JP5824998B2 - Glass plate cutting method and glass plate cutting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of a cutting technique for fusing a glass plate.

  Conventionally, as a method of cutting a glass plate, a method of forming a scribe line on the surface of the glass plate with a diamond cutter and then cleaving the scribe line by applying a bending stress (cleaving by a bending stress) is widely used. ing.

  However, in the case of the cutting method using the above bending stress, a crack is likely to be formed on the cut surface, and there is a concern that the glass plate may be damaged starting from the crack. Therefore, instead of the above-described cutting method using bending stress, so-called fusing may be employed in which a laser beam is irradiated onto a cutting portion of a glass plate and the cutting portion is melted and cut by the irradiation heat.

  In this type of cutting method by fusing, the center assist gas injected together with the laser beam from directly above the cutting part to the vertical direction, blows away the melt generated in the cutting part by laser irradiation heat, Cutting (melting) is performed.

  In this case, the melt dispersed by the center assist gas may adhere to the glass plate as a foreign substance called dross, which is a factor of reducing the product value of the glass plate. Therefore, various measures for preventing such adhesion of foreign substances are taken in the cutting method by fusing.

  For example, Patent Document 1 does not relate to the cutting of a glass plate, but discloses the following cutting method in order to prevent dross from adhering when ceramics or metal is melted. That is, in the same document, an assist gas (corresponding to the above-mentioned center assist gas) is injected from a machining nozzle disposed immediately above a cut portion of the workpiece, substantially vertically downward, and the workpiece is cut. A gas different from the assist gas from the auxiliary nozzle is blown from the auxiliary nozzle to the front and back surfaces of the part, respectively, from the side of the workpiece to be a product, and molten foreign matter (attachment such as dross) becomes waste material of the workpiece. It is disclosed that the air is scattered to the side and suction is performed by a suction nozzle immediately below the cut portion of the workpiece.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-141764

  By the way, in patent document 1, a suction nozzle is arrange | positioned only under the cutting part of a to-be-processed object, and deposits, such as dross falling from the cutting part of a to-be-processed object, are sucked with a suction nozzle.

  However, in the case of a glass plate, surface cleanliness is often strictly required. Therefore, if the cutting method of Patent Document 1 is applied to a glass plate as it is, the following problems arise. That is, when the molten foreign matter generated at the cutting portion when the glass plate is melted is blown off with the gas injected from the auxiliary nozzle, the molten foreign matter is not only scattered to the non-product portion side (the waste material side referred to in Patent Document 1) of the glass plate. Minute molten foreign matter will float in the air. For this reason, if this floating molten foreign matter is left unattended, there is a risk of reattaching to the product portion side of the glass plate.

  In this regard, in Patent Document 1, a suction nozzle is disposed below the workpiece to deal with, but the molten foreign matter that can be captured by such a suction nozzle does not float in the air, and is moved from the cutting portion by gravity. It is thought that large foreign objects that fall in the main are the main. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to sufficiently capture minute molten foreign matters that float in the air. In particular, in the state before the cutting part penetrates in the fusing process, the molten foreign matter cannot be sucked at all, and therefore the floating of the molten foreign matter in the upper space of the glass plate becomes remarkable.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention has a technical problem to reliably reduce the situation in which molten foreign matter such as dross adheres to a glass plate as a product when the glass plate is melted by irradiation heat of a laser beam. To do.

  1st invention created in order to solve said subject WHEREIN: In the state which mounted the glass plate on the support stage which has a non-support space in the downward position of the cutting part of a glass plate, it is in the said cutting part. A glass plate cutting apparatus that irradiates a laser beam toward the cutting portion while injecting an assist gas, and melts the glass plate into a product portion and a non-product portion with the cutting portion as a boundary. A first gas injection means for injecting the assist gas obliquely downward toward the cutting portion, and an upper side of the non-product portion side. And a first suction means for sucking molten foreign matter generated during the fusing process, and disposed in a lower position on the side that becomes the product portion in the lower space of the glass plate, toward the cutting portion Diagonally upward A second gas injection means for injecting a serial assist gas, characterized in that it comprises a second suction means for sucking the molten foreign matter of the non-supporting space. Here, “molten foreign matter” means foreign matters such as dross generated when the glass plate is melted, and includes both those in a molten state and those in a solidified state (the same applies hereinafter).

