CN103958424B - Glass plate processing device and glass plate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

A kind of glass plate processing unit (plant), possesses the holding station (1) of holding glass plate (G), make the track (2) that holding station (1) moves along the transport path specified, the glass plate (G) kept by holding station (1) is cut in transport path the shearing device (3 of the rectangular shape of given size, 4, 5), the end face that cuts off of the glass plate (G) for being kept by holding station (1) in transport path implements the facing attachment (7 of chamfering in transport path, 8, 9), by shearing device (3 on the basis of holding station (1), 4, 5) and facing attachment (7, 8, 9) processing is started after location.

Description

Glass plate processing device and glass plate processing method

technical field

The present invention relates to a processing technology of a glass plate. Specifically, it relates to an improvement of a processing technology in which after cutting a glass plate into a rectangular shape of a predetermined size, the cut end face is subjected to end surface treatment such as chamfering.

Background technique

It is well known that various glass plates are produced by cutting a large original glass plate into a rectangular shape, represented by glass substrates for flat panel displays (FPDs) such as liquid crystal displays and organic EL displays.

In addition, the cut end face of the cut glass plate is sharpened at the connection portion connecting the front and back, so if it is left unattended, it will cause damage such as chipping. Therefore, after the cutting process, the four sides of the glass substrate composed of the cut end face are inverted Corner and other end face treatment.

As this glass plate processing device, it is mostly the structure that the end surface processing devices such as the cutting device and the chamfering device are respectively independent, after the glass plate cut by the cutting device is handed over to the end surface processing device, it needs to be repositioned (for example, refer to the patent document 1~4).

The positioning of the glass sheet is usually carried out by pressing the end surface of the glass sheet with a positioning mechanism included in the chamfering device (included in the end surface treatment device), as disclosed in Patent Document 4, and positioning the glass sheet at a predetermined position while moving slightly. Therefore, in this case, in both the cutting process and the chamfering process (included in the end surface treatment process), the positioning mechanism is in direct contact with the end surface of the glass plate.

【Prior technical literature】

【Patent Literature】

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-185360

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-118907

[Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-42888

[Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-120135

Contents of the invention

【Problems to be solved by the invention】

However, in recent years, thinning of glass plates used in various fields represented by glass substrates for FPDs has progressed. Therefore, when the end surface of the glass plate is pressed with the same force as that of the conventional glass plate in the positioning of the cutting process and the end surface treatment process, the pressure acting on the end surface is intensified in inverse proportion to the thickness of the glass plate, so the glass plate is easy to press. out of shape. Therefore, when the positioning mechanism is brought into direct contact with the end surface of the glass plate as described above, the glass plate may be damaged due to deformation.

In view of the above circumstances, the technical problem of the present invention is to reliably prevent the breakage of the glass plate in the positioning of the cutting step of cutting the glass plate into a predetermined size and/or the end surface treatment step of the cut end surface.

【Means used to solve the problem】

The present invention proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems provides a glass plate processing apparatus, which is characterized in that it includes: a holding table for holding a glass plate; a moving mechanism for moving the holding table along a predetermined conveyance path; A cutting mechanism that cuts the glass plate held by the table into a rectangular shape of a predetermined size on the conveying path; an end surface processing mechanism for performing end surface processing on the path; and a positioning mechanism for positioning the cutting mechanism and the end surface processing mechanism respectively with reference to the holding table. The end surface treatment mentioned here includes, for example, chamfering of the end surface of the glass plate, chamfering of the corner of the glass plate, surface treatment based on a surface treatment agent, heating and melting forming based on a laser or a heater, stress removal, etc. ( The same below).

According to this configuration, after the glass plate held by the holding table is cut into a rectangular shape of a predetermined size by the cutting mechanism, the cut end surface is subjected to end surface processing by the end surface processing mechanism while being held on the same holding table. That is, the relative position of the glass plate with respect to the holding table is fixed without changing in the cutting process performed by the cutting mechanism and the end surface processing process performed by the end surface processing mechanism. In addition, since the positioning of the cutting mechanism and the end surface treatment mechanism is performed based on the holding table having a fixed relative positional relationship with the glass plate, the cutting mechanism and the end surface treatment mechanism can be accurately positioned without directly contacting the glass plate. positioning. Therefore, in the positioning of the cutting step and the end surface treatment step, the glass sheet does not come into contact with the positioning mechanism, and thus it is possible to reliably prevent the glass sheet from being damaged during positioning.

