JPH10170398A - Inspection equipment for liquid crystal panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform visual inspection while sitting in a chair by providing an observing section for visually inspecting a liquid crystal panel arranged on an inspection stage, and means for directing a light from the liquid crystal panel arranged on the inspection stage toward a part to be observed. SOLUTION: The inspection equipment 10 comprises a body part 14 for inspecting a liquid crystal panel 12, a loader part 16 for loading and unloading the liquid crystal panel 12 to and from the body part 14, and a tester part for inspecting the liquid crystal panel 12 automatically. The body part 14 comprises a plurality of steel members, e.g. angles, and a body frame 20 fixed to the steel member by means of screw members. An inspection stage 22, an inspection probe unit 24, an optical path altering unit for directing the light from a liquid crystal horizontally toward an observation window 32, and a camera unit 30 are disposed in the body part 14. The observation window 32 is made in the center of front face of the body frame 20 so that the inspection stage 22 and the liquid crystal panel 12 can be viewed through the observation window 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus for a liquid crystal panel, and more particularly to an inspection apparatus capable of performing a manual visual inspection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known that defects of a liquid crystal display panel, that is, a liquid crystal panel, exist in various forms such as point defects, line defects, spot defects, and chromaticity defects. These defects are inspected by using light from the liquid crystal panel when the liquid crystal panel is driven while the liquid crystal panel is irradiated with light from the back.

[0003] In general, this type of inspection is performed by a visual inspection in which an operator looks at a driven liquid crystal panel on an inspection stage, or by taking a picture of a driven liquid crystal panel on an inspection stage with a television camera. This is performed by an automatic inspection in which the output signal of the television camera is processed by a computer.

As this kind of inspection apparatus, there are an inspection apparatus exclusively for visual inspection, an inspection apparatus exclusively for automatic inspection, and an inspection apparatus for dual use which selectively performs visual inspection and automatic inspection.
2. Description of the Related Art Conventional inspection apparatuses dedicated to visual inspection and inspection apparatuses for both visual inspection and automatic inspection support a liquid crystal panel to be inspected horizontally or obliquely on an inspection stage.

However, in such a conventional inspection apparatus,
Since the operator must perform a visual inspection while looking down at the liquid crystal panel on the inspection stage from directly above or obliquely from above, there is a limit in reducing the height dimension of the inspection stage. There is a limit in lowering the height position of the observation window, and therefore, the worker must perform a visual inspection in a standing posture, which is heavy labor for the worker and lowers the work efficiency.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to enable visual inspection in a sitting posture.

[0007]

An inspection apparatus according to the present invention comprises an inspection stage for arranging a liquid crystal panel to be inspected and an observation window for an operator to visually inspect the liquid crystal panel arranged on the inspection stage. And an optical path changing unit for directing light from a liquid crystal panel disposed on the inspection stage to the observation site.

At the time of visual inspection, light from the liquid crystal panel on the inspection stage is directed to the observation site by the optical path changing means.
For this reason, according to the present invention, the worker views the liquid crystal panel through the optical path changing means, and the worker who sits on the chair with the observation unit can view the liquid crystal panel through the optical path changing means. Lower position.

[0009] The optical path changing means may be a plane mirror, preferably a concave mirror, more preferably a parabolic mirror.
When a concave mirror is used as the optical path changing means, an enlarged image of the liquid crystal panel can be viewed. When a parabolic mirror is used as the optical path changing means, not only can an enlarged image of the liquid crystal panel be visually observed, but also an enlarged image with less distortion can be obtained.

The apparatus further includes a television camera for picking up an image of the liquid crystal panel disposed on the inspection stage, and a maintaining means for maintaining the optical path changing means in a predetermined state so as to be releasable,
The maintaining means includes: a first state in which the light path changing means directs light from the liquid crystal panel to the observation site; a state in which the light path changing means does not hinder the television camera from imaging the liquid crystal panel; The light path changing means can be maintained in a second state selected from a state in which light from the camera is directed to the television camera. Thus, the inspection device can be used for both the visual inspection and the automatic inspection.

In a preferred embodiment, the supporting means is a slider supported on a main body frame so as to be movable in a horizontal direction, and a bracket to which the optical path changing means is attached, and which is perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider. And a bracket supported so as to be angularly rotatable about an axis extending therethrough.

