KR19990065372A - Visual inspection unit of LCD panel loading device for lighting inspection - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is achieved by providing a loading method and a loading device for loading the inspection device side for the lighting test of a liquid crystal panel used in various image display devices such as a TV and a monitor. A subtable unit and a worktable unit are installed at each of them, and a traverser driven by two sets of carriages is installed across these subtablets and worktable units to simultaneously load and unload the liquid crystal panel to be inspected. In addition, each of the two sets of carriages is provided with a variable gripper that can grip liquid crystal panels of various sizes. In addition, the worktable unit is configured to be moved up and down by pneumatic or cam method along the guide bracket installed in four directions, and to be transversely fed, vertically fed and rotated by the cam method. The worktable block has a latch for bringing the liquid crystal panel into close contact with two sides of the reference surface to prevent floating of the liquid crystal panel, to be accurately seated at the reference point position, and to shorten the inspection time.

Description

Visual inspection unit of LCD panel loading device for lighting inspection

The present invention provides a visual inspection unit of a liquid crystal panel loading device for lighting inspection of a liquid crystal panel used in an image display device, that is, a lighting inspection for supplying a liquid crystal panel to a probe unit for disconnection inspection and color inspection of gate lines and data lines. It is about.

The lighting test of the liquid crystal panel is performed at the final stage of the manufacturing line of the liquid crystal panel. The lighting test of the liquid crystal panel is performed by using a probe unit to check the disconnection and color of each of the data line and the gate line of the liquid crystal panel. Visual inspection using the back.

Loading of the probe unit, which is the inspection equipment for the inspection of the liquid crystal panel, is made by a substantially separate loading equipment.

However, when the liquid crystal panel is loaded into the probe unit in the loading device of the liquid crystal panel, the supply of the liquid crystal panel is usually performed using a work table using a vacuum adsorption method. The high precision ball screw is used to increase the transfer time, and the noise caused by the weight of the weight and the precise position control are difficult. As a result, the visible area of the alignment zone increases, so that the alignment between the probe unit and the liquid crystal panel is achieved. There was a problem of poor precision.

In addition, the supply of liquid crystal panels is fasted, that is, supplying and inspecting products to be inspected by using a work table increases the inspection time, and this inspection time delay is extended in the entire manufacturing line. It is becoming a major factor in decreasing productivity.

In addition, the gripper of the liquid crystal panel is able to grip the product having a certain size, so the size of the inspection product is limited, and for the product of different size, the gripper manufactured in a separate size and according to the size of the liquid crystal panel There was also a problem that additionally equipped with a variety of grippers.

In addition, when the LCD panel is fixed to the work table for inspection, the LCD panel is configured to be pushed diagonally so that one edge of the LCD panel is sandwiched between two reference bars. In this fixing structure, the side of the LCD panel and the reference bar come into contact with each other. Two or more reference point selection processes are required, and when the reference point is selected by the point contact method, there is a problem in that the liquid crystal panel floats on the stage and is fixed to an incorrect reference point.

On the other hand, the method of selecting the reference point of the liquid crystal panel is a method of holding the reference point on the stage and transferring the change arm to the worktable and fixing the reference by the adsorption device of the worktable. There was.

In addition, since the worktable is fastened to the base plate by the ball bush and guide rod, when the worktable is raised to the liquid crystal panel inspection position, the tolerance by the ball bush is large and the load by the worktable and the contact of the liquid crystal panel and the probe unit There was a problem that mechanical deformation occurs due to the pressure at the time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a visual inspection unit of a liquid crystal panel loading apparatus for light inspection that can be finely adjusted and minimizes fluctuations.

This object of the present invention is achieved by providing a loading method and a loading device for loading the inspection device side for the lighting test of the liquid crystal panel used in various image display devices such as a TV and a monitor, the loading device is a frame A subtable unit and a worktable unit are installed on both sides, and a traverser driven by two sets of carriages is installed across these subtablets and worktable units to simultaneously load and unload the liquid crystal panel to be inspected. Also, each of the two sets of carriages is provided with a variable gripper that can grip liquid crystal panels of various sizes. In addition, the worktable unit is configured to be moved up and down by pneumatic or cam method along the guide bracket installed in four directions, and to be transversely fed, vertically fed and rotated by the cam method. The worktable block has a latch for bringing the liquid crystal panel into close contact with the reference surface on two sides, eliminating the phenomenon of levitation, accurately seating at the reference point position, and reducing the inspection time.

