JP2007279451A - Postprocessing apparatus for glass substrate with reduced thickness - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a postprocessing apparatus with which a glass substrate for an FPD, of which the thickness is more and more reduced, is suitably handled. <P>SOLUTION: The postprocessing apparatus EQU receives a stuck glass substrate GL of which the thickness is reduced with chemical polishing and conducts postprocessing thereafter. The postprocessing apparatus is constructed by being provided with a conveyance route using a roll RL to convey the glass substrate, an introducing section 1 to pass the received glass substrate to the conveyance route, and a deriving section 5 to receive and derive the glass substrate GL from the conveyance route. The introducing section 1 has a placing section 10 to hold the glass substrate, and a driving section 20 to erect and drop the placing section 10, and performs switching between the dropping state and the erecting state of the placing section 10 in accordance with the reciprocating motion of the driving section 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus that smoothly shifts a glass substrate thinned by a chemical polishing process or the like to the next step, and more particularly to a post-processing apparatus for a glass substrate for a flat panel display.

  Flat panel display (hereinafter referred to as FPD) is a term that is contrasted with a display device having a bulge, such as a cathode ray tube of a CRT display, and is significant in that it has a small depth and space-saving, and the display panel does not bulge. There is a feature, and a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, etc. are put into practical use. Among FPDs, in particular, liquid crystal displays are widely used not only as television receivers but also as display devices for mobile phones and computer equipment.

  By the way, based on the demand for lighter and thinner liquid crystal displays, recently, a method of chemically polishing a laminated glass substrate constituting a liquid crystal display to the limit is suitably employed. Specifically, the first and second glass substrates 60 and 60 provided with a plurality of display panel regions PN... PN are bonded together, and the outer periphery 62 of the bonded glass substrate GL is tightly sealed. It is immersed in an aqueous solution containing hydrofluoric acid and chemically polished to reduce the thickness (see FIG. 5). According to this chemical polishing method, not only can a plurality of display panels PN... PN be manufactured together, but also the processing speed is higher than that of mechanical polishing, so that there is an advantage that the productivity is excellent. Further, since the laminated glass substrate GL can be thinned to the limit, it is possible to meet further demands for thinning and lightening the display panel PN.

  However, there is a problem that the thinner the laminated glass substrate GL, the more complicated the processing after chemical polishing. In other words, when the bonded glass substrate GL that has been chemically polished is transferred to the subsequent polishing liquid cleaning process or plate thickness measurement process, if the bonded glass substrate is damaged in this process, All become useless, and production efficiency and production cost are remarkably deteriorated. Note that the price of the laminated glass substrate is expensive, for example, tens of thousands of yen / sheet, and whether or not it is damaged in a subsequent process after the chemical polishing treatment has a very important meaning. The above points are not problems inherent to glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, but also to other FPD glass substrates.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a post-processing apparatus that can appropriately handle an FPD glass substrate that is becoming increasingly thinner.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a post-processing device that receives a thinned glass substrate and performs subsequent processing, a transport path for transporting the glass substrate, and the received glass substrate. And a lead-out part that receives and takes out the glass substrate from the transport path, and the introduction part stands the mounting part that holds the glass substrate and the mounting part described above. And a lowering drive unit, and the placement unit switches between a lowered state and an upright state corresponding to the reciprocating motion of the drive unit.

  The glass substrate of the present invention is preferably a laminated glass substrate obtained by laminating a pair of glass substrates. More preferably, it is a laminated glass substrate for a liquid crystal display.

  The thinning process is preferably performed using a chemical polishing liquid containing hydrofluoric acid. Moreover, it is preferable to perform a cleaning process and a liquid draining process on the glass substrate that moves in the transport path. Furthermore, it is preferable to perform a plate thickness measurement process on the glass substrate moving on the conveyance path.

