KR20150055906A - Repair method for display panel and repair apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for repairing a display panel, and more specifically, to a display panel repairing method used to repair a coupling due to the damage on a lower substrate as well as a metal layer forming a wiring structure of the display panel and a device thereof. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel repairing method includes the steps of: filling a viscous and conductive material in a display panel having a disconnection failure and a chipped area through a dotting method; and removing the short-circuited area between adjacent wires through a cutting process. Accordingly, the present invention can carry out a more precise and efficient repairing process.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a repair method and a repair apparatus for a display panel,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a repair method for a display panel, and more particularly, to a repair method and apparatus for repairing a display panel including not only a metal layer that forms a wiring but also a metal layer.

2. Description of the Related Art [0002] With the development of information electronic devices for realizing high-resolution and high-quality images such as portable telephones (portable phones) and notebook computers, and HDTVs, flat panel display devices ) Are increasingly in demand. Examples of such flat panel display devices include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a field emission display (FED), and an organic light emitting diode (OLED). OLED).

Among these flat panel display devices, the structure of a liquid crystal display panel included in a liquid crystal display device will be described. The liquid crystal display panel includes a color filter substrate and an array substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the color filter substrate and the array substrate.

The color filter substrate is composed of a color filter composed of a plurality of sub-color filters for realizing the colors of red, green and blue, and a black matrix for separating the sub-color filters from each other and shielding light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer.

The array substrate includes a plurality of gate wirings and data wirings arranged in a matrix form to define a plurality of pixel regions, a thin film transistor which is a switching element formed in a crossing region between the gate wirings and the data wirings, and a pixel electrode And a common electrode.

The two substrates constituting the liquid crystal display panel are formed in such a manner that the thin film structure is formed on a large-sized mother substrate and are bonded together to form a plurality of liquid crystal display panels at the same time, thereby improving the yield. And a step of cutting the plate into a unit liquid crystal display panel.

Typically, the mother substrate cutting process comprises a scribe process for forming a line to be cut on the surface of the mother substrate with a diamond-shaped wheel having a hardness higher than that of glass, and a break process for cutting off by applying a mechanical force .

1 is a view for explaining a conventional mother board cutting process.

Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of unit liquid crystal display panels 1 are formed in a mother substrate cutting process, and a first mother substrate 2 having thin film transistor array substrates formed thereon, a second mother substrate 3 (Not shown) are interposed therebetween and are loaded on the stage 5 on which the cutting process is performed, and the liquid crystal display panels are individually cut by the cutting wheel 9. [

Here, although not shown, the cut unit liquid crystal display panels 1 are cut so that the lower array substrate protrudes from the upper color filter substrates. This is because a pad portion (not shown) in which a driver IC or an external system is bonded is formed at a side end portion where the lower array substrates do not overlap with the color filter substrate.

On the other hand, the first and second mother board 2 and 3 loaded on the stage 5 are first cut by the cutting wheel 9 and a first line to be cut is formed in the first direction and the second direction perpendicular thereto The first and second mother boards 2 and 3 are reversed and after the second cutting line is formed, cracks are generated along the two lines to be cut by the blow of the break bar (not shown) And is cut into a unit liquid crystal display panel.

At this time, the unit LCD panel panel cut according to the above-described process propagates in the direction of the inside of the array substrate where the cracks are not intentionally generated at the cut surface, resulting in a failure to open the metal pattern formed on the array substrate.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a unit liquid crystal display panel in which a cutting process is completed, and FIG. 2B is a view illustrating an example in which a single line defect occurs in the unit liquid crystal display panel of FIG.

2A and 2B, the unit liquid crystal display panel has a structure in which at least one side end of the array substrate 12 protrudes in a state in which the array substrate 12 and the color filter substrate 13 are bonded together, A pad portion 20 is formed.

