JPH08292008A - Flat display panel inspection/correction device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve positioning accuracy for specifying a defect position and omit defect confirming function so as to reduce cost and improve throughput by automatically correcting defect of a flat surface display panel conveyed from an inspection device to a correction device based on inspection information data. CONSTITUTION: A panel loading/unloading device 6 is moved by a panel loading/ unloading control device 17, and a liquid crystal 7 is set on an inspection stage 8. Next, the stage 8 is moved by an alignment control device 14 based on a position reference mark picked up by an image pickup device 4 for alignment, so as to position the liquid crystal 7, a panel number is read out by an image pickup device 2 for reading a number, a signal is output to a number recognizing device 12, and the number is recognized. Lighting display of the liquid crystal 7 is performed by control of a lighting circuit control device 15, transmitting light of the whole liquid crystal is taken in an image pickup device 3 for detecting defect such as CCD camera. Output of the image pickup device 3 is taken in an image processing device 13 for detecting defect, and inspection is carried out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display, E
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection / correction device for a flat display panel such as an L display, a plasma display, etc., and in particular, an inspection device and a correction device are separately provided, and information transmission means for transmitting information data between the devices and a flat display panel between the devices The present invention relates to a flat display panel inspection / correction device that automatically corrects defects by connecting with a means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional inspection devices for flat display panels include
There are visual inspection and automatic inspection, and correction devices include manual inspection and automatic inspection. In addition, as an inspection / correction device that combines inspection and correction, there is a device in which a visual or automatic inspection part and a manual or automatic correction part are integrated with each other.

When visually inspecting, a human visually inspects a defect while the flat display panel to be inspected is lit and displayed by several kinds of panel drive signals having different patterns.

In the case of manual repair, while confirming the type of the defect, the repair method, and the irradiation position of the laser light based on the inspection information data, a person crushes the foreign matter by the laser light, cuts the wiring pattern, connects the wiring pattern, etc. Make corrections.

However, in the above-mentioned method of visually inspecting, the inspection is time-consuming, and human beings must always perform the work. Therefore, labor costs are required, and as a result, the inspection is automatically performed. As a result, the cost of the product becomes high. In addition, since it is difficult for human beings to quantify the panel lighting inspection, there is a high possibility that the product level will vary due to individual differences. There is a similar problem when manually correcting, and because it is necessary for human beings to fix it, the labor cost is higher than that when it is automatically corrected, the product cost is higher, and the product level varies due to individual differences. It is likely to occur. So, in the production line,
Automatic inspection and correction devices are commonly used.

In the case of automatic inspection, while the flat display panel to be inspected is lit and displayed by several kinds of panel drive signals having different patterns, an image of the entire panel or a part of the panel is captured by an image pickup device such as a CCD camera. Or
Spot light such as laser light is sequentially scanned to each picture element of the inspected flat display panel, reflected and scattered light is captured by an image pickup device such as a CCD camera, and image data thereof is differentiated, binarized, smoothed, etc. By image processing,
Detect defects. Further, regarding a defect that cannot be detected only by image processing, the defect is detected by using a method of examining the electrical characteristics of the wiring pattern by measuring the resistance value between a plurality of signal input terminals of the display panel to be inspected.

When the inspection is completed, it is determined whether or not the defect needs to be repaired by comparing it with a predetermined inspection standard, and the type of defect, the position of the defect, the repair method, the position to be repaired, etc. Output as. The coordinates of the defect can be obtained from the image data captured by the image pickup device, or a defect confirmation camera can be provided to move the defect confirmation camera to the defect position or move the XY stage with the panel set to confirm the defect position. There is a method such as finding from the amount of movement by matching the position of the camera. When the defect coordinates on the panel are obtained, it is possible to specify the defective pixel based on the specifications such as the pixel size and the pixel pitch of the panel.

