JP2018080079A - Production apparatus and production method of glass substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To apply surface treatment with good quality to plate glass irrespective of the kind of the plate glass to be a glass substrate.SOLUTION: A production apparatus 10 of a glass substrate P according to the present invention includes a transportation device 11 to transport the glass substrate P to a predetermined direction X1 and a surface treatment apparatus 12. The surface treatment apparatus 12 includes a housing 14, openings 17 which open to the side of one main surface P1 of the housing 14, and one or more air supply units 18 which are detachably attached to the openings 17 and which have air inlets 31 to supply treatment gas Ga to the one main surface P1. The air supply units 18 are made to be attachable to a plurality of positions of the openings 17 along the transportation direction X1 of the glass substrate P.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a glass substrate manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for performing a surface treatment with a processing gas on one main surface of a glass sheet serving as a glass substrate.

  As is well known, with respect to recent image display devices, flat panel displays (hereinafter simply referred to as liquid crystal displays (LCD), plasma displays (PDP), field emission displays (FED), organic EL displays (OLED), etc.). FPD) is the mainstream. Since weight reduction is promoted about these FPD, the request | requirement with respect to thickness reduction also about the glass substrate used for FPD is increasing.

  The glass substrate mentioned above cut | disconnects the plate-shaped glass (band-shaped plate glass) shape | molded by the strip shape by the shaping | molding method of the plate-shaped glass represented by various downdraw methods, for example to the predetermined dimension, and the width direction ( This refers to the direction parallel to the front and back surfaces of the belt-shaped plate glass and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, hereinafter the same.) After further cutting both end portions, it is obtained by subjecting each cut surface to a polishing process, if necessary.

  By the way, when this type of glass substrate is manufactured, electrostatic charging in the manufacturing process may be a problem. That is, the glass as an insulator has a property of being easily charged, and in the glass substrate manufacturing process, for example, when a glass substrate is placed on a mounting table and subjected to predetermined processing, the glass substrate and the mounting table The glass substrate may be charged by contact peeling (this may be referred to as peeling charging). When a conductive object approaches the charged glass substrate, a discharge occurs, and this discharge causes damage to various elements formed on the surface of the glass substrate and electrode wires constituting the electronic circuit, or damage to the glass substrate itself. There are fears (sometimes referred to as dielectric breakdown or electrostatic breakdown). Further, the charged glass substrate is likely to stick to the mounting table, and there is a possibility that the glass substrate may be damaged by forcibly peeling it off. Since these naturally cause display defects, they should be avoided as much as possible.

  As a means for avoiding the above-mentioned phenomenon, for example, by supplying a predetermined processing gas to the back surface of the glass substrate (the surface on the side contacting the mounting surface of the mounting table), the back surface is subjected to surface treatment. A roughening method is conceivable. The larger the contact area between the glass substrate and the mounting table, the greater the amount of charge when peeling, so the glass substrate can be roughened by roughening the back surface of the glass substrate in contact with the mounting surface of the mounting table. It is expected that it is possible to reduce charging area at the time of peeling by reducing the contact area between and the mounting table. Further, in view of the fact that the smoother the contact surface (back surface) of the glass substrate is, the easier it is to stick to a smooth surface such as a mounting surface, as described above, the back surface of the glass substrate is roughened, for example, the surface roughness of the back surface. By making the thickness larger than the surface roughness of the mounting surface, it is possible to make it difficult for the glass substrate to stick to the mounting surface, and this is expected to prevent damage to the glass substrate during peeling.

  Here, as a configuration that enables the surface treatment as described above, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, a conveying means that conveys a glass substrate in a predetermined direction and a processing gas containing hydrogen fluoride gas are provided. There is described a surface treatment apparatus including an injector that supplies a gas substrate toward one main surface (main surface on the back surface side) of a glass substrate and discharges the supplied processing gas to an exhaust system. . Here, the injector is provided with a first slit connected to the hydrogen fluoride gas source at a predetermined position in the transport direction of the glass substrate, and a second slit connected to the carrier gas source is the first slit. It is provided at a predetermined position on both sides in the transport direction. A third slit connected to the exhaust system is provided at a predetermined position on both sides of the second slit in the transport direction.

