TW201400428A - Glass panel edge reinforcement method and product thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A glass panel edge reinforcement method mainly comprises: arranging masks on the upper and lower surfaces of a glass substrate respectively and exposing the circumferential end faces of the glass substrate; dipping the circumferential end faces of the glass substrate into a glass reinforcing solution comprising 15 wt% to 25 wt% of the alkaline substance for at least 30 minutes, while maintaining the working temperature of the glass reinforcing solution at 40 to 50 DEG C; then peeling off the masks from the surfaces of the glass substrate; washing the glass substrate with a cleaning solution and drying it to obtain a glass substrate with reinforced circumferential end faces. This invention uses the alkaline substance in the glass reinforcing solution to remove micro-fissure layers on the circumferential end faces of the glass substrate or to blunt the fissure tips, such that a reinforced surface can be formed on the circumferential end faces, so as to increase the bending resistance strength of the glass substrate to 450 Mpa or above.

Description

Glass plate edge strengthening method and product thereof

The invention relates to a glass plate edge strengthening method and a product thereof, in particular to a glass substrate manufacturing method and a product thereof which are suitable for use as a substrate member of a display or a touch panel and whose plate body has a reinforced edge end surface.

With the rapid development of digital technology, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) or other personal portable electronic devices with displays and touch panels have been widely used and are becoming more and more popular. Such a display of a personal portable electronic device such as a display or a touch panel is easily damaged by an external force impact, or a fatigue failure occurs after a period of use, so that an acrylic system or the like is generally added. The transparent resin substrate serves as a protective member for protecting the display or the touch panel. However, since the acrylic resin substrate has a low Young's modulus, when the display surface of the display is pressed with a pen or a human finger, the plate is used. The body is likely to be bent, and the resin substrate is brought into contact with the internal display to cause a display failure. Further, the acrylic resin substrate has a problem that the surface is easily injured and the visibility is easily deteriorated.

One of the methods for solving the above problems is to use a transparent glass substrate having better mechanical strength characteristics as a panel layer or a protective member; as is known, after the glass substrate is cut or thinned, micro cracks are inevitably generated on the glass surface. When subjected to external forces or temperature changes during subsequent processing or during use, the stress generated on the glass substrate will cause the crack to continue to expand or deepen, causing the glass substrate to be deformed or broken. However, if a strengthening layer is formed on the surface of the glass by chemical strengthening in order to improve the mechanical strength of the glass substrate, in addition to the decrease in transparency and surface roughness of the glass substrate, the workability of the surface of the glass substrate may be impaired. As a result, the subsequent processing process is difficult, and chemical strengthening processing on all surfaces of the glass substrate will greatly increase the production cost, so the actual benefit of the method is not good.

An object of the present invention is to provide a glass edge strengthening method capable of improving the bending strength of a glass substrate, which removes microcracks on the peripheral end surface of the glass plate by chemical strengthening means and/or passivates the crack tip to improve the bending strength of the glass substrate. And the impact strength, reduce the fragmentation rate in the subsequent process, and avoid the deformation or cracking of the glass substrate caused by external force or temperature change during use, to optimize the mechanical properties of the glass substrate.

In order to achieve the above object, the glass edge strengthening method provided by the present invention has the following processing steps:

a. providing a glass substrate; the material of the glass substrate is selected from the group consisting of sodium calcium silicate glass, sodium borosilicate glass, lead crystal glass, aluminum silicate glass, low iron glass, etc. The material range is not limited to the foregoing materials; the outer edge of the glass substrate can be applied to various regular or irregular shapes, and the thickness of the plate body is above 0.08 mm, especially when the thickness of the plate body of the glass substrate Between 0.1 mm and 2 mm, the features and advantages of the present invention are best demonstrated.

b. providing a mask on the upper and lower surfaces of the glass substrate, and making the glass substrate The peripheral end surface is open; the mask is made of a plastic material having corrosion resistance selected from Acrylic (polymethyl methacrylate) and silicone (Silicone). And the like, but the range of materials to be implemented is not limited to the above materials; the mask can be arranged by melting the plastic material by stencil printing, spin coating and slit coating ( Slot coating) or a capillary coating method or the like is disposed on the surface of the glass substrate, and the plastic material may be formed into a film, and disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the glass substrate by a technique such as lamination, but the mask is disposed. The method is not limited to the above-mentioned means; the mask formed on the surface of the glass substrate can be baked by heating, for example, at a temperature of about 80 ° C for about one hour to promote the shaping and enhancement of the mask on the surface of the substrate. Adhesion.