When the inspection device and the repair device are separate, the defective panel is conveyed to the repair device, the inspection information data output by the inspection device is sent to the repair device, and the repair is performed based on the information. When the repair stage on which the panel is set is moved to reproduce the defect position on the repair device side, there is a high possibility that the defect position has an error. This is because, for example, when the stage is moved by the combination of the motor and the ball screw, it is affected by the lead error of the ball screw, and when the stage is moved by the combination of the motor, the belt and the pulley, the slippage and elongation of the belt Affected and error occurs. Therefore, the area around the position where the defect is expected to be displayed is lit again to confirm the position, and then the correction is performed. When the inspection function and the correction function are provided in the same device, the correction is performed based on the inspection information data immediately after the inspection.

In the case of automatic correction, a correction method obtained from inspection information data is used to correct foreign matter crushed by laser light, cutting wiring patterns, connecting wiring patterns, and the like. The position when the laser light is emitted can be obtained accurately by pattern recognition or the like using a wiring pattern that is a feature of the panel.

There is also a system in which the inspection function directly serves as a correction function as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-266357. Specifically, when scanning the inspection display panel with inspection light such as laser light and the reflected light changes due to foreign matter in the inspection display panel, by amplifying the inspection light, the foreign matter is burned to remove defects. It is a method of correction. In addition, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-266357, when the inspection light such as laser light is scanned on the display panel to be inspected and the reflected light is changed by a foreign substance in the display panel to be inspected, (1) A part is taken out and amplified by phase conjugation in the device to be a correction light, and the foreign matter is irradiated from another direction and burned to be corrected. (2) Laser light with different wavelength is used for inspection light and correction light,
Even if the optical axes of the inspection light and the correction light are the same, only the reflected light of the inspection light can be taken out by the fetal, and the inspection can be performed even during the correction. (3) Irradiating the correction light later than the inspection light by shifting the position. , A method that enables inspection even during modification is shown.

[0011]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

(1) Problems when the automatic inspection device and the automatic correction device are separate In the above-described method of automatically performing inspection correction, when the inspection device and the correction device are separate, the position of the defect detected by the inspection device is determined by the correction device side. There is a possibility that there is an error in the defect position when trying to reproduce. Therefore, it is necessary to illuminate and display the area around the position where the defect is expected to be present again to confirm the position, and the repairing device side needs a lit display function and a detection function for defect confirmation. Therefore, a lighting circuit for generating and switching the drive signal and a prober for inputting the drive signal are required to perform the lighting display, which increases the cost. Due to the contact error between the drive signal input terminal of the panel and the prober, there is an increased possibility that an erroneous detection is performed and an erroneous correction is performed even if there is no defect. Frequent cleaning to reduce contact mistakes,
Maintenance is required and throughput decreases. Problems such as occur.

Further, in the case of providing a detection function, if an image processing apparatus having a defect detection function at the same level as that of the inspection apparatus is provided, the cost increases because the image processing apparatus occupies a large proportion of the total cost of the apparatus. . Since the correction device alone includes a large part of the function of the inspection device, it is meaningless to separate the inspection device and the correction device. The problem arises. If an image processing device for defect detection with reduced performance is used on the repair device side in order to reduce costs, defects that are difficult to detect such as low bright spots due to defects found by the inspection device cannot be confirmed by the repair device. there is a possibility.

(2) Problems when the automatic inspection device and the automatic correction device are the same When the inspection function and the correction function are provided in the same device, the structure of the device becomes complicated. Further, since the inspection work is stopped during the correction, the inspection correction amount for the same apparatus cost is reduced. Even if a high-speed defect detection system is installed, the inspection is interrupted each time it is repaired, so high-speed inspection and repair cannot be performed as a whole.

In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2-266357, the inspection and the correction are carried out at the same time. However, since each picture element is scanned at the inspection stage, the inspection time is considerably long. Furthermore, in this method, while only inspecting,
If the ratio of panels that need to be corrected is reduced because the correction function is not used, it can be adjusted by the ratio of the number of units if the inspection device and the correction device are separate, but this method reduces the operating rate of the device, and as a result, the panel Result in higher production costs.

