JP2013105775A - Thin plate-like workpiece transfer device and thin plate-like workpiece transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin plate-like workpiece transfer device and a thin plate-like workpiece transfer method capable of stably transferring a thin plate-like workpiece without causing delaying and meandering by transmitting certainly a movement force thereto even though the plate-like workpiece is thinner.SOLUTION: A thin plate-like workpiece transfer device comprises: an air floating unit 2 which sprays air to underside of a glass substrate W for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner; a conveyance roller 37 which contacts the underside of the glass substrate W to impart movement force in a workpiece transfer direction. The air floating unit 2 includes a number of air jetting holes 24a for jetting air to the underside of the glass substrate W, and a workpiece non-contact support plate 24 having a shape of a section perpendicular to the workpiece transfer direction being a curved shape projecting downward, the conveyance roller 37 is arranged in the center of a direction orthogonal to the work transfer direction for making a peripheral edge projecting upward from the workpiece non-contact support plate 24 of the air floating unit 2 to be in contact with the underside of the glass substrate W to give a movement force in the work transfer direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin plate workpiece transfer apparatus and a thin plate workpiece transfer method suitable for transferring a thin plate workpiece, for example, a glass substrate having a thickness of 0.3 mm or less used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel.

  Since the surface of the glass substrate used for the manufacture of the liquid crystal display panel as described above has many delicate parts that dislike contact such as circuit patterns, the liquid crystal display panel from the shipper of the glass plate that is the material of the glass substrate In many cases of transportation up to the manufacturing site, it is required to make contact with the surface of the glass substrate (glass plate) as much as possible.

Conventionally, the thin plate-shaped workpiece conveyance apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been widely used for conveying such glass substrates.
This thin plate-like workpiece transfer device is in contact with a specified part on the back surface of the glass substrate by blowing air onto the back surface (bottom surface) of the glass substrate with the surface facing upward, The conveyance roller which provides this moving force is provided.
In the case of this thin plate workpiece transfer device, when the glass substrate becomes thinner, the flat plate shape is not maintained due to the difference in the air pressure distribution on the back surface of the glass substrate, the contact state of the transfer roller with respect to the glass substrate becomes unstable, There is a possibility of hindering transportation.

Therefore, conventionally, a conveyance support device disclosed in Patent Document 2 has been proposed.
This transport support device has a large number of jetting parts that jet the pressurized fluid and support the glass substrate in a non-contact state independently of each other, and jet the pressurized fluid to the glass substrate. The glass substrate is configured to be provided with a shape-deformation jetting portion that is forcibly deformed in a non-contact state so that the glass substrate is not undulated. In this transport support device, the glass substrate is transported in a non-contact state. During this time, the shape deformed forcibly is maintained.

Patent No. 4349101 Patent No. 4183525

  However, in the conventional transport support device described above, the glass substrate is forcibly forced so that, for example, the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the transport direction of the glass substrate is convex downward by a large number of ejection portions and shape deformation ejection portions. If it is curved, it can stabilize the conveyance of the glass substrate, but when the glass substrate becomes thinner, the end of the glass substrate in the traveling direction hangs down, and the ejection part and shape deformation that are independent of each other There is a risk of being caught by the jet part, and it has been a conventional problem to solve this problem.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described conventional problems, and even when the thin plate-like workpiece is thinner, the moving force is reliably transmitted to the thin plate-like workpiece, so that it is stable without delay. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thin plate workpiece transfer device and a thin plate workpiece transfer method.

  The thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a conveyance device suitable for use in conveying a glass substrate having a thickness of 0.3 mm or less, for example, by blowing air to the lower surface of the thin plate-like workpiece. In the thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device comprising an air levitation unit that is supported in a non-contact state and a conveyance roller that contacts the lower surface of the thin plate-like workpiece and imparts a moving force in the workpiece conveyance direction, the air levitation unit includes the thin plate A workpiece non-contact support plate having a plurality of air ejection holes for ejecting air toward the lower surface of the workpiece, and a cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the workpiece conveyance direction forms a downwardly curved shape, A conveying roller is arranged at the center in a direction orthogonal to the workpiece conveying direction, and a peripheral portion protruding upward from the workpiece non-contact support plate of the air levitation unit is in contact with the lower surface of the thin plate workpiece. By are characterized in that a configuration for imparting a moving force of the work conveying direction, and a means for solving the conventional problems described above a thin plate-shaped work conveying apparatus of this configuration.

