JP2003063643A - Thin plate conveying system and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To raise a thin plate such as a large-scaled glass substrate by using air to convey the thin plate with a lower cost and without causing air turbulence. SOLUTION: A conveying apparatus 10 conveys the glass substrate 12 in parallel with a conveying plane 14. In a widthwise center of the conveying plane 14 a floating chamber 16 elongated along a conveying direction is disposed. On both of widthwise sides of the conveying plane 14, groups of conveying rollers 18A, 18B are disposed. At an upper plate 20 of the floating chamber 16 a number of air jet pores 22 are formed. Static pressure air of low pressure provided through the pores forms fluid film between an upper surface 21 and the glass substrate 12 so that the widthwise center of the glass substrate 12 is raised and, in this situation, conveying power is provided to both the widthwise sides by the groups of conveying rollers 18A, 18B.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LC
D) A method and apparatus for transporting a thin plate such as a large thin glass substrate used for a flat plate display such as a panel and a plasma display panel (PDP).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A large glass substrate for an LCD panel has a size of, for example, 800 mm × 1000 mm and a thickness of 0.7.
It is, for example, mm, which is very thin compared to the size.

Therefore, when a glass substrate is conveyed horizontally, not only both ends in the width direction but also the center portion in the width direction will be drooped greatly. It is required that the transportation device does not come into contact with the parts other than.

Means for this purpose are, for example, JP-A-10-139160 and JP-A-11-268830.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-268831 discloses a technique of floating a substrate using a gas such as air and transporting the substrate in a non-contact manner.

[0005]

However, in the above-described transfer apparatus, the compressed air or the like is ejected from a plurality of nozzles, and the ejection direction, ejection, and stop are complicatedly controlled, so that the substrate Since it is floated and transported in a target direction, the manufacturing cost and the operating cost become very high, and, for example, in a clean room, air having a relatively high pressure is ejected from a plurality of nozzles. There is a problem that the air in the clean room is disturbed.

Further, in order to solve such a problem, for example, a porous ceramics plate is arranged horizontally, and air is blown in from the lower side of the porous ceramics plate so that a fluid is fed between the glass substrate and the porous ceramics. There is one in which a film is formed so that the glass substrate is floated.

However, this porous ceramic plate is very expensive, and the manufacturing cost increases, and at the same time, a large thin glass substrate is transferred from the transfer device made of the porous ceramic plate to another transfer means, or the reverse. There is a problem in that a fork-shaped lift device has to be used because it cannot cope with the hanging down of the central portion of the glass substrate when it is received.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is a low cost, horizontal thin plate such as a large glass substrate without causing air turbulence in a clean room or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thin plate transporting method and device capable of transporting thin plates.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for transporting thin plates, in which the central portion of the thin plates does not hang down during delivery between the transport devices, and the thin plates can be delivered and transported without using a lift. To aim.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a thin plate
At least the central part in the width direction orthogonal to the carrying direction is levitated by a fluid film made of static pressure gas, and the carrying force is applied at two points between both sides in the width direction of the central part to both ends. By the characteristic thin plate transport method,
The above object is achieved.

In the method of transporting the thin plate, the leading end in the transport direction of the central portion of the thin plate may be floated by a dynamic pressure gas at a position where the fluid film is interrupted and then delivered.

Further, in the method of transporting the thin plate, when the thin plate is fed into a static pressure region where the central portion of the thin plate is levitated by the fluid film, the thin film is fed to a rear end position in the transport direction of the static pressure region. The thin plate may be delivered to the static pressure region by floating the leading end of the center of the thin plate fed in the transport direction.

Furthermore, in the method of transporting the thin plate, the transport of the thin plate may be stopped by reducing the pressure of the static pressure gas.

In the method of transporting the thin plate, a detachable sail is attached to a part of the outer peripheral end of the thin plate, and air is blown to the sail so as to generate thrust in the transport direction of the thin plate. May be.

