JP2003261221A - Transferring device for conveying glass substrate, and cassette for storing glass substrate used for it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transferring device for conveying a glass substrate capable of storing the large glass substrate so as to reduce deflection due to its own weight, preventing breakage of the glass substrate due to bending stress, and reducing glass deflection similarly. <P>SOLUTION: The transferring device for conveying the glass substrate has a plurality of support members 3 in parallel with a wall of a box-shaped cassette body 1, and puts in and out the glass substrate 5 by hoisting a hand 4 of a transfer machine 43 inserted into the cassette body 1 between the support members 3. The support members 3 are extended from the rear wall 2 of the cassette body 1 to a proximity of an opening 1a. The hand 4 comprises a plurality of vertical hand support parts 41 in the depth direction positioned between the parallel support members 3 and a lateral hand support part 42 in the width direction that is disposed on the tip side of the support members 3 and interconnects the vertical hand support parts 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer device for transferring glass substrates and a glass substrate storage cassette used therefor, and more particularly to a large glass substrate which is accommodated so that the amount of bending due to its own weight is reduced and bending stress is applied. The present invention relates to a glass substrate transfer device capable of preventing breakage of a glass substrate due to the above, and a glass substrate storage cassette used therein.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Glass substrates such as liquid crystal are housed in a dedicated glass substrate housing cassette so as to be housed separately so as not to come into contact with each other. This glass substrate storage cassette is used, for example, in a production line for a large-sized liquid crystal glass substrate, when the liquid crystal glass substrate is transported or temporarily stored between manufacturing devices.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cassette for storing glass substrates includes a plurality of supporting members 3a 'and 3a arranged in parallel in opposite directions from both side walls 2a and 2b of a box-shaped cassette body 1.
The glass substrate 5 is taken in and out by extending b'and raising and lowering the hand 4'of the transfer machine inserted in the cassette body 1 between the support members 3a ', 3b'. The cassette body 1 needs a large space in the widthwise central portion of the cassette body 1 to allow the bifurcating fork-shaped hand 4'to move up and down, whereby the support members 3a 'and 3b' are left and right side walls 2a. 2b is formed so as to project relatively shortly.

[0004]

However, when the size of the glass substrate becomes large, the bending of the rigid glass substrate becomes excessive, so that the length of the conventional supporting member is restricted to be short. In such a glass substrate storage cassette or a bifurcated fork-shaped hand, the bending of the glass substrate due to its own weight becomes large, and as a result of the large bending stress of the glass substrate itself due to this bending, damage to the glass substrate is likely to occur. there were.

In view of the problems of the above-mentioned conventional glass substrate transfer device, the present invention accommodates a large glass substrate so that the amount of bending due to its own weight is small, and the glass substrate caused by bending stress An object of the present invention is to provide a glass substrate transfer device that can prevent breakage and also reduce the amount of glass bending, and a glass substrate storage cassette used for the same.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the glass substrate transfer device of the present invention forms a plurality of supporting members in parallel with the wall of a box-shaped cassette body, while the glass substrate transfer apparatus is provided on the cassette body. In a transfer device for glass substrate transfer, in which a glass substrate is transferred in and out by raising and lowering a hand of an inserted transfer device between the support members, the support member is extended from a rear wall of a cassette body to a vicinity of an opening. Along with the vertical position of the hand, the vertical hand support portion is located at the tip end side of the support member and a plurality of vertical hand support portions in the depth direction located between the parallel support members, and the vertical hand support portion is connected. And a lateral hand support portion in the width direction.

Further, the glass substrate storing cassette used in the glass substrate transfer device of the present invention forms a plurality of supporting members arranged in parallel on the wall of the box-shaped cassette body, while the glass substrate is transferred into the cassette body. In a glass substrate transfer device for loading and unloading glass substrates by raising and lowering a hand of the machine between the supporting members, the supporting members are extended from the rear wall of the cassette body to the vicinity of the opening and are adjacent to each other. It is characterized in that a gap is provided between the support members so that a vertical hand support portion located between the support members at the elevating position of the hand can pass therethrough.

In this glass substrate transfer device and the glass substrate storage cassette used therein, a plurality of support members for supporting the glass substrate are provided from the rear wall of the cassette body to the vicinity of the opening, and A hand for taking in and out a plurality of vertical hand supporting portions in the depth direction, which are located between the supporting members arranged in parallel with each other at the raising and lowering position of the hand, and located at the tip side of the supporting member, and connect the vertical hand supporting portions. Since it is composed of the lateral hand supporting portion in the width direction, the supporting member can be extended to almost the entire width of the glass substrate, thereby accommodating a large glass substrate so that the amount of bending due to its own weight is small. However, it is possible to prevent breakage of the glass substrate due to bending stress during storage. Then, the hand of the transfer machine is located at the vertical position of the hand and is positioned on the front end side of the support member with a plurality of vertical hand support parts in the depth direction located between the support members, and connects the vertical hand support parts. By configuring with the lateral hand support portion in the width direction, it is possible to increase the size of the hand up to the vicinity of the end portion in the width direction of the glass substrate, thereby reducing the amount of bending of the large glass substrate due to its own weight. It is possible to prevent the glass substrate from being damaged due to bending stress during transportation.