c. Providing a working tank containing a glass strengthening liquid containing 15% by weight to 25% by weight of a basic substance; the alkaline substance is selected from sodium hydroxide (NaOH), oxidized One or a mixture of potassium (KOH), but the range of materials to be implemented is not limited to the foregoing materials.

d. immersing the glass substrate in the glass strengthening liquid of the working tank, maintaining the working temperature of the glass strengthening liquid at 40 ° C to 50 ° C, and immersing the peripheral end surface of the glass substrate in the glass strengthening liquid. 25 minutes; those skilled in the art will know that in addition to the manner in which the glass substrate is immersed in the glass strengthening liquid to carry out the glass strengthening process as described above, a spraying method such as a peripheral edge of the glass substrate may be used. Spray glass on the end face Since the reinforcing liquid maintains a constant temperature and constant humidity to carry out a glass strengthening processing process, the method of implementing the glass strengthening process of the present invention is not limited to the above-described technical means.

e. stripping the mask from the surface of the glass substrate, cleaning the glass substrate with a washing liquid, and drying to obtain a glass substrate for reinforcing the peripheral end surface; the mask stripping embodiment is slightly on the surface of the glass substrate The portion where the mask is placed is sprayed with a stripping agent or lightly polished, so that the mask can be smoothly removed from the surface of the glass substrate, and then the glass substrate is cleaned with a washing liquid (for example, water).

The invention utilizes an alkaline substance in the glass strengthening liquid to remove the microcrack layer on the peripheral end surface of the glass substrate or passivate the crack tip to avoid stress concentration, thereby improving the mechanical strength of the glass plate body.

The invention also provides a glass substrate with high bending strength, which is used for strengthening the peripheral end surface of the glass substrate to increase the glass resistance of the peripheral end surface of the glass substrate, thereby improving the mechanical strength of the glass plate body, so as to be suitable for forming a display screen. , the substrate of the touch panel or the protective component.

According to the present invention, the glass substrate having high bending strength can be produced by the aforementioned method of the present invention; the glass substrate is a transparent glass plate having flat upper and lower surfaces, and the thickness of the plate is 0.08 mm or more. The chemical strengthening process is performed only on the peripheral end surface of the glass substrate to remove the microcrack layer on the peripheral end surface and/or passivate the crack tip, thereby forming a strengthening surface on the peripheral end surface of the glass substrate, thereby enhancing The glass substrate has a bending strength of more than 450 MPa; In other words, the material of the glass substrate is selected from the group consisting of soda-calcium silicate glass, sodium borosilicate glass, lead crystal glass, aluminosilicate glass, low-iron glass, etc., but the material range of the implementation is not The foregoing materials are limited.

The glass substrate having high bending strength of the present invention has better mechanical strength than the conventional acrylic resin substrate, and the peripheral end surface thereof is reinforced to increase the bending strength of the plate body, and it is difficult to press the surface with a pen or a finger. Since the bending deformation occurs, it is very suitable for forming a substrate or a protective member of a display screen or a touch panel, and since the upper and lower surfaces of the large area of the glass substrate are not reinforced, the processing cost can be greatly reduced and the processing cost can be greatly reduced. The upper and lower surfaces can still maintain the original functional characteristics, such as high light transmittance, cutting or grinding, etc., thereby reducing the processing limitations of subsequent processes, and achieving the purpose of improving production efficiency and product quality yield.

Other functional and technical features of the present invention will be further clarified below, and the present invention can be implemented by those skilled in the art after reading the description in the text.

The above and other technical contents, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the accompanying drawings, which are used to illustrate the invention and are not construed as The scope of patent rights of the invention is defined.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the manufacturing process steps of the glass sheet edge strengthening method provided by the embodiment of the present invention are as follows: First, a clean surface glass substrate 1 is taken up; in this embodiment, the glass substrate material is used. A transparent soda glass plate with long and wide plate dimensions A plain glass plate with a flat surface of approximately 125 mm * 255 mm and a thickness of approximately 1 mm.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a thin layered mask 3 is respectively disposed on the upper surface 12 and the lower surface 14 of the glass substrate 1, so that the masks 3 can completely shield the upper surface 12 and the lower surface. The surface 14 is such that the peripheral end surface 15 of the glass substrate is in an open state, the mask can be closely attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the glass substrate, and the mask is made of a plastic material having acid resistance. In this embodiment, the mask material is applied to the upper and lower surfaces 12, 14 of the glass substrate by spin coating techniques using a molten acryl resin to form a film-like mask 3, and then The glass substrate 1 is placed in a hot air oven and baked at a temperature of about 80 ° C for about one hour, and then slowly cooled to a normal temperature (about 25 ° C or so) to promote the shaping of the mask 3, thereby increasing the mask on the substrate. The adhesion effect of the surface.

