JP5146903B2 - Glass substrate packing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in a glass substrate packaging technique in which a glass substrate and a protective sheet are alternately stacked on a pallet for packaging.

  As is well known, various glass substrates including glass substrates for flat panel displays (hereinafter referred to as FPD) such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, electroluminescence displays, and field emission displays are placed on pallets for storage and transportation. It is customary that the glass sheets are stacked and packed in a vertical posture (substantially vertical posture) or a horizontal posture (substantially horizontal posture) with a protective sheet such as a slip sheet interposed between the glass substrates (for example, , See Patent Document 1 below). And the packing operation of such a glass substrate is often performed by loading a glass substrate and a protective sheet alternately on a pallet by an operator's manual work.

  However, when a glass substrate or a protective sheet is loaded on a pallet by an operator's manual work, the work efficiency is low, and the work itself is difficult or substantially impossible with the increase in size of various glass substrates in recent years. It has become.

  Therefore, for example, as disclosed in the following Patent Documents 2 and 3, a technique for automating the packing operation of the glass substrate has been proposed. Specifically, in Patent Document 2 below, a glass substrate is kept in a horizontal posture at a glass substrate standby position adjacent to the support base, and the glass substrate is lifted by the glass substrate transfer device, and the pallet on the support base. In the horizontal position, the slip sheet pulled out from the take-up is cut into a predetermined length, folded in half with a chopper folding device, sent to the slip sheet standby position, and the slip sheet is transferred to the slip sheet transfer device. The method of packing the glass substrate on the pallet by repeating the operation of loading on the pallet on the support table is disclosed.

Further, in Patent Document 3 below, an air flow region that allows air flow between the front surface side and the back surface side is formed in a part of the foam resin sheet by the air flow region forming means, and the foam resin After the sheet is placed on the upper surface of the glass, the negative pressure is applied to the air flow area of the foamed resin sheet by vacuum means, and the foamed resin sheet and the glass plate are adsorbed and held in a stacked state and conveyed to the pallet. A method of storing in a horizontal posture is disclosed.
JP-A-62-180836 JP 2006-8192 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-75482

  By the way, the protective sheet may slide on the glass substrate due to static electricity between the glass substrate and the like. Moreover, when a resin sheet, a foamed resin sheet, etc. are used as a protective sheet, it is easy to become wrinkles from the elasticity.

  However, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 2 described above, after placing the protective sheet on the glass substrate previously loaded on the pallet, until the subsequent glass substrate is placed on the protective sheet. The protective sheet is simply placed on the preceding glass substrate. That is, until the succeeding glass substrate is placed, the protective sheet placed on the preceding glass substrate is not held at all with respect to the preceding glass substrate. Similarly, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3 described above, until the succeeding glass substrate is placed, the protective sheet placed on the preceding glass substrate is not at all with respect to the preceding glass substrate. Not retained.

  Therefore, before the succeeding glass substrate is placed on the holding sheet, the protective sheet placed on the preceding glass substrate may be misaligned or possibly wrinkled. And when the glass sheet and the protective sheet are alternately laminated on the pallet in a state where the protective sheet has been displaced as in the former case, the glass substrates may be in direct contact with each other to be damaged. There is. On the other hand, when the glass sheet and the protective sheet are alternately laminated on the pallet in a state where wrinkles are generated on the protective sheet as in the latter case, the thickness of the protective sheet is increased by the amount of wrinkles of the protective sheet. Therefore, in the state where the glass substrate and the protective sheet are alternately laminated, the dimension in the lamination direction is unduly increased, and the number of glass substrates loaded on the pallet is reduced. Furthermore, in this case, due to wrinkles of the protective sheet, a gap is generated between the glass substrate and the protective sheet, or the glass substrate is bent, so that an undue stress acts on the glass substrate. As a result, the glass substrate may be damaged.

  In many cases, a packaging form in which a glass substrate is packaged in a vertical position on a pallet is required, and even in this case, automation of the packaging work is desired. However, none of the above-mentioned Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose any technique for stacking and packing a glass substrate and a protective sheet alternately on a pallet in a vertical posture. And if the methods disclosed in the above Patent Documents 2 and 3 are adopted for such a packing form, the weight of the protective sheet placed on the glass substrate loaded prior to the pallet is reduced. Therefore, the above-described breakage of the glass substrate and an increase in the dimension in the stacking direction become more prominent problems.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to automate the packing operation in which the glass substrate and the protective sheet are alternately stacked on the pallet and packed, and the packing operation causes misalignment and wrinkles on the protective sheet. It is a technical issue to execute appropriately while suppressing the situation as much as possible.

An apparatus according to the present invention created to solve the above problems includes a glass substrate supply means for supplying a glass substrate, a protective sheet supply means for supplying a protective sheet larger than the glass substrate, and the glass substrate supply means. A glass substrate loading means for vertically loading a glass substrate to be supplied onto the pallet; and a protective sheet loading means for vertically loading the protective sheet supplied by the protection sheet supply means onto the pallet, the glass substrate. A glass substrate packing device for stacking and packing glass substrates and protective sheets alternately on the pallet by loading means and the protective sheet loading means, wherein the protective sheet loading means precedes the pallet. The protective sheet is placed on the glass substrate loaded in a state where only the peripheral edge is held, and only the peripheral edge is On the lifting been protective sheet, the subsequent glass substrate by a glass substrate loading means is configured to release the holding of the protective sheet placed on the stage, while holding only the peripheral portion, the protection of the peripheral portion of the sheet, except for the lower side, characterized in der Rukoto that holds the two opposing sides at least in the width direction.

