WO1998010298A1

WO1998010298A1 - Device for inspecting liquid crystal display panel, method of inspecting liquid crystal display panel and method of manufacturing liquid crystal display panel

Info

Publication number: WO1998010298A1
Application number: PCT/JP1997/003049
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kozo Gyoda
Original assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
Priority date: 1996-09-02
Filing date: 1997-09-02
Publication date: 1998-03-12
Also published as: JPH1078456A; TW359748B; KR20000064315A; KR100518161B1; CN1199466A; JP3624570B2; CN1175271C

Abstract

A novel structure of a device for inspecting liquid crystal display panels. A liquid crystal display panel is almost completely inspected using the device before an IC chip is mounted and, further, wiring patterns on external terminals can be inspected simultaneously. An air supply inlet (40a) and a wide opening part (40b) are provided in the edge part of a holding plate (40), and an elastic sheet (42) is attached so as to close the wide opening part (40b). An IC chip (A) is bonded and fixed to the outer surface of the elastic sheet (42). A flexible circuit board (43) is bonded and fixed to the lower surface of the holding plate (40), and wiring patterns (43a) are provided on the flexible circuit board (43). Connection terminal parts (43b) are provided on the edge parts of the wiring patterns (43a) to which one ends of conductive wires (44) are bonded. The other ends of the conductive wires (44) are bonded to contact terminals (45). The connection terminal parts (43b) and the conductive wires (44) are encapsulated in a molding body (46).

Description

Specification

Liquid crystal display panel inspection apparatus, liquid crystal display panel inspection method, and liquid crystal panel manufacturing method

The present invention relates to an inspection device for a liquid crystal display panel, and more particularly to a structure of an inspection probe device suitable for performing a lighting inspection of a liquid crystal display panel of a type having an IC chip mounted on an external terminal portion. Background art

In a conventional liquid crystal display device, one of two substrates constituting the panel is protruded from an outer peripheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel, and a plurality of substrates drawn out of the display area are provided on the surface of the protruding portion. It is common to have an external terminal portion formed with an external terminal.

The external terminals are arranged with external terminals for applying a drive voltage for causing a liquid crystal display panel to perform a display operation. Wiring from a liquid crystal drive circuit is connected to each external terminal.

The number of external terminals in the external terminal section has increased with the recent increase in the definition of liquid crystal display devices, and the pitch of terminals has also been reduced. Therefore, in many cases, a flexible wiring board is usually connected to an external terminal portion using a heat seal.

Furthermore, in order to respond to the miniaturization and thinning of the liquid crystal display device, a COG (Chip On G 1 ass) type liquid crystal display panel in which an IC chip with a built-in liquid crystal drive circuit is directly mounted on the above external terminals has is there. In this case, the wiring layer pulled out from the display area of the liquid crystal display panel is connected to the first terminal group to be connected to the output terminal of the IC chip, and the position of the IC chip is set at a position facing the first terminal group. A second terminal group corresponding to the input terminals is arranged. These second terminal groups are directly pulled out to the outer edge of the external terminal portion to become external terminal groups connected to an external control circuit or the like. In the conventional C0G type liquid crystal display panel described above, after the liquid crystal display panel is formed, an IC chip is mounted on an external terminal portion, and thereafter, panel inspection is performed. However, if panel inspection is performed after mounting the IC chip, the product will be defective if the liquid crystal display panel itself is defective or if the IC chip is defective, and the other component is wasted. There is a problem that it becomes. In practice, the LCD panel is often defective, and IC chips are often wasted.

On the other hand, when performing a panel inspection before mounting an IC chip, a simple inspection of the liquid crystal display panel itself can be performed, but a precise lighting inspection by gradation control, for example, through a liquid crystal drive circuit can be performed. It cannot be performed, and to perform the lighting inspection, an inspection device having the same function as the liquid crystal drive circuit must be prepared.

