JPH08233886A - Socket for inspection of liquid crystal display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket which is light-weight and compact, can be surely connected to a liquid crystal display panel and is superiorly convenient to attach/detach to the liquid crystal display panel. CONSTITUTION: A guide plate 22 is set in a socket main body 11. The guide plate 22 is positioned at an upper part of a contact film 14A for a source electrode and a gate electrode, comes into contact with a side face of an insulating substrate of a display panel 1 and forms a plane almost continuous to an upper surface of the insulating substrate. A clip 24 have an approximately U-shaped cross section for depressing the insulating substrate is slidable between a pressing position to hold the insulating substrate and the socket main body and a releasing position to release the insulating substrate. A protecting film 25 having a base end part fixed to the guide plate has its front end part interposed between one end part of the clip and the insulating substrate when the clip is at the pressing position. When the clip moves to the releasing position, the front end part of the protecting film 25 curls to be outside a loading area for the insulating substrate because of the curling tendency of the protecting film itself.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket which can be suitably used for inspecting the display quality of a liquid crystal display panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display panel, a liquid crystal display panel before connecting peripheral circuits is
Each inspection such as a display quality inspection for detecting a display defect portion is performed.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a structural example of a TFT type liquid crystal display panel and a method of connecting inspection signal wirings. Referring to FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display panel 1 has a transparent rectangular insulating substrate 2 made of, for example, glass or the like.
A plurality of transparent electrode terminals 3 on the source side and a plurality of transparent electrode terminals 4 on the gate side are laminated and formed on the upper side. More specifically, the source-side transparent electrode terminals 3 are divided into a plurality (8 in the illustrated example) of groups or blocks and arranged in parallel with each other along two long sides of the insulating substrate 2. Common electrode terminals 5 are formed on both sides of each block of the side electrode terminals 3. In addition, the transparent electrode terminal 4 on the gate side is divided into a plurality (two in the illustrated example) of groups or blocks, each of which is one of the insulating substrate 2.
The two short sides are arranged parallel to each other. As one of the effective panel lighting methods, that is, signal supply methods for such display quality inspection of the liquid crystal display panel 1, the same signal is simultaneously supplied to all the electrode terminals 3 on the source side, and A method is known in which the same signal is simultaneously supplied only to the electrode terminals 4 in the odd-numbered columns or even-numbered columns on the gate side. The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket capable of implementing such a signal supply method.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-08034 discloses an inspection device for a liquid crystal display panel provided with a probe as a contact member or a contact film having a contact terminal pattern formed on the surface of an insulating film. It is shown. In a conventional liquid crystal display panel inspection device using a probe, for example, a method of sandwiching and fixing a vicinity of a contact end of a probe made of a tungsten needle or the like with a support base made of resin such as polycarbonate and a pressing base, and In a conventional liquid crystal display panel inspecting apparatus using a contact film, a method of disposing and fixing the contact film on a base made of a resin such as polycarbonate is also adopted.

In recent years, as the number of electrode terminals of a liquid crystal display panel has increased and the electrode terminals have become finer and the pitch thereof has become narrower,
Since the contact member for inspecting the liquid crystal display panel is also miniaturized and has a narrow pitch, there is a tendency that higher precision is required for the alignment between the electrode terminal of the liquid crystal display panel and the contact member.

When the liquid crystal display panel is inspected under a temperature environment different from room temperature such as aging, it is efficient to inspect a plurality of liquid crystal display panels at the same time.

[0007]

In order to simultaneously and efficiently inspect a plurality of liquid crystal display panels before connecting peripheral circuits, it is desirable to use a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket provided with a contact member. This liquid crystal display panel inspection socket needs to be provided with a pressing means for bringing the electrode terminal of the liquid crystal display panel and the contact member into contact with each other with a required contact pressure. This greatly affects the workability of attachment / detachment and the alignment accuracy of the liquid crystal display panel, electrode terminals, and contact members. Further, when the socket for inspecting the liquid crystal display panel becomes large, it becomes difficult to mount the inspection device at a high density, which causes a decrease in inspection work efficiency.

It is known, for example, from Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-44038 that a clip having a substantially U-shaped cross section is used as a pressing means in a connection structure between a flexible cable and a printed wiring board. It is preferable to use such a clip as a pressing means for the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket in order to reduce the weight and size of the socket,
In a liquid crystal display panel such as an LCD, a large number of electrode terminals are arranged on an insulating substrate at a very narrow pitch. Therefore, when a clip is moved, slippage occurs in the contact portion between the contact member and the liquid crystal display panel. It becomes difficult to keep the electrode terminal of the display panel and the contact member in alignment.

Therefore, there is a demand for a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket which is lightweight and compact and which can surely be electrically connected to the liquid crystal display panel and which is excellent in workability for attaching and detaching the liquid crystal display panel.

