JP2005162491A - Plate material transport method and plate material transport apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tabular material transport method, easily adjusting the operation corresponding to the size of a plate material without increase in installation floor area of a plate material transport apparatus even if the plate material is increased in size, and a plate material transport apparatus preferably for implementing the method. <P>SOLUTION: A liquid A is injected to the tabular material P to maintain the tabular material P in an erected state, and the erected tabular material P is supported from below at the lower end face and simultaneously moved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention belongs to a technical field related to conveyance of a fragile plate material such as a liquid crystal glass substrate in a factory or the like.

  Conventionally, as a sheet conveying technique, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known.

  This conventional plate material transfer technology is a method in which air is injected from below by a levitation device to float the plate material in a horizontal state at a fixed position, and the levitation device that floats the plate material is moved along the rail in the conveyance direction. It is.

According to this conventional plate material conveyance technique, the plate material is not in contact with the surrounding members, and therefore, there is an advantage that damage or breakage of the plate material during conveyance is prevented.
JP 2000-62950 A

   The above-described conventional plate material transfer technology requires a large installation floor area for the levitation device that floats the plate material horizontally, so that there is a problem that the installation becomes difficult when the plate material is enlarged. In addition, if the jet pressure of air sprayed from multiple locations in multiple directions of the levitation device is not adjusted precisely, the floated plate will bend or slide in the horizontal direction, so operation adjustment corresponding to the size of the plate There is a problem that is troublesome.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and does not require a large installation floor area and can easily adjust the operation corresponding to the size of the plate material, and implements this plate material transfer method. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plate material transport device suitable for this purpose.

   In order to solve the above-described problems, the plate material transport method according to the present invention employs the following means.

  That is, as described in claim 1, liquid is sprayed onto the plate material to keep the plate material in an upright state, and the upright plate material is moved while being supported by the lower end surface.

  In this means, the installation floor area is reduced by conveying the plate material in an upright state, the load of the upright plate material is supported, and the plate material is prevented from overturning by the liquid jet pressure, thereby preventing the plate material from bending and sliding.

  Further, as described in claim 2, in the plate material transport method according to claim 1, the liquid is sprayed on one of the front surface and the back surface of the plate material, and the plate material is in an upright state slightly inclined toward the liquid ejection side. It is maintained.

  With this means, the standing state of the plate material is slightly inclined.

  Further, as described in claim 3, in the plate material conveying method according to claim 1, the liquid is sprayed to both the front and back surfaces of the plate material with a uniform spray pressure, and the plate material is maintained in a vertical standing state. Features.

  With this means, the standing state of the plate material is vertical.

  Furthermore, in order to solve the above-described problems, the plate material transport apparatus according to the present invention employs the following means.

  That is, as described in claim 4, a fluid ejecting mechanism that erects a plate by injecting liquid onto a plate that is disposed and transported along the transport direction, and a plate that is disposed below the fluid ejecting mechanism at the lower end surface. And a moving mechanism that moves in the transport direction while supporting.

  In this means, the liquid is ejected from the fluid ejecting mechanism disposed above to the plate material, and the plate material is supported and moved by the moving mechanism disposed below.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the plate material conveying device according to the fourth aspect, the fluid ejecting mechanism is arranged only on one surface side of the plate material, and the plate material is slightly tilted to the liquid ejection side to stand up. To do.

  In this means, the fluid ejecting mechanism ejects liquid from one surface side of the plate material.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the plate material conveying device according to the fourth aspect, the fluid ejecting mechanism is disposed on both sides of the plate material, and vertically erects the plate material with an equal jet pressure of the liquid from both sides. Features.

  In this means, the fluid ejecting mechanism ejects the liquid from both sides of the plate material.

   As mentioned above, since the board | plate material conveyance method and board material conveyance apparatus which concern on this invention convey a board | plate material in an upright state, there exists an effect that an installation floor area becomes narrow. In addition, this effect brings about an effect that the installation is not difficult even if the plate material is enlarged.

