JP2012033121A - High-speed inspection and evaluation device of resistive film touch panel and connector guide frame - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for performing a response characteristic test of a touch panel in an extremely short time and easily.SOLUTION: In a high-speed inspection and evaluation device of a touch panel, a great number of tactile pressing rods are arranged linearly and in multiple stages on an inspection support base, and each of the tactile pressing rods touches and presses a touch panel inspection surface upward from below through a hole of a plate board at an upper part of the arrangement. A connector guide frame which can move a flexible circuit terminal part (a FPC terminal part) of a touch panel and a connector electrode is provided so that the FPC terminal part and the connector electrode are easily connected.

Description

The present invention relates to a resistance film type touch panel inspection / evaluation apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting and evaluating the characteristics of a resistive touch panel at an extremely high speed, that is, in a short time.

Resistive touch panels (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “touch panels”) have a simple structure, are inexpensive, and allow finger input, so that their production is increasing year by year. Along with the expansion of the production volume, the inspection methods and means for ensuring the quality are being improved.
One of touch panel inspection and evaluation is electrical characteristic inspection for pen input. A specific inspection method is to input a predetermined position with a pen (pressure bar) instead of a finger, input the detected X-axis and Y-axis position information into a computer, and check the linearity etc. by calculation. is there.

In order to efficiently and reliably perform the touch panel electrical characteristics inspection, the entire touch surface should be inspected, the reciprocating movement of the pressure bar should be performed at high speed, and the touch panel should be installed and inspected quickly. In addition, the inspection machine itself needs to operate stably for a long time.
Patent Document 1 has been proposed as an apparatus for inspecting and evaluating a touch panel at high speed. This device is integrated with a reciprocating cylinder member, touching the touch panel plane at predetermined intervals, and an evaluation device in which a plurality of the touch pens are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix It is. This evaluation apparatus is a system in which a touch panel is fixed on a fixed support base and a sample surface is touched with a pressure pen while driving a cylinder member, and a test can be performed at a reasonably high speed.
This device has two drive parts, ie, a cylinder member drive and a stylus pen drive that is integrated with the cylinder member, and it takes a certain time to inspect the entire surface to be evaluated.

JP 2005-310093 JP

The present inventor has advanced research on the development of a device capable of performing electrical property inspection at a higher speed with the expansion of production of resistive touch panels. In addition, research on the development of inspection / evaluation equipment with few moving parts and few failures was conducted.
In the conventional inspection apparatus, the touch panel is fixed on the fixed support board, the inspection surface is fixed upward, and the inspection position is moved while moving one contact rod on the inspection surface. Unlike this conventional method, a plurality of contact rods are arranged in a fixed array state on the fixed support board, and the touch panel inspection surface faces the array of contact rods. The device that was placed in contact with each other was found to be able to perform inspections and evaluations in a very short time with only a vertical movement of each contact rod, and there were few failures and was proposed earlier (Japanese Patent Application 2009- 216567).

The previously proposed apparatus is a touch panel high-speed inspection / evaluation apparatus configured by the following requirements (a) to (e).
(A) On the inspection support base, a contact rod array in which a large number of contact rods are linearly arranged in a line, and a contact rod multi-stage array in which the contact rod arrays are arranged in multiple stages,
(B) Each contact rod is installed on the support base so as to protrude upward from below to the inspection surface through a hole in the plate plate, which is installed at the top of the contact rod multi-stage array,
(C) having a sample placement means that can be placed so that the inspection surface of the touch panel faces downward and comes into contact with the contact rod;
(D) Each contact rod has a control means that makes contact pressure (striking point) at a predetermined interval, and (e) a resistance film type having a determination means that determines the contact pressure position and the inspection result of each contact rod. High-speed inspection / evaluation equipment for touch panels.

This inspection / evaluation device has a structure in which a multi-stage arrangement of contact rods with a large number of contact rods arranged on a fixed support board, and a touch panel is placed with the inspection surface facing downwards. The part is practically only the part of the vertical reciprocation of each contact rod. In this apparatus, when a touch panel is disposed on the multi-stage arrangement of the pressure rods, the pressure rods touch the test surface at predetermined intervals according to the order controlled by the computer. It is desirable that the multi-stage arrangement of the pressure rods cover almost the entire inspection surface, so that it is not necessary to move the pressure rods and the arrangement along the inspection surface. For example, in the case of a touch panel electrical characteristic test, it is possible to test in a short time of 10 seconds or less. Moreover, since the movable part is only the vertical movement of the pressure bar, there is an advantage that there is little failure and power consumption is small.
The above-described device is a device that operates and inspects the contact rods according to a controlled order over the entire inspection surface of the touch panel. By using this device, the inspection / evaluation is completed in a very short time. Judgment is also completed in a short time.

