JP3084746U - Liquid crystal substrate condensation bead inspection system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] An apparatus for inspecting the scattering state of glass beads for spacing liquid crystal substrate glasses in a liquid crystal display manufacturing process. A liquid crystal substrate glass surface is irradiated with parallel rays at an angle .theta. Which is nearly parallel to the liquid crystal substrate glass surface, and the reflected light is received by a CCD camera 15 mounted above the liquid crystal substrate glass surface to perform image processing and inspection. .

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

 The present invention relates to a glass bead scattering state inspection apparatus for spacing a liquid crystal substrate glass in a liquid crystal display manufacturing process.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of a transmission type liquid crystal display, the scattering state of glass beads for spacing the liquid crystal substrate glass is as shown schematically in FIG. Was inspected by imaging with a linear CCD camera, for example. That is, in FIG. 3, reference numeral 50 denotes a substrate glass and has a thickness of about 0.7 mm, and reference numeral 60 denotes glass beads having a diameter of about 3 μm to be inspected for spraying. Reference numerals 300 and 300 'denote light beam paths in the absence of beads, and reference numerals 400 and 400' denote paths in the presence of beads. In this case, it is possible to easily inspect the scattering state of the beads.

On the other hand, FIG. 4 schematically shows a case of inspecting a scattering state of glass beads for spacing in a manufacturing process of a reflection type liquid crystal display. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 50 denotes a substrate glass and has a thickness of about 0.7 mm, and reference numeral 60 denotes glass beads having a diameter of about 3 μm to be inspected for spraying. 70 is a metallic reflection film. Reference numeral 500 denotes a path of an incident light beam at an angle (for example, 30 degrees) with respect to a normal plane of the substrate glass, and 500 'denotes a path of an outgoing light beam reflected by the reflection film. Reference numeral 600 denotes a ray incident at the same angle of 30 [deg.] And reflected by the glass beads at 600 '. In this case, the reflected light from the beads and the reflected light from the gold attribute reflection film are mixed, and it is almost impossible to recognize the scattering state of the beads.

[0004]

[Means to be solved by the invention]

 To solve this problem, as a result of trial and error, when the incident light beam is made to enter the substrate glass almost parallel, the reflected light from the metallic reflective film becomes almost parallel to the substrate glass, but the reflected light from the glass beads It was experimentally confirmed that the light was diffusely reflected and reflected in all directions with respect to the substrate glass surface, and thus a clear image of the glass beads could be obtained with a camera directed substantially perpendicular to the substrate glass surface. An inspection device as shown in the embodiment is proposed below.

[0005]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part of the entire configuration of the present apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same. 1 and 2, 1 is a metal base, 2 is a linear guide having a span of about 650 mm, 3 is a slider, 4 is a table, 5 is a glass substrate to be inspected, and 6 is a motor for driving the linear guide. Reference numeral 7 denotes a linear light guide support, reference numeral 8 denotes a J-shaped reflecting mirror support, reference numeral 9 denotes a rectangular reflecting mirror, reference numeral 10 denotes a condensing lens, and reference numeral 11 denotes a linear light guide. 12 is an optical fiber cable connected to the light source of the linear light guide, 13 is a shield plate for shielding unnecessary light rays fixed to 11, 14 is a light receiving system support section, 15 is a CCD camera lens section, 16 is a CCD camera, and 17 is a cable. is there. The rest is omitted. In FIG. 1, the angle θ indicates the angle between the surface of the test object and the incident light beam. Reference numeral 100 denotes the path of the irradiation light beam emitted from the linear line light guide, and reference numeral 200 denotes the path of the received light beam captured by the CCD camera lens.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view showing a main part of a liquid crystal substrate glass part when an inspection is performed by the inspection apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 50 denotes a glass substrate to be inspected, which is about 0.7 mm in thickness, and reference numeral 60 denotes a state in which glass beads having a size of about 3 μm are aggregated and distributed. Numeral 70 denotes a metallic reflective film, 700 denotes a path of a light ray incident substantially parallel to the substrate glass, and 700 'denotes a path of a light ray reflected by the 70 metallic reflective film. Reference numeral 800 similarly indicates a light beam incident on the substrate glass, and reference numeral 800 'indicates a path of a light beam similarly reflected by the glass beads. The angle θ indicates the angle formed between the substrate glass surface and the incident light beam, and is θ = 0 ° to 10 °.

[0007]

The operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, which are schematic views of the main part of the inspection apparatus of the embodiment, and schematic diagrams of light rays entering and reflecting on the substrate glass shown in FIG. In FIGS. 1 and 2, a test object 5 which is a liquid crystal substrate display panel is horizontally fixed on 4, and a linear guide 3 moves linearly in a horizontal plane at, for example, 45 mm / sec by a drive motor 6.

