Abstract:
The present invention relates to a combining detection circuit for a flat panel display, which applies a combination circuit to detect the layout of a liquid crystal display thin film transistor array (LCD TFT array) manufacturing process. This method uses a plurality of switches and connection wires for directing in a short-ring layout and a shorting-bar layout so that when designing the layout, the panel manufacturer will not be limited to the detection facility. Therefore, the detection for any layout facility can be amply applied and the switches are used for freely switching the various detection methods so as to increase the yield and decrease the cost.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a combination circuit for detecting the layout in a flat panel with thin film transistor processed during array manufacturing process. This method conducts in a prior art short-ring layout and shorting-bar layout so that the designing of the panel layout will not limited to the detection facility so as to promote the yield and reduce the cost.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Presently, after the liquid crystal display (LCD) panel is manufactured, a detection process is required to detect whether the operation of each of the thin film transistors in the display panel for controlling the pixel display is correct or not. The detection circuit layout surrounding the panel has to meet the form of the detection facility. The commonly applied detection circuit layout comprises the short-ring layout and the shorting-bar layout.  
         [0005]     Because the layouts for the two facilities are different, the masks for the manufacturing processes are different so as to make it difficult to meet the yield of the array manufacturing process. Usually, because the types of the layouts designed by the panel manufacturers are different, such as the different sizes, resolutions, different array detection facilities have to be switched. This makes the panel design troublesome and increases the cost for buying the detection facility in order to meet different types of the layouts. The following is the detailed description for the two types of layouts.  
         [0006]     Please refer to  FIG. 1A .  FIG. 1A  is a perspective diagram of a circuit of a prior art with short-ring layout. The figure shows a display device with array layout for a liquid crystal display panel. The panel is formed by pulling a plurality of scan lines  13  and data lines  14  from a gate driver G and a data driver D to be interlaced and vertical to each other. The thin film transistors  11  for controlling the pixel display are positioned on the interlaced portions of the scan lines  13  and the data lines  14 . The scan lines  13  processes storage capacitances  12  which is constructed with CS ON GATE manner. The pixel display is controlled by the charging/discharging of the storage capacitances  12 . In order to detect the correctness of the devices connected to the thin film transistors  11  and the surrounding layout, the plurality of scan lines  13  and the data lines  14  are connected to the external detection facility. As shown in the figure, the plurality of scan lines  13  are connected to a plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a , and the plurality of data lines  14  are connected to a plurality of data end contacting polar plates  15   b . The plurality of contact pads  15   a ,  15   b  are IC signal inputting points for being the positions to be in touch with the probe of the detection facility so as to detect whether each of the display device is fine. The plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a  and the data end contact pads  15   b  are connected to the shorting-ring  17  via a plurality of resistances  16 . The detected data Of each display devices from probe is contacted so as to determine the yield. After accomplishing the detection for the panel, the next manufacturing process is performed. By cutting along the direction of the panel cutting line  18 , the next step of the manufacturing process is continued.  
         [0007]     As shown in  FIG. 1B , which is a perspective diagram of a partial circuit of the prior art with short-ring layout, the scan lines  13  or the data lines  14  are connected to a plurality of contact pads  15   a ,  15   b . The probe  19  of the detection facility is in touch with the contact pads  15   a ,  15   b . By using the resistances  16 , the larger static electricity is spread to each of the scan lines  13  or the data lines  14  so as to prevent the panel pixel from being damaged by the static electricity.  
         [0008]     Please refer to  FIG. 2A .  FIG. 2A  is a perspective diagram of a circuit of a prior art with shorting-bar layout. As  FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 2A  shows a display device array layout for a liquid crystal display panel. The panel is formed by pulling out a plurality of scan lines  13  and the data lines  14  from the gate driver G and the data driver D to be vertically interlaced. The thin film transistors  11  for controlling the pixel display are positioned on the interlaced portions. The pixel display is controlled by the charging/discharging of the storage capacitances  12 . The detection method for the shorting-bar layout does not apply the probe detection. In order to detect the correctness of the devices connected to thin film transistors  11  and the surrounding layout, the plurality of scan lines  13  and the data lines  14  separately have the circuits to be connected to the external detection facility. As show in the figure, the plurality of scan lines  13  are connected to the plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a , and the plurality of data lines  14  are connected to the plurality of data end contact pads  15   b . The plurality of polar plates  15   a ,  15   b  are separately connected to a plurality of short-ring of the external substrate circuit. The neighboring two contact pads are separately connected to the different short-ring.  