  A thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a suction mechanism that draws a contact portion of the thin plate-shaped workpiece with the conveyance roller toward the conveyance roller, and according to the third aspect of the present invention. The thin plate workpiece transfer device includes a side edge suction mechanism that draws both side edges of the thin plate workpiece along the workpiece transfer direction toward the workpiece non-contact support plate of the air levitation unit.

  On the other hand, in the thin plate-like workpiece conveyance method according to claim 4 of the present invention, the thin plate-like workpiece is provided with a conveying roller that blows air onto the lower surface of the thin plate workpiece and supports it in a non-contact state and applies a moving force in the workpiece conveyance direction. When the thin plate workpiece is conveyed while being brought into contact with the lower surface of the workpiece, the thin plate workpiece is deformed so that the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction of the thin plate workpiece is a downward convex curved shape, The conveyance roller is brought into contact with the central lower surface in the direction orthogonal to the workpiece conveyance direction of the thin plate workpiece and conveyed.

  In the thin plate-like workpiece transfer device and the thin plate-like workpiece transfer method according to the present invention, the installation interval of the transfer rollers for applying the moving force in the workpiece transfer direction to the thin plate-like workpiece is determined according to the size of the thin plate-like workpiece to be transferred. However, it goes without saying that they are installed at intervals smaller than the length in the conveying direction of the thin plate workpiece.

  Moreover, in the thin plate-shaped workpiece conveyance device according to the present invention, for example, a punching metal can be used as the workpiece non-contact support plate of the air levitation unit, and a porous panel can be used.

  In the thin plate workpiece transfer device (thin plate workpiece transfer method) according to the present invention, for example, when transferring a thin plate workpiece to the next process, first, a robot hand or a transfer device is used to air from a number of air ejection holes. A thin plate-like workpiece is placed on the workpiece non-contact support plate of the air levitation unit.

  At this time, since the thin plate-like workpiece is deformed following the workpiece non-contact support plate, that is, the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the workpiece conveyance direction is deformed so as to form a downward curved shape, the thin plate-like workpiece is It will be supported in a stable state on the workpiece non-contact support plate of the floating unit.

  In this state, the peripheral edge of the conveyance roller located at the center in the direction orthogonal to the workpiece conveyance direction is in contact with the lowermost portion (near the center of gravity of the workpiece) of the thin plate-shaped workpiece having a downwardly convex curved shape. In this contact area, the weight of the side edge along the workpiece conveyance direction of the thin plate workpiece always acts from both sides, so that the shape is maintained (it is difficult to deform). The contact will always be stable.

  If the thin plate workpiece is conveyed in this state, the so-called automatic alignment function (the function of always positioning the contact portion of the thin plate workpiece with the conveyance roller at the lowest position) by the weight of the thin plate workpiece meanders in the conveyance direction. In addition, the thin plate-like workpiece is transported in a stable manner, and the thin plate-like workpiece is supported by the workpiece non-contact support plate of the air levitation unit. Even in this case, the thin plate-like workpiece can be transported without stagnation.

  Further, in the thin plate workpiece transport device according to the present invention, when a structure including a suction mechanism that draws the contact portion of the thin plate workpiece with the transport roller toward the transport roller side, a larger friction is generated between the thin plate workpiece and the transport roller. As a result, a larger moving force can be applied to the thin plate workpiece from the conveying roller.

  Furthermore, in the thin plate workpiece transport device according to the present invention, when a configuration including a side edge suction mechanism that draws both side edges along the workpiece transport direction of the thin plate workpiece toward the workpiece non-contact support plate side of the air levitation unit is adopted. In addition, fluttering at both side edges of the thin plate workpiece is suppressed, and it is possible to avoid problems such as scratches at both side edges of the thin plate workpiece.

  In the thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device according to the present invention, since it has the above-described configuration, the thin plate-like workpiece can be stably conveyed without meandering, and in addition, the thin plate-like workpiece is thinner. Even so, it is possible to bring a very excellent effect that the thin plate-like workpiece can be conveyed without any delay.