1 is a front view showing the overall configuration of the loading device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention

Figure 2 is a side view showing the entire configuration of the loading device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention

Figure 3 (A) (B) is a traverser unit applied to the loading device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention,

(A) is a front view of the traverser

(B) side view of the traverser

4 (A) and (B) are carriages of the traverser unit applied to the charging device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention.

(A) front view of the carriage

(B) side view of the carriage

5 (A) (B) is a subtable unit to be applied to the loading device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention.

(A) is a plan view of a subtable

(B) is a side view of the subtable

6 (A) (B) (C) show a worktable unit applied to the loading device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention.

(A) is a front view of a worktable

(B) side view of the worktable

(C) top view of the worktable

7 (A) and (B) are wort tables of the work table unit applied to the loading device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention.

(A) is a plan view of the worktable

(B) side view of the worktable

Figure 8 (A) (B) is a microscope feed unit applied to the loading device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention,

(A) is a front view of the microscope feed unit

(B) is a side view of the microscope feed unit

9 is a process chart of the loading device of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention.

10 (A) is an explanatory view of the working position of the worktable of the present invention.

(B) is an explanatory view of the working position of the subtable of the present invention

11 is a plan view showing a typical liquid crystal panel

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

100: frame 200: subtable unit

300: worktable unit 400: treverser

500: visual inspection unit 600: non-zone

510: Y-axis guide bar 520: X-axis guide bar

530: carriage 531: microscope

532: steering wheel 540: shock absorber

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 are shown in detail with respect to the loading device of the liquid crystal panel for the lighting test according to the present invention. In the electrostatic device of the present invention, the subtable unit 200 and the worktable unit 300 are provided on both sides of the frame 100, and the subtablet and the worktable unit 200 and the front surface of the worktable unit 200 are disposed between the subtablet and the worktable unit. The double-row drive type treverser 400 is installed in the horizontal direction. Also, the work table unit 300 is provided with two visual zones 500 and two non-zones 600 for position alignment of the liquid crystal panel. It is.

3A and 3B show details of the structure of the treverser 400. That is, the treverser 400 includes two sets of slide supports 401 and 402 which are arranged in a vertical stack and are installed in parallel on the upper and lower sides over the full length between the sub and worktable units 200 and 300. Magnetic rodless cylinders 410 and 420 are installed in each of the two sets of slide supports 401 and 402 installed in this way.

Each of the two sets of magnetic rodless cylinders 410 and 420 is provided with a carriage 430 for driving along the magnetic rodless cylinders 410 and 420. The carriage 430 will grip and return the liquid crystal panel to be inspected by the gripper, which will be described later, and perform supply and withdrawal to the inspection equipment.

In addition, a pair of grippers 440 are mounted on each of the carriages 430 so as to be separately separated and installed to face each other. Such a gripper 440 is guided to a pair of guide plates 441 and guide bars 442 freely rotatably installed on the carriage 430 as shown in FIG. 4 (A) (B) and loaded with a rod cylinder 443. And the grip width is variable. At this time, the inner end of the gripper 440 is integrally provided with a pair of tips 444 for fitting the liquid crystal panel 10 to be inspected.

5A and 5B illustrate the structure of the subtable unit 200 in detail. The subtable unit 200 includes a pair of guide brackets 210 mounted on the base plate 201 inclinedly installed with a predetermined gradient inside the rear surface of the frame 100, and the guide Bres are installed in this way. The kit 210 is provided with a lifter table 230 which is driven up and down by the ball screw 221 of the servomotor 220, and is supported by several supports 231 on the lifter table 230 thereof to support the subtable block. 240 is installed.

In addition, the sub-table block 240 will absorb the liquid crystal panel placed by the worker by vacuum adsorption method and achieve the inspection standby.

The position of the lifter table 230 of the subtable unit 200 is controlled by several position sensors 250 provided on the lifting path of the lifter table 230.

6 (A) (B) (C) show the details of the structure of the worktable unit 300. The worktable unit 300 is provided on the guide bracket 310 placed in the four corners of the upper surface of the base plate 301 which is installed in the same gradient as the subtable unit 200 inside the rear surface of the frame 100. A first lifter table 302 and a second lifter table 303 are provided so as to be freely movable up and down. In this case, the first lifter table 302 is lifted and driven by a pair of thin cylinders 320 installed on the bottom of the base plate 301, and the second lifter table 303 is installed on the base plate 301. By the Z-axis cam 331 driven by the ping motor 330 to achieve a desired lift drive.

The first lifter table 302 is provided with a pair of shock absorbers 302A on the bottom thereof to absorb shocks at the bottom.