  According to such a configuration, the assist gas is injected obliquely from the upper and lower sides on the side that becomes the product portion of the glass plate toward the cutting portion, so that the molten foreign matter in the cutting portion is surely blown off to the non-product portion side. be able to. And the molten foreign material blown off by this upper and lower assist gas is attracted | sucked by the 1st suction means and the 2nd suction means which are arrange | positioned at the upper and lower sides of a glass plate. Therefore, the floating foreign material can be reliably captured in the upper and lower spaces of the glass plate. Therefore, it is possible to reliably reduce the situation where molten foreign matter adheres to the product portion of the glass plate.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the suction opening of a said 2nd suction means is elongate along the cutting projected line containing the said cutting part.

  That is, in the lower space of the glass plate, the molten foreign matter tends to scatter over a wide range, so from the viewpoint of reliably capturing the molten foreign matter, the suction port of the second suction means disposed in the lower space of the glass plate Is preferably long along the cutting line (the cutting direction of the glass plate).

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said 2nd suction means is biased and arrange | positioned at the side used as the said non-product part.

  That is, in the lower space of the glass plate, that is, in the non-supporting space, the molten foreign matter is blown to the non-product part side by the first gas injection means or the second gas injection means. It is possible to efficiently capture the molten foreign matter by arranging the means so as to be biased toward the non-product part side.

  Said structure WHEREIN: The said 1st gas injection means may be comprised so that the said assist gas may be injected with the inclination-angle of 15 degrees-45 degrees on the upper surface of a glass plate.

  If the assist gas is injected at such an inclination angle, the molten foreign matter can be efficiently blown off to the product portion side. In other words, if the inclination angle of the first gas injection means is less than 15 °, it becomes difficult to efficiently apply the assist gas to the cutting portion, and the force that blows away the molten foreign material to the non-product portion side. May not be fully demonstrated. On the other hand, if the inclination angle of the first glass spraying unit exceeds 45 °, the force for blowing the molten foreign material to the non-product part side by the assist gas may be weakened.

  In the above configuration, the side surface portion of the support stage facing the non-supporting space on the side that becomes the product portion has a tapered surface that guides the assist gas injected from the second gas injection means obliquely upward. You may make it.

  In this way, the assist gas can be guided obliquely upward by the tapered surface of the side surface portion of the support stage, so that the assist gas injected from the second gas injection means is reliably supplied to the cut portion of the glass plate. Can act.

  In the above configuration, the support stage facing the non-supporting part on the side to be the product part guides the assist gas injected from the second gas injection unit obliquely upward to the non-supporting space. You may make it have the gas flow path opened.

  In this way, the assist gas can be guided obliquely upward by the gas flow passage of the support stage, so that the assist gas ejected from the second gas ejecting means acts on the cut portion of the glass plate with certainty. be able to.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said laser beam is comprised so that it may irradiate with respect to the said glass plate by defocusing.

  In this way, since the energy density of the laser beam is reduced at the position corresponding to the cut portion, the amount of energy change around the irradiation position is also reduced. For this reason, even if the irradiation position varies somewhat due to warpage or vibration of the glass plate, the irradiation heat applied to the cutting portion hardly changes, and the fusing can be executed under substantially the same conditions.

  In order to solve the above problems, the second invention is designed to assist the cutting unit with the glass plate placed on a support stage having a non-supporting space along the cutting unit of the glass plate. A glass plate cutting method in which a laser beam is irradiated toward the cutting portion while injecting gas, and the glass plate is melted into a product portion and a non-product portion with the cutting portion as a boundary. In the upper space, the assist gas is injected obliquely downward from the upper position on the product portion side toward the cutting portion, and the molten foreign matter generated in the fusing process is sucked at the upper position on the non-product portion side. In addition, in the lower space of the glass plate, the assist gas is injected obliquely upward from the lower position on the product portion side toward the cutting portion to suck the molten foreign matter in the non-supporting space. In particular, it is characterized.