The pad portion 20 includes pads and wirings for electrically connecting the liquid crystal display panel to the driving IC and other external systems and includes a gate metal layer 21, a gate insulating layer 24, and a data metal layer 26 And a protective layer 28 is further formed on the data metal layer 26. In addition, depending on the type of the liquid crystal display panel, the pad portion 20 may include a single gate metal layer 21 and a data metal layer 26, and the unit liquid crystal display panel having such a structure may be formed, Cracks are propagated to the outside of the array substrate and breakage is often caused. In particular, defects such as disconnection of the metal layer and the insulating layers 21, 24 and 26 of the pad portion 20 provided outside may occur.

As a conventional technique for solving such a problem, a repair method of locally short-circuiting a thin film transistor pattern formed on an array substrate using a CVD zone (chemical vapor deposition zone) is used for the defect of the thin film transistor pattern formed on the array substrate , This method is disadvantageous in that it can be applied only when the substrate to be repaired and the CVD unit are maintained at intervals of 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm. In other words, there has been a problem that it is difficult to apply the gap between the two substrates due to the thickness of the color filter substrate after the adhesion of the two substrates and the application of the gap is impossible. .

In addition, as a repair method for defective single wire of a conventional substrate, a method of shorting a pattern by applying a conductive material such as a metal ink or a conductive paste to a single-wire portion has been proposed. However, A problem that the short circuit is not properly performed due to the failure to completely fill the inside of the disconnection area occurs.

Particularly, when the array substrate is severely damaged and a chipping area CP in which the surface of the lower substrate 12 of the pad part 20 is apart as well as the pad part 20 on the substrate 12 is generated, There is a problem that the phenomenon that the conductive material 50 is unfilled is further intensified.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a repair method and repair apparatus for a display panel capable of repairing defects in a single line generated on a substrate by a mother board cutting process precisely and efficiently have.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a repair method for a display panel, comprising: loading a display panel to be inspected on a stage; Scanning the display panel to determine a position of the chipping area on the display panel when detecting a chipping area including a disconnection of at least one wire; Filling the inside of the chipping region with a conductive material by a dotting method to form a conductive layer; Removing a short circuit between adjacent wirings; And applying an insulating material on the conductive layer to form an auxiliary protective layer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a repair apparatus comprising: a stage on which a display panel is loaded; A sensor unit for scanning the display panel to determine a position of the chipping area when detecting a chipping area including a disconnection of at least one wire; A first discharging unit for filling a conductive material for forming a conductive layer in the chipping area by a dotting method; A cutting portion for removing a short-circuit portion of two or more wires short-circuited by the conductive layer; A second discharging portion for applying an insulating material for forming an auxiliary insulating layer to an upper portion of the conductive layer from which the shorting portion is removed; And a hardening unit for hardening the conductive material and the insulating material to form the conductive layer and the auxiliary insulating layer.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a conductive material having a viscosity is filled in a dotting manner on a display panel where a disconnection defect and a chipping area including the disconnection are generated, and a short circuit between adjacent wirings is removed through a cutting process The repair process can be performed more precisely and efficiently.

1 is a view for explaining a conventional mother board cutting process.
2A is a cross-sectional view of a unit liquid crystal display panel in which a cutting process is completed.
FIG. 2B is a view illustrating an example in which a single wire failure occurs in the unit liquid crystal display panel of FIG. 2A.
3 is a sectional view of a repaired liquid crystal display panel according to a conventional repair method.
4 is a view showing the structure of a repair apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a repair method of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6A to 6F are cross-sectional views or plan views of a display panel on which a process according to an embodiment of the present invention is performed.

Hereinafter, a repair method and repair apparatus for a display panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, the display panel is a liquid crystal display panel in which two substrates are bonded together with a liquid crystal interposed therebetween. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a break may occur on the panel, The present invention is applicable.

4 is a view showing the structure of a repair apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the repair apparatus 100 of the present invention includes a stage 110 on which a display panel to be inspected is loaded, and a controller 110 that scans the display panel to detect a chipping area, A sensor part 120 for determining the position of the area on the panel, a first discharging part 130 for filling the inside of the chipping area with a conductive material by a dotting method to form a conductive layer, A second discharging portion 140 for forming an auxiliary protective layer by applying an insulating material to the wiring portion, a cutting portion 150 for removing a short circuit between the wiring and the adjacent wiring, a hardening portion for hardening the filled conductive material and the insulating material, (160), and a controller (170) for controlling each component.