JP 2014-80331 A

  When performing surface treatment with a processing gas in this way, the result of the surface treatment (surface quality after processing) depends not only on the conveyance speed of the glass substrate by the conveying means but also on the type, supply amount, and supply position of the processing gas. It is greatly influenced. Therefore, when actually performing the surface treatment described above, depending on the material and size of the glass substrate to be processed, the configuration of the production line, etc., the conveyance speed of the glass substrate, the type of the processing gas, the supply amount, and It is necessary to appropriately set the supply position (the positions of the first and second slits in Patent Document 1). However, in the surface treatment apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the first slit and the second slit for supplying the processing gas are fixed at predetermined positions in advance, the type of glass substrate (material, thickness, conveyance) The processing gas supply position cannot be changed according to the directional dimensions. In this case, when the glass substrate to be manufactured is changed, it is difficult to perform a good surface treatment.

  In view of the above circumstances, it is a technical problem to be solved by the present invention that a high-quality surface treatment is applied to the plate glass regardless of the type of the plate glass used as the glass substrate.

  The solution to the above problem is achieved by the glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. That is, this manufacturing apparatus supplies a processing gas to one main surface of a sheet glass that is conveyed by a conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet glass to be a glass substrate in a predetermined direction and has a predetermined surface. In a glass substrate manufacturing apparatus including a surface treatment apparatus for performing a treatment, the surface treatment apparatus includes a housing, an opening opening on one main surface side of the housing, and an opening. One or a plurality of air supply units which are attached so as to be removable and have an air supply port for supplying a processing gas to one main surface, and the air supply unit is made of a plate-like glass in the opening. It is characterized by being capable of being attached to a plurality of positions along the transport direction.

  Thus, in this invention, the member which has an air supply opening for supplying process gas to one main surface of the plate glass currently conveyed is unitized, and the some along the conveyance direction of plate glass It was possible to attach to the position. By comprising in this way, the conveyance direction position of an air supply port can be easily adjusted only by changing the attachment position of an air supply unit. Therefore, even when it is necessary to change the type of the sheet glass to be conveyed, it is possible to easily set the optimum processing conditions, and thereby to apply a good surface treatment to the sheet glass. It becomes possible. Or even if it is the same kind of plate glass, the conveyance speed may be changed according to the production status and the configuration of other parts of the production line. By changing the position, it is possible to easily set the supply conditions including the supply position of the processing gas, and to perform a high-quality surface treatment.

  Further, in the present invention, the opening of the surface treatment apparatus is provided with an opening, and the air supply unit having the above-described configuration is attached to the opening. Can be placed in the interior space. As a result, the surface treatment apparatus can be incorporated into the production line without making it unnecessarily large. Further, since most of the inside of the housing can be made hollow, even if the attachment position of the air supply unit is changed or added, there is no possibility that interference with other members becomes a problem.

  The glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention further includes an exhaust unit that is detachably attached to the opening, and exhausts the processing gas. The exhaust unit is disposed in the transport direction in the opening. It may be capable of being attached to a plurality of positions along.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to easily adjust the position in the transport direction of the processing gas exhaust port only by changing the mounting position of the exhaust unit. Like the position of the air supply port, the position of the exhaust port is an element that affects the flow of the processing gas in the space facing one of the main surfaces, so by adjusting the position of the exhaust port as described above, Optimal processing conditions can be set. Therefore, it is possible to easily reset the processing conditions of the plate glass with the processing gas, and it is possible to apply a high-quality surface treatment to the plate glass.

  The glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is further provided with a dummy unit that is detachably attached to the opening and closes the opening, and the dummy unit extends along the transport direction in the opening. It may be attached to a plurality of positions.

  According to the said structure, when a position or several air supply unit and the exhaust unit are attached to the opening part of the housing | casing as needed, the remaining part of an opening part can be block | closed with a dummy unit. Thereby, the attachment position of an air supply unit can be adjusted easily. In addition, since the opening can be completely closed by the dummy unit, it is possible to easily perform a high-quality surface treatment without hindering the flow of the processing gas regardless of the arrangement of the air supply unit or the like. It becomes possible. Moreover, by unitizing, the position of an air supply unit and a dummy unit can be easily replaced by sharing dimensions with an air supply unit. Therefore, recombination can be performed quickly.

  The glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention has a gap forming surface that forms a predetermined gap with one main surface in a state where the air supply unit is attached to the opening. Also good. When the exhaust unit and the dummy unit are further provided, the exhaust unit and the dummy unit may also have a gap forming surface.

  Thus, by providing a gap forming surface on each unit attached to the opening, it is possible to form a predetermined gap between one main surface regardless of the attachment position of each unit. As a result, the size and shape of the gap that affects the flow of the processing gas can always be adjusted, so that a high-quality surface treatment can be performed more stably.

  In the glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the air supply unit has a roller that supports the one main surface of the glass sheet being conveyed by the conveying device in a state where the air supply unit is attached to the opening. It may be. When an exhaust unit or a dummy unit is further provided, these exhaust unit and dummy unit may also have a roller that supports one main surface.