  According to such a method, the same operational effects as those of the first invention described above can be obtained.

  According to the present invention as described above, the assist gas is injected from both the upper and lower sides to the cut portion of the glass plate, and the molten foreign material blown off by the assist gas is sucked and captured on the upper and lower sides of the glass plate. Therefore, it is possible to reliably reduce the situation where the molten foreign matter adheres to the product portion of the glass plate, and it is possible to maintain the cleanliness of the product portion satisfactorily.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the glass plate cutting device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the glass plate cutting device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd suction nozzle of the glass plate cutting device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the state of the glass substrate immediately after fuse | melting with the glass plate cutting device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem which arises at the time of fusing. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the glass plate cutting device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows another example of the glass plate used as the cutting object of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the glass plate is a glass substrate for a flat panel display having a thickness of 500 μm or less, but it is of course not limited thereto. For example, the present invention can be applied to a thin glass substrate used in various fields such as a solar cell, an organic EL lighting, a touch panel, and a digital signage, and a laminate with the organic resin. In addition, it is preferable that the thickness of sheet glass is 300 micrometers or less.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, a glass sheet cutting apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a support stage 2 that supports a glass substrate G in a flat position from below, and a glass substrate that is supported by the support stage 2. And a laser beam irradiator 3 for fusing and separating G.

  The support stage 2 includes a stage main body 21 and a conveyor 22 that moves along the upper surface of the stage main body 21. The glass substrate G is transported downstream in the transport direction (in the direction of arrow A in the figure) along the planned cutting line CL by the movement of the conveyor 22. At this time, the stage main body 21 serves to guide the conveyor 22. The conveyor 22 is formed with a large number of ventilation holes (not shown), and the glass substrate G is conveyed and held on the conveyor 22 through the ventilation holes. Of course, other transport methods may be employed such as transporting the glass substrate G while holding the glass substrate G from both the front and back sides without adsorbing the glass substrate G.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stage main body 21 and the conveyor 22 are separated into two at intervals in the width direction of the glass substrate G, and the unsupported space S is positioned below the planned cutting line CL of the glass substrate G. have. In this non-supporting space S, the lower surface of the glass substrate G and the support stage 2 are not in contact, and the lower surface of the glass substrate G is exposed to the non-supporting space S.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the laser beam irradiator 3 has an internal space for propagating the laser beam LB, and includes a lens 31 in this space. In this embodiment, the laser beam LB focused by the lens 31 is focused on a fine focus and is in a state where the focal position FP is aligned with the upper surface of the glass substrate G. The portion C) is irradiated to C. Then, the glass substrate G is melted along the planned cutting line CL by the irradiation heat of the laser beam LB, and separated into a product part Ga that is a product and a non-product part Gb that is discarded and is not a product. The focal position FP of the laser beam LB may be an intermediate position in the thickness direction of the glass substrate G. Further, the focal position FP of the laser beam LB may be set above the glass substrate G, and the cutting part C may be irradiated with the laser beam LB defocused.

  The glass sheet cutting device 1 is disposed in the upper space of the glass substrate G at the upper position on the side that becomes the non-product portion Gb and the first gas injection nozzle 4 that is disposed on the upper position on the side that becomes the product portion Ga. The first suction nozzle 5 is provided. The first gas injection nozzle 4 injects a first assist gas (side assist gas) A1 obliquely downward from the side that becomes the product part Ga toward the cutting part C. The first suction nozzle 5 sucks the molten foreign matter in the space above the glass substrate G on the side that becomes the non-product part Gb.

  On the other hand, the glass plate cutting device 1 includes a second gas injection nozzle 6 disposed in a lower position on the side to be the product part Ga and a second suction nozzle disposed in the non-supporting space S in the lower space of the glass substrate G. 7. The second gas injection nozzle 6 injects a second assist gas (side assist gas) A2 obliquely upward from the side that becomes the product part Ga toward the cutting part C, and the molten foreign matter in the cutting part C is separated from the non-product part Gb. Blow away to the side. The second suction nozzle 7 sucks molten foreign matter in the space below the glass substrate G, that is, the non-supporting space S.

