JP3390933B2 - Color filter inspection device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color filter inspection device for visually inspecting a color filter used in a color liquid crystal display device or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A transparent substrate such as glass or plastic is provided with a colored layer such as a resin or a vapor deposition film colored with a dye or a pigment,
A color filter with a transparent electrode formed on this is
A color liquid crystal display device in which a certain gap is provided with a substrate on which T or a transparent electrode is formed, and a twisted nematic liquid crystal or the like is enclosed in the gap is widely used in televisions, laptop personal computers, and the like.

The color filter used here has a light-shielding layer (black matrix) for partitioning adjacent pixels and improving the contrast of a display image on a transparent substrate, which is not formed on a resin or resin relief in which chrome or a black pigment is dispersed. A method in which a resin layer is formed by applying electrolytic plating, and then a colored layer is formed by exposing and developing a photosensitive resin, and the resin relief is sequentially dyed with dyes of each color (dyeing method). The resin is formed by patterning by photolithography (pigment dispersion method), the color ink is transferred by intaglio offset, and the ink layer is cured by heat (printing method). Provided with a transparent protective film that improves resistance, chemical resistance, etc.
In the case of the active matrix method by depositing or sputtering ITO etc., the common electrode, ST
In the case of the N method, a striped electrode is formed to obtain a color filter substrate on which a color filter for one surface or a multi-sided color filter is formed, and then cut into a desired size if necessary. Are manufactured.

As described above, the manufacture of the color filter requires a great number of steps, but various defects which adversely affect the subsequent cell assembling step and the quality of the final color liquid crystal display device occur. There is. For example, the following may be mentioned. (1) Unevenness: uneven application or coloring unevenness of the coloring material. (2) Dirt: Adhesion such as reattachment of the removed portion of the photosensitive resin during development, stain due to poor cleaning, and uneven drying. (3) Scratches: There are scratches on the surface where the colored layer and the transparent electrode are formed (hereinafter referred to as the film surface) and scratches on the glass substrate on the back surface. (4) White spots: Missing colored layer. For example, when the colored photosensitive resin is exposed and then developed, chipping may occur. (5) Defective light-shielding film: defective black matrix. For example, when a chrome film is formed on a substrate, a positive resist is applied and mask exposure is performed, and foreign matter adheres to the mask, the chrome remains in the portion where the chrome film should be removed as a black defect. It is also called a chrome defect. (6) Protrusion defect: Caused by foreign substances mixed in the coloring material, ink, etc., or foreign substances mixed in when applying these materials, because the cell gap of the liquid crystal cell becomes uneven at the protrusions. Adversely affect the image. (7) ITO defect: crack or chip of transparent electrode. Or the film thickness is not uniform (it can be identified by looking at the interference color). It may cause cracks and cracks in the heating process of the cell assembly and the like.

Regarding such defects, unevenness, dirt, scratches on the film surface, white spots, defective light-shielding film, etc., are illuminated from the back surface of the color filter substrate by using a light source such as a color viewer and the like. There is used a method in which a color filter substrate is photographed by a CCD camera or the like by the light passing through and the image is visually inspected using a monitor inspecting device which displays the image on a television monitor or the like.

[0006]

However, in such a monitor inspection apparatus, afterimages of the camera, dust and dirt attached to the optical system of the camera such as the lens and the camera are displayed on the monitor, which is caused by the monitor apparatus. It is difficult to determine whether the noise is due to noise or a defect in the color filter substrate, and it takes time to confirm, so the inspection efficiency is extremely poor, and sometimes defective products are leaked due to misidentification. It was

Further, in such a monitor inspecting apparatus, the inspection object is conveyed from the cassette storing the inspection object to the stage for each inspection stage (that is, one operator), and the inspection object is inspected after the inspection. There is a combination of a transfer robot that carries the
A sequence is required to take out the inspected inspected object from the stage, store it in a cassette that stores the inspected inspected object, then go to pick up the uninspected inspected object, transport it, and place it on the stage. Therefore, there is a problem that the waiting time for replacing the object to be inspected is very long and the inspection efficiency is low.

