JP4870734B2 - Glass plate conveyor - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a glass plate conveying equipment.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a glass plate conveying device that conveys a glass plate in a state of being held horizontally is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). This glass plate conveying apparatus carries a glass plate by placing a glass plate on a conveying unit and moving the conveying unit. As such a glass plate transport device, for example, there are a conveyor that moves a transport unit along a rail, and an articulated robot that places a glass plate on a hand (transport unit). In the conveyor, a bar-like supporter called a lifter pin is often provided in the transport unit in order to deliver the glass plate by moving up and down with the upstream device or the downstream device.

Since the transport unit is usually made of metal, a contact member for receiving a glass plate is generally attached to the transport unit, and the glass plate is protected by this contact member. As the contact member, a resin pad is often used.
JP 2001-7187 A

  By the way, in the glass plate conveying apparatus used for the processing process accompanied by the cutting of the glass plate, the resin pat is scraped by glass chips called cullet attached to the glass plate, so the resin pat is frequently removed (for example, every two weeks). ) It was necessary to replace it. This is because if the resin pad is greatly shaved, the conveying portion and the glass plate are in direct contact with each other, and the glass plate is damaged. In particular, a glass plate for a glass substrate of a flat panel display (hereinafter referred to as “FPD”) such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display has a very high required quality, and even a slight scratch may cause a product defect. .

  However, if the resin pad is frequently changed as described above, not only the operability is deteriorated, but also the cost for the operation is increased.

  In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a contact member capable of extending the service life and to provide a glass plate conveying device using the contact member.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a glass plate transport device used in a processing step involving cutting of a glass plate for a glass substrate of a flat panel display, and transported while the glass plate is placed on the glass plate transport device. And a contact member mounted on the transport unit on which the glass plate is placed. The contact member is implanted in the brush base and the brush base, and vertically upward from the brush base. And a protruding fiber, and a plurality of the fibers are bundled to form a plurality of fiber bundles separated from each other .

  According to said structure, since a contact member is brush shape, even if a cullet has adhered to the glass plate, a cullet will sink between fibers. That is, in the conventional plate-shaped contact member, the cullet is sandwiched between the glass plate and the contact member, and the cullet is strongly pressed against both the glass plate and the contact member by the weight of the glass plate. Since the cullet sinks between the fibers, the cullet is not strongly pressed against the glass plate and the contact member. Thereby, while being able to suppress that a glass plate is damaged, it can also suppress that a contact member is shaved. Therefore, according to the present invention, the service life of the contact member can be extended, and the labor and cost required to replace the contact member can be reduced.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following description relates to an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these.

  The glass plate conveying apparatus 1 which concerns on FIG. 1 (a) and (b) at one Embodiment of this invention is shown. This glass plate conveying apparatus 1 is used for the glass processing process accompanied by the cutting | disconnection of a glass plate, as shown in FIG. Specifically, in the glass processing process, the A, B, and C processes are performed in a dry environment, and the D, E, and F processes are performed in a wet environment. In step A, the base plate is received, and in the next step B, the ear portion of the base plate is cut and a glass plate having a predetermined shape is cut out. The cut glass plate is delivered to the glass plate conveying apparatus 1 of this embodiment (C process) and transferred to the D process. In the D process, chamfering is performed, in the next E process, cleaning is performed, and in the final F process, drying and inspection are performed. In addition, a glass plate is transferred by a robot or belt conveyance from A process to C process, and a glass plate is transferred by roller conveyance from D process to F process.

  In addition, the glass plate conveying apparatus of this invention is not restricted to what conveys a glass plate from a dry environment to a wet environment, A dry environment (for example, from A process to B process) or a wet environment (for example, E process to F process) The glass plate may be conveyed in step (b). Or the glass plate conveying apparatus of this invention may be used for the other process which does not accompany the cutting | disconnection of a glass plate.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), a glass plate transport apparatus 1 includes a transport unit 2 that moves with a glass plate 4 and a pair of rails 11 that support the transport unit 2 so as to be movable in a predetermined direction. And a drive unit (not shown) for moving the transport unit 2 along the rail 11. For example, various drive systems such as a ball screw system, a timing belt system, and a rack and pinion system can be used as the drive section, and a servo motor or a stepping motor can be used as the electric motor. Alternatively, the drive unit may be a linear type.

  In addition, the glass plate conveying apparatus 1 may have a raising / lowering function which raises / lowers the conveyance part 2. FIG. In this case, although illustration is omitted, the slide table is supported by the rail 11 and the transport unit 2 may be attached to the slide table via the elevating unit. For example, an air cylinder or the like can be used as the elevating unit.

