the defect portion, such as the leading portion of the inspection object panel 17 (line sensor 12 and reflection means 14). The relative movement amount between the inspection target panel 17 and the inspection target panel 17 is accurately detected, and the position of the defective portion in the inspection target panel 17 is specified. Note that the distance from the reference position to the defective portion may be specified by image processing. The defective portion thus detected is recorded in association with the inspection object panel 17 having the defect.

  The inspection object panel 17 is successively transported to the lower part of the line sensor 12 by the relative movement means 15 and its edge is photographed, and the image information is transmitted to the image processing device 13 one after another. In the image processing apparatus 13, as described above, the presence or absence of a defect is detected, and when a defective portion is detected, it is recorded in association with the inspection object panel 17 having the defect.

[effect]
As described above, since the image on the front surface and the image on the back surface of the inspection object panel 17 are arranged and photographed simultaneously with one line sensor 12, only one inspection apparatus is required, and one image reading in one system is possible. Inspection can be performed in a single process. As a result, the burden on the processing system can be reduced.

  Since the panel edge inspection apparatus 11 can be inspected with only one inspection system of the line sensor 12 and the image processing apparatus 13, the configuration can be simplified and the apparatus can be downsized. Parts reduction and cost reduction can be aimed at.

  The back side of the panel to be inspected 17 is only the reflecting means 14, so that no installation space for the line sensor 12 or the like is required, and the apparatus can be downsized and the degree of freedom in design can be improved.

[Modification]
In the embodiment, the configuration is such that only the edge portion on one side of the inspection object panel 17 is inspected, but as shown in FIG. 5, the edge portions on both sides of the inspection object panel 17 may be inspected simultaneously.

  In the panel edge portion inspection apparatus 21 of FIG. 5, the line sensor 22 is disposed above the center position of the inspection target panel 27 so as to capture an image of the entire width of the surface of the inspection target panel 27. In the image photographed by the line sensor 22, two borders between the front and back surfaces of FIG. 4 are displayed.

  The image processing device 23 detects the presence / absence of a defect at two boundary portions by image processing.

  The reflection means 24 is provided on both sides of the inspection object panel 27 and is inclined so that the reflection direction faces the line sensor 22.

  On both sides of the inspection object panel 27, edge illuminations 26 for illuminating the edge portions of the inspection object panel 27 are provided.

  With this configuration, with the line sensor 22, the image of the edge part on both sides of the surface of the inspection object panel 27 and the image of the back surface of the edge part on both sides by the reflecting means 24 located on the edge part on both sides of the inspection object panel 27 Take an inspection at the same time.

  Thereby, four surfaces (the front and back surfaces of the edge portions on both sides of the inspection object panel 27) can be inspected simultaneously. As a result, inspection can be performed by one image reading and one process in one system, and the burden on the processing system can be further reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inspection object panel 17 is moved by the relative movement unit 15 and the inspection is performed. However, the inspection object panel 17 may be fixed and the line sensor 12 and the reflection unit 14 may be moved.

  Also in this case, the same operations and effects as described above can be achieved.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the panel edge part inspection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the conventional panel edge part test | inspection apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the panel edge part test | inspection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the image of the test result in the panel edge part test | inspection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a modification.

Explanation of symbols

  11: Panel edge portion inspection device, 12: Line sensor, 13: Image processing device, 14: Reflecting means, 15: Relative moving means, 16: Edge illumination, 17: Panel to be inspected

Claims (8)

A line sensor that captures an image of the surface of the panel to be inspected;
Reflecting means for reflecting the image of the back surface of the edge portion of the panel to be inspected and reflecting the image to the line sensor side and displaying the front and back surfaces of the edge portion side by side, so that the relative position with the line sensor is not shifted,
A panel edge portion inspection apparatus, comprising: a relative movement means for relatively moving the line sensor, the reflection means, and the inspection object panel. In the panel edge part inspection apparatus according to claim 1,
A panel edge portion inspection apparatus comprising an edge light source that illuminates an edge portion of the panel to be inspected. In the panel edge part inspection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The panel edge portion inspection apparatus, wherein the reflecting means is a corner cube prism or a corner cube reflector. In the panel edge part inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The line sensor captures an image of the entire width of the surface of the panel to be inspected,
A panel edge portion inspection apparatus, wherein the reflection means is provided on both sides of a panel to be inspected. In the panel edge part inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A control unit is provided that accurately detects a relative movement amount or distance between the line sensor, the reflection unit, and the inspection target panel by the relative movement unit, and identifies a defective portion of the inspection target panel. Panel edge inspection equipment. A line sensor that captures an image of the front surface of the inspection target panel, a reflection unit that reflects the back surface of the inspection target panel toward the line sensor side, and the line sensor, the reflection unit, and the inspection target panel are relatively moved. Relative movement means,
The line sensor performs an inspection by simultaneously photographing an image of an edge portion on the surface of the panel to be inspected and an image of the back surface of the edge portion by the reflecting means located on the edge portion of the panel to be inspected. A panel edge inspection method characterized by the above. In the panel edge part inspection method according to claim 6,
In the line sensor, the images of the edge portions on both sides of the surface of the panel to be inspected and the images of the back surfaces of the edge portions on both sides by the reflecting means located on the edge portions on both sides of the panel to be inspected are simultaneously arranged. A panel edge portion inspection method, wherein the inspection is performed by photographing. In the panel edge part inspection method according to claim 6 or 7,
A panel edge portion characterized by accurately detecting a relative movement amount or distance between the line sensor, the reflection means, and the inspection object panel by the relative movement means, and specifying a defective portion of the inspection object panel. Inspection method.

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