  Moreover, since the load of the standing plate material is supported and the plate material is prevented from overturning by the jetting pressure of the liquid, there is an effect that the plate material to be conveyed is prevented from being bent and slid. Moreover, this effect produces the effect that the operation adjustment corresponding to the magnitude | size of a board | plate material becomes easy.

  Further, as claimed in claim 2 and claim 5, since the standing state of the plate material is slightly inclined and one side of the front surface and the back surface of the plate material is opened, the delivery mechanism between the supply side and the collection side of the plate material and the accessories There is an effect that the facilities become easy.

  Furthermore, as claimed in claim 3 and claim 6, since the liquid jet pressure is applied to both sides of the front and back surfaces of the plate material and the vertical standing state is strongly maintained, the plate material being transported is an air flow for air conditioning in a clean room, etc. This has the effect of preventing blurring and the like. Further, by standing upright, the conveyance device becomes narrower.

  Further, as a seventh aspect, since the whole is unitized, there is an effect that a transport line having a long transport distance can be easily configured.

   Embodiments of a plate material conveying method and a plate material conveying device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 7 show an embodiment (1) of a plate material conveying method and a plate material conveying device according to the present invention.

  First, an embodiment of a plate material conveying method according to the present invention will be described.

  In this embodiment, a sheet P made of a liquid crystal glass substrate is conveyed inside a clean room.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the fluid A made of air is ejected onto the back surface of the plate material P at an angle a that is substantially orthogonal, and the plate material P is ejected at a slight angle b toward the fluid A ejection side. In this case, the upright plate member P is moved while being supported by the lower end surface.

  About 5 degrees of inclination | tilt angle b of the standing board | plate material P is selected. The surface that supports the standing plate material P is inclined at a slight angle c (the same angle as the angle b) with respect to the horizontal plane and is brought into contact with the lower end surface of the plate material P.

  According to this embodiment, since the board | plate material P is conveyed in an upright state, an installation floor area can be narrowed compared with the above-mentioned prior art example. Therefore, installation does not become difficult even if the plate P is enlarged. Since most of the load is supported by the lower end surface of the transported plate material P and a part of the load (falling force) is supported by the back surface of the plate material P by the injection pressure of the fluid A, the plate material P is prevented from being bent or toppled. Therefore, even if the injection pressure of the fluid A is not precisely adjusted as in the above-described conventional example, it is only necessary to adjust the injection pressure of the fluid A so as to prevent the plate material P from being overturned. Operation adjustment corresponding to this becomes easy.

  Since the plate member P is not in contact with other members than the peripheral member that supports the lower end surface, the plate member P is prevented from being damaged or broken during the transfer as in the conventional example described above.

  In addition, since the surface side of the plate material P is open, the delivery mechanism for the supply side and the recovery side of the plate material P and the equipment of the attached devices (for example, the inspection mechanism for the plate material P) become easy.

  Next, an embodiment of the plate material conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, this embodiment mainly includes a fluid ejection mechanism 1 that ejects fluid A onto a plate material P, and a moving mechanism 2 that supports the lower end surface of the plate material P and moves the plate material P. It is configured as a part.

  The fluid ejecting mechanism 1 is a fluid ejecting hole (0.5 mm to 1.0 mm) through which a fluid A is ejected through a certain interval on one surface of a rectangular tube-shaped main body 1a through which a pressurized fluid A flows. A number 1b is provided in a plurality of rows. An air blower 1d that is a supply source of the fluid A is connected to the main body 1a through a hose 1c.

  The fluid ejecting mechanism 1 is attached to the upper and lower central portions of a rectangular frame member 3 with a mounting bracket 4, and a part of the fluid ejecting mechanism 1 protrudes from the frame member 3 along the transport direction (lateral direction). The frame member 3 is supported by the frame structure frame 5 installed on the installation floor F so as to form the aforementioned angle b. The air blower 1 d of the fluid ejection mechanism 1 is installed on the gantry 5.

  In the moving mechanism 2, a conveying belt 2d is stretched endlessly between a driving pulley 2b that is rotationally driven by a motor 2a and a driven pulley 2c that is separated from the driving pulley 2b. In the length direction of the surface of the conveyor belt 2d, a groove 2e for preventing the lower end surface of the plate material P from slipping is formed. Between the driving pulley 2b, the driven pulley 2c, and the conveyance belt 2d, a guide 2f that prevents the conveyance belt 2d from bending is provided.

