JP2006008396A - Platy member carrying device and method, and flat panel display manufacturing device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a platy member carrying device and method, and a flat panel display manufacturing device and method, preventing the damage of not only the platy member but also a supporting means, and improving reliability, when an attitude of the platy member carrying in a standing position is changed for predetermined processing. <P>SOLUTION: A rotation driving mechanism 10 is provided on an installing frame 8. A plurality of supporting rollers (rotation supporting members) 9 coupled to the rotation driving mechanism, provided on the installing frame at predetermined intervals, and capable of carrying a glass substrate G in a standing position by supporting a lower end edge; a lift driving mechanism 12 lift driving the installing frame with the supporting rollers and the rotation driving mechanism; and a forward/backward moving mechanism 15 forwardly/backwardly moving the lift driving mechanism with the supporting rollers and the rotation driving mechanism installed to the installing frame, are provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a plate-shaped member conveying device and conveying method for conveying a plate-like member in a standing posture and changing the posture, and a flat panel display manufacturing apparatus and method including the plate-shaped member conveying device and conveying method Regarding the method.

In recent years, flat panel displays (planar image display devices) that are lightweight and thin have attracted attention as next-generation image display devices because of efficient space utilization or design factors. The so-called LED (Liquid Crystal Display), PDP (Plasma Display), EL (Electroluminescent Display), and FED (Electrolytic Emission Display) image display devices are excellent displays due to their advantages such as high brightness, high resolution, and low power consumption. Expected to be.
These flat panel displays include a flat panel as a display unit, which is formed by opposing two glass substrates or plastic plates, which are plate-like members, at predetermined intervals. In this flat panel, for example, a rectangular frame-shaped side wall is interposed between peripheral ends of a glass substrate, and the peripheral ends are connected to each other to form a vacuum envelope. A plurality of display elements are provided in the vacuum envelope.

In manufacturing the flat panel, for example, a step of washing a glass substrate, for example, a step of forming an electric circuit on the glass substrate, a step of forming a protective film on the surface of the glass substrate, and a glass substrate Various processing steps such as a step of applying an adhesive to the peripheral end of the substrate, a step of bonding two glass substrates, and a step of cutting the bonded glass substrates together are sequentially required.
As a flat panel display manufacturing apparatus, a processing apparatus for processing each process and a transport apparatus for transporting a glass substrate between these processing apparatuses must be provided. In each of the above-described steps, since the glass substrate is processed in a horizontal posture, the glass substrate is first transferred in a horizontal posture on a transfer line that is a transfer device that transfers between the processing apparatuses.

However, with flat panel displays, the glass substrates themselves are becoming larger as generations change, and the proportion of transfer lines and various processing devices occupying the floor area of manufacturing factories increases. It will be reflected in the price. And by supporting to a conveyance line by a horizontal attitude | position, the roller trace of the conveyance roller which comprises a conveyance line tends to adhere to a glass substrate, and will require the effort to remove.
Thus, for example, [Patent Document 1] or [Patent Document 2] discloses a system for transporting a glass substrate in a standing (vertical) posture. In any technology, even when the glass substrate is enlarged, it suppresses the expansion of the ratio of the transfer line and various processing equipment in the floor area of the manufacturing plant, and prevents deformation and contamination of the glass substrate. It is possible to plan.
JP 2002-308422 A JP 2003-45935 A

By the way, in any technique, when the glass substrate is transported, the glass substrate is kept in the standing posture until various processes are performed. As a result, the space occupied by the processing apparatus can be reduced, while the processing reliability may be reduced.
That is, it is necessary to perform the various processes on the glass substrate uniformly over the entire surface of the glass substrate having a large area. However, for example, in the process of applying a material in the glass substrate and the process of dispersing the material, the process is affected by gravity during the process.

