JPH047522A - Inspection instrument for liquid crystal display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability of inspection by contact-pressing contact bar terminals in a common-side (X side) electrode array through a movable block and a floating spring. CONSTITUTION:An inspection jig 1 is equipped with a frame 4 where a liquid crystal display panel is mounted, contact bar terminals 5 which are made of conductive felt for one display electrode terminal array fitted in parallel to one opposite frame side 41 of the frame 4, and contact bar terminals 6 which are made of conductive felt for the other display electrode terminal array fitted to the other opposite frame side 42 of the frame 4 in parallel across the movable block 62 and floating spring 63. Then the contact bar terminals 6 in the common-side (X side) electrode terminal array are pressed into contact across the movable block 62 and floating spring 63. Therefore, the contact bar terminals 62 can easily be moved so as to inspect the permissible limit of the protrusion part of an insulating film. Consequently, the operability is improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding an inspection device for a liquid crystal display panel, it is possible to easily inspect the quality of display electrode terminal rows on a single liquid crystal display panel and to perform a full lighting test on display elements before assembling a liquid crystal display device. In order to perform the test accurately and reliably, we installed an inspection jig for mounting the liquid crystal display panel, lighting means, power supply,
The inspection jig consists of a frame on which the liquid crystal display panel is placed, and a contact made of conductive felt for one row of display electrode terminals attached in parallel to one opposing frame side of the frame. bar terminal and
Inspection of a liquid crystal display panel so as to include at least a movable block and a contact bar terminal made of conductive felt for the other display electrode terminal row attached via a movable block and a floating spring parallel to the other opposing frame side of the frame. Configure the device.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an improvement in an inspection device that inspects liquid crystal display panels easily and with high reliability.

In recent years, the development of display devices has been remarkable, and in particular, flat displays have rapidly become popular due to their thinness and light weight. Among them, liquid crystal display devices have a low driving voltage (and low price), so they are being actively introduced into the field of office automation equipment such as personal computers and word processors.

Liquid crystal display panels used for these applications are required to display characters and graphics, so they are inevitably moving toward larger screens, more pixels, and higher definition. There is a need to develop, for example, inspection equipment for manufacturing.

[Conventional technology]

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of inspection of a liquid crystal display panel.
The figure (b) is a perspective view, the figure (b) is a sectional view taken along the line XX, and the figure (c) is a sectional view taken along the line YY. In the figure, 103 is a glass substrate, 10
1 was formed on a glass substrate.

For example, a striped transparent display electrode made of ITO (fnzo3-.5nOz), 104 is an insulating film, and is placed on one side of the glass substrate 103, for example, in the center of the lower substrate, that is, on both sides, for external lead extraction. It is formed to cover the striped transparent electrode except for the electrode terminal row portion, and is made of, for example, SiO with a thickness of 50 nm.
This is the sputtered film shown in □. Reference numeral 112 denotes an alignment film formed on the opposing surfaces of the upper and lower substrates, for example, a polyimide resin film with a thickness of 50 to 1100 nm is brushed with a nylon brush to perform alignment treatment.

Note that a gap-like space is formed between the two glass substrates by a spacer (not shown), such as a small ball made of hard plastic, between the two glass substrates. 111 is a sealing material for sealingly bonding the peripheral edges of two glass substrates;
Reference numeral 10 denotes a liquid crystal material injected into the gap-like space, for example, TN (Tivisted Nematic) liquid crystal.

The two glass substrates have striped transparent display electrodes 10.
1 are arranged orthogonally to each other to form an X-Y matrix intersection, and now.

For example, when light is applied from below, it becomes linearly polarized by one polarizing plate (not shown), and when a voltage is applied to the transparent display electrode 101 from a drive circuit (not shown), the light is polarized by the liquid crystal layer. Depending on the presence or absence of an electric field, the plane of polarization is rotated, and the other polarizing plate (not shown) selects either transmission or non-transmission of light. That is, depending on whether or not an electric field is applied, light is switched at each of the seven trix intersections, and a black and white image, for example, is displayed from the observer's perspective.

That is, the liquid crystal display panel is connected to a drive circuit by the end portions 3 of the display electrodes, that is, the display electrode terminal rows, thereby forming a liquid crystal display device. Some liquid crystal display panels have up to several hundred display electrodes 101, and it is extremely inconvenient in practice that a defect in the liquid crystal display panel is discovered after it is connected to a drive circuit. Therefore, conventionally, the liquid crystal display panel is tested for continuity and full lighting before being connected to the drive circuit, and after confirming that the liquid crystal display panel is in good condition, it is connected to the drive circuit and the assembly of the liquid crystal display device is completed.