According to such a configuration, the protective sheet placed on the glass substrate loaded prior to the pallet is stacked on the protective sheet until the subsequent glass substrate is placed by the glass substrate loading means. Since the peripheral edge portion is held by the inserting means, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a displacement or wrinkle occurs in the protective sheet before the subsequent glass substrate is placed. And at the stage where the holding of the protective sheet by the protective sheet loading means is released, the protective sheet is already sandwiched between the preceding glass substrate and the succeeding glass substrate. It is also possible to prevent the occurrence of misalignment and wrinkles. In other words, the protective sheet is in a state in which the peripheral edge is held by the protective sheet loading means until the subsequent glass substrate is placed, and thus it is required to pack the glass substrate in a vertical position on the pallet. Even if it is a case where it is a case, the situation where the position shift and wrinkles by a dead weight arise in a protective sheet can be prevented suitably, and the packaging of an appropriate glass substrate can be implement | achieved.

  In addition, since the protective sheet loading means holds only the peripheral edge of the protective sheet larger than the glass substrate, the protective sheet loading means protects the protective sheet with the protective sheet loaded means. The glass substrate can be placed on the area excluding the holding portion of the sheet by the glass substrate loading means. Therefore, the glass substrate loading means and the protective sheet loading means do not interfere with each other, and the glass substrate packing operation can be preferably automated.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said protective sheet is a resin sheet or a foamed resin sheet.

  In this way, it is possible to more reliably prevent foreign matter such as dust from adhering to the glass substrate from the protective sheet as compared with the case where paper or the like is used as the protective sheet. Can be maintained well. Furthermore, when a foamed resin sheet is used as the protective sheet, a good cushioning property can be obtained as compared with paper or the like, and the impact acting on each glass plate during transportation or the like can be moderated appropriately. On the other hand, the resin sheet and the foamed resin sheet are stretchable and often have the property that wrinkles are likely to occur, but even if it has such a property, until the subsequent glass substrate is placed, Since the protective sheet (resin sheet or foamed resin sheet) is held by the protective sheet loading means, the generation of wrinkles can be appropriately suppressed.

In the above configuration, the protective sheet supplying means, with a protective sheet supply position, and a tension applying means for applying a tension to the protective sheet that will be manufactured by cutting the source material Ri by said source material cutting means It is preferable.

  If it does in this way, the situation where a wrinkle arises in a protection sheet can be prevented more certainly. Therefore, as described above, it is particularly advantageous when a resin sheet or a foamed resin sheet is used as the protective sheet.

  In the above configuration, the protective sheet supply unit includes a base material supply unit that supplies a base material of a long protective sheet, and a base member that cuts the base material supplied from the base material supply unit to produce a protective sheet It is preferable to provide a material cutting means.

  If it does in this way, the original material of a long protection sheet can be cut | disconnected sequentially, a protection sheet can be produced, and the produced protection sheet can be supplied one by one to a protection sheet loading means. Therefore, there is no risk that the protective sheets may be brought into close contact with each other as in the case where the protective sheets are taken one by one from a plurality of protective sheets previously laminated by the protective sheet loading means. Work efficiency can be further improved.

  In this case, it is preferable that the protective sheet supply unit includes a tension applying unit that applies tension to the protective sheet produced by the base material cutting unit.

  If it does in this way, the situation where a wrinkle arises in a protection sheet at the stage where a protection sheet is supplied to protection sheet loading means can be prevented certainly. In particular, as described above, it is advantageous when a resin sheet or a foamed resin sheet is used as the protective sheet. Further, in this case, since the protective sheet is in a tensioned state, the protective sheet loading means is configured to hold the protective sheet only by suction by, for example, a negative pressure action, or the protective sheet Even if it is configured to hold in combination with suction by negative pressure action, the adhesion between the suction part of the protective sheet loading means and the protective sheet is secured, and the protective sheet is adsorbed accurately It becomes possible.

  Said structure WHEREIN: The said base material supply means is equipped with a pair of base material roll by which a base material is wound, and a pair of cutter which each cut | disconnects each base material roll, Of said pair of base material rolls The original material drawn from one original material roll is supplied to the original material cutting means, and when the remaining amount of the original material roll is less than a predetermined amount, the original material drawn from the original material roll is And cutting with the cutter corresponding to one of the original material rolls of the pair of cutters, and connecting the end portion of the cut original material and the leading end portion of the original material drawn from the other original material roll. It is preferable that it is comprised.

  In this way, even when the remaining amount of the original material wound around one original material roll is reduced, the original material wound around the other original material roll can be used as the original material cutting means. The original material can be continuously supplied. Therefore, according to such a configuration, the base material cutting means is compared with the case where the base material wound on one base material roll is used up and then replaced with another new base material roll. The time during which the supply of the raw material to is stopped can be made as short as possible.

  In the above configuration, the base material supply means connects the tip of the base material drawn from the other base material roll to the end portion of the base material in a state where tension is applied to the cut base material. It is preferable that it is comprised.

  If it does in this way, the situation that a wrinkle arises in a base material can be prevented, and as a result, the situation that a wrinkle arises in a protection sheet produced by cutting a base material can be prevented suitably. . Therefore, as described above, it is particularly advantageous when a resin sheet or a foamed resin sheet is used as the protective sheet.

  In the above configuration, the glass substrate supply means has a plurality of transport mechanisms arranged in parallel in parallel with the transport direction of the glass substrate, with an interval in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the glass substrate, The glass substrate loading means includes a comb-shaped glass substrate holding portion that holds the glass substrate by suction, and inserts the comb-shaped glass substrate holding portion into a space formed between the transport mechanisms. It is preferable that the lower surface of the glass substrate on the transport mechanism is sucked and held.

