JPH08217207A - Positioning storage device for sheet-shaped work - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a positioning storage device which can smoothly conduct centering and storage even for a work which is large, thin and easy to deflect, without doing any damage or the like. CONSTITUTION: A supporting frame 19 where supporting pieces 23, 25 that can support a work W are disposed on the right and left is supported against a moving mechanism 3 so as to move in the right/left direction and turn on a horizontal surface. A hand 36 which can be held by moving the work W above the supporting piece is disposed around the work W, and distance sensors 27, 28 which can detect a distance to the work W are disposed in the front/rear direction near the side surface of the work W. A controller 38 controls the operation of the moving mechanism 3 and the hand 36 respectively through signals from the sensors 27, 28 and makes the center line along the longitudinal direction of the work W coincide with the center line along the longitudinal direction of the supporting pieces on the right and left so as to overlap each other for disposition at a prescribed storage position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning and accommodating device for centering and accommodating a thin plate-like work such as a glass substrate used for a liquid crystal panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a storage cassette as a positioning storage device for storing glass substrates includes a left and right support piece that supports the lower surface of the left and right end portions of the glass substrate, and a glass substrate on the center line along the front-back direction in the cassette. And a centering rod for arranging a center line along the front-rear direction.

The centering rod is arranged above the left and right support pieces and is configured to be capable of horizontally pressing the left and right ends of the glass substrate toward the center of the glass substrate.

The left and right support pieces and the centering rod are arranged in a predetermined group according to the number of glass substrates to be stored.
It was arranged vertically.

The reason why the centering rod is arranged in the storage cassette is that the work robot inserts a hand into the lower surface of the glass substrate when the glass substrate stored in the cassette is used in the next process. Together with the glass substrate, the glass substrate is lifted from the lower surface side, and in that state, it is carried to the next step. At that time, if the glass substrate is misaligned with the hand, the glass substrate cannot be delivered to the next process, or the glass substrate contacts the cassette when the glass substrate is taken out from the cassette. This will cause problems such as breakage. Therefore, the centering rod is provided to prevent these problems.

[0006]

However, in the conventional cassette, when pressing the left and right centering rods,
The glass substrate is slid on the left and right support pieces to center the glass substrate. If the glass substrate does not slide smoothly, the left and right ends of the glass substrate may be damaged.

Further, from the size of the glass substrate to be accommodated, which was about 360 mm in width, 460 mm in length and 1.1 mm in thickness, to 500 mm in width, 600 mm in length and 0.7 mm in thickness,
When the glass substrate becomes large and thin, the large and thin glass substrate easily bends so as to be recessed downward at the center between the support pieces.

When such a flexible glass substrate is placed on the support piece and pressed by the left and right centering rods, if the support piece does not slide smoothly, the center of the glass substrate is simply bent downward. Therefore, there was a case where accurate alignment could not be performed.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and even if the work is large and thin and easily bends, it is possible to smoothly perform centering and store the work in the form of a thin plate without causing damage. It is an object to provide a storage device.

[0010]

A positioning and accommodating apparatus according to the present invention includes a support frame in which support pieces capable of respectively supporting the lower left and right end portions of a thin plate-shaped work are arranged on the left and right sides.
At least two positions in the front-rear direction in the vicinity of one side surface of the work supported by the support piece are arranged,
A distance sensor capable of detecting a distance to the side surface of the work, a moving mechanism that holds the support frame so as to be movable in the left-right direction and rotatable on a horizontal plane, and support the work supported by the support piece. A holding means that can move the piece upward and hold it, and a signal from the distance sensor are input to operate the moving mechanism and the holding means to support the center line along the front-rear direction of the work and the left and right supports. A control device for aligning the center lines of the pieces along the front-rear direction so as to overlap each other and for arranging them at a predetermined storage position.

In one example of control of the control device, after the control device inputs a signal from the distance sensor, first, the holding means is operated to hold the workpiece in the holding means, and then the work is held. By operating the moving mechanism, the respective center lines of the work and the support piece are aligned so as to overlap each other, and then the holding means is operated,
The work may be supported on the support piece, and then the moving mechanism may be operated to dispose the center line between the work and the left and right support pieces at the storage position.