The repairing apparatus 100 of the display panel according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the chipping area including the disconnection occurring at the side of the unit liquid crystal display panel which is cut after the cementation is filled and shorted by a conductive material in a dipping manner, The defective wire is repaired.

First, the stage 110 is loaded with the unit display panels transferred through the transfer means after completion of the cutting process with respect to the attached mother substrate. The subsequent repair process is performed on the stage 110, and the stage 110 should be structured so as to stably support the display panel without shaking even during the process.

In the display panel used here, a pad portion (not shown) including a plurality of wirings is formed on a protruding portion of the two substrates, the array substrate on which the thin film transistor is patterned is wider than the color filter substrate on the upper portion thereof Structure.

The display panel may be defined as a display area in which a plurality of pixels for displaying an image are formed and a non-display area surrounding the display area and in which various wirings electrically connected to the plurality of pixels are formed, The part is included in the non-display area.

The pad portion includes a gate metal layer formed on the same layer as the gate electrode and the gate wiring of the thin film transistor formed in the pixel, an insulating layer covering the upper portion of the gate electrode and the wiring, a source of the thin film transistor formed on the upper portion of the insulating layer, Drain electrodes and a data line, and a protective layer formed on the data metal layer.

In addition, a semiconductor layer (not shown) for forming a thin film transistor may be further formed between the insulating layer and the data metal layer depending on the type of the display panel.

The sensor unit 120 may include a predetermined CCD camera. The sensor unit 120 scans a display panel on the stage 110 through a CCD camera to determine whether a break occurs. When the disconnection occurs, the sensor unit 120 calculates the position coordinate information for the position of the area where the disconnection occurred on the display panel. Also, although not shown, the sensor unit 120 may be connected to a separate display device to display the determined position coordinates, and the operator can directly identify the occurrence position of the break on the display panel and directly control the subsequent process have.

The disconnection defect detected by the sensor unit 120 includes a chipping region in which the surface of the lower substrate is separated as well as the metal layer and the protective layer of the pad portion are broken. That is, the chipping area has a shape in which the surface of the substrate is recessed, and the sensor part 120 is set so as to detect not only the opaque metal layer but also the depressed shape of the transparent substrate.

The first discharging part 130 functions to fill the inside of the chipping area and to restore electrical connection to the broken line part. Particularly, the first discharging part 130 of the present invention does not fill the inside of the chipping area with a conductive material by discharging once to the chipping area, but rather moves the dispenser along the inner surface of the chipping area, and is filled in a dotting manner.

The dotting method is a method in which a dispenser is moved along a side wall and a bottom surface of a chipping area to apply a small amount of conductive material repeatedly in a dot shape to form a point shape Of the conductive material are brought into contact with each other. According to this dipping method, a small amount of conductive material is uniformly formed along the inner surface of the chipping region. At this time, the discharge amount, spacing, and thickness of the discharged conductive material are sufficient to contact each other between neighboring points, and the discharge amount can be changed to the size of the opening of the first discharge portion 130.

For this, the first discharging unit 130 includes a dispenser for discharging the conductive material, and a dispenser for moving the dispenser in the first direction and moving the dispenser in the direction perpendicular to the downward direction, that is, toward the inner surface of the chipping area, (Not shown) for repeating the above-described operation. The first discharging unit 130 may further be connected to a storage tank 135 for supplying a conductive material and the conductive material stored in the storage tank 135 may include a silver paste having a viscosity. Substances may be used.

The silver paste may have a composition ratio of 50% to 70% of silver (Ag), 10% to 20% of methanol, and 5% to 10% of toluene. The silver paste preferably has a viscosity (cps) of 5 to 20, and is preferably prepared so as to have a curing time within 10 s to 20 s when irradiated with UV light.