In order to perform uniform processing over the front surface of the glass substrate, the glass substrate needs to be in a horizontal posture. Therefore, in such a processing apparatus, it is necessary to smoothly transfer the glass substrate from the transfer line to the processing apparatus by changing the attitude of the glass substrate that has been transferred from the transfer line in a standing position in the horizontal direction.
At this time, when the glass substrate is taken out from the transport line or returned, the glass substrate may be damaged by the transport roller. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the conveyance roller a is a rotating body having a concave surface so that the glass substrate G can be easily conveyed and does not come off during conveyance. In order to transfer the glass substrate G transported to a predetermined site to the processing step, the glass substrate G is lowered while holding the glass substrate in a standing posture.

Since the entire weight of the glass substrate G remains on the transport roller a, the lower edge moves along the peripheral surface of the transport roller a as the glass substrate is tilted, and the lower end edge of the glass substrate and the transport. At least one of the peripheral surfaces of the roller is damaged, and the roller is easily damaged.
The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to change the plate-like member conveyed in a standing posture into a horizontal posture for a predetermined process. In addition to preventing damage, it is possible to prevent damage to the support means of the plate-like member, and to improve the reliability of the plate-like member carrying device and carrying method, and flat panel display producing device and producing method. Is to provide.

  In order to satisfy the above-described object, the plate-like member conveyance device according to the first aspect of the present invention is connected to the attachment member, the rotation drive mechanism provided on the attachment member and the rotation drive mechanism, and has a predetermined interval in the attachment member. A plurality of rotation support members that support and convey the lower end portion of the plate-like member provided in a standing position, a lifting drive mechanism that drives the mounting member up and down together with the rotation support member and the rotation drive mechanism, and A rotation support member attached to the attachment member; and a back-and-forth movement mechanism for moving the displacement drive mechanism in the front-rear direction together with the rotation drive mechanism.

  Further, the plate member conveying apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is connected to the mounting member, the rotation driving mechanism provided on the mounting member and the rotation driving mechanism, and is provided at a predetermined interval on the mounting member. A plurality of rotation support members that can support and convey the lower end portion of the plate-like member in a posture, a lifting drive mechanism that drives the mounting member up and down together with the rotation support member and the rotation driving mechanism, and the lifting drive mechanism as a mounting member A rotation support member and a forward / backward movement mechanism that moves and displaces the rotation support member and the rotation drive mechanism in the front-rear direction, and the rotation support member conveys the plate-like member in a standing posture to a predetermined position and stops the conveyance. And a plate-like member holding mechanism that changes the posture of the plate-like member while waiting at the lowering operation of the raising / lowering drive mechanism and the backward movement operation of the forward / backward movement mechanism.

  Furthermore, in the method for transporting a plate-like member according to the third aspect of the invention, as a first step, a plurality of rotation support members are simultaneously driven to rotate in the same direction, and the plate-like member supported in a standing state on the rotation support member is carried. Then, when the plate-like member conveyed in the first step reaches the predetermined position as the second step, the conveyance by the rotation support member is stopped and the plate-like member is held in the standing posture, and the third step As a fourth step, the rotation support member is lowered and retracted with respect to the plate-like member held in the standing posture in the second step to separate the rotation support member from the plate-like member. Then, the plate-like member separated from the rotation support member is converted from the standing posture to the horizontal posture, and predetermined processing is performed.

Furthermore, the flat panel display manufacturing apparatus which manufactures the flat panel display which has a flat panel as a display part of this invention of Claim 4 is a conveying apparatus of the plate-shaped member in any one of the said Claim 1 and the said Claim 2. It comprises.
Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the flat panel display which manufactures the flat panel display which has a flat panel as a display part of this invention of Claim 5 comprises the conveying method of the plate-shaped member of the said Claim 3.

  According to the present invention, the plate-like member conveyed in the standing posture is prevented from being damaged when the plate-like member is changed to the horizontal posture for predetermined processing, and the plate-like member support means is also prevented from being damaged. As a result, the reliability can be improved.