In another example of the control of the control device, after the control device inputs a signal from the distance sensor, first, the moving mechanism is operated to be supported by the support piece of the support frame. Then, the center line of the work is moved to the storage position, then the holding means is operated to hold the work in the holding means, and then the moving mechanism is operated to operate the supporting pieces on the left and right sides. The center line may be arranged at the storage position, and then the holding means may be operated to support the work on the support piece.

Further, the left and right support pieces are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction with respect to the support frame, and the distance sensor is arranged at a side portion of the work supported by the support pieces of each stage. As much as possible, the lifting means may support the holding means, and the holding means may be configured to hold the work supported by the supporting pieces of each stage.

[0014]

In the apparatus for positioning and accommodating a thin plate-like work according to the present invention, centering of the thin plate-like work is performed by the following two methods.

That is, according to the first method, when the work is positioned and stored, the control device inputs the signal from the distance sensor and then first operates the holding means to hold the work in the holding means. The left and right support pieces upward.

Then, the control device operates the moving mechanism to move the support frame so that the center lines of the left and right support pieces are aligned with the center line of the work.

After that, the control device operates the holding means to lower the work to support it on the support piece. At this time, the center lines of the work and the left and right support pieces remain overlapped with each other.

Then, the control device operates the moving mechanism to move the support frame together with the work,
The centering is completed by disposing the work and the left and right support pieces in the storage position with the center lines of the work piece and the left and right support pieces aligned with each other.

Next, in the second method, when the work is positioned and stored, the control device inputs the signal from the distance sensor and then operates the moving mechanism to move the support frame. , The center line of the work is moved to the storage position while being supported by the support piece of the support frame.

Then, the control device actuates the holding means to hold the work by the holding means and separate it upward from the left and right support pieces.

After that, the control device operates the moving mechanism to dispose the center lines of the left and right support pieces at the storage position. At this time, the center line of the work overlaps the center lines of the left and right support pieces.

Then, the control device operates the holding means to lower the work so that the work is supported on the support piece, whereby the centering of the work is completed.

Therefore, in the positioning and accommodating apparatus according to the present invention, since the centering is performed by raising and lowering the work or moving the support frame without using the centering rods that press the left and right ends, the work is large and thin. Even if the work is easily bent, the centering can be smoothly performed without causing damage and the work can be stored.

Further, the left and right support pieces are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction with respect to the support frame, and the distance sensor can be arranged at a side portion of the work supported by the support pieces of each stage.
When the lifting means supports the holding means and the holding means is configured to hold the work supported by the support pieces of each step, the work can be stored according to the number of steps of the support pieces, and the distance sensor and The holding means is also capable of sequentially moving downward or upward in correspondence with the work supported by the supporting pieces of each stage to detect the distance and hold the work, so that the centering of the plurality of works supported in each stage is sequentially performed. It can be done smoothly.

[0025]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The positioning and storing apparatus M of the embodiment is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, a support frame 19 for storing and holding a rectangular plate-shaped glass substrate W (width 500 mm, length 600 mm, thickness 0.7 mm) as a work, a moving mechanism 3 for moving the support frame 19, and a lifting means 29. The distance sensors 27 and 28 held by the holding means 35, the holding means 35 for raising and lowering the glass substrate W, and the control device 38 for controlling the operation of the moving mechanism 3 and the like are configured.

The support frame 19 is composed of nine glass substrates W.
Is a storage cassette that can store the bottom plate 20 and the bottom plate 2.
Struts 2 extending upward from two places near the left and right edges of 0
2.24 and the top plate 21 that connects the columns 22 and 24,
It is configured with. Then, on each of the columns 22 and 24, supporting pieces 22 and 24 capable of supporting the lower left and right ends of the glass substrate W are provided so as to face each other.

The moving mechanism 3 includes a horizontal moving device 4 for horizontally moving the supporting frame 19 in the left-right direction, and the supporting frame 1.
And a turning device 11 for turning 9 on a horizontal plane.

The horizontal moving device 4 is provided on the substrate 1 of the device M.
Guide rails 5 and 5 which are parallel to each other and are displaced in the front-rear direction and fixed in the left-right direction, a slider 6 which is guided by the guide rails 5 and 5, and a drive motor 8 which is fixed on the substrate 1 via a bracket 9. , And are configured.

The slider 6 has a guide rail 5 at the bottom.
・ Guide block 6a with concave groove 6b that fits with 5
6a is fixed, and each guide block 6a has a screw hole 6
c is formed. A screw rod 7 connected to the drive shaft 8a of the drive motor 8 and arranged in the left-right direction is screwed into each screw hole 6c.

