KR100675322B1 - Test Apparatus And Method For Plasma Display Module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus and method for a plasma display panel module that facilitates the inspection of the plasma display panel and shortens the inspection time.

In the inspection apparatus of the plasma display panel module according to the present invention, in the inspection apparatus of a plurality of plasma display panel module which is capable of displaying an image by an electrical signal, the discharge space is interposed between the glass substrate, the data of the still image and video A generated data input device; An inspection data transmission device for transmitting data from the data input device through a wireless communication channel; And a test data receiving device corresponding to each of the plasma display panel modules and receiving the data through the wireless communication channel and supplying the received data to the corresponding plasma display panel module.

Description

Test Apparatus And Method For Plasma Display Module             

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional AC surface discharge plasma display panel.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for removing impurities in the plasma display panel shown in FIG. 1.

3 is a view showing a conventional inspection device.

4 is a view showing an inspection device of the present invention.

5 is a view showing the inspection data transmission device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a test data receiving device of FIG. 4. FIG.

7 shows a test method of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: upper substrate 12: lower substrate

14: scanning holding electrode 16: common holding electrode

18, 24: dielectric layer 20: protective film

22: address electrode 26: partition wall

28: phosphor 51, 61: PDP module

52, 62: carrier (transport device) 65: inspection data receiving device

66: test data transmission device 70: video input device

71: control unit 72: wireless transmission unit

74: wireless receiving unit 75: receiving control unit

76: output unit 77: memory

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display, and more particularly, to an inspection apparatus and method for a plasma display panel module that facilitates inspection of a plasma display panel and reduces inspection time.

As the development and spread of information processing systems increase, the importance of display devices as visual information transmission means is increasing. In particular, the conventional cathode ray tube has various problems such as large size, high operating voltage, and display distortion, so that the recent trend of increasing screen size and flatness is not suitable. Branches are actively researching various flat panel displays.

Recently, flat display devices such as liquid crystal displays, field emission displays, and plasma display panels (hereinafter referred to as "PDPs") have been actively developed. The PDP emits a phosphor by ultraviolet rays of 147 nm generated when the He + Xe or Ne + Xe inert mixed gas is discharged to display an image including characters or graphics. Such a PDP is not only thin and large in size, but also simple in structure, and has an advantage in that luminance and luminous efficiency are higher than those of other flat display devices. Due to these advantages, research on PDP is being actively conducted. In particular, the AC surface discharge type PDP has advantages of low voltage driving and long life because wall charges are accumulated on the surface during discharge and protect electrodes from sputtering generated by the discharge.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a cell structure typically arranged in an alternating current type PDP in a matrix form.

Referring to FIG. 1, a PDP cell includes an upper plate UP having a sustain electrode pair 14 and 16, an upper dielectric layer 18, and a passivation layer 20 sequentially formed on an upper substrate 10, and a lower substrate 12. ) Is provided with a lower plate DP having an address electrode 22, a lower dielectric layer 24, a partition wall 26, and a phosphor layer 28 sequentially formed on the substrate. The upper substrate 10 and the lower substrate 12 are spaced in parallel by the partition wall 26. Each of the sustain electrode pairs 14 and 16 has a relatively wide width and a relatively narrow width of the transparent electrodes 14A and 16A made of indium tin oxide (ITO) having a light transmittance of 90% or more. The branch is made up of bus electrodes 14B and 16B. Here, the transparent electrode material (ITO) has a large resistance value and thus does not transmit power efficiently. Therefore, the resistive components of the transparent electrodes 14A and 16A are formed on the transparent electrodes 14A and 16A by forming buses 14B and 16B made of a good conductive material, for example, silver (Ag) or copper (Cu). To compensate. The sustain electrode pairs 14 and 16 are constituted by the scan sustain electrode 14 and the common sustain electrode 16. The scan signal for panel scanning and the sustain signal for discharge sustaining are mainly supplied to the scan sustain electrode 14, and the sustain signal is mainly supplied to the common sustain electrode 16. Charges accumulate in the upper dielectric layer 18 and the lower dielectric layer 24. The protective film 20 prevents damage to the upper dielectric layer 18 by sputtering, thereby increasing the lifetime of the PDP and increasing the emission efficiency of secondary electrons. As the protective film 20, magnesium oxide (MgO) is usually used. The address electrode 22 is formed to cross the sustain electrode pairs 14 and 16. The address electrode 22 is supplied with a data signal for selecting cells to be displayed. The partition wall 26 is formed in parallel with the address electrode 22 to prevent ultraviolet rays generated by the discharge from leaking to adjacent cells. The phosphor layer 28 is applied to the surfaces of the lower dielectric layer 24 and the partition wall 26 to generate visible light of any one of red, green, and blue. Then, an inert gas for hydrolysis is injected into the discharge space therein.