The second discharging portion 140 serves to apply an insulating material to the upper portion of the hardened conductive layer in the chipping area. The conductive layer formed through the first discharge portion 130 is cured to have a metal characteristic and the upper surface is exposed to the outside so that the liquid crystal display panel is contaminated or damaged by the foreign object in the subsequent cleaning process, May occur. In order to minimize such a problem, the repair apparatus 100 further includes a second discharging unit 140 to apply an insulating material to the corresponding portion, and further form an auxiliary protective layer through a curing process.

Particularly, the second discharging unit 140 may be configured to discharge the insulating material through the dotting method in the same structure as that of the first discharging unit 130, corresponding to the shape of the conductive layer, The protective layer can be formed more adaptively according to the surface shape of the protective layer.

In addition, the second discharging portion 140 may further be connected to the storage tank 145 for supplying the insulating material.

The cutting portion 150 serves to remove a portion where an unintentional short circuit occurs between adjacent wirings in accordance with the discharge and curing process of the conductive material. The chipping area can be generated in a plan view, in which two or more neighboring wires are broken together, and neighboring wires are electrically short-circuited when the conductive material is filled therein. The cutting portion 150 repairs each of the wirings to the original electrically connected state by removing the conductive layer between the two wirings. As the cutting portion 150, a laser beam irradiating device including a predetermined optical means may be used. The laser beam is irradiated to the conductive layer to remove the two or more wires contacted by the conductive layer.

The hardening unit 160 hardens the conductive material filled by the first discharging unit 130 and the insulating material applied by the second discharging unit 140 to form a certain hardened conductive layer and the auxiliary protective layer, Heat or UV of a predetermined wavelength is applied to the corresponding region to perform a curing process. The hardened portion 160 may be formed of a predetermined heating device or a UV irradiation device.

The controller 170 controls the overall operation of the repair apparatus 100 described above. According to the repair method of the present invention, the controller 170 detects the chipping area on the display panel of the stage 110 through the sensor unit 120 and controls the first discharge unit and the hardening units 130 and 160 (B), and curing (c) the conductive material is discharged to the chipping region by controlling.

Next, the cutting unit 150 is controlled to remove unnecessary short-circuit parts (d), and then the protective material is applied (e) and cured (f) in the order (a → b → c → d → e → f) Thereby controlling the repair apparatus 100.

Hereinafter, a repair method of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a flow chart and a cross-section related thereto.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a repair method of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6A to 6F are views illustrating a method of repairing a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6A to 6F, the display panel repair method of the present invention includes loading a display panel to be inspected on a stage (S200), scanning the display panel to remove at least one wiring (S210, S220) of determining a position of a chipping area on a display panel when detecting a chipping area including a disconnection; forming a conductive layer by filling a conductive material in a dotting manner inside the chipping area A step S260 of removing a short circuit between adjacent wirings, and a step S270 through S290 of forming an auxiliary protective layer by coating an insulating material on the conductive layer.

The step of loading the display panel to be inspected on the stage (S200), i.e., loading the substrate, is a step of placing the unit liquid crystal display panel on which the cutting process is completed on the stage.

(S210, S220) of determining the position of the chipping area on the display panel when detecting a chipping area including a disconnection of at least one line by scanning the display panel, the entire area of the loaded liquid crystal display panel is scanned Detecting a chipping region which is a portion where a crack occurs or a disconnection occurs, and determining a position coordinate of the chipping region on the liquid crystal display panel when the chipping region is detected. 6A, the chipping region CP frequently occurs in the break process, particularly in the vicinity of the edge cut surface of the liquid crystal display panel, and the gate metal layer 321, the gate insulating layer 324, the data metal layer 326 and the protective layer 328, as well as substrate defects having a depressed shape to the substrate surface 312.