  In general, in a glass substrate for FPD, etc., because various elements and thin films are formed on one surface (effective surface) of the front and back surfaces, the effective surface must have high cleanliness, It must also be kept from scratching. Therefore, when conveying a glass substrate, it is necessary to place on a conveyance mechanism of a conveyance roller or a conveyance belt so that the effective surface side may become upper. Even in the stage of loading the glass substrate thus transported to a predetermined position on the pallet, it is necessary to prevent the effective surface of the glass substrate from being highly clean and scratched. Therefore, if it carries out as mentioned above, it becomes possible to respond to this request exactly. That is, a gap is provided between the transport mechanisms, and a comb-shaped glass substrate holding part is inserted into the space so that the non-effective surface (lower surface) of the glass substrate can be touched without touching the effective surface (upper surface) of the glass substrate. ) Can be easily and reliably adsorbed and held.

The method according to the present invention, which was created to solve the above problems, includes a glass substrate loading means for loading a glass substrate in a vertical position on a pallet, and a protection for loading a protective sheet larger than the glass substrate in the vertical position on the pallet. A glass substrate packaging method including a laminating step of alternately laminating a glass substrate and a protective sheet on the pallet by sheet loading means, wherein the laminating step is performed on a glass substrate loaded prior to the pallet. On the protective sheet loading means, the protective sheet is placed in a state where only the peripheral edge thereof is held, and then the glass substrate loading means is used to place the protective sheet on the protective sheet holding only the peripheral edge. It is performed by repeating the operation of the glass substrate releases the holding of the protective sheet placed on the stage, and holds only the periphery state is protected Of the peripheral portion of the over bets, excluding a lower side, characterized in der Rukoto that holds the two opposing sides at least in the width direction.

  According to such a method, the effects described in the paragraphs [0012] and [0013] described above can be similarly enjoyed.

In the above method , the protective sheet is preferably a resin sheet or a foamed resin sheet.

  In this way, the effects described in the paragraph [0015] already described can be similarly enjoyed.

  The above-described packing apparatus and packing method according to the present invention are advantageous when the glass substrate to be packed is a large one. Specifically, for example, the dimension of one side is 700 mm or more (particularly one side). This is advantageous when packing a glass substrate having a size of 1000 mm or more. Further, the size of the protective sheet is such that, for example, about 20 to 90 mm (preferably 70 mm) protrudes outside the glass substrate as a holding portion by the protective sheet loading means in a state where the glass substrate is placed on the protective sheet. It is preferable to set to.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the packaging work of alternately laminating and packaging the glass substrate and the protective sheet on the pallet, without manual operation, by the glass substrate loading means and the protective sheet loading means, It can be done automatically. And in such a packing operation, the protective sheet placed on the glass substrate loaded prior to the pallet is protected sheet loading means until the subsequent glass substrate is placed by the glass substrate loading means. Thus, only the peripheral edge is held, so that it is possible to prevent a situation in which a displacement or wrinkle occurs in the protective sheet before the subsequent glass substrate is placed. In addition, at the stage where the protection sheet is not retained by the protection sheet loading means, the protection sheet is already sandwiched between the preceding glass substrate and the succeeding glass substrate. It is possible to prevent a situation in which misalignment or wrinkle occurs. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to automate the packing operation in which the glass substrate and the protective sheet are alternately stacked and packed on the pallet, and at the same time, it is possible to prevent the positional displacement and wrinkles on the protective sheet. It is possible to execute appropriately while suppressing as much as possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an overall configuration of a glass substrate packing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, this glass substrate packing apparatus 1 loads a glass substrate supply means 2, a protective sheet supply means 3, and a glass substrate 4 supplied by the glass substrate supply means 2 on a substantially L-shaped pallet 5. A glass substrate loading means 6 and a protective sheet loading means 8 for loading the protective sheet 7 supplied by the protective sheet supply means 3 onto the pallet 5 are provided. The glass substrate loading means 6 and the protective sheet loading means 8 The pallet 5 is configured so that the glass substrate 4 and the protective sheet 7 are automatically stacked alternately in a vertical posture and packed. In this embodiment, the glass substrate 4 is a glass substrate for FPD, and has a side dimension of 1000 to 2500 mm and a thickness of 0.5 to 0.7 mm. Further, the protective sheet 7 is a foamed resin sheet (for example, a foamed polyethylene sheet), which is about 100 to 180 mm larger in length and width than the glass substrate 4 and has a thickness of 0.5 to 0.6 mm.

  The glass substrate loading means 6 includes an arm portion 9 and a glass substrate holding portion 10 attached to the tip of the arm portion 9 so as to be rotatable and swingable. The arm portion 9 is rotatably mounted on a slider 12 that is slidably mounted on the base portion 11. Moreover, the glass substrate holding | maintenance part 10 exhibits a comb-tooth shape, and the suction pad 13 which adsorb | sucks the glass substrate 4 by a negative pressure action is arrange | positioned by each comb-tooth part. And in this glass substrate holding | maintenance part 10, the space is formed between the adjacent comb-tooth parts.

  The protective sheet loading means 8 includes an arm portion 14 and a protective sheet holding portion 15 that is rotatably attached to the tip of the arm portion 14 and holds only the peripheral edge portion of the protective sheet 7. The arm part 14 is rotatably mounted on a slider 16 slidably mounted on the base part 11. The protective sheet holding portion 15 includes an upper side portion 17 and a pair of side side portions 18a and 18b extending downward from both ends of the upper side portion 17, and has a U-shape with the lower portion opened as a whole.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of side portions 18 a and 18 b are in contact with substantially the entire area of both sides in the width direction of the protective sheet 7. A plurality of suction holes X are formed in the contact surfaces of the side portions 18a and 18b in the direction along both sides in the width direction of the protective sheet 7, and a negative pressure is applied to the protective sheet 7 from each suction hole X. By acting, both sides in the width direction of the protective sheet 7 are sucked and held by a plurality of regions along the sides (regions corresponding to the respective suction holes X). Note that both sides in the width direction of the protective sheet 7 may be sucked and held in a linear region along the side.