The PDP cell is selected by the counter discharge between the address electrode 22 and the scan sustain electrode 14, and then sustains the discharge by the surface discharge between the sustain electrode pairs 14 and 16. In the PDP cell, the fluorescent substance 28 emits light by ultraviolet rays generated during sustain discharge, so that visible light is emitted to the outside of the cell. As a result, the PDP having cells displays an image. In this case, the PDP implements a gray scale required for displaying an image by adjusting the discharge sustain period of the cell, that is, the number of sustain discharges, according to the video data.

This conventional PDP impurity removal method will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

 Referring to FIG. 2, the upper plate UP and the lower plate DP are manufactured, respectively. (T1 step)

In the manufacturing method of the upper plate UP, first, a transparent conductive material is deposited on the upper substrate 10 and then panned to form transparent electrodes 14A and 16A. Bus electrodes 14B and 16B are formed by depositing and patterning chromium (Cr) / copper (Cu) / chromium (Cr) on the upper substrate 10 on which the transparent electrodes 14A and 16A are formed. Accordingly, the sustain electrode pairs 14 and 16 are formed using the transparent electrodes 14A and 16A and the bus electrodes 14B and 16B. The dielectric layer 18 is formed by coating a dielectric material on the upper substrate 10 on which the sustain electrode pairs 14 and 16 are formed by screen printing. Magnesium oxide (MgO) is deposited on the dielectric layer 18 so as to have a thickness of about 5000 GPa to form a protective film 20 to complete the upper plate UP.

In the manufacturing method of the lower plate DP, an address electrode 22 is formed by first depositing a conductive material on the lower substrate 12 and then patterning the conductive material. The lower dielectric layer 24 is formed by coating a dielectric material on the lower substrate 12 having the address electrode 22 by a screen printing method. The partition wall 26 is formed on the lower substrate 12 on which the lower dielectric layer 24 is formed by screen printing or sand blasting. Thereafter, the phosphor 28 is formed on the partition wall 26 by screen printing to complete the lower plate DP.

After the finished upper plate UP and lower plate DP are aligned, they are brought into close contact with each other, and a high temperature heat is applied to melt the sealing agent (not shown), thereby bonding the upper plate UP and the lower plate DP to each other (step T2). In addition, the exhaust pipe (not shown) is attached to the inlet of the lower plate DP to exhaust the inside of the discharge space to 10 ⁻⁶ Torr, and then inert gas is injected at a predetermined pressure, and the exhaust pipe is tip-offd. (T3 stage) The tip-off of the exhaust pipe is melted by heating the end of the exhaust pipe to 800 degrees or more, which is the temperature at which the glass melts. The tip-off panel then performs an aging process that is pre-operated until it can exhibit stable characteristics. (T4 step) The aging process applies a predetermined voltage to the panel to initially inspect the defective panel or It takes about 24 hours to secure panel reliability through voltage stabilization.

It is a figure which shows the conventional aging process of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, as described above, the aging process is a total inspection of all the produced PDPs. It is the screen pattern inspection by still image data and moving image data that is used to detect defective products during the aging process. Normally, this pattern inspection is performed on the carrier 52 of FIG. 3, and a pattern by still image or moving image data is displayed on the PDP 51 on the carrier 52, and a person confirms and selects a defective product. Done.

This aging process is tested at different temperatures to ensure display reliability of the PDP 51 and to verify the characteristics at abnormal temperatures, particularly at high temperatures. As an example of this aging process, several lines of carriers 52 are installed at an aging inspection site which is currently defined by 50 m by 100 m. Hundreds of PDP panels 51 are sequentially transferred to the carrier 52 to perform tests under different conditions for each line or process part. Here, the PDP 51 is tested at room temperature, that is, operating characteristics at about 25 ° C. and operating characteristics at a high temperature (about 65 ° C. to 70 ° C.) between room temperature and high temperature.