  Thus, by providing each unit with a roller that supports one main surface of the sheet glass, these rollers can be incorporated into the surface treatment apparatus as a component of the conveying apparatus. As a result, even if the plate-like glass has a large dimension in the transport direction, it is possible to reliably support the portion passing through the surface treatment apparatus and form a predetermined gap between each unit. It becomes possible. Accordingly, this also makes it possible to stably perform a high-quality surface treatment.

  In the glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the air supply unit may be attached to the opening by fitting, thereby sealing the internal space of the housing. When the exhaust unit and the closing unit are further provided, the exhaust unit and the dummy unit may also be fitted to the opening so as to seal the internal space of the housing.

  With this configuration, the internal space of the housing can be reliably sealed even when each unit is attached so that it can be detached from the opening. Thereby, the situation which obstruct | occludes the flow of the process gas in a clearance gap as much as possible can be avoided as much as possible, and surface treatment can be performed stably. As will be described later, when the exhaust system is configured by connecting the internal space of the housing to the exhaust unit, the required exhaust performance can be ensured by sealing the internal space of the housing.

  In the case where the exhaust unit is provided, the glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a first exhaust port that connects the space between one main surface and the exhaust unit and the internal space of the housing to the exhaust unit. The internal space of the housing may be connected to a scrubber for processing gas.

  By adopting a configuration in which the internal space of the housing is connected to the process gas scrubber in this way, the process gas exhaust system can be configured more simply regardless of the mounting position of the exhaust unit. Further, since the exhausted gas includes not only the processing gas but also the outside air (usually air), even if the processing gas is included, its concentration is lower than that at the time of supply. Therefore, an exhaust system from the exhaust unit to the scrubber can be configured in the internal space of the housing without much consideration for corrosion resistance.

  In addition, the glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is a second device for connecting the space between one main surface and the housing and the internal space of the housing to both ends of the housing in the conveyance direction of the sheet glass. The exhaust space may be provided, and the internal space of the housing may be connected to a scrubber for processing gas.

  As a result of examining the positional relationship between the air supply port and the exhaust port, when one or a plurality of air supply ports are disposed on the center side in the sheet glass conveyance direction, the two exhaust ports are at both ends in the sheet glass conveyance direction. It has been found that, when the configuration arranged in the part is adopted, a uniform flow of the processing gas is formed over the entire area of the sheet glass in the conveying direction (the entire area of the processing area in the conveying direction by the surface treatment apparatus). Therefore, by providing second exhaust ports that connect the space between one main surface and the housing and the internal space of the housing at both ends of the housing in the conveyance direction of the plate glass, It is possible to form a good flow of processing gas with the glass sheet while preventing outflow from the apparatus. Since any of these second discharge ports can be fixed to the housing, there is no need to affect the changeover (replacement of each unit).

  In the glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the air supply unit is connected to one end side of the communication pipe attached to the casing, and the other end side of the communication pipe is connected to the outside of the casing via the flexible hose. It may be connected to a processing gas generator located in the area.

  With this configuration, it is possible to easily and quickly cope with the repositioning of the air supply unit while fixing the processing gas generation device installed in the vicinity of the casing. Therefore, it is possible to enjoy the advantage that the changeover can be completed in a short time.

  Moreover, the solution of the above problem is also achieved by the method for manufacturing a glass substrate according to the present invention. That is, this manufacturing method includes a transporting process for transporting a sheet glass to be a glass substrate in a predetermined direction, and a surface treatment for performing a predetermined surface treatment on one main surface of the sheet glass transported in a predetermined direction. In the method of manufacturing a glass substrate comprising the steps, the surface treatment step is performed by supplying a treatment gas to one main surface of the plate glass that is being conveyed in a predetermined direction by the surface treatment apparatus, and the surface treatment The apparatus is attached to the casing, an opening opening on one main surface side of the casing, and detachable from the opening, and supplies a processing gas to one main surface. One or a plurality of air supply units having an air supply port, and the air supply unit is characterized by being capable of being attached to a plurality of positions along the sheet glass conveying direction in the opening. It is done.

  According to the manufacturing method according to the present invention, similarly to the above-described manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the position in the conveyance direction of the air supply port can be easily adjusted only by changing the mounting position of the air supply unit. Therefore, even when it is necessary to change the type of the sheet glass to be conveyed, it is possible to easily set the optimum processing conditions, and thereby to apply a good surface treatment to the sheet glass. It becomes possible. Or even if it is the same kind of plate glass, the conveyance speed may be changed according to the production status and the configuration of other parts of the production line. The supply conditions including can be easily set, and it becomes possible to perform a good surface treatment.