  Furthermore, one side part 18a is fixed to the upper side part 17, the other side part 18b is attached to the upper side part 17 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction, and the other side part 18b is attached to one side part. It can be moved toward and away from the portion 18a. And the direction which separates the other side part 18b from one side part 18a in the state which hold | maintained the width direction both sides of the protection sheet 7 with these pair of side parts 18a and 18b (width direction of the protection sheet 7) The tension is applied to the protective sheet 7 in the width direction by sliding the protective sheet 7.

  On the other hand, the upper side portion 17 includes a plurality of chuck mechanisms 19 a, 19 b, a plurality of chuck mechanisms 19 a, 19 b that hold the upper side of the protective sheet 7 in an auxiliary manner (in the illustrated example, a central position of the upper side of the protective sheet 7 and both side positions thereof) 19c is attached. And as already stated, since the other side part 18b is configured to be movable toward and away from the one side part 18a, the protective sheet 7 generated when the side part 18b is separated. The chuck mechanism 19b at the center and the chuck mechanism 19c on the other side portion 18b are attached to the upper side portion 17 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction. Specifically, in this embodiment, when the other side portion 18b slides, for example, xmm with respect to one side portion 18a so that the width of the protective sheet 7 is uniform in the width direction, At the same time and in the same direction, the chuck mechanism 19c on the other side portion 18b side is set to slide xmm, and the center chuck mechanism 19b is set to slide x / 2mm. In this embodiment, since the extension of the protective sheet 7 is small on the side portion 18 a side, the chuck mechanism 19 a is fixed to the upper side portion 17.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the glass substrate supply means 2 is arranged in parallel with the transport direction of the glass substrate 4 with an interval in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the glass substrate 4 (arrow A direction in the figure). Are provided with a plurality of transport mechanisms 20. An interval between adjacent transport mechanisms 20 is set to an interval in which a glass substrate holding portion 10 (shown by a one-dot chain line in the drawing) having a comb shape can be inserted. The glass substrate 4 is intermittently conveyed by the glass substrate supply means 2 and stops when it reaches the glass substrate supply position on the conveyance mechanism 20.

  Each transport mechanism 20 is provided with a plurality of transport rollers 21 on which the glass substrate 4 is actually placed, and the transport rollers 21 rotate synchronously. More specifically, the rotational driving force from the motor 22 is transmitted to the plurality of pulleys 24 by the counter belt 23 so that the rotating shafts 25 connected to the pulleys 24 are synchronously rotated. Further, a plurality of bevel gears 26 are intermittently fixed in the axial direction of each rotary shaft 25, and the bevel gears 26 are meshed with bevel gears 27 fixed to the conveyance roller 21. Thereby, the rotational driving force of the motor 22 is transmitted to each conveyance roller 21 and each conveyance roller 21 rotates synchronously.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the protective sheet supply means 3 includes a base material supply means 29 for supplying the base material 28 of the long protective sheet 7 and a base material 28 supplied from the base material supply means 29. The base material cutting means 30 which cuts and produces the protective sheet 7 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the base material supply means 29 cuts a pair of base material rolls 31 a and 31 b around which the base material 28 is wound, and the base material 28 drawn from the base material rolls 31 a and 31 b. A pair of cutters 32a and 32b are provided, and the base material 28 drawn from one of the base material rolls 31a and 31b is supplied to the base material cutting means 30, and the remaining amount of the base material roll 31a (31b) is a predetermined amount. At the stage where the number of the base material 28 is less than that, the base material 28 drawn from the base material roll 31a (31b) is cut by the cutter 32a (32b), and the end portion of the cut base material 28 and the other base material are cut. The tip of the base material 28 drawn out from the roll 31b (31a) is connected.

  Specifically, in the illustrated example, of the pair of base material rolls 31a and 31b, the base material roll 31a is used, and the base material 28 continuous to the base material roll 31a in use is It is sandwiched between a pair of nip rollers 33a and 33b. As the nip rollers 33a and 33b rotate, the base material 28 is pulled out from the base material roll 31a in use and supplied to the base material cutting means 30 (on the inclined surface 41a of the base 41 described later). ing.

  Further, the suction plate 34a stands by on the back side of the surface facing the base material 28 slightly pulled out from the standby base material roll 31b on the side of the base material roll 31a in use in a state of being spaced apart. ing. The suction plate 34a is attached to the front end side of the cylinder 35a so as to be rotatable about the fulcrum A1. The base end side of the cylinder 35a is supported so as to be rotatable about the fulcrum A2. Further, between the suction plate 34a and the base material roll 31a, a cutting plate 36a to which a cutter 32a is attached, and an engagement plate 37a to be engaged with the cutting plate 36a when the base material 28 is cut by the cutter 32a. Is arranged.

  A double-sided tape 38 is previously attached to the front end portion of the base material 28 that is continuous with the base material roll 31b that is in standby, on the side of the surface facing the base material 28 drawn from the base material roll 31a in use. The back side is sucked and held by the suction plate 34b. The suction plate 34b is disposed in an inclined state with respect to the suction plate 34a so that the distance between the suction plate 34a and the suction plate 34a is gradually increased toward the base material rolls 31a and 31b, and the cylinder 35b. It is attached to the front end side of the shaft so as to be rotatable about the fulcrum B1. The base end side of the cylinder 35b is supported so as to be rotatable about the fulcrum B2. Further, between the suction plate 34b and the base material roll 31b, a cutting plate 36b to which a cutter 32b is attached, and an engagement plate 37b that engages with the cutting plate 36b when the base material 28 is cut by the cutter 32a. Is arranged.

