JP7470293B2 - Pallets for packaging glass sheets and glass sheet packages - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pallet for packaging glass plates and a glass plate package.

When transporting various types of glass plates, including glass substrates for flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays, glass plate packaging pallets are used.

The basic structure of this type of pallet comprises a base section on top of which is housed a glass plate laminate, in which multiple glass plates are stacked in a vertical position with protective sheets (such as interleaf paper) between them, a bottom support section that supports the bottom side of the glass plate laminate, and a back support section that supports the back side of the glass plate laminate.

Of these, the bottom support part is provided with a cushioning material at the part where it comes into contact with the bottom of the glass plate laminate in order to prevent the glass plate from being damaged by impact, vibration, etc. The cushioning material is fixed with an adhesive to the metal plate material that constitutes the base of the bottom support part (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-269820 A

However, when the cushioning material is fixed with an adhesive, there is a risk that the adhesive may peel off or volatilize, causing contamination sources derived from the adhesive to adhere to the glass plate. In particular, if contamination sources derived from the adhesive penetrate between stacked glass plates, they tend to adhere strongly to the surface of the glass plate due to the weight of the glass plate. Therefore, such contamination sources derived from the adhesive are often difficult to remove from the glass plate by cleaning, and there is a problem that they may cause defects in the glass plate.

In addition, when the same cushioning material is reused for multiple transports, the cushioning performance of the cushioning material inevitably declines. For this reason, it is necessary to replace the cushioning material at a certain frequency. However, when the cushioning material is fixed with adhesive, it cannot be easily separated from, for example, the metal plate material to which it is fixed. As a result, it is practically impossible to replace the cushioning material alone, which creates the problem of very poor maintenance.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a pallet for packaging glass plates and a glass plate package that are easy to maintain while preventing contamination of the glass plates.

As a result of extensive research, the inventors discovered that the cushioning material, which was previously fixed in place with adhesive, can be prevented from shifting out of position due to the weight of the glass sheet laminate by simply placing it in a detachable manner without the use of adhesive, which led to the invention of the present invention.

The pallet for packing glass plates according to the present invention comprises a base portion on which a glass plate laminate, in which multiple glass plates are stacked in a vertical position with protective sheets interposed between them, is housed, a bottom support portion that supports the bottom of the glass plate laminate, and a back support portion that supports the back of the glass plate laminate, and is characterized in that the bottom support portion comprises a cushioning material that is detachably arranged between the base portion and the glass plate laminate without being adhered to the base portion.

In this way, since the cushioning material is not glued, it is possible to prevent the glass plate from being contaminated by adhesive. Also, since the cushioning material is separable, it is easy to replace, and maintenance is easy.

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the bottom support portion supports the bottom edge of the glass plate laminate so that both widthwise ends of the bottom edge of the glass plate extend beyond the support surface of the bottom support portion.

In this way, both ends of the bottom edge of the glass plate in the width direction, i.e., the corners on both sides in the width direction, do not come into contact with the bottom support. As a result, it is possible to prevent the corners of the glass plate from getting caught on the bottom support during transportation, which would cause the glass plate to break.

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the bottom support portion further includes a cardboard that is detachably arranged between the cushioning material and the glass plate laminate without being adhered to the cushioning material.

If the cushioning material and the glass plate come into direct contact with each other, glass powder may adhere to the cushioning material. If the glass powder adheres to the cushioning material in this way, it is difficult to completely remove the glass powder. As a result, glass powder that can contaminate the glass plate is generated from the cushioning material, and the cushioning material cannot be reused. In contrast, if cardboard is placed between the cushioning material and the glass plate laminate as in the above configuration, the cushioning material and the glass plate do not come into direct contact with each other, and therefore glass powder can be prevented from adhering to the cushioning material. Therefore, the expensive cushioning material can be repeatedly used through multiple transports. Here, it is also possible to place interleaf paper instead of cardboard between the cushioning material and the glass plate laminate, but the interleaf paper is easily torn by contact with the glass plate, and therefore glass powder may adhere to the cushioning material. In contrast, cardboard is less likely to tear like interleaf paper, and therefore glass powder can be reliably prevented from adhering to the cushioning material.

When the bottom support portion comprises cardboard, it is preferable that both ends of the width of the bottom of the glass plate extend beyond the cardboard and that both ends of the cushioning material extend beyond the glass plate in the width direction.