  Further, in the present invention, the opening of the surface treatment apparatus is provided with an opening, and the air supply unit having the above-described configuration is attached to the opening. Can be placed in the interior space. As a result, the surface treatment apparatus can be incorporated into the production line without making it unnecessarily large. Further, since most of the inside of the housing can be made hollow, even if the attachment position of the air supply unit is changed or added, there is no possibility that interference with other members becomes a problem.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a high-quality surface treatment can be performed on the plate glass regardless of the type of the plate glass used as the glass substrate.

It is sectional drawing of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass substrate which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part top view of the surface treatment apparatus shown in FIG. It is a principal part top view in the state which removed each unit of the surface treatment apparatus shown in FIG. It is principal part AA sectional drawing of the surface treatment apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the air supply unit shown in FIG. It is CC sectional drawing of the air supply unit shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the exhaust unit shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view for demonstrating an example of the surface treatment using the surface treatment apparatus shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass substrate which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example in which surface treatment is performed on the back surface of a glass substrate cut out to a predetermined size from a formed strip-shaped plate glass as the plate-shaped glass.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a glass substrate manufacturing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a transport device 11 for transporting the glass substrate P in a predetermined direction X1, and one main surface P1 (the lower surface in FIG. 1) of the glass substrate P transported by the transport device 11. A surface treatment device 12 that performs a predetermined surface treatment and a treatment tank 13 that accommodates the transfer device 11 and the surface treatment device 12 are provided.

  Among these, the surface treatment apparatus 12 is for supplying a treatment gas Ga to one main surface P <b> 1 of the glass substrate P to perform a predetermined surface treatment. The head portion 16 that forms the insertion path 15 of the substrate P, the opening 17 that is formed on the side of the housing 14 that faces the insertion path 15 (the upper side in this embodiment), and the air supply that is attached to the opening 17 Unit 18 is mainly provided. In the present embodiment, the surface treatment apparatus 12 further includes an exhaust unit 19 and dummy units 20 a and 20 b that are attached to the opening 17 together with the air supply unit 18. Details of each component will be described below.

  The housing 14 has a box shape as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and the upper side of the housing 14 (side facing the glass substrate P) is open over substantially the entire region in the transport direction X1 of the glass substrate P. A portion 17 is provided. Here, the opening portion 17 refers to a bottom portion 21 where the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy units 20 a and 20 b abut, and a width direction of the bottom portion 21 (a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction X <b> 1 of the glass substrate P). Hereinafter, the same applies in this specification.) Provided on the side wall portions 22 located on both sides and the bottom portion 21, the internal space 23 of the housing 14 is connected to the external space 24 of the housing 14 (here, the external space of the housing 14). In addition, the inner space of the processing tank 13 is referred to.), And in particular, a communication hole 25 connected to the space on the insertion path 15 side. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a seal member 26 such as an O-ring is disposed around the communication hole 25, and the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy unit 20a, In the state where 20b is placed, the communication hole 25 is blocked and the internal space 23 of the housing 14 is sealed with respect to the external space 24 (see FIG. 4).

  In addition, exhaust port forming members 27 are attached to both ends of the casing 14 in the conveyance direction X1 of the glass substrate P, and a slit-like exhaust gas extending in the width direction between the casing 14 and the exhaust port forming member 27. A mouth 28 is formed (see FIG. 2). The exhaust port 28 is connected to the internal space 23 through communication holes 29 (see FIG. 1) provided at both ends of the casing 14 in the transport direction X1, and is formed by a scrubber 30 (see FIG. 1) described later. Exhaust is possible.

  Next, the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy units 20a and 20b will be described.

  The air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy units 20 a and 20 b are respectively attached to the opening 17 of the housing 14 so as to be removable. In the present embodiment, two air supply units 18, one exhaust unit 19, and five dummy units 20a and 20b are respectively attached to predetermined positions along the conveyance direction X1 of the opening 17 (see FIG. 1). reference). More specifically, the dummy unit 20b, the air supply unit 18, the dummy unit 20a, the dummy unit 20a, the dummy unit 20a, the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy unit 20a from the most upstream side in the transport direction X1 in the opening portion 17. Are arranged in this order. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance direction dimensions C1 to C3 of the units 18 to 20a are the same (except for the most upstream dummy unit 20b), and the width direction dimensions W1 to W3 are also the same. . In this case, the conveyance direction dimension L (see FIG. 3) of the housing 14 excluding the exhaust port forming member 27 is the conveyance direction of the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy units 20 a and 20 b attached to the opening 17. It is equal to the sum of dimensions C1 to C3 (see FIG. 2). The units 18 to 20a and 20b are attached to the opening 17 in a state where they abut in the transport direction X1 (see FIG. 1). Thereby, the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy unit 20a are arbitrarily attached to a plurality of positions (seven positions excluding the most upstream side in the illustrated example) along the transport direction X1 of the opening 17. It is possible.