  Then, when it is detected that the remaining amount of one of the base material rolls 31a is less than a predetermined amount determined in advance by a sensor (not shown), the base material 28 drawn from the base material roll 31a is sucked to the suction plate. The cutting plate 36a and the engagement plate 37a are engaged with each other and the base material 28 is cut by the cutter 32a. Thereafter, by extending the cylinder 35a and superimposing the suction plate 34a attached to the tip of the cylinder 35a on the standby suction plate 34b, the end portion of the base material 28 after cutting continuous to the nip rollers 33a and 33b is obtained. A double-sided tape 38 is connected to the leading end portion of the base material 28 drawn from the standby base material roll 31b. At this time, the suction plate 34a and the cylinder 35a rotate around the fulcrums A1 and A2, and the suction plate 34a overlaps the suction plate 34b while drawing an arcuate locus (arrow B in the figure). .

  In addition, a guide roller 39 and a dancer roller 40 are disposed on a path from the base material roll 31a drawn from the base material roll 31a to the nip rollers 33a and 33b. , 40 is wound around a part. In the illustrated example, when the nip rollers 33a and 33b are not rotated, the dancer roller 40 is moved downward, and when the nip rollers 33a and 33b are rotated, the dancer roller 40 is moved upward, so that the base material 28 maintains a constant tension. On the other hand, the nip rollers 33a and 33b are supplied on a regular scale.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the base material cutting means 30 cuts the base 41 having the inclined surface 41a and the base material 28 drawn on the inclined surface 41a of the base 41 by the pair of nip rollers 33a and 33b. A cutting mechanism 42. Note that the inclination angle α of the inclined surface 41a of the base 41 with respect to the horizontal plane coincides with or substantially coincides with the inclination angle of the glass substrate 4 loaded on the pallet 5 in the vertical posture with respect to the horizontal plane.

  The cutting mechanism 42 includes a pressing plate 43 that presses the base material 28 drawn out by the nip rollers 33a and 33b against the inclined surface 41a of the base 41, and the original material 28 that is pressed against the inclined surface 41a by the pressing plate 43. And a cutter 44 that cuts in a direction (hereinafter, referred to as a width direction) perpendicular to the conveyance direction (the direction of arrow C in the drawing). The pressing plate 43 has a plate-like body that is longer than the width direction of the base material 28 and is movable in a direction approaching and separating from the inclined surface 41 a of the base 41. In this embodiment, a space for causing the cutter 44 to travel is formed at the intermediate position in the vertical direction of the pressing plate 43 in the width direction.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the protective sheet supply unit 3 includes a tension applying unit 45 that applies tension to the protective sheet 7 produced by the base material cutting unit 30. The tension applying means 45 includes an adsorbing means 46 for adsorbing and holding the base material 28 and the protective sheet 7 made from the base material 28 by a negative pressure action, and a protection made from the lower side of the base material 28 and the base material 28. The main structure includes a holding means 47 that holds the lower side of the sheet 7 (side cut by the cutter 44). The suction means 46 includes a plurality (three in the illustrated example) of suction plates 46a, 46b, 46c disposed on the inclined surface 41a of the base 41. Each suction plate 46a, 46b, 46c A plurality of suction holes for applying a negative pressure to the material 28 and the protective sheet 7 are formed. Among these, the suction plates 46 a and 46 c at both ends are attached to the base 41 so as to be slidable in the width direction of the protective sheet 7. On the other hand, the clamping means 47 includes a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of chuck mechanisms 47a, 47b, 47c, and 47d. Each chuck mechanism 47 a, 47 b, 47 c, 47 d is attached to a slide bar 48 that moves up and down along the inclined surface 41 a of the base 41. Of these, the chuck mechanisms 47 a, 47 d at both ends are the width of the protective sheet 7. It can slide in the direction. Further, when the chuck mechanisms 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d are moved up and down along the inclined surface 41a of the base 41 together with the slide bar 48, the movement of the chuck mechanisms 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d is not hindered. A concave portion 49 is formed on the inclined surface 41a in a region corresponding to the travel path of each chuck mechanism 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d. Further, the elevating plate 50 is accommodated in the recesses 49 corresponding to the chuck mechanisms 47a and 47d at both ends.

  Next, the packing method of the glass substrate 4 by the glass substrate packing apparatus 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.

  The packaging method by the glass substrate packaging device 1 of the present embodiment includes a glass substrate supply step for supplying the glass substrate 4 from the glass substrate supply means 2 to the glass substrate loading means 6, and a protection sheet loading from the protection sheet supply means 3. The protective sheet supply step of supplying the protective sheet 7 to the means 8, and the glass substrate 4 and the protective sheet 7 are alternately stacked in the vertical position on the pallet 5 by the glass substrate loading means 6 and the protective sheet loading means 8. It is divided roughly into the lamination process.

  As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.3, in a glass substrate supply process, first, the glass substrate 4 is intermittently conveyed on the some conveyance mechanism 20 arranged in parallel from the upstream. Thereafter, the glass substrate 4 is also intermittently transported by the transport mechanisms 20 and stops when the glass substrate supply position is reached. Thereafter or at the previous stage, the glass substrate holding part 10 (shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 3) having a comb-teeth shape is inserted into the space between the adjacent transport mechanisms 20. In this state, the glass substrate holding unit 10 is raised, the suction pad 13 of the glass substrate holding unit 10 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the glass substrate 4, and the lower surface of the glass substrate 4 is held by suction. Thereafter, the glass substrate holding unit 10 rises from the space between the conveyance mechanisms 20 above the conveyance surface, the glass substrate 4 is separated from the conveyance mechanism 20, and the supply of the glass substrate 4 to the glass substrate holding unit 10 is completed. To do. In this way, the glass substrate 4 can be easily and reliably removed from the transport mechanism 20 with only the ineffective surface (lower surface) of the glass substrate 4 being sucked and held without touching the effective surface (upper surface) of the glass substrate 4. Can be supplied.