If cardboard and cushioning material are prepared for each size of glass plate, it is possible to support glass plates of different sizes with both ends free and without them coming into contact with the bottom support, but this could increase costs. On the other hand, as described above, if cushioning material is used whose both ends protrude from the glass plate, it is possible to support both ends of the glass plate free by simply cutting inexpensive cardboard according to the size of the glass plate, without having to prepare cushioning material for each size of glass plate. This makes it possible to support glass plates with both ends free while suppressing increases in costs.

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the cushioning material includes a foamed resin material.

In this case, it is preferable that the foaming ratio of the foamed resin material is 10 to 40 times.

In this way, it is possible to achieve both appropriate cushioning for the glass plate and good thickness recovery. In other words, if the expansion ratio of the foamed resin material is less than 10 times, the foamed resin material tends to become too hard, and there is a risk that the desired cushioning properties will not be obtained. On the other hand, if the expansion ratio of the foamed resin sheet exceeds 40 times, the foamed resin material tends to become too soft, which may cause the glass plate to bounce during packaging work, making it difficult to handle, or may make it difficult to reuse due to poor thickness recovery. Therefore, if the expansion ratio is within the above numerical range, such problems can be avoided.

It is also preferable that the cushioning material further contains a rubber material in addition to the foamed resin material.

In this way, the cushioning material contains foamed resin and rubber materials, and can absorb a variety of shocks and vibrations according to the shock and vibration absorption performance of each material.

The glass plate package of the present invention, which was devised to solve the above problems, is characterized in that it is made by packaging a glass plate laminate in a glass plate packaging pallet having the above-mentioned configuration as appropriate.

In this way, the same effects can be obtained as with the corresponding configurations already described.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to provide a pallet for packaging glass plates and a glass plate package that are easy to maintain while preventing contamination of the glass plates.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a glass plate package according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the glass plate package of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a glass plate laminate is fixed in the glass plate package of FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a glass plate package according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view of the glass plate package shown in FIG. 4 . FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a glass plate package according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a front view of the glass plate package shown in FIG. 6 .

Below, an embodiment of the present invention is described based on the attached drawings.

First Embodiment
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a glass plate package 1 according to the first embodiment includes a glass plate laminate 2 and a glass plate package pallet 3.

The laminate 2 is formed by stacking multiple glass plates G and protective sheets P alternately in a vertical position (in this embodiment, in an inclined position). In this embodiment, both the glass plates G and the protective sheets P are rectangular, and the protective sheets P are disposed on the front and rear sides of the laminate 2.

The weight of the laminate 2 is, for example, 200 kg to 3800 kg. The number of glass plates G is, for example, 200 to 400. The size of the glass plates G is, for example, 730 mm x 920 mm to 2250 mm x 2600 mm, and the thickness of the glass plates G is, for example, 300 μm to 1100 μm. The glass plates G are, for example, glass substrates for flat panel displays.

The protective sheet P is, for example, interleaf paper (pure pulp paper) or a foamed resin sheet. The size of the protective sheet P is larger than the glass sheets G so that the glass sheets G do not come into direct contact with each other. In other words, the protective sheet P may extend laterally and/or upward in the width direction of the glass sheets G. However, from the viewpoint of preventing operational errors in the loading device and unloading device for the glass sheets G, it is preferable that the protective sheet P does not extend below the glass sheets G.

The pallet 3 comprises a base portion 4 on which the laminate 2 is housed, a bottom support portion 5 that supports the bottom of the laminate 2 in a flat surface, and a back support portion 6 that supports the back of the laminate 2 in a flat surface.

The base portion 4 is formed from a metal frame such as stainless steel, carbon steel, or aluminum alloy.

The bottom support portion 5 includes a cushioning material 7 placed on the upper surface of the base portion 4, and cardboard 8 placed on the upper surface of the cushioning material 7. In this embodiment, the cushioning material 7 is configured to support the entire width of the bottom of the glass plate G included in the laminate 2. The protruding portions of the bottom of the protective sheet P that protrude on both sides of the glass plate G may or may not be supported by the cushioning material 7.

The cushioning material 7 is arranged so as to be separable from the upper surface of the base 4 without being adhered thereto, and the cardboard 8 is arranged so as to be separable from the upper surface of the cushioning material 7 without being adhered thereto. In other words, there is no contact layer between the base 4 and the cushioning material 7, and the two 4, 7 are in direct contact, and there is no adhesive layer between the cushioning material 7 and the cardboard 8, and the two 7, 8 are in direct contact.

The cushioning material 7 comprises a foamed resin plate (foamed resin material) 9 and a rubber plate (rubber material) 10 placed on the upper surface of the foamed resin plate 9. The foamed resin plate 9 and the rubber plate 10 are stacked so as to be separable from each other without being bonded to each other. In other words, there is no adhesive layer between the foamed resin plate 9 and the rubber plate 10, and the two plates 9, 10 are in direct contact with each other. In this embodiment, the foamed resin plate 9 and the rubber plate 10 are each a single plate material that is continuous in the width direction of the laminate 2.

