JP2006036530A - Substrate conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a glass substrate conveyance device having a simple structure and capable of securely removing static electricity of a substrate without causing dust and requiring frequent maintenance. <P>SOLUTION: This substrate conveyance device 10 conveys a sheet-like insulation material, for example, the glass substrate by rollers attached to roller shafts 12A to 12D, 12H to 12J. An electrical conductive wire 26 is sequentially wound around outer rings of bearing-like pulleys 24A to 24D, 24H to 24J provided at outer ends of the roller shafts at least once to ground through an electrical conductive extension spring 28 and earth static electricity of the glass substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transport apparatus capable of preventing electrification with a simple configuration when transporting a substrate made of a sheet-like insulating material such as a large glass substrate.

  When transporting large glass substrates used for liquid crystal display panels and plasma display panels, and substrates made of sheet-like insulating materials such as light diffusion sheets covering the surfaces of these large display panels, these large substrates and films If static electricity is accumulated on the substrate, dust floating around it may adhere to it, or electrostatic damage, that is, fine patterns and circuits created on the substrate surface during electrostatic discharge may be damaged by short circuit or wire breakage. .

  For this reason, conventionally, it is possible to prevent charging by reliably grounding in the order of the roller shaft, bearing, frame, floor surface, and ground from the roller that transports the substrate, or ions are sprayed on the charged glass substrate surface with an ionizer. The electrostatic charge was positively removed, or the surface of the glass substrate was coated with a surface active agent by an antistatic spray to reduce the charging voltage of the substrate to prevent electrostatic breakdown.

  Among the various countermeasures against static electricity described above, the method of spraying ions onto the substrate with an ionizer has the problem that the glass substrate is large, so a large number of expensive ion generators must be provided, and the device cost increases significantly. Produce.

  Further, the method of forming the surfactant film on the lower surface of the substrate by the antistatic spray is still in the development stage, and the quality of the influence on the upper surface of the substrate has not been sufficiently studied. Furthermore, as described above, specific means as a method of grounding in the order of the roller, the roller shaft, the bearing, the frame, the floor surface, and the ground include, for example, a conductive brush or contact shoe that directly contacts all of the roller shafts. There are a method of providing, a method of fastening, pressing and embedding a bearing supporting a roller shaft with a metal member.

  However, it is necessary to take measures against dust generation caused by sliding at a contact portion such as a conductive brush, and maintenance is required to compensate for wear. In addition, the method of grounding the bearing with the metal member has a problem in that contact failure occurs due to point contact between the bearing and the metal member, contact with each other, loose fastening during long-term use, or the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and does not generate dust when grounded by a metal member from a roller, through a roller shaft and a bearing, and is also a point contact between the bearing and the metal member. Another object of the present invention is to provide a means for transporting a substrate having an installation structure in which no loosening of fastening or the like occurs.

  In the present invention, a plurality of roller shafts arranged in parallel, a plurality of roller bearings that rotatably support these roller shafts around the axis, and the respective roller shafts are supported coaxially therewith. At least one roller, and a frame that supports the plurality of roller shafts via the roller bearings, the roller bearings including an inner ring that rotates integrally with the roller shafts, and the inner ring. A substrate made of a sheet-like insulating material is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the roller axis along a conveyance surface formed by a part of the outer peripheral surface of the plurality of rollers. And a conductive bearing-like pulley is provided at a protruding portion of the roller shaft from the roller bearing, and the bearing-like pulley rotates integrally with the roller shaft. An inner ring and an outer ring rotatably supported by a bearing roller on the inner ring. The roller, the roller shaft, and the bearing-like pulley are passed through the roller shaft from the surface where the roller contacts the substrate. The conductive path is formed so as to reach the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring, and the conductive wire is wound directly or indirectly on the plurality of outer rings at least once in the substrate transfer direction sequentially. The above-mentioned problems are solved by a substrate transfer device characterized by being grounded.

  In the substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention, the conductive wire is structured to be sequentially or at least once wound around the outer ring of the bearing-like pulley and then directly or indirectly through the frame. The conductive wire is in line contact with the outer ring of the wire and the roller bearing along the outer circumference of the outer ring, and is further wound, so there is no contact failure due to loosening during use, and it is possible to reliably prevent charging. It has the effect of being able to.