Further, when the liquid crystal display panel is inspected in a temperature environment different from the normal temperature, even if the electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel and the contact members are accurately aligned at the normal temperature, the electrode terminals may be affected by the temperature change. There is a problem in that the liquid crystal display panel cannot be accurately inspected because the contact pin is misaligned. In the conventional inspection device for a liquid crystal display panel described above, no measures have been taken to reduce the alignment accuracy between the electrode terminal and the contact member due to a temperature change. It is difficult to accurately perform display quality inspection.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel inspection which is lightweight and compact, which can surely be electrically connected to a liquid crystal display panel, and which is excellent in workability of attaching and detaching the liquid crystal display panel. Is to provide a socket for use.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a socket for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel capable of accurately inspecting the display quality of a liquid crystal display panel in a wide temperature environment.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
The source side and gate side electrode terminals arranged and formed on the insulating substrate along the side of the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal panel, the tip of the contact film for the gate electrode and the contact film for the source electrode arranged on the socket body In a contact device for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel, which is brought into contact with the surface of each part by a pressing force of a pressing member, a contact terminal pattern extending parallel to the arrangement direction of the source-side electrode terminals is provided on the tip surface of the contact film for the source electrode. Corresponding to the arrangement of the gate-side electrode terminals, a plurality of contact terminal patterns are formed on the surface of the tip portion of the contact film for gate electrodes, and odd-numbered rows and even-numbered rows on the contact film for gate electrodes are formed. Contact terminal patterns are connected to each other at one end side and the other end side of the pattern, respectively. An insulating coating is formed on the tip surface of the gate electrode contact film to cover the connection region of the contact terminal pattern, and the socket body is positioned above the source electrode and gate electrode contact films. A guide plate is provided that is in contact with a side of the insulating substrate and forms a flat surface that is substantially continuous with a flat surface of the insulating substrate opposite to the electrode terminals, and the pressing member sandwiches the insulating substrate and the socket body. A clip having a substantially U-shaped cross section and having a spring property, which is slidably movable between a substrate pressing position and a panel substrate releasing position for sandwiching the guide plate and the socket body and releasing the insulating substrate, and is fixed to the guide plate. And a protective film interposed between one end of the clip and the flat surface of the insulating substrate and the guide plate. When said clip is moved to the panel substrate released position from the panel substrate pressing position, characterized in that the tip portion moves out of the insulating substrate mounting area.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to the first aspect, the exposed portion of the contact terminal pattern extends in the socket body in the arrangement direction of the exposed portion of the contact terminal pattern. It is characterized in that an elastic support body which is elastically contacted with the back surface of the tip end portion of each of the contact films on the opposite side is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display panel inspecting socket according to the second aspect, a movable supporting body which further supports the elastic supporting body is movable in the pressing direction of the clip on the socket body. The clip is formed such that when one end of the clip presses the insulating substrate, the other end presses the movable support in a direction opposite to the pressing direction of the one end of the clip. Is characterized by.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to the first aspect, the elastic support member has a cylindrical portion that abuts against a rear surface of the tip of each contact film, and the cylindrical portion. And a pedestal portion connected to the back surface of the tubular portion, the elastic support body is cut over the entire length thereof at a position that bisects the back surface portion and the pedestal portion of the tubular portion, and
It is characterized in that it is formed by rolling the tubular portion formed into a flat plate shape and rolling it into a tubular shape.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the source-side and gate-side electrode terminals arrayed and formed on the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal liquid crystal display panel are arranged on the socket body along the sides of the insulating substrate. In a contact device for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel, which is brought into contact with the tip end surfaces of the source electrode and gate electrode contact films by the pressing force of a pressing member, the source side electrode terminal is provided on the tip end surface of the source electrode contact film. A contact terminal pattern extending parallel to the arrangement direction of the gate side electrode terminals is formed, and a plurality of contact terminal patterns are formed on the tip surface of the gate electrode contact film in correspondence with the arrangement of the gate side electrode terminals. The contact terminal patterns in the odd and even rows on the contact film for electrodes are respectively on one end side of the pattern and An insulating film is formed on the tip surface of the contact film for the gate electrode, the insulating film covering the connection region of the contact terminal pattern is formed on the socket body, and is connected to the source side of the liquid crystal display panel. A plurality of film mounting plates that extend parallel to the arrangement direction of the gate-side electrode terminals and have substantially the same linear expansion coefficient as the insulating substrate are arranged, and the contact films are fixed to the film mounting plates, and the socket body Has
Substrate positioning means for positioning one end of the insulating substrate in the arrangement direction of the electrode terminals, and strength of the insulating substrate with a strength that allows dimensional changes of the insulating substrate due to linear expansion in the arrangement direction of the electrode terminals. A substrate end portion pressing means for pressing the other end portion against the substrate positioning means; a mounting plate positioning means for positioning one end portion of the film mounting plate on the same reference plane as the one end portion of the insulating substrate; And a mounting plate end pressing means for pressing the other end of the film mounting plate against the mounting plate positioning means with a strength that allows a dimensional change of the film mounting plate due to linear expansion. To do.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to the fifth aspect, the mounting plate positioning means positions the one end portion of the film mounting plate in the arrangement direction of the contact terminal patterns. It is characterized by having a position adjusting means for adjusting.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to the first or fifth aspect, a plurality of the contact terminal patterns of the liquid crystal display panel are provided on the tip surface of the source electrode contact film. It is characterized in that the source-side electrode terminals are arranged and formed in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction and are connected to each other through a plurality of connecting portions.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to the seventh aspect, the plurality of connecting portions are arranged between the rows of the contact terminal patterns in the arrangement direction of the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel. The feature is that they are arranged at intervals.

[0021]

In the socket for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal display panel is placed on the contact films for the source electrode and the gate electrode on the socket body, and then the clip is attached. By sliding the panel substrate release position to the panel substrate pressing position, a pressing force can be applied to the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal display panel. Can be brought into contact with the tip surface of the contact film for the source electrode and the contact film for the gate electrode. At this time, since the contact terminal pattern extending parallel to the arrangement direction of the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel is formed on the front surface of the source electrode contact film, the source side electrode terminals and the source electrodes of the liquid crystal display panel are formed. The contact terminal pattern on the contact film can be surely contacted at the same time. Therefore, the same signal can be surely supplied to the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel at the same time. Corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of gate-side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel, a plurality of contact terminal patterns are formed in an array on the front surface of the contact film for a gate electrode. The contact terminal patterns are connected to each other on one end side and the other end side of the pattern,
Further, since the insulating film for covering the connection region of the contact terminal pattern is formed on the tip surface of the contact film for gate electrode, the odd number of contact terminal patterns are formed on the gate side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel. Further, only the even-numbered contact terminal patterns can be brought into contact with the even-numbered gate-side electrode terminals. Therefore, the same signal can be selectively supplied simultaneously to the gate side electrode terminals of the odd-numbered columns or the even-numbered columns of the liquid crystal display panel.

Further, since the protective film is interposed between the one end of the clip and the flat surface of the insulating substrate and the guide plate, the position of the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal display panel is adjusted by the pressing force in the sliding direction of the clip during the sliding movement of the clip. It can be prevented from shifting. Moreover, when the clip is slid from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, the tip of the protective film moves out of the insulating substrate mounting area, so the liquid crystal display panel can be removed from the socket body or the socket body. The mounting work on the top can be easily performed without any obstacle due to the protective film. Therefore, it is lightweight and compact, can be accurately aligned with the electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel, and has excellent workability in mounting and removing the liquid crystal display panel and does not damage the insulating substrate. A socket can be provided.