When actually inspecting and evaluating the touch panel using this apparatus, the operation is generally performed according to the following procedure.
(A) The touch panel inspection surface is placed downward on the inspection support base of the apparatus.
(A) Connect the flexible circuit terminal part (FPC terminal part) at the end of the touch panel to a connector that is electrically connected to the judging means.
(C) The contact surface provided on the inspection support base is operated on the inspection surface of the touch panel in accordance with the order and the contact pressure is applied.
(D) Based on the contact pressure of the contact rod, the mechanical contact position of the contact rod is compared with the electrical test result.
(E) Release the connection between the flexible circuit terminal part (FPC terminal part) at the end of the touch panel and the connector electrically connected to the judging means.
(F) Remove the touch panel from the inspection / evaluation device,
In order to improve the operation efficiency of the inspection / evaluation apparatus, that is, to shorten the time required for inspection / evaluation of one touch panel, it is important to reduce the total time of the steps (a) to (f).

Of the steps described above, steps (c) and (d) can be performed in a very short time. Steps (a) and (e) can be operated manually (manually) relatively easily and do not require much time. However, in the process (a), it is often troublesome to properly connect the flexible circuit terminal portion (hereinafter abbreviated as “FPC terminal portion”) and the connector electrode for connecting to the judging means. And may consume considerable time in some cases. The reason is that the FPC terminal part and the connector electrode each have a large number of circuit terminals and the width of each terminal is narrow, and the FPC terminal part bends easily and connects each other's circuit terminals accurately to press the contact state. It is necessary to maintain it.

Therefore, the present inventor can easily, quickly and appropriately connect the FPC terminal portion of the touch panel and the connector electrode connected to the determination means after mounting the touch panel on the support base surface of the inspection / evaluation apparatus. Research on equipment and means proceeded. As a result, it has been found that several requirements are indispensable for connecting the FPC terminal portion of the touch panel and the connector electrode quickly and accurately. The first is to accurately place the touch panel to be inspected at a fixed position on the support base of the inspection / evaluation device, and the second is that the position of the FPC terminal is slightly shifted from side to side or up and down by the touch panel. Even if it is curled, the position of the connector needs to move following it. The connector structure allows the FPC terminal part to be easily inserted, and the FPC terminal part and the electrode of the connector are accurately connected to each terminal. It is important that the connection is possible and the connection state is maintained, and that the connection state is quickly released after the inspection / evaluation is completed.
The present invention has been achieved as a result of research on an apparatus and means that can accurately connect the FPC terminal portion and the connector electrode in a short time, and can easily cancel the connection between the two.

According to the present invention, the following requirements (a) to (e): (a) a contact rod array in which a large number of contact rods are arranged in a straight line on an inspection support base, and the contact rod array Has a multistage arrangement of contact rods arranged in multiple stages,
(B) Each contact rod is installed on the support base so as to protrude upward from below to the inspection surface through a hole in the plate plate, which is installed at the top of the contact rod multi-stage array,
(C) having a sample placement means that can be placed so that the inspection surface of the touch panel faces downward and comes into contact with the contact rod;
(D) Each contact pressure bar has a control means that makes contact pressure at a predetermined interval, and (e) a resistance film type touch panel that has a judgment means for determining the contact pressure position and the inspection result of each contact pressure bar. An evaluation device,
This inspection / evaluation apparatus further comprises: (f) a U-shape for installing a touch panel at a predetermined position on the inspection support base;
Or it has an L-shaped touch panel guide frame,
(G) Outside the touch panel guide frame, a connector guide frame for connecting the flexible circuit terminal portion (FPC terminal portion) at the end of the touch panel and the connector electrode is installed,
(H) The connector guide frame can be moved in parallel along the base surface on the inspection support base and serves as a guide for guiding the FPC terminal to a predetermined position relative to the connector electrode when the FPC terminal is inserted. The cross-section with at least one side open has a concave structure, and (i) this connector guide frame is shown when the FPC terminal part of the touch panel is inserted at a predetermined position in the connector guide frame. A sensor for sensing, and a pressing means for electrically contacting the FPC terminal portion of the touch panel and the connector electrode by sensing the sensor.
An inspection / evaluation apparatus for a resistive touch panel is provided.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided a connector guide frame for connecting the following flexible circuit terminal portion (FPC terminal portion) and a connector electrode, the requirements (h) and (i) below (h) The cross-section has a concave structure in which at least one side surface is open so as to serve as a guide for guiding the FPC terminal portion to a predetermined position facing the connector electrode when the FPC terminal portion is inserted, and (i) the connector The guide frame has a sensor for detecting when the FPC terminal portion is inserted into a predetermined position of the connector guide frame, and the FPC terminal portion and the connector electrode are electrically connected by the detection of the sensor. There is provided a connector guide frame for electrically connecting an FPC terminal portion having a pressing means for connecting to a connector electrode.