  Further, the distance T (see FIG. 3) between the inner side surfaces 22a of the side wall portion 22 located on both sides of the opening portion 17 in the width direction (see FIG. 3) is the same as the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the It is equal to the width direction dimensions W1 to W3 (see FIG. 2) of the dummy units 20a and 20b. Thereby, each unit 18-20a, 20b exists in the state attached with the spigot fitting with respect to the opening part 17 (refer FIG.2 and FIG.4). Due to the above attachment mode, the internal space 23 of the housing 14 is sealed with respect to the external space 24.

  Among these, the air supply unit 18 opens toward the insertion path 15 of the glass substrate P and supplies the processing gas Ga toward one main surface P1 of the glass substrate P as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. And an introduction part 33 for introducing the processing gas Ga generated by the processing gas generator 32 (see FIG. 1) into the air supply port 31. Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the air supply port 31 has a slit shape extending in the width direction, and the processing gas Ga can be uniformly introduced over the entire width direction of the air supply port 31 having the slit shape. Thus, the introduction part 33 has an introduction path 34 of a predetermined form. A part of the introduction part 33 is located in the internal space 23 through the communication hole 25 of the housing 14.

  FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the process gas Ga introduction path 34. The introduction path 34 shown in this figure has a form branched in multiple stages from the process gas generator 32 side to the air supply port 31 side, and thereby the width direction of the air supply port 31 (left and right in FIG. 6). Direction) the processing gas Ga can be introduced evenly over the entire region. In the present embodiment, two introduction paths 34 are provided, and a communication pipe 35 (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) at an end 34 a of each introduction path 34 opposite to the air supply port 31. Are connected at one end. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, a seal member 36 such as an O-ring may be provided on the inner periphery of the end portion 34a. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication pipe 35 is disposed below the air supply unit 18 among a plurality of pipe mounting portions 37 (see FIG. 3) formed on the portion of the housing 14 opposite to the opening 17. It is attached only to the tube attachment part 37 located. A processing gas generator 32 is connected to the other end of the communication pipe 35 via a flexible hose 38. A lid 39 is attached to a pipe attachment portion 37 to which the communication pipe 35 is not attached. Thereby, the air supply unit 18 can be connected to the processing gas generator 32 in a fixed state regardless of the mounting position of the air supply unit 18.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the exhaust unit 19 has an exhaust port 40 for exhausting the processing gas Ga supplied toward one main surface P <b> 1 of the glass substrate P. The exhaust port 40 connects the external space 24 of the housing 14, particularly the space between one main surface P 1 of the glass substrate P and the exhaust unit 19, to the internal space 23 of the housing 14. Then, it has a slit shape extending in the width direction (see FIG. 2).

  Moreover, the internal space 23 of the housing | casing 14 is connected with the scrubber 30 through the communication hole 41 provided in the lower part of the housing | casing 14, for example (refer FIG. 1). Thereby, the processing gas Ga supplied toward the one main surface P1 of the glass substrate P is drawn into the scrubber 30 via the exhaust port 40 of the exhaust unit 19 and the internal space 23 of the housing 14. Yes.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the exhaust port 40 of the exhaust unit 19, exhaust ports 28 are provided at both ends in the transport direction of the housing 14, and the exhaust ports 28 are connected to the internal space 23 of the housing 14. (See FIG. 1). As a result, the processing gas Ga or the outside air is drawn into the scrubber 30 through the exhaust port 28 and the internal space 23 of the housing 14 at both ends of the insertion passage 15 in the transport direction.

  The dummy units 20 a and 20 b are attached for the purpose of closing the opening 17 by filling a gap between the air supply unit 18 and the exhaust unit 19 attached to the opening 17. Therefore, the dummy units 20a and 20b do not have a function for supplying and exhausting air to the space on the one main surface P1 side of the glass substrate P.