         [0009]     As shown in the figure, the gate end contact pads  15   a  are the plurality of contact pads connected to the scan lines  13  of the gate driver G in the panel. The neighboring two contact pads are separately connected to the odd gate line  23  and the even gate line  24 . The terminals are separately connected to the odd gate end G 1  and the even gate end G 2 . Similarly, the data lines  14  are connected to the plurality of data end contact pads  15   b . The neighboring contact pads are separately connected to the odd data line  21  and the even data line  22 . The terminals of the conducting wires are connected to the odd data end D 1  and the even data end D 2 . The circuit of this shorting-bar layout applies the odd data end D 1 , the even data end D 2 , the odd gate end G 1  and the even gate end G 2  for inputting the signals to the pixels so as to detect whether the display device inside the panel is operated well. After the detection for the panel is accomplished, by cutting along the direction of the panel division line  18 , the next step of the manufacturing process is continuously performed.  
         [0010]     Please refer to  FIG. 2B .  FIG. 2B  is a perspective diagram of a partial circuit of the prior art shorting-bar layout.  FIG. 2B  is a partial circuit of the gate driver G in  FIG. 2A . The plurality of scan lines  13  are connected to the plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a . The neighboring two contact pads form odd/even contact pads distributions to be separately connected to the odd gate line  23  and the even gate line  24 . The odd gate end G 1  and the even gate end G 2  are positioned on the terminals to be separately connected to the detection signals transmitted by the odd end contact pads and the even end contact pads. When practically carrying out, it is not limited to separate the circuit into two banks. In order to increase the efficiency of the detection, the circuit can be separated into a plurality of banks. Therefore, a plurality of conducting wires are positioned for transmitting a plurality of banks of contact pads signals to the terminals for detection.  
         [0011]     The two mentioned prior art detection methods are different, and therefore, the layout design for the panel will be different because of the usage of the different detection methods, and the layout will be limited. In addition, because of the different layouts, the different masks have to be switched and bought so as to increase the cost. Therefore, the present invention combines the two detection circuits, and therefore, the prior art with short-ring layout and the shorting-bar layout can be conducted into the manufacturing process so that the designing of the panel layout will not be limited to the detection facility. Besides, the advantages and the disadvantages of the different detection methods can be compared so that the suggestions can be provided to the facility manufacturer for improvement. Therefore, the yield can be increased and the cost can be reduced.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     The present invention relates to a combining detection circuit for a display panel applying a combination circuit to detect the layout of the display panel thin film transistor array manufacturing process. The present invention uses a plurality of switches and connection wires for directing in a short-ring layout and a shorting-bar layout so that when designing the layout, the panel manufacturer will not be limited to the detection facility. Therefore, the detection for any layout facility can be applied and the switches are used for freely switching the various detection methods so as to increase the yield and reduce the cost.  