Further, since it takes a relatively long time to inspect many defects such as a color filter, assigning one transport robot to one worker makes the robot play for a long time. Therefore, there is a problem that the efficiency in terms of cost and space is poor.

Another problem is that in each manufacturing process prior to the final inspection using a monitor inspection device, a rough inspection is performed using a line inspection device for common defects. However, the method of transmitting the result of the process inspection to the final inspection process is to directly mark the position on the back surface of the color filter, etc. Is clearly above the allowable value,
It is necessary to take out the color filter substrate and inspect it to check for defects, and the defect level of only some of the color filters in the color filter substrate on which multiple color filters are mounted clearly exceeds the allowable value. Even in such a case, the operator needs to confirm the defect level of all the color filters that are multi-faced on the color filter substrate.

The color filter inspecting apparatus of the present invention has a first object of eliminating misidentification of defects caused by the conventional monitor inspecting apparatus. In addition to the first object, the color filter substrate is automatically conveyed. In addition to the first or second object, the third object is to achieve space saving and cost reduction, and further the first or second object. In addition to the above, a fourth object is to improve the inspection efficiency by automatically or easily identifying and omitting the inspection of the color filter which should be obviously removed.

[0011]

The first invention of the present application for solving the above-mentioned problems includes an imaging device for photographing at least a part of the surface of a color filter substrate having at least a colored layer formed on the substrate, The color filter substrate,
A color filter used for visually inspecting a color filter substrate provided with a light source that illuminates from a surface opposite to the surface to be photographed, and a monitor device that displays an image photographed by the imaging device. In the inspection device, the television camera constituting the image pickup device is
A color filter comprising a stage having a mechanism for rotating 90 degrees about an optical axis, holding the color filter substrate, and capable of circularly moving the color filter substrate in a plane direction thereof. It is an inspection device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a first arm for transporting an uninspected color filter substrate from a cassette accommodating a plurality of uninspected color filter substrates to a stage and a plurality of inspected color filter substrates can be accommodated from the stage. The second arm for transporting the inspected color filter substrate to a different cassette is equipped with a substrate transport robot mounted on a rotatable support, and the first arm holds the uninspected color filter substrate and stands by. 2. The color filter inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second arm pulls out the inspected color filter substrate, and immediately after that, the first arm conveys the uninspected color filter substrate to the stage.

In the third invention of the present application, two sets of stages, a cassette in which an uninspected color filter substrate is housed and a cassette in which an inspected color filter substrate can be housed are arranged around a substrate transfer robot, and two sets are arranged. 3. The color filter inspection device according to claim 2, wherein the stage is configured to share the substrate transfer robot.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a substrate number corresponding to each color filter substrate in the cassette corresponding to optical reading information provided for each cassette containing a plurality of untested color filter substrates, Data storage means for storing defect level information up to the previous process corresponding to the board number, optical reading means for reading optical reading information provided in the cassette, and the board according to the read optical reading information The defect level information corresponding to the number is read, and the defect level of the entire color filter substrate in the defect level information for each color filter substrate and the defect level in each area obtained by dividing the color filter substrate into a predetermined area have a predetermined allowable value. If the overall defect level exceeds the allowable value, the If the number of the color filter substrate is not transferred to the stage, and if it is within the allowable value, the color filter substrate corresponding to the number is transferred to the stage by the transfer robot, and the color filter substrate in the stage is transferred to the stage. The control means for skipping the movement of the stage so as to omit the inspection of the divided area when the defect level of any of the divided areas exceeds an allowable value. Through 3
It is the described color filter inspection device.

[0015]

In the first invention of the present application, the stage which holds the color filter substrate and circularly moves in the plane direction thereof is provided, so that the defect generated in the color filter substrate makes a predetermined circular motion on the monitor. While the noise caused by the image pickup system of the inspection device does not move, the defect of the color filter substrate can be easily identified and the inspection can be efficiently performed.

In the second invention of the present application, the first invention of the present application
In addition to the function of the invention of FIG.
Mainly provided, one dedicated to transporting an uninspected color filter substrate, the other dedicated to transporting an inspected substrate, and carrying out an inspected substrate from the stage while holding an uninspected substrate and waiting. Immediately after that, it is possible to carry in an uninspected substrate to the stage, so that it is possible to shorten the waiting time associated with substrate replacement in automatic substrate transfer.