Further, Japanese Patent Application No. 2-266357 describes that this method can correct not only defects due to foreign matter but also short-circuit defects in the wiring pattern, but scanning with inspection light such as laser light is performed. Just by receiving the reflected light and scattered light and checking the amount of light,
As an example of a TFT drive type liquid crystal panel, it is determined whether the source bus line and the gate bus line are short-circuited, the source bus lines are short-circuited or the gate bus lines are short-circuited, and where the laser light is irradiated. It is difficult to obtain accurate correction information such as what to do. Further, it is difficult to discriminate between a defect caused by a foreign substance and a defect caused by a wiring pattern short-circuit, and perform a correction according to the type of the defect. As a result, the repair success rate is lower and the repair yield is lower than that in the case where the correct repair information is input and the repair is performed, resulting in an increase in the panel production cost.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a flat display panel inspection / correction device which improves the positioning accuracy for specifying the defect position in the correction device and omits the defect confirmation function to realize low cost and improved throughput. It is in.

[0017]

According to the present invention, an inspection device for inspecting a defect of a flat display panel, a repair device having a defect repair mechanism, and inspection information data or repair information data is transmitted between the devices. An information transmitting means and a conveying means for conveying the flat display panel between the respective devices, and a defect of the flat display panel conveyed from the inspection device to the correction device by the conveying means is automatically based on the inspection information data. It is premised on a flat display panel inspection / correction device that corrects by
A feature of the present invention is that the correction device drives the flat display panel or the correction mechanism, a position detection unit that detects a position of the flat display panel or the correction mechanism, and an output of the position detection unit. It is characterized in that it comprises a control means for controlling the driving means by a signal, and the defect position can be reproduced without checking the defect at the time of repair.

The position detecting means may have a resolution smaller than the picture element width of the flat panel.

Further, the position detecting means is provided with an optical sensor for detecting the light quantity of the flat panel, and the light sensor changes the light quantity due to the movement of the picture element of the flat panel into pulses, and the pulses are counted to determine the picture element position. It may be a means for detecting.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the correction device sets a predetermined value based on a drive means for moving the flat display panel or the correction mechanism, and a correlation between a drive amount of the drive means and a movement amount of the flat display panel or the correction mechanism. And a control unit that controls the driving unit so that the defect position can be moved to a position, and the defect position can be reproduced without checking the defect at the time of correction.

[0021]

In the present invention, the control means controls the driving means by the output signal of the position detecting means. That is, the movement amount is always fed back to the control means by the position detection means, and the control means controls the drive means so as not to be influenced by the error of the drive system. Therefore, the defect position of the flat display panel can be accurately reproduced based on the inspection information data from the inspection device, and the repair device does not need to have the defect confirmation function.

Here, if the resolution of the position detecting means is smaller than the picture element width of the flat display panel, the reproduced defect coordinate position falls within the defect picture element, and the defect position can be surely specified.

There is also one in which numbers are assigned in advance to the picture elements on the flat display panel to set the addresses, and the picture element defects detected by the inspection apparatus are transmitted as information to the correction apparatus by the picture element numbers. In this case, it is effective to use, as the position detection means of the correction device, one that detects a picture element by an optical sensor. That is, the change in the light amount of the optical sensor is pulsed, the pulse is counted, and the defect position can be detected from the number of the defective picture element of the inspection information data.

In another invention, the correlation between the driving amount of the driving means and the moving amount of the flat display panel or the correction mechanism is measured in advance. The drive amount is the amount that the drive unit is operated, and the operation amount of the drive unit varies depending on this amount. For example, the drive means is a motor, and the pulse amount for moving the motor is the drive amount. If the correlation between the drive amount and the actual movement amount is known, even if there is an error in the drive system, the control unit corrects the error and controls the drive unit. Based on the inspection information data from the inspection device, it is possible to accurately reproduce the defect position of the flat display panel,
The repair device does not need to have a defect confirmation function, nor does it need to have a position detection means.

