JP2008304257A - Probe unit and inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform accurate inspection by bringing a contactor into sure contact with a comparatively small signal terminal or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The probe unit includes a probe assembly to be brought into electrical contact with a terminal group including the signal terminal, which is disposed on a workpiece. The probe assembly includes a contactor group in at least two rows disposed on a position matching to the terminal group; FPC for supporting the contactor group; a tension block on which the FPC is mounted; and an elastomer provided between the tension block and the FPC, for supporting the contactor group elastically. The FPC is stretched across the elastomer in the state where both sides sandwiching the elastomer are fixed to the tension block. The elastomer is formed widely on the signal terminal side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a probe unit and an inspection apparatus used for inspecting an object to be inspected such as a liquid crystal panel.

  Various inspections are performed in the manufacturing process of liquid crystal panels and the like. In general, an inspection apparatus including a probe assembly is used for this inspection. In this case, the inspection is performed by supplying a predetermined electric signal to a predetermined electrode in a state where each probe of the inspection apparatus is pressed against a terminal (electrode) of an inspection object such as a liquid crystal panel.

  Such an inspection apparatus mainly includes a panel setting unit and a measurement unit. The measurement unit includes a probe unit, and the liquid crystal panel is tested with this probe unit. The probe unit 1 is supported by a base plate 2 as shown in FIG. The probe unit 1 is configured to support a plurality of probe devices 3. Each probe device 3 is supported while facing the liquid crystal panel 5.

  An example of the probe device 3 is disclosed in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the probe device 3 of this patent document 1 includes a probe block 6. The probe block 6 has a probe sheet 7, and a protruding electrode (not shown) is provided on the probe sheet 7.

  The probe device 3 includes an arm 9 connected to the probe base 8, a pressing mechanism 10 that is disposed at the front end portion of the arm 9 and presses the front end portion of the probe sheet 7 downward, and the pressing mechanism 10 presses the probe sheet 7. And a screw member 11 that maintains the arm 9 in a releasable state.

  The arm 9 is coupled to the probe base 8 and has a hole in the rear part through which the screw member 11 passes. The screw member 11 is screwed into a screw hole formed in the probe base 8.

The pressing mechanism 10 includes a base member 13 disposed below the distal end portion of the arm 9, and one or more adjustment screws (not shown) that penetrate the front end portion of the arm 9 in the vertical direction and are screwed into the base member 13. One or more first elastic bodies 14 disposed between the arm 9 and the base member 13 and urging the base member 13 downward with respect to the arm 9; and the front end of the probe sheet 7 disposed on the base member 13 A second elastic body 15 that contacts the upper surface of the part and a plurality of guide pins 16 that extend in the up-down direction with an adjustment screw interposed therebetween and spaced in the left-right direction are provided.
JP 2001-141747 A

  By the way, in the probe apparatus 3 having the above-described configuration, the probe sheet 7 is formed in a cantilever state, and a row of protruding electrodes come into contact with terminals of a liquid crystal panel or the like for inspection. Further, the pressing mechanism 10 at the tip of the arm 9 presses the protruding electrode of the probe sheet 7 against a terminal such as a liquid crystal panel. In the case of this probe device 3, there is no problem in a liquid crystal panel or the like provided only with signal terminals, but a plurality of types of terminals including not only signal terminals but also Vcom terminals are arranged in two or more rows. It is difficult to deal with liquid crystal panels. When the number of terminals is increased, the arm 9 is bent due to the reaction received by the contact, and the protruding electrode may be displaced from the terminals of the liquid crystal panel or the like, which makes it difficult to perform an accurate inspection.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a probe unit and an inspection apparatus capable of accurately inspecting an inspected object in which a plurality of types of terminals are arranged in two or more rows. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a probe assembly according to the present invention is a probe unit including a probe assembly that is disposed on an object to be inspected and is electrically contacted with a terminal group including signal terminals. The probe assembly includes at least two rows of contact groups arranged at positions aligned with the terminal groups, an FPC that supports the contact groups, a tension block to which the FPC is attached, and the tension block And an elastic body provided between the FPC and elastically supporting the contact group, and the FPC is fixed to the tension block on both sides of the elastic body and straddles the elastic body The elastic body is stretched and formed widely on the signal terminal side.

  With the above configuration, when the FPC is stretched across the elastic body with both sides sandwiching the elastic body being fixed to the tension block, the FPC may slightly crush the corners of the elastic body. In addition, when the contact group supported by the FPC contacts the terminal of the object to be inspected, the corner of the elastic body may be somewhat collapsed. In this case, the corners of the elastic body widely formed on the signal terminal side are crushed, and the influence on the contact group on the signal terminal side is kept low.