In the third invention of the present application, the first invention of the present application
Alternatively, in addition to the operation of the second invention, since two sets of stages (two workers) share one substrate transfer robot, the play time of the substrate transfer robot is reduced, and the cost of the inspection apparatus is reduced. Space saving is possible.

In the fourth invention of the present application, the first invention of the present application
In addition to the operation of the third invention, the defect level information in the previous process is read to determine whether the defect level exceeds the allowable value. If the defect level exceeds the allowable value, the stage of the color filter substrate is selected. By skipping the inspection without transporting, or displaying the defective portion, the stage is driven so as to skip the inspection of the defective portion, preventing double labor of the inspection and improving work efficiency. Can be made.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a front view conceptually showing a first embodiment of the present invention. In order to avoid complication of the description, a mechanism for holding the color filter substrate and a mechanism for circular movement are omitted in FIG. 1, which will be described later. In FIG. 1, the color filter inspection device 1 is
For example, the imaging device 2 that images at least a part of the surface of the color filter substrate 10 on which the colored layer 11 and the transparent electrode 12 are formed, and the light source that illuminates from the surface opposite to the surface on which the color filter substrate 10 is imaged. 3, a monitor device 4 for displaying an image picked up by the image pickup device 2, and a stage 5 for holding the color filter substrate 10 and allowing the color filter substrate to move circularly in its plane direction.

The image pickup apparatus 2 includes a television camera 6 and a lens 7
Is attached via a converter 8, and the video output of the television camera 6 is input to the monitor device 4 via a video amplifier as needed. It should be noted that the TV camera, the lens, etc. constituting the image pickup device 2 may be selected according to the purpose, and those having high resolution are preferable. A color filter such as a Ratten filter may be attached to the front surface of the lens 7.

Generally, a television camera (video camera)
, The resolution in the vertical direction is not equal to the resolution in the horizontal direction, and the latter is lower than the former, so the TV camera 6
If a mechanism that rotates 90 ° around the optical axis is provided, by rotating the camera 90 ° during the inspection, it is possible to equalize the defect detection sensitivity in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Especially, it is preferable not to overlook the unevenness appearing with directionality in the horizontal direction (lateral direction) of the color filter substrate.

The size of the color filter substrate is 3
If the size is as large as 00 mm x 300 mm, the resolution of the TV camera will fall below the required level for defect detection when the entire substrate is photographed at once, so the color filter substrate is divided into predetermined areas for photography. Therefore, it is preferable to maintain the resolution at a sufficient level. In this case, the inspection can be smoothly performed by moving the stage 5 step by step for each imaging region.

As the light source 3, various surface light sources such as a surface light source using fluorescent light from a light guide path or a light guide plate or a surface light source using EL can be used. It is preferable to use a color viewer (manufactured by Dainippon Printing Co., Ltd.) that uniformly irradiates light from a lamp through a white diffuser plate and does not generate flicker.

As the monitor device 4, various video monitors can be used, and a high resolution one is preferable.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the details of the stage 5 in the embodiment of the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the stage 5 includes a Y stage 22 moving in the Y direction on a base member 21, and an X stage moving in the X direction on the Y stage 22.
A stage 23 is provided, and a swivel stage 24 that performs the circular motion that is a feature of the present invention is further provided thereon. For example, without changing the direction of the color filter,
The circular movement can be performed so that the point A on the color filter draws a circle as illustrated. Y stage 22 is Y
The Y stage 22 is fitted with a rail (not shown) provided on the base member 21 so as to be slidable in the direction.
The gear 32 provided at one side end of the pulse motor 31
Driven by, the arbitrary movement in the Y direction is performed. The X stage 23 is fitted to a rail (not shown) provided on the Y stage 22 so as to be slidable in the X direction, and a gear 34 provided at one end of the X stage 23 is driven by a pulse motor 33. By driving, arbitrary movement in the X direction is performed.