In the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to the second aspect of the invention, there is provided elasticity for extending in the arrangement direction of the exposed portion of the contact terminal pattern and elastically contacting the back surface of the front end portion of each contact film on the opposite side of the exposed portion of the contact terminal pattern. Since the support is provided in the socket body, when pressing the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal display panel with one end of the clip, the exposed part of the contact terminal pattern on the contact film is secured by the elastic support from the back side of the contact film. Moreover, the electrode terminals on the insulating substrate can be pressed. Therefore, the electrical connection between the electrode terminal of the liquid crystal display panel and the contact terminal pattern of the contact film can be more reliably performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket, wherein a movable support for supporting the elastic support is provided so as to be movable in a pressing direction of the clip with respect to the socket body, and the clip has one end thereof. When the part presses the insulating substrate, the other end is formed so as to press the movable support in the direction opposite to the pressing direction of the one end of the clip. It is possible to balance the pressing force of the parts in the opposite direction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inconvenient sinking of the liquid crystal display panel which occurs when only one pressing force is applied by the one end of the clip to the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal display panel,
The smoothness of the sliding movement of the clip can be ensured. Further, when only one direction of pressing force is applied to the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal display panel by the one end of the clip, the pressing force is increased by the rigidity of the protective film interposed between the one end of the clip and the insulating substrate. On the other hand, it is difficult to effectively transmit the pressing force of the clip to the insulating substrate due to an inconvenient resistance force. However, according to the configuration of the present invention, as described above, the pressing force by the one end of the clip is applied. Since the pressing force of the other end of the clip and the opposite direction of the clip can be simultaneously applied to the insulating substrate, the pressing force of the clip can be effectively applied regardless of the rigidity of the protective film to the electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel and the contact film. Can be applied to the contact portion with the contact terminal pattern, and the contact pressure can be improved.

In the socket for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel according to a fourth aspect, the elastic support member has a cylindrical portion that is in contact with the rear surface of the tip portion of the contact film, and a pedestal portion that is connected to the rear surface portion of the cylindrical portion. The elastic support is cut along its entire length at a position that bisects the back surface portion and the pedestal portion of the tubular portion, and the tubular portion is formed by expanding the tubular portion into a flat plate shape. Since it is formed by rolling it into a circular shape, it is possible to easily obtain an elastic support having high dimensional accuracy such as linearity in the longitudinal direction of the contact portion of the tubular portion with respect to the back surface of the contact film and thickness. . Therefore, it is possible to inexpensively provide the socket for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel, which can bring the electrode terminal of the liquid crystal display panel into contact with the contact terminal pattern of the contact film with a uniform contact pressure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display panel inspecting socket, wherein a linear expansion coefficient is provided on the socket main body, the linear expansion coefficient extending in parallel with the arrangement direction of the source side and gate side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel and substantially the same as that of the insulating substrate. A plurality of film mounting plates having a contact film for the source electrode and the gate electrode are fixed to the film mounting plate, and one end of the insulating substrate is positioned in the socket body in the arrangement direction of the electrode terminals. Board positioning means, board edge pressing means for pressing the other end of the insulating board against the board positioning means with a strength that allows dimensional changes of the insulating board due to linear expansion in the arrangement direction of the electrode terminals, and film mounting. Mounting plate positioning means for positioning one end of the plate on the same reference plane as one end of the insulating substrate, and dimensional change due to linear expansion of the film mounting plate Since the mounting plate end pressing means for pressing the other end of the film mounting plate against the mounting plate positioning means with an acceptable strength is provided, the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal display panel is mounted on the contact film of the socket body. When mounting, the electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel and the contact terminal patterns of the contact film can be accurately aligned by abutting and positioning one end of the insulating substrate against the substrate positioning means. At this time, since the contact terminal pattern extending parallel to the arrangement direction of the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel is formed on the front surface of the source electrode contact film, the source side electrode terminals and the source electrodes of the liquid crystal display panel are formed. The contact terminal pattern on the contact film can be surely contacted at the same time. Therefore, the same signal can be reliably supplied to the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel at the same time. Corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of gate-side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel, a plurality of contact terminal patterns are formed in an array on the front surface of the contact film for a gate electrode. The contact terminal patterns are connected to each other on one end side and the other end side of the pattern, and an insulating coating is formed on the tip end surface of the gate electrode contact film to cover the connection area of the contact terminal patterns. Therefore, only the odd-numbered contact terminal patterns can be contacted with the odd-numbered gate-side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel, and only the even-numbered contact terminal patterns can be contacted with the even-numbered gate-side electrode terminals.
Therefore, the same signal can be selectively supplied simultaneously to the gate side electrode terminals of the odd-numbered columns or the even-numbered columns of the liquid crystal display panel.

Further, when the inspection environment temperature of the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket equipped with the liquid crystal display panel changes, one end of the film mounting plate and one end of the insulating substrate of the liquid crystal display panel are mounted on the substrate positioning means and mounted. Can be kept on the same reference plane by the plate positioning means,
In the arrangement direction of the electrode terminal and the contact terminal pattern, since the dimensional change amount due to the linear expansion of the insulating substrate and the film mounting plate can be kept substantially the same, the electrode terminal and the contact terminal pattern due to the linear expansion of the insulating substrate and the film mounting plate can be maintained. It is possible to prevent the displacement of the position. Therefore, the electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel and the contact terminal patterns of the contact film can be reliably maintained in an electrically connected state in a wide range of temperature environments, so that the display quality inspection of the liquid crystal display panel can be performed in a wide range of temperature environments. Can be done accurately.

In the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to the present invention, the position of one end of the film mounting plate can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction of the film mounting plate by the position adjusting means. And one end portion of the insulating substrate in the arrangement direction of the electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel can be accurately aligned on the same reference plane. Therefore, the electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel and the contact terminal patterns on the contact film can be surely aligned with each other, so that the display quality inspection of the liquid crystal display panel can be accurately performed.

In the socket for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 7, a plurality of contact terminal patterns are arranged on the surface of the tip of the source electrode contact film in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel. Since they are formed and connected to each other through a plurality of connecting portions, the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel are respectively connected to the source side contact terminals on the source electrode contact film at the intersections thereof. The electrode terminal and the plurality of contact terminal patterns can be locally brought into contact with each other. Therefore, each source-side electrode terminal and the plurality of contact terminal patterns can be reliably brought into contact with each other with a high contact pressure.

According to another aspect of the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket of the present invention, a plurality of connecting portions are arranged between the respective rows of the contact terminal patterns at intervals in the arrangement direction of the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel. Therefore, even if the connecting portion between the columns of the contact terminal pattern is in a position where it comes into contact with any of the source-side electrode terminals, the source-side electrode terminals can be brought into contact with the contact terminal patterns of other columns. Therefore, each source-side electrode terminal can be reliably brought into contact with the contact terminal pattern at a plurality of locations.