Furthermore, in the panel inspection after the mounting of the IC chip, only the portion of the liquid crystal display panel beyond the first terminal group can be inspected, and the wiring inspection of the second terminal group and the external terminal group connected thereto are simultaneously performed. However, even if there is a defect on the external terminal, a defect cannot be detected until the inspection after mounting the IC chip, resulting in a problem that the IC chip is wasted.

Therefore, the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and the problem is that an almost complete panel inspection can be performed before mounting an IC chip in a liquid crystal display panel inspection apparatus, and at the same time, an external terminal part can be inspected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new configuration capable of simultaneously performing a wiring pattern inspection. Disclosure of the invention

Means taken by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems include: a holder accommodating a plurality of wirings; an integrated circuit having a plurality of exposed connection terminals attached to a tip end of the holder; An inspection apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel, comprising: a plurality of inspection probes arranged in parallel with the connection terminals of a circuit, wherein the wiring is conductively connected to the inspection probes. According to this means, by lowering the holder onto the external terminal portion, the connection terminal of the integrated circuit can be brought into contact with the external terminal portion, and at the same time, the inspection probe can be brought into contact with the external terminal portion. By performing panel inspection, the same inspection as when an integrated circuit is mounted can be performed.

Here, the inspection probe may include an exposed contact terminal portion, a flexible wire connecting between the contact terminal portion and the wiring, and an elastic resin covering the flexible wire. preferable.

According to this means, since the inspection probe connects the wiring and the contact terminal with a flexible wire and is covered with the elastic resin, the position of the contact terminal is set to the surface height of the external terminal. Accordingly, a reliable connection can be obtained, and the contact between the connection terminal of the integrated circuit and the external terminal can be stabilized. In addition, since it can be formed only by connecting a flexible wire and filling and curing with an elastic resin, it can be easily manufactured.

Preferably, the integrated circuit is elastically attached to the holder.

According to this means, since the integrated circuit is elastically attached to the holder, the contact state between the connection terminal and the external terminal portion can be stabilized, and a reliable contact can be obtained.

Further, it is preferable that the holding body has a wiring board to be connected to the liquid crystal display panel, and the wiring is a wiring layer formed on the wiring board.

According to this means, since the wiring board to be connected to the liquid crystal display panel is mounted on the holder, the production is facilitated.

Further, it is preferable that the holding body includes a holding mechanism for holding the integrated circuit detachably.

According to this means, by providing the holding mechanism for detachably holding the integrated circuit, it is possible to appropriately select and inspect a different integrated circuit. In addition, after the integrated circuit is mounted and inspected, the integrated circuit can be removed as it is after being bonded and fixed on the external terminals, so that the integrated circuit can be mounted on the liquid crystal display panel.

Also, the connection terminal of the integrated circuit held by the integrated circuit holding means is brought into contact with the wiring pattern of the external terminal portion provided on the substrate of the liquid crystal panel with a predetermined pressing force,

Next, a plurality of inspection probes provided corresponding to the external terminal portion are brought into contact with the external terminal portion,

An electrical inspection of the liquid crystal panel is performed by supplying a liquid crystal panel inspection signal to the integrated circuit through the inspection probe,

Next, it is preferable that the integrated circuit and the substrate are bonded via a resin adhesive in which conductive particles are dispersed, and the integrated circuit and the connection terminal are conductively connected.