  In the present embodiment, the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy units 20 a and 20 b are all attached to the opening 17 and are predetermined between the main surface P 1 of the glass substrate P. There are gap forming surfaces 43a to 43c that form the gap 42 (see FIG. 8). At this time, the gap forming surface 43a of the air supply unit 18 takes a form in which a portion in the vicinity of the air supply port 31 is protruded to the insertion passage 15 side from the surrounding portion. In this case, the gap 42 between the one main surface P1 and the gap forming surface 43a is the smallest in the vicinity of the air supply port 31.

  In the present embodiment, the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy units 20 a and 20 b are all attached to the opening 17, and one of the glass substrates P being transported by the transport device 11. Supporting rollers 44a to 44c for supporting the main surface P1 are provided. Thus, the glass substrate P is transported in a predetermined direction X1 while being supported by the support roller 45 (see FIG. 1) of the transport device 11 and the support rollers 44a to 44c provided in the units 18 to 20a and 20b. It has come to be.

  In the present embodiment, the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy units 20a and 20b all have heaters 46a to 46c (see FIG. 8). Thereby, in the state attached to the opening part 17, the temperature of the process gas Ga which flows through the clearance gap between one main surface P1 of the glass substrate P can be adjusted.

  For the glass substrate P to be surface-treated, for example, a plate glass (band plate glass) formed into a band shape by a known means such as a down draw method represented by an overflow down draw method or a float method is used in a predetermined longitudinal direction. After being cut into dimensions, one having two or four sides polished as required is used. Further, although there is no particular limitation on the dimension of the glass substrate P, for example, the dimension in the direction along the transport direction X1 is larger than the transport direction dimension of the surface treatment apparatus 12 (substantially the transport direction dimension L of the housing 14). Larger is desirable.

  According to the surface treatment apparatus 12 having the above-described configuration, for example, the following flow of the treatment gas Ga can be created to perform a predetermined surface treatment on one main surface P1. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in a state where the glass substrate P is introduced into the inside of the surface treatment device 12 (insertion passage 15) by the transfer device 11, a predetermined treatment gas Ga, for example, fluorination is performed by the treatment gas generator 32. A processing gas Ga obtained by mixing hydrogen gas with a carrier gas such as nitrogen gas is generated. Then, the processing gas Ga is supplied from the air supply port 31 to the gap 42 between the main surface P <b> 1 through the flexible hose 38, the communication pipe 35, and the introduction path 34. Further, the scrubber 30 applies a pulling force to the internal space 23 of the housing 14, and the processing gas Ga supplied to the gap 42 through the exhaust ports 28 and 40 (see FIG. 8) connected to the internal space 23. Exhaust. Thereby, the gap 42 is filled with the processing gas Ga, and a predetermined flow of the processing gas Ga is formed in the gap 42. Further, the exhaust ports 28 (see FIG. 1) arranged at both ends of the gap 42 in the transport direction X1 prevent the processing gas Ga from leaking outside the gap 42, that is, outside the surface treatment apparatus 12 as much as possible. Is done. Of course, although not shown in the figure, a certain exhausting means may be provided in the processing tank 13 to perform a predetermined exhausting process on the internal space of the processing tank 13.

  In this way, the glass substrate P is introduced into the insertion passage 15 while continuing the supply of the processing gas Ga, and the glass substrate P finishes passing through the insertion passage 15, thereby processing the one main surface P <b> 1. Surface treatment with gas Ga is completed. By this treatment, one main surface P1 is roughened, while the surface properties and surface accuracy of the other main surface P2 (upper surface in FIG. 8) are maintained. As an example, the roughening will be described by the change of the surface roughness Ra. The surface roughness Ra [nm] of one main surface P1 is 0.1 nm or more and 1.8 nm or less before and after the surface treatment. Surface treatment conditions for one main surface P1 by the processing gas Ga are set so as to improve (in this case, increase) in a range, more preferably in a range of 0.1 nm or more and 0.8 nm or less. It is better. By improving the surface roughness Ra of one main surface P1 within the above range, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the glass substrate P generates a substantially problematic level of charging in the manufacturing process after the surface treatment. It becomes. In addition, surface roughness Ra [nm] here says the value obtained by measuring by the method of applying JISR1683: 2007 mutatis mutandis.

  As described above, in the manufacturing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the air supply port 31 for supplying the processing gas Ga to the one main surface P1 of the glass substrate P being transferred by the transfer apparatus 11 is provided. The member which has is unitized and can be attached to a plurality of positions along the conveyance direction X1 of the glass substrate P. With this configuration, the position of the air supply port 31 in the transport direction X1 can be easily adjusted simply by changing the mounting position of the air supply unit 18. Therefore, even when it is necessary to change the type of the glass substrate P to be transported, it is possible to easily set the optimum processing conditions, and thereby to perform a good surface treatment on the glass substrate P. It becomes possible. Or even if it is the glass substrate P of the same kind, although the conveyance speed by the conveying apparatus 11 may be changed according to a production condition or the structure of the other part of a manufacturing line, in such a case, processing is also possible. The supply conditions including the supply position of the gas Ga can be easily set, and it becomes possible to perform a good surface treatment.