[0025]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below by taking a liquid crystal panel as an example. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a flat panel display inspection and correction apparatus according to the present invention. This inspection / correction device comprises an inspection device 1, an inter-device panel transfer device 21 of an inter-device panel transfer system 20, a data communication processing device 23 of a network 22, and a correction device 24.

The inspection device 1 includes a number reading image pickup device 2, a defect detection image pickup device 3, an alignment image pickup device 4, and an image pickup device 4.
The panel storage cassette 5, the panel loading / unloading device 6, the liquid crystal panel 7 as the panel to be inspected, the alignment stage 8, the inspection stage 9, and the backlight 10.
, Prober 11, number recognition device 12, defect detection image processing device 13, alignment control device 14, lighting circuit control device 15, and defect detection resistance measuring device 16
A panel load / unload control device 17, a communication unit 18, and an overall control device 19 for controlling these devices 12-18.

The correction device 24 is a number reading / imaging device 25.
And the pattern recognition imaging device 26 and the laser irradiation device 2
7, an alignment imaging device 28, a panel housing cassette 29, a panel loading / unloading device 30, a liquid crystal panel 31, which is a panel to be repaired, an alignment stage 32, a repairing stage 33, and a backlight 34.
, Motor 35, linear scale 36, communication unit 37, number recognition device 38, pattern recognition unit 39, laser control device 40, alignment control device 41, linear scale counter 42, and motor control device 43. And a panel load / unload controller 44,
An overall control device 45 for controlling these devices 37 to 44 is provided.

The liquid crystal panels 7 and 31 are preliminarily provided with alignment reference marks and panel identification numbers. The liquid crystal panel 7 is inspected by the inspection device 1 to detect a defect, the type of the detected defect, and the position of the defect on the flat panel. The position of the defect is located on the panel with the reference point, the X axis,
Set the Y-axis, etc., the center of the picture element, or the corner of the picture element,
There are methods such as expressing a characteristic portion such as a TFT portion in XY coordinates, or assigning numbers to the picture elements on the panel to set addresses and expressing them in picture element units.

As described in the prior art, the coordinates of the defect are obtained by the image data captured by the image pickup device, or either the defect confirmation camera or the table on which the panel is set is movable and moved to the defect position. Then, the defect position is adjusted to the position of the defect confirmation camera to obtain the movement amount. It is expected that the number of defects on the panel will be large, and in that case, it is considered effective to improve the throughput by collectively determining the coordinate position from the image data. In any case, an image pickup device and an image processing device for detecting defects are necessary.
Therefore, from the viewpoint of reducing the tact time and suppressing the cost, in the present embodiment, the position of the defect is obtained from the image data captured by the defect detecting image pickup device 3, and the inspection stage 9 on which the liquid crystal panel 7 is set is driven by the drive unit and the movement amount. The description is based on a fixed type that does not require a measurement unit, and the defect position coordinates use the XY coordinates of the center of the picture element with the gate bus line direction set to the X axis, the source bus line direction set to the Y axis, and the origin set to the lower left of the panel. To do.