In the first embodiment, the inspection stage supports the liquid crystal panel in a horizontal state, and the optical path changing means changes the light from the liquid crystal panel in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the inspection stage supports the liquid crystal panel in an inclined state, and the optical path changing means changes the light from the liquid crystal panel obliquely downward. However, the direction in which light is changed by the light path changing means can be set to an appropriate direction according to the height dimension of the inspection stage.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, an inspection apparatus 10 includes a main body section 14 for inspecting a liquid crystal display panel, that is, a liquid crystal panel 12, and a rectangular liquid crystal panel 12 having a main body section 1.
Loader section 16 disposed at the position 4 and removed from the body section 14
And a tester section 18 for automatically inspecting the liquid crystal panel 12 disposed on the main body section 14. In the illustrated example, the loader unit 16 is disposed on the right side of the main unit 14, and the tester unit 18 is disposed on the rear side of the main unit 14. However, the positional relationship among the main body 14, the loader 16, and the tester 18 can be determined as appropriate.

The main body portion 14 is a housing, that is, a main body frame formed by a plurality of steel materials such as an angle material and a plurality of panels attached to the steel materials by a plurality of screw members to partition an internal space from an external space. 20. In the main body 14, an inspection stage 22, an inspection probe unit 24, an optical path changing unit or an optical path changing device 28 for changing an optical path of light 26 from the liquid crystal panel 12, and a camera unit for imaging the liquid crystal panel 12 30 are arranged.

An opening, that is, an observation window 32 is formed in the center of the front surface of the main body frame 20.
, The inspection stage 22 and the liquid crystal panel 12 can be visually observed. The observation window 32 is closed by a pair of doors 34 hinged to the main body frame 20 so as to be openable in a double-opening manner.

The inspection stage 22 has an upward receiving portion for supporting the liquid crystal panel 12 in a substantially horizontal state. The position of the receiving portion can be adjusted three-dimensionally (in the illustrated example, in three directions of front and rear, left and right, and up and down). The receiving portion is also capable of adjusting a rotation angle around an axis perpendicular to the liquid crystal panel 12 on the receiving portion (the axis of the inspection stage, which extends in the example shown in the drawing). In the receiving part,
A backlight for illuminating the liquid crystal panel 12 from behind is stored.

The probe unit 24 is connected to the inspection stage 2
2 and is disposed above the receiving portion of the main body frame 20.
It is detachably attached to. The probe unit 24 also includes a plurality of probes for inspection that are in contact with the terminals of the liquid crystal panel 12.
It has a rectangular opening through which light 26 from the upper liquid crystal panel 12 passes.

The optical path changing device 28 is a maintenance means, that is, a maintenance mechanism 3 so that the light 26 from the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22 is directed substantially horizontally toward the observation window 32.
6, it is non-displaceably assembled inside the main body frame 20. In the illustrated example, the optical path changing device 28 is a plane mirror, but may be other means such as a prism, a concave mirror, a parabolic mirror having a concave reflecting surface, that is, a parabolic concave mirror.

In the illustrated example, the inclination angle of the optical path changer 28 with respect to the axis perpendicular to the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22 is set to 45 degrees.
The angle of 8 is adjusted by the operator to an appropriate angle including 45 degrees prior to the visual inspection, and is maintained by the maintenance mechanism 36 during the visual inspection.

The camera unit 30 includes the inspection stage 22
A television camera 40 that captures an image of the upper liquid crystal panel 12 through the opening of the probe unit 24 is supported by a position adjustment mechanism 42 attached to the main body frame 20, and the position of the television camera 40 in the vertical direction is adjusted before the automatic inspection. Adjusted by mechanism 42 and maintained at that position during automatic inspection. The output signal of the TV camera 40 is
The liquid crystal panel is supplied to the electric circuit arranged in 8 and is used in the electric circuit to determine the necessity of the liquid crystal panel. The position adjusting mechanism 42 adjusts the position of the television camera 40 three-dimensionally (front and rear,
A mechanism for adjusting (in three directions, left, right, up and down) may be used.

A maintenance mechanism 36 for the optical path changing device 28 has a pair of long guides 44 having a U-shaped cross section mounted horizontally on the main body frame 20 and a flat slider 46 can be moved to both guides 44. , And the bracket 48 is supported at the tip of the slider 46 so as to be rotatable angularly. The optical path changing device 28 is mounted on a bracket 48 and is rotated angularly integrally with the bracket 48.