On the other hand, a light guide indicated by reference numeral 11 is attached to the light guide supporting portion 7 substantially perpendicular to the object 5 to be inspected, and a slit-like light from a metal halide lamp light source (for example, 50 mm × 3 mm). The light is bent by a reflecting mirror 9 attached to a support having a J-shaped cross section shown in FIG. 8, and is incident almost parallel to the surface of the object to be inspected as shown by a ray path 100. At this time, unnecessary light rays other than the above-mentioned light rays are cut by the 13 shielding plates.

In FIG. 1, the light incident on the inspection object 5 is not only the light incident on the metal reflection film but also the light hitting the other surface is directed toward the camera lens according to the law of light incidence / reflection. Out of the field of view of the camera lens. On the other hand, the light hitting the glass bead is irregularly reflected, so that the light is directed toward the 15 CCD camera lens and received by the camera lens. That is, 15 CCD camera lenses supported by 14 receive reflected light from a glass bead having a certain area of the object to be inspected, for example, a diameter of 40 mm, as schematically shown by 200 in the figure, and 16 CCD camera lenses. The light is focused on the image and is captured as information. The information is guided to an information processing device by a cable indicated by 17, processed, and displayed as an image.

The operation of the present invention will be further described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 700 denotes a light beam that is substantially parallel to the substrate glass (eg, θ = 3 °) incident on the object to be inspected. The light exits at the line, that is, in a direction substantially parallel to the substrate glass according to the rules of incidence and reflection. Therefore, this light beam is hardly captured by the CCD camera lens. Although there is slight reflection at the end of the reflection film, this value is almost negligibly small because the thickness of the reflection film is 1/10 or less of the diameter of the glass beads. On the other hand, as shown at 800 and 800 'in the figure, the light incident on and reflected by the glass beads is irregularly reflected and captured by the CCD camera. As a result, even in the case of a reflection-type liquid crystal display substrate glass having a metallic reflection film, the scattered state (condensed state) of the spacing glass beads can be clearly distinguished and used as an inspection device.

[Effect of the invention]

[0011] The scattering state (condensed state) of the glass beads of the reflection type liquid crystal display substrate glass as well as the transmission type liquid crystal display substrate glass can be easily and accurately and quantitatively distinguished. Therefore, it provides an extremely effective inspection means for assembling the liquid crystal display substrate, and contributes to the improvement of the performance and quality of the liquid crystal display, labor saving, automatic assembly, cost reduction, and the like. In particular, it is a great feature that it is possible to inspect both transmissive and reflective liquid crystal substrate glasses in common.

The object of the present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal display substrate, but can be similarly applied to the object. In the embodiment, the case where the liquid crystal substrate is placed horizontally is described. However, as another application example, the object to be inspected may be placed other than horizontally.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a liquid crystal substrate condensation bead inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a liquid crystal substrate condensation bead inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a conventional transmission type inspection.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a conventional reflection type inspection.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of the reflected light beam according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Base 2 ... Linear guide 3 ... Slider 4 ... Table 5 ... Inspection object 6 ... Motor 7 ... Light guide support part 8 ... ... J-shaped support 9 ... Reflector 10 ... Condenser lens 11 ... Light guide 14 ... CCD camera support 15 ... Camera lens 16 ... CCD camera 100・ Path of incident light 200 ・ ・ Progress direction of camera incident light 700, 700 ′ ・ ・ Entering reflective film ・ Progressing direction of reflected light 800, 800 ′ ・ ・ Entering glass beads ・ Progressing direction of reflected light

Claims (3)

[Utility model registration claims] A guide is provided on a flat base, and a slider is linearly moved on the guide. A table is provided on the slider, and a liquid crystal substrate to be inspected is placed on the table. A lens is provided which irradiates light guided from a light guide fixed to the base at an angle close to parallel to the liquid crystal substrate surface and directs the reflected light substantially perpendicular to the liquid crystal substrate surface also fixed to the base. A liquid crystal substrate condensed bead inspection device that inspects by receiving and capturing images with an imaging camera and performing image processing. 2. The light emitted from the light guide fixedly supported on the base as shown in FIG. 1 is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the object to be inspected and has a J-shaped cross section. A reflection mirror is provided on a support fixed to the camera, and the reflection mirror reflects the light emitted from the light guide so as to enter the liquid crystal substrate at an angle close to parallel, and unnecessary light other than the light is transmitted to the imaging camera. Liquid crystal substrate condensed bead inspection equipment equipped with a shield plate to prevent direct incidence. 3. The light beam emitted from the light guide according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the angle at which the light is incident on the object is an angle between the surface of the object and the incident direction of the light, θ = 0 ° to 10 °.
The same device.