When inspecting this liquid crystal display panel 100, conventionally, a conductive rubber pad 600 as shown in the figure is placed crosswise on each row of display electrode terminals, and a pressure P, for example, 10 kg is applied from above.
/Apply pressure to a length of 200mm. Specifically, for example,
The lead portion pulled out from the conductive rubber pad 600 is crimped with a large paper clip and connected to a test circuit to perform continuity and full lighting tests on the liquid crystal display panel 100.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned inspection of the conventional liquid crystal display panel, the resistance value of the conductive rubber pad 600 itself is high (for example, 80Ω).
In addition, it is very difficult to uniformly contact the entire electrode by applying pressure by squeezing or the like. moreover,
In order to inspect the permissible limit of the protruding portion 104 of the insulating film formed on one substrate side, the conductive rubber
It is necessary to move 0, but the movement is easy and
There were many problems in practical use, such as the inability to perform accurate measurements, and these needed to be resolved.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above-mentioned problem consists of an inspection jig 1 on which the liquid crystal display panel 100 is mounted, an illumination means 2, and a power supply/control circuit section 3. A contact bar terminal 5 made of conductive felt for one row of display electrode terminals is attached parallel to one opposing frame side 41 of the frame 4, and a movable block is attached parallel to the other opposing frame side 42 of the frame 4. 62 and a contact bar terminal 6 made of conductive felt for the other display electrode terminal row attached via a floating spring 63.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, conductive felt having a resistance value of about 1710 compared to conductive rubber is used as the contact bar terminals 5 and 6 that contact the display electrode terminal row of the liquid crystal display panel 100, so that the contact is stable. The degree of improvement is greatly improved. Also, during inspection, the liquid crystal display panel 100 is placed on a dedicated frame 4,
Contact between the display electrode terminal row and the contact bar terminals 5 and 6 can be made in one motion, and furthermore, pressure is applied from above the bar terminal holder 50 or the press plate 64 using the bar terminal presser 52 or 65, so it is extremely easy to press. Easy and uniform pressurization is possible. Further, since the contact pressure of the contact bar terminals 6 on one display electrode terminal row side, for example, the common side (X row) electrode terminal row is performed via the movable block 62 and the floating spring 63, the protruding portion 104 of the insulating film It is easy to move the contact bar terminal 6 to check the tolerance limit of
In addition, it is possible to prevent peeling force from acting between the two substrates during operation, and it is extremely safe and reliable, as well as simple and easy to operate.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 4 is a frame to which the liquid crystal display panel is attached, and the opposing frame side 4 on the negative side
For example, conductive felt (for example, Nippon Zenkou Dyed K
A pair of contact bar terminals 5 made of Sanderon 5S-N (manufactured by K) are embedded, and are movably attached to the overhanging part of the frame side 41 parallel to the other opposing frame side 42. A pair of contact bar terminals 6 also made of conductive felt are embedded in a bar terminal holder 60 connected to a movable block 62 via a floating spring 63.

Each bar terminal holder 60 has a hinge 5, for example.
1, a presser plate 64 is connected. 2 is an illumination means, for example, a surface light source composed of a plurality of cold cathode ray tubes arranged side by side;
For example, the lead 30 from each contact bar terminal 5 and 6 is connected to the lead 20 from the illumination means 2 at a power supply/control circuit section 3 for inspecting the liquid crystal display panel. has been done. Reference numeral 200 denotes an inspection table on which the inspection apparatus is placed, and the inspection jig 1 consisting of the frame 4 and others is tilted to make it easier for the inspector to perform the work.

When the liquid crystal display panel 100 is not a transmissive type but a reflective type, the illumination means 2 may be set at the upper part or may not be used.

FIG. 2 is a plan view when the inspection jig is clamped, and the liquid crystal display panel 100 is placed on the frame 4 in the Y row.

For example, the bar terminal holder 50 is rotatably mounted on the display electrode terminal row on the segment electrode side, and the contact bar terminal 5 made of conductive felt embedded therein is brought into contact with the terminal presser 52. For example, it is clamped and fixed using an eccentric cam.

On the other hand, a contact bar terminal 6 made of conductive felt embedded in a bar terminal holder 60 is brought into contact with the display electrode terminal row on the X row, for example, the common electrode side, from below, and a presser plate is placed from the opposite side of the glass substrate. 64 and press the bar terminal holder 65.
For example, it is clamped and fixed using large paper clips. At this time, the glass substrate on the common electrode side is connected to the floating spring 63.
Since the two substrates are clamped together, the peeling force acting between the two substrates can be absorbed.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view when the inspection jig is clamped, and (a) is a Y-Y cross-sectional view, and (b) is a X-X cross-sectional view.
The clamping state shown in FIG. 2 is illustrated for ease of understanding. In the figure, reference numeral 102 denotes a polarizing plate which is stacked above and below the liquid crystal display panel 100 with its optical axis rotated by a predetermined angle.

Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those explained in the above countries, and the explanation of the same parts will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the main parts of the embodiment of the present invention, and shows the details of the movable block 62 and the floating spring 63. The movable block 62 has, for example, an elongated hole 66 and is attached to the protruding part of the frame side 41 with a fixing screw 67, so it can be moved as shown by the arrow shown in the figure, and the moving distance is determined by the stopper screw 68. It is adjustable. Further, the floating spring 63 is made of, for example, a plate spring, and is fixed to the movable block 62 with a fixing screw with an elongated hole 66 formed at one end, and the other end is fixed to the bar terminal holder 60.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the display electrode terminal portion of the liquid crystal display panel.
In the figure, 103 is a glass substrate, 101a and 101b are rows of display electrode terminals, for example, a row of display electrode terminals on the common side.In this example, every other terminal is formed with a step, but the ends are aligned. In some cases.

Reference numeral 104' denotes a protruding portion of the insulating film 104, which varies depending on manufacturing conditions, but if the protrusion is too large, it will be impossible to draw out the leads, so it is necessary to suppress the protrusion to a value of, for example, 1 mm or less.

Now, to specifically inspect the liquid crystal display panel 100, set it on the inspection jig 1 as described above.

For example, to explain the common side, first, leave a space of 1 mm from the edge of the upper glass substrate 103 in FIG. Fix the clamp and conduct a continuity test. If all electrode terminals are conductive, the protruding part 10 of the insulating film
4” test passes.

Next, the contact position of the contact bar terminal 6 is adjusted to the movable block 6.
2, move to, for example, the B-B" line and clamp it so that it contacts all the terminals of the display electrode. In this state, a required voltage is applied to the liquid crystal display panel 100 by the power supply/control circuit section 3. A full lighting test is performed using this test.This is used to check for line defects, point defects, or display unevenness.Furthermore, there are steps in the electrode terminal row.For example, in the case of a high-density terminal row such as a color panel, etc. In this case, the contact position of the contact bar terminal 6 is moved to, for example, line cc' by the movable block 62, and clamped and fixed so that it contacts every other terminal 101b of the display electrode, and the test is similarly carried out. By doing so, you can, for example, test for short circuits between adjacent display electrodes on the common side. Note that the other side 8, for example, the segment electrode side, can be tested in the same way, but usually only one glass substrate Insulating film 1 on the side
04 is not performed, inspection of the protruding portion 1o4' of the insulating film may be omitted.

In the above embodiment, conductive felt was used as the contact bar terminals 5 and 6, but it is not necessarily felt-like, and the resistance value is sufficiently lower than that of conductive rubber, and the contact with the display electrode terminal row is good. If it's something else, it's something else.

For example, it may be made of conductive cloth.

Moreover, the movable block 62 and the floating spring 63 are not limited to those of the embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be realized as long as they have the same effect as the trust.

The embodiments described above are merely examples, and it goes without saying that suitable materials and configurations other than those described above, or combinations thereof, may be used as long as they comply with the spirit of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the liquid crystal display panel 1
As the contact bar terminals 5 and 6 that contact the 00 display electrode terminal row, conductive felt, which has a resistance value of about 1/10 compared to conductive rubber, is used, greatly improving the stability of contact. . Furthermore, during inspection, the liquid crystal display panel 100 can be placed on the dedicated frame 4, and the display electrode terminal row can be brought into contact with the contact bar terminals 5 and 6 in one operation. Since the bar terminal part 52 or 65 is used from above the holder 50 or the presser plate 64, it is possible to apply pressure extremely easily and uniformly. Further, since the contact pressure of the contact bar terminal 6 of one ostensibly electrode terminal row side, for example, the common side (χ side) electrode row, is performed via the movable block 62 and the floating spring 63, the protruding portion of the insulating film 10
It is easy to move the contact bar terminal 6 to inspect the tolerance limit of 4', and it is possible to prevent peeling force from acting between the two boards during inspection, making it extremely safe and reliable. However, it is simple and has excellent operability, and greatly contributes to improving the reliability, stability, operability, and economic efficiency of liquid crystal display panel inspection.

In the figure, 1 is an inspection jig, 2 is a lighting means; 3 is the power supply/control circuit section; 4 is the frame, 5.6 is a contact bar terminal, 4L42 is the frame side, 62 is a movable block, 63 is a floating spring; 100 is a liquid crystal display panel.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view when the inspection jig is clamped, Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view when the inspection jig is clamped, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the main parts, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the display electrode terminal portion of the liquid crystal display panel, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of inspection of the liquid crystal display panel.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Consisting of an inspection jig (1) on which a liquid crystal display panel (100) is attached, an illumination means (2), and a power supply/control circuit section (3), the inspection jig (1) is equipped with a liquid crystal display panel (100). A frame (4) on which the panel (100) is placed, and a contact bar terminal made of conductive felt for one row of display electrode terminals attached in parallel to one opposing frame side (41) of the frame (4). (5), and a conductive conductor for the other display electrode terminal row attached via a movable block (62) and a floating spring (63) in parallel to the other opposing frame side (42) of the frame (4). A liquid crystal display panel inspection device comprising at least a contact bar terminal (6) made of felt.