  The protective sheet supply step is performed in parallel with the glass substrate supply step. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the protective sheet supply step, first, the base material 28 is removed from either one of the pair of base material rolls 31a and 31b (the base material roll 31a in the illustrated example) by the nip rollers 33a and 33b. A predetermined dimension is pulled out and supplied to the base material cutting means 30. In this state, the base material cutting means 30 cuts the base material 28 pulled out by a predetermined dimension, and the protective sheet 7 is produced.

  Specifically, the base material 28 is supplied to the inclined surface 41a of the base 41 by the nip rollers 33a and 33b, and hangs down along the inclined surface 41a. Thereafter or in the previous stage, the chuck mechanisms 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d are lifted integrally with the slide bar 48 along the inclined surface 41a of the base 41, and are restored by the chuck mechanisms 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d. The lower side part of the material 28 is clamped. In this state, the base material 28 is further pulled out from the base material roll 31a by the nip rollers 33a and 33b, the base material 28 is supplied onto the inclined surface 41a, and the chuck mechanisms 46a and 46b are synchronized with the supply of the base material 28. 46c and 46d are lowered along the inclined surface 41a of the base 41 integrally with the slide bar 48. In this way, when the base material 28 having a size corresponding to the protective sheet 7 is supplied onto the inclined surface 41a by the nip rollers 33a and 33b, the rotation of the nip rollers 33a and 33b and the chuck mechanisms 47a, 47b, 47c and 47d. Descent stops.

  In this state, the pressing plate 43 is lowered, the original material 28 is pressed against the inclined surface 41a, the original material 28 is cut by the cutter 44, and the protective sheet 7 is produced. Then, after the upper portion of the protective sheet 7 is sucked by the suction plates 46 a, 46 b and 46 c, the pressing plate 43 is lifted away from the protective sheet 7. Thereafter, the chuck mechanisms 47 a, 47 b, 47 c, 47 d are further lowered integrally with the slide bar 48, and are pulled down to the protective sheet supply position where the upper side (cut side) of the protective sheet 7 is exposed below the pressing plate 43. During this time, the protective sheet 7 is pulled down so as to slide on the suction plates 46a, 46b, and 46c while shifting the suction positions by the suction plates 46a, 46b, and 46c.

  Next, when the protective sheet 7 is pulled down to the protective sheet supply position (see FIG. 6), the suction plates 46a and 46c at both ends slide in the direction in which the mutual distance increases, and the chuck mechanisms 47a and 47d at both ends It slides in the direction in which the distance between them widens, and tension is applied to the protective sheet 7 in the width direction. Further, the protective sheet 7 is pulled down by the chuck mechanisms 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d while sliding on the protective sheet 7 with its upper part being adsorbed by the adsorption plates 46a, 46b, 46c. Tension is also applied in the vertical direction. As a result, the protective sheet 7 at the protective sheet supply position has a tension in the width direction and the vertical direction, and the protective sheet 7 is supplied to the protective sheet loading means 8 (protective sheet holding portion 15). Before, it is possible to reliably prevent a situation in which wrinkles occur in the protective sheet 7. In addition, the protective sheet 7 can be accurately positioned.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the protective sheet holding portion 15 comes into contact with the protective sheet 7 held in such a state where tension is applied. In this state, both sides in the width direction of the protective sheet 7 are attracted and held by the side parts 18a and 18b of the protective sheet holding part 15, and the upper side of the protective sheet 7 is the upper side part 17 (chuck mechanisms 19a and 19b) of the protective sheet holding part 15. , 19c). At this time, the elevating plate 50 housed in the concave portion 49 of the base 41 rises to the same plane as the inclined surface 41 a of the base 41, and the protective sheet 7 is moved by the side portions 18 a and 18 b of the protective sheet holding portion 15. It abuts in advance on the back side of the area to be sucked and held.

  Then, when the protection sheet 7 is completely held by the protection sheet holding unit 15, the protection sheet 7 is held by the suction plates 46a, 46b, 46c and the chuck mechanisms 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d provided on the base 41. Is released, the protective sheet holding part 15 is separated from the inclined surface 41a of the base 41, and the supply of the protective sheet 7 to the protective sheet holding part 15 is completed. If it does in this way, since the protection sheet 7 is supplied to the protection sheet holding | maintenance part 15 in the state to which tension | tensile_strength was given, the situation where a wrinkle arises in the protection sheet 7 at this supply stage can be prevented. . Further, as described above, the inclination angle α of the inclined surface 41a of the base 41 coincides with or substantially coincides with the inclination angle of the glass substrate 4 loaded on the pallet 5 in the vertical posture with respect to the horizontal plane. Similarly, the protective sheet 7 at the sheet supply position is substantially in the same posture as the glass substrate 4 on the pallet 5. Therefore, the protective sheet loading means 8 can load the protective sheet 7 on the pallet 5 in the same posture without changing the posture of the protective sheet 7. Therefore, the operation of the protective sheet loading means 8 can be simplified, and the loading operation of the protective sheet 7 can be speeded up.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the protective sheet holding unit 15 that has received the protective sheet 7 has the other side part 18b, the chuck mechanism 19c on the side part 18b side, and the central chuck mechanism 19b at the upper side part. 17 is simultaneously slid in a direction away from one side portion 18 a fixed to 17, and tension is applied in the width direction of the protective sheet 7. As a result, the protective sheet 7 held by the protective sheet holding portion 15 is in a tensioned state, and it is possible to prevent a situation in which wrinkles occur in the protective sheet 7 before loading on the pallet 5. When the other side portion 18b slides, for example, by x mm so that the protective sheet 7 extends uniformly, simultaneously with this sliding, the chuck mechanism 19c on the other side portion 18b side slides x mm, and the center chuck The mechanism 19b is set to slide by x / 2 mm.