In this case, the supporting members can be formed in the same shape, and a plurality of upper and lower steps can be arranged inside the cassette body.

As a result, a large number of glass substrates can be stored in the cassette.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a glass substrate transfer device of the present invention and a glass substrate storage cassette used therein will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the glass substrate transfer device of the present invention and a glass substrate storage cassette used therein. This glass substrate transfer device is used in combination with another transfer device, and extends a plurality of supporting members 3 in parallel from the rear wall 2 of the box-shaped cassette body 1 to the opening 1a side. The glass substrate 5 is set in and taken out by raising and lowering the hand 4 of the transfer machine 43 inserted in the cassette body 1 between the supporting members 3. In this glass substrate transfer device, the supporting member 3 is extended from the rear wall 2 of the cassette body 1 to the vicinity of the opening 1a, and the hand 4 is provided.
The vertical hand supporting portions 41 in the depth direction, which are located between the supporting members 3 arranged in parallel at the elevating position of the hand 4.
And a lateral hand support portion 42 in the width direction, which is located on the tip end side of the support member 3 and connects the vertical hand support portion 41. Further, in this glass substrate transfer device, although not shown in the figure, the support members 3 are formed in the same shape and are vertically arranged in a plurality of steps inside the cassette body 1. .

The support members 3 are installed on the same plane to horizontally support one glass substrate 5, and four support members 3 are provided so that the glass substrates 5 can be supported uniformly.
Are arranged in parallel on the rear wall 2 at equal intervals. In this case, a gap 6 is provided between the adjacent support members 3 through which the vertical hand support portion 41 located between the support members 3 at the raising / lowering position of the hand 4 can pass. Thus, the support member 3 extending to the vicinity of the opening 1a of the cassette body 1 is
It is possible to reduce the amount of bending of the glass substrate 5 due to its own weight, and thus to prevent the glass substrate 5 from being damaged due to bending stress during storage.

The vertical hand support portion 41 of the hand 4 is
In order to transfer the glass substrate 5 horizontally, the glass substrate 5 is formed on the same plane, and the vertical hand support portion 41 and the horizontal hand support portion 42 are positioned so as not to interfere with the support member 3 when the hand 4 is moved up and down. Has been formed. The vertical hand support portion 41 is made of a long plate-like member extended to the vicinity of the rear wall 2 of the cassette body 1, and the horizontal hand support portion 42 is made of a plate-like member that connects the vertical hand support portion 41. Become. The hand 4 is provided with such a vertical hand support portion 41 and a horizontal hand support portion 42, so that the large glass substrate 5 is transferred so that the amount of bending due to its own weight is reduced, and this is caused by bending stress during transportation. It is possible to prevent the glass substrate 5 from being damaged.

On the other hand, FIG. 2 shows the structure of a transfer device for transporting a glass substrate which has been conventionally used. The glass substrate 5 housed in the cassette body 1 includes support members 3 extending from the left and right side walls 2a and 2b of the cassette body 1, respectively.
It is considered that the glass substrates 5 supported by a'and 3b 'are less likely to bend due to their own weight. A hand 4 ′ of the transfer machine is used for taking the glass substrate 5 in and out of the cassette body 1, and the hand 4 ′ is used so that the glass substrate 5 is not greatly bent when the glass substrate 5 is lifted by the hand 4 ′. The widthwise dimension L of 'is determined.

FIG. 3 shows a case where the size of the glass substrate 5 is larger than that in FIG. In this case, the glass substrate 5 housed in the cassette body 1 of the cassette undergoes a large bending due to its own weight. In order to eliminate this bending, the supporting members 3a ′, 3b ′ are extended to the central portion in the width direction of the glass substrate 5. In order to extend it, the widthwise dimension L of the hand 4'must be reduced. However, when the dimension L in the width direction of the hand 4'is reduced, the bending of the glass substrate 5 placed on the hand 4'becomes the state shown by the dotted line in FIG. , Breakage easily occurs.