The bracket 48 can be rotated manually or by power about an axis extending horizontally, perpendicular to the direction of movement of the slider 46. For this reason, the optical path changing device 28 transmits the signal from the liquid crystal panel 12 to the probe unit 2.
4 can be displaced between a first state in which the light 26 passing through the opening 4 is directed to the observation window 32 and a second state in which the optical path changing device 28 does not hinder the television camera 40 from imaging the liquid crystal panel 12.

The loader section 16 includes a cassette mounting table 50,
A gantry 52 and a robot 54 movably received in the gantry 52 in the left-right direction are provided. The cassette mounting table 50 receives a plurality of cassettes 56 accommodating a plurality of liquid crystal panels on an upper surface. The robot 54 takes out the liquid crystal panel to be inspected from the appropriate cassette 56 on the cassette mounting table 50 and transports the liquid crystal panel to be inspected to the inspection stage 22 every time the inspection is performed. Transfer or return to a predetermined cassette 56 on the table 50.

The tester section 18 is formed of a housing or frame formed by a plurality of steel members and a plurality of panels attached to the steel members to partition an internal space from an external space, similarly to the main body portion 14. I have. In the tester section 18, various electric circuits for inspection, such as a power supply circuit, a drive circuit, a control circuit, and a signal processing circuit, are arranged. A computer can be used as the control circuit, the signal processing circuit, or the like. In this case, the computer may be arranged outside the tester unit 18.

At the time of the automatic inspection, the optical path changing device 28 is displaced to the position where the reflection surface is substantially vertical as shown in FIG. 3 and is moved backward, and then the observation window 32 is closed by the door 34. Accordingly, the optical path changing device 28 is displaced so as not to hinder the imaging by the TV camera 40, and the inside of the main body frame 20 is shielded from external light.

In the above state, the backlight of the inspection stage 22 is turned on, and the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22 is driven by the contact of the probe unit 24. Thus, the driven liquid crystal panel 12
The light 26 passing through the opening of the probe unit 24 is directed to the television camera 40, and an image of the liquid crystal panel 12 is captured by the television camera 40. The tester unit 18 determines the quality of the driven liquid crystal panel 12 using the output signal of the television camera 40.

At the time of the visual inspection, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the observation window 32 is opened, the optical path changing device 28 is pulled out above the inspection stage 22 and the probe unit 24, and the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22 is opened. Of the light 26 passing through the opening of the probe unit 24 from the observation window 32
Is adjusted to a predetermined angle so that This adjustment operation may be adjusted and maintained, for example, so that the worker 60 can correctly view the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22 via the optical path changing device 28 while being put on the chair 62. The angle of the optical path changing device 28 may be set once before the visual inspection. The correction may be made during the inspection.

In the above state, the backlight of the inspection stage 22 is turned on, and the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22 is driven by the contact of the probe unit 24. Thus, the driven liquid crystal panel 12
Since the light 26 passing through the opening of the probe unit 24 is directed toward the observation window 32 by the optical path changing device 28, the operator changes the lighting state of the driven liquid crystal panel 12 to an optical path changing device while sitting on the chair 62. Thus, the liquid crystal panel 12 can be visually inspected. Therefore, visual inspection work is facilitated, fatigue due to visual inspection is reduced, and work efficiency is improved.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the optical path changing device 28 is a concave mirror, the operator 60 can visually observe an enlarged image of the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22. When the optical path changing device 28 is a parabolic mirror whose concave reflecting surface is a parabolic surface, the operator 60 can not only see the enlarged image of the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22 but also see the enlarged image. Thus, an enlarged image with little distortion can be visually observed.

In the inspection apparatus 10, the camera unit 3
0 may be arranged at another place, for example, at the tester section 18. To do so, for example, the optical path changer 28 is directed by the optical path changer 28 to direct the light 26 passing through the opening of the probe unit 24 from the liquid crystal panel 22 on the inspection stage 22 to the tester section 18 during the automatic inspection. Adjust
In this state, the optical path changing device 28 may be maintained by the maintenance mechanism 36.

Referring to FIG. 7 to FIG.
Is an inspection device dedicated to visual inspection, and supports the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22 in an inclined state. Main unit 1
The body frame 20 of No. 4 has an inclined surface 72 on the upper front surface, and an observation window 74 is formed on the inclined surface 72.