It is a section explanatory view of a thin plate-like work conveyance device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial plane explanatory view of the thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show an embodiment of a thin plate workpiece conveying apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the thin plate workpiece is an extremely thin film having a thickness of 0.3 mm or less used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel. A case of a glass substrate will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device 1 is a device that conveys a glass substrate W having a circuit pattern formed on the surface thereof, on the lower surface of the glass substrate W with the surface facing upward. An air levitation unit 2 that blows air and supports it in a non-contact state; a conveyance unit 3 that includes a conveyance roller 37 that contacts the lower surface of the glass substrate W and applies a moving force in the workpiece conveyance direction (depth direction in FIG. 1); The suction mechanism 4 pulls the contact portion of the glass substrate W with the transport roller 37 toward the transport roller 37 side.

  The air levitation unit 2 includes a pressure vessel 21, a plurality of fans 23 for introducing the air A into the pressure vessel 21, and a number of air ejection holes through which the air A introduced into the pressure vessel 21 and having a high pressure is ejected. A workpiece non-contact support plate 24 having 24a is provided. The workpiece non-contact support plate 24 has a curved shape in which a cross-section perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction is convex downward. In the air levitation unit 2, a large number of air ejection holes 24 a of the workpiece non-contact support plate 24 are formed. By causing the air blown out from the glass substrate W to act on the glass substrate W as a pushing force FL, the glass substrate W is forcibly bent (deformed into the state shown in the enlarged portion of FIG. 1) on the workpiece non-contact support plate 24. It comes to be along.

  The transport unit 3 includes a frame 32 housed inside a cover 31, a motor 33 that is fixed to the frame 32 with the output shaft 33 a being horizontal, and a motor 33 that is fixed to the output shaft 33 a of the motor 33. A motor-side pulley 34, a rotary shaft 36 that is rotatable and horizontally supported by a frame 32 via a bearing 35, a roller-side pulley 38 that is fixed to an end of the rotary shaft 36, and a motor-side pulley. 34 and a roller pulley 38, and a belt 39 that transmits the rotational force of the motor 33 to the rotary shaft 36 is provided. The above-described transport roller 37 has a peripheral edge protruding from the upper surface of the cover 31. In this state, the rotary shaft 36 is fixed.

  The transport unit 3 is disposed on a central axis CL in a direction orthogonal to the work transport direction, and the peripheral portion of the transport roller 37 protruding upward from the work non-contact support plate 24 of the air levitation unit 2 is disposed on the glass substrate W. The moving force in the workpiece conveying direction is applied by contacting the lower surface of the lowermost part of the workpiece.

  In this case, a clearance 41 that constitutes the suction mechanism 4 is provided on the upper surface of the cover 31, and a suction exhaust part 42 that also constitutes the suction mechanism 4 is provided in the cover 31. By sucking the air in the cover 31 with a suction device, a suction force B is generated in the vicinity of the glass substrate W, so that the glass substrate W is drawn and brought into pressure contact with the transport roller 37.

  Further, the thin plate-like workpiece transfer device 1 is formed on the workpiece non-contact support plate 24 along the workpiece transfer direction and faces the side edges of the glass substrate W, respectively, and appropriate portions of the suction grooves 51. A side edge suction mechanism 5 having an intake pipe 52 for connecting a suction device (not shown) is provided. In this side edge suction mechanism 5, a suction force is generated in the vicinity of the suction groove 51, and the glass substrate W Both side edges are drawn toward the workpiece non-contact support plate 24 side of the air levitation unit 2.

  When the glass substrate W is transported to the next process by the thin plate-shaped workpiece transport device 1 having such a configuration, first, air is ejected from a large number of air ejection holes 24a using a robot hand or a transfer device. A glass substrate W is placed on the work non-contact support plate 24 of the air levitation unit 2.

  At this time, the air ejected from the numerous air ejection holes 24a of the work non-contact support plate 24 acts on the glass substrate W as a push-up force FL, and the glass substrate W is deformed following the work non-contact support plate 24. That is, since the glass substrate W is deformed so that the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the workpiece conveyance direction forms a downwardly convex curved shape, the glass substrate W is stable on the workpiece non-contact support plate 24 of the air levitation unit 2. It will be supported in the state.