  Specifically, in the space above the glass substrate G, the first gas injection nozzle 4 and the first suction nozzle 5 are arranged so as to face each other. The inclination angle α1 of the virtual center line L1 of the first gas injection nozzle 4 with respect to the surface (upper surface) of the glass substrate G is set to 15 ° to 45 °, preferably 20 ° to 40 °, more preferably 25 ° to 35 °. Is done. The inclination angle β1 of the virtual center line L2 of the first suction nozzle 5 with respect to the surface of the glass substrate G is set within α1 ± 15 °, preferably within α1 ± 10 °, more preferably within α1 ± 5 °.

  On the other hand, in the space below the glass substrate G, the second gas injection nozzle 6 and the second suction nozzle 7 are disposed so as to face each other. The side part 21a facing the non-supporting space S of the stage main body 21 on the product part Ga side has a tapered surface that is inclined so that the upper part is closer to the cutting part C of the glass substrate G than the lower part. The assist gas A2 injected from the second gas injection nozzle 6 is guided obliquely upward by the side surface portion 21a having the tapered surface, and is supplied to the cutting portion C of the glass substrate G. In the illustrated example, the side surface portion 21a facing the non-supporting space S of the stage main body 21 on the non-product portion Gb side is also tapered so that the upper portion is closer to the cutting portion C of the glass substrate G than the lower portion. There is no. Of course, only the side surface portion 21a of the stage main body 21 on the product portion Ga side may be a tapered surface.

  The inclination angle α2 of the virtual center line L3 of the second gas injection nozzle 6 with respect to the back surface (lower surface) of the glass substrate G is set to 15 ° to 70 °, preferably 20 ° to 60 °, more preferably 25 ° to 45 °. Is done. The inclination angle α2 is substantially equal to the inclination angle of the side surface portion 21a of the stage body 21. On the other hand, the second suction nozzle 7 is arranged so as to be biased toward the non-product part Gb side from directly below the cutting part C with the suction port directed upward. This is because the molten foreign matter descends while being blown away in the non-supporting space S toward the non-product part Gb by the first assist gas A1 and the second assist gas A2. Note that the second suction nozzle 7 may be disposed directly under the cutting portion C.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second suction nozzle 7 has a long suction port 81 along the direction of the planned cutting line CL of the glass substrate G. This is because, in the space below the glass substrate G, the molten foreign matter tends to scatter over a wide area along the direction of the planned cutting line CL. If there is no space restriction by the laser beam irradiator 3 or the like, the first suction nozzle 5 disposed in the upper space of the glass substrate G is also a long suction port along the extending direction of the planned cutting line CL. You may make it have.

  Here, in this embodiment, the third gas injection nozzle 8 is connected to the tip of the laser beam irradiator 3, and the third assist is provided in the internal space of the laser beam irradiator 3 (the space below the lens 31). Gas (center assist gas) A3 is supplied. The third assist gas A3 supplied to the internal space of the laser beam irradiator 3 is jetted directly from the front end of the laser beam irradiator 3 toward the cutting portion C of the glass substrate G. That is, the laser beam LB is emitted from the tip of the laser beam irradiator 3 and the third assist gas A3 is injected. Note that the third gas injection nozzle 8 may be omitted as appropriate.

  Operation | movement of the glass plate cutting device 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the glass substrate G is transported by the conveyor 22 of the support stage 2, and the laser beam LB irradiated from the laser beam irradiator 3 placed in a stationary state on the transport path is used as the glass substrate G. Scan along the planned cutting line CL.

  The spot diameter of the laser beam LB is set smaller than the minimum gap b between the cut end face Ga1 of the product part Ga and the cut end face Gb1 of the non-product part Gb immediately after fusing shown in FIG.

The irradiation energy of the laser beam LB is set to 100 to 100,000 [W / mm ² ] on the upper surface of the glass substrate G.