  The mounting portion and the driving portion are preferably connected through an output rotation shaft of the driving portion. The mounting portion is preferably configured around a pair of pivot arms and a plurality of support plates that are held at both ends by the pair of pivot arms and support the glass substrate. More preferably, the drive unit includes a holding unit that rotatably supports both ends of the output shaft, a connection arm fixed to the output shaft, and a drive source that swings the connection arm. Has been.

  Since the present invention described above characteristically includes an introduction portion having a placement portion that holds the glass substrate and a drive portion that raises and lowers the placement portion described above, no matter how thin the glass substrate is, This can be handled appropriately.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on examples. FIG. 1 illustrates a post-processing apparatus EQU that continuously executes a cleaning process, a drying process, and a plate thickness measurement process on a glass substrate thinned by a chemical polishing process. FIG. 1 schematically shows a plan view (a), a front view (b), and a left side view (c) of the post-processing apparatus EQU.

  Here, the glass substrate GL is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the glass substrate GL for a liquid crystal display in which a liquid crystal sealing region 61 is provided between the two glass substrates 60 and 60 is used. (See FIG. 5). Also, the chemical polishing treatment is not particularly limited, but, for example, in a polishing liquid mainly composed of hydrofluoric acid in a state where the peripheral edge 62 of the laminated glass substrate GL is sealed with an acid-resistant sealant. By being immersed, the thickness is uniformly reduced.

  The post-processing apparatus EQU shown in FIG. 1 includes an introduction unit 1 that receives a bonded glass substrate GL that has been polished, a cleaning unit 2 that cleans the upper and lower surfaces of the received bonded glass substrate GL, and an air knife AK. It consists of a draining unit 3 used, a measuring unit 4 for measuring the thickness of the dried laminated glass substrate GL, and a deriving unit 5 for taking out the laminated glass substrate GL after the measurement processing.

  Then, a plurality of rotating rollers RL... RL are provided on the same plane from the introducing unit 1 to the deriving unit 5, and polishing is performed in the process of transferring the laminated glass substrate GL on the rotating roller RL. The liquid cleaning process, the drying process, and the plate thickness measurement process are automatically executed. In addition, although the introduction part 1 and the derivation | leading-out part 5 are substantially the same structures, the operation | movement of opposite is carried out.

  2 and 3 are perspective views showing the configuration of the introduction unit 1 (lead-out unit 5). The mounting unit 10 that holds the laminated glass substrate GL and the drive unit 20 that raises and lowers the mounting unit 10 are shown. It is shown. The placement unit 10 and the drive unit 20 are connected through an output shaft 21 of the drive unit 20 and correspond to the piston reciprocating motion of the drive unit 20 so that the placement unit 10 is positioned in a horizontal plane (see FIG. 2). ) And the standing state rising to a posture of about 60 to 80 °.

  The mounting unit 10 will be further described with reference to FIG. 2. The illustrated mounting unit 10 is fixed to a pair of rotating arms 11 and 11 formed in a comb shape and a base end of the rotating arm 11. The fixing blocks 12 and 12 and a plurality of support plates 13... 13 that support the laminated glass substrate GL are mainly configured.

  Each of these parts 11 to 13 is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy, and the rotating arm 11 and the fixed block 12 are integrated by aluminum welding or other methods. A through hole for receiving the output shaft 21 is formed in the rotating arm 11 and the fixed block 12. The through hole has a key groove KY, and the rotation of the output shaft 21 is reliably transmitted to the rotating arms 11 and 11 by fitting the key of the output shaft 21 into the key groove KY. It is like that.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the turning arm 11 is integrally configured by an L-shaped main body part BDY as a whole and a comb tooth part CMB protruding from the main body part BDY. The arrangement pitch of the comb teeth CMB is the same as the arrangement pitch of the rotation rollers RL, but the comb teeth CMB and the rotation rollers RL are shifted from each other by a half pitch, and in the lowered state of the rotation arm 11 (FIG. 2). The comb-tooth portion CMB enters between the adjacent rotating rollers RL and RL. However, the comb tooth portion CMB is provided with a missing portion SP only at one location. Using this missing portion SP, an operator reaches his back to the back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL to ensure the laminated glass. The substrate GL can be gripped. In addition, in the lowest-lowering state of the rotating arm 11, the bonded glass substrate GL that has been held by the rotating arm 11 is held by the rotating roller RL (see FIG. 2B).