[0031]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

2 to 15 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket used for the display quality inspection of the liquid crystal display panel 1 shown in FIG. 2 is a plan view of the socket with the clip moved to the panel substrate pressing position, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the socket with the clip moved to the panel substrate releasing position, and FIG. 4 is a clip of the socket shown in FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which a cover and the like are removed, FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view of a source-side electrode contact film for contacting with a source-side electrode terminal of a liquid crystal display panel, and FIG. 6 is a source side shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway enlarged view of a main part of the electrode contact film. FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view of the gate side electrode contact film for making contact with the gate side electrode terminal of the liquid crystal display panel. (A), (b) is a partially broken enlarged view of a main part of the contact film for a gate side electrode shown in FIG. 7, respectively, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the socket of FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9 in a state where the clip is moved to the panel substrate release position, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the socket shown in FIG.
2A is a plan view showing a configuration example of a jig useful for attaching and detaching the liquid crystal display panel to and from the socket of FIG. 2, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 2A. 13A to 13C are cross-sectional views showing the operation of the socket of the first embodiment, FIG. 14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the contact portion between the source side electrode terminal and the source electrode contact film of the liquid crystal display panel, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a contact portion between a gate-side electrode terminal and a gate electrode contact film of a liquid crystal display panel.

First, referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket 10 includes a socket body 11 made of metal or plastic and having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The liquid crystal display panel 1 is mounted with the electrode terminals 3 and 4 facing the upper surface side of the socket body 11. On the upper surface of the socket main body 11, corner engaging pieces 11a to 1 which respectively engage with the three corners of the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1.
1c is formed to project. Of the three corner engaging pieces 11a to 11c, two engaging pieces 1 facing each other.
Reference numerals 1b and 11c roughly position the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 10, and the remaining corner engaging pieces 11a accurately position the short side and the long side of the insulating substrate 2 at the reference plane position. It forms a substrate positioning means. Board end pressing means 1 for diagonally opposing the corner engaging piece 11a and pressing the insulating board 2 against the socket body 11 toward the corner engaging piece 11a.
2 are provided. The board end portion pressing means 12 has a movable engagement piece 12a that engages with a corner portion of the insulating board 2 and a coil spring 12b that urges the movable engagement piece 12a toward the corner portion engagement piece 11a. The movable engagement piece 12a and the coil spring 12b are housed in a recess 11d formed in the upper surface of the socket body 11 and are covered with a cover 13. The spring force of the coil spring 12b is
The strength is set to allow the dimensional change of the insulating substrate 2 due to the linear expansion of the transparent electrode terminals of the insulating substrate 2 in the arrangement direction.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, corresponding to the long side and the short side of the insulating substrate 2 on which the transparent electrode terminals 3 and 4 on the source side and the gate side of the liquid crystal display panel 1 are formed,
On the upper surface of the socket body 11, a groove 11e is formed which extends in parallel with the long side and the short side of the insulating substrate 2. An insulating material having substantially the same linear expansion coefficient as that of the insulating substrate 2, for example, a film mounting plate 15 made of the same material as the insulating substrate 2 is housed in each groove 11e so as to be slidably displaced in the longitudinal direction thereof. The source-side transparent electrode terminals 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 are provided on the upper surface of the film mounting plate 15 parallel to the long sides of the insulating substrate 2, corresponding to the blocks of the four source-side electrode terminals 3 on each long side of the display panel 1. A plurality of (four in the illustrated example) source electrode contact films 14A serving as contact members are fixed at their base ends with, for example, an adhesive or the like.
Similarly, in correspondence with the blocks of the two gate-side electrode terminals 4 on the short side of the liquid crystal display panel 1, the gate side of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is transparent on the upper surface of the film mounting plate 15 parallel to the short side of the insulating substrate 2. A plurality of (two in the illustrated example) source electrode contact films 14B serving as contact members for the electrode terminals 4 are fixed at their base ends with, for example, an adhesive.

A position adjusting screw 16 as a mounting plate positioning means for positioning one end of the film mounting plate 15 on the same reference plane as one end of the insulating substrate 2 is provided at one end of each groove 11e. There is. The tip of the position adjusting screw 16 is in contact with one end of the film mounting plate 15, and the tip position of the position adjusting screw 16 can be adjusted by turning the head of the position adjusting screw 16 with a tool or the like. Also,
The other end of the groove 11e is in contact with the other end of the film mounting plate 15 and presses the film mounting plate 15 against the position adjusting screw 16 as a coil spring 17 as a mounting plate end pressing means.
The spring force of the coil spring 17 is set to a strength that allows the dimensional change of the film mounting plate 15 in the longitudinal direction due to linear expansion. 18 to 20 are concave grooves 1
It is a cover that covers the end of 1e.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 14, the tip end surface of each source electrode contact film 14A made of an insulating flexible film contacts the source side electrode terminal 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1. A plurality of contact terminal patterns 42 are formed. The plurality of contact terminal patterns 42 are arranged and formed in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the gate side electrode terminals 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1, extend in parallel to the arrangement direction of the gate side electrode terminals 3, and have a plurality of connecting portions. They are connected to each other via 43. Then, one of the contact terminal patterns 42 is connected to the external connection electrode pad 45 formed on the base end surface of the contact film 14A via the lead pattern 44. Further, on the surface of the contact film 14A, there are two common electrode contact terminal patterns 46 for contacting the common electrode terminals 5 of the liquid crystal display panel 1.
And the contact terminal pattern 46 for each common electrode is formed.
Through the lead pattern 47 to the contact film 14
External connection electrode pad 48 formed on the base end surface of A
It is connected to the. A section between the front end portion and the base end portion of the surface of the contact film 14A is covered with an insulating coating 49 which is partially broken.

Further, in the source electrode contact film 14A of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of connecting portions 43 are provided between the rows of the source electrode contact terminal patterns 42 on the source side of the liquid crystal display panel 1. Electrode terminal 3
Are arranged at intervals in the arrangement direction of.

As shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 15, the tip end surface of each gate electrode contact film 14B made of an insulating flexible film is in contact with the gate side electrode terminal 4 of the liquid crystal display panel 1. A plurality of contact terminal patterns 50 are formed. The plurality of contact terminal patterns 50 are arranged and formed in the same direction as the arrangement direction of the gate-side electrode terminals 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1. As shown in detail in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the odd-numbered contact terminal patterns 50 and the even-numbered contact terminal patterns 50 are connected to each other at one end side and the other end side of the pattern 50, respectively. It is formed in a comb shape. The odd-numbered and even-numbered contact terminal patterns 50 are connected to external connection electrode pads 53 and 54 formed on the base end surface of the contact film 14B via lead patterns 51 and 52, respectively. Further, insulating coatings 55 and 56 are formed on the surface of the tip portion of the gate electrode contact film 14B so as to cover the connection regions on one end side and the other end side of the contact terminal pattern 50.