To test the behavior during the aging process, a still or moving picture pattern is required. In addition, a power supply source for supplying power to the PDP 51 is required for display by such a pattern. In order to test the operation conditions of the PDP 51 by changing the operation conditions, the carrier 52 transfers the process parts to which the conditions are given, and the PDP 51 transferred to the process parts is transferred to the pattern input unit and the power supply unit. You must connect. After connection, a still or moving image pattern is input and tested, and the PDP 51 which is subjected to an aging process or selected as a defective product is selected based on the test result.

About 20 still image patterns are used for the pattern inspection. However, this still image pattern cannot filter out defects such as white spots only seen in moving images. To this end, a part that can be tested by inputting a video pattern is in the aging process, but only a part of the carrier 52 or the aging process part is installed. That is, the current aging process has a problem that there is no full inspection system using a video pattern.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inspection apparatus and method for a plasma display panel module that facilitates inspection of a plasma display panel and shortens the inspection time.

In order to achieve the above object, the inspection apparatus of the plasma display panel module according to the present invention includes a discharge space between glass substrates and an inspection apparatus of a plurality of plasma display panel modules capable of displaying an image by an electrical signal. A data input device for generating data of an image and a video; An inspection data transmission device for transmitting data from the data input device through a wireless communication channel; And a test data receiving device corresponding to each of the plasma display panel modules and receiving the data through the wireless communication channel and supplying the received data to the corresponding plasma display panel module.

The inspection data transmission device includes a wireless transmission unit for providing the data to the inspection data receiving device, a control unit for controlling the data input device and allowing the wireless transmission unit to form a wireless communication channel with the inspection data receiving device. do.

The inspection data receiving apparatus includes a wireless receiving unit for receiving the inspection data, an output unit for providing the inspection data to a plasma display panel module, and the wireless receiving unit to form a wireless communication channel with the inspection data transmitting apparatus. And a reception controller configured to control the output unit to provide the data to the plasma display panel module.

The inspection data receiving apparatus further includes a memory for storing still image data for inspecting still image patterns and an identification code for identifying each or a group of the plurality of plasma display panel modules.

The wireless communication channel uses a near field high speed wireless data communication channel.

In the inspection method of the plasma display panel module of the present invention, in the inspection method of a plurality of plasma display panel module that can display the image by the electrical signal and the discharge space is interposed between the glass substrate, the data of the still image and the video is generated Making a step; Transmitting the data through a wireless communication channel; Receiving the data over the wireless communication channel; Supplying the received data to the plasma display panel module.

The transmitting of the data may further include generating a test selection command for selecting the still image or the moving image and transmitting the test selection command using the wireless communication channel.

The transmitting of the data may include creating an identification code for dividing the plurality of plasma display panels into groups or individually, and transmitting the identification codes through the wireless communication channel; Receiving the identification code is stored in advance, and comparing with the identification code corresponding to the identification code.

Other objects and features of the present invention in addition to the above objects will become apparent from the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

4 is a view showing an aging process according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the inspection apparatus of the PDP module according to the present invention includes an inspection data transmission device 66 and an inspection data receiving device 65. In addition, a carrier 62 for transporting the inspection target PDP module 61 and a power supply unit (not shown) for supplying power to the PDP module 61 are further provided.

The inspection data transmission device 66 supplies the inspection data reception device 65 attached to the PDP module 61 with the inspection data for moving image pattern inspection. In addition, a test selection command for selecting a still pattern test and a moving picture pattern test is provided to the test data receiving apparatus 65.

The inspection data receiving apparatus 65 receives the moving image inspection data from the inspection data transmitting apparatus 66 and supplies it to the PDP module 61. In addition, the pre-stored still picture inspection data is provided to the PDP module 61. To this end, the inspection data receiving device 65 receives the inspection selection command from the inspection data transmission device 66, and provides one of the moving image inspection data and the still image inspection data to the PDP module 61. In addition, the inspection data receiving device 65 is preferably connected to all the PDP modules 61 in the aging inspection process. To this end, the present invention includes a plurality of inspection data receiving devices 65.