The turning stage 24 is provided with an opening, and a substrate holder provided with a chuck 26 that can be attached to and detached from the color filter substrate 10 so as to hold two opposite sides of the color filter substrate 10. Two 25 are provided for each side toward the inside of the opening.
It is desirable that the chuck 26 be formed in a V-groove shape so that the contact area with the color filter substrate 10 is as small as possible to prevent the occurrence of contamination.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an internal stage turning mechanism in which a part of the turning stage 24 is broken. A crank 36 is rotatably provided below the turning stage 24, and the other end of the crank 36 is rotatably fixed to the X stage 23. A gear 37 is provided at one end of the crank 36, and the power of a motor (not shown) is propagated to the gear 37 by the belt 38 to rotate the crank 36, whereby the orbiting stage 24 moves in the X direction.
The stage 23 can be rotated (turned) at a predetermined radius corresponding to the arm length L of the crank 36. The circular movement is to rotate the color filter substrate in parallel with the surface of the color filter substrate with a small radius without changing the direction of the color filter substrate. The radius of the circular movement is the contamination of the imaging system, noise and defects of the color filter substrate. 2 to 20 mm is recommended as a range in which it is easy to identify

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the feed of the stage 5 and the imaging range I on the color filter substrate 10 by the imaging device 2. The procedure for feeding and inspecting the stage is as follows: (1) Image the area A on the color filter substrate 10 at the stage position at the start of the inspection. (FIG. 4 (a)) (2) Move the stage upward in the Y direction to image the B area,
(Fig. 4 (b)) (3) Move the stage to the left side in the X direction to image the area C,
(FIG. 4C) (4) The stage is moved downward in the Y direction to image the D area,
(Fig. 4 (d)). Here, the stage is moved so that the adjacent imaging regions partially overlap. Further, the turning stage constantly causes a circular motion during the series of operations (1) to (4).

Color filter substrate 10 on stage 5
2 is preferably carried out by a substrate transfer robot, as shown in FIG.
At the substrate transfer robot 41, the substrate holding chuck 4
A first arm 42 and a second arm 43, which are provided with 4 and 45 and are extendable in the front-rear direction, are attached to the upper and lower sides at a predetermined interval, and both the first arm 42 and the second arm can move up and down and turn. It is configured by being mounted on a support base (not shown) that is possible. Substrate holding chucks 44, 4
A suction hole 46 for vacuum-sucking the color filter substrate 10 is provided on the upper surface of 5. The operation of the substrate transfer robot will be described in detail in the second embodiment.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 5 is a plan view conceptually showing the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, a color filter inspection device 101
Centering around the turning axis of the substrate transfer robot 141, a cassette 150 that can store a plurality of untested color filter substrates, a cassette 151 that stores inspected color filter substrates, and a stage 105 are arranged. The stage 105 is equipped with the imaging device 2, the light source 3, and the monitor device 4 as in the first embodiment, and the configuration of the stage 105 is similar to that of the stage 5 in the first embodiment. In the transfer robot 141, two robot arms, which can be extended and retracted forward and backward, are mounted on a support base 147 that can be swung and can be raised and lowered at a predetermined interval with the first arm 142 as the upper side and the second arm 143 as the lower side. Each arm has a substrate holding chuck 144, 14 at the tip thereof.
5 is provided, and the color filter substrate 10 is chucked by vacuum suction and conveyed.