The contact films 14A and 14B can be connected to an external circuit device (not shown) equipped with a pixel driving IC by inserting the respective base ends into sockets (not shown) of a connecting cable.

As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 and 13 to 15, the contact film 14 is provided on the socket body 11.
An elastic support member 21 is provided which elastically contacts the back surfaces of the tip portions of A and 14B and supports the tip portions of the contact films 14 from below. The elastic support 21 is the contact film 14
It has a cylindrical portion 21a that abuts on the rear surface of the tip portion of A and 14B, and a pedestal portion 21b that is connected to the lower portion of the cylindrical portion 21a. In this embodiment, the elastic support body 21 is cut along its entire length at a position that bisects the lower portion of the tubular portion 21a and the pedestal portion 21b, and the tubular portion 21a is formed into a flat plate shape. Since the elastic support is formed by being rolled into a tubular shape, the contact film 14A,
It is possible to easily improve the linearity in the longitudinal direction of the contact portion of the tubular portion 21a with respect to the rear surface of the distal end portion of 14B, and the dimensional accuracy such as thickness. Therefore, the transparent electrode terminals 3 and 4 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 and the contact terminal patterns 42 and 50 on the tips of the contact films 14A and 14B can be brought into contact with each other with a uniform contact pressure.

As shown in FIGS. 9, 11, 14 and 15, on the upper surface of the socket body 11, there is provided a guide plate 22 which is located above the contact films 14A and 14B and abuts against the side of the insulating substrate 2. It is fixed. 9 and 11
Referring to, contact film for source electrode 14A
The guide plate 22 located above the contact film 1 is the contact film 1.
4A has a flat upper surface which is substantially continuous with the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2 mounted on the surface 4A. A plurality of lower ribs 22a that abut the upper surface of the socket body 11 are formed on the lower surface of the guide plate 22.
The lower ribs 22a are disposed with a gap therebetween. Instead of the lower rib 22a of the guide plate 22, a similar rib may be formed so as to project on the upper surface of the socket body 11. Although illustration is omitted, the guide plate 22 located above the gate electrode contact film 14B is located above the source electrode contact film 14A.
It has the same configuration as that of No. 2.

The socket 10 has a plurality of pressing members 23 for pressing the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 from above. As shown in FIG. 9, the pressing member 23 of this embodiment
Is provided with a clip 24 having a substantially U-shaped cross section having an upper spring piece portion 24a and a lower spring piece portion 24b, and a protective film 25. The clip 24 is a panel substrate pressing position that sandwiches the insulating substrate 2 and the socket body 11 (see FIG. 9) and the guide plate 2
It is slidable between a panel substrate releasing position (see FIG. 10) that sandwiches the socket 2 and the socket body 11 and releases the insulating substrate 2. A pressing portion 24c is bent and formed at the tip of the upper spring piece portion 24a of the clip 24.

The base end of the protective film 25 is the guide plate 22.
Is fixed to the upper surface of the with an adhesive or the like. In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, the protective film 25 has a tip portion 25a with the clip 2 when the clip 24 is at the panel substrate pressing position.
The size is set so as to be interposed between the pressing portion 24c at the tip of the upper spring piece portion 24a of No. 4 and the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2. Further, the tip portion 25a of the protective film 25 has a
0 and FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b), when the clip 24 is in the panel substrate release position, the tip 25a of the clip 24 separates from the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2 due to the curl habit of the film itself. It is formed to open the mounting area. Protective film 2 having such curl habit
Although 5 can be formed of metal or synthetic resin, it is preferable to use a material having excellent surface slipperiness.

As can be seen from FIGS. 9 and 11, the upper surface of the guide plate 22 is in contact with the inner surface or the lower surface of the upper spring piece portion 24a of the clip 24 to support the upper spring piece portion 24a slidably. Guide ribs 22b are provided in a protruding manner.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the lower spring piece portion 24b of the clip 24 has an upwardly projecting portion 24.
d is bulged. On the lower surface of the socket body 11, when the clip 24 is in the panel substrate pressing position and the panel substrate releasing position, the protrusions 2 of the clip 24 are respectively formed.
A recess 11g that elastically engages with 4d is formed. Therefore, the clip 24 can be stably locked at the panel substrate pressing position and the panel substrate releasing position.

When the liquid crystal display panel 1 is attached to or detached from the socket 10, the socket body 11 is shown in FIG.
It is mounted on the jig 26 shown in (a) and (b). This jig 26 has a base 27 with positioning pins 28 protruding from the top surface.
A movable support piece 29 slidably held in a recess 27a formed on the upper surface of the base 27, and the movable support piece 29.
And an engaging pin 30 protruding from the upper surface of the. Figure 2
As shown in FIG. 4, the socket body 11 is formed with a positioning hole 11h that fits with the positioning pin 28 of the jig 26. Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 13, the upper spring piece portion 24a and the lower spring piece portion 24b of the clip 24 are provided with engaging holes 24e, 24 for engaging with the engaging pin 30, respectively.
f is provided. The engagement pin 30 is the socket body 1.
When 1 is mounted on the base 27 of the jig 26 and positioned, it is inserted into the engaging holes 24 e and 24 f of the clip 24. Therefore, the socket body 11 is attached to the base 2 of the jig 26.
After mounting on 7, the movable support piece 29 is manually operated, or
The clip 24 can be easily slid by automatically sliding it using an actuator (not shown).

In the liquid crystal display panel inspection socket having the above structure, after the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is placed on the source electrode and gate electrode contact films 14A and 14B on the socket body 11, By sliding the clip 24 from the panel substrate release position to the panel substrate pressing position, the liquid crystal display panel 1
Since a pressing force can be applied to the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1, the source side and the gate side electrode terminals 3 and 4 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 are provided with the required contact pressures, respectively, at the tips of the source electrode and gate electrode contact films 14A and 14B. It is possible to contact the surface of the part. At this time, since the contact terminal pattern 42 extending parallel to the arrangement direction of the source-side electrode terminals 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is formed on the front surface of the source electrode contact film 14A, the liquid crystal display panel 1 is formed.
The source-side electrode terminal 3 and the contact terminal pattern 42 on the source electrode contact film 14A can be reliably contacted at the same time. Therefore, the liquid crystal display panel 1
It is possible to surely supply the same signal to the source-side electrode terminals 3 at the same time. Corresponding to the array of the plurality of gate-side electrode terminals 4 of the liquid crystal display panel 1, a plurality of contact terminal patterns 50 are arrayed and formed on the surface of the tip of the contact film for gate electrode 14B. The contact terminal patterns 50 and the even-numbered columns 50 are connected to each other on one end side and the other end side of the pattern, and the tip end surface of the gate electrode contact film 14B covers the connection area of the contact terminal pattern 50. Since the insulating coatings 55 and 56 are formed, only the odd-numbered contact terminal patterns 42 are provided on the odd-numbered gate-side electrode terminals 4 of the liquid crystal display panel 1, and the even-numbered contact-side electrode terminals 4 are provided on the even-numbered columns. Only the contact terminal patterns 42 in a row can be contacted with each other. Therefore, the same signal can be selectively supplied simultaneously to the gate side electrode terminals 4 of the odd-numbered columns or the even-numbered columns of the liquid crystal display panel 1.