The carrier 62 carries the PDP module 61 to each aging process part.

A plurality of power supply units (not shown) are provided at predetermined positions of the carrier 62 and supply power for the operation of the PDP module 61.

5 is a diagram showing an inspection data transmission apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 5, the test data transmitter 66 includes a video input apparatus 70, a controller 71, and a wireless transmitter 72.

The video input device 70 receives the video inspection data and provides it to the controller 71. Here, the video data and the broadcast signal stored in a storage medium such as a DVD (Digital Video Disc: " DVD ") and a CD (Compact Disk: " CD " Video data that can be received by the digital camera or the like. A video input device for receiving video inspection data is a broadcast signal receiver for receiving an external broadcast signal, a VCR (Video Cassete Recorder: hereinafter referred to as a "VCR"), a DVD or CD player, and capable of storing and outputting video data. PC (hereinafter referred to as "PC").

The controller 71 provides the video inspection data from the video input device 70 to the wireless transmission unit 72, and controls the wireless transmission unit 72 to form a communication channel with the inspection data receiving device 65. In addition, the control unit 71 creates a test selection command for selecting the moving picture pattern inspection and the still image pattern inspection, and provides it to the wireless transmission unit 72. The controller 71 may further include a buffer for temporarily storing the amount of data input from the video input device 70 when the amount of data input from the video input device 70 is greater than the amount of data transmitted from the wireless transmitter 72.

The wireless transmitter 72 forms a communication channel with the test data receiving apparatus 65 under the control of the controller 71. The wireless transmission unit 72 provides the inspection data receiving apparatus 65 with the video inspection data and the inspection selection command provided from the control unit 71 through the formed communication channel. To this end, the wireless transmitter 72 includes a converter for converting data into a wireless signal and an antenna for transmitting data.

Here, short-range wireless communication is preferable for communication between the wireless transmitter 72 and the inspection data receiving device 65. For example, 802.11 wireless LAN technology standard is preferable among Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standards. In other words, it is preferable to use a wireless transmission method capable of high-speed data communication at a short range. In addition, it is also possible to use Bluetooth, Ubiquitous, and the like.

6 shows the inspection data receiving apparatus 65 in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 6, the test data receiving apparatus 65 includes a wireless receiving unit 74, a receiving control unit 75, an output unit 76, and a memory 77.

The wireless receiving unit 74 forms a wireless communication channel with the test data transmitting apparatus 66. The wireless receiving unit 74 receives the video test data and the test selection command provided from the wireless transmitting unit 72 of the test data transmitting apparatus 66 to receive the receiving control unit 75. To provide. To this end, the wireless receiver 74 includes a converter for converting a radio signal into data and an antenna for signal reception.

The memory 77 stores still image data relating to a plurality of still image patterns for still image inspection. This memory 77 provides the reception control unit 75 with still image data stored at the request of the reception control unit 75.

The output unit 76 provides moving picture inspection data or still picture data from the reception control unit 75 to the PDP module 61. To this end, the output unit is provided with a connection for connecting to the image input terminal of the control board of the PDP module 61.

The reception control unit 75 receives the video inspection data and the inspection selection command from the wireless reception unit 74. The reception control unit 75 selects one of the moving image inspection data and the still image data by the inspection selection command and provides it to the output unit 76. Here, if the inspection selection command is a still image inspection, the reception control section 75 requests the still image data from the memory 77 and receives the still image data from the memory 77.

Here, the still image pattern data can also be transmitted from the inspection data transmitting device 66 to the inspection data receiving device 65, in which case the memory 77 is simply omitted.

The embodiment of the present invention described above describes providing the same inspection pattern data to all PDP modules in the aging process. In addition to the above-described method, the present invention can provide different data for each group or individual PDP module.

The control unit 71 of the inspection data transmission device 66 generates an identification code of each group or individual PDP module 61, and transmits it through a communication channel.

The reception control unit 75 of each inspection data receiving apparatus 65 receiving the received data compares it with its own identification code previously input to the memory, and if the identification code and the identification code of the memory 77 are the same, the inspection pattern data is received. It receives and provides it to the PDP module 61.

7 is a diagram briefly showing an aging test method.