Therefore, when the drive shaft 8a rotates, the slider 6 is guided by the guide rails 5 and 5,
With the support frame 19 held, it moves in the left-right direction.

The rotating device 11 is fixed to the lower surface of the bottom plate 20 of the support frame 19 and is arranged in the vertical direction.
4 and a drive motor 17 fixed to the upper surface of the slider 6 for rotating the rotating shaft 14.

The rotating shaft 14 is rotatably supported by a bearing 13 at a portion of the step surface 14a, and a wheel gear 15 is fixed to a lower portion thereof. The bearing 13 has a through hole 12 in the cover 12.
It is arranged in the concave line 12b formed on the peripheral edge of a. The cover 12 is fixed to the upper surface of the slider 6 and covers the drive motor 17.

The worm gear 16 meshing with the wheel gear 15 is fixed to the drive shaft 17a of the drive motor 17, and the drive shaft 17a rotates, whereby the rotary shaft 1
The rotation of the vertical axis 4 causes the support frame 19 to rotate on the horizontal plane.

The rotation center O of the rotation shaft 14 is the center line C of the support pieces 23 and 25 in each stage of the support frame 19.
It is arranged at the center position between the support pieces 23, 23 in the front-rear direction and between the support pieces 25, 25 on the second side.

The operation of the drive motors 8 and 17 is controlled by the control device 38 described later. In addition, the drive motor 8
Reference numeral 17 has a built-in predetermined sensor, and is configured to sequentially store the rotation angles of the drive shafts 8a and 17a during driving in the control device 38.

The distance sensors 27 and 28 utilize light from a laser or the like, and measure the distance between the work W and the left side surface at two positions in the front-rear direction, and the work W and each distance sensor 27. An electric signal corresponding to the distance between the control device 38 and the control device 28 is output to the control device 38. Further, these distance sensors 27 and 28 are moved up and down by a lifting means 29 so as to be arranged at the side surface position of the work W supported by the support pieces 23 and 25 of each stage.
Held in.

The elevating means 29 includes a guide column 30 vertically installed on the substrate 1, a slider 31 which fixes the distance sensors 27 and 28 and which can slide vertically in a groove 30a of the guide column 30, and a guide. The slider 3 is fixed to the upper end surface of the column 30.
And a drive motor 33 for moving 1 up and down.

The drive shaft 33a of the drive motor 33 is connected to a screw rod 32 which is screwed into the screw hole 31a of the slider 31. The rotation of the drive shaft 33a causes the distance sensors 27 and 28 to move together with the slider 31 at each stage. The support pieces 23 and 25 are moved by the vertical distance.

In the case of the embodiment, the holding means 35 for lifting the work W from the support pieces 23 and 25 and separating it is composed of a work robot controlled by the control device 38, and the hand 36 of the robot has the hand 36 of the work W. After being inserted below
It is configured to go up and down. Also, the hand 36 is
It is configured to be inserted below the work W in each stage so that the work W can be raised and lowered sequentially.

The control device 38 is arranged at a predetermined position of the device M, receives an electric signal from the distance sensors 27 and 28,
Drive motors 8, 17, 33 for moving mechanism 3 and lifting means 29
And the movement of the robot's hand 36,
The work W in each stage is centered.

There are two methods for controlling the control device 38. The first method is to first work W and the support piece 2.
The center lines C1 and C2 along the front-rear direction with the 3 and 25 are overlapped with each other, and then the center lines C1 and C2 are placed at the predetermined storage position S.
It is a method to arrange. In the second method, first, the center line C1 of the work W is arranged at the storage position S, which is the centering completion position, and then the moved support piece 23.2 is moved.
This is a method of arranging the center line C2 of No. 5 so as to overlap the storage position S.

First, a case where the work W is centered by the first control method will be described.

The works W are temporarily stored in advance on the support pieces 23 and 25 of the respective stages of the support frame 19, and the works W are, as shown in FIG. However, they are arranged out of the storage position S. Further, the center line C of each of the support pieces 23 and 25 of the support frame 19
2 corresponds to the storage position S in advance when the work W is temporarily stored. By the way, support piece 23 ・ 25
The state in which the center line C2 of the above and the storage position S overlap and coincide with each other is the reference position of the support frame 19.