  The conveyance unit 2 includes a base plate 21 and a plurality (six in the illustrated example) of cylindrical lifter pins 22 erected on the base plate 21. A contact member 3 for receiving the glass plate 4 is attached to the tip of each lifter pin 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the contact member 3 includes a brush base 31 and fibers 32 implanted in the brush base 31. In the present embodiment, the brush base 31 has a columnar shape with the same diameter as the lifter pin 22 and has a flat upper surface 31a that is parallel to the horizontal plane. And the fiber 32 is implanted in the upper surface 31a of the brush stand 31. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a female screw portion 31 b is provided at the center of the lower surface of the brush base 31, while a male screw portion 23 is provided at the center of the tip end surface 22 a of the lifter pin 22. The contact member 3 is detachably attached to the tip of the lifter pin 22 by screwing with the female screw portion 31b. That is, the contact member 3 can be attached to or removed from the lifter pin 22 simply by rotating the brush base 31 of the contact member 3. The diameter of the brush base 31 of the contact member 3 is made slightly larger than the diameter of the lifter pin 22, and a thread is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the lifter pin 22, so that the tip of the lifter pin 22 itself is a male screw part. It is good. Alternatively, a male screw portion can be provided on the lower surface of the brush base 31 and a female screw portion can be provided on the tip surface 22 a of the lifter pin 22.

  The material constituting the brush base 31 is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately selected from materials such as resin or metal according to the material of the fiber 32 described later. Examples of the resin constituting the brush base 31 include nylon, polypropylene, polyurethane, fluorine resin, amide resin, etc., and examples of the metal constituting the brush base 31 include iron, copper, stainless steel, aluminum, An aluminum alloy etc. are mentioned.

  The fibers 32 protrude vertically upward from the upper surface 31a of the brush base 31 and are arranged in parallel to each other. More specifically, the fibers 32 are bundled into a plurality of fibers to form a plurality of fiber bundles 33, and the plurality of fiber bundles 33 are arranged so as to be separated from each other. In the present embodiment, there are two types of fiber bundles 33, a first fiber bundle 33a having a relatively large diameter (for example, 2 mm in diameter) and a second fiber bundle 33b having a relatively small diameter (for example, 1 mm in diameter). Is formed.

  The fiber 32 is made of resin and extends to the tip while maintaining a constant cross-sectional shape. The resin constituting the fiber 32 is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include nylon (various nylons such as 6, 66, and 12), vinylon (polyvinyl alcohol), vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, polyurethane, Examples include polypropylene, various polyethylenes, fluororesins (PTFE, FEP, PFA, ETFE), polyester fibers such as PEN, PET, and synthetic resins such as acrylic, aramid, and polyimide.

  The diameter of the fiber 32 is preferably 0.05 to 0.3 mm, more preferably 0.1 to 0.2 mm, from the viewpoint of structure.

  The thickness of the fiber bundle 33 is preferably 0.5 to 3 mm. Here, the thickness of the fiber bundle 33 refers to the length of the longer side of the smallest rectangular frame in contact with the outline of the fiber bundle 33 when the fiber bundle 33 is viewed from the axial direction, as in this embodiment. When the fiber bundle 33 is cylindrical, it matches the diameter of the fiber bundle 33. For example, when the fibers 32 having a diameter of 0.1 mm are used, the number of the fibers 32 constituting the first fiber bundle 33a having a diameter of 2 mm is about 400, and the fibers 32 constituting the second fiber bundle 33b having a diameter of 1 mm. The number of is about 100.

The fiber bundles 33 are preferably arranged as densely as possible. Specifically, the arrangement density of the fiber bundles 33 is preferably 4 pieces / cm ² or more, and more preferably 4 to 6 pieces / cm ² . The total number of fiber bundles 33 in one contact member 3 may be determined by the mass of the glass plate 4 and the number of lifter pins 22.

  In the present embodiment, the fiber bundles 33 are arranged in a manner as shown in FIG. First, one first fiber bundle 33a is arranged at the center of the upper surface 31a of the brush base 31, and the four first fiber bundles 33a are equiangularly spaced on the first circumference C1 so as to surround this. Has been placed. Furthermore, four first fiber bundles 33a are arranged at equal angular intervals on the second circumference C2 so as to enter from the outside between the first fiber bundles 33a on the first circumference C1. On the outermost third circumference C3, eight first fiber bundles 33a are angles between the first fiber bundle 33a on the first circumference C1 and the first fiber bundle 33a on the second circumference C2. Are arranged in half. On the third circumference C3, four second fiber bundles 33b are arranged at the same angular position as the first fiber bundle 33a on the first circumference C1.

  The fiber 32 is fixed to the brush base 31 by pressing the fiber bundle 33 into a circular recess provided on the upper surface 31a of the brush base 31, and no adhesive is used. It is preferable that the allowance L from the brush stand 31 of the fiber 32 is 2-7 mm. If it is less than 2 mm, the amount of bending of the fiber 32 becomes too small and the cullet 5 described later may not sink between the fibers 32. If it exceeds 7 mm, the fiber 32 falls without being supported by the glass plate 4. This is because there is a risk of losing. More preferably, the allowance L of the fiber 32 from the brush base 31 is 4 to 6 mm.

