JP5051613B2 - Glass plate end grinding machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a glass plate end surface grinding device, and more particularly to a glass plate end surface grinding device for grinding an end surface of a thin glass such as a liquid crystal display glass substrate and a plasma display glass substrate.

  End grinding of a glass plate is for removing fine burrs generated on the end face in the cutting and folding process of the glass plate manufacturing process and fine glass powder adhering to the end face, and for chamfering the end face of the glass plate with R or C. It has been practiced in the past.

  The glass plate end grinding apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 reciprocates in the reciprocating direction while moving the two holding plates that adsorb and hold the glass plate and the two holding plates crossing each other. In each of the forward and backward strokes of the plates, the two holding plates are moved along a common movement path extending in the reciprocating direction, and in the backward stroke of each of the two holding plates, the two holding plates are moved. Glass held on the two holding plates in the forward movement of each of the moving means that moves on one moving path different from one moving path and the two holding plates reciprocated by the moving means A grinding wheel that grinds the end surface of the plate, and a pair of sandwiching conveyor devices that sandwich the inner side of the end surface of the glass plate to be ground when the end surface of the glass plate is ground by the grinding wheel.

The glass plate end surface grinding device of Patent Document 1 is a device that combines a suction conveyance type holding plate with high positioning accuracy and a sandwich conveyor device that supports the glass plate end portion and reduces the bending of the glass plate end portion. By separating the holding plate's forward movement process and reverse stroke in the height direction, the problem of increasing the load on the equipment and increasing the equipment's size when improving the productivity of the suction conveyance system is solved. Device.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-237380

  By the way, due to variations in processing accuracy in the cutting and folding process, the shape of the end surface of the glass plate is not linear but curved, and there are uneven portions depending on the location. When such an unevenly shaped end surface is processed by the end surface grinding apparatus of Patent Document 1, the glass plate is positioned by the holding plate at the time of the grinding process, so that the end surface grinding is performed following the variation in the end surface accuracy. There was a drawback that could not.

  For the above reasons, the grinding device of Patent Document 1 cannot perform end face grinding with a certain machining allowance, and a convex portion whose machining allowance has suddenly increased is increased due to an increase in grinding load. There were problems such as cracks and chipping, and damage to the grinding wheel. In particular, thin glass plates such as glass substrates for liquid crystal displays and plasma displays have thin thicknesses of 0.3 to 2 and 8 mm, and their end faces are sharp like a razor blade, so the above problems frequently occur. It was.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. In the suction conveyance type with high processing accuracy, the processing tact is improved, the end surface of the glass plate is ground with a certain allowance, and the end surface of the glass plate is obtained. Another object of the present invention is to provide a glass plate end surface grinding apparatus that does not damage the grinding means.