  In this state, the peripheral edge portion of the conveyance roller 37 located at the center in the direction orthogonal to the workpiece conveyance direction is in contact with the lowermost portion (near the center of gravity) of the glass substrate W having a downwardly convex curved shape. In this contact portion, the weight of the side edge portion along the workpiece conveyance direction of the glass substrate W always acts from both sides, so that the shape is maintained, so that the contact portion always contacts the conveyance roller 37 stably. It becomes.

  If the glass substrate W is transported in this state, the self-alignment function by the self-weight of the glass substrate W having a downwardly convex curved shape, that is, the transport roller 37 of the glass substrate W having a downwardly convex curved shape, By the function of always positioning the contact portion of the glass substrate W in a lowermost position, the glass substrate W can be stably transported with the meandering in the transport direction being suppressed. In addition, the glass substrate W is not contacted with the work of the air floating unit 2. Since the support plate 24 supports the glass substrate W, even if the glass substrate W becomes thinner, the glass substrate W can be transported without stagnation.

  Further, since the thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device 1 includes the suction mechanism 4 that draws the contact portion of the glass substrate W with the conveyance roller 37 toward the conveyance roller 37, A large frictional force is generated, and a larger moving force can be applied to the glass substrate W from the conveying roller 37.

  Furthermore, since the above-described thin plate-like workpiece transfer device 1 includes the side edge suction mechanism 5 that draws both side edges along the workpiece transfer direction of the glass substrate W toward the workpiece non-contact support plate 24 side of the air levitation unit 2. Thus, fluttering at both side edges of the glass substrate W can be suppressed, and problems such as scratches at both side edges of the glass substrate W can be avoided.

  The configuration of the thin plate-shaped workpiece transfer device and the thin plate-shaped workpiece transfer method according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and the thin plate-shaped workpiece transfer device and the thin plate-shaped workpiece transfer method according to the present invention. Is not limited to the ultrathin glass substrate W in the above-described embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thin plate-shaped workpiece conveyance apparatus 2 Air floating unit 4 Suction mechanism 5 Side edge suction mechanism 21 Pressure vessel 23 Fan 24 Workpiece non-contact support plate 24a Air ejection hole 37 Transport roller 41 Crevice 42 Suction exhaust part 43 Intake duct 51 Suction groove 52 Intake pipe A Air W Glass substrate (Thin plate work)

Claims (4)

An air levitation unit that supports the non-contact state by blowing air to the lower surface of the thin plate workpiece;
In the thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device provided with a conveyance roller that contacts the lower surface of the thin plate-like workpiece and applies a moving force in the workpiece conveyance direction,
The air levitation unit has a large number of air ejection holes for ejecting air toward the lower surface of the thin plate-like workpiece, and a non-workpiece whose cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction forms a downwardly curved shape. Comprising a contact support plate,
The conveyance roller is disposed in the center of the direction perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction, and the peripheral portion protruding upward from the workpiece non-contact support plate of the air levitation unit is brought into contact with the lower surface of the thin plate workpiece to convey the workpiece A thin plate-like workpiece transfer device characterized by applying a moving force of.   The thin plate workpiece transport apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a suction mechanism that draws a contact portion of the thin plate workpiece with the transport roller toward the transport roller.   The thin plate-like workpiece conveyance device according to claim 1, further comprising a side edge portion suction mechanism that draws both side edge portions along the workpiece conveyance direction of the thin plate-like workpiece toward the workpiece non-contact support plate side of the air levitation unit. When blowing the air to the lower surface of the thin plate workpiece and supporting it in a non-contact state, contacting the lower surface of the thin plate workpiece with a conveying roller that imparts a moving force in the workpiece conveyance direction, when conveying the thin plate workpiece,
While the thin plate-like workpiece is deformed so that the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction of the thin plate-like workpiece has a downwardly convex curved shape, the conveyance to the lower center surface in the direction perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction of the thin plate-like workpiece A method for conveying a thin plate-like workpiece, characterized in that a roller is brought into contact with the sheet for conveyance.

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