In addition, on the second lift plate 303, the X-axis table 340, the Y-axis table 350, and the θ-axis table 360 which are separately separated and driven individually are installed and mounted in a stacked manner.

The X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis tables 340, 350, and 360 installed on the second lift plate 303 are the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the θ-axis stepping motors 371, 372, and 373. Will be driven in each direction by the X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis cams 371A, 372A, and 373A. This cam drive will stabilize the drive of the table and gain precision in the transfer position control.

The X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis tables 340, 350, and 360 configured as described above are returned to their original positions by the respective restoring springs 371B, 372B, and 373B.

On the other hand, the work table block 380 is integrally mounted on the θ axis table 360 of the work table unit 300 configured as described above.

7A and 7B show details of the structure of the worktable block 380. The worktable block 380 is a conveying device for returning the liquid crystal panel to the inspection position for inspection. The worktable block 380 fixes the liquid crystal panel 10 by vacuum suction. The work table 380 has a rectangular shape in plan view, and forms a seating portion 381 of the liquid crystal panel 10 on the upper surface thereof. Except for the three corners, reference position walls 382 are provided. On the other side where the reference position wall 382 is not provided, a latch 383A driven by the rotary actuator 383 is provided. The latch 383A rotates inward and outward within a predetermined rotational angle, and closely closes the liquid crystal panel 10 toward the reference position wall 382.

In addition, a pair of passages 384 on which the tip 444 of the gripper 440 is recessed is provided on the upper and lower sides of the worktable block 380.

8A and 8B show details of the visual inspection unit 550 structure.

The visual inspection unit 500 includes a Y-axis guide bar 510 formed of a pair of ball screws on both sides, and the X-axis guide bar 520 in the horizontal direction across both of the Y-axis guide bars 510 thus provided. ) Is being installed.

The X-axis guide bar 520 is provided with a carriage 530 that rides on the rack gear 521 provided in the X-axis guide bar 520, and the carriage 530 is visually inspected by the liquid crystal panel. Microscope 531 is integrally installed, and the carriage 530 will be moved by the handle 532 provided on one side of the carriage 530.

In addition, a shock absorber 540 is provided on the left side of the X-axis guide bar 520.

9 will be described in detail with respect to the operation of the loading device of the liquid crystal panel for the lighting test of the present invention. First, the worker manually places the liquid crystal panel 10 on the subtable block 240 of the subtable unit 200. At this time, the position of the subtable block 240 will be at the home position in the case of initial operation as shown in FIG. 10, and will be at the supply position or the auxiliary supply position during the inspection. In this way, the liquid crystal panel 10 is placed on the block 240, and then the supply switch of the touch screen is operated.

When the operation signal of the supply switch is given in this way, the subtable unit 200 sucks the liquid crystal panel 10 by the suction means. At this time, while checking the adsorption state of the liquid crystal panel, the position sensor of the gripper 440 is checked.

Then, the subtable unit 200 is moved to the supply or auxiliary supply position. At this time, the worktable unit 300 will be driven in opposition to the subtable unit. (Confirm the completion signal in the non-zone and servo controller.)

In addition, one gripper of the gripper 440 of the treverser 400, that is, the gripper 440 located on the subtable unit 200 side is driven to grip the liquid crystal panel 10 which is adsorbed to the subtable unit 200. At the same time, the adsorption state of the subtable unit 200 is turned off.

As described above, the gripper 440 of the trevorer 400 grips the liquid crystal panel 10, and when the grip completion signal is given, the subtable unit 200 and the worktable unit 300 are moved to the origin position. (Check completion signal in non-zone and servo controller)

The carriage 430 of the trespasser 400, which grips the liquid crystal panel 10, moves from the subtable unit 200 side to the worktable unit 300 side simultaneously with the home position movement completion signal of the sub and worktable units. Move. At this time, the other carriage 430 is moved from the worktable unit side to the subtable unit side opposite to the carriage 430 movement, so as to grip the liquid crystal panel to be inspected next and wait for inspection.

When the position movement completion signal of the carriage 430 is confirmed as described above, the work table unit 300 is moved back to the supply or auxiliary supply position. At this time, the subtable unit 200 is also moved to the supply position or the auxiliary supply position. (Confirm the completion signal in the non-zone and the servo controller.) When the movement of the work table unit 300 is completed, the subtable unit 200 is mounted on the carriage 430. The liquid crystal panel 10 to be inspected gripped by the gripper 430 is placed on the worktable block 380 of the worktable unit 300.