According to this means, the electrical inspection of the liquid crystal panel is performed using the integrated circuit, and subsequently, the mounting of the integrated circuit is performed. Therefore, a highly efficient liquid crystal panel manufacturing method can be provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a state of use of a liquid crystal display panel inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of an external terminal portion of the liquid crystal display panel. FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the outer edge of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a method of forming a probe structure. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before the start of the inspection.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state at the time of inspection.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an inspection arm showing a different embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an IC chip mounting process using an inspection arm. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Next, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing a use state of a probe device according to the present embodiment. The liquid crystal display panel is composed of various types of liquid crystal displays.In the illustrated example, the liquid crystal display panel includes an element substrate 10 having a wiring layer 11 connected to a pixel electrode, and a counter electrode 21. The liquid crystal layer 30 is sandwiched between the liquid crystal layer 30 and the counter substrate 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, an external terminal portion 15 is formed on the outer edge of the element substrate 10 so as to extend laterally beyond the end of the counter substrate 20. On the surface of the external terminal portion 15, a plurality of first lead-out lines 12 drawn out from the display area facing the liquid crystal layer 30 and a space formed with respect to the first lead-out lines are formed. The second extraction wiring 13 is formed in a predetermined pattern with the first extraction wiring 13 <The first extraction wiring 12 is connected to the wiring layer 11 or the counter electrode 21, and as shown in FIG. The tip is a first terminal 12a formed corresponding to the output terminal of a predetermined integrated circuit chip (hereinafter simply referred to as an IC chip) A. The inner end of the second lead-out wiring 13 is a second terminal 13a formed corresponding to the input terminal of the IC chip A, and the outer end of the second lead-out wiring 13 is formed. Is an external terminal 13b for connection to an external control circuit or power supply circuit. The external terminal 13b is conductively connected to a connection terminal configured to be arranged in the same bit as the external terminal 13b, for example, at the connection terminal portion B opposite to the flexible circuit.

The external terminal section 15 is designed so that a plurality of IC chips A are arranged as shown in FIG. 3, and these IC chips A are connected to external terminals 13 b connected to a control circuit and a power supply circuit. The second terminal 13a receives the control signal and the power supplied from the second terminal 13a, generates a drive signal based on the control signal and the power, and outputs the driving signal from the first terminal 12a to the wiring layer in the liquid crystal display panel. It is configured to send a driving signal to the counter electrode and the like. The mark 14 is printed for positioning the IC chip A.

Depending on the type of liquid crystal display panel, only the outer edge of the element substrate 10 Although the terminal portion 15 may be formed, a portion that protrudes outward from the end of the element substrate 10 is also formed on the outer edge of the counter substrate 20, and this protruding portion (on the back side) is connected to the external terminal. It may be formed as an external terminal part 25 similar to the part 15.

In the present embodiment, a holding plate 40 made of an insulating material (for example, a hard resin) having a certain degree of rigidity as a holding body is mounted on a lifting mechanism (not shown) so as to be able to move up and down with high accuracy. ing. At the tip of the holding plate 40, an air supply hole 40a penetrating vertically and a wide-opening portion 40b formed continuously below the air supply hole 40a are provided. An air supply tube 41 connected to an air supply device (not shown) is connected to an upper opening of the air supply hole 40a. Further, a flexible thin film, for example, an elastic sheet 42 made of a synthetic rubber sheet is attached so as to seal the wide opening 4 Ob.

The above-mentioned IC chip A is adhesively fixed on the outer surface of the elastic sheet 42. This IC chip A may be the IC chip A itself mounted on the external terminal sections 15 and 25 shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, and is not the same but has almost the same function formed for inspection. Other IC chips having the following may be used. By supplying gas to the air supply hole 40a through the air supply tube 41, the elastic sheet 42 covering the wide-opening 40b expands downward, and the elasticity according to the gas supply pressure. IC chip A can be held elastically by its characteristics.

A flexible circuit board 43 is adhered and fixed to the lower surface of the holding plate 40. The flexible circuit board 43 has a plurality of wiring patterns 43 having a predetermined pattern formed on the surface or inside thereof. Is provided. The ends of the plurality of wiring patterns 43a are connection terminal portions 43b, and the connection terminal portions 43b are provided on the lower surface side of the holding plate 40, and have the above-described wide opening. It faces the recess 40c formed behind the opening 40b.

One end of a conductive wire 44 made of a gold wire or the like is bonded to the connection terminal portion 43b. The other end of the conductive wire 44 is made of a metal connection. Connected to contact terminals 45. Then, the insulating resin is recessed so as to mold the plurality of connection terminal portions 43 b and the plurality of conductive wires 44.