  The substrate transport device according to the best mode includes a plurality of roller shafts arranged horizontally and in parallel, a plurality of roller bearings that rotatably support these roller shafts around the axis, and a shaft on the roller shaft. A plurality of rollers supported at regular intervals, and a frame that supports the plurality of roller shafts via the roller bearings, and is formed by a part of an outer peripheral surface of the plurality of rollers. A glass substrate is conveyed along a conveying surface in a direction orthogonal to the roller shaft, and a conductive bearing-like pulley is provided on a protruding portion of the roller shaft from the roller bearing, and the bearing-like pulley is provided. Has an inner ring that rotates integrally with the roller shaft, and an outer ring that is rotatably supported by the inner ring via a bearing roller, and the roller, the roller shaft, and The roller bearing-like pulley is configured so that a conductive path from the surface where the roller contacts the glass substrate to the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring through the roller shaft is formed, and the plurality of outer rings are sequentially conductive in the substrate transport direction. A conductive wire is wound once, and the conductive wire is fixed to the frame using a terminal and indirectly grounded. A tension spring made of a conductive material is interposed between one end of the conductive wire and the terminal, and the tension spring always pulls the conductive wire in the direction of winding the outer ring.

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transfer apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of roller shafts 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> J that are horizontally and finely arranged, and these roller shafts 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> J around the axis. A plurality of roller bearings 14A to 14J that are rotatably supported, a plurality of rollers 16 that are coaxially supported by the roller shafts 12A to 12J and that are supported at regular intervals in the axial direction, and the plurality of rollers And a frame 18 that supports the shafts 12A to 12J via the roller bearings 14A to 14J. As shown in FIG. 2, the shafts 12A to 12J are formed by upper end portions on the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of rollers 16. The glass substrate 22 is horizontally conveyed in the direction orthogonal to the roller shafts 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> J along the conveying surface 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the roller shafts 12A-12J (12A-12D, 12H-12J in FIG. 3) from the roller bearings 14A-14J (14A-14D, 14H-14J in FIG. 3). Bearing-like pulleys 24A to 24J (24A to 24D and 24H to 24J in FIG. 3) are provided on the protruding portion. Each of these bearing-like pulleys 24A to 24J has an inner ring 25A that rotates integrally with the roller shafts 12A to 12G, and an outer ring 25B that is rotatably supported by the inner ring 25A via a bearing ball 25C. (See FIG. 5).

  Moreover, in this board | substrate conveyance apparatus 10, the said roller 16, roller shaft 12A-12J, and bearing-like pulley 24A-24J are passed through roller shaft 12A-12J from the surface where the roller 16 contacts the said glass substrate 22, and bearing-like. A conductive path to the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 25B of the pulleys 24A to 24J is formed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a conductive wire 26 is wound around the outer ring 25 </ b> B of the plurality of bearing-like pulleys 24 </ b> A to 24 </ b> J one by one in the transport direction one by one. One end 26 </ b> A is fixed and connected to the frame 18 through a conductive tension spring 28. The end of the conductive tension spring 28 and the other end 26 </ b> B of the conductive wire 26 are fixed to the frame 18 by a crimp terminal 27. As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 18 is grounded to the ground (not shown) by a ground wire 19.

  The conductive wire 26 is wound around the outer ring 25B once in the same direction, and when the conductive wire 26 is pulled by the conductive tension spring 28, the conductive wire 26 winds the outer ring 25B. It is comprised so that tension | tensile_strength may be provided.

  Here, it is assumed that the glass substrate 22 is transported after being neutralized to zero potential by an ionizer or the like in advance. The roller 16 that is in direct contact with the lower surface of the glass substrate 22 is made of conductive plastic (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene: UPE) as a material thereof, and the roller shafts 12A to 12G are made of metal having excellent conductivity, for example, rust. Austenitic stainless steel is used. This is to ensure conductivity and to obtain a function of preventing rust and dust generation.

  Further, conductive bearings are used as the bearing-like pulleys 24A to 24J. As specific materials, the inner ring 25A and the bearing ball 25C are made of austenitic stainless steel which is hard to rust and has high strength, and the outer ring 25B is It is made of a plastic having excellent conductivity (for example, UPE). As the roller bearings 14A to 14J, load bearings are used. The frame 18 is made of, for example, an aluminum extrusion mold. The bearing ball 25C is displayed in this manner because it uses a ball bearing in the first embodiment, but a bearing roller is used as a general name.

  As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5, a circumferential groove 30 is formed on the outer periphery of the outer ring 25 </ b> B in each of the bearing-like pulleys 24 </ b> A to 24 </ b> J, and the conductive wire 26 is wound around the circumferential groove 30. I am trying to do it.

  In the substrate transfer apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, conductive tension springs 28 are sequentially wound around the outer rings 25B of the roller bearings 14A to 14J as shown in FIG. A crimping terminal 27 is fixed to one end 26 A, and is connected and fixed to the frame 18 through a conductive tension spring 28 hung on the crimping terminal 27, and the other end is fixed to the frame 18 by the crimping terminal 27. Since they are connected and fixed, it is possible to secure a sufficient line contact length with each outer ring 25B by one conductive wire 26 and to ground static electricity.