An example of the operation of the substrate transfer robot 141 when the color filter substrate 10 is transferred is shown below. Here, the position of the substrate holding chuck of each arm is
A: position of uninspected color filter substrate cassette 150, B: standby position retracted from uninspected color filter substrate cassette 150, C: position of inspected color filter substrate cassette 151, D: retracted from uninspected color filter substrate cassette 151 The stand-by position, E: the position of the stage 105, and F: the stand-by position retracted from the stage 105. Step 1st arm 2nd arm (1) Initial state B Initial state B (2) Ascending B Ascending B (3) Stopping B Forwarding A (4) Ascending B Ascending A (5) Stopping B Uninspected substrate chuck A (6) Ascending B Ascending A (7) Stopping B Retreating B (8) Descent B descending B (9) Turning F Turning F (10) Forward E Stopping F (11) Ascending E Ascending F (12) On-stage tested E Stopping F Chuck the board (13) Down E Down F (14) Backward F Forward E (15) Up F F Up E (16) Stop F Place the uninspected board on the stage E. (17) Down F Down E (18) Stop F Backward F (19) Swing D Swing D (20) Up D Swing D (21) Forward C Stop D (22) Down C Down D (23) C Stop D Enter (24) Ascend C Ascend D (25) Retreat D Stop D (26) Turn (to initial state) B Turn (to initial state) B In the above operation, from step 19 to the next step 9 Is performed during the inspection on the stage, and from step 10 to step 17, the inspection on the stage is stopped because the color filter substrate is replaced. The retreat of the inspected color filter substrate by the first arm from step 10 to step 14 is performed in a standby state with the uninspected color filter held by the second arm, so that it starts at the same time as the retreat of the first arm. Loading of the uninspected color filter on the stage by the second arm (steps 14 to 18) can be performed very quickly, and the time loss associated with substrate replacement can be reduced. In this embodiment, the first arm is exclusively used for exiting the inspected color filter substrate, and the second arm is exclusively used for mounting the uninspected color filter substrate, but it is of course possible to use these interchangeably. is there. Also,
When the uninspected color filter substrate cassette 150 and the inspected color filter substrate cassette 151 are used as the same cassette and the inspected color filter substrate is returned to the position where the uninspected color filter substrate is removed,
It is possible to further reduce the space of the inspection device and simplify the equipment for transporting the cassette.

Third Embodiment FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the color filter inspection apparatus 201 includes a cassette 250 capable of accommodating a plurality of uninspected color filter substrates, centering on the turning axis of the substrate transfer robot 241.
Cassette 25 for storing the inspected color filter substrate
One or two sets of stages 205 and 205a are arranged. The transfer robot 241 is the same as that of the second embodiment except that two sets of stages 205 and 205a are arranged.
The configuration is also the same as that of the second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. The operation of the transfer robot 241 is also basically the same as that of the second embodiment, but each work is performed so that the color filter inspection apparatus includes two sets of stages 205 and 205a so that two workers can perform the inspection. A "board exchange" switch is provided on the operation panel used by a person, and the board is exchanged on the stage on the operator side which has previously pressed the switch to issue a board exchange request signal. By thus sharing the transfer robot between the two sets of stages, even during the inspection of the color filter substrate, which takes a relatively long time, the transfer robot is less likely to play, and the space and cost of the device can be saved. Is also effective.

Fourth Embodiment FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a color filter substrate transfer and stage feed control system for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the transport and stage feed control system 3
Reference numeral 00 can be additionally provided to the color filter inspecting apparatus according to the first to third embodiments, and includes an optical reading unit 360, a data storage unit 370, a control unit 380, and a display unit 390. . The control means 380 is a central control unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 38.
1, optical reading means control circuit 382, transfer robot control circuit 383, stage feed control circuit 384, CPU3
The optical reading means 360 includes a program memory 385 for storing a program executed by the optical disc 81.
Is the CPU 31 via the optical reading means control circuit 382.
And the stage feed means 390 is connected to the CPU 381 through the stage feed control circuit 384,
The external transfer robot 341 controls the transfer robot control circuit 38.
3 is connected to the CPU 381. FIG. 8 shows a program stored in the program memory 385 for the CPU3.
It is a flowchart which shows the procedure implemented and implemented by 81.