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the tip of the comb-tooth portion CMB protrudes in a U-shape. In other words, a notch 14 corresponding to the thickness of the support plate 13 is formed at the tip of the comb-tooth portion CMB. Has been. In the state where both ends of the support plate 13 are fitted in the notches 14, a blocking plate 15 is fixed to the tip of the rotating arm 11, and the supporting plate 13 is fixedly held on the rotating arm 11 by the blocking plate 15. Is done.

  Specifically, the support plate 13 is divided into two types of support plates 13A and 13B having different vertical widths. Among these, the support plate 13A disposed on the proximal end side of the rotating arm 11 is wider than the other support plates 13B, and the cushion material 16 is provided on the contact surface of the support plate 13A with the peripheral edge of the bonded glass substrate GL. Is attached to protect the laminated glass substrate GL.

  On the other hand, a plurality of O-rings 17 are wound around the other support plate 13B to protect the back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL on the support plate 13B. However, as described above, in the lowered state of the mounting portion 10 illustrated in FIG. 2, the bonded glass substrate GL leaves the contact with the O-ring 17 and is in contact with the rotating roller RL.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a specific configuration of the drive unit 20. The drive unit 20 includes holding units 22A and 22B that rotatably support both ends of the output shaft 21, a connecting arm 23 fixed to the output shaft 21 protruding from the holding unit 22A on one side, and a connecting arm 23. The drive source 24 is made to swing.

  The drive source 24 includes a cylinder 25 that is swingably disposed and a piston 26 that reciprocates under the control of a control device (not shown). Here, a cylindrical hole is provided at the tip of the piston 26 so as to penetrate in a radial direction, and a through pin 27 inserted through the cylindrical hole is fixed to the connecting arm 23. The penetrating pin 27 is loosely fitted in the cylindrical hole of the piston 26. As a result, the connecting arm 23 and the piston 26 are connected to each other so as to be rotatable. Further, the base end portion of the cylinder 25 is supported by a support shaft 28 and is configured to be swingable as a whole of the drive source 24.

  Since the connecting arm 23 and the drive source 24 are connected as described above, in the first state in which the piston 26 is pulled into the cylinder 25 (see FIG. 1D), the mounting portion 10 is lowered to a horizontal state. On the other hand, in the second state in which the piston 26 protrudes from the cylinder 25 (see FIG. 1B), the mounting portion 10 rises from the horizontal state by about 60 ° to 80 ° and stands up.

  Based on the above points, the operation content of the post-processing apparatus EQU shown in FIG. 1 will be described. When the clerk performs an appropriate switch operation on the control device (not shown), the drive unit 20 of the introduction unit 1 shifts from the first state to the second state. As a result, the placement unit 10 of the introduction unit 1 Standing up from a descent state.

  At this time, the bonded glass substrate GL that has been subjected to the chemical polishing treatment is transported to the position of the introduction unit 1, so the attendant holds one of the bonded glass substrates GL, and the standing mounting unit 10. Put it on. During this placement work, the clerk holds the left and right edges of the center of the laminated glass substrate GL in the vertical direction, but since the pivot arms 11 and 11 are provided with a comb-tooth missing portion SP, this missing portion SP. It is possible to place the gripped laminated glass substrate GL on the placement unit 10 easily. In this mounting state, the lower peripheral edge of the laminated glass substrate GL contacts the cushion material 16 of the support plate 13A, and the back surface of the bonded glass substrate GL contacts the O-ring 17 of the support plate 13B.

