JP2011219246A - Cassette carrying device and carrying method for cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain rectilinearity of a cassette while preventing ups and downs of the cassette, with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: In this cassette carrying device 1 carrying the cassette 2 to each position on a production line L, a plurality of carrying rotary shafts 5 are disposed at intervals in an advance direction of the cassette 2, and a carrying roller 6 abutting on a rear face side of the cassette 2 is rotatably disposed in each carrying rotary shaft 5. Guide rollers 10, 11, 12 each having an outside diameter in the outside in an axial direction larger than an outside diameter of the carrying roller 6 are provided on a plurality of aligning rotary shafts 7, 8, 9 before each position. Intervals between maximum diameter portions of the facing guide rollers 10, 11, 12 are gradually narrowed toward the advance direction of a glass substrate (L1>L2>L3).

Description

  The present invention relates to a cassette carrying apparatus and a cassette carrying method for carrying a cassette that accommodates a glass substrate or the like used for a liquid crystal display, and in particular, to improve straightness of the cassette.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cassette transport apparatus that transports a cassette that stores a glass substrate or the like on a production line is known. While the cassette is being transported, the cassette may be displaced with respect to the transport direction, making it difficult to take out the glass substrate in the cassette.

  Therefore, for example, in the cassette centering mechanism of Patent Document 1, a support piece is provided upright around the cassette placement portion, and an intermediate portion of the arm is supported by the support piece so as to be swingable. Is pushed down at the edge of the cassette so that the side surface of the cassette is pressed on the rear end side of the arm.

JP 2006-89148 A

  By the way, in the cassette conveying apparatus of the said patent document 1, since the dead weight of a cassette is utilized, there is a problem that a cassette is severely raised and lowered and the conveyance of a cassette is not stable.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to maintain straightness of the cassette while preventing the cassette from rising and sinking with a simple configuration.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the width of the guide roller which is provided at a predetermined position of the transport line and pushes back the cassette so as to advance straight along the traveling direction of the transport line is gradually narrowed.

Specifically, in the first invention, on the premise of a cassette transport device that transports a cassette to each position on the production line,
The cassette carrying device is
A plurality of rotating shafts arranged at intervals in the traveling direction of the cassette;
It is rotatably arranged on each of the rotating shafts, and includes a transport roller that contacts the back side of the cassette,
The plurality of rotating shafts in front of each position are each provided with a guide roller having a portion having an outer diameter larger than that of the conveying roller on the outer side in the axial direction of the rotating shaft. The interval between the maximum diameter portions is larger than the width of the cassette and gradually narrows in the traveling direction.

  According to the above configuration, the width between the maximum diameter portions of the guide rollers facing each other in the traveling direction is gradually narrowed, so that the cassette can be surely moved straightly little by little without lifting or sinking the cassette. Will be corrected. By providing guide rollers that push the cassette back so that it advances straight in the direction of travel, not only on all rotating shafts, but only in front of each position, the number of times the guide roller contacts the cassette is reduced. Conveyance is stable.

In the second invention, in the first invention,
Of the plurality of rotary shafts before each position, at least the guide roller provided on the rotary shaft arranged on the near side has an outer diameter toward the inner side in the axial direction of the rotary shaft. Is gradually getting smaller.

  According to the above configuration, since the contact surface of the guide roller with respect to the side surface of the cassette is inclined, the side surface of the cassette shifted from the center of the traveling direction smoothly contacts the contact surface of the guide roller, and the cassette is more easily Straightness is ensured.

In the third invention, on the premise of the cassette transport method of transporting the cassette to each position on the production line,
The cassette transport method is as follows:
A transport roller rotatably arranged on a plurality of rotating shafts arranged at intervals in the traveling direction of the cassette is brought into contact with the back side of the cassette;
A guide roller provided so that the interval between the maximum diameter portions is larger than the width of the cassette and gradually narrows in the advancing direction is sequentially applied to the side surface of the cassette. It is set as the structure which corrects the shift | offset | difference of this cassette by contacting.