  Further, during the execution of the protective sheet supply process as described above, when it is detected by a sensor (not shown) that the remaining amount of the original material roll 31a in use is less than a predetermined amount, the nip rollers 33a, 33b The rotation stops and the dancer roller 40 moves downward. Thereafter, the base material 28 drawn out from the base material roll 31a is sucked and held by the suction plate 34a, the cutting plate 36a and the engagement plate 37a are engaged, and the base material 28 is cut by the cutter 32a. From this state, the cylinder 35a extends, and the suction plate 34a attached to the tip of the cylinder 35a is overlapped with the standby suction plate 34b. A double-sided tape 38 is connected to the tip of the base material 28 drawn from the base material roll 31b. When the connection of the base material 28 is thus completed, the suction plate 34a returns to the original position, and the base material roll to be used is transferred to the base material roll 31b. And while using the base material roll 31b, the base material roll 31a whose remaining amount is less than the predetermined amount is replaced with a new one, and the back surface side thereof is attached with the double-sided tape 38 attached to the front end portion. Is held by suction by the suction plate 34a. Thereby, at the time of replacement | exchange of the base material roll 31a, supply of the base material 28 can be continued by the other base material roll 31b. In addition, since the base material 28 drawn from the other base material roll 31b is connected to the base material 28 via the dancer roller 40, the nip roller is maintained while maintaining a constant tension in the base material 28 after connection. 33a and 33b can be supplied with predetermined dimensions. Furthermore, as already described, since the two suction plates 34a and 34b are disposed so that the interval between the two suction plates 34a and 34b gradually increases, the front end portion of the base material 28 of the standby base material roll 31b (32a) is placed. The double-sided tape 38 can be easily attached to the surface.

  The laminating process is performed after the glass substrate supplying process and the protective sheet supplying process as described above. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), in the laminating step, first, a peripheral portion is formed on the glass substrate 4 stacked in a vertical posture prior to the pallet 5 by the protective sheet holding portion 15 of the protective sheet loading means 8. A protective sheet 7 on which only is held is placed. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7B, the non-effective surface side is placed on the glass substrate holding portion 10 of the glass substrate loading means 6 on the protective sheet 7 in a state where the peripheral edge portion is held by the protective sheet holding portion 15. The held glass substrate 4 is placed. Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, when the subsequent glass substrate 4 is placed on the protective sheet 7, the holding of the protective sheet 7 by the protective sheet holding unit 15 is released. Thereafter, by repeating this operation, the glass substrate 4 and the protective sheet 7 are packed on the pallet 5 in a state where the glass substrates 4 and the protective sheets 7 are alternately stacked in a vertical posture. In this way, the protective sheet 7 placed on the glass substrate 4 loaded prior to the pallet 5 is protected until the subsequent glass substrate 4 is placed by the glass substrate loading means 6. Since the peripheral edge portion is held by the protective sheet holding portion 15 of the sheet stacking means 8, the protective sheet 7 is displaced or wrinkled before the subsequent glass substrate 4 is placed. Can be prevented. And at the stage where holding | maintenance of the protective sheet 7 by the protective sheet holding | maintenance part 15 was cancelled | released, since the protective sheet 7 will already be in the state pinched | interposed between the preceding glass substrate 4 and the succeeding glass substrate 4, it is posterior. In particular, it is possible to prevent a situation where the protective sheet 7 is displaced or wrinkled. Therefore, in the state where the glass substrates 4 and the protective sheets 7 are alternately stacked, the dimension in the stacking direction does not unduly increase, and a predetermined number of glass substrates 4 are securely stacked and packed on the pallet 5. be able to. Moreover, since an unreasonable gap is not formed between the glass substrate 4 and the protective sheet 7, it is possible to suitably prevent a situation in which the glass substrate 4 is damaged. Since the protective sheet loading means 8 holds only the peripheral edge of the protective sheet 7 larger than the glass substrate 4, the glass substrate loading means 6 and the protective sheet loading means 8 interfere with each other. The glass substrate 4 is mounted by the glass substrate loading means 6 in a region excluding the holding portion of the protective sheet 7 by the protective sheet loading means 8 while the protective sheet 7 is held by the protective sheet loading means 8. Can be placed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the glass substrate loading means 6 and the protective sheet loading means 8 are used to stack the glass substrates 4 and the protective sheets 7 alternately on the pallet 5 in a vertical posture and package them. However, the present invention may be applied to a packing form in which the glass substrate 4 and the protective sheet 7 are alternately stacked in a horizontal posture and packed on the pallet 5.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the protective sheet 7 is held by the chuck mechanisms 19a, 19b, and 19c provided on the upper side portion 17 of the protective sheet holding portion 15 has been described. You may comprise so that adsorption | suction holding may be carried out. Similarly, the configuration in which the protective sheet 7 is sucked and held by the side portions 18a and 18b of the protective sheet holding portion 15 has been described. However, instead of sucking and holding, the protective sheet 7 is sandwiched and held. May be. About these holding | maintenance structures, it can select suitably with the protrusion dimension of the protection sheet 7 from the glass substrate 4, and the protrusion dimension of the protection sheet 7 from the pallet 5. FIG.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a case has been described using a foamed resin sheet as a protective sheet 7, other, and a protective sheet may be used paper or resin sheet.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the glass substrate 4 to be packaged is a glass substrate for FPD has been described as an example. However, the glass substrate 4 to be packaged is a base for forming various electronic display functional elements and thin films. It may be a glass substrate used as a material.