  While irradiating the laser beam LB in this way, as shown in FIG. 3, the planned cutting line CL of the glass substrate G from the first gas injection nozzle 4 disposed at the upper position on the side of the glass substrate G that becomes the product part Ga. The first assist gas A1 is injected obliquely downward toward the cutting portion C located above. At the same time, the second assist gas A2 is injected obliquely upward toward the cutting portion C from the second gas injection nozzle 6 disposed at the lower position on the side of the glass substrate G that becomes the product portion Ga. Thereby, a molten foreign material is removed from the cutting part C, and fusing is performed efficiently. Moreover, since the molten foreign material is blown off to the non-product part Gb side, the situation where a molten foreign material adheres to the product part Ga can be prevented.

  At this time, the third assist gas A3 injected into the cutting part C together with the first assist gas A1 and the second assist gas A2 causes the molten foreign matter generated when the glass substrate G is melted from the cutting part C of the glass substrate G. The role of removing, the role of protecting optical components such as the lens 31 of the laser beam irradiator 3 from the molten foreign matter, and the role of cooling the heat of the lens.

  Further, the molten foreign matter blown off by these assist gases A1 to A3 is sucked by the first suction nozzle 5 and the second suction nozzle 7 disposed on both the upper and lower sides of the glass substrate G. Therefore, the floating molten foreign material can be reliably captured in the upper and lower spaces of the glass substrate G. Therefore, it is possible to reliably reduce the situation where molten foreign matter adheres to the product portion Ga of the glass substrate G.

  The injection pressure of the first assist gas A1 is set to 0.01 to 0.5 [MPa]. The injection pressure of the second assist gas A2 is set to 0.01 to 0.5 [MPa]. The injection pressure of the third assist gas A3 is set to 0 to 0.02 [MPa]. When injecting the third assist gas A3 as in this embodiment, assuming that the injection pressure of the first assist gas A1 is P1 and the injection pressure of the third assist gas A3 is P3, it is between P1 and P3. Has the following relationship. That is, P3 / P1 is set to 0-2. In this case, it is preferable that the injection pressure of the first assist gas A1 is larger than the injection pressure of the third assist gas A3. Specifically, P3 / P1 is preferably set to 0.1 to 0.5. The injection pressure of the third assist gas A3 is preferably set to a pressure that can protect the optical components such as the lens 31 of the laser beam irradiator 3 from molten foreign matter.

  If the magnitude relationship between the injection pressures of the first assist gas A1 and the third assist gas A3 is adjusted in this way, the injection pressure of the third assist gas A3 is relatively weakened in the space above the glass substrate G. The first assist gas A1 blows away the molten foreign matter in the cut portion C generated at the time of melting. Since the first assist gas A1 is injected obliquely downward from the upper position on the side that becomes the product part Ga toward the cutting part C, the glass substrate G in a molten state is in comparison with the first assist gas A1. The force that presses the vicinity of the cutting portion C downward is weak. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to prevent a problem that the vicinity of the cut portion C of the glass substrate G in a molten state is strongly pressed downward by the assist gas and hangs down. And in the state which prevented the dripping of the cutting part C in this way, the molten foreign material which arises in the cutting part C by 1st assist gas A1 and 2nd assist gas A2 is scattered preferentially to the side used as the non-product part Gb. Moreover, it becomes difficult for molten foreign substances to accumulate on the cut end face Ga1 of the product part Ga. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, it becomes possible to maintain the shape of the cut end face Ga1 of the product part Ga in a good shape having a substantially arc shape. In other words, the cut end surface Ga1 of the product part Ga is configured as a fire-making surface. Further, the arithmetic average roughness Ra of the cut end face Ga1 of the product part Ga is, for example, 0.3 μm or less, and the average length RSm of the roughness curve element is, for example, 150 μm or more. Here, if the lower limit value of Ra and the upper limit value of RSm are described, Ra is preferably as close to zero as possible, and RSm is preferably as close as possible to infinity. However, since there is a limit due to processing equipment and the like in practice, it is not meaningful to define the lower limit value of Ra and the upper limit value of RSm. Therefore, in the above, the lower limit value of Ra and the upper limit value of RSm are not provided. Ra and RSm are based on JIS 2001. Furthermore, the residual compressive stress of the cut end face Ga1 of the product part Ga is, for example, 20 MPa to 500 MPa. Note that molten foreign matter (such as dross) blown off by the first assist gas A1 or the second assist gas A2 adheres to the cut end face Gb1 of the non-product portion Gb, and the shape of the cut end face Gb1 deviates from a substantially arc shape. There is also a case. In addition, such an effect can be enjoyed similarly when the third assist gas A3 is omitted and only the first assist gas A1 and the second assist gas A2 are supplied to the cutting part C.