It should be noted that when the end surface processing mechanism performs chamfering, it can perform chamfering of the edges of the glass plate and the chamfering of the corners formed by connecting adjacent sides of the glass plate (so-called corner chamfering, corner taking り). .

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the holding table includes a main support portion for supporting a product portion of the glass sheet, and an auxiliary support portion for supporting a non-product portion of the glass sheet that has been cut and removed. , the auxiliary support portion is detachable from the main support portion.

In this way, the size of the holding table can be changed by separating the auxiliary support portion from the main support portion. Therefore, the size of the holding table can be appropriately changed in accordance with the size change of the glass plate accompanying processing. Therefore, the protruding amount of the glass plate from the holding table is minimized, and deformation such as warping of the glass plate can be prevented.

The present invention proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems provides a glass plate processing method, which is characterized in that it includes: a cutting process of cutting the glass plate into a rectangular shape of a predetermined size by a cutting mechanism; In the end surface treatment step of performing end surface treatment on the cut end surface of the glass plate, the cutting process and the end surface treatment are performed while moving the glass plate and the holding table integrally while holding the glass plate on the holding table. In addition, the positioning of the cutting mechanism in the cutting step and the positioning of the end surface processing mechanism in the end surface processing step are performed with reference to the holding table.

According to this method, it is possible to enjoy the same operation and effect as the already described corresponding structure.

In the above-mentioned method, it is preferable that the holding table includes a main support part that supports the product part of the glass sheet, and a main support part that is provided so as to be detachable from the main support part and to cut off the glass sheet. The auxiliary support part that supports the removed non-product part supports the glass sheet by the main support part and the auxiliary support part before cutting the glass sheet, and after cutting the glass sheet, The said auxiliary support part is separated from the said main support part, and the said glass plate is supported by only the said main support part.

In this way, it is possible to enjoy the same operational effects as those of the corresponding configuration already described.

In the above method, if the plate thickness of the glass plate is less than 0.4 mm, the effect of the invention of the present application can be exhibited to the maximum.

【Invention effect】

As described above, according to the present invention, the positioning of the cutting mechanism and the end surface treatment mechanism is carried out with reference to the holding table holding the glass plate. A situation such as breakage of the glass plate can be reliably prevented.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a glass plate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a side view showing a holding table of the glass plate processing apparatus of the first embodiment.

2B is a front view showing a holding table of the glass plate processing apparatus of the first embodiment.

3A is a front view showing a state before positioning of the cutting device of the glass plate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

3B is a front view showing a state where the cutting device of the glass plate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment is positioned.

4A is a side view showing a holding table of a glass plate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

4B is a plan view showing a holding stand of a glass plate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

4C is a side view for explaining the operation of the main support portion and the auxiliary support portion of the holding table of the glass plate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the following embodiment, the case where the chamfering of an end surface is performed as an end surface process of a glass plate is demonstrated as an example.

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a glass plate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This glass plate processing apparatus has a conveyance path on which a plurality of holding tables 1 holding a glass plate G are moved. The conveyance path is constituted by rails 2 laid in a ring shape. A glass plate supply zone Z1, a cutting zone Z2, a chamfering zone Z3, a glass plate take-out zone Z4, and a holder replacement zone Z5 are provided on the conveyance path.

In this embodiment, the cutting zone Z2 is composed of the scribe zone Z21, the first breaking zone Z22, and the second breaking zone Z23, and the chamfering zone Z3 is composed of the first chamfering zone Z31, the second chamfering zone Z32, and the corners. The part chamfering (corner taking ri) area Z33 constitutes. It should be noted that, on the transport path, a cleaning area for cleaning the glass plate holding surface of the holding table 1 may be further included.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B , the holding table 1 is held so as to be slidable on a rail 2 , and a plurality of holding tables 1 turn around in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 on the same rail 2 . It should be noted that the holding table 1 is held on the rail 2 via a revolving table not shown.

In this embodiment, the holding table 1 vacuum-adsorbs the glass plate G on the glass plate holding surface. As the mechanism for vacuum suction, for example, a structure in which a vacuum pump is built into the holding table 1, or a structure in which the holding table 1 is made airtight and vacuum suction is performed using an external vacuum source, and vacuum is maintained by a valve or the like can be used. In addition, instead of vacuum-adsorbing the glass plate G, a structure may be adopted in which water is interposed between the glass plate G and the holding table 1 and the glass plate G is adsorbed to the holding table 1 .