The touch panel inspection / evaluation apparatus of the present invention is a series of inspections for mounting touch panel, connecting operation between FPC terminal and connector, inspection / evaluation operation by operation of a pressure bar, and taking out touch panel after inspection. Since the operation can be performed easily, accurately and quickly, it helps to greatly improve the efficiency of the touch panel inspection.

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing a support plate 1 and a plate plate 2 installed on an upper part of a multi-stage contact rod arranged fixedly on the support base 1 according to the present invention. It is a test | inspection / evaluation apparatus of this invention, Comprising: The partial cross-section enlarged view of a pressure rod arrangement | sequence is shown. The apparatus used for the inspection / evaluation of the present invention is a sectional view showing a state in which a touch panel is arranged in the apparatus. The top view which looked at the state which arranged the touch panel on the support base from the top is shown. A shows a cross-sectional view of the connector guide frame, and shows a cross-sectional view of the state before the FPC terminal portion is inserted as seen from the touch panel side. B is a cross-sectional view of the FPC terminal portion, showing a cross-sectional view before insertion into the connector guide frame. After inserting the FPC terminal part into the connector guide frame at a predetermined position, the connector electrode is pressed from above by the pressing rod, and the sectional view showing the state where the FPC terminal part and the connector electrode are in contact with each other is shown.

The apparatus of the present invention is an improvement of the high-speed inspection / evaluation apparatus for touch panels previously proposed by the present inventor. This device has already been filed as Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-216567 (filed on Sep. 18, 2009). This apparatus will be described first with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a plate plate 2 installed on an upper part of a multistage arrangement of contact rods fixed to a support base 1 of an inspection / evaluation apparatus. In this inspection / evaluation apparatus, a multi-stage arrangement of contact rods is fixed on a support base 1, and the multi-stage arrangement of pressure bars is arranged in multiple stages.

The contact rod multi-stage arrangement refers to an arrangement in which a plurality of contact rods are arranged in a straight line in a row and arranged in a state of being stacked in multiple stages. The contact rod multi-stage arrangement is arranged between the plate plate 2 and the support base 1 in FIG. 1 and is therefore not shown in the drawing. Corresponding pressure rods are arranged corresponding to the numerous holes 3 of the plate plate 2. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the support base 1, the plate plate 2, and the holes provided in the plate plate 2 for the sake of simplicity. As can be understood from the arrangement of a large number of holes 3 in the plate plate 2 in FIG. 1, in the case of FIG. 1, 10 pressure rods are arranged in a line (left and right lateral direction) in a straight line. It shows that the arrangement is arranged in six stages (vertical and vertical directions).

A plate plate 2 is provided on the upper surface of the contact rod multi-stage arrangement, and contact rod terminals are projected through holes 3 formed in the plate plate 2. In other words, the plate plate 2 has the same number of holes as the number of the contact rods present in the contact rod multi-stage array (in FIG. 1, 60 holes of 6 × 10).
Next, the plate plate 2 will be described. It is installed in a state in which the inspection surface of the touch panel) is in close contact with the upper surface of the plate plate 2. The contact rod protrudes from each hole 3 of the plate plate 2 to contact the inspection surface. Therefore, the hole 3 of the plate plate 2 has a hole diameter sufficient to allow the contact rod to pass through. Usually, the diameter is 1.0 mm to 1.5 mm, preferably 1.0 mm to 1.2 mm. Is appropriate.