The apparatus of the present invention is a box-shaped body which is long in the carrying direction and which is arranged at a position corresponding to at least the central portion in the width direction orthogonal to the carrying direction on the substantially horizontal carrying surface of the thin plate. A large number of gas ejection holes are formed on parallel upper surface plates, and a fluid film made of static pressure gas that floats the central portion is formed between the upper surface plate and the lower surface of the thin plate by supplying gas from the gas ejection holes. And a part of the levitation chamber on both sides in the width direction of the levitation chamber between the widthwise central part and the widthwise ends of the conveyance surface, arranged in the conveyance direction to support the thin plate and apply a conveyance force. The above-mentioned object is achieved by a transporting device for a thin plate having a transporting force imparting means.

In the thin plate carrying device, a dynamic pressure levitation means is provided at an end position in the carrying direction of the levitation chamber for ejecting a dynamic pressure gas upwardly or obliquely upward to float the leading end of the thin plate in the carrying direction. Good.

Further, in the thin plate carrying device, the dynamic pressure levitation means is provided between the upper end edge of the carrying direction end face plate of the box-shaped body forming the floating chamber and the carrying direction end edge of the upper plate. The pressurized gas may be ejected from a gap at a position lower than the upper surface of the upper plate.

Still further, in the thin plate carrying device, the gap is formed between an inner surface of the end plate and an end edge of the upper plate in the carrying direction, and an upper end edge of the end plate is the upper part. The face plate may be arranged at a position lower than the upper surface and higher than the lower surface.

Further, in the thin plate transporting device, an inclined surface may be formed by chamfering a corner portion at the upper end of the end plate opposite to the gap.

Further, in the thin plate carrier, a blower for feeding gas to at least one part of the floating chamber and a gas passage between the blower and the floating chamber are arranged, and gas is supplied from the blower. A filter that keeps the speed constant may be provided.

Further, in the thin plate transporting device, the transporting force imparting means is arranged along both widthwise ends of the transporting surface and is a transporting roller row which is rotatable while supporting both widthwise ends of the thin plate. The upper surface of the upper plate in the floating chamber may be set to have a height slightly lower than a horizontal conveyance plane that is in contact with the upper ends of the conveyance roller rows.

Furthermore, in the thin plate carrier, a pair of sub-levitation chambers having the same structure as the levitation chamber are arranged in parallel with each other with respect to the levitation chamber on both sides in the width direction. Sub-fluid film formation regions may be provided on both sides in the width direction of the fluid film formation region formed by the static pressure gas.

Further, in the thin plate transporting device, the transporting force applying means may be arranged between the floating chamber and the sub-levitation chambers arranged on both sides in the width direction thereof.

Furthermore, in the thin plate transporting device, a guide roller row is provided which is provided with a plurality of rotatable guide rollers arranged around the vertical rotation axis along both ends of the transport surface in the width direction. The widthwise end edge of the thin plate may be brought into contact with the inside of the guide roller row to position the sheet in the widthwise direction.

In the present invention, the central portion of the thin plate in the width direction with respect to the conveying direction is floated by the static pressure gas, and the conveying force is applied to both sides thereof, so that in the area of the static pressure gas only. It suffices if the central portion in the width direction of the thin plate can be kept horizontal, and therefore it is not necessary to eject a large amount of high-pressure fluid to levitate. Therefore, the airflow is not disturbed even when used in a clean room.

Further, in the floating chamber for forming the fluid film by static pressure, since only a large number of gas ejection small holes are provided on the upper plate of the box-shaped body which is long in the carrying direction, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus is greatly increased. Can be reduced.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a carrying device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention carries a glass substrate 12 for a large PDP horizontally along a carrying surface 14, for example. A box-shaped levitation chamber 16 that is long in the transport direction and that is disposed at a central portion in the width direction that is orthogonal to the transport direction on the transport surface 14, and both widthwise end positions on the transport surface 14 that are disposed in the transport direction. A pair of transport roller rows 1
8A and 18B.

As shown in FIG. 2, the floating chamber 16 has a top plate 20 which is parallel to the transfer surface 14 and corresponds to a box-shaped lid. A small ejection hole 22 is formed.