  In the glass plate conveying apparatus 1 described above, the glass plate 4 is placed on the contact member 3 when the glass plate 4 is transferred from the upstream device, and the tip of the fiber 32 of each contact member 3 is the glass plate 4. Touch the lower surface of the. At this time, even if the cullet 5 (see FIG. 3) adheres to the lower surface of the glass plate 4, the cullet 5 sinks between the fibers 32. In the present embodiment, since the fiber bundles 33 formed of the fibers 32 are arranged so as to be separated from each other, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the fiber bundles 33 pass between the fiber bundles 33 on the upper surface 31 a of the brush base 31. There is also a falling cullet 5.

  Then, when the cullet 5 sinks between the fibers 32, the cullet 5 is not strongly pressed against the glass plate 4 and the contact member 3. For this reason, in the glass plate conveying apparatus 1 of this embodiment, while being able to suppress that the glass plate 4 is damaged, it can also suppress that the contact member 3 is scraped. Therefore, the service life of the contact member 3 can be lengthened, and the labor and cost required to replace the contact member 3 can be reduced.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the fiber 32 is bundled for every plurality, the support strength of the glass plate 4 can be made higher than the fiber 32 of the same number standing apart, and large glass It is suitable for the board.

  Furthermore, since the fiber bundles 33 are arranged so as to be separated from each other, the cullet 5 can be dropped from between the fiber bundles 33 when the glass plate 4 is placed on the contact member 3.

  In the above-described embodiment, the attachment method of the contact member 3 to the lifter pin 22 is a screw type. However, the attachment method of the contact member 3 to the lifter pin 22 may be a fitting type, for example.

  That is, since the attachment structure processed into the brush base 31 of the contact member 3 can be selected as appropriate, if the attachment structure similar to the existing equipment is processed into the brush base 31, the conventional contact member can be used without modifying the existing equipment. The contact member 3 having a long service life can be easily replaced.

  Moreover, the shape of the brush base 31 can be selected as appropriate. For example, the brush base 31 may be a home base-shaped pentagon or a regular polygon. Alternatively, the brush base 31 does not have to be columnar, and may be plate-shaped. Further, the arrangement of the fiber bundles 33 can also be appropriately selected according to the shape of the brush base 31.

  Further, the fiber bundles 33 do not have to be arranged so as to be separated from each other, and may be arranged to be continuous in one direction, for example. Furthermore, the fiber bundle 33 does not need to be cylindrical, and may be, for example, a prismatic shape or an elliptical column shape.

  Further, the fibers 32 do not necessarily have to be bundled for every plurality, and may be individually implanted in the brush base 31. However, if it is bundled for every plurality, not only the support strength is improved as described above, but also the brush base 31 can be easily implanted.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the conveyor type glass plate conveying apparatus which moves the conveyance part 2 along the rail 11 was shown, a glass plate conveying apparatus carries a glass plate on a hand (conveyance part), for example, and conveys it. An articulated robot may be used. In this case, the contact member 3 may be directly attached to the hand.

  Furthermore, the contact member of the present invention can be used not only for a glass plate conveying apparatus but also for a temporary table on which a glass plate is temporarily placed, for example.

  The present invention is particularly suitable for a glass plate transport device used when manufacturing a glass plate for an FPD glass substrate.

(A) is a top view which shows schematically the glass plate conveying apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a perspective view which shows the conveyance part in the glass plate conveying apparatus. It is explanatory drawing explaining the process using the glass plate conveying apparatus shown in FIG.1 (b). It is a perspective view which shows the contact member attached to the front-end | tip of a lifter pin. It is a disassembled side view of a lifter pin and a contact member. It is a top view of a contact member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Glass plate conveying apparatus 2 Conveying part 21 Base plate 22 Lifter pin 3 Contact member 31 Brush stand 32 Fiber 33 Fiber bundle

Claims (8)

A glass plate conveying device used in a processing step involving cutting of a glass plate for a glass substrate of a flat panel display,
A conveying portion which moves in a state of carrying the glass plate,
A contact member mounted on the transport unit, on which the glass plate is placed ,
The contact member has a brush base and a fiber implanted in the brush base and protruding vertically upward from the brush base ;
The said glass is a glass plate conveying apparatus which is bundled for every plurality and forms several fiber bundles spaced apart from each other . The diameter of the fiber is 0.05 to 0.3 mm, the thickness of the fiber bundle is 0.5 to 3 mm, a glass plate conveying device according to claim 1. Arrangement density of the fiber bundle is 4 / cm ² or more, the glass plate conveying device according to claim 2. The glass plate conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein an allowance of the fiber from the brush base is 2 to 7 mm. The glass according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the transport unit includes a base plate and a lifter pin standing on the base plate, and the contact member is attached to a tip of the lifter pin. Plate conveying device. The said fiber is a glass plate conveying apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-5 comprised with resin. The said glass plate conveying apparatus is a glass plate conveying apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6 which conveys the said glass plate from a dry environment to a wet environment. The glass plate conveying apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-7 further equipped with the raising / lowering part which raises / lowers the said conveyance part.

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