After the mask arrangement is continued, the glass substrate 1 is placed in a working tank containing a glass strengthening liquid, and the glass substrate is completely immersed in the glass strengthening liquid to perform a glass strengthening process; in this embodiment, The glass strengthening liquid is a mixed solution of 20% by weight of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and 80% by weight of water (H ₂ O), and the operating temperature thereof is normally maintained at 40 ° C to 50 ° C; in the glass strengthening process The sodium hydroxide in the glass strengthening liquid can chemically react with the glass material exposed at the peripheral end surface 15 of the glass substrate to form sodium silicate, which can be removed by the corrosive action of the glass surface. The microcrack layer on the peripheral end face 15 of the glass substrate can passivate the crack tip, thereby multiplying the mechanical strength of the glass plate; in the glass strengthening process, the bending strength of the glass substrate will be impregnated with the glass strengthening liquid. The length of time changes (as shown in Table 1).

From the experimental statistics of "Table 1", it was revealed that the glass substrate was immersed in the glass strengthening liquid for at least 30 minutes to obtain a preferable strengthening effect.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that there are more technical improvements and variations after referring to the above description; therefore, those skilled in the art have the same inventive spirit in the same inventive spirit. Any modifications or alterations are still intended to be included in the scope of the invention.

1‧‧‧ glass substrate

12‧‧‧ upper surface

14‧‧‧ Lower surface

15‧‧‧ peripheral end face

3‧‧‧ mask

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the manufacturing process of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the glass substrate of the present invention is separated from the mask; and Fig. 3 is a side view showing the combination of the glass substrate and the mask of the present invention.

Claims (11)

A glass sheet edge strengthening method comprises the following steps: a, providing a glass substrate; b, providing a mask on the upper and lower surfaces of the glass substrate, and making the peripheral end surface of the glass substrate open; c, providing a a working tank containing a glass strengthening liquid containing 15% by weight to 25% by weight of a basic substance; d, immersing the glass substrate in a glass strengthening liquid of the working tank, and strengthening the glass The liquid working temperature is maintained at 40 ° C to 50 ° C, and the peripheral end surface of the glass substrate is immersed in the glass strengthening liquid for at least 30 minutes; and e, the mask is stripped from the surface of the glass substrate, and the washing liquid is used. After the glass substrate is cleaned and dried, a glass substrate having a peripheral end face is obtained. The glass sheet edge strengthening method according to claim 1, wherein the material of the glass substrate is selected from the group consisting of sodium calcium silicate glass, sodium borosilicate glass, lead crystal glass, and aluminum phthalic acid. One of salt glass and low iron glass. The glass sheet edge strengthening method according to claim 1, wherein the glass substrate has a thickness of 0.08 mm or more. The glass sheet edge strengthening method according to claim 1, wherein the mask is made of a plastic material having corrosion resistance. The glass sheet edge strengthening method according to claim 4, wherein the plastic material is selected from one of acrylic or silicone. The glass sheet edge strengthening method according to Item 4 of the patent application, wherein The plastic material is fused to the surface of the glass substrate by a stencil printing method, a spin coating method, a slit coating method or a capillary coating method to form a mask. The glass sheet edge strengthening method according to claim 6, further comprising baking the mask at a temperature of about 80 ° C for about one hour to promote the shaping of the mask and improve the adhesion on the surface of the substrate. . The glass sheet edge strengthening method according to claim 4, wherein the plastic material is formed into a film and disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the glass substrate by using a covering technique to form a mask. The glass sheet edge strengthening method according to claim 1, wherein the alkaline substance is selected from one of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium oxide (KOH) or a mixture thereof. A glass substrate having high bending strength, the glass substrate is a transparent plate body having flat upper and lower surfaces, and the plate body has a thickness of 0.08 mm or more, and the glass substrate has a strengthened peripheral end face. , the bending strength of the plate body is above 450Mpa. The glass substrate having high bending strength according to claim 1, wherein the material of the glass substrate is selected from the group consisting of sodium calcium silicate glass, sodium borosilicate glass, lead crystal glass, One of aluminum silicate glass and low iron glass.