  Thereafter, when the clerk performs further switch operation, the drive unit 20 of the introduction unit 1 slowly shifts from the second state to the first state, and the placement unit 10 of the introduction unit 1 returns from the standing state to the lowered state. As described above, in the lowest lowered state of the placement unit 10, the back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL leaves the contact with the O-ring 17 and is in contact with the rotating roller RL.

  Therefore, the laminated glass substrate GL received by the introduction unit 1 is sent to the water cleaning unit 2 by rotating the rotation roller RL in a state where the placing unit 10 reaches the lowest lowered state. Since cleaning water flows on the front and back surfaces of the bonded glass substrate GL that moves through the water cleaning unit 2, the polishing liquid on the glass surface that has adhered by the chemical polishing process is washed away.

  The laminated glass substrate GL that has undergone the operation of the water washing unit 2 is then sent to the draining unit 3. And in the draining part 3, the high pressure air formed in the thin line shape is blown with force with respect to the bonding glass substrate GL currently conveyed in the right direction of FIG. The washing water adhering to the back surface is surely removed. And the front and back of a bonding glass substrate will be in a dry state by the subsequent conveyance of the bonding glass substrate GL.

  The laminated glass substrate GL passes through the measuring unit 4 with the front and back surfaces being cleaned in this way. The measuring unit 4 includes two sets of laser displacement meters 41 and 42 arranged at the upper and lower positions of the bonded glass substrate GL that moves in the conveyance path (see FIG. 4A). In this measurement part 4, based on each laser beam RY1, RY2 reflected by the outer surface and outer back surface of the bonding glass substrate GL, distances D1, D2 between the laser displacement meters 41, 42 and the bonding glass substrate GL are set. I have identified.

  Since the distance D0 between the two laser displacement meters 41 and 42 is accurately specified in advance, the thickness W of the bonded glass substrate GL is accurately determined based on the calculation of W = D0−D1−D2. Can be calculated. Moreover, in this Example, about each bonding glass substrate GL, plate | board thickness is measured for every sampling period about three measurement lines LN1-LN3 of the width direction. Therefore, management data, such as the variation of each laminated glass substrate GL with a plate, can be automatically acquired when the measuring glass 4 passes through the laminated glass substrate GL.

  Thereafter, the laminated glass substrate GL moves to the position of the lead-out part 5 and stops. The derivation unit 5 has the same configuration as the introduction unit 1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the placement unit 10 of the derivation unit 5 stands by in a lowered state in a state where the laminated glass substrate GL is loaded. .

  When the clerk performs an appropriate switch operation in a state where the laminated glass substrate GL is carried on the placement unit 10, the placement unit 10 starts to slowly move up in response to this, and the rotating roller until then. The laminated glass substrate GL held by the RL is transferred to the support plate 13B of the placement unit 10 and rises. In this ascending process, the glass substrate GL tries to slide on the O-ring 17 of the support plate 13B, but the lower peripheral edge of the laminated glass substrate GL is received by the cushion material 16, and therefore the laminated glass substrate GL. There is no risk of slipping and breaking.

  Since the mounting part 10 is raised to a limit position and stops, the clerk then uses the missing part SP of the rotating arm 11 to turn the hand to the back side of the laminated glass substrate GL to hold the glass substrate GL. To do. Then, the gripped laminated glass substrate is taken out from the lead-out unit 5. Since the taken out laminated glass substrate GL has been thinned to a predetermined thickness by a chemical polishing process, after that, the sealing of the periphery of the laminated glass substrate GL is released, and a subsequent process such as a liquid crystal sealing step. It is transferred to.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the introduction unit 1 and the lead-out unit 5 having a characteristic configuration are provided, there is no risk of damaging the expensive bonded glass substrate GL, and the process is quickly shifted from the chemical polishing step to the subsequent processing. Can be made. Typically, after that, each display panel PN is cut and separated for each region, and the process proceeds to a liquid crystal sealing process or a polarizing film sticking process.