Referring to FIG. 6B, steps (S230 to S250) of forming a conductive layer by filling the inside of the chipping area with a conductive material by a dotting method include arranging a first discharge part so as to correspond to the detected chipping area CP (S230). The first discharging unit 120 is moved in the first direction (x direction) from the inner surface of the chipping area CP to the bottom surface and the inner surface of the opposite side, thereby discharging the conductive material at predetermined intervals S240). At this time, the first discharge portion 120 is moved not only in the first direction (x direction) but also in the second direction (y) perpendicular to the first direction and the lower direction by the provided actuator, The conductive material is ejected in a dotted form as soon as the opening 121 of the portion 120 touches the inner surface or the bottom surface of the chipping region CP.

That is, the conductive material is applied in the form of a dot at the base of the chipping region CP and filled up to the depressed portion of the surface of the substrate 312.

According to the conductive material application method, the conductive material can be filled with the conductive material in a manner that the conductive material does not reach the recessed portion of the substrate due to the lump of the conductive material, .

Then, the first discharging unit 120 carries out the discharging process through the path of? 1??>? 3? 4?? Shown in FIG. 6B. When the conductive material is applied in the form of a line in the above-described manner, the first discharge portion 120 moves a predetermined distance in a third direction (z direction) perpendicular to the first direction when viewed in a plan view, By proceeding to the opposite path, the discharging process can be performed so that the conductive material contacts all of the metal layers 321 and 326 in the chipping area CP.

The present invention is not limited to this, and may be a zigzag path, and at least a part of the discharge path may be formed by discharging the discharge path from the first discharge part 120 It is possible to apply any path as long as the conductive material discharges the conductive material in a plurality of dot shapes along the inner surface of the chipping area CP instead of discharging the conductive material once for one chipping area CP.

In addition, as the conductive material used herein, a material containing silver paste or the like mixed with a liquid having a fine silver particle in a viscous state may be used, and this silver paste may be prepared by mixing 50% to 70% of silver (Ag) methanol may be 10% to 20%, and toluene (toluene) may be 5% to 10%. The silver paste has a viscosity (cps) of 5 to 20, and preferably has a curing time of 10 s to 20 s when irradiated with UV light.

6C as step S250, the curing unit (not shown) applies heat or UV light to the top of the substrate 340 with respect to the chipping area The conductive material is cured to form the conductive layer 340. Here, the conductive layer 340 not only contacts both the lower gate metal layer 321 and the upper data metal layer 326, but also extends into the recessed region of the surface of the substrate 312.

Referring to FIG. 6D, the step of removing the short circuit between adjacent wirings may be performed such that the conductive layer 340 is formed on the first wiring 320a to the third wiring 320c on the substrate 312, The first and second cutting areas CA1 and CA2 are defined between the first wiring 320a and the second wiring 320b and between the second wiring 320b and the third wiring 320c, And the cutting portion 140 performs a laser cutting process 140 on the portion to remove the cutting area CA. Through this step, the wirings 320a to 320c of the pad portion 320 are electrically insulated from each other.

Referring to FIG. 6E as a second aligner aligning step (S270), steps (S270 to S290) of forming an auxiliary protective layer by applying an insulating material to the upper portion of the conductive layer are performed in a state where the respective wires are electrically insulated The second discharger 150 is disposed above the protective layer 314 in step S270 and the protective layer 314 is coated on the top of the protective layer 314 so as to be completely covered in step S280. At this time, since the protective layer 314 has a depressed shape depending on the shape of the chipping region, it is preferable that the insulating material 350 is filled in the same manner as the conductive material by a dipping method. That is, the second discharger 150 travels along the surface of the conductive layer 341, and discharges the insulating material 350 in a point-like manner as soon as the conductive layer 341 contacts the conductive layer 341 at regular intervals. Here, the conductive layer 341 is in a non-contact state between neighboring wirings by the short-circuit region removing step (S260). Although not shown, the insulating layer 350 is formed by cutting the conductive layer 341 and the conductive layer, (312) is exposed.

6f, the second discharging unit 150 moves to the original position. In step S290, a hardening unit (not shown) heat or UV light to the upper surface of the substrate 340 with respect to the insulating material 350 The insulating layer 351 is formed by curing the insulating material.