It is a perspective view which shows typically the whole structure of the packing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows typically the protection sheet holding | maintenance part of the protection sheet loading means of FIG. It is a top view which shows typically the glass substrate supply means of FIG. It is a side view which shows typically the original material supply means of the protection sheet supply means of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows typically the base material cutting means of the protection sheet supply means of FIG. It is a side view which shows typically the state of the final stage of the protection sheet supply process of the packaging method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) is the perspective view which shows the state of the early stage of the lamination | stacking process of the packaging method which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is the state of the middle stage, (c) is the state of the final stage, respectively. .

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Glass substrate packaging apparatus 2 Glass substrate supply means 3 Protection sheet supply means 4 Glass substrate 5 Pallet 6 Glass substrate loading means 7 Protection sheet 8 Protection sheet loading means 9 Arm part 10 Glass substrate holding part 11 Base part 12 Slider 13 Adsorption Pad 14 Arm 15 Protective sheet holder 16 Slider 17 Upper side 18a, 18b Side 19a, 19b, 19c Chuck mechanism 20 Transport mechanism 21 Transport roller 22 Motor 23 Counter belt 24 Pulley 25 Rotating shaft 26, 27 Bevel gear 28 Original material 29 Original material supply means 30 Original material cutting means 31a, 31b Original material rolls 32a, 32b Cutters 33a, 33b Nip rollers 34a, 34b Adsorption plates 35a, 35b Cylinders 36a, 36b Cutting plates 37a, 37b Engaging plates 38 Double-sided tape 39 Guidero La 40 Dancer roller 41 Base 41a Inclined surface 42 Cutting mechanism 43 Press plate 44 Cutter 45 Tension applying means 46 Adsorbing means 46a, 46b, 46c Adsorbing plate 47 Holding means 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d Chuck mechanism 48 Slide bar 49 Recess 50 Lifting plate

Claims (8)

Glass substrate supply means for supplying a glass substrate, protective sheet supply means for supplying a protective sheet larger than the glass substrate, and glass substrate loading means for vertically loading the glass substrate supplied by the glass substrate supply means on a pallet And protective sheet loading means for vertically loading the protective sheet supplied by the protective sheet supply means on the pallet, and the glass is loaded on the pallet by the glass substrate loading means and the protective sheet loading means. It is a glass substrate packing device for alternately laminating and packing a substrate and a protective sheet,
The protective sheet loading means places the protective sheet on the glass substrate loaded prior to the pallet in a state where only the peripheral edge is held, and the protective sheet holds only the peripheral edge. Is configured to release the holding of the protective sheet when the subsequent glass substrate is placed by the glass substrate loading means, and the state in which only the peripheral edge is held is the peripheral edge of the protective sheet. Among them, a glass substrate packaging device , wherein a tension is applied to the protective sheet while holding at least two sides facing each other in the width direction excluding the lower side. The protective sheet supply means includes: a base material supply means for supplying a base material of a long protective sheet; and a base material cutting means for producing a protective sheet by cutting the base material supplied from the base material supply means. The glass substrate packaging apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: The said protection sheet supply means is equipped with the tension | tensile_strength provision means which provides tension | tensile_strength to the protection sheet produced by cut | disconnecting the said base material by the said base material cutting means in a protection sheet supply position. 2. The glass substrate packing apparatus according to 2. Glass substrate supply means for supplying a glass substrate, protective sheet supply means for supplying a protective sheet larger than the glass substrate, and glass substrate loading means for vertically loading the glass substrate supplied by the glass substrate supply means on a pallet And protective sheet loading means for vertically loading the protective sheet supplied by the protective sheet supply means on the pallet, and the glass is loaded on the pallet by the glass substrate loading means and the protective sheet loading means. It is a glass substrate packing device for alternately laminating and packing a substrate and a protective sheet,
The protective sheet loading means places the protective sheet on the glass substrate loaded prior to the pallet in a state where only the peripheral edge is held, and the protective sheet holds only the peripheral edge. Is configured to release the holding of the protective sheet when the subsequent glass substrate is placed by the glass substrate loading means, and the state in which only the peripheral edge is held is the peripheral edge of the protective sheet. among them, except for lower state, and it is not holding the two opposing sides at least in the width direction,
The protective sheet supply means includes a base material supply means for supplying a base material of a long protective sheet, a base material cutting means for cutting the base material supplied from the base material supply means, and producing a protective sheet, protective sheet supply position, the glass substrate packing apparatus characterized that you have a tensioning means for applying tension to the protective sheet to be manufactured by cutting the base materials by the source material cutting means. The base material supply means includes a pair of base material rolls formed by winding the base material and a pair of cutters for cutting each base material roll, and one of the base material rolls of the pair of base material rolls. The base material pulled out from the base material cutting means is supplied to the base material cutting means, and when the remaining amount of the base material roll is less than a predetermined amount, the base material pulled out from the base material roll is converted into the pair of cutters. Is cut with a cutter corresponding to one of the original material rolls, and is configured to connect the end portion of the cut original material and the distal end portion of the original material drawn from the other original material roll. The glass substrate packing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein The base material supply means is configured to connect a distal end portion of the base material drawn from the other base material roll to a terminal portion of the base material in a state where tension is applied to the cut base material. The glass substrate packing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein The glass substrate supply means has a plurality of transport mechanisms arranged in parallel in parallel with the transport direction of the glass substrate, with a space in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the glass substrate, and loading the glass substrate The means includes a comb-shaped glass substrate holding portion that holds the glass substrate by suction, inserts the comb-shaped glass substrate holding portion into a space formed between the respective transport mechanisms, and The glass substrate packing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the glass substrate packing device is configured to suck and hold the lower surface of the glass substrate. Wherein the protective sheet is a glass substrate packing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that a resin sheet or a foamed resin sheet.

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