Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-01
2002-05-07
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
C439S073000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06382985
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display panel socket, which can be preferably used for an inspection of the display quality of a liquid crystal display panel, a plasma display panel, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, in the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display panel, the display panel is inspected for display defects, display quality, etc. before connection of IC tabs for drive use and other peripheral circuits. In this case, in order to turn on the display panel, it is necessary to bring contact members into contact with the electrode terminals arranged on a substrate of the display panel. Therefore, conventionally, pin shaped or wire shaped probes, flexible wiring boards comprised of plastic film substrates on which contactor patterns are formed, etc., have been used as the members for contact with the electrode terminals. Along with the rise of density of electrode terminals and the increasing fineness of the pitch, the trend is toward use of flexible wiring boards from the viewpoint of the reliability of contact with the electrode terminals, facility of handling, manufacturing costs, etc.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 08-220175 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 08-278339 of the present assignee disclose a display panel socket capable of performing the inspection of the display quality of the display panel and an aging test for inspecting the durability of the display panel under a high temperature. This display panel socket has a substantially rectangular socket body provided with a panel positioning means for holding the substrate of the display panel. The socket body is provided with film attachment boards extending along directions of arrangement of the electrode terminals on the substrate of the display panel via position adjusting means so that the positions thereof can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction. Onto the film attachment boards, flexible wiring boards having contactors for contact with the electrode terminals of the display panel are attached. Accordingly, by adjusting the positions of end portions of the film attachment boards by the position adjusting means, the positioning between the electrode terminals on the substrate of the display panel and the contactors on the flexible wiring boards attached to the film attachment boards can be carried out on the socket body. Then, by pressing the substrate of the display panel from the rear of the electrode terminals by a panel pressing member provided on the socket body, the display panel can be fixed to the socket body and, at the same time, the electrode terminals and the contactors can be held in the contact state by a required contact pressure.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional display panel socket, each of the position adjusting means for adjusting the positions of the end portions of the film attachment boards has a biasing spring for pressing one end portion of the film attachment board in the longitudinal direction and an adjustment member abutting against the other end portion of the film attachment board against the pressing force. Therefore a compressive load will act upon the two ends of the film attachment board in the longitudinal direction and warping will occur in the film attachment board due to the compressive load. Thus, it is considered that an adverse influence will be exerted upon the precision of positioning the contactors of the flexible wiring board attached to the film attachment board and the electrode terminals on the display panel, and upon the durability. Further, in a liquid crystal display panel, generally electrode terminals are arranged along two sides or along three sides of the substrate. In the conventional display panel socket mentioned above, it is necessary to arrange the biasing spring and the adjustment member of a position adjusting means at the corner portion of the socket body at one end of the film attachment board and the corner portion of the socket body at the other end of the film attachment board, so there arises a problem that if it is intended to arrange a biasing spring or an adjustment member of a position adjusting means of another film attachment board at the corner portions of the socket body, the size of the socket body is enlarged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a display panel socket which can be easily applied to even a display panel in which electrode terminals are arranged at two sides or three sides of the substrate.
To attain the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a display panel socket provided with a substantially rectangular socket body, a panel positioning means for positioning the substrate of the display panel with respect to the socket body, film attachment boards attached to the socket body in parallel to the directions of arrangement of electrode terminals of the display panel via position adjusting means so that the positions can be adjusted, and flexible wiring boards which are attached to the film attachment boards and have contactors to be brought in contact with the electrode terminals of the display panel, the display panel socket characterized in that each of the position adjusting means has a biasing spring for spring biasing a film attachment board in one direction among the longitudinal directions of the same and an adjustment member for adjusting the position of an end portion of the film attachment board against the spring force and in that both of the biasing spring and the adjustment member are arranged on the socket body so that they act upon the same end portion of the film attachment board.
In the display panel socket having the above configuration, by adjusting the position of the film attachment board with respect to the socket body by the position adjusting means, the positioning between the electrode terminals of the display panel held by the panel positioning means of the socket body and the contactors of the flexible wiring board attached onto the film attachment board can be carried out. In addition, both of the biasing spring and the adjustment member constituting the position adjusting means are arranged on the socket body so as to act upon the same end portion of the film attachment board, therefore a compressive force due to the biasing spring and the adjustment member can be prevented from being applied between the two ends of the film attachment board. Accordingly, occurrence of warping of the film attachment board due to the compressive force can be reliably prevented, so a reduction of the positioning precision between the electrode terminals and the contactors of the flexible wiring board can be prevented over the entire arrangement of the electrode terminals of the display panel. Further, since both of the biasing spring and the adjustment member constituting the position adjusting means are arranged on the socket body so as to act upon the same end portion of the film attachment board, on the socket body on the other end of the film attachment board, space for arrangement of a biasing spring and adjustment member constituting the position adjusting means of another film attachment board can be easily secured on the socket body at the other end portion of the film attachment board. Accordingly, a display panel socket which can be applied without causing interference between the position adjusting means and the enlargement of size of the socket body can be provided with respect to various types of display panels in which electrode terminals are arranged at two sides or three sides of the substrate.
Preferably, on the socket body, elongated grooves, for holding the film attachment boards so that they can slidingly displace in their longitudinal direction, are formed along at least two adjoining sides of the socket body. The elongated grooves formed at the two sides extend crossing each other. The adjustment members of the position adjusting means have end pieces which
Enplas Corporation
Nasri Javaid
Nguyen Khiem
LandOfFree
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