According to the above-described steps, in the display panel repair method of the present invention, the conductive layer is formed in a dipping manner with respect to the chipping area, and the auxiliary insulation layer is formed after removing the short-circuit part, have.

While a number of embodiments have been described in detail above, it should be construed as being illustrative of preferred embodiments rather than limiting the scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described, but should be determined by equivalents to the appended claims and the claims.

100: Repair device 110: Stage
120: sensor part 130: first discharge part
135: Conductive material storage tank 140: Second discharge portion
145: Insulating material storage tank 150: Cutting part
160: hardening unit 170:

Claims (15)

Loading a display panel to be inspected on a stage;
Scanning the display panel to determine a position of the chipping area on the display panel when detecting a chipping area including a disconnection of at least one wire;
Filling the inside of the chipping region with a conductive material by a dotting method to form a conductive layer;
Removing a short circuit between adjacent wirings generated by the conductive layer forming step; And
Forming an auxiliary protective layer by coating an insulating material on the conductive layer
And a repairing step of repairing the display panel. The method according to claim 1,
The forming of the conductive layer by the dicing method may include:
Positioning the first discharge portion at one point of the chipping area; And
The first discharging portion is moved in the first direction and the conductive material is discharged along the inner surface at predetermined intervals, and the discharging portion is lowered in a second direction perpendicular to the first discharging direction, A step of discharging the conductive material at a point of contact with the inner surface of the step
The method of claim 1, The method according to claim 1,
The conductive material may be,
A method for repairing a display panel, the method comprising: applying a paste to a display panel; The method of claim 3,
The silver paste (Ag)
50% to 70% of silver (Ag);
10% to 20% of methanol;
Characterized in that toluene (Toluene) has a composition ratio of 5% to 10%. The method of claim 3,
The silver paste (Ag)
Viscosity (cps) of 5 to 20;
Wherein the curing time by UV is within 10 s to 20 s. The method according to claim 1,
In the display panel,
Wherein the liquid crystal display panel is a liquid crystal display panel divided into unit panels by performing a cutting process with respect to the bonded mother substrate. The method according to claim 1,
The chipping region
And a portion of the substrate where the surface of the substrate falls to a certain depth below the wiring. The method according to claim 1,
The conductive layer forming step and the auxiliary protective layer forming step may include:
Further comprising the step of curing the conductive material and the insulating material, respectively. A stage on which the display panel is loaded;
A sensor unit for scanning the display panel to determine a position of the chipping area when detecting a chipping area including a disconnection of at least one wire;
A first discharging unit for filling a conductive material for forming a conductive layer in the chipping area by a dotting method;
A cutting portion for removing a short-circuit portion of two or more wires short-circuited by the conductive layer;
A second discharging portion for applying an insulating material for forming an auxiliary insulating layer to an upper portion of the conductive layer from which the shorting portion is removed; And
And a hardening part for hardening the conductive material and the insulating material to form the conductive layer and the auxiliary insulating layer,
And a display panel. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the first discharging portion
The conductive material is discharged in a first direction at a predetermined distance after being positioned at one point of the chipping area, and the conductive material is lowered in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, And discharges the conductive material at a point of contact with the inner surface of the chipping area. 10. The method of claim 9,
The conductive material may be,
Characterized in that it comprises a viscous silver paste (Ag paste). 12. The method of claim 11,
The silver paste (Ag)
50% to 70% of silver (Ag);
10% to 20% of methanol;
And the toluene (Toluene) has a composition ratio of 5% to 10%. 12. The method of claim 11,
The silver paste (Ag)
Viscosity (cps) of 5 to 20;
Wherein the curing time by UV is within 10 s to 20 s. 10. The method of claim 9,
In the display panel,
Wherein the display panel is a flat panel display panel divided into unit panels through a cutting process from the mother substrate. 10. The method of claim 9,
The chipping region
And a portion of the substrate where the surface of the substrate falls to a certain depth below the wiring.

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