After filling into 40 c, the mold body 46 is formed by solidification. The molding body 46 not only fills the recess 40 c of the holding plate 40, but also covers the connecting portion between the conductive wire 44 and the contact terminal 45, and furthermore, contacts the contact terminal 4 5. The lower surface 5 is configured to protrude downward from the concave portion 40c so as to be exposed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a method of forming the mold body 46. The conductive wires 44 bonded to the connection terminals 4 3b of the wiring patterns 4 3a formed on the surface of the flexible circuit board 4 3 4 Bonded to pad 47. In this state, the flexible circuit board 43 is bonded and fixed to the lower surface of the holding plate 40 shown in FIG. 1, and the insulating resin is poured into the concave portion 40c of the holding plate 40. After hardening the insulating resin, the frame plate 48 is removed, and the connection terminal 45 is joined to the exposed portion of the connection pad 47 (the portion that was in contact with the frame plate 48).

Inspection control device is included in the wiring pattern 4 3 a of the flexible circuit board 4 3

50 are connected, and a control signal and a power supply potential are supplied to the plurality of wiring patterns 43a in a predetermined test cycle and test pattern.

According to the present embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 5, gas is supplied from the air supply device through the air supply tube 41 at a predetermined pressure, whereby the elastic sheet 42 is moved downward. Inflate and hold IC chip A in a state of protruding downward by gas pressure. While the pressure of the supplied gas is kept constant, a lifting mechanism (not shown) for operating the holding plate 40 is used. The chip A and the contact terminal 45 are lowered onto the external terminal 15 of the liquid crystal display panel.Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the input terminal a and the output terminal b of the IC chip A are When the holding plate 40 is pressed onto the element substrate 10 so that the second terminal 13a and the first terminal 12a shown in Fig. Tip A is an elastic sheath that is inflated by gas pressure. The contact terminal 45 is pressed against the external terminal 15 with a predetermined strength by the elasticity of the molding body 46 by pressing the contact terminal 45 with the predetermined strength by the elasticity given by the contact 42. Pressed to.

At this time, the input terminal a and the output terminal b of IC chip A were held constant to confirm that they were securely in contact with the second terminal 13a and the first terminal 12a, respectively. Attach a pressure sensor that detects that the gas pressure has increased due to the contact pressure of IC chip A. When the pressure detection value of this pressure sensor rises above a predetermined value, stop the elevating mechanism and move the holding plate 40. Is preferably controlled to be stopped.

By lowering the holding plate 40, the input terminal a of the IC chip A comes into contact with the second terminal 13a of the second lead-out wiring 13 and the output terminal b of the IC chip A comes out of the first lead-out wiring 12 (1) By contacting the terminal 12a with the contact terminal 45 being in contact with the external terminal 13b of the second lead-out wiring 13, the same state as when the IC chip A is mounted can be achieved. The inspection can be performed via the wiring pattern 43 a of the flexible circuit board 43.

Here, the flexible circuit board 43 has the same or the same structure as the flexible circuit board connected to the external terminal of the second lead-out wiring 13 so that the same state as a completed liquid crystal display device is obtained. In this state, inspection can be performed.

In the present embodiment, the IC chip A is brought into contact with the first terminal 12a and the second terminal 13a, and the contact terminal 45 is brought into contact with the external terminal 13b, so that the lighting inspection of the liquid crystal display panel or the like is performed. It can be performed. In this case, the IC chip A is detachably held on the holding plate 40 by a method such as vacuum suction or a gripping mechanism, and the IC chip A contacts the external terminal 15 of the liquid crystal display panel. After performing the inspection, if the inspection result is good, it is possible to mount the IC chip A on the external terminal portion 15 as it is.