  The moving mechanism 2 is attached by a mounting bracket 6 in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the frame member 3 described above, and a part of the moving mechanism 2 protrudes from the frame member 3 along the conveying direction (lateral direction) (almost the same length as the fluid ejecting mechanism 1). Are arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the unitized fluid ejecting mechanism 1, the moving mechanism 2, the frame member 3, and the gantry 5 are connected in the transport direction by attaching a connecting bracket 7 between the gantry 5. The conveyance line which can convey the board | plate material P for a long distance is comprised.

  According to this embodiment, since the whole is composed of a frame structure or the like, it can be manufactured at low cost and light weight.

  In the operation and use of this embodiment, the plate material P placed on the transport belt 2d of the moving mechanism 2 is transported while being prevented from falling by the fluid A ejected from the nozzle 1b of the fluid ejecting mechanism 1.

  The operation and effect of this embodiment are the same as those of the above-described embodiment of the plate material conveying method according to the present invention.

  8 and 9 show an embodiment (2) of the plate material conveying method and the plate material conveying device according to the present invention.

  First, an embodiment of a plate material conveying method according to the present invention will be described.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the fluid A is sprayed at an angle a substantially orthogonal to both the front and back surfaces of the plate material P to keep the plate material P in a vertical standing state. The plate material P is moved while being supported by the lower end surface.

  According to this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the above-described embodiment (1) of the plate material conveying method according to the present invention are obtained except that the opening on the surface side of the plate material P disappears.

  Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the vertical standing state is strongly maintained by applying the injection pressure of the fluid A to both the front and back surfaces of the plate material P, the plate material P being transported is the air flow of the clean room air conditioning. There will be no blurring due to the above.

  Next, an embodiment of the plate material conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the fluid ejecting mechanism 1 and the frame member 3 are disposed so as to face each other in the horizontal direction. The moving mechanism 2 is attached to one frame member 3.

  The operation and effect of this embodiment are the same as those of the above-described embodiment of the plate material conveying method according to the present invention.

  As described above, in addition to the illustrated embodiment, the present invention can be applied to the conveyance of the plate material P made of a material other than the liquid crystal glass substrate.

  Furthermore, the fluid A ejected corresponding to the material of the plate material P can be another gas such as an inert gas or a liquid such as water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a perspective view of the basic principle which shows embodiment (1) of the board | plate material conveying method and board | plate material conveying apparatus which concern on this invention. It is a side view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a detailed view of FIG. 2. It is an enlarged view of the principal part of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view of the other principal part of FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3. It is a block diagram of the conveyance line by FIG. It is a side view of the basic principle which shows embodiment (2) of the board | plate material conveying method and board | plate material conveying apparatus which concern on this invention. FIG. 9 is a detailed view of FIG. 8.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fluid injection mechanism 2 Movement mechanism 3 Frame member A Fluid P Plate material

Claims (6)

  A plate material conveying method in which liquid is sprayed onto a plate material to maintain the plate material in an upright state, and the upright plate material is moved while being supported by a lower end surface.   2. The plate material conveying method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is sprayed on one of the front surface and the back surface of the plate material, and the plate material is maintained in an upright state slightly inclined toward the liquid ejection side. .   2. The plate material conveying method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is sprayed to the front surface and the back surface of the plate material with equal spray pressure, and the plate material is maintained in a vertical standing state.   A fluid ejection mechanism that raises the plate material by ejecting liquid onto the plate material that is arranged and conveyed along the conveyance direction; and a movement mechanism that is disposed below the fluid ejection mechanism and moves in the conveyance direction while supporting the plate material on the lower end surface. A plate material conveying apparatus comprising:   5. The plate material conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the fluid ejecting mechanism is disposed only on one surface side of the plate material, and the plate material is erected slightly inclined toward the liquid ejecting side.   5. The plate material conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the fluid ejecting mechanism is disposed on both sides of the plate material and vertically erects the plate material with an equal jet pressure of the liquid from both sides.

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