Incidentally, the diameter of the pressure rod is generally about 0.9 mm to 1.1 mm, the shape of the pressure rod is cylindrical, and the tip (top) thereof may be flat, or semicircular or dome-shaped. It may be. The positions of the holes provided in the plate plate 2 have a role of determining the position of the inspection surface. Therefore, the arrangement position of the holes 3 in the plate plate 2 matches the position of the contact rod multistage arrangement. In order to inspect and evaluate the linearity of the touch panel, the plate plate 2 is provided with holes 3 so that the holes 3 are arranged in a straight line at equal intervals, and the same intervals are provided in a multistage arrangement. The positions of the holes are arranged at equal intervals so that the entire inspection surface is covered. The hole spacing (pitch spacing) is advantageously 3 mm to 15 mm, preferably 4 mm to 13 mm. Thus, by arranging the holes so that the holes are linear and the intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions are constant, it is possible to easily determine the uniformity of the electrical characteristics by the pressure rods.

The plate plate 2 is preferably flat and has a smooth surface, and a plastic plate or a metal plate (preferably an aluminum plate) can be used, and the thickness is desirably 1 mm to 5 mm, preferably 2 mm to 4 mm.
FIG. 2 shows an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the contact rod arrangement.
FIG. 2 shows a partially enlarged view of two adjacent pressure rods in the pressure rod arrangement. Below the plate plate 2, an actuator is installed in which the pressure bar moves up and down to touch the surface of the inspection surface. For example, an electromagnetic solenoid system (electromagnetic system) or a piezo element system (piezoelectric element system) can be adopted as the actuator that moves the contact rod up and down. FIG. 2 shows a mode in which the contact rod 5 is moved up and down by an electromagnetic solenoid system. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the electromagnetic solenoids 6 are arranged in the horizontal direction corresponding to the number of the pressure rods 5. The electromagnetic solenoid system is suitable when the pitch interval of the holes is about 10 mm or more.

The contact pressure bar 5 is set so that the contact pressure is about 30 to 250 g when contacting the inspection surface. The inspection surface of the touch panel and the surface of the plate plate 2 should be in close contact and fixed so as not to leave during inspection. The immobilization means between the touch panel and the plate plate is not particularly limited.
The contact time when one contact pressure bar touches the inspection surface is about 0.1 seconds. Therefore, in the apparatus of the present invention, when one row has ten contact rod arrays, the time required for one row inspection is about 1 second. As shown in FIG. 1, when sixty contact rods are continuously operated, the entire surface can be inspected in about 6 seconds. Thus, the inspection / evaluation apparatus of the present invention can be completed in a very short time to determine whether the function of the product operates properly.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the touch panel placed in the inspection / evaluation apparatus. A contact rod multi-stage array 9 is fixedly placed on the support base 1. The plate 2 is fixed to the upper surface of the contact rod multi-stage array 9. In FIG. 3, the contact rods in the contact rod multi-stage array 9 and the holes in the plate plate 2 are omitted in the drawing. The tip of the contact rod is pressed against the inspection surface of the touch panel through the hole in the plate plate. On the upper surface of the plate plate, a touch panel is overlaid with its inspection surface in close contact.
The touch panel 8 is fixed at a fixed position while being accommodated in a touch panel guide frame 10 provided on the support base 1.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the touch panel 8 is arranged in the inspection / evaluation apparatus, and the touch panel 8 is horizontally installed in a state where the inspection surface and the plate plate are in close contact with each other.
In the inspection / evaluation apparatus of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, when the touch panel is fixed and installed, the electrically movable part is only the vertical movement of the pressure bar, The touch panel 8 remains fixed. For the inspection / evaluation, since the pressure bar operates up and down, the touch panel 8 is fixed so as not to move up and down, but the fixing means is not shown in FIG. The fixing means may be any means as long as the touch panel 8 itself does not move up and down, and may be a method of applying a weight from above the touch panel of FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the contact rod arrangement. FIG. 2 shows a positional relationship between two adjacent contact rod arrangements and plate plates. In the contact rod arrangement of FIG. 2, an example is shown in which a solenoid system (electromagnetic system) is used for the vertical motion of the contact rod. Each contact rod is moved up and down electromagnetically by a respective solenoid. A plate plate is disposed at the upper end of the contact rod, and the contact rod protrudes to the upper surface of the plate plate through a hole in the plate plate, thereby touching the inspection surface of the touch panel. As described above, the inspection surface of the touch panel is installed in close contact with the upper surface of the plate plate, but the touch panel is not shown in FIG.