The operation of the inspection correction device of the first embodiment will be described. The panel loading / unloading device 6 is moved by the panel loading / unloading control device 17, and the liquid crystal panel 7 is set on the alignment stage 8 installed on the inspection stage 9. Alignment imaging device 4
The liquid crystal panel 7 is aligned by rotating or moving the alignment stage 8 by the alignment control device 14 based on the position reference mark imaged in (1). The panel number for distinguishing between the liquid crystal panels is read by the number reading image pickup device 2, and the signal is read by the number recognition device 1.
Output to 2 and recognize the number. The prober 11 serving as an electrode is arranged in contact with a panel signal input terminal by arranging with a thin wire or the like, and several kinds of panel lighting drive signals having different patterns are input from the prober 11 to perform lighting display of the liquid crystal panel 7. This lighting drive signal is controlled by the lighting circuit controller 15. Light from the backlight 10 is radiated to the liquid crystal panel 7 to be inspected all the time, and the transmitted light from the entire surface of the liquid crystal panel 7 is captured by the defect detecting image pickup device 3 such as a CCD camera. Defect detection imaging device 3
Is the size of the liquid crystal panel 7 to be inspected and the defect detection image pickup device 3
The number of units used shall be determined according to the performance such as the resolution of the. The output from the defect detection image pickup device 3 is fetched into the defect detection image processing device 13, and the image data is subjected to processing such as differentiation, binarization and smoothing, and inspection is performed. Further, if necessary, when the prober 11 is brought into contact with the liquid crystal panel 7, the resistance measuring device 16 for defect detection checks the electrical characteristics such as the resistance of the wiring pattern, and the defect of the wiring pattern short circuit of the source bus line, the gate bus line, etc. Conduct an inspection.

After the inspection is completed, if a defect is detected, it is determined whether or not the defect needs to be repaired based on a predetermined standard, and the panel number, the type of the defect, the position of the defect on the flat panel, and the repair are performed. The method, the position to be corrected, etc. are used as inspection information data. Panel work size, pixel size,
Since the picture element pitch, the wiring pattern width of the bus line, etc. are known from the design specifications, the defect picture element can be specified once the coordinate position of the defect is obtained. That is, even if there is a very small error in the coordinate position measurement, the calculated coordinate position is within the picture element, for example, in the case of a 6.4-inch VGA specification liquid crystal panel, the picture element size is about 200 μm in length × about 67 μm in width.
If it is within the range, the defective pixel can be identified. Since the coordinates of the center of the defect picture element are known from the specifications, if the coordinates are taken as the coordinates of the defect position, they will be accurate, and the position measurement error will be corrected and will not affect the panel inspection and correction at all.

After the inspection, the liquid crystal panels 7 are classified into those which do not need to be modified, those which need to be modified, and those which cannot meet the standard as a product even if modified, and are stored in different panel storage cassettes 5. The panel that needs correction is the inter-apparatus panel transfer system 20.
The inter-apparatus panel transfer device 21 of FIG. At the same time, the inspection information data is transferred from the communication unit 18 of the inspection device 1 to the communication unit 37 of the correction device 24 via the data communication processing device 23 of the network 22.

Next, the liquid crystal panel 31 is corrected by the correction device 24.
Repair defects. The liquid crystal panel 31 that has been transported,
The panel loading / unloading control device 44 sets the panel loading / unloading device 30 on the alignment stage 32 installed on the correction stage 33. As in the case of the inspection device, the alignment control device 41 uses the alignment stage 3 based on the position reference mark imaged by the alignment imaging device 28.
By rotating or moving 2
Align the. The panel number for distinguishing between the panels is read by the number reading imaging device 25, and a signal is output to the number recognition device 38 to recognize the number. After recognizing the panel, the type of defect of the set liquid crystal panel 31,
The defect position, the position to be corrected, the correction method, etc. are extracted from the inspection information data sent by the network 22, and the read signal of the linear scale 36 is sent to the linear scale counter 42 to accurately reproduce the defect position.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the positioning control loop is a closed loop, and the position detection by the linear scale counter 42 is performed by the X-axis and Y-axis motors 46 and 47.
Is fed back to the motor control device 43 for controlling the position, and the defect position that is not affected by the error of the mechanical drive system is reproduced. Here, the X axis and Y axis of the correction stage 33 are moved by the X axis ball screw 49 and the Y axis ball screw 48.

When the position is reproduced by the pulse amount from the encoder, as described in the problem to be solved by the present invention, the picture around the defective picture element is caused by the error of the mechanical drive system such as the lead error of the ball screw. Since there is a possibility of erroneously specifying the element, a defect confirmation function is required.
In this embodiment, since the defect position is reproduced without being affected by the error of the mechanical drive system, the defect confirmation function is not necessary.