Here, the moving mechanism of the holding table 1 may be a structure moving by, for example, a belt conveyor, a transfer device, a self-propelled transport cart, etc. other than a structure moving on the rails 2 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the processing apparatus includes a cutting device for cutting (trimming) a glass plate G into a rectangular shape of a predetermined size and a chamfering device for chamfering the cut end surface of the glass plate G cut by the cutting device. Major structures on the haul path.

The cutting device includes a cutter 3 for forming a scribe line SL on the glass plate G, and breaking tools 4 and 5 for breaking the glass plate G along the scribe line SL.

When the glass plate G held by the holding table 1 is transported to the scribing zone Z21, the cutter 3 forms a scribing line SL on the surface of the glass plate G so as to define a rectangular product portion of a predetermined size on the glass plate G. .

At this time, after the holding table 1 holding the glass plate G is positioned at the reference, the cutter 3 starts the formation of the scribe line SL. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A , for example, the positioning device 6 performs positioning of the tool 3 with reference to the side surface (for example, a reference surface provided at a specific position on the side surface) 1 a of the holding table 1 . In this embodiment, the positioning device 6 adjusts the position of the cutter 3 so that the distance between the side surface 1 a and the cutter 3 becomes a predetermined constant distance. Here, the positioning device 6 may be configured to detect the position of the holding table 1 using a contact sensor, or may be configured to detect the position of the holding table 1 using a non-contact sensor. Furthermore, the positioning device 6 may be configured to register the position information on the conveyance path of each holding table 1 in advance, and to perform positioning of the tool 3 based on the registered information.

It should be noted that as long as the cutting device moves relative to the glass plate G, only the cutting device (specifically, the cutter 3 etc.) may be moved, or only the holding table 1 holding the glass plate G may be moved. Any one of a structure for moving, and a structure for moving both the cutting device and the holding table 1 holding the glass sheet G. In addition, the cutting device may be configured to cut the glass plate G using, for example, laser cutting or laser fusing, in addition to the configuration in which the cutter 3 forms the scribe line SL and breaks it.

When the glass plate G held by the holding table 1 is transported to the first breaking zone Z22, the first breaking tool 4 moves the glass plate G along the two lines facing each other in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the glass plate G. The line SL is broken. After the holding table 1 and the glass plate G are rotated by 90 degrees, the second breaking tool 5 breaks the glass plate G along the remaining two opposing scribe lines SL of the glass plate G in the second breaking zone Z23 . At this time, after the holding table 1 holding the glass plate G is positioned at the reference by a positioning device not shown, the breaking tool 4 starts breaking.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 , the chamfering device includes a chamfering grinding tool for chamfering the four sides of the glass plate G and a chamfering tool for chamfering the corners formed by connecting two orthogonal sides of the glass plate G. Grinding tools for chamfering corners.

The grinding tool for chamfering is equipped with the 1st grinding wheel 7 which chamfers the opposite both sides of the glass plate G, and the 2nd grinding wheel 8 which chamfers the other two sides which are opposed to the glass plate G. Specifically, when the glass plate G held by the holding table 1 is transported to the first chamfering zone Z31, the first grinding wheel 7 is used to grind the opposite sides of the glass plate G in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction. Implement chamfering (eg rounding). Then, the holding table 1 and the glass plate G are rotated 90 degrees together, and in the second chamfering zone Z32, the remaining two sides opposite to the glass plate G are chamfered (for example, rounded) by the second grinding wheel 8 . At this time, after positioning the holding table 1 which holds the glass plate G to a reference|standard by the positioning apparatus which is not shown in figure, each grinding wheel 7,8 starts chamfering.

The grinding tool for corner chamfering is equipped with the 3rd grinding stone 9 which chamfers the corner of the four corners of the glass plate G. Specifically, when the glass plate G held by the holding table 1 is conveyed to the corner chamfering zone Z33 , all the corners of the glass plate G are obliquely cut off by the respective grinding wheels 9 . At this time, each grinding wheel 9 starts corner chamfering after the holding table 1 holding the glass plate G is positioned on the basis by a positioning device not shown. It should be noted that the chamfering of the corners may also be omitted.