As shown in Fig. 7, the mounting of IC chip A is provided with gripping arms 61, 62 with variable mutual distances at the tip end, and these gripping arms 61, 62 are used to mount IC chip A. In the above embodiment, which is configured to hold The inspection is performed by the inspection arm 60 which also serves as the holding plate 40. The inspection arm 60 has the same probe structure as the contact terminals 45 connected to the wiring pattern 43 a of the flexible circuit board 43, similarly to the holding plate 40 described above. . As described above, by holding the IC chip A between the gripping arms 61 and 62 and providing the probe structure, a structure substantially similar to the holding plate 40 of the embodiment is realized.

By lowering the inspection arm 60 onto the external terminal 15 of the liquid crystal display panel, the liquid crystal display panel can be inspected in the same manner as described above. At this time, if no defect is found in the liquid crystal display panel, then the inspection arm 60 is used as it is as a mounting head of the IC chip A. When using the heat sealing method as the mounting method, as shown in Fig. 8, before mounting, anisotropic conductive adhesive sheet 70 is laid on external terminals 15 and gripping arms 61 and 6 are attached. With IC chip A sandwiched by 2 and lowered onto external terminals 15 as in the case of inspection, the input and output terminals of IC chip A and the terminals formed on external terminals 15 Are positioned so as to make regular contact via the anisotropic conductive adhesive sheet 70. The anisotropic conductive adhesive sheet 70 is obtained by dispersing conductive particles in, for example, a photocurable or thermosetting resin adhesive.

Next, pressure is applied from above the IC chip A sandwiched between the gripping arms 6 1, 62 while heating (about 200 ° C.) with the pressing tool 71 shown in FIG. While the conductive adhesive sheet 70 is melted, conduction in the vertical direction is generated, and the terminal of the IC chip A and the terminal on the external terminal portion 15 are adhered and fixed in a state of conduction.

According to this method, the inspection of the liquid crystal display panel and the mounting of the IC chip A can be continuously performed by the inspection arm 60, and the mounting of the IC chip A is directly performed by the inspection arm after the mounting of the IC chip A. It is also possible to confirm. Industrial applicability According to the present invention described above, in a liquid crystal display panel inspection apparatus, almost complete panel inspection can be performed before mounting an IC chip, and inspection of a wiring pattern on an external terminal portion can be simultaneously performed. Is the thing

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A holding body accommodating a plurality of wirings, an integrated circuit attached to an end of the holding body and having a plurality of exposed connection terminals, and a plurality of inspections arranged in parallel with the connection terminals of the integrated circuit An inspection apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel, comprising: a probe; and the wiring is conductively connected to the inspection probe.

2. The inspection probe according to claim 1, wherein the inspection probe includes an exposed contact terminal portion, a flexible wire connecting between the contact terminal portion and the wiring, and the flexible wire. An inspection device for a liquid crystal display panel, comprising an elastic resin.

3. The inspection device for a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is elastically attached to the holder.

4. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the holder is provided with a wiring board to be connected to the liquid crystal display panel, and the wiring is a wiring layer formed on the wiring board. Liquid crystal display panel inspection equipment.

5. The liquid crystal display panel inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding body includes a holding mechanism for holding the integrated circuit in a detachable manner.

6. The connection terminal of the integrated circuit is brought into contact with the wiring pattern of the external terminal part provided on the substrate of the liquid crystal panel with a predetermined pressing force,

A method for inspecting a liquid crystal panel, wherein an electrical inspection of a liquid crystal panel is performed by supplying a signal for inspecting a liquid crystal panel to the integrated circuit through the inspection probe.

7. The connection terminal of the integrated circuit held by the integrated circuit holding means is brought into contact with the wiring pattern of the external terminal portion provided on the substrate of the liquid crystal panel with a predetermined pressing force, Next, a plurality of inspection probes provided corresponding to the external terminal portion are brought into contact with the external terminal portion,

Next, the integrated circuit and the substrate are bonded via a resin adhesive in which conductive particles are dispersed, and the integrated circuit and the connection terminal are conductively connected.