When a linear scale having a high resolution is used in the method of this embodiment, the position detection is too fine, and vibration may continue to occur at the time of positioning due to the influence of mechanical systems such as inertia, rigidity and vibration, and hunting may occur. However, in that case, adjust in the direction to increase the pulse width of the positioning completion signal output,
Alternatively, the position deviation pulse may be forcibly cleared while hunting continues.

Since the resolution of the motor and the resolution of the linear scale when the micro step driver is used are sufficiently smaller than the picture element width, the amplitude is within the picture element width and the reproduced defect coordinate position is within the picture element pixel. It is considered that there will be no failure and failure in specifying defective pixel elements. When the defective picture element is specified, the laser irradiation device 27 irradiates a laser beam according to an instruction from the laser control device 40, and crushes the foreign matter, cuts the wiring pattern, and corrects the connection. The position to be corrected is obtained by performing pattern recognition using the shape of the picture element, a characteristic wiring pattern, etc., moving the reference point of the defective picture element by moving the correction stage, and by using relative coordinates from that position. In the pattern recognition, the light of the backlight 34 is irradiated from the back side of the liquid crystal panel 31 which is the panel to be corrected, the image of the defective pixel and the wiring pattern around the defective pixel is captured by using the image recognition device 26 for pattern recognition, and the TFT section, The pattern recognition unit 39 compares the characteristic portion of the wiring pattern shape such as a bus line with the graphic pattern prepared in the image memory in the apparatus. The correction stage 33 is arranged so that the obtained position to be corrected overlaps with the laser light optical axis of the laser irradiation device 27.
To move.

In this embodiment, the correction stage 33 is moved, but it is also possible to move the laser irradiation device 27 and move the laser irradiation device 27. The position to be corrected, that is, the position at which the wiring pattern is cut or connected is determined in advance according to the type of defect. Further, the setting of the output of the laser beam, the irradiation range, etc. is determined in advance in accordance with the contents of the correction work such as crushing the foreign matter, cutting the wiring pattern, and connection, the correction position, and the like. Reproducing the defect position and specifying the defective picture element means, as an actual operation, moving the correction stage so that the reference point within the field of view of the pattern recognition imaging device 26 falls within the defective picture element. . When it is desired to recognize whether the correction is successful, the corrected liquid crystal panel 31 is used as the inspection device 1.
Then, the inspection device 1 confirms the correction of the defect by using the correction information data that is conveyed by the inter-device panel conveyance device 21 and transferred to the inspection device 1 by the network 22. After the modification, the panel that meets the standard as a product,
Different panel storage cassettes 2 are classified into panels that could not meet the standard as a product due to correction failure.
Store in 9.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the stage movement of the correction device in the first embodiment is performed not by using a motor and a ball screw, but by using a linear motor. As shown in FIG. 3, a linear motor 50, which is controlled by a linear motor controller 54, is used to move the correction stage 33 in both the X-axis and Y-axis directions.
Use 51. The linear motors 50 and 51 are of a closed-loop servo system system in which a position detecting mechanism such as a linear scale is built in or attached.

In this method, the linear motor guide 52,
Since the position detection mechanism directly detects the amount of movement from 53, the error of the drive system is completely eliminated. As in the first embodiment, if a position detecting mechanism with high resolution is used, position detection is too fine, and vibration may continue to occur at the time of positioning due to the influence of mechanical systems such as inertia, tilt, and vibration, and hunting may occur. However, in that case, it is sufficient to adjust the pulse width of the positioning completion signal output in a direction to widen it, or to forcibly clear the position deviation pulse when hunting is continued. Since the resolution of the linear motors 50 and 51 and the resolution of the position detection mechanism when using the micro step driver are sufficiently smaller than the picture element width, the amplitude is within the picture element width, and the reproduced defect coordinate position is within the picture element pixel. Therefore, it is considered that defective pixel identification cannot fail. After that, the same correction work as in the first embodiment is performed.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment is characterized in that the position error detecting means such as a linear scale is not used as in the first embodiment, but the lead screw lead error when the stage is moved is corrected. When moving the stage, the ball screw is rotated by the motor, but due to the problem of processing accuracy, there is a lead error in the ball screw, and therefore an error is always generated in the position detection by the motor encoder. That is, as shown in the graph of FIG. 4, the amount of movement of the stage and the pulse output of the motor driver are not in a perfect proportional relationship. However, since the lead error of the ball screw with respect to the stage position and the pulse output of the motor is reproduced in the same manner many times, if this is used, highly accurate movement is possible.