The foamed resin plate 9 is formed primarily from materials such as foamed polypropylene, foamed urethane, foamed styrene, and foamed melamine. In this embodiment, the foamed resin plate 9 is a foamed polypropylene plate. The foaming ratio of the foamed resin plate 9 is preferably 10 to 40 times. The thickness of the foamed resin plate 9 is preferably 10 mm to 30 mm, for example.

The rubber plate 10 is made of, for example, natural rubber, and has a type A durometer hardness of 50 to 70. The thickness of the rubber plate 10 is preferably, for example, 2 mm to 10 mm. In this way, the cushioning material 7 includes the foamed resin plate 9 and the rubber plate 10, and can absorb a wide range of shocks and vibrations according to the shock and vibration absorption performance of each. In addition, the rubber plate 10 is expected to have the effect of reducing the compressive deformation of the foamed resin plate 9. From the viewpoint of efficiently absorbing shocks and vibrations, it is preferable that the thickness of the rubber plate 10 is smaller than the thickness of the foamed resin plate 9. The rubber plate 10 may be omitted.

The cardboard 8 is made of paperboard such as chipboard, and also includes the form of corrugated cardboard with a multi-layered structure. In this embodiment, the cardboard 8 is a sheet of plate material that is continuous in the width direction of the laminate 2. When the cardboard 8 has a single-layer structure, the thickness of the cardboard 8 is preferably, for example, 0.5 mm to 2 mm. The cardboard 8 directly contacts the bottom side of the glass plate G included in the laminate 2 and plays a role in protecting the cushioning material 7 from glass powder. In other words, for example, the cardboard 8 is discarded after one use in transportation, but the cushioning material 7 (especially the foamed resin plate 9) is used multiple times in transportation and is replaced when the cushioning performance (such as thickness recovery) decreases. Since the cardboard 8 is cheaper than the cushioning material 7, replacing it each time does not result in a significant increase in cost. The cardboard may be omitted.

The rear support section 6 includes a rear section 11 that stands up from the base section 4, and a cushioning material 12 that is provided on the front surface of the rear section 11. In this embodiment, the cushioning material 12 is configured to support the entire rear surface of the glass plate G included in the laminate 2. The protruding portion of the protective sheet P that protrudes from the glass plate G may or may not be supported by the cushioning material 12.

The rear portion 11 is formed from a metal frame such as stainless steel, carbon steel, or aluminum alloy.

The cushioning material 12 is layered on the front surface of the back surface 11 in a manner that allows it to be separated from the front surface. In other words, there is no adhesive layer between the back surface 11 and the cushioning material 12, and the two materials 11 and 12 are in direct contact with each other. The movement of the cushioning material 12 may be restricted by providing a protrusion on the back surface 11 and a hole in the cushioning material 12 that fits into the protrusion.

The cushioning material 12 is formed, for example, from a rubber plate, a foamed resin plate, or a laminate of these. Examples of foamed resin plates include those formed primarily from foamed polypropylene, foamed urethane, foamed styrene, and foamed melamine. In this embodiment, the cushioning material 12 is a foamed polypropylene plate.

The top surface of the bottom support part 5, i.e., the top surface of the cardboard 8, is inclined at a predetermined angle θ1 (e.g., 5° to 25°) with respect to the horizontal, in a direction that moves upward as it moves away from the back support part 6. The front surface of the back support part 6, i.e., the front surface of the cushioning material 12, is inclined at a predetermined angle θ2 (e.g., 5° to 25°) with respect to the vertical, in a direction that moves backward as it moves away from the bottom support part 5. In this case, the front surface of the back support part 6 is, for example, approximately perpendicular to the top surface of the bottom support part 5.

The package 1 having the above configuration is shipped (transported) with the laminate 2 fixed to the pallet 3 by a predetermined fixing means, for example. The fixing means is not particularly limited, but may be one equipped with a belt 13 for binding the laminate 2, a pressing member 14 disposed between the belt 13 and the front surface of the laminate 2, and a side stopper 15 disposed between the belt 13 and the side of the laminate 2, as shown in FIG. 3. The longitudinal ends of the belt 13 are hung on hooks 16 provided on the back support part 6 with the laminate 2 stored in a vertical position at a predetermined position on the pallet 3, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, and are fixed in a doubled state by being tightened on the front surface of the pressing member 14 by a ratchet or the like (not shown). As a result, the laminate 2 is fixed to the pallet 3 with its movement in the front-rear and left-right directions restricted.