When testing the touch panel using the inspection / evaluation apparatus of the present invention, the contact rod is moved from one end to the other based on the X and Y axes corresponding to the positions of the holes provided in the plate plate 2. The difference between the obtained mechanical position information and electrical information obtained by tactile pressure is calculated by a computer and continuously matched to the specified control value. By determining the sex, the suitability of linearity can be evaluated.
The inspection / evaluation apparatus used in the method of the present invention preferably has the following aspects (B-1) to (B-7).
(B-1) The contact rod multi-stage array covers almost the entire inspection surface of the touch panel,
(B-2) In the contact rod arrangement, the contact rods are arranged at regular intervals. (B-3) In the contact rod multistage arrangement, the contact rod arrangements are arranged at regular intervals. is being done,
(B-4) Each contact rod is controlled to sequentially protrude from one end to the other end in each contact rod arrangement,
(B-5) In each contact rod arrangement, each contact rod is operated up and down by an electromagnetic solenoid system.
(B-6) In each contact rod arrangement, the contact rods are operated up and down by a piezo element method.
(B-7) In each contact rod arrangement, each contact rod is arranged at an interval of 3 to 15 mm,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the state in which the touch panel 8 is installed on the support base 1 as viewed from above. A touch panel 8 is accommodated in a guide frame 10 provided on the support base 1. In FIG. 4, the touch panel guide frame 10 is U-shaped, but it may be L-shaped. A preferred touch panel guide frame is U-shaped. In FIG. 4, the touch panel 8 is inserted from the opened lower part of the U-shaped touch panel guide frame 10 for inspection. When inserted, the flexible circuit terminal part (FPC terminal part) 12 at the end of the touch panel 8 is electrically connected to the connector electrode in the connector guide frame 11. The connector guide frame 11 is electrically connected to determination means (not shown). The touch panel guide frame 10 provided on the support base 1 fixes the touch panel 8 at a fixed position on the contact rod array 4 and the position of the FPC terminal portion 12 at the end of the touch panel 8 is accurately a connector guide. It plays an important role for installation at a position in electrical contact with the connector electrode in the frame 11. The structure and function of the connector guide frame 11 will be described in detail later.

When performing the touch panel inspection using the apparatus of the present invention, the following procedures (1) to (6) are performed.
(1) A touch panel is mounted on the inspection / evaluation device. At this time, the touch panel guide frame 10 is provided on the support base 1 of the inspection / evaluation apparatus, and the touch panel is accommodated in the touch panel guide frame 10.
(2) The flexible circuit terminal portion (FPC terminal portion) 12 at the end of the touch panel 8 is inserted into the connector guide frame 11 that is electrically connected to the determination means. It is important that the FPC terminal portion 12 and the connector guide frame 11 are positioned at predetermined positions so that the positions of both are accurately positioned and the circuit is electrically connected.
(3) When the connection between the FPC terminal section 12 and the connector 11 is completed, the contact rods in the contact rod multi-stage arrangement arranged on the inspection support base 1 are contacted to the inspection surface of the touch panel at a predetermined interval.
(4) The contact position of each contact pressure bar and the inspection result are determined by the determination means.
(5) When the determination is completed by the determination means, the connection between the FPC terminal portion 12 at the end of the touch panel 8 and the connector electrode electrically connected to the determination means is released.
(6) Remove the touch panel from the inspection support base.

Next, the structure and function of the connector guide frame 11 in the inspection / evaluation apparatus of the present invention will be described.
In FIG. 4, a touch panel 8 to be inspected is mounted in a touch panel guide frame 10 provided on the support base 1 with the inspection surface facing downward (to the support base surface). When the touch panel guide frame 10 is U-shaped as shown in FIG. 4, an intermediate portion thereof is opened, and a flexible circuit terminal portion (FPC terminal portion) 12 of the touch panel protrudes from the intermediate portion. ing. The FPC terminal portion is generally flexible but has rigidity, and when the touch panel 8 is mounted in the touch panel guide frame 10 from the lower direction in FIG. It is inserted into the connector guide 11 through the intermediate portion (open portion).