Hereinafter, a plate-like member according to an embodiment of the present invention, for example, a glass substrate transfer device and a transfer method will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that the conveying apparatus and conveying method used here are not applied only to a glass substrate, but are used also about the conveying apparatus and conveying method which made object the flat panel used as the display area of a flat panel display. Yes.
FIG. 1A is a partial front view of a flat panel display manufacturing apparatus H provided with a plurality of transfer apparatuses 1, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the transfer apparatus 1.
The plurality of transfer devices 1 are arranged in a straight line. The apparatus main body 2 in each transport apparatus 1 is composed of a base 3 provided in the horizontal direction and placed on the apparatus installation surface, and a back part 4 standing on the rear end of the base. .

  An upper support frame 5 is provided in the horizontal direction in the upper part of the front surface of the back surface portion 4 in the apparatus main body 2. The upper support frame 5 is provided so as to protrude from the back surface portion 4 to the front surface side, and includes a protruding surface 5a inclined at a predetermined angle. A plurality (three in this case) of receiving rollers 6 are provided on the protruding surface 5a of the support frame 5 at a predetermined interval in the rolling direction.

A gripping mechanism (plate-like member holding mechanism) 7 is provided at the middle step in the vertical direction of the back surface portion 4. This gripping mechanism 7 is capable of gripping, for example, the glass substrate G from the left and right in a state of being transported and stopped as described later, and maintaining its position and posture. Then, while holding the glass substrate G, it can project and move to the front side (near side), change to a substantially horizontal posture, or move backward from a substantially horizontal posture to a standing posture.
On the other hand, an attachment frame (attachment member) 8 is provided on the base 3 constituting the unit body 2 in the horizontal direction parallel to the upper surface of the base over the longitudinal direction of the base as described later. The attachment frame 8 is provided with a plurality of support rollers (rotation support members) 9 with a predetermined interval in the rolling direction.

The support roller 9 is a rotating body having a concave peripheral surface, protrudes forward (front side) from the receiving roller 6, and the support shaft of the support roller 9 is 90 ° different from the support shaft of the receiving roller 6. Is set to That is, as will be described later, the glass substrate G is placed on the peripheral surface of the support roller 9, and the support roller 9 supports the lower end edge of the glass substrate. And the receiving roller 6 receives the upper end part of the glass substrate G from the back side so that the glass substrate G may become a diagonal attitude | position.
The mounting frame 8 is provided with a rotation driving mechanism 10 that drives the support rollers 9 to rotate at the same time, and the mounting frame 8 is supported by a lifting drive mechanism 12. The elevating drive mechanism 12 is supported by a back-and-forth moving mechanism 15 that moves and displaces the supporting roller 9 attached to the attachment frame 8 and the rotational drive mechanism 10 in the front-rear direction.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the movement state of the mounting frame 8 to which the support roller 9 is attached, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the elevating drive mechanism 12 and the longitudinal movement mechanism 15 with respect to the mounting frame 8 to which the support roller 9 is attached. Some are omitted and shown schematically.

  That is, the guide rail 20 is provided in the left-right both ends of the base 3 over the front-back direction, and the guide body 21 is straddled on each guide rail. The side end portions of the substrate frame 22 are attached and fixed to the guide bodies 21 at the left and right ends, and the substrate frame is installed between the guide bodies 21. The board frame 22 is bent in a substantially L shape along the longitudinal direction, and both side ends of the horizontal piece 22 a are attached and fixed to the guide body 21. Then, an operating rod end portion of a front / rear drive source 23 made of, for example, an electromagnetic solenoid is connected to the horizontal piece portion 22 a via a connection fitting 24.

It is sufficient that at least one set of the front / rear drive source 23 is prepared and attached to one end portion of the substrate frame 22, and preferably two sets are prepared and attached to both left and right end portions of the substrate frame 22 to make smoother. Assures quick operation. The guide rail 20, the guide body 21, the substrate frame 22, and the front / rear drive source 23 constitute the front / rear moving mechanism 15.
The bent piece portion 22 b bent with respect to the horizontal piece portion 22 a of the substrate frame 22 is set to have the same bending angle as the protruding surface 5 a of the upper support frame 5 with respect to the back surface portion 4. Moreover, the guide rail 25 is provided in the up-down direction at the right and left both ends of the bent piece 22b, and the guide body 26 is straddled over each guide rail.