In the socket 10 having the above structure, as described above, a plurality of contact terminal patterns 42 are provided on the surface of the tip of the source electrode contact film 14A in the arrangement direction of the source side electrode terminals 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1. Since the source-side electrode terminals 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 are arranged and formed in the orthogonal direction and are connected to each other through the plurality of connecting portions 43, a plurality of contact terminal patterns on the source electrode contact film 14A. The source-side electrode terminal 3 and the plurality of contact terminal patterns 42 can be locally brought into contact with each other at locations intersecting with 42. Therefore, each source-side electrode terminal 3 and the plurality of contact terminal patterns 42 can be reliably brought into contact with each other with a high contact pressure.

Further, the contact film 1 for the source electrode
Between the columns of the contact terminal patterns 42 on 4A, the plurality of connecting portions 43 are arranged at intervals in the arrangement direction of the source-side electrode terminals 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1, so that the columns of the contact terminal patterns 42 are arranged between the columns. Even if the connecting portion 43 is in a position in contact with any of the source-side electrode terminals 3, the source-side electrode terminals 3 can be brought into contact with the contact terminal patterns 42 in another row. Therefore, each source-side electrode terminal 3 can be reliably brought into contact with the contact terminal pattern 42 at a plurality of locations.

Further, in the socket 10 having the above structure, since the pressing member 23 is composed of the slidable clip 24 and the protective film 25, the weight and the size of the entire socket can be reduced. Further, as described above, when the clip 24 moves from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, the protective film 25 is curled by the film itself as shown in FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b). The tip portion 25a curls upward and moves out of the insulating substrate mounting area. Therefore, when the liquid crystal display panel 1 is mounted on the tip portion of the contact film 14 on the socket body 11, or when the liquid crystal display panel 1 is taken out from the socket body 11,
Since the protective film 25 does not interfere with the liquid crystal display panel 1, the workability of mounting and removing the liquid crystal display panel 1 is improved.

After the liquid crystal display panel 1 is mounted, when the clip 24 is slid from the panel substrate releasing position to the panel substrate pressing position, one end of the clip 24, that is, the pressing portion 24c of the upper spring piece 24a is protected by the protective film 25.
It moves on the insulating substrate 2 from above the guide plate 22 while sliding on the above. In the meantime, with the movement of the pressing portion 24c, the leading end portion 25a of the protective film 25 is elastically deformed from the state of being curled upward to the state of being extended by the pressing portion 24 and being straightened. When the clip 24 is at the panel substrate pressing position, the pressing portion 24c of the clip 24 presses the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2 via the tip portion 25a of the protective film 25, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 13C. To do. Since the base end of the protective film 25 is fixed to the guide plate 22, the clip 24 can be moved when the clip 24 slides.
The pressing force in the sliding direction is not transmitted to the insulating substrate 2 via the protective film 25. Therefore, the displacement of the transparent electrode terminals 3, 4 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 and the contact terminal patterns 42, 50 of the contact films 14A, 14B due to the displacement of the insulating substrate 2 can be prevented.

In the socket 10 having the above-mentioned structure, the contact films 14A, 1 extend in the arrangement direction of the contact terminal patterns of the contact films 14A, 14B.
An elastic support 21 for elastically supporting the back surface of the front end of 4B from below.
When the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is pressed by the pressing portion 24c of the clip 24, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the back side of the contact films 14A and 14B is provided. From the contact film 14A, 14B, a part of each contact terminal pattern 42, 46 (not shown in FIG. 14), 50 on the surface of the tip end of the contact film 14A is securely supported by the elastic support 21 so that the transparent electrode terminal 3, It can be pressed to 4, 5. Therefore, the transparent electrode terminals 3, 4, 5 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 and the contact terminal patterns 42, 46 of the contact films 14A, 14B,
The electrical connection with 50 can be made more reliably.

Further, in the socket 10 having the above structure, as described above, the contact films 14A, 14
B is fixed to the film mounting plate 15 having substantially the same linear expansion coefficient as the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1, and the socket body 11 is arranged in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel 1. Corner engaging piece (substrate positioning means) 1 for positioning one end of the insulating substrate 2
1a and the substrate end pressing means 12 for pressing the other end of the insulating substrate 2 against the corner engaging piece 11a with a strength that allows the dimensional change of the insulating substrate 2 due to the linear expansion in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals. And a position adjusting screw (mounting plate positioning means) 16 for positioning one end of the film mounting plate 15 in the arrangement direction of the contact terminal pattern on the same reference plane as one end of the insulating substrate 2, and film mounting by linear expansion. Since there is provided a coil spring (mounting plate end portion pressing means) 17 for pressing the other end of the film mounting plate 15 against the position adjusting screw 16 with a strength that allows the dimensional change of the plate 15 in the longitudinal direction. , The contact films 14A, 1 of the socket body 11
When the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is mounted on 4B, one end of the insulating substrate 2 is brought into contact with the corner engaging piece 11a to position the transparent electrode terminal 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 1. 4, 5 and contact film 14A,
The contact terminal patterns 42, 46, 50 of 14B can be accurately aligned. When the inspection environment temperature of the socket in which the liquid crystal display panel 1 is mounted changes, one end of the film mounting plate 15 and one end of the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 are connected to the corner engaging piece 11a and the adjusting screw. Since it is possible to keep the same reference plane by 16 and the amount of dimensional change due to the linear expansion of the insulating substrate 2 and the film mounting plate 15 in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals 3, 4, 5 can be kept substantially the same. In particular, it is possible to prevent the positional deviation between the gate-side electrode terminal 4 and the contact terminal pattern 50 of the gate electrode contact film 14B due to the linear expansion of the insulating substrate 2 and the film mounting plate 15. Therefore, the transparent electrode terminals 3, 4 and 5 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 and the contact films 14A and 1 under a wide temperature environment.
Since each of the contact terminal patterns 42, 46, 50 of 4B can be reliably maintained in the electrically connected state, the display quality inspection of the liquid crystal display panel 1 can be accurately performed in a wide temperature environment.