  It is desirable to provide a slide mechanism that supports the probe assembly so as to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the inspection object. The elastic body is provided by being divided into a plurality of elastic body pieces, each elastic body piece is provided for each row of the contact group, and a dummy elastic body piece is provided on the signal terminal side. Is desirable. It is desirable that the contact groups are alternately shifted in a staggered manner. The contact group is preferably configured by arranging in two rows a group of contacts corresponding to the signal terminals of the device under test and a group of contacts corresponding to the Vcom terminals. A set unit that carries an object to be inspected from the outside and conveys the object to the outside after the inspection, and a measurement unit that supports and inspects the object to be inspected passed from the set unit, as a probe unit of the measurement unit, It is desirable to use the probe unit.

  The corners of the elastic body widely formed on the signal terminal side are crushed, and the contact with the relatively small signal terminal is surely contacted in order to keep the influence on the contact group on the signal terminal side low. Can be inspected.

  Hereinafter, a probe unit and an inspection apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Since the probe unit and the inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment are generally the same as the conventional probe unit and the inspection apparatus, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted here. The liquid crystal panel 5 will be described as an example of the inspection object. A terminal group is provided on the surface of the liquid crystal panel 5. This terminal group includes a group of signal terminals (see FIG. 6) and a group of Vcom terminals (see FIG. 6). Note that the probe unit and the inspection apparatus of the present embodiment can be applied to various panels including various terminals including the signal terminal and the Vcom terminal as the object to be inspected. Moreover, it is applicable also to the panel provided with the other terminal group.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the probe unit 51 according to this embodiment includes a probe base 52, a support portion 53, a probe assembly 54 supported by the support portion 53, and an inner surface of the support portion 53. And a connection cable portion 55 that is electrically connected to the probe assembly 54.

  The probe base 52 is a plate material that integrally supports a plurality of support portions 53 that support the probe assembly 54. A plurality of probe assemblies 54 are supported by the probe base 52 through a support portion 53 in a state of facing a work table (not shown).

  The support portion 53 is a member for supporting the probe assembly 54 on the distal end side in a state where the proximal end side is supported by the probe base 52. The support portion 53 is directly attached to the probe base 52 to support the entire suspension base 57, a slide block 58 supported by the tip of the suspension base 57, and an inner surface of the slide block 58 (FIG. 1). And a probe plate 59 that is integrally attached to the lower side surface.

  The suspension base 57 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and is fixed to the probe base 52 in a state in which a distal end portion extends inward from an inner edge portion of the probe base 52. A notch 61 for fitting the slide block 58 is provided inside the tip of the suspension base 57. The notch 61 is provided with a rail 62, a stopper 63, and a spring bolt 64.

  The rail 62 is a member for slidably supporting the slide block 58 with respect to the suspension base 57. The stopper 63 is a member for restricting sliding of a guide 66 described later. Specifically, the stopper 63 restricts the lower limit of the downward slide of the guide 66. The spring bolt 64 is a member that is provided at the tip of the suspension base 57 and supports a spring 65 that biases the slide block 58.

  The rail 62 and the guide 66 constitute a slide mechanism that supports the probe assembly 54 so as to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the liquid crystal panel 5. The probe assembly 54 slides in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the liquid crystal panel 5 by the slide mechanism including the rails 62 and the guides 66, so that a contact group 72 is coupled with a dummy elastic piece 89 described later. It is designed to prevent deviation.

  The slide block 58 is a member for supporting the probe plate 59 on the lower side with its base end fitted and supported in the notch 61 of the suspension base 57. The slide block 58 is slidably supported on the suspension base 57 via a guide 66 slidably attached to the rail 62. The slide block 58 is provided with a spring receiving hole 67 that fits the spring 65 and supports the spring 65.

  The probe plate 59 is a member for supporting the probe assembly 54 and an FPC base 93 described later of the connection cable portion 55. The probe plate 59 is formed in a thick plate shape and is fixed to the lower surface of the slide block 58. A probe block 69 of a probe assembly 54 to be described later and an FPC base 93 of the connection cable portion 55 are attached to the lower surface of the probe plate 59.

  The probe assembly 54 is in electrical contact with a signal terminal 78 (see FIG. 6) and a Vcom terminal 79 (see FIG. 6) of the circuit of the liquid crystal panel 5 so as to apply an inspection signal to the circuit of the liquid crystal panel 5. It is a member. The probe assembly 54 includes a probe block 69 and a probe mechanism 70.

  The probe block 69 is a member that is directly attached to the lower surface of the probe plate 59. The probe block 69 is attached to the lower surface of the probe plate 59 and supports the probe mechanism 70 on the lower surface.

  The probe mechanism 70 is a mechanism for making electrical contact with each terminal of the liquid crystal panel 5. The probe mechanism 70 includes a contact group 72, an FPC 73, a tension block 74, and an elastic body 75.