The side ends of the mounting frame 8 are fixedly attached to the left and right side guide bodies 26, and the mounting frame is installed between the left and right guide bodies 26. The plurality of support rollers 8 protrude from the front surface side of the mounting frame, and the operating rod end portion of the lifting drive source 27 made of an electromagnetic solenoid is connected to the back surface side of the mounting frame 8 via a connecting metal fitting 28.
The lift drive mechanism 12 is constituted by the lift drive source 27 and the connecting fitting 28. The raising / lowering drive source 27 is installed in a vertical posture on the substrate frame 22 and is configured to drive the attachment frame 8 up and down in the vertical direction via an operating rod and a connecting fitting 28.

Further, a rotation drive motor 30 as a rotation drive source is attached to the back side of the attachment frame 8. Although not particularly illustrated, for example, a drive belt or a gear train is provided between the rotation shaft of the rotation drive motor 30 and the support shafts of all the support rollers 9 supported by the mounting frame 8. Therefore, the rotational drive motor 30 can rotationally drive all the support rollers 9 simultaneously and in the same direction.
The support structure of the rotary drive motor 30 is supported so as to be movable up and down with respect to the substrate frame 22 as the lifting drive mechanism 12 is operated to drive the mounting frame 8 up and down.

In the transport unit 1 configured as described above, the glass substrate G is placed on the support roller 9, and the support roller 9 supports the lower edge of the glass substrate. The receiving roller 6 receives the upper end portion of the glass substrate G in an oblique posture from the back side.
The rotation drive motor 30 performs a first process of taking over and transferring the glass substrate G from the adjacent transfer unit 1. As shown in FIGS. 1B and 4A, the lower end edge of the glass substrate G is placed on the support roller 9 and the upper end portion is received by the receiving roller 6 so that the glass substrate G is in a standing posture and is inclined to some extent. It is conveyed in an inclined state.
When the glass substrate G is conveyed to a predetermined position, a sensor (not shown) detects it and stops the operation of the rotation drive motor 30. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, a second step of operating the holding mechanism 7 to hold the glass substrate G is performed. The position of the glass substrate G is ensured while keeping the conveying posture.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the elevating drive mechanism 12 is operated to perform a third step of lowering the attachment frame 8 relative to the substrate frame 22. The support roller 9 attached to the attachment frame 8 and the rotary drive motor 30 are also lowered simultaneously. As a result, the support roller 9 is separated from the lower end of the glass substrate G.
The third step includes an operation of operating the back-and-forth movement mechanism 15 to move the substrate frame 22 backward as shown in FIG. Since the mounting frame 8, the support roller 9, the rotation drive motor 30 and the lifting drive mechanism 12 are all attached to the substrate frame 22, they are moved backward all at once. The support roller 9 is further away from the lower end edge of the glass substrate G.

As the fourth step, as shown in FIG. 4D, the holding mechanism 7 is operated to change the glass substrate G from the oblique standing posture to the horizontal posture. In this state, the glass substrate is guided to a processing apparatus (not shown) and subjected to predetermined processing.
As described above, when the predetermined processing is performed on the glass substrate G, since the support roller 9 is already separated from the lower end of the glass substrate, how the glass substrate is changed from the standing posture. However, there is no possibility of damaging the lower end edge of the glass substrate G as well as the peripheral surface of the support roller 9 as the support means.

When the predetermined process is completed, the operation is performed in the reverse order from the fourth process described above, and the process returns to the first process through the third and second processes. Then, the glass substrate G that has been subjected to the predetermined processing is transported to the rear transport unit 1A that is provided adjacently as shown in FIG. 1, and is guided to the next processing apparatus. The next glass substrate G is carried into the transport unit 1 described above from the front transport unit 1Z, and the above-described operation is repeated.
When the glass substrate G after completion of the predetermined processing is transported in the standing position again, it is necessary to place the lower edge of the glass substrate on the support roller 8. By sequentially performing the operations of 12 in reverse, damage to the peripheral surface of the support roller 8 and the lower edge of the glass substrate can be reliably prevented.

