KR100861467B1 - Probe unit for inspecting lcd panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A probe unit for inspecting an LCD(Liquid Crystal Display) panel is provided to minimize an inspection error by minimizing a thermal variation of a probe base. A probe unit for inspecting an LCD panel includes an upper probe base(110), a lower probe base(120), a plurality of probe blocks(130), an upper radiation plate(150), and a lower radiation plate(180). The lower probe base is coupled to a lower side of the upper probe base. The probe blocks are installed on the lower probe base and are contacted with an electrode of the LCD panel. The upper radiation plate is centered on a plurality of first supporting members(140) and is coupled to a lower part of the upper probe base. The lower radiation plate is centered on a plurality of second supporting members(160), and is coupled to a lower part of the upper radiation plate. The lower radiation plate is centered on a plurality of third supporting members(170) and is coupled to a lower part of the lower probe base.

Description

Probe unit for LCD panel lighting inspection {PROBE UNIT FOR INSPECTING LCD PANEL}

1 is a plan view schematically showing an example of a conventional LCD panel lighting test apparatus.

2 is an exploded perspective view of a part of the probe unit for LCD panel lighting test according to the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the lower heat dissipation plate shown in FIG. 2.

4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the lower heat sink shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating still another embodiment of the lower heat sink shown in FIG. 2.

** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings **

10: Conventional LCD panel lighting inspection device P: LCD panel

45: worktable 67: probe base

68: probe block 69: camera

70: probe stage 71: probe needle

110: upper probe base 120: lower probe base

130: probe block 140: first support member

150: upper heat sink 160: second support member

170: third support member 180: lower heat sink

The present invention relates to a probe unit for LCD panel lighting inspection, and more particularly, the heat generation of the probe base to which the probe block is mounted by the heat continuously emitted from the backlight during the lighting inspection of the LCD panel occurs. The present invention relates to an LCD panel lighting inspection probe unit having a heat sink for preventing poor contact between the probe blocks of the probe block and the LCD panel.

Recently, liquid crystal display (LCD) panels are widely used as video display devices of electronic devices such as TVs, computer monitors, portable terminals, and the like, and their usage is increasing.

The LCD panel has a structure in which two array substrates and a color substrate are bonded to each other with a liquid crystal interposed therebetween, and display the LCD panel by using an electro-optical characteristic of the liquid crystal due to a voltage applied from the outside.

The LCD panel goes through a shipment inspection process that inspects the presence or absence of defects that may occur in the manufacturing process after completion of manufacturing and before mounting to the above-described electronic device.

Such inspection methods are generally classified into a lighting test using a probe unit and a visual inspection using a microscope to perform disconnection inspection and color inspection of LCD panel lines.

Hereinafter, an example of a conventional LCD panel lighting inspection apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

The conventional LCD panel lighting inspection apparatus 10 basically includes a probe block 68 for applying a test signal to an electrode of the LCD panel P and a probe base 67 on which the probe block 68 is mounted. An alignment for adjusting the position of the LCD panel P by moving the work table 45 on which the LCD panel P is mounted on the main body, and moving the work table 45 up, down, left and right. H), and a backlight (not shown) for irradiating light to the rear surface of the LCD panel P mounted on the work table 45. Here, reference numeral 69 denotes a camera for capturing the LCD panel P to be confirmed by a monitor, reference numeral 70 denotes a probe stage in which the probe unit is installed, and reference numeral 71 denotes the probe block ( 68) probe needle.

By the way, the following problems occur during the lighting test through the conventional LCD panel lighting test device 10 described above. That is, since the LCD panel P cannot emit light for display of an image by itself, the backlight should be continuously irradiated with light while the lighting test is performed on the back of the LCD panel P. At this time, thermal deformation occurs in the probe base 67 due to the heat emitted from the backlight, and thus the lighting test is performed because the electrodes of the LCD panel P and the probe needles of the probe block 68 do not contact each other accurately. An error will occur.