Further, in the socket 10 having the above-mentioned structure, the contact position between the mounting plate positioning means and one end of the film mounting plate can be adjusted in the arrangement direction of the contact terminal pattern by the position adjusting means, so that the film mounting is possible. Board 1
It is possible to accurately align the one end of the insulating substrate 2 with the one end of the insulating substrate 2 in the arrangement direction of the transparent electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel 1. Therefore, in particular, the gate side electrode terminal 4 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 and the contact terminal pattern 50 of the gate electrode contact film 14B can be surely aligned with each other, so that the display quality inspection of the liquid crystal display panel 1 can be accurately performed. be able to.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 9 of an essential part of the inspection socket according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. In the second embodiment, the movable support 31 that supports the elastic support 21 is provided so as to be movable in the pressing direction of the clip 24 with respect to the socket body 11, and
The clip 24 is formed such that when one end thereof, that is, the pressing portion 24c presses the insulating substrate, the other end presses the movable support 31 in a direction opposite to the pressing direction of the one end of the clip 24. It is possible to balance the pressing force by one end of 24 and the pressing force of the other end of the clip 24 in the opposite direction. When only one unidirectional pressing force from the one end of the clip 24 acts on the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1, inconvenient sinking is likely to occur in the liquid crystal display panel 1. However, the configuration of the second embodiment. According to this, since the liquid crystal display panel 1 can be prevented from sinking, the clip 24 can be smoothly slid. Further, when only one direction of pressing force from one end of the clip 24 acts on the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1, the rigidity of the protective film 25 interposed between the one end of the clip 24 and the insulating substrate 2 is increased. As a result, an inconvenient resistance force is generated against the pressing force, which makes it difficult to effectively transmit the pressing force of the clip 24 to the insulating substrate 2. However, according to the configuration of the second embodiment. , As mentioned above,
Since the pressing force of one end of the clip 24 and the pressing force of the other end of the clip 24 in the opposite direction can be simultaneously applied to the insulating substrate 2, the pressing force of the clip 24 is exerted regardless of the rigidity of the protective film 25. Effectively apply pressure to the transparent electrode terminals 3, 4, 5 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 and the contact terminal patterns 42, 4 of the contact films 14A, 14B.
It can be applied to the contact portion with 6, 50, and the contact pressure can be improved.

17 to 19 show a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 17 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket, and FIG. 18 is a view taken along the line DD in FIG. FIG. 19 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 18 showing the operation of the pressing means. In these figures, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the third embodiment, the cover 37 for covering the upper surface of the socket body 11 is used as the pressing means 22. One side of the cover 37 is the socket body 1
1 is rotatably supported with respect to the socket body 11 through a rotation support shaft 38 provided on one side portion of the socket body 1, and the other side portion of the cover 37 has the other side portion of the socket body 11. Locking claw piece 40 that can be elastically engaged with a locking portion 39 formed on the portion
Is provided. Further, an elastic pressing piece 41 for pressing the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is fixedly provided on the inner surface of the cover 37 above the elastic support body 21. further,
A spring (not shown) that biases the cover in the opening direction is attached to the rotation support shaft 38. In the fourth embodiment, since the insulating substrate 2 can be pressed from above by the elastic pressing piece 41 of the cover 37, the protective film of the first embodiment is omitted. Liquid crystal display panel 1 in the fourth embodiment
Support / positioning structure for the insulating substrate 2 and the film mounting plate 1 for supporting the contact films 14A and 14B
Since the supporting / positioning structure of 5 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the transparent electrode terminals 3, 4, 5 by the linear expansion of the insulating substrate 2 and the film mounting plate 15 and the contact terminal patterns 42, 46 of the contact film 14. , 50 can be prevented from being displaced. Therefore, the transparent electrode terminals 3, 4 and 5 of the liquid crystal display panel 1 and the contact terminal pattern 4 of the contact films 14A and 14B under a wide temperature environment.
Since it is possible to surely maintain the electric connection between 2, 46 and 50, the display quality inspection of the liquid crystal display panel 1 can be accurately performed under a wide temperature environment.

Although the illustrated embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.
For example, the arrangement mode and the number of the source electrode and gate electrode contact films 14A and 14B on the socket body can be changed according to the arrangement mode of the source side electrode terminals and the gate side electrode terminals in the liquid crystal display panel. .

In the first embodiment, when the clip 24 moves from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, the tip of the protective film 25 is outside the insulating substrate mounting area due to its curl tendency. However, the tip of the protective film may be connected to the tip of the clip instead of curling the tip of the protective film. In this case, when the clip moves from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, the tip portion of the protective film is pulled by the clip by the tip and moves to the outside of the insulating substrate mounting area.

Further, in the first embodiment, one protective film 25 is used for the plurality of contact films 14A, 14B in each row, but it corresponds to the number of contact films 14A, 14B in each row. The plurality of protective films may be fixed on the guide plate 22. Also, the contact films 14A, 14 in each row
A plurality of slits may be formed in one end portion of the clip 24, that is, the pressing portion 24c, corresponding to the number of arrangements of B, so that the pressing portion 24c may be formed in a comb tooth shape. By thus forming the pressing portion 24c of the clip 24 in a comb-tooth shape, the pressing force can be uniformly applied to the insulating substrate 2.

Further, although the elastic support 21 having the cylindrical portion is used in the above embodiment, the elastic support may be an elastic block body having a solid structure, and the contact films 14A and 14B. The elastic support may be configured by a contact piece that abuts the back surface of the tip end portion of and a spring member that presses the back surface of the contact piece.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a liquid crystal display panel and a method of connecting inspection signal wirings to the panel.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the socket showing the first embodiment when the present invention is applied to the socket used for the inspection of the liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 1, showing a state where the clip is moved to the panel substrate pressing position. .

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which the clip of the socket shown in FIG. 2 is moved to a panel substrate release position.

4 is a plan view showing a state where a clip, a protective film, a cover and the like of the socket shown in FIG. 2 are removed.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view of a source-side electrode contact film for contacting with a source-side electrode terminal of a liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway enlarged view of a main part of the source-side electrode contact film shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view of a gate-side electrode contact film for making contact with a gate-side electrode terminal of a liquid crystal display panel.

8A and 8B are partially cutaway enlarged views of a main part of the gate-side electrode contact film shown in FIG. 7.