In the first control method, the controller 38
After inputting the signals from the distance sensors 27 and 28, first, the holding means 35 is operated to insert the hand 36 below the uppermost work W, and then the hand W is raised to move the work W.
Is separated upward from the left and right support pieces 23 and 25. In addition, as for the rising stroke of the hand 36, the work W is placed on the top plate 2.
It is a distance that does not interfere with 1.

Then, the control device 38 controls the drive motors 8 for driving the horizontal moving device 4 and the rotating device 11 in the moving mechanism 3.
By operating 17, the support frame 19 is moved so that the center lines C2 of the left and right support pieces 23 and 25 coincide with the center line C1 of the work W, as shown in FIG.

Incidentally, the control at this time is controlled by the control device 38.
Receives the signals from the distance sensors 27 and 28, and
Distances L1 and L2 between the sensors 27 and 28 and the workpiece W shown in
From the rotation center O of the support frame 19 to the center line C1 of the work W in the left-right direction, and the work W
The deviation angle α of is calculated. Then, the control device 38
Operate the drive motor 8 to move the work piece W by the distance L3.
If the support frame 19 is moved in the direction in which the workpiece W is displaced, and the drive motor 17 is operated to rotate the support frame 19 in the direction displaced by the displacement angle α, the center line C1 of the work W is moved to the left and right. The center lines C2 of the support pieces 23 and 25 can be aligned so as to overlap.

In the calculation of the displacement distance L3, the distance L0 (see FIGS. 4 and 6) between the side surface of the work W after centering and the distance sensors 27 and 28 is set in advance, and the distance L0 and The difference between (L2-L1) / 2 can be calculated, and the deviation angle α can be calculated by (L2-L1) / (distance between distance sensors 27 and 28).

After that, the control device 38 operates the holding means 35 to lower the hand 36 to support the work W on the support pieces 23 and 25, and further to release the hand 36 from below the work W. At this time, the work W and the support piece 2
The center lines C1 and C2 with 3.25 remain overlapped with each other.

Then, the control device 38 causes the support frame 1 to
The drive motors 8 and 17 of the moving mechanism 3 are operated so as to return 9 to the reference position. Then, the work W moves together with the support frame 19, and as shown in FIG. 6, the center lines C1 and C2 of the work W and the support pieces 23 and 25 are placed in the storage position S in a state of being overlapped and aligned with each other. By arranging, the centering of the uppermost work W is completed.

After that, the control device 38 operates the drive motor 33 of the elevating means 29 to dispose the distance sensors 27 and 28 on the side of the work W in the second stage, and the hand 36 of the holding means 35 is moved to the 2 position. The workpiece W is arranged at a position corresponding to the work W in the second stage, and the work W in the second stage is centered in the same manner as described above, and thereafter, the works W up to the bottom stage are sequentially centered in the same manner.

Next, in the second method, the controller 38
After inputting the signals from the distance sensors 27 and 28, first, the horizontal movement device 4 of the movement mechanism 3 and the drive motors 8 and 17 of the turning device 11 are operated to move the support frame 19 and support it. Support pieces 23 and 25 of frame 19
7, the center line C1 of the work W is moved to the storage position S as shown in FIG.

The control of the control device 38 at this time is performed by the signals from the distance sensors 27 and 28.
The shift distance L3 and the shift angle α are set to 0 so that the distances L1 and L2 between the workpiece 8 and the workpiece W become the predetermined distance L0 when the centering is completed.

Then, the control device 38 actuates the holding means 35 to insert the hand 36 below the uppermost work W, and then raises the work W to move the work W to the left and right support pieces 2.
Separate from 3.25 upward.

Thereafter, the control device 38 causes the support frame 1 to
The drive motors 8 and 17 of the moving mechanism 3 are operated so as to return 9 to the reference position, and the center lines C2 of the left and right support pieces 23 and 25 are arranged at the storage position S as shown in FIG. At this time, the center line C1 of the work W overlaps the center line C2 of the left and right support pieces 23 and 25.

Then, the control device 38 operates the holding means 35 to lower the hand 36 to support the work W on the support pieces 23 and 25, and further to disengage the hand 36 from below the work W. In this case, the centering of the work W is completed.