Further, as shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 3, the upper end plate 26 and the upper end plate 26 of the end face plate 26 on the rear side (left side in FIG. 3) in the conveyance direction of the floating chamber 16 of the box-shaped body.
A gap 28 is formed between the rear end edge 20A and the rear end edge 20A in the transport direction, and as described later, the dynamic pressure levitation means is formed by flowing out the dynamic pressure gas from this gap.

For the box-shaped floating chamber 16,
As shown in FIG. 2, the blower 32 to the filter 3
A relatively low pressure air is supplied from the duct hose 36 via 4 and is supplied from the large number of gas ejection holes 22 and the gaps 28.

Here, the diameter of the gas jetting small hole 22 is made smaller than that of the gap 28, and the air jetted from here has a static pressure region between the back surface of the glass substrate 12 and the top surface 21 of the top plate 20. That is, it is possible to form an air film.
Further, a large amount of air is ejected from the gap 28 as compared with the gas ejection small holes 22, so that an air flow which is a dynamic pressure gas is formed in this portion.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 3, the end face plate 24 has an upper edge 26 at the lower face 21 of the upper face plate 20.
It is lower than A, and the gap 28 is formed by the top plate 20.
Between the lower surface 21A and the upper edge 26 of the end face plate 24 is formed obliquely upward, whereby the air flow from the gap 28 is obliquely upward, and the front end of the width direction central portion of the glass substrate 12 reaches there. At this time, the glass substrate 12 is blown up obliquely from below so that the back surface of the glass substrate 12 is higher than the top surface 21 of the top plate 20.

The upper surface 21 of the floating chamber 16 is set lower than the horizontal plane passing through the upper ends of the transport roller rows 18A and 18B by a height approximately equal to the thickness of the fluid film formed on the upper side. ing.

Therefore, the glass substrate 12 conveyed along the conveying surface 14 has a width of the conveying surface 14 when a fluid film of static pressure gas is formed between the rear surface of the glass substrate 12 and the upper surface 21 of the top plate 20. It will be supported horizontally at three points in the direction.

The levitation chamber 16 as described above is arranged along the transfer surface 14 in one or a plurality of lines as required. In the levitation chamber 16 located at the foremost position in the transfer direction, the front end of the levitation chamber 16 in the transfer direction is set. An upper edge 27 of the end plate 25,
A gap 30 is formed between the upper plate 20 and the front edge 20B.

This gap 30 has the same structure as the above-mentioned gap 28, from which an air flow as dynamic pressure gas is ejected,
The widthwise central portion of the rear end of the glass substrate 12 in the carrying direction is blown up from below to be higher than the upper surface 21.

Conveying device 10 according to an example of this embodiment
For example, the glass substrate 12 is loaded from above by a fork-shaped transport robot, or is loaded from the upstream side in the transport direction by a conveyor or the like. At this time, in the levitation chamber 16, from the gas ejection small hole 22 on the upper surface 21 thereof. The air flow is jetted at a predetermined pressure, and the air flow as the dynamic pressure gas is jetted from the gap 28.

In this way, the central portion of the leading edge of the glass substrate 12 that is carried in is prevented from hanging down, and the hanging central portion does not collide with the transporting device 10 to be damaged.

Further, the glass substrate 12 is conveyed by supporting the both ends of the glass substrate 12 in the width direction by the conveying roller rows 18A and 18B while the central portion of the glass substrate 12 in the width direction is levitated by the levitation chamber 16. In addition, since the carrying force is applied, the air supplied from the gas ejection small holes 22 in the levitation chamber 16 simply forms a fluid film to form the glass substrate 12
Does not contact the levitation chamber 16, and it is not necessary to generate a carrying force.

Therefore, the amount and pressure of the air ejected from the gas ejection small holes 22 are smaller than those of the conventional gas conveying device and may be low pressure. Further, in the transport roller rows 18A and 18B, since a considerable part of the load of the glass substrate 12 is supported by the floating chamber 16,
The glass substrate 12 can be transported along the transport surface 14 with a slight transport force. Further, the transport roller row 18
Since the load applied to A and 18B is small, the force acting as a reaction force on both ends in the width direction of the glass substrate 12 is small, and it is unlikely that the glass substrate 12 is distorted.