As an example, description will be given assuming that a servo motor is used. Before operating the correction device 24, the correspondence between the movement amount of the correction stage 33 and the position measurement by the encoder is checked. Specifically, the correction stage 33 in the X direction and Y
While moving the movable range for each axis from the moving end to the opposite moving end, measure the moving amount with a device that can accurately measure the distance, such as a laser interferometer, and then measure the stage moving amount and encoder pulse for each axis. Record the full correspondence of the quantities.
When using a ball screw that does not have backlash due to preload, etc., it is sufficient to check only the forward direction, but when using a ball screw with backlash, it is considered that there is a difference between the forward direction and the reverse direction. It is necessary to investigate the direction of the phases. This operation may be performed once when the correction device 24 is started up. In this way, the movement amount of the correction stage 33 is
Measurement is performed using the encoder pulse amount that corrects the ball screw lead error.

When the center coordinates of the defective picture element are reproduced on the correction device 24 side by this method, in the case of a 6.4 inch VGA specification liquid crystal panel, the length is about 200 μm × width about 67 μm.
It is accurate enough to fit within the pixel size of. When the defective picture element is specified, the flat display panel is corrected as in the first embodiment.

Although the description has been given assuming that the servo motor is used as an example, a stepping motor without a servo mechanism is also possible. Assemble the control system to prevent out-of-step,
If the correlation between the amount of movement of the stage corrected using the lead error of the ball screw and the pulse amount to the motor of the motor driver is checked beforehand, the amount of correction pulse in the stage movement section can be used to accurately predict the amount of movement. It becomes possible to perform positioning with a similar small error.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, like the first embodiment, the coordinates of the defect are moved to
Rather than specifying the defective picture element existing there, the numbers are assigned in advance to the picture elements on the panel and the addresses are set, and the address of the defective picture element is determined from the coordinates of the defect in the inspection information data obtained through the network. The address of the defective pixel that is calculated or detected by the inspection device is sent from the network to the repair device, and the number of the pixel on the panel is directly counted in each of the source bus line direction and the gate bus line direction to directly search for that pixel address. It is a device to perform.

FIG. 5 shows a fourth inspection / correction device according to the present invention.
It is a schematic block diagram which shows the Example of. Since this device has almost the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. This inspection correction device
Similar to the first embodiment, the inspection device 1, the inter-device panel transfer device 21 of the inter-device panel transfer system 20, and the network 2
The data communication processing device 23 and the correction device 55.

The inspection apparatus 1, the inter-apparatus panel transport system 20 and the network 22 have exactly the same construction as in the first embodiment. In the inspection device 1 of FIG. 5, components other than the panel load / unload control device 17 and the communication unit 18 are omitted.
The feature of this embodiment is that the correction device 55 is provided with a light amount inspection pulse generator 56 in place of the linear scale counter 42 of the first embodiment.