After that, the control device 38 operates the drive motor 33 of the elevating means 29 to dispose the distance sensors 27 and 28 on the side of the work W in the second stage, and the hand 36 of the holding means 35 is moved to the 2 position. The workpiece W is arranged at a position corresponding to the work W in the second stage, and the work W in the second stage is centered in the same manner as described above, and thereafter, the works W up to the bottom stage are sequentially centered in the same manner.

As described above, the positioning / storing device M of the embodiment
Then, without using the centering rods that press the left and right ends, the work W is lifted and the support frame 1 is moved.
Since the centering is performed by the movement of 9, the work W can be accommodated by smoothly performing the centering without causing damage or the like even if the work W is large and thin and easily bends.

Further, in the positioning and storing apparatus M of the embodiment, the left and right support pieces 23, 25 are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction with respect to the support frame 19, and the distance sensors 27.2
8 is supported by the elevating means 29 and the holding means 35 is supported by the support pieces 23, 25 of each stage so that the work piece 8 can be arranged at the side portion of the work W supported by the support pieces 23, 25 of each step. Since the work W is configured to be able to be held, the work W can be accommodated according to the number of stages of the support pieces 23 and 25, and the distance sensors 27 and 28 and the holding means 35 also support the work pieces 23 of each stage. The distance can be detected and the work can be held by sequentially moving the work W supported by 25 to the downward direction, so that the plurality of works W supported in each stage can be smoothly centered. Therefore, it is possible to store a plurality of centered works W. Incidentally, unlike the embodiment, the work W in the lowest stage may be centered in sequence from the work W in the upper stage.

In the embodiment, the configuration in which nine glass substrates W are accommodated is shown, but one work may be accommodated, or more works may be accommodated. It may be configured.

Of course, in the embodiment, the one in which the glass substrate W is positioned and stored is shown, but the present invention may be applied to a device for storing other works.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a positioning / storing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a mode of use of the embodiment, and is a schematic plan view showing a state where the glass substrate is displaced and arranged on the support piece.

5 is a diagram showing a mode of use of the embodiment, and is a plan view showing a state after FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a mode of use of the embodiment, and is a plan view showing a state after FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another mode of use of the embodiment, and FIG.
It is a top view which shows the state after.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state after FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 ... Moving mechanism, 19 ... Support frame, 23.25 ... Support piece, 27.28 ... Distance sensor, 29 ... Elevating means, 35 ... Holding means, 38 ... Control device, C1 ... (Work) center line, C2 ... ( Support piece) center line, S ... storage position, W ... work, M ... positioning storage device.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A support frame, in which support pieces capable of respectively supporting the left and right end lower surfaces of a thin plate-shaped work are respectively arranged, and at least a front-back direction in the vicinity of one side surface of the work supported by the support piece. It is placed in two places, each
A distance sensor capable of detecting a distance from the side surface of the work, a moving mechanism that holds the support frame so as to be movable in the left-right direction and rotatable on a horizontal plane, and support the work supported by the support piece. A holding means that can move the piece upward and hold it, and a signal from the distance sensor is input to actuate the moving mechanism and the holding means to support the center line along the front-rear direction of the work and the left and right supports. With the center line along the front-back direction of the piece,
A positioning and accommodating device for thin plate-shaped workpieces, which comprises: a control device that is aligned with each other so as to overlap each other and that is arranged at a predetermined storage position. 2. The control device inputs a signal from the distance sensor, first operates the holding means to hold the work in the holding means, and then operates the moving mechanism, The center lines of the work and the support piece are aligned so as to overlap each other, and then the holding means is operated to support the work on the support piece, and then the moving mechanism is operated. The apparatus for positioning and accommodating a thin plate-like work according to claim 1, wherein the center line between the work and the left and right support pieces is arranged at a storage position. 3. The control device receives a signal from the distance sensor, and first operates the moving mechanism to support the center line of the work in a state of being supported by a support piece of the support frame. To the position, and then the holding means is operated to hold the work on the holding means, and then the moving mechanism is operated to dispose the center lines of the left and right support pieces in the storage position, Next, the apparatus for positioning and accommodating a thin plate-like work according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding means is operated to support the work on the support piece. 4. The left and right support pieces are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction with respect to the support frame, and the distance sensor is arranged at a side portion of a work supported by the support pieces in each stage. 2. The holding means is movably supported by the elevating means, and the holding means is configured to be able to hold the work supported by the supporting pieces of each stage.
A positioning and storing device for the thin plate-like workpiece according to claim 3.