Then, the latch 383A of the work table unit 300 assumes the liquid crystal panel 10. When the hypothesis of the liquid crystal panel 10 is confirmed as described above, the work table unit 300 adsorbs the liquid crystal panel 10 by the adsorption means, and the gripper 430 is released while the adsorption signal is confirmed.

When the release signal of the gripper 430 is confirmed, the latch 383A of the work table unit 300 is also released.

In addition, when the release signal of the latch 383A of the work table unit 300 is confirmed, the work table unit 300 moves to an alignment position (confirmation of completion signal in the non-zone and servo controller).

The first and second position points 11 and 12 provided at two corners of the liquid crystal panel 10 and two beacons 600 provided on both front sides of the worktable unit 300 are used. The X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis tables 340, 350, 360 are adjusted to achieve the desired alignment.

When the alignment completion signal is confirmed, the work table unit 300 is moved to the inspection position, thereby performing a desired visual inspection, for example, disconnection of the Kate and data lines and color inspection of pixels by the probe unit (not shown). will be. At this time, the alignment of the probe block of the probe unit and the pad 13 of the liquid crystal panel 10 is required at the initial startup. At this time, the microscope 531 of the visual inspection unit 500 installed on the work table unit 300 is provided. Use In addition, the visual inspection unit 600 may be used to inspect the pixel unit during visual inspection.

In addition, when the visual inspection is completed, a judgment switch, for example, good quality, defectiveness, and correction, is determined. At this time, after the visual inspection is completed, the liquid crystal panel for the next inspection is placed in the subtable unit 200 before the determination switch is operated.

When the inspection is completed and the determination switch operation signal is confirmed, the work table unit 300 moves to the supply position or the auxiliary supply position. At this time, the position of the worktable 300 has a position opposite to the position of the subtable unit 200.

When the worktable unit 300 is moved to the supply position or the auxiliary supply position, the carriage 430 and the gripper 440 of the traveler 400 are driven to grip the liquid crystal panel 10, and the grip completion signal is completed. At the same time, the suction of the work table unit 300 is released. When the suction release signal of the work table unit 300 is confirmed, the work table unit 300 and the sub table unit 200 are returned to the home position.

In addition, when the home position return of the work table unit 300 is confirmed, the carriage 430 moves from the work table unit 300 side to the sub table unit 200 side, and the carriage 430 of the sub table unit 200 side. Is transported opposite to the worktable unit side. At this time, the gripper 440 of the carriage 430 located on the subtable unit 200 side is gripped by the liquid crystal panel 10 for the next inspection. Will be returned to the unit 300 side.

When the replacement completion signal of the carriage 430 is confirmed as described above, the work table unit 300 and the sub table unit 200 move to a supply position or an auxiliary supply position to perform the inspection process as a series of continuous processes. .

Therefore, in the present invention, the supply and withdrawal of the liquid crystal panel is carried out by using a traverser composed of two sets of carriages, thereby making it possible to replace the liquid crystal panel to be inspected in the course of the inspection, thereby greatly reducing the time. It has the effect of increasing the productivity further.

In addition, the present invention shortens the inspection time by using a treverser using a rodless cylinder to supply and withdraw the liquid crystal panel, thereby reducing inspection time, and reducing the visible area of the non-zone, thereby providing excellent alignment between the probe unit and the liquid crystal panel.

In addition, the present invention is a device that is excellent in compatibility, such as being able to inspect a variety of liquid crystal panels regardless of the size by using a gripper that the grip width is variablely adjusted to the carriage of the treversor.

In addition, the worktable unit is guided up and down using a guide bracket placed in four directions to increase driving stability and accuracy, and to minimize mechanical deformation caused by pressure when connecting the liquid crystal panel and the probe unit. A reference position wall is provided, and a latch is provided on the opposite side of the reference position wall to accurately seat the liquid crystal panel at the reference point position. Furthermore, the present invention selects the correct reference point by operating the latch just before the inspection to minimize the reference point error.

In addition, the worktable unit of the present invention makes driving of the X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis table by the cam method, so that the driving is stable and high precision is obtained in operation control.

As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto and may be changed within the scope of the claims.

Claims (1)

A Y-axis guide bar comprising a pair of ball screws arranged on both sides of the frame on which the work table unit is installed; An X-axis guide bar installed horizontally across both Y-axis guide bars; A carriage installed on the X-axis guide bar to move in a rack gear by a handle; A microscope mounted on the carriage; And Visual inspection unit of the liquid crystal panel loading device for lighting test, characterized in that it comprises a shock absorber for braking the carriage on the left side of the X-axis guide bar.