The invention according to claim 1, in order to achieve the object, a end face grinding apparatus for a glass plate for grinding the end face of the glass sheet while conveying the substantially rectangular glass plate in the horizontal direction, the grinding of the glass plate At least a pair of belt conveying means for conveying the glass plate in a predetermined direction along the edge to be ground while sandwiching the inner side from the end surface to be processed, and holding the glass plate by adsorbing and holding the glass plate Suction conveying means for conveying in the direction, grinding means for pressing and grinding the end face of the glass plate conveyed by the belt conveying means and the suction conveying means, and the grinding A moving table having a follower mounted with a means and a moving unit on which the follower is mounted, and moving the follower in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the glass plate with respect to the moving unit. Make A result, the follow-up driving means for moving in a horizontal direction said grinding means to the end face which is grinding of the glass plate, the moving part, moving in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the glass plate The glass plate size changing drive means for moving the grinding means in a horizontal direction with respect to the end surface of the glass plate to be ground through the follower, and the upstream side in the glass plate conveyance direction of the grinding means. And a sensor for detecting a plurality of positions in the horizontal direction of the end face to be ground of the glass plate sucked and held by the suction conveying means on a single glass plate, and a plurality of the end faces detected by the sensor horizontally. A position control unit that feed-forward-controls the position of the grinding means by controlling the follow-up driving means based on the position in the direction. It is a symptom.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the high-productivity belt conveyance means and the high-accuracy adsorption conveyance means are combined, and the adsorption conveyance means is not increased without increasing the load on the equipment and increasing the size of the equipment. Is a grinding device that compensates for the disadvantage of low productivity by belt conveying means. And the position of the end surface of the glass plate sucked and held by the suction conveying means is detected at a plurality of locations on a single glass plate by a sensor provided on the upstream side of the grinding means in the glass plate conveying direction, and the plurality of end surface positions are detected. Based on the above, the position of the grinding means is feedforward controlled by the position controller. Thereby, although the glass plate is positioned by the suction conveyance means at the time of grinding, the grinding means moves following the variation of the end face accuracy and can perform the end face grinding. Therefore, the relative positional accuracy between the end surface of the glass plate and the grinding means is increased, so that the end surface grinding can be performed with a certain machining allowance, and the convex portion of the end surface where the machining allowance has been increased conventionally. Even in this deformation, the grinding means follows and moves along the shape, so that the end face grinding can be performed stably without damaging the end face of the glass plate and the grinding means.

  Regarding the edge position detection of the end face by the sensor, when only one place is detected in one glass plate, the position of the glass from the grinding means can be grasped, but the shape of the end face of the glass plate cannot be grasped. By detecting a plurality of locations, the end face shape can be detected in a substantially linear shape, so that the grinding means can follow and the above effect can be obtained. Note that the more the number of detection points, the higher the precision of end face grinding. The position control unit stores in advance the end face of the glass plate or the reference position of the glass plate, calculates the difference between the reference position and the end face position detected by the sensor, and cancels the difference. Feed-forward control of the position of the grinding means. A means for detecting the entrance of the glass plate in the conveying direction may be provided, whereby a more accurate end surface grinding process can be performed. As the moving means of the grinding means, a ball screw device with high feed accuracy can be exemplified, and the position control unit feed-forward controls the servo motor of this ball screw device.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the sensor is a non-contact sensor.

  According to invention of Claim 2, it is preferable to use a non-contact-type sensor as a sensor. Thereby, the damage of the end surface of a glass plate and the damage of a sensor resulting from a sensor contacting the end surface of a glass plate can be prevented. In particular, thin glass such as glass substrates for liquid crystal displays and glass substrates for plasma displays has a thin thickness of 0.3-2, 8 mm, and the end surface is sharp like a razor blade, so that the sensor is non-contact type. Is an effective means. As the non-contact type sensor, it is preferable to use a sensor that uses an image processing technique (binarization processing) by a camera such as a CCD or CMOS, or an ultrasonic sensor that detects a distance from the end face. In the case of a camera, in order to detect the position of the end face, it is only necessary to image the edge by placing it above or below the glass plate. Considering the above, it is preferable to dispose it above. In the case of an ultrasonic sensor, the ultrasonic sensor may be disposed so as to face the end face so as to receive the ultrasonic wave reflected by the end face.

  A third aspect of the present invention is directed to the first or second aspect, wherein the suction conveyance unit includes a suction unit that holds the glass plate by suction, and an advancing / retreating unit that moves the suction unit forward and backward with respect to the glass plate. A linear motion guide member for guiding the suction portion in the predetermined direction; and the suction portion is moved along the linear motion guide member at the same speed as the transport speed by the belt transport means, and the suction portion is transported. Driving means that reciprocates between a start position and a conveyance end position, suction ON / OFF of the glass plate by the suction part, advance / retreat movement of the suction part by the forward / backward movement means, and the suction part by the drive means And a control unit for controlling the forward movement operation and the backward movement operation.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the suction portion that constitutes the suction conveyance means is provided so as to be slidable with high linear accuracy by the linear guide member disposed along the conveyance direction of the glass plate, and is driven. The means is reciprocated between the transfer start position and the transfer end position. Further, the suction portion is moved forward and backward by the forward / backward moving means. And it is preferable to control by the control part the adsorption | suction ON / OFF of the glass plate by an adsorption | suction part, the advancing / retreating movement of the adsorption | suction part by an advancing / retreating movement means, and the forward movement operation | movement and the backward movement operation | movement of an adsorption | suction part by a drive means.