In recent years, as LCD panels become more and more high-definition, pixel density is continuously increasing, and probe blocks for testing such high-definition LCD panels are also becoming denser. In other words, the probe blocks up to now are configured with a pitch of 60 μm, but a probe block capable of a pitch band of 50 μm to 40 μm and a size of 35 μm for the small and medium probe blocks is required. Under such circumstances, the occurrence of a lighting inspection error due to the thermal deformation of the probe base as described above becomes a fatal problem in the lighting inspection apparatus.

The present invention has been made to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art as described above, the probe by which the probe block is mounted by the heat of the light emitted from the back of the LCD panel during the LCD panel lighting test is performed using the heat sink LCD panel lighting test which can minimize the occurrence of lighting test error caused by the probe needles of the probe block not contacting the electrode of the LCD panel by minimizing thermal deformation of the probe base by blocking the direct influence on the base. The technical problem is to provide a probe unit.

LCD panel lighting inspection probe unit according to the present invention for achieving the technical problem as described above is mounted on the lower probe base and the lower probe base fastened to the lower side of the upper probe base, the upper probe base and the electrode of the LCD panel It includes a plurality of probe blocks in contact with the. An upper heat sink is connected to a lower end of the upper probe base with a plurality of first supporting members interposed therebetween. A lower heat sink is connected to a lower end of the upper heat sink and a lower end of the lower probe base, respectively, with a plurality of second support members and a plurality of third support members interposed therebetween.

In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the lower heat sink and the upper heat sink may be coated with a heat radiation film to block the heat emitted from the backlight.

Preferably, the lower heat sink and the upper heat sink may be formed with a corrugation portion to facilitate the release of heat transferred from the backlight, the heat radiation to block the heat emitted from the backlight on each lower surface of the lower heat sink and the upper heat sink is formed as described above The film can be coated.

Preferably, the first, second and third support members may be formed of a polyacetal material having extremely low thermal conductivity.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the probe unit for LCD panel lighting test according to the present invention.

As shown in Figure 2, the LCD panel lighting test probe unit 100 according to the present invention is the upper probe base 110, the lower probe base 120 is fastened to one side lower end of the upper probe base 110 and And a plurality of probe blocks 130 mounted on the lower probe base 120 to be in contact with an electrode of an LCD panel (not shown). The probe blocks 130 receive test signals generated from a signal generator (not shown) through a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 132 and apply them to the electrodes of the LCD panel so that the LCD panel is free of pixel errors. You will be tested for normal operation.

As described with reference to FIG. 1, the LCD panel lighting test probe unit 100 according to the present invention is applied to heat emitted from a backlight continuously irradiating light from the back of the LCD panel while the lighting test of the LCD panel is performed. It is provided with a heat dissipation plate for preventing the thermal deformation of the upper and lower probe base (110, 120). The heat sink is composed of an upper heat sink 150 and a lower heat sink 180, which will be described below.

An upper heat dissipation plate 150 is disposed at a lower end of the upper probe base 110 with a plurality of first support members 140 disposed to be spaced apart from each other along a length direction, and a lower end of the upper heat dissipation plate 150 is disposed. The lower heat dissipation plate 180 is disposed with a plurality of second support members 160 disposed to be spaced apart by a predetermined distance along the longitudinal direction.

In this case, the plurality of first support members 140, the upper heat sink 150, the plurality of second support members 160, and the lower heat sink 180 may be bolts or screws as shown in FIG. 2. It is first fastened to one by a plurality of fastening members 182, such as, and is fastened to the bottom of the upper probe base 110 by a plurality of separate fastening members 184 in the fastened state.

In addition, the lower heat sink 180 is disposed at a lower end of the lower probe base 120 with a plurality of third support members 170 disposed therebetween to be spaced apart at predetermined intervals along the length direction of the lower probe base 120. 120 is fastened to the bottom. Looking at the fastening structure in detail, first, the plurality of third support members 170 are fastened to the lower end of the lower probe base 120 by a plurality of fastening members 172 such as bolts or screws. Then, the lower probe base 120, the plurality of third support members 170, and the lower heat sink 180 are fastened by a plurality of separate fastening members 186.