  The contact group 72 is a member for directly contacting the terminal group 77 of the liquid crystal panel 5 individually. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 to 7, the contact group 72 is disposed at a position aligned with the terminal group 77 of the liquid crystal panel 5. The terminal group 77 of the liquid crystal panel 5 includes a group of signal terminals 78 and a group of Vcom terminals 79. The signal terminals 78 are arranged in a line along the side of the liquid crystal panel 5. The Vcom terminal 79 is disposed near the corner of the liquid crystal panel 5 in parallel with the signal terminal 78. The contact groups 72 are arranged in two rows at positions that match the group of signal terminals 78 and the group of Vcom terminals 79, respectively. Note that the group of contacts may be alternately shifted in a zigzag pattern. Moreover, it may be arranged in a zigzag pattern of three or more rows. In this case, the contact groups 72 are also arranged in a plurality of rows in accordance therewith. Here, there are a group of signal contacts 81 matched corresponding to each signal terminal 78 and a group of Vcom contacts 82 matched corresponding to each Vcom terminal 79, and arranged in two rows. It is configured.

  The FPC 73 is a substrate that supports the contact group 72. A plurality of contact groups 72 are provided on the surface of the FPC 73. The FPC 73 is made of a material such as a synthetic resin that can be flexibly bent without substantially expanding and contracting. The FPC 73 is connected to the connection cable portion 55 to electrically connect the contact group 72 and the external device. On the upper side surface (side surface of the tension block 74) of the FPC 73, there is provided an FPC bonding fitting piece 84 that is fitted and fixed in an FPC bonding groove 85 to be described later. The FPC bonding fitting pieces 84 are provided on both sides of the contact group 72. The FPC 73 is stretched across the elastic body 75 by fixing both sides of the elastic body 75 to the tension block 74. Thereby, the two contact group 72 provided in FPC73 is supported in the exact position.

  The tension block 74 is a member for attaching the FPC 73. In a state where the tension block 74 is fixed to the lower surface of the probe block 69, the FPC 73 is attached to the lower surface of the tension block 74. Two FPC bonding grooves 85 are provided in the probe block 69. The FPC 73 is fixed to the tension block 74 by fitting the FPC bonding fitting pieces 84 into the two FPC bonding grooves 85 and fixing them with an adhesive or the like.

  The elastic body 75 is a member for elastically supporting the contact group 72. The elastic body 75 is provided between the tension block 74 and the FPC 73, and indirectly supports the contact group 72 indirectly by elastically supporting the FPC 73.

  The elastic body 75 is divided into a plurality of elastic body pieces 75A. Each elastic body piece 75 </ b> A is formed in a rod shape matching the arrangement length of the contact group 72 and supports the contact group 72 in a row. Here, two elastic body pieces 75 </ b> A are arranged in accordance with the two rows of contact groups 72. The two elastic body pieces 75 </ b> A are attached to both sides of the supporting protrusion 87 of the tension block 74. On the other hand, when the elastic body 75 is constituted by only these two elastic body pieces 75A and the FPC 73 is supported, the tension of the FPC 73 and the contact group 72 contact the terminal group 77 of the liquid crystal panel 5 as shown in FIGS. Due to the repulsive force, the two end portions of the two elastic body pieces 75A may be deformed and the respective contacts 81 and 82 may be displaced. At this time, since the Vcom terminal 79 has a large area, there is almost no problem even if the contacts 82 corresponding to the Vcom terminal 79 are slightly displaced. However, since the signal terminal 78 has a small area, each contact on the signal terminal 78 side. Even if the child 81 is slightly deviated, there is a problem. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the contacts 81 on the signal terminal 78 side from shifting as much as possible. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the elastic body 75 is widely formed on the signal terminal 78 side. Specifically, a dummy elastic body piece 89 is provided outside the elastic body piece 75A that supports each contactor 81 on the signal terminal 78 side, and is widely formed on the signal terminal 78 side. The dummy elastic piece 89 receives the tension of the FPC 73 and the like to deform the elastic piece 89 so that the elastic body 75A is not deformed, and each contactor 81 on the signal terminal 78 side is prevented from shifting as much as possible. ing.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, positioning holes 90 are provided on both sides of the FPC 73. This positioning hole 90 is a hole for aligning each contact group 72 with each terminal group 77 by aligning with a mark provided on the liquid crystal panel 5 side. Positioning slits 91 are provided on both sides of the probe assembly 54. The positioning slit 91 is provided at a position aligned with the positioning hole 90, and the positioning hole 90 is confirmed from above the probe unit 51, and each contact group is automatically or relative to the signal terminal 78 or the like. A slit for manual alignment.