Referring to FIG. 7, a plurality of PDP modules 61 are transferred to the corresponding aging process by the carrier 62 of the aging process block in order to proceed with the aging process.

When the PDP module 61 is moved to the inspection position, the type of inspection is selected. That is, it is selected whether the still image pattern inspection or the moving image pattern inspection is performed (S2).

If the type of inspection is selected and the still image pattern inspection is performed, the inspection data transmitting apparatus 66 transmits a still image pattern inspection instruction to the inspection data receiving apparatus 65 (S31).

Upon receiving the still image pattern inspection command, the inspection data receiving device 65 provides still image pattern data stored in the memory 77 to the PDP module to perform still image inspection.

On the other hand, if the video pattern test is performed in step S2, the test data transmission device 66 transmits the video pattern test command to the test data receiving device 65 (S41).

When the inspection data receiving device 65 is ready for receiving the moving picture inspection data by the moving image pattern inspection command, the inspection data transmitting device 66 provides the inspection data receiving device 65 to the inspection data receiving device 65 (S42). )

Upon receiving the in-phase test data, the test data receiving device 65 may provide the test data to the PDP module 61 to perform a video pattern test.

According to the above-described apparatus and method, the present invention makes it possible to attach the inspection data receiving device 65 to all the PDP modules in the aging process to perform the entire video inspection. This increases the possibility of finding white spots that were not found in the previous still image pattern inspection. In the aging process, which was mainly used for the inspection of still images, the ratio of defective products found in the aging process was 5% and the defective products found in set makers were 1%. It becomes possible to find in a process. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience of replacing the moving picture input device and the still picture pattern input device in order to alternately input the still picture pattern and the moving picture pattern in the middle of the aging process.

As described above, the inspection apparatus and method of the plasma display panel module of the present invention connect a plurality of inspection data receiving apparatuses capable of inputting a video inspection pattern to all plasma display panel modules in an aging process. Further, the inspection data is transmitted to the inspection data receiving device from the inspection data transmission device at a remote location. This enables full video inspection of all plasma display panel modules during the aging process.

In addition, through a full inspection, it is easy to find a defective plasma display panel module in which white spots that have been difficult to detect during the aging process are displayed. In addition, conventionally, since it is not necessary to connect each video pattern data input device to each plasma display module for inputting video pattern data, the time during the video pattern inspection is shortened.

In addition, since the number of defective plasma display panel modules conveyed from the set maker is reduced, the associated cost is reduced.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (8)

In the inspection apparatus of a plurality of plasma display panel module interposed between the glass substrate and the image display by electrical signals, A data input device for generating data of still images and moving images; An inspection data transmission device for transmitting data from the data input device through a wireless communication channel; And an inspection data receiving device corresponding to each of the plasma display panel modules and receiving the data through the wireless communication channel and supplying the received data to the corresponding plasma display panel module. The method of claim 1, The inspection data transmission device A wireless transmitter for providing the data to the inspection data receiving apparatus; And a controller which controls the data input device and causes the wireless transmitter to form a wireless communication channel with the test data receiving device. The method of claim 1, The inspection data receiving device A wireless receiver for receiving the inspection data; An output unit for providing the inspection data to the plasma display panel module; And a reception control unit configured to control the wireless receiver to form a wireless communication channel with the test data transmitter, and to control the output unit to provide the data to the plasma display panel module. Inspection device. The method of claim 3, wherein The inspection data receiving device Still image data for still image pattern inspection, And a memory storing an identification code for identifying each or a group of the plurality of plasma display panel modules. The method of claim 1, The wireless communication channel An apparatus for inspecting a plasma display module, which is a short range high speed wireless data communication channel. In the inspection method of a plurality of plasma display panel module which is interposed between the glass substrate and the image display by electrical signals, Generating data of a still image and a moving image; Transmitting the data through a wireless communication channel; Receiving the data over the wireless communication channel; And supplying the received data to the plasma display panel module. The method of claim 6, Sending the data, Creating a test selection command for selecting the still image or the moving image; And transmitting the inspection selection command using the wireless communication channel. The method of claim 6, Sending the data is Creating an identification code for dividing the plurality of plasma display panels into groups or individually; Transmitting the identification code through the wireless communication channel; Receiving and storing the identification code and comparing the identification code with an identification code corresponding to the identification code.

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