9 is a sectional view of the socket shown in FIG. 2 taken along the line AA in FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9 with the clip moved to the panel substrate release position.

11 is a sectional view of the main part of the socket shown in FIG. 1, taken along the line BB in FIG.

12 (a) is a plan view showing a configuration example of a jig used for attaching / detaching the liquid crystal display panel to / from the socket shown in FIG.
(B) is a sectional view taken along the line CC in (a).

13 (a) to 13 (c) are cross-sectional views showing the operation of the socket shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a contact portion between a source side electrode terminal and a source electrode contact film of a liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a contact portion between a gate-side electrode terminal and a gate electrode contact film of a liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part similar to FIG. 9 of a socket for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display panel inspection socket showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

18 is a sectional view of the socket shown in FIG. 17, taken along the line DD in FIG.

19 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 18, showing the operation of the pressing means of the socket shown in FIG.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 liquid crystal display panel 2 insulating substrate 3 source side electrode terminal 4 gate side electrode terminal 10 liquid crystal display panel inspection socket 11 socket body 11a corner engaging member (board positioning means) 11e recessed groove 12 board end Pressing means 14A Source electrode contact film 14B Gate electrode contact film 15 Film mounting plate 16 Position adjusting screw (mounting plate positioning means) 17 Coil spring (mounting plate end pressing means) 21 Elastic support 21a Cylindrical part 21b Pedestal part 22 Guide plate 24 Clip 25 Protective film 25a Tip part 26 Jig 31 Movable support 42 Contact terminal pattern (for source electrode) 43 Connecting part 49 Insulation film 50 Contact terminal pattern (for gate electrode) 55, 56 Insulation film

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A contact for a gate electrode and a source electrode arranged on a socket body, wherein source-side and gate-side electrode terminals are arranged and formed on an insulating substrate of a liquid crystal panel along a side of the insulating substrate. In a contact device for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel, which is brought into contact with the front end surface of the film by a pressing force of a pressing member, the front end surface of the source electrode contact film has a contact extending parallel to the arrangement direction of the source side electrode terminals. A terminal pattern is formed, and a plurality of contact terminal patterns are formed in an array on the tip surface of the gate electrode contact film in correspondence with the arrangement of the gate-side electrode terminals. And even-numbered contact terminal patterns are connected to each other at one end side and the other end side of the pattern, respectively. An insulating film is formed on the tip surface of the contact film for the gate electrode to cover the connection region of the contact terminal pattern, and the socket body is located above the contact films for the source electrode and the gate electrode. A guide plate is provided which is in contact with the side of the substrate and forms a plane substantially continuous with the plane of the insulating substrate opposite to the electrode terminals,
The pressing member has a cross-section that is slidable between a panel substrate pressing position that sandwiches the insulating substrate and the socket body and a panel substrate releasing position that releases the insulating substrate by sandwiching the guide plate and the socket body. A U-shaped clip having a spring property and a protective film fixed to the guide plate and interposed between one end of the clip and the flat surface of the insulating substrate and the guide plate. Is a socket for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel, wherein when the clip moves from the panel substrate pressing position to the panel substrate releasing position, a tip portion of the clip moves out of an insulating substrate mounting area. 2. An elastic support body is provided on the socket body, the elastic support extending in a direction in which the exposed portions of the contact terminal patterns are arranged and elastically contacting the back surface of the tip portions of the contact films opposite to the exposed portions of the contact terminal patterns. The socket for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the socket is for inspection. 3. The socket main body is further provided with a movable supporter for supporting the elastic supporter so as to be movable in the pressing direction of the clip, and when the one end of the clip presses the insulating substrate. 3. The liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to claim 2, wherein the other end is formed so as to press the movable support in a direction opposite to the pressing direction of the one end of the clip. 4. The elastic support body has a tubular portion that abuts against the back surface of the tip portion of each contact film, and a pedestal portion that is connected to the back surface of the tubular portion. Is
Along the entire length, it is cut at a position that bisects the back surface portion and the pedestal portion of the tubular portion, and is formed by rolling the tubular portion into a flat plate shape and rolling it into a tubular shape. The liquid crystal display panel inspection socket according to claim 2, characterized in that: 5. A source electrode and a gate electrode disposed on a socket body, wherein source-side and gate-side electrode terminals are arranged and formed on an insulating substrate of a liquid crystal liquid crystal display panel along a side of the insulating substrate. In the contact device for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel, which is brought into contact with the front end surface of the contact film by a pressing force, the front end surface of the source electrode contact film is parallel to the array direction of the source side electrode terminals. An extended contact terminal pattern is formed, and a plurality of contact terminal patterns are formed in an array on the tip surface of the gate electrode contact film in correspondence with the array of the gate-side electrode terminals. The contact terminal patterns of the odd and even rows are connected to each other on one end side and the other end side of the pattern, respectively. An insulating coating is formed on the tip surface of the gate electrode contact film to cover the connection region of the contact terminal pattern, and the source side and gate side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel are arranged on the socket body. A plurality of film mounting plates extending parallel to the direction and having substantially the same linear expansion coefficient as the insulating substrate, the source electrode and gate electrode contact films are fixed to the film mounting plate, and the socket The main body has a substrate positioning means for positioning one end of the insulating substrate in the arrangement direction of the electrode terminals, and strength enough to allow dimensional changes of the insulating substrate due to linear expansion in the arrangement direction of the electrode terminals. A substrate end portion pressing means for pressing the other end portion of the insulating substrate against the substrate positioning means and one end portion of the film mounting plate are cut off. Mounting plate positioning means for positioning the one end portion of the substrate on the same reference plane, and the other end portion of the film mounting plate with the strength allowing the dimensional change due to the linear expansion of the film mounting plate. A liquid crystal display panel inspection socket, characterized in that a mounting plate end portion pressing means for pressing against the means is provided. 6. The mounting plate positioning means includes position adjusting means for adjusting a contact position of the film mounting plate with the one end portion in an arrangement direction of the contact terminal pattern. LCD display panel inspection socket. 7. A plurality of the contact terminal patterns are arrayed and formed on a surface of a tip portion of the contact film for a source electrode in a direction orthogonal to an array direction of source-side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel, and a plurality of connection patterns. The display panel inspection socket according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the display panel inspection sockets are connected to each other via a portion. 8. The liquid crystal according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of the connecting portions are arranged between the rows of the contact terminal patterns at intervals in the arrangement direction of the source side electrode terminals of the liquid crystal display panel. Display panel inspection socket.