         [0013]     This combining detection circuit for the display panel comprises a plurality of signal contact pads comprising a plurality of gate end contact pads and a plurality of data end contact pads wherein the plurality of scan lines and the plurality of data lines of the panel display are connected to an external detection circuit via the plurality of signal contact pads; a plurality of resistances wherein the plurality of scan lines and the plurality of data lines are connected to a shorting-ring via the plurality of resistances; a plurality of data driver signal lines wherein the plurality of data end contact pads are alternatively connected to the plurality of data driver signal lines via a plurality of conducting wires; a plurality of gate driver signal lines wherein the plurality of gate end contact pads are alternatively connected to the plurality of gate driver signal lines via a plurality of conducting wires; a plurality of switches positioned on the conducting wires for connecting the plurality of signal contact pads and the plurality of data driver signal lines with the plurality of gate driver signal lines 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of the specification in which like numerals designate like parts, illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention with the description, and serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective diagram of a circuit of a prior art short-ring layout;  
         [0016]      FIG. 1B  is a perspective diagram of a partial circuit of the prior art short-ring layout;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective diagram of a circuit of a prior art shorting-bar layout;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2B  is a perspective diagram of a partial circuit of the prior art shorting-bar layout;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective diagram of a combining detection circuit for a display panel according to the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 3B  is a perspective diagram showing a portion of a combining detection gate driver circuit for a display panel according to the present invention; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 3C  is a perspective diagram showing a portion of a combining detection data driver circuit for a display panel according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]     Presently, as for the display device of the flat panel display and the detection facility before the circuit leaving the factory, the short-ring layout and the shorting-bar layout are included. When performing the initial panel design, it has to be considered which kind of detection facility will be used, and the layout will be limited accordingly. The present invention provides a combining detection circuit for performing the detection independent of the different array detection facilities. Therefore, the correctness of the detection for the shorting-bar layout can be verified before the panel inspection. The present invention not only can promote the maneuverability of the detection facility, but also can reduce the cost.  
         [0023]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective diagram of a combining detection circuit for a display panel according to the present invention. The figure shows a display device array layout for a liquid crystal display panel. The size of the panel is determined by the size and the resolution. The panel is formed by pulling a plurality of scan lines  13  and data lines  14  from a gate driver G and a data driver D to be interlaced and vertical to each other. The thin film transistors  11  for controlling the pixel display are positioned on the interlaced portions of the scan lines  13  and the data lines  14 . The scan lines  13  processes storage capacitances  12 . The pixel display is controlled by the charging/discharging of the storage capacitances  12 . A plurality of scan lines  13  are connected to a plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a , and a plurality of data lines  14  are connected to a plurality of data end contact pads  15   b . Therefore, the plurality of contact pads  15   a ,  15   b  are connected to an external detection circuit.  
         [0024]     In order to detect the correctness of the devices connected to the thin film transistors  11  and the layout, the short-ring layout and the shorting-bar layout are combined. As for the gate driver G, a plurality of switch  39  are positioned on the plurality of connecting conducting wires pulled from the gate end contact pads  15   a . The switches  39  can be transistors. A switch conducting wire end  306  is used for inputting a switch signal to be transmitted to the switch connecting conducting wire  38  and to the switches  39  for switching the detection layout to be the short-ring layout or the shorting-bar layout. The conducting wires connected to the plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a  are connected to a short-ring  37  via a plurality of resistances  36 . Therefore, the resistances  36  and the short-ring  37  will conduct the static electricity. The neighboring plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a  are separately connected to the odd gate line  33  and the even gate line  34  via the conducting wires. The switches  39  are used for switching to two detection circuits. The burst electric charges, can be transmitted to short-ring  37  via the resistances  36 . The probe can contact with the gate end contact pads  15   a  for detecting the panel pixels, and the detection signal transmitted from the odd gate end  303  and the even gate end  304  can be used for determining whether the operation of the panel is well.  
         [0025]     Similarly, as for the data driver D, a plurality of switches  39  are positioned on a plurality of connecting conducting wires pulled from the data end contact pads  15   b . The switches  39  can be transistors or thin film transistors (TFTs). The switch conducting wire end  306  is used for inputting the switch signal to be transmitted to the switch connecting conducting wire  38  and to the switches  39  for switching the detection layout to be the short-ring layout or the shorting-bar layout. The conducting wires connected to the plurality of data end contact pads  15   b  are connected to a short-ring  37  via the resistances  36 , and therefore, the resistances  36  and the short-ring  37  will conduct the static electricity. The neighboring plurality of data end contact pads  15   b  are separately connected to a plurality of data driver signal lines via the conducting wires, comprising the odd data line  31  and the even data line  32 . The switches  39  are used for switching to two detection circuits, and the probe can contact the data end contact pads  15   b  for detecting the panel pixels, and the detection signal transmitted from the odd data end  301  and the even data end  302  can be used for determining whether the operation of the panel is well. The gate end contact pads  15   a  of the gate driver G and the data end contact pads  15   b  of the data driver D are commonly connected to the short-ring  37 . The neighboring signal polar plates of the gate driver G and the data driver D are alternatively connected to the same odd data line  31  of the plurality of data driver signal lines. The even data line  32  is connected to the alternatively connected signal contact pads of the gate driver G and the data driver D. Similarly, the plurality of gate driver signal lines include the odd gate line  33  and the even gate line  34  which are commonly connected signal lines. The detection circuit using the short-ring layout and the detection circuit using the shorting-bar layout are switched by the plurality of switches  39  via the switch connecting conducting wire  306 . After the detection for the panel is accomplished, by cutting along the direction of the panel cutting line  18 , the next step of the manufacturing process is continuously performed.  