It should be noted that, as long as the chamfering device moves relative to the glass plate G, only the chamfering device (specifically, grinding wheels 7 to 9, etc.) may be moved, or only the glass plate G may be held. Any one of the structure in which the holding table 1 moves, and the structure in which both the chamfering device and the holding table 1 holding the glass plate G are moved. In addition to chamfering by mechanical grinding, the chamfering device can also perform chamfering by etching the end of the glass plate G with an etchant such as hydrofluoric acid, or by using thermal energy such as a laser or a heater to make the glass plate G The ends are melted to perform chamfering. In the former case, the etchant is applied to the edge of the glass plate G with a roller, a brush, a spray, or the like, for example. In this case, the mask of the glass plate G can also be used together.

Next, the operation of the processing apparatus configured as above will be described in sequence.

As shown in FIG. 1 , in the glass plate supply zone Z1 , the glass plates G are supplied one by one on the respective holding tables 1 , and the glass plates G are held by the holding tables 1 . In the glass plate supply area Z1, the glass plate G is set on the holding stand 1 by human power, or a manually controlled or automatically controlled transfer device, or the like. At this time, since the glass plate G is processed with reference to the holding table 1 as described later, it is not necessary to accurately position the glass plate G with respect to the holding table 1 .

Here, the glass plate G is a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display having a plate thickness of 5 to 400 μm. In addition, as the glass plate G, in addition to glass substrates for displays such as glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, it can be used in various fields such as solar cells, organic EL lighting, touch panels, and digital signage. thin glass substrates, laminates of these thin glass substrates and resins, etc.

In the cutting zone Z2 , first, in the scribe zone Z21 , the cutter 3 is positioned on the basis of the holding table 1 , and then the scribe line SL is formed on the glass plate G. Next, in the first breaking zone Z22 and the second breaking zone Z23, the glass plate G is broken along the scribe line SL after positioning the breaking tool 4 with the holding table 1 as a reference. Thereby, a non-product part is cut|disconnected from glass plate G, and the rectangular-shaped product part of predetermined size is taken out.

In the chamfering zone Z3, first, after positioning each first grinding wheel 7 and each second grinding wheel 8 with the holding table 1 as a reference in the first chamfering zone Z31 and the second chamfering zone Z32, The four sides of the glass plate G are chamfered. Next, in the corner chamfering zone Z33, after positioning each 3rd grinding wheel 9 with reference to the holding table 1, corner chamfering is given to the corner part of the glass plate G. Thereby, the chamfering was given to the whole circumference|surroundings of the glass plate G.

When a series of processing as above is completed, the holding of the glass plate G by the holding table 1 is released in the glass plate taking-out zone Z4 , and the glass plate G is taken out from the holding table 1 . In the glass plate take-out zone Z4, the glass plate G is taken out from the holding table 1 by manpower, or a manually controlled or automatically controlled transfer device, or the like. At this time, gas (for example, compressed air) or fluid (for example, water) may be blown toward glass plate G from holding table 1 in order to make detaching of glass plate G easy.

The holding table 1 from which the glass plate G has been taken out is moved to the holding table replacement zone Z5, and the holding table 1 running on the rail 2 is replaced with a new holding table 1 as appropriate and necessary. The holding stand 1 passed through this holding stand replacement zone Z5 or the holding stand 1 newly replaced moves to the glass plate supply zone Z1, and is used for conveyance of the glass plate G.

Cutting and chamfering are performed in a state in which the glass plate G is held on the same holding table 1 according to a series of processing steps as described above. That is, the relative position of the glass plate G with respect to the holding table 1 does not change but is fixed during cutting and chamfering. Then, positioning of the cutting device and the chamfering device is carried out based on the holding table 1 whose relative positional relationship with the glass plate G is fixed in this way. Therefore, when positioning the cutting device and the chamfering device, it is not necessary to directly contact the glass plate G, and therefore damage to the glass plate G can be prevented.

Next, a glass plate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The glass plate processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment differs from the glass plate processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment in the structure of the holding table 1. As shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration of the holding table 1 as a point of difference will be described, and description of common points will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C , in the second embodiment, the holding table 1 includes a main support portion 11 and an auxiliary support portion 12 arranged around the main support portion 11 and detachable from the main support portion 11 . The main support unit 11 supports the glass plate G remaining after cutting, that is, the product portion of the glass plate G, and the auxiliary support portion 12 supports the non-product portion of the glass plate G cut and removed during cutting. 4A and 4B, the glass plate G before cutting is supported by the main support portion 11 and the auxiliary support portion 12, and as shown in FIG. 4C, the glass plate G after cutting is supported only by the main support portion 11.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary support portion 12 is provided with a lifting mechanism 13 such as a cylinder, and is configured to be able to be positioned at one of a support position at the same height as the main support portion 11 and a retracted position retracted downward from the same height as the main support portion 11 . Move back and forth between. It should be noted that, in the illustrated example, the auxiliary support portion 12 is divided into four, each of which can be independently raised and lowered. In this case, for example, along with the progress of the processing of the glass plate G, in the state where the two auxiliary supporting parts 12 facing the conveying direction of the glass plate G are located at the support position, the glass plate G can be placed in the opposite direction. The other two auxiliary support parts 12 facing each other in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction are located at retracted positions.