At this time, as shown in Fig. 3, a frame plate 17 may be placed on the front side of the laminate 2, and the frame plate 17, the laminate 2, and the pressing member 14 may be pressed against the rear support part 6 by the belt 13. Also, in order to prevent dust from adhering to the laminate 2, the laminate 2 may be covered with a protective bag or wrapped with a protective film.

With the pallet 3 and package 1 having the above-mentioned configuration, since no adhesive is used in the bottom support portion 5 and the back support portion 6, it is possible to reliably prevent the glass sheets G included in the laminate 2 from being contaminated by adhesive. Here, since the bottom support portion 5 is prone to become a source of contamination originating from adhesive due to vibration, impact, etc., the above-mentioned configuration without using adhesive is particularly useful.

In addition, since the cushioning material 7 of the bottom support portion 5 and the cushioning material 12 of the back support portion 6 are each separable, if the cushioning performance of the cushioning materials 7, 12 deteriorates, only the cushioning materials 7, 12 can be easily replaced. Here, since the bottom support portion 5 is easily subjected to the load of the laminate 2 and the cushioning performance of the cushioning material 7 (particularly the foamed resin plate 9) is easily deteriorated, the above configuration in which only the cushioning material 7 (foamed resin plate 9 and/or rubber plate 10) can be easily replaced is particularly useful.

Furthermore, since the cushioning material 7 of the bottom support portion 5 and the cushioning material 12 of the back support portion 6 are each separable, even if the size of the glass plate G is changed, there is a high degree of freedom in the arrangement of the cushioning materials 7 and 12, making it easy to realize the optimal support arrangement according to the size of the glass plate G.

Second Embodiment
4 and 5, the glass plate package 1 according to the second embodiment differs from the glass plate package 1 according to the first embodiment in the structure of the bottom support portion 5. In the following, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described, and the same reference numerals will be used in the drawings to denote the common points with the first embodiment, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

As shown in the figure, in the glass plate package 1 according to the second embodiment, the width dimension of the bottom support portion 5 is smaller than the width dimension of the glass plate G included in the laminate 2. In other words, the corners of the bottom side of the glass plate G (both ends of the bottom side in the width direction) protrude laterally from the bottom support portion 5. Here, the width dimension of the bottom support portion 5 means the width dimension of the portion of the bottom support portion 5 that is in direct contact with the bottom side of the glass plate G (the support surface of the bottom support portion 5). In other words, in this embodiment, it means the width dimension of the cardboard 8. In this embodiment, the center of the bottom side of the glass plate G in the width direction, excluding the corners, is continuously supported in the width direction by the bottom support portion 5. In addition, the width direction here may be the traveling direction during transportation. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the support surface of the bottom support portion 5 is the top surface of the bottom support portion 5.

In this way, the corners of the bottom side of the glass sheet G do not come into contact with the bottom support part 5. As a result, it is possible to prevent the corners of the bottom side of the glass sheet G from getting caught on the bottom support part 5 during transportation, thereby preventing the glass sheet G from being damaged.

When the corners of the bottom side of the glass sheet G protrude from the support surface of the bottom support part 5 as in the second embodiment, the expansion ratio of the foamed resin sheet 9 is preferably 10 to 40 times, and more preferably 20 to 40 times. If the expansion ratio is 10 to 40 times, as described above, it is possible to achieve both moderate cushioning properties for the glass sheet and good thickness recovery properties. If the corners of the bottom side of the glass sheet G protrude from the bottom support part 5, the glass sheet G is likely to move due to vibrations and impacts during transportation. If the expansion ratio is 20 times or more, the absorption of vibrations and impacts is improved and the movement of the glass sheet G can be reduced, so that the increase in dirt on the glass sheet G can be suppressed.

The width D by which the corners of the bottom side of the glass sheet G protrude from the support surface of the bottom support part 5 (cardboard 8 in this embodiment) is preferably, for example, 10 mm to 50 mm. If the protrusion width D is less than 10 mm, the corners of the bottom side of some of the glass sheets G may come into contact with the bottom support part 5 if the positioning precision of the packaging device that stacks the glass sheets G and the protective sheets P alternately on the pallet 3 is insufficient. On the other hand, as the protrusion width D increases, the glass sheets G tend to move more easily due to vibrations and impacts during transportation, and the glass sheets G tend to become more dirty. Therefore, it is preferable that the protrusion width D is small, for example, 50 mm or less, more preferably 40 mm or less, and most preferably 30 mm or less.