When the glass substrate 12 is horizontally transported along the transport surface 14 by the levitation chamber 16 and the transport roller rows 18A and 18B and is passed from the transport surface 14 of the transport device 10 to another transport device, naturally. On the side of the other transport device, the central portion in the width direction is supported so as not to hang down.

However, when the glass substrate 12 comes out of the carrying surface 14, the rear end thereof hangs down so that the floating chamber 1
It is conceivable to collide with the front edge 20B of the sheet No. 6 in the transport direction.

In this transfer device 10, the clearance 30 is formed at the front end in the transfer direction in the floating chamber 16 at the front end in the transfer direction, and the gap 30 is formed by ejecting the air flow as the dynamic pressure gas from this space. Since the pressure levitation means is provided, the rear end of the glass substrate 12 will not be lifted and will not collide with and damage the edge 20B.

The transfer device 10 is composed of one floating chamber 16 at the center of the transfer surface 14 in the width direction and a pair of transfer roller rows 18A and 18B at both ends in the width direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. The floating chamber is not limited to the above, as long as it floats at least the central portion in the width direction of the transfer surface 14, and a separate floating chamber may be provided at another position. Further, the transport roller row as the transport force applying means may be another transport means such as a conveyor, and its width direction position may be changed as necessary.

For example, as in the transfer device 40 according to the second example of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, positions of the levitation chamber 16 at the center position in the width direction similar to the above are separated on both sides in the width direction. Alternatively, the sub-levitation chambers 42A and 42B may be arranged in parallel with the levitation chamber 16, and two rows of conveyors 44A and 44B may be arranged between them. The transfer conveyors 44A and 44B are for applying a transfer force by pushing the rear end of the glass substrate 12.

Further, if necessary, as shown in FIG. 4, guide rollers are provided at both widthwise end positions of the conveying surface 14 so as to be in rolling contact with both widthwise end faces of the glass substrate 12 for positioning in the widthwise direction. Rows 46A, 46B may be provided.

In the case of this transfer device 40, since the glass substrate 12 is floated by the three rows of floating chambers, the transfer force applied to the glass substrate 12 from the transfer conveyors 44A and 44B is the transfer roller lines 18A and 18 in the transfer device 10.
It is even smaller than in the case of B.

Therefore, the contact pressure between the conveyors 44A and 44B and the glass substrate 12 is very small, and the glass substrate 12 is not contaminated.

Further, since the guide roller rows 46A and 46B contact only the end surfaces on both sides in the width direction of the glass substrate 12, they do not apply unnecessary stress to the glass substrate 12 and guide with a slight contact pressure. Therefore, the glass substrate 12 can be precisely positioned in the width direction.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the dynamic pressure levitation means including a gap formed between the top plate and the end face plate in the levitation chamber 16 or 17.

In this modification, the end face plate 49 on the rear side (left side in the drawing) of the levitation chamber 48 in the carrying direction is arranged further in the carrying direction than the rear side edge 50A of the upper plate 50 in the carrying direction. , The gap 52 is formed.

The upper edge 53 of the end plate 49 is the upper plate 5
It is provided at an intermediate position in the thickness direction of 0, and a corner portion of the upper end edge 53 on the rear side in the transport direction is chamfered to form an inclined surface 54.

As a result, the air flow as the dynamic pressure gas jetted from the gap 52 is directed almost directly above, and the central portion in the width direction of the front end of the glass substrate 12 being conveyed can be effectively levitated. .

Further, at this time, even if the front end of the glass substrate 12 hangs down a little, since the inclined surface 54 is provided, it does not collide with the corner portion of the levitation chamber 48 and be damaged.

In the example of each embodiment as described above,
The levitation chamber is a simple box type, and it suffices to form a gas ejection small hole in the top plate and to provide a gap between the top plate and the end face plate, and therefore it can be easily manufactured at low cost. it can.