The operation of the pattern recognition imaging device of the correction device will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the correction device. As shown in FIG. 6, the light from the backlight 34 is radiated from the back side of the panel 31 to be corrected, the pattern recognition image pickup device 26 is used to adjust the magnification, and the slit is used to change the image pickup field of view to the source bus. Devise it so that it is about line width x gate bus line width. The light amount of the image picked up by the pattern recognition image pickup device 26 is inspected by the light amount inspection pulse generator 56 to count the picture elements to which the picture element addresses are assigned. In this embodiment, the light quantity is inspected by using an optical sensor. As shown in FIG. 7A, the amount of light increases when the captured image is a color filter of picture elements, and the amount of light decreases when the captured image is a wiring pattern. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7A, the amount of light changes due to the movement of the correction stage, and as shown in FIG. 7B, the sensor repeats ON and OFF to generate pulses. Adjust the sensor sensitivity and moving speed.
The pixel address can be obtained by measuring the pulse amount in each of the source bus line direction and the gate bus line direction. Further, by feeding back the pulse amount from the optical sensor to the motor driver, it is possible to reliably identify the defective pixel. When the defective picture element is specified, the flat display panel is corrected as in the first embodiment.

[0049]

According to the present invention, the control means feedback-controls the driving means by the output signal of the position detecting means, or controls the driving means based on the correlation between the driving amount of the driving means and the actual movement amount. , The defect position can be accurately reproduced based on the inspection information data from the inspection device, the lighting circuit for generating and switching the drive signal and the prober for inputting the drive signal are not required, and the cost can be suppressed, and probing can be performed. Since the operation is not required, the possibility of erroneous detection and correction due to defective cotact is reduced, frequent probe cleaning and maintenance are not required, and the throughput is improved. Further, since an image processing device for detecting defects is not required, there is an effect that cost is reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of an inspection correction device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a stage portion of the correction device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a stage portion of a correction device in a second embodiment of the inspection correction device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a correlation between a motor pulse amount and a stage movement amount in a third embodiment of the inspection correction apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the inspection correction device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the pattern recognition imaging device of the correction device in the fourth embodiment.

7A and 7B are characteristic diagrams showing the correlation between the stage movement amount of the correction device in the fourth embodiment, the pattern recognition imaging device, the light amount, and the optical sensor output.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Inspection Device 3 Defect Detection Imaging Device 18, 37 Communication Unit 21 Inter-device Panel Transfer Device 23 Data Communication Processing Device 24 Correction Device 26 Pattern Recognition Imaging Device 27 Laser 35 Motor 36 Linear Scale 42 Linear Scale Counter 43 Motor Control Device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An inspection device for inspecting a defect of a flat display panel, a correction device having a defect correction mechanism, an information transmission means for transmitting inspection information data or correction information data between each device, and an inter-device. And a conveyance means for conveying the flat display panel by means of a flat display panel inspection correction for automatically correcting a defect of the flat display panel conveyed from the inspection device to the correction device by the conveyance means based on the inspection information data. In the apparatus, the correction device includes a drive unit that moves the flat display panel or the correction mechanism, a position detection unit that detects a position of the flat display panel or the correction mechanism, and a drive unit that outputs a signal from the position detection unit. A flat display panel characterized by comprising control means for controlling and capable of reproducing the defect position without confirming the defect at the time of repair.査 correction device. 2. The flat display panel inspection / correction device according to claim 1, wherein the position detecting means has a resolution smaller than the picture element width of the flat panel. 3. The position detecting means includes an optical sensor for detecting the light amount of the flat panel, and the light sensor changes the light amount due to the movement of the picture element of the flat panel into pulses, and counts the pulses to determine the picture element position. The flat display panel inspection / correction device according to claim 1, which is means for detecting. 4. An inspection device for inspecting a defect of a flat display panel, a correction device having a defect correction mechanism, an information transmission means for transmitting inspection information data or the correction information data between the respective devices, and the respective devices. And a conveyance means for conveying the flat display panel by means of a flat display panel inspection correction for automatically correcting a defect of the flat display panel conveyed from the inspection device to the correction device by the conveyance means based on the inspection information data. In the device, the correction device is configured to move to a predetermined position based on a drive unit that moves the flat display panel or the correction mechanism, and a correlation between the drive amount of the drive unit and the movement amount of the flat display panel or the correction mechanism. And a control means for controlling the driving means, wherein the defect position can be reproduced without checking the defect at the time of repair. Nell inspection correction device.