However, the position of the FPC terminal portion 12 is not necessarily accurately projected at a fixed position, and varies depending on the touch panel 8 to be inspected, and may be slightly shifted. In other words, the FPC terminal portion is slightly shifted vertically or horizontally in FIG. Therefore, it is important that the connector guide frame 11 can be moved to the left and right in parallel with the surface of the support base 1 in FIG. 4 corresponding to the position of the FPC terminal portion 12. Further, the position of the connector guide frame 11 is not fixed, and the surface of the support base 1 can be slightly moved in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction in FIG.

As described above, the connector guide frame 11 is movable on the surface of the support base 1, so that a predetermined entrance in the connector guide frame 11 can be easily and accurately corresponding to the position of the FPC terminal portion 12. Can approach.
FIG. 5A shows a cross-sectional view of the connector guide frame 11. This cross-sectional view is a cross-sectional view of the state before the FPC terminal portion 12 is inserted as viewed from the direction of the touch panel 8, and has a concave structure. FIG. 5A is also a cross-sectional view showing that the connector guide frame 11 is installed on the support base 1.
For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, a spherical body 15 is interposed between the support base 1 and the bottom surface of the connector guide frame 11 so that the connector guide frame 11 can move along the surface of the support base 1. Let The spherical body 15 may be provided with a frame around the bottom of the spherical body 15 or may be provided with a groove or a recess on the peripheral surface of the bottom so that the spherical body 15 does not come off from the bottom of the connector guide frame 11.

In FIG. 5A, the connector guide frame 11 has a connector electrode 13 in its recess, and this connector electrode 13 is electrically connected to a determination means (not shown).
FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of the state before the FPC terminal portion 12 is inserted into the connector guide frame 11. The FPC terminal portion is inserted into a space portion in the connector guide frame 11 (the lower portion of the connector electrode 13 in FIG. 5A). In the sectional view of the FPC terminal portion 12, the electrodes of the FPC are shown as convex portions, and in FIG. 5B, four electrodes (convex portions) are shown on the drawing. (In reality, the number of electrodes is about 4 to 20). In order for the FPC terminal portion 12 to assist the insertion of the connector guide frame 11 into a predetermined position, the inlet of the connector guide frame 11 can be provided with a guide plate that opens in the vertical and horizontal directions.
When the FPC terminal portion 12 is inserted into the connector guide frame 11 and reaches a fixed position, the sensor 14 installed in the connector guide frame 11 senses this. By the detection of the sensor 14, the pressing rod 16 provided on the upper part of the connector guide frame 11 is operated. Thus, the FPC terminal portion 12 and the connector electrode 13 are in electrical contact. A cross-sectional view showing this contact state is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, it is desirable that the pressing rod 16 is automatically actuated by the detection of the sensor 14 to press the connector electrode 13 from above so that the FPC terminal portion and the connector electrode are in electrical contact. The pressing bar 16 is preferably an electromagnetic solenoid system (electromagnetic system).
Contact between the FPC terminal portion 12 and the connector electrode 13 prepares the contact pressure of the contact rods of the multistage contact rod array arranged at the lower part of the inspection surface of the touch panel. As described above, this contact pressure is completed in a very short time. The determination means compares and determines the contact pressure position of the contact rod and the electrical inspection result. When the determination is completed, the pressing of the pressing rod 16 of the connector guide frame 11 is released. It is desirable that the release of the pressing rod 16 is automatically released simultaneously with the end of the determination by the determining means.

Thus, after the pressing of the pressing rod 16 of the connector guide frame 11 is released, the touch panel 8 is removed from the guide frame 10 to complete a series of inspection and evaluation processes for the touch panel.
When the touch panel 8 is taken out from the touch panel guide frame 10 of the support base 1, the inspection surface of the touch panel 8 and the plate plate 2 are in close contact with each other (see FIG. 3). There is. Therefore, according to the inventor's research, it was found that the touch panel 8 can be easily and quickly removed from the support base 1 by the method described below.
That is, focusing on the fact that the inspection / evaluation apparatus has a structure having the multi-stage contact rods 9 on the support base 1, the contact pressure of the contact rods for the inspection / evaluation is finished, and the judgment is made. After the operation is complete, operate the pressure bar again and push it out to push up the touch panel, creating a gap between the inspection surface of the touch panel and the plate plate. It became possible to take it out.
The width of the gap formed by the contact rod may be about 1 to 3 mm, preferably about 1.5 to 2.5 mm.