  According to the above configuration, the width between the largest diameter parts of the guide rollers facing each other in the traveling direction is gradually narrowed, so the cassette moves straight and straightly little by little without lifting or sinking the cassette. Is done. And since guide rollers that push back the cassette so as to advance straight in the direction of travel are provided only before each position, not on all rotating shafts, the number of times the guide roller contacts the cassette is reduced. Is stable.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the guide in which the distance between the maximum diameter portions gradually narrows toward the moving direction of the cassette on the outer side in the axial direction of the plurality of rotation shafts before each position of the production line. By providing each roller, the straightness of the cassette can be maintained with a simple configuration while preventing the cassette from rising and sinking.

It is a top view which shows the cassette conveying apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

-Configuration of cassette transport device-
1 and 2 show a cassette carrying device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This cassette carrying device 1 is disposed on a production line L of a liquid crystal display panel (not shown), for example, and this production line L It plays the role of transporting a rectangular frame-shaped cassette 2 to each of the above positions.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of rail members 3 are erected in parallel along the production line L. At the upper end of each rail member 3, a plurality of rotating shafts 5 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the traveling direction of the cassette 2. Each rotating shaft 5 is rotatably disposed with a transport roller 6 that contacts the back side of the cassette 2. The conveyance roller 6 has a cylindrical shape and incorporates a bearing (not shown). The distance between the rotating shafts 5 in the direction of travel of the cassette 2 may be constant or indefinite according to the outer diameter of the transport roller 6. The cassette 2 is transported along the production line L by the driving force of these transport rollers.

  A plurality of rotating shafts 5 (for example, three pairs in the present embodiment) in front of each position are arranged on the alignment rotating shafts 7, 8, and 9 outside of the rotating roller 5 in the axial direction outside the conveying roller 6. Guide rollers 10, 11, and 12 having bowl-shaped guide portions 10 a, 11 a, and 12 a that are large diameter portions are provided. The inner side in the axial direction of the guide rollers 10, 11, 12 has a cylindrical shape having the same outer diameter as that of the transport roller 6, and the distance between the maximum diameter portions of the opposing guide portions 10 a, 11 a, 12 a of each rotating shaft 5 (L 1 , L2, L3) are larger than the width of the cassette 2. The distances (L1, L2, L3) between the maximum diameter portions of the guide rollers 10, 11, 12 on these three pairs of rotating shafts 5 are gradually narrowed in the traveling direction, and the narrowest distance L1 is the width of the cassette 2 Is bigger than. The guide portions 10a, 11a, and 12a have tapered surfaces 10b, 11b, and 12b, respectively, such that the outer diameter gradually decreases toward the inner side in the axial direction.

-Cassette transport method-
Next, a cassette transport method according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, when the cassette 2 in which the glass substrate is stored is placed on the production line L, the cassette 2 is transported forward while being pushed on the back side by the transport roller 6 on the transport rotating shaft 5. If the production line L is a long distance, the cassette 2 may be displaced from side to side with respect to the traveling direction during conveyance.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the cassette 2 is displaced in either the left or right direction with respect to the traveling direction, the guide rollers 10 provided on the left and right outer sides of the three alignment rotation shafts 7, 8, 9 11 and 12 are in contact with the tapered surfaces 10b, 11b and 12b of the guide portions 10a, 11a and 12a.

  For example, when the cassette 2 is largely displaced from side to side, the cassette 2 first comes into contact with the guide portion 10a of the guide roller 10 of the rotation shaft 7 for alignment closest to the front. Since the taper surface 10b of the guide portion 10a gradually decreases in outer diameter toward the left and right inner sides, either the left or right side surface of the cassette 2 abuts smoothly, and the cassette 2 is easily pushed back to the left and right inner sides.

  The left or right side surface (corner portion) of the cassette 2 pushed back by the first guide roller 10 is in contact with the guide portion 11a of the second guide roller 11 disposed on the left and right inner sides of the first guide portion 10a. It touches and is pushed back further to the left and right inside. Also at this time, since the outer diameter of the guide portion 11a of the guide roller 11 gradually decreases toward the left and right inner sides, the side surface (corner portion) of the cassette 2 smoothly contacts the tapered surface 11b, and the cassette 2 Easily pushed back to the left and right.