  The connection cable portion 55 is a member for electrically connecting the probe mechanism 70 and a tester (not shown) of an external device. As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 7, the connection cable portion 55 is supported on the lower surface of the probe plate 59 and the like to electrically connect the probe assembly 54 and an external device. Specifically, the connection cable portion 55 includes an FPC base 93 and an FPC cable 94.

  The FPC base 93 is a member that is directly fixed to the probe plate 59. The FPC cable 94 is disposed from the FPC base 93 to the lower surface of the probe base 52.

  The inspection apparatus configured as described above operates as follows. The overall operation of the inspection apparatus is the same as that of the conventional inspection apparatus, and therefore, the description will be made focusing on the probe assembly 54 of the probe unit 51.

  At the time of inspection by the inspection apparatus, the probe assembly 54 supported by the support portion 53 is disposed to face the liquid crystal panel 5, and the positioning hole 90 and the mark are aligned, so that the probe assembly 54 is brought into contact with the liquid crystal panel 5. The child group 72 is aligned with the terminal group 77 of the liquid crystal panel 5.

  Next, the signal contact 81 of the contact group 72 is brought into contact with the signal terminal 78 of the terminal group 77, and the Vcom contact 82 of the contact group 72 is brought into contact with the Vcom terminal 79 of the terminal group 77, so that overdrive is applied. If it is done, the elastic body 75 may be deformed. Further, it may be deformed by the tension of the FPC 73.

  At this time, on the signal contact 81 side, the elastic piece 75A itself is not deformed, and the dummy elastic piece 89 is deformed. Further, the probe mechanism 70 is released in the same direction as the overdrive direction by the slide mechanism including the rail 62 and the guide 66. When the pressure exceeding the allowable limit is applied to the elastic piece 75A due to overdrive, the probe mechanism 70 is released in the overdrive direction by the slide mechanism, and the deviation between the contact group 72 and the terminal group 77 due to overdrive is suppressed. .

  Thereby, the signal contact 81 and the signal terminal 78 can be accurately aligned and brought into contact with each other while minimizing the displacement of the signal contact 81.

  As a result, the signal contact 81 can be reliably brought into contact with the relatively small signal terminal 78 to perform an accurate inspection.

It is a side view which shows the principal part of the probe unit which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the probe unit of the conventional inspection apparatus. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the probe apparatus of the conventional inspection apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the probe unit which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the probe mechanism of the probe unit corresponding to embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the probe mechanism of the probe unit corresponding to embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the probe mechanism of the probe unit which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view which shows the probe assembly of the probe unit which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  51: Probe unit, 52: Probe base, 53: Support part, 54: Probe assembly, 55: Connection cable part, 57: Suspension base, 58: Slide block, 59: Probe plate, 61: Notch, 62: Rail 63: Stopper, 64: Spring bolt, 65: Spring, 66: Guide, 67: Spring receiving hole, 69: Probe block, 70: Probe mechanism, 72: Contact group, 73: FPC, 74: Tension block, 75 : Elastic body, 75A: Elastic piece, 77: Terminal group, 78: Signal terminal, 79: Vcom terminal, 81: Signal contact, 82: Vcom contact, 84: FPC bonding fitting, 85: Adhesive groove, 87: support protrusion, 89: dummy elastic piece, 90: positioning hole, 91: positioning slit.

Claims (6)

A probe unit including a probe assembly that is disposed on a device to be inspected and is in electrical contact with a group of terminals including signal terminals,
The probe assembly comprises:
At least two rows of contact groups disposed at positions aligned with the terminal groups;
An FPC that supports the contact group;
A tension block to which the FPC is attached;
An elastic body provided between the tension block and the FPC and elastically supporting the contact group;
The FPC is stretched across the elastic body by fixing both sides of the elastic body to the tension block.
The probe unit, wherein the elastic body is widely formed on the signal terminal side. The probe unit according to claim 1, wherein
A probe unit comprising a slide mechanism that supports the probe assembly so as to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the object to be inspected. The probe unit according to claim 1 or 2,
The elastic body is provided by being divided into a plurality of elastic body pieces, and each elastic body piece is provided for each row of the contact group, and a dummy elastic body piece is provided on the signal terminal side. A probe unit characterized by that. The probe unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The probe unit, wherein the contact groups are alternately shifted in a staggered manner. The probe unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The probe unit is configured by arranging a group of contacts corresponding to a signal terminal of the object to be inspected and a group of contacts corresponding to a Vcom terminal in two rows. . An inspection apparatus used for inspecting an object to be inspected,
A set unit that carries the object to be inspected from the outside and conveys it to the outside after the inspection is completed, and a measuring unit that supports and inspects the object to be inspected passed from the set part,
An inspection apparatus using the probe unit according to claim 1 as a probe unit of the measurement unit.

Images