The optical reading means 360 is, for example, a bar code or the like provided in an uninspected color filter substrate cassette 350 that contains a plurality of uninspected color filter substrates that have been conveyed to the color filter inspection device from the previous step. The optical reading information 361 is read, and various line sensors and hologram scanners can be used. The optical reading unit 360 includes the control unit 38.
It is connected to a central control unit 381 (hereinafter, referred to as CPU) in 0 through an optical reading means control circuit 382, and when an uninspected color filter substrate cassette 350 is mounted at a predetermined position, it is attached to the cassette 350. The reading of the read optical reading information 361 is started. (S1) Further, the CPU 381 is connected to the data storage means 370, and the data storage means 370 includes a server 375 including a host computer that controls the color filter production line and a LAN (Local Area Ne).
The CPU 381 reads information (cassette information) about the cassette 350 corresponding to the read optical reading information 361 and stores the information in the data storage unit 370. (S2) The cassette information is information about each color filter substrate stored in the cassette 350, and the substrate number, the substrate size, and the product type that indicate which substrate in the cassette the color filter substrate is. ,Lot number,
The defect level information is related to the defects found in the previous process.The defect level information includes information such as the type, degree, and quantity of defects in the entire color filter substrate, and the color filter substrate divided into predetermined areas. Information such as the type, degree, and quantity of defects in the area is included. In this example,
When a plurality of color filters are attached to one substrate in a multi-faceted manner, it is divided into regions corresponding to the respective multi-faceted color filters, and the type, degree of defects in each region,
It contains a number of information.

Next, the CPU 381 first determines, from the first color filter substrate (substrate number 1), whether or not the defect level information of the color filter substrate is within the allowable range of the required specifications. Specifically, this determination process is performed in two stages. For example, taking the case of processing the n-th (filter number n) color filter substrate in the cassette 350 as an example, in the determination process of the first stage, the degree of defect or the defect of the entire color filter substrate of the substrate number n. Whether or not the number is within the range of a predetermined preset allowable value is determined according to the type of defect. (S3) In the first-stage determination, if the defect level is within the allowable range, then the second-stage determination processing is performed in S4. When the defect level exceeds the allowable value, the color filter substrate of the substrate number n is not transported to the stage, and the transport robot 341 is driven to transport the color filter substrate to the inspected color filter cassette and store it. Perform (S5), then the board number (n +
The procedure moves to the first-stage determination processing for 1).

In the second-stage judgment processing, for each area divided into a predetermined area in the color filter substrate of the substrate number n, the degree of defects contained in the area or the number of defects is within a predetermined allowable range. It is determined whether or not it is within the range according to the type of defect. (S6) Here, it is assumed that the color filter substrate of substrate number n has four color filters attached thereto and is divided into regions A, B, C, and D corresponding to the respective color filters. For each of A, B, C, and D, it is determined whether the degree of defects or the number of defects is within a range of a predetermined allowable value. (S7) When the defect levels in all the areas are within the allowable range, the CPU 381 drives the transfer robot 341 by the transfer robot control circuit 383 to drive the cassette 350.
The color filter substrate with the substrate number n in the inside is taken out from the cassette and made to stand by (S8), and the operator operates the operation panel 4
The color filter substrate is placed on the stage after waiting for a signal from 00 to request placing the substrate on the stage (S9). (S10) Further, for example, when only the number of defects in the area A exceeds the allowable value and the defects in the areas B, C, and D are within the allowable value range, the CPU 381 causes the transfer robot control circuit 383 to cause the transfer robot to operate. 341 is driven to take out the color filter substrate of the substrate number n in the cassette 350 from the cassette and make it stand by (S11).
Waiting for a signal requesting that the substrate be placed on the stage from 0 (S12), the color filter substrate is placed on the stage (S13), and the stage feed means 390 is driven by the stage feed control circuit 384. Then, the stage is moved to a position where the area A is skipped and the area B is imaged. (S14) This allows the operator to avoid the duplicate inspection of the area A of the color filter substrate.

The color filter substrate mounted on the stage was visually inspected as described above, and defect level information such as the type, degree, and quantity of defects newly found here was recorded on the operation panel. Input from the input device to add and update the cassette information in the data storage means 370. (S15, S16) Next, the board number (n +
The process shifts to 1). In this way, the cassette 35
When the processing is repeated for all the color filter substrates in 0 (S17), the updated cassette information is saved in the virtual disk of the server 375 or the information recording medium of the communication personal computer. (S18)

In this embodiment, all defective color filter substrates are also conveyed to the inspected cassette and sent from the inspection step to the next defect selection step. The non-defective product and the defective product in the defect selection process can be sorted without human intervention by using a sorting robot that operates based on the updated cassette information.