  Next, the cassette 2 is transported to the next position while being regulated so as not to be moved left and right by the third guide portion 12a located on the left and right inside of the second guide portion 11a.

  On the other hand, when the left and right blur of the cassette 2 is small, either the left or right side surface (corner) of the cassette 2 does not contact the first guide portion 10a but first contacts the second guide portion 11a, Similarly, the blur is corrected.

  In this way, the width between the maximum diameter portions of the guide portions 10a, 11a, 12a of the guide rollers 10, 11, 12 aligned in the traveling direction is gradually narrowed, so that the cassette 2 does not have to be raised or lowered. The cassette 2 is corrected so as to surely advance straightly little by little. The guide rollers 10, 11, 12 that push back the cassette 2 so as to advance straight in the direction of travel are provided not only on all the rotating shafts 5 but only in front of each position, so that the guide rollers 10, 11, The number of times 12 abuts the cassette 2 is reduced, and the conveyance of the cassette 2 is stabilized.

  Further, since the tapered surfaces 10b, 11b, 12b corresponding to the side surfaces of the cassette 2 of the guide rollers 10, 11, 12 are inclined, the side surfaces of the cassette 2 that are shifted from the center of the traveling direction are smoothly smoothed. 11 and 12 are in contact with the tapered surfaces 10b, 11b and 12b, and the straightness of the cassette 2 is easily secured.

  Therefore, it is possible to keep the straightness of the cassette 2 while preventing the cassette 2 from rising and sinking with a simple configuration.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention may be configured as follows with respect to the above embodiment.

  That is, in the above embodiment, the example of the cassette 2 that stores the glass substrate of the display panel as the cassette 2 is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Anything is fine.

  In the above embodiment, the number of the alignment rotation shafts 7, 8, and 9 is three pairs, but may be any number, two pairs, or four or more pairs.

  In the above embodiment, the rotation shafts 5 are provided on the pair of rail members 3, but the rotation shafts 5 may be connected on the left and right.

  In the said embodiment, although the material of the guide rollers 10, 11, and 12 is not specifically limited, a resin molded product and a metal molded product may be sufficient, and the contact surface with a glass substrate may be covered with rubber | gum.

  In addition, the above embodiment is an essentially preferable illustration, Comprising: It does not intend restrict | limiting the range of this invention, its application thing, or a use.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a cassette carrying device and a cassette carrying method for carrying a cassette for storing a glass substrate or the like.

L Production Line 1 Cassette Conveying Device 2 Cassette 3 Rail Member 5 Conveying Rotating Shaft 6 Conveying Roller 7, 8, 9 Aligning Rotating Shaft 10, 11, 12 Guide Rollers 10a, 11a, 12a Guide Portions 10b, 11b, 12b Taper Surface 11 Guide roller 11b Tapered surface 12 Guide roller L1, L2, L3 spacing

Claims (3)

In the cassette transport device that transports the cassette to each position on the production line,
A plurality of rotating shafts arranged at intervals in the traveling direction of the cassette;
It is rotatably arranged on each of the rotating shafts, and includes a transport roller that contacts the back side of the cassette,
The plurality of rotating shafts in front of each position are each provided with a guide roller having a portion having an outer diameter larger than that of the conveying roller on the outer side in the axial direction of the rotating shaft. The cassette conveying apparatus is characterized in that the interval between the maximum diameter portions is larger than the width of the cassette and gradually narrows in the traveling direction. In the cassette conveyance apparatus of Claim 1,
Of the plurality of rotary shafts before each position, at least the guide roller provided on the rotary shaft arranged on the near side has an outer diameter toward the inner side in the axial direction of the rotary shaft. A cassette carrying device characterized by gradually decreasing. In the cassette transport method that transports the cassette to each position on the production line,
A transport roller rotatably arranged on a plurality of rotating shafts arranged at intervals in the traveling direction of the cassette is brought into contact with the back side of the cassette;
A guide roller provided so that the interval between the maximum diameter portions is larger than the width of the cassette and gradually narrows in the advancing direction is sequentially applied to the side surface of the cassette. A cassette conveying method, wherein the cassette is corrected by making contact with the cassette.

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