The inspection stage 22 is disposed in the main body frame 20 in a state where its axis is inclined so as to support the liquid crystal panel 12 at an angle, and a receiving portion for supporting the liquid crystal panel 12 faces the observation window 74. Let me. The probe unit 24 is provided obliquely above the inspection stage 22 with the observation window 7.
4

The optical path changing device 76 is a reflecting mirror in the illustrated example, but may be a prism, a concave mirror, a parabolic mirror, or the like. The optical path changing device 76 has an inclined surface 7 at its upper end.
It is mounted on an upper part of the inclined surface 72 by a shaft 78 so as to be angularly rotatable about an axis extending in the horizontal direction in parallel with 2.

Prior to the visual inspection, the optical path changing device 76
The angle of rotation about the axis of shaft 78 is adjusted and releasably maintained at that angle by maintenance mechanism 80 during visual inspection. The rotation angle of the optical path changing device 76 is selected so that the image of the liquid crystal panel of the optical path changing device 76 can be most easily viewed while the worker 60 is on the chair 62.

At the time of the visual inspection, the operator 60 determines whether the liquid crystal panel on the inspection stage 22 is good or not by checking the lighting state of the liquid crystal panel reflected on the optical path changing device 76 while being put on the chair 62. At this time, the backlight in the inspection stage 22 and the liquid crystal panel 12 on the inspection stage 22
Are driven. Liquid crystal panel 12 on inspection stage 22
May be visually observed through the opening of the probe unit 24.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, if the observation unit is an inspection device without a window,
Another observation site such as an observation position may be used. Also,
Even if the inspection device is used for both visual inspection and automatic inspection,
The liquid crystal panel may be supported diagonally on the inspection stage. In this case, for example, the camera unit is arranged at a position parallel to and horizontally separated from the liquid crystal panel on the inspection stage, and the light from the liquid crystal panel on the inspection stage is directed toward the camera unit by the optical path changing device during automatic inspection. The optical path changer may be adjusted so as to aim, and the optical path changer may be maintained in that state by the maintenance mechanism.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of an inspection apparatus according to the present invention, and is a front view showing a state at the time of an automatic inspection.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the inspection device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the inspection device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a left side view at the time of visual inspection by the inspection device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the inspection device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a left side view similar to FIG. 4, showing an embodiment using a parabolic mirror as an optical path changing device.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing another embodiment of the inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the inspection device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a left side view of the inspection device of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 70 Inspection device 12 Liquid crystal panel 14 Main unit 16 Loader unit 18 Tester unit 20 Main frame 22 Inspection stage 24 Inspection probe unit 26 Light from liquid crystal panel 28, 76 Optical path changer 30 Camera unit 32, 74 Observation window 34 Door 36,80 Maintenance mechanism 40 TV camera 44 Guide 46 Slider 48 Bracket

Claims (6)

[Claims] An inspection stage for arranging a liquid crystal panel to be inspected, an observation unit for an operator to visually inspect the liquid crystal panel arranged on the inspection stage, and a liquid crystal panel arranged on the inspection stage. And an optical path changing unit for directing the light toward the observation unit. 2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical path changing means is a concave mirror. 3. A television camera for capturing an image of a liquid crystal panel disposed on the inspection stage, and maintaining means for maintaining the optical path changing means in a predetermined state so as to be releasable, wherein the maintaining means comprises the optical path changing means. A first state in which the change unit directs light from the liquid crystal panel to the observation unit; a state in which the optical path changing unit does not hinder the television camera from imaging the liquid crystal panel; or a state in which the light from the liquid crystal panel is transmitted to the television camera. 3. The optical path changing unit is maintained in a second state selected from a state directed to the optical path. 4.
The inspection device according to item 1. 4. The supporting means comprises a slider supported on a main body frame movably in a horizontal direction, and a bracket to which the optical path changing means is attached, wherein the slider has an axis extending perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider. The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a bracket supported so as to be angularly rotatable therearound. 5. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inspection stage supports the liquid crystal panel in a horizontal state, and the optical path changing unit changes light from the liquid crystal panel in a horizontal direction. 6. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inspection stage supports the liquid crystal panel in an inclined state, and the optical path changing unit changes light from the liquid crystal panel obliquely downward.