SYSTEM FOR TESTING A FLAT PANEL DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD THEREOF

• US 20090224777A1
• Filed: 02/15/2007
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dongjin Semichem Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Dongjin Semichem Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Ki-Beom, Kim, Byung-Uk, Kim, Yong-Woo, Kim, Wy-Yong, Hong, Jin-Sup, Park, Mi-Sun
• Granted Patent: US 7,859,274 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/760.10
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1309 Repairing; Testing

Abstract

A system for testing a flat panel display having a flat display panel assembly includes a testing stage for arranging tie flat display panel assembly, a measuring apparatus being disposed on the testing stage and for measuring a spectrum of a transmitted light passing through a measuring region of the flat display panel assembly from a light source, a transporting apparatus for moving the measuring apparatus at a constant acceleration on the testing stage, a defect informing apparatus being electrically connected to the measuring apparatus and for informing an existence of defect, a type of defect, and a severity of defect by processing an electrical signal of the spectrum transmitted from the measuring apparatus.

Claims

1. A system for testing a flat panel display having a flat display panel assembly, comprising:

a testing stage for arranging the flat display panel assembly;

a measuring apparatus being disposed on the testing stage and for measuring a spectrum of a transmitted light passing through a measuring region of the flat display panel assembly from a light source;

a transporting apparatus for moving the measuring apparatus at a constant acceleration on the testing stage; and

a defect informing apparatus being electrically connected to the measuring apparatus and for informing of an existence of a defect, a type of defect, and a severity of defect by processing an electrical signal of the spectrum transmitted from the measuring apparatus.

2. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 1, wherein the measuring apparatus comprises a case having a plurality of measuring heads at a front thereof,

the case including a focusing unit for focusing the transmitted light passing through the measuring region of the flat display panel assembly;

a spectral unit for separating the collimated light into each wavelength; and

a photoelectrical conversion sensor for absorbing the light that is separated into wavelengths and respectively converting the optical signals therefrom into an electrical signals,

wherein the focusing unit is connected to the spectral unit by an optical fiber.

3. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 2, wherein the photoelectrical conversion sensor is processed by one selected from a group of an optical diode array, a CCD, and a CMOS.

4. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 2, wherein the focusing unit includes one of a focusing lens and a concave mirror and controls the measuring region.

5. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 2, wherein the case is formed in a bar on which the plurality of measuring heads are detachably mounted.

6. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 1, wherein the measuring apparatus has both end portions connected with the transporting apparatus, the transporting apparatus being driven by a step motor.

7. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 1, wherein the defect informing apparatus further includes a memory unit that stores optical data transmitted from the photoelectrical conversion sensor, a spectral calculating unit that calculates an average spectrum intensity according to the respective measuring regions using the data stored at the memory unit, a highlight processing unit that highlights the respective spectrum intensities of less or more than the average spectrum intensity when the respective spectrum intensities of the respective measuring regions are less or more than the average spectrum intensity, and a stereoscopic image displaying unit that stereoscopically displays the respective spectrum intensities of the respective measuring regions,

wherein the stereoscopic image displaying unit further includes an defect informing unit for comparing the respective spectrum intensities to the average spectrum intensity, determining an existence of a defect, a type of defect, and a severity of defect based on a database of the memory unit and informing of the same.

8. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 7, wherein the defect informing unit further includes a database according to defect patterns, the database including data information including on a first smear of on the color filter display panel that occurs due to the electrical characteristic variance of the thin film transistor display panel of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a second defect that occurs due to a thickness difference of a color filter formed on the color filter display panel of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a third smear that occurs due to a thickness difference of a black matrix formed on formed on the color filter display panel of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a fourth smear scummed on the color filter display panel of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a fifth smear that occurs due to a contamination of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a sixth smear that occurs due to a contamination of a liquid crystal molecule of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a seventh smear that occurs due to a bad arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal panel assembly, and an eighth smear due to an error of an alignment layer of the liquid crystal panel assembly, and that sorts the defects into what is to be discarded, what to be recovered, and what to be disregard among the data.

9. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 1, wherein the light source is a planar light source.

10. The system for testing a flat panel display of claim 9, wherein the light source has a wavelength of 200 nm to 2100 nm and is a white light source.

11. A method for testing a flat panel display comprising:

disposing the flat panel display assembly on a testing stage;

applying a test driving signal such that the flat panel display assembly performs a test operation;

adjusting a measuring apparatus on the flat panel display assembly such that a plurality of measuring regions of the flat panel display assembly are controlled;

measuring a spectrum of a transmitted light passing through the flat panel display assembly from a light source, the light source being disposed under the flat panel display assembly;

and transmitting the measured spectrum to a defect informing apparatus;

wherein the defect informing apparatus obtaining an average spectrum intensity by overlapping the measured spectrums of the respective measuring regions and

informing of a defect when the spectrum intensities of the respective measuring regions are compared to the average spectrum intensity and are less or more than the average spectrum intensity.

12. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the informing of a defect includes highlighting the spectrum intensities of less or more than the average spectrum intensity.

13. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the informing of a defect includes stereoscopically displaying the spectrum intensities of less or more than the average spectrum intensity.

14. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the informing of a defect includes determining a severity of defect by comparing the spectrum intensities of the respective measuring regions to defect data information of the database and informing the determined severity of defect along with a type of the defect.

15. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein when the measuring region has a shorter side m and a longer side n, the measuring region being set such that the shorter side m is substantially the same as the longer side n.

16. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the highlighting of the spectrum intensities of less or more than the average spectrum intensity includes multiplying at least one of x, y, and z elements by an integer.

17. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the measuring of a spectrum of a transmitted light passing through the flat panel display assembly from a light source includes controlling the light irradiated from the light source in parallel with respect to the measuring head without a difference of a light path.

18. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, further comprising transporting the measuring apparatus at a constant acceleration using a transporting apparatus mounted on the both end portions thereof.

19. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the flat display panel assembly includes a color filter panel and the plurality of measuring regions are respectively at least one sub-pixel of the color filter panel.

20. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 19, wherein the plurality of measuring regions respectively are at least one pixel of the color filter panel.

21. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the measuring apparatus includes a convex lens for varying the measuring region.

22. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the defect informing unit informs at least one selecting from a defect information group of a first smear of on the color filter display panel that occurs due to the electrical characteristic variance of the thin film transistor display panel of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a second defect that occurs due to a thickness difference of a color filter formed on the color filter display panel of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a third smear that occurs due to a thickness difference of a black matrix formed on formed on the color filter display panel of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a fourth smear scummed on the color filter display panel of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a fifth smear that occurs due to a contamination of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a sixth smear that occurs due to a contamination of a liquid crystal molecule of the liquid crystal panel assembly, a seventh smear that occurs due to a bad arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal panel assembly, and an eighth smear due to an error of an alignment layer of the liquid crystal panel assembly, and that sorts the defects into what is to be discarded, what to be recovered, and what to be disregard among the data.

23. The method for testing a flat panel display of claim 11, wherein the liquid crystal panel assembly comprises a color filter display panel, a thin film transistor display panel, and a liquid crystal material layer injected between the color filter display panel and the thin film transistor display panel, wherein the measuring apparatus measures a thickness thereof, a thickness of a thin film transistor formed on the thin film transistor panel, a thickness of a color filter and black matrix formed on the color filter film, and a thickness of optical compensation panel by means of a difference between the electrical signal and the reference signal stored at a database of a memory unit.