Third Embodiment
As shown in Figures 6 and 7 , the glass plate packaging body 1 of the third embodiment differs from the glass plate packaging body 1 of the second embodiment in that both widthwise ends of the bottom edge of the glass plate G protrude from the cardboard 8, and both widthwise ends of the cushioning material 7 protrude from the glass plate G.

In other words, the second embodiment illustrates a case in which the width dimensions of the cardboard 8 and the cushioning material 7 are smaller than the width dimension of the glass plate G (see Figures 4 and 5), but in the third embodiment, the width dimension of the cardboard 8 is smaller than the width dimension of the glass plate G, while the width dimension of the cushioning material 7 is larger than the width dimension of the glass plate G.

If cardboard 8 and cushioning material 7 are prepared for each size of glass plate G, it is possible to support both ends of the glass plate G free without contacting the corners of the bottom sides of glass plates G of different sizes with the bottom support part 5, but multiple types of cushioning material 7, which is more expensive than cardboard 8, are required, which may increase costs. On the other hand, if a cushioning material 7 is used in which both ends of the cushioning material 7 protrude from the glass plate G as in this embodiment, it is possible to support both ends of the glass plate G free by simply cutting inexpensive cardboard 8 according to the size of the glass plate G without preparing cushioning material 7 for each size of glass plate G. Therefore, it is possible to support both ends of the glass plate G free while suppressing an increase in costs.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, nor is it limited to the above-mentioned effects. Various modifications of the present invention are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, a rubber plate 10 is placed on the upper surface of the foamed resin plate 9 as the cushioning material 7 of the bottom support portion 5, but the rubber plate 10 may be placed only on the lower surface of the foamed resin plate 9, or the rubber plate 10 may be placed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the foamed resin plate 9. When the rubber plates 10 are placed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the foamed resin plate 9, the rubber plate 10 placed on the upper side of the foamed resin plate 9 and the rubber plate 10 placed on the lower side of the foamed resin plate 9 may be different in thickness or material.

In the above embodiment, the foamed resin plate 9 is described as being composed of a single foamed resin plate 9, but the foamed resin plate 9 may be structured by laminating multiple foamed resin plates. In this case, the multiple foamed resin plates 9 may be laminated directly or via a rubber material, as long as they can be separated without being adhered to the base portion 4.

In the above embodiment, the bottom edge of the glass sheet G is supported continuously in the width direction by the bottom edge support part 5, but multiple points of the bottom edge of the glass sheet G may be supported intermittently in the width direction by the bottom edge support part 5. When supported intermittently, the cardboard 8, the foamed resin sheet 9, and the rubber sheet 10 are in the shape of strips, and there is a risk that their desired functions will be impaired due to misalignment during loading or transportation. From the viewpoint of preventing this, it is preferable that the bottom edge of the glass sheet G is supported continuously in the width direction by the bottom edge support part 5.

Reference Signs List 1 Glass plate package 2 Glass plate stack 3 Glass plate package pallet 4 Base 5 Bottom support 6 Back support 7 Cushioning material 8 Cardboard 9 Foamed resin plate 10 Rubber plate 11 Back 12 Cushioning material G Glass plate P Protective sheet

Claims (8)

A glass plate packing pallet includes a base portion on which a glass plate laminate, in which a plurality of glass plates are stacked in a vertical position with protective sheets interposed therebetween, is accommodated, a bottom support portion for supporting a bottom side of the glass plate laminate, and a back support portion for supporting a back side of the glass plate laminate.
A pallet for packing glass plates, characterized in that the bottom support portion is provided with a cushioning material between the base portion and the glass plate laminate, which is simply placed on the base portion in a detachable manner without being adhered to the base portion. A glass plate packing pallet according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom support portion supports the bottom edge of the glass plate stack so that both widthwise ends of the bottom edge of the glass plate extend beyond the support surface of the bottom support portion. A glass plate packaging pallet according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bottom support further comprises cardboard arranged between the cushioning material and the glass plate stack in a separable manner without being adhered to the cushioning material. Both ends of the bottom edge of the glass plate in the width direction protrude from the cardboard,
4. A pallet for packing glass plates according to claim 3, wherein both ends of the cushioning material in the width direction protrude beyond the glass plates. A glass sheet packaging pallet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cushioning material contains a foamed resin material. A glass sheet packaging pallet according to claim 5, characterized in that the foaming ratio of the foamed resin material is 10 to 40 times. A glass sheet packaging pallet according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the cushioning material further contains a rubber material. A glass plate package characterized in that the glass plate laminate is packaged in the glass plate packaging pallet according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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