In particular, the gas ejection small hole 22 may be any one as long as it forms a fluid film between the glass substrate 12 and the upper surface 21 being conveyed, and the degree of freedom in designing the direction, size, etc. of the hole. large.

Further, compared with the conventional levitation transfer means using dynamic pressure gas, it is sufficient to supply low-pressure gas from the blower 32, so that the manufacturing cost of the device including the blower 32 can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, the structure is simple because complicated control of the air nozzle is not required.

The example of the above-described embodiment is intended to convey the glass substrate 12, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a so-called thin plate having a smaller thickness than the area thereof is used. It is applied to the case of transporting. Therefore, this method is applied to the case of transporting a material such as a metal thin plate or a resin thin plate that is likely to bend.

The floating gas is not limited to air, but may be nitrogen gas, rare gas or the like.

[0061]

EXAMPLES Specific examples of the present invention will be described below.

1 and 2, the levitation chamber 16 has a width of 100 mm, a height of 50 mm, and a gap between the upper surface 21 and the horizontal transfer surface 14 is 2 mm. Set the distance between roller rows 14A and 14B to 80
0 mm, the transport distance by the transport roller rows 14A and 14B is 1000 mm, and the gas ejection small holes 22 formed in the upper surface plate 20 have pitches of 30 mm in the transport direction and the width direction, respectively, as shown in FIG. The distance between the gas ejection small holes 22 at the front and rear ends in the conveyance direction and the front and rear end faces in the conveyance direction is set to 5 mm, the distance between the gas ejection small holes 22 on both sides in the width direction and both ends in the width direction of the levitation chamber 16 is set to 5 mm, and the hole diameter is set to 2 mm. did.

A glass substrate having a weight of 1060 g, a width of 800 mm, a length of 1000 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm was placed by this carrying device, and the flying height of the glass substrate at a plurality of points on the upper surface 21 was measured. .

[0064]

[Table 1]

As the blower 32, a ring blower made by Fuji Electric, VFC208AN (0.84 mm3 /
min), and as the filter 34, a HEPA filter manufactured by Japan Airtech 3A-202005T (0.
5 mm3 / min) was used.

Further, the difference between the floating amount of the glass substrate due to the dynamic pressure gas at the front end position in the transport direction and the valve opening degree in the HEPA filter at this time, and the height of the water column obtained in the measurement state as shown in FIG. The relationship became as shown in Table 2.

[0067]

[Table 2]

As a result, a uniform flying height can be obtained at a relatively low pressure on the upper side of the top plate, and at the front end position in the carrying direction,
It can be seen that the flying height corresponding to the air pressure can be obtained.
In any case, the glass substrate did not come into contact with the floating chamber.

[0069]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
It has an excellent effect that a thin plate such as a large glass substrate can be stably transported horizontally at low cost without causing air turbulence in a clean room or the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a carrying device according to an example of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a floating chamber in the transfer device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a carrier device according to a second example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the dynamic pressure levitation means in the carrying device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the arrangement of gas ejection small holes in the floating chamber according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a measuring device for measuring the flying height of glass in an example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 40 ... Carrier 12 ... Glass substrate 14 ... Transport surface 16, 17, 48 ... Levitation chamber 18A, 18B ... Conveyor roller row 20, 50 ... Top plate 20A, 20B ... Edge 21 ... Top surface 21A ... bottom surface 22 ... Gas ejection small hole 24, 25, 49 ... End plate 26, 27, 53 ... Upper edge 28, 30, 52 ... Gap 32 ... Blower 34 ... Filter 42A, 42B ... Sub-levitation chamber 44A, 44B ... Conveyor 46A, 46B ... Guide roller row 54 ... Inclined surface

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Ryoaki Hamanaka             Toray, 1-41 Oe, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture             Engineering Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4G015 GC02                 5F031 CA01 CA04 CA05 FA01 FA02                       GA53 GA63 NA02 NA07 PA13                       PA18