  As each assist gas A1-A3, oxygen (or air) and inert gas, such as water vapor | steam, a carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, are used, for example, You may mix these gas in a proper place. Each assist gas A1 to A3 may be heated and injected as hot air. The assist gases A1 to A3 may be the same type of gas or different types of gas.

  Furthermore, if the glass substrate G is melted as described above, as shown in FIG. 5, a part of the cut portion C of the glass substrate G is melted and removed, and the cut end face Ga1 of the product portion Ga and the non-product portion Gb. A gap is formed between the cut end face Gb1. Therefore, since the cut end face Ga1 of the product part Ga and the cut end face Gb1 of the non-product part Gb are separated by this gap, the situation where the cut end faces Ga1, Gb1 are in contact with each other and damaged is prevented. The product part Ga and the non-product part Gb can be separated smoothly.

  Specifically, when the thickness of the glass substrate G is a, and the minimum gap between the cut end face Ga1 of the product part Ga and the cut end face Gb1 of the non-product part Gb is b, 0.1 ≦ b The minimum gap b that satisfies the relationship / a ≦ 2 is formed by fusing. In this way, the gap between the cut end face Ga1 of the product part Ga and the cut end face Gb1 of the non-product part Gb is strictly managed in a relative relationship with the thickness of the glass substrate G. The product part Ga and the non-product part Gb can be safely separated while maintaining the shape in the vicinity of the fusing end face Ga1. Furthermore, it becomes possible to avoid deformation and breakage of the glass due to strain. That is, when b / a exceeds 2, the amount of the thin glass G that is melted and removed by melting is excessively increased, and the amount of heat applied to the vicinity of the cut portion C is excessively increased. On the other hand, if b / a is less than 0.1, the fusing end faces Ga1 and Gb1 are too close to each other, and the fusing end faces Ga1 and Gb1 come into contact with each other at the time of separation and the product part Ga (or the non-product part Gb) may be damaged There is. Here, as a method of adjusting the size of the minimum gap b, (1) changing the output power of the laser beam LB, (2) changing the size of the spot diameter with respect to the glass substrate G, (3) the glass substrate The inclination angle α1 of the first assist gas A1 with respect to the surface of G and the inclination angle α2 of the second assist gas A2 with respect to the back surface of the glass substrate G are changed. (4) The glass gas is supplied to the glass substrate G such as the first assist gas A1. The fusing conditions may be changed, for example, by changing the gas injection pressure, or (5) changing the pulse width or pattern of the laser beam.

  In addition, the directivity direction of 1st assist gas A1 should just be the cutting part C vicinity. For example, in FIG. 3, the virtual center line L1 of the first assist gas A1 intersects with the cutting part C, but the glass center is closer to the product part Ga than the cutting part C. You may make it cross | intersect the upper surface and lower surface of G. Similarly, the direction of the second assist gas A2 may be in the vicinity of the cutting part C. For example, in FIG. 3, the virtual center line L3 of the second assist gas A2 intersects with the cutting part C, but the glass center is closer to the product part Ga than the cutting part C. You may make it cross | intersect the upper surface and lower surface of G.

  In this embodiment, the first assist gas A1 and the second assist gas A2 are simultaneously injected to the cutting part C of the glass substrate G, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, until the cutting part C of the glass substrate G penetrates, the molten foreign matter in the cutting part C is blown off with the first assist gas A1, and after the cutting part C of the glass substrate G penetrates, the first assist gas A1 is stopped. Thus, the molten foreign matter in the cutting part C may be blown off by the second assist gas A2. In this case, the third assist gas A3 may stop the injection together with the first assist gas A1.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the molten foreign matter is simultaneously sucked by the first suction nozzle 5 and the second suction nozzle 7, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the molten foreign matter is sucked by the first suction nozzle 5 until the cutting portion C of the glass substrate G penetrates, and the molten foreign matter is sucked by the second suction nozzle 7 after the cutting portion C of the glass substrate G penetrates. You may make it do.