In this way, the size of the holding table 1 can be changed by separating the auxiliary support portion 12 from the main support portion 11 . Therefore, the size of the holding table 1 can be appropriately changed in accordance with the dimensional change of the glass plate G accompanying processing. Therefore, deformation|transformation, such as bending of the glass plate G, can be prevented by suppressing the protrusion amount of the glass plate G from the holding table 1 to the minimum (for example, 10 mm or less).

In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, It can implement in various forms. For example, although the case where one plate glass product is cut out from one original glass plate has been described, it is also possible to cut out a plurality of plate glass products from one original glass plate. In this case, it is only necessary to combine a plurality of holding tables having the same size as the final plate glass product to hold the original glass plate, and to separate each holding table for each plate glass product after cutting.

In addition, when a defect such as breakage of the glass plate occurs on the conveyance path, the defective glass plate can be moved out of the conveyance path together with the holding table 1, that is, out of the processing process, and processed outside the process. In this way, it is possible to minimize scattering of glass fragments and the like on the conveyance path through which normal glass plates pass.

In addition, a dimension measuring mechanism and a marking mechanism may be provided in a series of processes.

In addition, the destruction inspection may not be performed on all glass plates.

【Symbol Description】

1 holding table

11 Main support

12 Auxiliary support part

13 Lifting mechanism

2 tracks

3 knives

4.5 Breaking tools

6 positioning device

7, 8, 9 grinding wheel

G glass plate

SL dash

Z1 glass plate supply area

Z2 cut-off zone

Z21 Marked area

Z22 first break zone

Z23 Second break zone

Z3 chamfer area

Z31 First chamfer area

Z32 Second chamfer area

Z33 corner chamfering (third chamfering) area

Z4 glass plate removal area

Z5 holder replacement area

Claims (5)

1. A glass plate processing device, characterized in that, possesses: Holder for holding the glass plate; a movement mechanism for moving the holding table along a prescribed transport path; a cutting mechanism for cutting the glass sheet held by the holding table into a rectangular shape of a predetermined size on the conveyance path; an end surface processing mechanism for performing end surface processing on the conveyance path with respect to the cut end surface of the glass plate held by the holding table on the conveyance path; and a positioning mechanism for respectively positioning the cutting mechanism and the end surface processing mechanism with the holding table as a reference, The glass plate and the holding table are moved integrally, and the cutting by the cutting mechanism and the end surface processing by the end surface processing mechanism are held at the same position on the same holding table. of the glass plate. 2. The glass plate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The holding table includes a main support portion supporting a product portion of the glass sheet, and an auxiliary support portion supporting a non-product portion of the glass sheet that has been cut and removed, and the auxiliary support portion can be moved from the The main support part is separated. 3. A glass plate processing method, characterized in that, comprising: A cutting process of cutting the glass sheet into a rectangular shape of a predetermined size by a cutting mechanism; and an end surface treatment step in which an end surface treatment is performed on the cut end surface of the glass sheet by an end surface treatment mechanism, In the state where the glass plate is held on the holding table, the glass plate and the holding table are moved integrally, and the above-mentioned glass plate held at the same position on the same holding table is carried out. the cutting process and the end surface treatment process, and, The positioning of the cutting mechanism in the cutting step and the positioning of the end surface processing mechanism in the end surface processing step are performed based on the holding table. 4. glass sheet processing method according to claim 3, is characterized in that, The holding table includes a main support that supports a product portion of the glass plate, and an auxiliary support that is detachably provided from the main support and supports a non-product portion of the glass plate that is cut and removed. department, Before cutting the glass sheet, the glass sheet is supported by the main support portion and the auxiliary support portion, and after the glass sheet is cut, the auxiliary support portion is separated from the main support portion. The glass plate is supported only by the main support portion. 5. The glass plate processing method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The plate thickness of the glass plate is less than 0.4 mm.