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A thin plate is floated at least at a central portion in a width direction orthogonal to a conveying direction by a fluid film made of a static pressure gas, and at two positions between both sides in the width direction of the central portion to both ends. A method for conveying a thin plate, characterized by applying a conveying force. 2. The method of transporting a thin plate according to claim 1, wherein at the position where the fluid film is interrupted, the front end of the central portion of the thin plate in the transport direction is floated by dynamic pressure gas and then delivered. 3. The thin film according to claim 1, wherein when the thin plate is fed into a static pressure region where the central portion of the thin plate is floated by the fluid film, the static pressure region is located at a rear end position in the transport direction. A method of transporting a thin plate, characterized in that the leading end of the center of the thin plate fed in in the transport direction is floated, and the thin plate is delivered to the static pressure region. 4. The method of transporting a thin plate according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the transport of the thin plate is stopped by reducing the pressure of the static pressure gas. 5. The detachable sail according to claim 1, wherein a detachable sail is attached to a part of an outer peripheral end of the thin plate.
A method of transporting a thin plate, characterized in that air is blown to the sail so as to generate thrust in the transport direction of the thin plate. 6. A box-shaped body, which is long in the transport direction and is arranged at a position corresponding to at least a central portion in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction on a substantially horizontal transport surface of the thin plate, and is parallel to the plate transport surface. A large number of gas ejection holes are formed in the upper surface plate, and a gas is supplied from the gas ejection holes to form a fluid film made of a static pressure gas that floats the central portion between the upper surface plate and the lower surface of the thin plate. A chamber and a part of the levitation chamber on both sides in the width direction between the center part in the width direction and both ends in the width direction on the transfer surface, the transfer being arranged in the transfer direction and supporting the thin plate and applying a transfer force. A thin plate transporting device including a force applying unit. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the levitation chamber is positioned at an end position in the transport direction, facing upward or diagonally upward.
A thin plate transport device comprising a dynamic pressure levitation means for ejecting a dynamic pressure gas that floats the leading end of the thin plate in the transport direction. 8. The dynamic pressure levitation means according to claim 7,
The pressurized gas is ejected from a gap at a position lower than the upper surface of the upper surface plate between the upper edge of the end surface plate in the transportation direction of the box-shaped body that constitutes the floating chamber and the end edge of the upper surface plate in the transportation direction. A transporting device for thin plates, which is configured as described above. 9. The gap according to claim 8, wherein the gap is formed between an inner surface of the end plate and an edge of the top plate in the transport direction, and an upper edge of the end plate is an upper surface of the top plate. A transporting device for a thin plate, characterized in that the transporting device is disposed at a position lower than the lower surface and higher than the lower surface. 10. The thin plate transporting device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein a corner of the upper end of the end plate opposite to the gap is chamfered. 11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10,
A blower for feeding gas to at least one part of the levitation chamber, and a filter arranged in a gas passage between the blower and the levitation chamber for making a gas supply rate from the blower constant are provided. Characteristic thin plate carrier. 12. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11,
The carrying force applying means is arranged along both widthwise ends of the carrying surface, and is a carrying roller row that is rotatable while supporting both widthwise ends of the thin plate, and the upper surface of the top plate in the floating chamber is A thin plate transport device characterized in that the height is set to be slightly lower than a horizontal transport plane that is in contact with the upper end of the transport roller row. 13. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11,
A pair of sub-levitation chambers having the same structure as the levitation chamber are arranged in parallel with each other with respect to the levitation chamber on both sides in the width direction, and on both sides in the width direction of the fluid film forming region by the static pressure gas. A conveyance device for a thin plate, characterized in that a sub-fluid film formation region is provided separately. 14. The thin plate carrying device according to claim 13, wherein the carrying force applying means is respectively arranged between the floating chamber and the sub-levitation chambers arranged on both sides in the width direction thereof. . 15. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 14,
A guide roller row formed by arranging a plurality of freely rotatable guide rollers around a vertical rotation axis is provided along both ends of the conveyance surface in the width direction, and a width direction end of the thin plate is provided inside the pair of guide roller rows. A conveyance device for a thin plate, characterized in that the edges are brought into contact with each other to be positioned in the width direction.