Further, the formation of the gap between the inspection surface of the touch panel and the plate plate 2 may be the entire inspection surface of the touch panel, but is not necessarily required. For example: a gap may be formed on one side of the touch panel (the lower side of the touch panel 8 as shown in FIG. 4 or the lower side of the touch panel as shown in FIG. 1 facing the lower arrangement of the contact pressure bars). . In this case, a gap is formed on one side (lower part in FIG. 4) of the inspection surface of the touch panel 8, and the touch panel can be easily taken out by hand using this gap.
The pressure bar for pushing up the touch panel to form a gap may be a part or all of the pressure bar for inspection / evaluation. An array of sides).

Furthermore, the pressure bar for pushing up the touch panel does not need to be a pressure bar used for inspection and evaluation, and is a pressure bar (push-up bar) provided separately for pushing up. Also good. That is, the contact rod (push-up rod) provided separately from the contact rod multi-stage array provided separately from the contact rod multi-stage array is in a predetermined position (preferably one lower side of the touch panel; lower part in FIG. 4). Can be installed.
At this time, as a matter of course, it is necessary to provide a hole in the plate plate 2 so that the separate contact rod terminal portion protrudes. By separately providing the pressure rod for pushing up, it becomes easy to form the gap at a sufficient interval.
In order to form a gap between the inspection surface of the touch panel and the plate plate, the operation of the contact rod (or push-up rod) should be performed after the connection between the FPC terminal portion and the connector is released in the means (5). However, at the same time that the connection is released in the procedure (5), the contact rod (push-up rod) can be automatically operated. By automatically operating in this way, it is possible to further reduce the time required for taking out the touch panel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Support base 2 Plate board 3 Hole 4 Contact rod arrangement 5 Contact rod 6 Electromagnetic solenoid 7 Electromagnetic solenoid support body 8 Touch panel 9 Contact rod multistage arrangement 10 Touch panel guide frame 11 Connector guide frame 12 Flexible circuit terminal part 13 Connector electrode 14 Sensor 15 Spherical body 16 Press rod

Claims (2)

Requirements (a) to (e) below (a) A contact rod array in which a large number of contact rods are linearly arranged in a line on the inspection support base, and the contact rod arrays are arranged in multiple stages. It has a multi-stage contact rod,
(B) Each contact rod is installed on the support base so as to protrude upward from below to the inspection surface through a hole in the plate plate, which is installed at the top of the contact rod multi-stage array,
(C) having a sample placement means that can be placed so that the inspection surface of the touch panel faces downward and comes into contact with the contact rod;
(D) High speed inspection of a resistive touch panel having control means in which each contact pressure bar is contacted at a predetermined interval and (e) determination means for determining the contact pressure position and the inspection result of each contact pressure bar An evaluation device,
This inspection / evaluation device further
(F) On the inspection support base, there is a U-shaped or L-shaped touch panel guide frame for installing the touch panel at a predetermined position.
(G) Outside the touch panel guide frame, a connector guide frame for connecting the flexible circuit terminal portion (FPC terminal portion) at the end of the touch panel and the connector electrode is installed,
(H) The connector guide frame can be moved in parallel along the base surface on the inspection support base and serves as a guide for guiding the FPC terminal to a predetermined position relative to the connector electrode when the FPC terminal is inserted. (I) This connector guide frame has a structure in which the FPC terminal portion of the touch panel is inserted at a predetermined position in the connector guide frame. And a pressing means for electrically connecting the FPC terminal portion of the touch panel and the connector electrode by the detection of the sensor.
Resistance film type touch panel inspection / evaluation device characterized by the above. A connector guide frame for connecting a flexible circuit terminal portion (FPC terminal portion) and a connector electrode, the following requirements (h) and (i) (h) This connector guide frame is used when inserting an FPC terminal portion. The FPC terminal has a concave structure in which at least one side surface is open so as to serve as a guide for guiding the FPC terminal to a predetermined position opposite to the connector electrode, and (i) the connector guide frame includes the FPC terminal An FPC having a sensor that senses when it is inserted into a predetermined position of the connector guide frame, and a pressing means that electrically connects the FPC terminal portion and the connector electrode by sensing the sensor. A connector guide frame for electrically connecting the terminal part and the connector electrode.