(Second Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 7, the glass plate cutting device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the glass plate cutting device 1 according to the first embodiment in the supply method of the second assist gas A2. . Hereinafter, description of common points will be omitted, and only differences will be described.

  In the second embodiment, a gas flow passage 21 b that extends obliquely upward and has one end communicating with the non-supporting space S is formed in the stage main body 21 of the support stage 2. The injection port of the second gas injection nozzle 6 is connected to the other end of the gas flow passage 21b. Accordingly, the second assist gas A2 injected from the second gas injection nozzle 6 is guided obliquely upward through the gas flow passage 21b and supplied to the cutting part C of the glass substrate G.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, when the glass substrate G is formed by the overflow down draw method or the like, the thickness of both end portions in the width direction of the glass substrate G is relatively larger than the thickness of the center portion in the width direction of the glass substrate G as shown in FIG. It becomes thick. And the width direction center part is made into the product part Ga, and the width direction both ends are made into the non-product part (it calls an ear | edge part) Gb. Therefore, the cutting method and the cutting device according to the present invention may be used for removing the ear portion that becomes the non-product portion Gb of the glass substrate G.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Glass plate cutting device 2 Support stage 21 Stage main body 22 Conveyor 3 Laser beam irradiation device 31 Lens 4 1st gas injection nozzle 5 1st suction nozzle 6 2nd gas injection nozzle 7 2nd suction nozzle 8 3rd gas injection nozzle A1 1st 1 assist gas (side assist gas)
A2 Second assist gas (side assist gas)
A3 Third assist gas (center assist gas)
C Cutting part G Glass substrate Ga Product part Ga1 Cutting end face Gb Non-product part Gb1 Cutting end face LB Laser beam S Unsupported space

Claims (8)

While the glass plate is placed on a support stage having a non-supporting space below the cutting portion of the glass plate, a laser beam is irradiated toward the cutting portion while jetting assist gas to the cutting portion. And a glass plate cutting device for fusing the glass plate into a product part and a non-product part with the cut part as a boundary,
In the upper space of the glass plate, the first gas injection means is disposed at an upper position on the side to be the product portion and injects the assist gas obliquely downward toward the cutting portion, and becomes the non-product portion. A first suction means that is disposed at an upper position on the side and sucks molten foreign matter generated in the fusing process;
A second gas injection means for injecting the assist gas obliquely upward toward the cutting portion in a lower position of the glass plate in the lower space of the glass plate; A glass plate cutting apparatus comprising: a second suction unit that sucks the molten foreign matter.   The glass plate cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the suction port of the second suction means is long along a planned cutting line including the cutting portion.   The glass plate cutting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second suction means is arranged to be biased toward the non-product part.   The glass plate cutting according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first gas injection means injects the assist gas onto the upper surface of the glass plate with an inclination angle of 15 ° to 45 °. apparatus.   The side surface portion of the support stage facing the non-supporting space on the side to be the product portion forms a tapered surface that guides the assist gas injected from the second gas injection means obliquely upward. The glass plate cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The support stage facing the non-supporting part on the side to be the product part guides the assist gas injected from the second gas injection means obliquely upward to open to the non-supporting space. The glass plate cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the glass plate cutting device is provided.   The glass plate cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is irradiated on the glass plate with defocus. While the glass plate is placed on a support stage having an unsupported space along the cut portion of the glass plate, a laser beam is irradiated toward the cut portion while jetting assist gas to the cut portion. The glass plate cutting method for fusing the glass plate into a product part and a non-product part with the cut part as a boundary,
In the upper space of the glass plate, the assist gas is injected obliquely downward from the upper position on the side that becomes the product portion toward the cutting portion, and is generated in the fusing process at the upper position on the side that becomes the non-product portion. While sucking in molten foreign matter,
In the lower space of the glass plate, the assist gas is jetted obliquely upward from the lower position on the side that becomes the product portion toward the cutting portion, and the molten foreign matter in the non-supporting space is sucked. A glass plate cutting method.

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