  At this time, the bearing-like pulleys 24A to 24J have the same structure as the bearing, and even if the inner ring 25A rotates with the roller shafts 12A to 12J, the outer ring 25B does not rotate. Therefore, the outer ring 25B and the conductive wire 26 do not slide, and the one end 26A of the conductive wire 26 is always pulled by the conductive tension spring 28 in the direction of tightening the outer ring 25B. The electrical contact between the conductive wire 26 and the outer ring 25B can be reliably maintained.

  Further, the outer ring 25B is formed with a circumferential groove 30, and the conductive wire 26 is wound around the outer ring 25B in the circumferential groove 30, so that the conductive wire 26 is not detached from the outer ring 25B, and When the side wall of the circumferential groove 30 and the conductive wire 26 are in contact with each other, the contact area can be further increased.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, since each conventional roller shaft or conductive brush or contact shoe for each roller is not used, not only the manufacturing cost but also dust generation can be greatly suppressed.

  Further, since the outer ring 25B of the roller bearings 14A to 14J is sequentially wound in the transport direction by the conductive wire 26, the conductive wire 26 is brought into line contact with the outer periphery of the outer ring 25B regardless of the pitch accuracy between the bearings. , Can always be conducted.

  The conductive wire 26 is made of metal, for example, copper wire or iron wire, and may be a single wire or a stranded wire including a plurality of single wires.

  Furthermore, if necessary, two or more conductive wires 26 may be sequentially wound around each outer ring 25B. Further, the conductive wire 26 may be wound around each outer ring 25B more than once.

  Although the conductive wire 26 in the first embodiment is given a tensile force by the conductive tension spring 28, the present invention is not limited to this, and other tensile force applying devices may be used.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the glass substrate 22 is previously neutralized to zero potential by an ionizer or the like, but the present invention is also applied to the case where the glass substrate 22 is not previously neutralized. That is, if an ionizer or the like is used, static electricity can be completely removed with a small number of units used, but there is a corresponding static electricity removing effect even if it is not used.

  For example, in the substrate transfer apparatus (not shown) 40 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the conductive wire 26 is always pulled by a weight 42 instead of the conductive tension spring.

  Here, the weight 42 is configured to pull the conductive wire 26 at a position between the outer ring 25B closest to the one end 26A of the conductive wire 26 and the one end 26A. Here, the conductive wire 26 is wound around the movable pulley 44 that suspends the weight 42, and thereby, the tensile force is applied to the conductive wire 26 downward by the weight 42. The code | symbol 46 of FIG. 6 shows a fixed pulley.

  Next, with reference to FIG.7 and FIG.8, the film conveying apparatus 50 which is Example 3 of this invention is demonstrated.

  This film conveying apparatus 50 unwinds the resin film 54 which is a sheet-like insulating material from the film raw fabric roll 52, and sequentially winds it on the film transfer rollers 56A to 56D corresponding to the rollers 16A to 16J in Example 1. In FIG. 7, it is sent out in the right direction.

  These film transfer rollers 56A to 56D are integrally provided on the roller shafts 58A to 58D, respectively, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 8, and these roller shafts 58A to 58D have both ends at the load bearings 60A to 60D. It is rotatably supported by 60D.

  Further, one end in the axial direction (right end in FIG. 8) of each roller shaft 58A to 58D further protrudes from the load bearings 60A to 60D, and is rotatably supported by the bearing-like pulleys 62A to 62D. The load bearings 60A to 60D and the roller bearings 62A to 62D are respectively supported by a frame (not shown).

  The bearing-like pulleys 62A to 62D are configured to include an inner ring (not shown) and an outer ring 66B, like the bearing-like pulley in the first embodiment. A circumferential groove 67 similar to that of the first embodiment is formed on the outer periphery of the outer ring 66B.

  As in the first embodiment, the conductive wires 68 are sequentially wound around the outer rings 66B of the bearing-like pulleys 62A to 62D one by one, and one end 68A is connected to the frame 64 via the conductive tension spring 70. The frame 64 is fixed and grounded to the ground (not shown), so that the film transfer rollers 56A to 56D are grounded.

  Also in the third embodiment, the film transfer rollers 56A to 56D are made of conductive plastic made of UPE, for example, as in the first embodiment. From here, the roller shafts 58A to 58D and the bearing-like pulleys 62A to 62D ( A conductive path to the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 66B) is formed.

  Therefore, also in the third embodiment, static electricity can be reliably removed with a simple configuration and without dust generation. Further, there is no contact failure in the contact portion between the conductive wire 68 and the outer ring 66B, and it is possible to secure the conductivity for a long period of time and to achieve maintenance-free.