  In the present embodiment, the opening 14 is provided in the casing 14, and the air supply unit 18 having the above-described configuration is attached to the opening 17. Therefore, most of the air supply unit including the introduction path 34 is provided. It can be arranged in the internal space 23 of the housing 14. Thereby, the surface treatment apparatus 12 can be incorporated in a production line without enlarging the size more than necessary. Further, since most of the inside of the housing 14 can be made hollow, even if the mounting position of the air supply unit 18 is changed or added, there is no possibility that interference with other members becomes a problem.

  In the present embodiment, the exhaust ports 28 and 40 are connected to the internal space 23 of the housing 14, and the internal space 23 is connected to the scrubber 30. Thus, by configuring the internal space 23 of the housing 14 as a part of the exhaust system, the exhaust port 40 can be easily connected to the scrubber 30 only by changing the mounting position of the exhaust unit 19. Moreover, even if the mounting position of the air supply unit 18 is changed by making the internal space 23 a part of the exhaust system, there is no possibility that the air supply system and the exhaust system interfere with each other. Therefore, it is possible to easily change the position of the air supply port 31 only by changing the attachment position of the air supply unit 18 and the communication pipe 35.

  As mentioned above, although the manufacturing apparatus 10 and the manufacturing method of the glass substrate P which concern on 1st embodiment of this invention were demonstrated, these manufacturing apparatuses 10 and a manufacturing method naturally can take arbitrary forms within the scope of the present invention. it can.

  For example, in the first embodiment, the case where two air supply units 18, one exhaust unit 19, and five dummy units 20 a and 20 b are attached to the opening portion 17 is illustrated, but of course only the position of the air supply unit 18. It is also possible to change the number instead. FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of a glass substrate P manufacturing apparatus 50 according to an example (second embodiment of the present invention). As shown in FIG. 9, this manufacturing apparatus 50 includes a transfer device 11, a surface treatment device 51, and a treatment tank 13, as in the first embodiment, while the configuration of the surface treatment device 51 is the first embodiment. It differs from the surface treatment apparatus 12 which concerns on a form. Specifically, the surface treatment apparatus 51 is configured by attaching three air supply units 18 and five dummy units 20 a and 20 b to the opening 17 of the housing 14. In comparison with the first embodiment, the fourth dummy unit 20a from the upstream side (left side in FIGS. 1 and 9) is replaced with the air supply unit 18, and the seventh exhaust unit 19 from the upstream side is replaced. The configuration is replaced with a dummy unit 20a.

  In this way, by increasing the number of the air supply units 18, the processing area of one main surface P1 that one air supply unit 18 (air supply port 31) bears can be reduced. Therefore, for example, a uniform and sufficient surface treatment is performed on one main surface P1 without generating a region where the concentration of the processing gas Ga is stagnant between the air supply ports 31 and 31 and the concentration thereof decreases. be able to. Further, as in this embodiment, if a configuration is adopted in which a pair of exhaust ports 28 are provided at both ends of the casing 14 in the transport direction X1, the number of exhaust units 19 is reduced to zero as shown in FIG. Even if the configuration described above is adopted, there is no particular problem because the leakage of the processing gas Ga to the outside of the surface processing apparatus 51 can be prevented as much as possible.

  In the above description, a case where the opening 17 has a continuous space on the bottom 21 in the one conveyance direction X1 is exemplified, but it is of course possible to adopt other configurations. For example, as in the above-described embodiment, when the conveyance direction dimensions C1 to C3 and the width direction dimensions W1 to W3 of the air supply unit 18, the exhaust unit 19, and the dummy unit 20a are all equal, a partition wall ( (Not shown) is provided so as to connect the pair of side wall portions 22, 22, and the units 18 to 20 a are arranged in a plurality of unit housing portions (not shown) partitioned by these partition walls and the side wall portions 22, 22. It is also possible to select and arrange them.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although each exhaust port 28 and 40 has comprised the structure connected to the scrubber 30 via the internal space 23 of the housing | casing 14, of course, it can also take another structure. For example, the exhaust hole 28 and the scrubber 30 may be connected by connecting the communication hole 29 provided on the side of the housing 14 and the communication hole 41 provided on the bottom of the housing 14 with a predetermined pipe. . In this case, the inside of the housing 14 does not have to be a cavity, and can have any structure as long as interference with the units 18 to 20a can be avoided.