On the other hand, in the glass substrate transfer device of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of supporting members 3 for supporting the glass substrate 5 are provided from the rear wall 2 of the cassette body 1 to the opening. The glass substrate 5 is extended to the vicinity of 1a.
Put the hand 4 in and out of the
A plurality of vertical hand support parts 41 in the depth direction, which are located between the support members 3 arranged in parallel, and a lateral hand support part, which is located on the tip side of the support member 3 and connects the vertical hand support parts 41 in the width direction. 42, the supporting member 3 can be extended to almost the entire width of the glass substrate 5, so that the large glass substrate 5 can be accommodated so that the amount of bending due to its own weight is small. It is possible to prevent the glass substrate 5 from being damaged due to the bending stress.
Further, the hand 4 of the transfer machine 43 is located at the vertical position of the hand 4 and is located on the front end side of the vertical hand support portions 41 in the depth direction between the support members 3 and the vertical direction. Since the hand supporting portion 41 is connected to the widthwise horizontal hand supporting portion 42, the size of the hand 4 can be increased to the vicinity of the end portion in the width direction of the glass substrate 5, whereby a large glass substrate. It is possible to prevent the glass substrate 5 from being damaged due to bending stress during transportation by transferring the glass substrate 5 so that the amount of bending due to its own weight becomes small.
By the way, in the glass substrate transfer device of this embodiment,
It is possible to effectively store and transfer the liquid crystal glass substrate 5 having a size of about 1200 × 1000 mm.

As described above, the glass substrate transfer device of the present invention and the glass substrate storage cassette used therein are as follows:
Although described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the structures described in the above embodiments, and the structures can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist thereof.

[0019]

According to the glass substrate transfer device of the present invention and the glass substrate storage cassette used therein, a plurality of support members for supporting the glass substrates are extended from the rear wall of the cassette body to the vicinity of the opening. Along with, a hand for taking out and putting in a glass substrate is located at a vertical position of the hand, and a plurality of vertical hand supporting portions in the depth direction located between the supporting members arranged in parallel, and is located on the tip side of the supporting member, The support member can be extended to almost the entire width of the glass substrate because it is configured by the horizontal hand support portion in the width direction that connects the vertical hand support portion, and thus the large glass substrate is bent by its own weight. It is possible to prevent the glass substrate from being damaged due to bending stress during storage. Then, the hand of the transfer machine is positioned at the vertical position of the hand and is positioned on the tip side of the support member with a plurality of vertical hand support parts in the depth direction located between the support members, and connects the vertical hand support parts. By configuring with the lateral hand support portion in the width direction, the size of the hand can be increased to the vicinity of the width direction end of the glass substrate,
As a result, a large glass substrate can be transferred so as to reduce the amount of bending due to its own weight, and damage to the glass substrate due to bending stress during transportation can be prevented.

Further, by forming the supporting member in the same shape and arranging a plurality of upper and lower stages inside the cassette body, a large number of glass substrates can be stored in the cassette.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective perspective view showing an embodiment of a glass substrate transfer device of the present invention with a top plate omitted.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional glass substrate transfer device,
(A) is a plan view in which the top plate is omitted, (b) is a front view,
(C) is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the widthwise dimension of the hand and the bending of the glass substrate.

FIG. 3 shows a conventional transfer device for transferring a large glass substrate,
(A) is a plan view in which the top plate is omitted, (b) is a front view,
(C) is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the widthwise dimension of the hand and the bending of the glass substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 cassette body 1a opening 2 rear wall 3 Support members 4 hands 41 Vertical hand support 42 Horizontal hand support 43 Transfer machine 5 glass substrates 6 gap

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A glass substrate is placed in and taken out by forming a plurality of supporting members arranged in parallel on the wall of a box-shaped cassette body, and raising and lowering a hand of a transfer machine inserted in the cassette body between the supporting members. In the glass substrate transfer device for carrying out, the support member is extended from the rear wall of the cassette body to the vicinity of the opening, and the hand is positioned at the vertical position of the hand between the parallel support members. Transfer of a glass substrate for transporting a glass substrate, characterized by comprising a plurality of vertical hand supporting portions in a horizontal direction and a lateral hand supporting portion in the width direction that is located on the tip end side of the supporting member and connects the vertical hand supporting portions. apparatus. 2. A plurality of supporting members arranged in parallel with each other on a wall of a box-shaped cassette body, and a glass substrate is taken in and out by raising and lowering a hand of a transfer machine inserted in the cassette body between the supporting members. In the transfer device for glass substrate transfer, a vertical hand extending between the supporting member extending from the rear wall of the cassette body to the vicinity of the opening and being positioned between the supporting members at an elevating position of the hand. A cassette for housing a glass substrate, characterized by having a gap through which a supporting portion can pass. 3. The substrate storage cassette according to claim 2, wherein the support members are formed in the same shape, and are formed in a plurality of upper and lower stages inside the cassette body.