  In each of the above embodiments, the conductive wire 26 or 68 is wound around the outer ring in the bearing-like pulley on one end side in the axial direction of the roller shaft, but the present invention is not limited to this, A bearing-like pulley may be provided on both ends of the roller shaft, and a conductive wire may be wound around each of the outer rings.

  Furthermore, in the said Example, although an electroconductive wire consists of a single line or a strand, you may use the piano wire 70 like Example 4 shown by FIG.

  The piano wire 70 is a thin wire having a high elastic limit stress, and has high tension, flexibility, and conductivity, so that it is convenient as a conductive wire. In the case of the fourth embodiment, there is no need to separately provide a tension applying device such as a conductive tension spring. In the case of the piano wire 70, if the circumferential groove 30 or 67 is formed in a semicircular arc shape, for example, as shown in FIG. And the outer ring 25B or 66B can be increased in contact area. In addition, in the case of the present Example 4, you may comprise a conductive wire with the material which has high tension | tensile_strength, flexibility, and electroconductivity with the thin wire | line with high elastic limit stress other than a piano wire.

  Further, each of the above embodiments relates to an apparatus for conveying a glass substrate or a resin film, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a substrate made of a sheet-like insulating material is orthogonal to the roller axis. The present invention is generally applied to a transport device that transports in a direction.

The perspective view which shows the outline of the whole substrate conveying apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the II-II line cross section of FIG. 1 typically Enlarged sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. Front view FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line V-V in FIG. The schematic front view which shows the electroconductive wire edge part vicinity in Example 2 of this invention The side view which shows the outline of the film conveying apparatus which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the film transfer roller in the Example 3 Sectional drawing which expands and shows the electroconductive wire and circumferential groove vicinity in the conveyance apparatus of the board | substrate which concerns on Example 4 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 40 ... Board | substrate conveying apparatus 12A-12J ... Roller shaft 14A-14J ... Roller bearing 16 ... Roller 18 ... Frame 19 ... Ground wire 20 ... Conveyance surface 22 ... Glass substrate 24A-24J ... Bearing-like pulley 25A ... Inner ring 25B ... Outer ring 25C ... Bearing ball 26 ... Conductive wire 26A ... One end 26B ... The other end 27 ... Crimp terminal 28 ... Conductive tension spring 30 ... Circumferential groove 42 ... Weight 44 ... Moving pulley 50 ... Film conveying device 52 ... Film original fabric roll 54 ... Resin film 56A-56D ... Film transfer roller 58A-58D ... Roller shaft 62A-62D ... Bearing-like pulley 66B ... Outer ring 67 ... Circumferential groove 68 ... Conductive wire 68A ... One end 70 ... Piano wire

Claims (7)

A plurality of roller shafts arranged in parallel, a plurality of roller bearings that rotatably support these roller shafts around the axis, and at least one roller coaxially supported by each of the roller shafts And a frame for supporting the plurality of roller shafts via the roller bearings, and sheet-like insulation along a conveying surface formed by a part of the outer peripheral surface of the plurality of rollers. A transport device for transporting a substrate made of a material in a direction perpendicular to the roller axis,
A conductive bearing-like pulley is provided on the protruding portion of the roller shaft from the roller bearing, and the bearing-like pulley rotates with an inner ring rotating integrally with the roller shaft, and a bearing roller on the inner ring. An outer ring that is freely supported, and a conductive path is formed from the roller, the roller shaft and the bearing-like pulley to the outer surface of the outer ring through the roller shaft from the surface where the roller contacts the substrate. A substrate transfer apparatus comprising the plurality of outer rings and a conductive wire wound around the plurality of outer rings sequentially in the substrate transfer direction at least once, and the conductive wire is directly or indirectly grounded. In claim 1,
A substrate transfer apparatus, comprising: a tension applying device that applies tension to the conductive wire in a direction in which the outer ring is wound. In claim 2,
The said tension | tensile_strength provision apparatus is provided in the end of the said conductive wire in connection with this, and consists of a conductive tension spring which pulls this conductive wire, The board | substrate conveyance apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. In claim 2,
The said tension | tensile_strength imparting apparatus consists of the weight provided in the direction which pulls this electroconductive wire in the middle of the said electroconductive wire, The conveying apparatus of the board | substrate characterized by the above-mentioned. In claim 1,
The board | substrate conveying apparatus characterized by comprising the said electroconductive wire from the piano wire. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
A substrate conveying apparatus, wherein a circumferential groove is provided on an outer peripheral surface of an outer ring of the bearing-like pulley, and the conductive wire is wound around the groove. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6.
The roller is an axially long film transfer roller supported one by one on the roller shaft, and at least one of the plurality of roller shafts is disposed at a different height from the other roller shafts. A substrate transfer device.

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