[0039]

The color filter inspection apparatus of the first invention of the present application is provided with a stage for circular movement in the plane direction, and therefore, a defect caused in the color filter substrate and dirt and noise caused by the image pickup system of the inspection apparatus are provided. Can be easily identified and the inspection can be performed efficiently. In addition to the effect of the first invention, the color filter inspection device of the second invention of the present application can automate the transfer of the color filter substrate and increase the speed. The color filter inspection device of the third invention of the present application can realize space saving and cost reduction in addition to the effects of the first or second invention. In addition to the effects of the first to third inventions, the color filter inspection device of the fourth invention of the present application automatically or easily identifies and omits the inspection of the color filter to be removed as a clear defect, thereby eliminating the inspection efficiency. Can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view conceptually showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating details of a stage in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a circular movement mechanism of a stage in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between stage feed and an imaging range in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a transport and stage feed control system in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a program executed in the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 101, 201 Color filter inspection device 2 Imaging device 3 Light source 4 Monitor device 5, 105, 205, 205a Stage 6 TV camera 7 Lens 8 Converter 10 Color filter substrate 11 Colored layer 12 Transparent electrode 21 Back surface (formation of colored layer) 14 arm 15 substrate holding plate 21 base member 22 Y stage 23 X stage 24 turning stage 25 substrate holder 26 chucks 41, 141, 241 substrate transfer robot 42, 142 first arm 43, 143 second arm 44 , 45, 144, 145 Substrate holding chuck 147 Supports 150, 250, 350 Uninspected color filter substrate storage cassettes 151, 251 Inspected color filter substrate storage cassette 300 Conveyance and stage feed control system 360 Optical reading means 36 Optical reading information 370 data storage unit 375 server (upper computer) 376 LAN 380 control unit 381 CPU 382 optical reading means control circuit 383 transfer robot control circuit 384 stage moving means control circuit 385 program memory 390 stage moving means 400 control panel

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --Continued from the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 21/88-21/958 G01M 11/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An imaging device for photographing at least a part of a surface of a color filter substrate on which at least a colored layer is formed, and the color filter substrate from a surface opposite to a surface to be photographed. In a color filter inspection device used for visually inspecting a defect of a color filter substrate provided with a light source for illuminating and a monitor device for displaying an image captured by the image capturing device, a television camera constituting the image capturing device is , Its optical axis in
A color filter inspection device comprising a stage having a mechanism for rotating 90 degrees as a center , holding the color filter substrate , and having a stage capable of circularly moving the color filter substrate in a plane direction thereof. 2. A first arm for transporting an uninspected color filter substrate from a cassette accommodating a plurality of uninspected color filter substrates to a stage, and an inspected cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of inspected color filter substrates from the stage. The second arm for transporting the color filter substrate is equipped with a substrate transport robot mounted on a swivelable support, and the first arm holds the uninspected color filter substrate and stands by while the second arm moves. 2. The color filter inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the inspected color filter substrate is taken out, and immediately after that, the first arm conveys the uninspected color filter substrate to the stage. 3. A substrate transfer robot having two sets of stages, a cassette containing an uninspected color filter substrate and a cassette capable of containing an inspected color filter substrate, arranged around the substrate transfer robot. The color filter inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the color filter inspection apparatus is configured to be shared. 4. A substrate number corresponding to each color filter substrate in the cassette corresponding to optical reading information provided for each cassette containing a plurality of untested color filter substrates, and a corresponding substrate number. The data storage means for storing the defect level information up to the preceding step, the optical reading means for reading the optical reading information provided in the cassette, and the optical reading means corresponding to the substrate number according to the read optical reading information. Read the defect level information and determine whether the defect level of the entire color filter substrate in the defect level information for each color filter substrate and the defect level in each area where the color filter substrate is divided into a predetermined area exceed a predetermined allowable value. If the overall defect level exceeds the allowable value, the color number of the board number is If the filter substrate is not transported to the stage and it is within the allowable value, the color filter substrate corresponding to that substrate number is transported to the stage by the transport robot, and any one of the above-mentioned divisions in the color filter substrate transported to the stage is performed. The control means for skipping the movement of the stage so as to omit the inspection of the sectioned area when the defect level of that area exceeds an allowable value. Color filter inspection device.