  In the above description, the case where a predetermined surface treatment is applied to one main surface P1 of the glass substrate P cut out from the strip-shaped plate glass has been described. Of course, the present invention is applied to any one main surface of the strip-shaped plate glass. It is also possible to apply. In other words, although not shown in the drawings, the structure described above is also applied to the case where surface treatment is performed only on one surface of the front and back surfaces of the glass film which is formed in a strip shape and cut in the width direction and wound up at one or both ends in the longitudinal direction. Such surface treatment can be suitably performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,50 Glass substrate manufacturing apparatus 11 Conveyance apparatus 12,51 Surface treatment apparatus 13 Processing tank 14 Case 15 Insertion path 16 Head part 17 Opening part 18 Air supply unit 19 Exhaust unit 20a, 20b Dummy unit 21 Bottom part 22 Side wall part 23 Internal space 24 External space 25, 29, 41 Communication hole 26 Seal member 27 Exhaust port forming members 28, 40 Exhaust port 30 Scrubber 31 Air supply port 32 Process gas generator 33 Introducing section 34 Introductory path 35 Communication pipe 36 Seal member 37 Pipe Mounting portion 38 Flexible hose 39 Lid 42 Gap 43a, 43b, 43c Gap forming surfaces 44a, 44b, 44c, 45 Support roller Ga Processing gas P Glass substrate X1 Transport direction

Claims (10)

A transport device for transporting the glass sheet serving as the glass substrate in a predetermined direction;
In a glass substrate manufacturing apparatus comprising a surface treatment apparatus for supplying a treatment gas to one main surface of the plate glass being conveyed by the conveyance apparatus and performing a predetermined surface treatment,
The surface treatment apparatus includes a housing,
An opening opening on the one main surface side of the housing;
One or a plurality of air supply units that are detachably attached to the opening and have an air supply port for supplying the processing gas to the one main surface;
The said air supply unit can be attached to the several position along the conveyance direction of the said sheet glass among the said opening parts, The manufacturing apparatus of the glass substrate characterized by the above-mentioned.   An exhaust unit that is detachably attached to the opening and that exhausts the processing gas is further provided, and the exhaust unit can be attached to a plurality of positions along the transport direction in the opening. The apparatus for manufacturing a glass substrate according to claim 1.   The exhaust unit is provided with a first exhaust port that connects a space between the one main surface and the exhaust unit and an internal space of the housing, and the internal space of the housing is used for the processing gas. The glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is connected to the scrubber.   It further includes a dummy unit that is detachably attached to the opening and closes the opening, and the dummy unit can be attached to a plurality of positions along the transport direction in the opening. The manufacturing apparatus of the glass substrate as described in any one of Claims 1-3.   The glass according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air supply unit has a gap forming surface that forms a predetermined gap with the one main surface in a state of being attached to the opening. Board manufacturing equipment.   The said air supply unit has a roller which supports the said one main surface of the said sheet glass currently conveyed by the said conveying apparatus in the state attached to the said opening part. The manufacturing apparatus of the glass substrate of description.   The said air supply unit is a manufacturing apparatus of the glass substrate as described in any one of Claims 1-6 attached by fitting with respect to the said opening part, and sealing the internal space of the said housing | casing by this.   Second exhaust ports that connect the space between the one main surface and the housing and the internal space of the housing are provided at both ends of the housing in the conveyance direction of the plate glass, The glass substrate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an internal space of the housing is connected to the processing gas scrubber.   The air supply unit is connected to one end side of a communication pipe attached to the casing, and the other end side of the communication pipe is connected to a processing gas generator located outside the casing via a flexible hose. The manufacturing apparatus of the glass substrate as described in any one of Claims 1-8 connected. A transporting process for transporting a glass sheet serving as a glass substrate in a predetermined direction;
In the manufacturing method of a glass substrate provided with the surface treatment process which performs predetermined surface treatment on one main surface of the sheet glass conveyed in the predetermined direction,
The surface treatment step is performed by supplying a treatment gas to the one main surface of the sheet glass that is being conveyed in the predetermined direction by a surface treatment device,
The surface treatment apparatus includes a housing,
An opening opening on the one main surface side of the housing;
One or a plurality of air supply units that are detachably attached to the opening and have an air supply port for supplying the processing gas to the one main surface;
The said air supply unit can be attached to the several position along the conveyance direction of the said sheet glass among the said opening parts, The manufacturing method of the glass substrate characterized by the above-mentioned.

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