         [0026]     Please refer to  FIG. 3B .  FIG. 3B  is a perspective diagram showing a portion of a combining detection gate driver circuit for a display panel according to the present invention. This figure shows the partial circuit of the gate driver G. The scan lines  13  are connected to a plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a . Each of the gate end contact pads  15   a  is connected to two signal lines via the conducting wire. One is connected to the short-ring  37  via the resistance  36 , and the other is connected to the odd gate line  33  or the even gate line  34  of the plurality of gate driver signal lines via the switch  39 . The two neighboring signal contact pads are alternatively connected to the plurality of signal lines, not limited to the odd gate line  33  and the even gate line  34  shown in this figure. The switch  39  is made of a transistor device to form an electric switch. When the gate of the transistor device is exerted with a high voltage, the transistor device is turned on. The source and the drain are conducted, namely, S-D short. Because of the resistance  36 , the signal current is transmitted to the odd gate line  33  via the switch  39  by the signal contact pads. The signal currents of the neighboring signal contact pads are transmitted to the even gate line  34 . This status is equivalent to the situation of using the detection circuit of the shorting-bar layout. When the switch  39  is turned off, the switch  39  will interrupt the signal current. This static electricity is transmitted to the short-ring  37  via the resistance  36 . So that burst static electricity could be evenly dispersed makes the plurality of probes  19  will contact with the plurality of gate end contact pads  15   a . This status is equivalent to the detection circuit of the short-ring layout. Therefore, the object of switching to the two detection circuits is achieved by using the mentioned operation method.  
         [0027]     Please refer to  FIG. 3C .  FIG. 3C  is a perspective diagram showing a portion of a combining detection data driver circuit for a display panel according to the present invention. This figure shows the partial circuit of the data driver D. The data lines  14  are connected to a plurality of data end contact pads  15   b . Each of the data end contact pads  15   b  is connected to two signal lines via the conducting wire. One is connected to the short-ring  37  via the resistance  36 , and the other is connected to the odd data line  31  or even data line  32  of the plurality of data driver signal lines via the switch  39 . The two neighboring signal contact pads are alternatively connected to a plurality of signal lines, not limited to the embodiment shown in this figure. When the switch  39  is turned on, because of the resistance  36 , the signal current is transmitted to the odd data line  31  via the switch  39  by the signal contact pads, and the signal currents of the neighboring signal contact pads are transmitted to the even data line  32 . This status is equivalent to the situation of using the detection circuit of the shorting-bar layout. When the switch  39  is turned off, the switch  39  will interrupt the signal current. This static electricity is transmitted to the short-ring  37  via the resistance  36 . So that burst static electricity could be evenly dispersed a plurality of probes  19  will contact with the plurality of data end contact pads  15   b . This status is equivalent to the situation of using the detection circuit of the short-ring layout. Therefore, the object of switching to the two detection circuits is achieved by using the mentioned operation method.  
         [0028]     The above is the detailed description of a combining detection circuit for a display panel according to the present invention. The plurality of switches are positioned on the detection circuit of the display panel so as to form a combining detection circuit. The switches are used for switching to different detection facilities so that the designing of the panel circuit is independent of the detection layout and the manufacturing process is not limited. The situation that the detection of one type of layout makes the detection facility of another type of layout idle will not happen. Furthermore, the qualities of the detection facilities can be compared so as to reduce the cost.  
         [0029]     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.