1 illustrates the overall configuration of a post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows a part of introduction part. It is a perspective view which shows another part of introduction part. The structure and operation | movement of a measurement part are illustrated. The schematic structure of a bonded glass substrate is illustrated.

Explanation of symbols

GL Glass substrate EQ Post-processing device 1 Introducing unit 5 Deriving unit 10 Mounting unit 20 Driving unit

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a post-processing apparatus that receives a thinned glass substrate and performs subsequent processing, and the glass is formed by a plurality of rotating rollers provided on the same plane. A transport path for transporting the substrate; and an introduction section for delivering the received glass substrate to the rotation roller of the transport path. The introduction section includes a placement section for holding the glass substrate, and the placement section described above. and a drive unit for erecting and lowering, in response to reciprocating motion of the drive unit, the mounting section has become a換Ru so cut in the descent state and the upright position, the placement section is comb A pair of left and right rotating arms formed in a comb shape with teeth and a plurality of support plates each having its left and right ends held by the comb teeth; With the glass substrate placed on the support plate, When lowering, so that the comb teeth between the rotary rollers adjacent that enters together with the support plate, the glass substrate is transferred onto the rotating roller.

  The mounting portion and the driving portion are preferably connected through an output rotation shaft of the driving portion. More preferably, the drive unit includes a holding unit that rotatably supports both ends of the output shaft, a connection arm fixed to the output shaft, and a drive source that swings the connection arm. Has been.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a post-processing apparatus that receives a thinned glass substrate and performs subsequent processing, and the glass is formed by a plurality of rotating rollers provided on the same plane. A transport path for transporting the substrate; and an introduction section for delivering the received glass substrate to the rotation roller of the transport path. The introduction section includes a placement section for holding the glass substrate, and the placement section described above. and a drive unit for erecting and lowering, in response to reciprocating motion of the drive unit, the mounting section has become a換Ru so cut in the descent state and the raised state, the mounting section, the A pair of left and right rotating arms formed in a comb shape as a whole with comb teeth protruding from the main body at the same arrangement pitch as the rotating rollers, and both left and right ends of the arms are held by the comb teeth. A plurality of support plates, the plurality When the rotating arm is lowered while the glass substrate is placed on the support plate, the comb tooth portion enters together with the support plate between the adjacent rotation rollers, so that A glass substrate is handed over.

The drive unit is preferably configured to include a holding unit that rotatably supports both ends of the output shaft, a connection arm fixed to the output shaft, and a drive source that swings the connection arm . The key groove of the fixed portion integrated with the rotating arm and the key of the output shaft are fitted and connected.

Claims (7)

A post-processing apparatus that receives a thinned glass substrate and performs subsequent processing, a conveyance path that conveys the glass substrate, an introduction unit that delivers the received glass substrate to the conveyance path, and the conveyance And a lead-out part that receives and takes out the glass substrate from the road,
The introduction part has a placement part for holding the glass substrate and a drive part for raising and lowering the placement part, and the placement part is in a lowered state corresponding to the reciprocating motion of the drive part. A glass substrate post-processing apparatus for a flat panel display which is switched to a standing state. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thinning process is performed using a chemical polishing liquid containing hydrofluoric acid. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cleaning process and a liquid draining process are performed on the glass substrate moving on the transport path. The post-processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3 with which plate | board thickness measurement process is performed with respect to the said glass substrate which moves the said conveyance path. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the placement unit and the drive unit are connected through an output rotation shaft of the drive unit. Any one of Claims 1-5 in which the said mounting part is comprised centering on a pair of rotation arm and the several support plate which hold | maintains both ends by the said pair of rotation arm, and supports the said glass substrate. A post-processing device according to claim 1. The drive unit includes a holding unit that rotatably supports both ends of an output shaft, a connecting arm fixed to the output shaft, and a drive source that swings the connecting arm. The post-processing apparatus in any one of 1-6.

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