In the above-described embodiment, the gripping mechanism 7 that is a plate-like member holding mechanism is provided in the apparatus main body 2 of the transport apparatus 1, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and is provided on the processing apparatus side. Also good.
And although it comprised from the holding mechanism which hold | grips the glass substrate G as the plate-shaped member holding mechanism 7, it is not limited to this, For example, it is set as the suction cup structure connected to a vacuum pump, and the structure adsorb | sucked to the glass substrate G It may be.

The front view of a part of manufacturing apparatus of the flat panel display provided with the some conveying apparatus which shows one Embodiment in this invention, and sectional drawing of a conveying apparatus. The figure explaining the movement state of the attachment frame which attached the support roller based on the embodiment. The perspective view of the raising / lowering drive mechanism with respect to the attachment frame which attached the support roller based on the embodiment, and a back-and-forth movement mechanism. The figure explaining the manufacturing process of the flat panel display based on the embodiment in order. The figure explaining the state of the conventional support roller and the glass substrate supported by this support roller.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 ... Mounting frame (attachment member), 10 ... Rotation drive mechanism, G ... Glass substrate (plate-shaped member), 9 ... Support roller (rotation support member), 12 ... Lifting drive mechanism, 15 ... Front-back movement mechanism, 7 ... ( (Plate-like member) holding mechanism.

Claims (5)

An attachment member;
Rotation drive mechanism provided on the attachment member, and connected to the rotation drive mechanism, provided at a predetermined interval on the attachment member, supporting the lower end edge of the plate-like member in the standing position and transporting A plurality of possible rotational support members;
A lifting drive mechanism that drives the mounting member to move up and down together with the rotation support member and the rotation drive mechanism;
A back-and-forth movement mechanism that moves and displaces the elevating drive mechanism in the front-rear direction together with the rotation support member and the rotation drive mechanism attached to the attachment member;
A plate-shaped member conveying apparatus comprising: An attachment member;
Rotation drive mechanism provided on the attachment member, and connected to the rotation drive mechanism, provided at a predetermined interval on the attachment member, supporting the lower end edge of the plate-like member in the standing position and transporting A plurality of possible rotational support members;
A lifting drive mechanism that drives the mounting member to move up and down together with the rotation support member and the rotation drive mechanism;
A back-and-forth movement mechanism that moves and displaces the elevating drive mechanism in the front-rear direction together with the rotation support member and the rotation drive mechanism attached to the attachment member;
The rotation support member conveys the plate-like member in a standing posture to a predetermined position, holds the plate-like member in the state in which conveyance is stopped, the lowering operation of the elevating drive mechanism and the backward operation of the front-rear moving mechanism A plate-like member holding mechanism that waits for and changes the posture of the plate-like member;
A plate-shaped member conveying apparatus comprising: A first step of rotating and driving a plurality of rotation support members all at once in the same direction, and conveying a plate-like member supported on the rotation support member in a standing position;
When the plate-like member conveyed in the first step reaches a predetermined position, the second step of stopping the conveyance by the rotation support member and holding the plate-like member in the standing posture;
A third step of lowering and rotating the rotation support member to separate the rotation support member from the plate member with respect to the plate member held in the standing posture in the second step;
A plate-like member transporting the plate-like member, wherein the plate-like member separated from the rotation support member in the third step is converted from a standing posture into a horizontal posture and subjected to a predetermined process. Method. In a flat panel display manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display having a flat panel as a display unit,
An apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display, comprising the plate-shaped member conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 and 2. In the flat panel display manufacturing method of manufacturing a flat panel display having a flat panel as a display unit,
A method for manufacturing a flat panel display, comprising the method for conveying a plate-like member according to claim 3.

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