Here, the upper heat sink 150 and the lower heat sink 180 are formed of an aluminum-50-based material that is easy to process so as to be manufactured in various thicknesses as necessary. This material also helps to form the wrinkles 182b to be described later.

In addition, the first, second, and third support members 140, 160, and 170 may be formed of polyacetal (POM: Polyacetal, Polyoxymethylene) material having excellent insulation and heat resistance and extremely low thermal conductivity. The heat transmitted to the upper heat sink 150 is effectively prevented from being transferred to the upper and lower probe base (110, 120) to minimize the thermal deformation of the upper and lower probe base (110, 120) Can be.

In the case of the LCD panel lighting inspection probe unit 100 according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the upper probe base 110, in particular, the lower probe base 120 is thermally deformed and has a length of 80 μm or more in its length direction. The lighting test error was minimized by reducing the elongation by more than 75% to less than 20㎛.

Meanwhile, another preferred embodiment of the lower heat sink 180 is shown in FIG. 3. In the case of the lower heat sink 180a, a heat radiation film 181a is formed on the bottom surface of the lower heat sink 180a to block heat emitted from the backlight. . As the heat dissipation film 181a, various conventional ones may be used to reflect and block infrared rays and ultraviolet rays emitted from a predetermined heat source. Although not illustrated in a separate drawing, the above-described heat dissipation film 181a may be applied to the lower surface of the upper heat dissipation plate 150. According to the lower heat dissipation plate 180a to which the heat dissipation film 181a is applied, thermal deformation of the upper and lower probe bases 110 and 120 may be further minimized.

Meanwhile, another preferred embodiment of the lower heat sink 180 is shown in FIG. 4. In the case of the lower heat sink 180b, wrinkles 182b are formed on upper and lower surfaces of the lower heat sink 180b to more efficiently heat the heat transferred from the backlight. By cooling to lower heat deformation of the upper and lower probe base (110, 120) can be further minimized. Although not illustrated and illustrated in a separate drawing, the aforementioned wrinkle part 182b may also be applied to the upper heat sink 150.

Meanwhile, another preferred embodiment of the lower heat sink 180 is shown in FIG. 5. In the case of the lower heat sink 180c, the wrinkles 182c are formed on the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and the heat radiation film ( 181c may be formed to maximize each of the aforementioned effects. Although not illustrated and illustrated in a separate drawing, the aforementioned wrinkle part 182c and the heat dissipation film 181c may also be applied to the upper heat dissipation plate 150.

As described above, in the detailed description of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described, but those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention. Of course. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the claims below, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

According to the probe unit for LCD panel lighting test according to the present invention having the configuration as described above, the heat generated by the light of the backlight is irradiated from the back of the LCD panel during the LCD panel lighting test using the heat sink is a probe block By minimizing the direct impact on the mounted probe base to minimize thermal deformation of the probe base, it is possible to minimize the lighting test error caused by the probe needle of the probe block does not contact the electrodes of the LCD panel accurately. There is.

Claims (5)

An LCD panel lighting probe unit comprising: an upper probe base, a lower probe base fastened to one lower end of the upper probe base, and a plurality of probe blocks mounted on the lower probe base and in contact with electrodes of the LCD panel. An upper heat sink connected to a lower end of the upper probe base with a plurality of first support members interposed therebetween; And And a lower heat sink connected to a lower end of the upper heat sink with a plurality of second support members interposed therebetween and connected to a lower end of the lower probe base with a plurality of third support members therebetween. Probe unit. The method of claim 1, Each lower surface of the lower heat sink and the upper heat sink is a heat dissipation film is coated LCD panel probe unit characterized in that the coating. The method of claim 1, LCD panel lighting probe unit, characterized in that the wrinkles formed on the lower heat sink and the upper heat sink. The method of claim 3, wherein Each lower surface of the lower heat sink and the upper heat sink is a heat dissipation film is coated LCD panel probe unit characterized in that the coating. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, And the first, second and third support members are formed of polyacetal material.

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