  That is, at the time of suction conveyance of the glass plate, the control unit first controls the advancing / retreating movement means to move the suction portion to the glass plate and cause the suction portion to be sucked to the glass plate. After completion of the suction, the control unit controls the driving unit to move the suction unit forward, and moves the glass plate at the same speed as the transport speed by the belt transport unit. If the suction means is moved forward by controlling the drive means before the glass plate is sucked by the suction section, and the suction section is moved at the same speed as the transport speed by the belt transport means, this forward movement operation is performed. The control unit may control the advancing / retreating means to move the suction portion to the glass plate and cause the suction portion to be sucked to the glass plate. During the forward movement, the end surface of the glass plate is ground by the grinding means. When the glass plate passes through the glass plate grinding means and the glass substrate reaches a predetermined position, the control unit releases the adsorption of the glass plate by the adsorption unit, and then controls the forward / backward movement unit to retract the adsorption unit from the glass plate. It moves and controls the drive means to stop the forward movement of the suction part. The glass plate that has been ground is unloaded from the grinding apparatus by unloading means. Next, the control unit controls the drive unit to cause the suction unit to move backward and return to the conveyance start position. Thereafter, the control unit waits the suction unit at the transfer start position until the next glass plate is carried into the grinding device by the carry-in means, and at the predetermined timing when the next glass plate is carried into the grinding device. Each means is controlled to perform the operation. Thereby, adsorption | suction of a glass plate, conveyance, and the return operation | movement of an adsorption | suction part can be performed repeatedly and smoothly. Since the suction portion reciprocates along the same linear guide member, the structure is compact. On the other hand, the holding plate of Patent Document 1 has a different reciprocating path, and a plurality of holding plates share this reciprocating path, so that the holding plate is cantilevered by the vertical movement device, and the mass of the glass plate However, in the present invention, this problem can be solved. If, for example, a cylinder device, which is a forward / backward moving means, is installed directly below the suction portion and the rod of the cylinder device is directly connected to the central portion of the suction portion, the suction portion is further bent by the mass of the glass plate during the conveyance of the glass plate. Therefore, it is preferable. In addition, the suction part may be installed either below or above the glass plate. When the suction part is installed above, for example, a cylinder device which is a forward / backward moving means is installed directly above the suction part, and the rod of the cylinder device is attached. What is necessary is just to connect directly to the center part of an adsorption | suction part.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of the suction conveyance means according to the third aspect, wherein each suction conveyance means is controlled by the control unit in a forward movement operation and a backward movement operation of each adsorption portion with a time difference. It is characterized by having.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of suction conveyance means are provided, the forward movement operation and the backward movement operation of each suction portion of each suction conveyance means are matched with the conveyance timing of the glass plate. It is preferable that the control unit controls the time difference. Thereby, even if it continuously carries in a glass plate to a grinding device, a glass plate can be smoothly conveyed by an adsorption | suction part, and the improvement of production efficiency can be aimed at.

  According to the glass plate end surface grinding apparatus of the present invention, since the belt conveyance method and the suction conveyance method are used in combination, the machining tact can be improved with high machining accuracy, and the end surface of the glass plate can be made with a certain allowance. Since it can grind, it can grind stably, without damaging the end surface of a glass plate and a grinding means.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a glass plate end surface grinding apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view of an end face grinding apparatus 10 for a glass plate according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the end face grinding apparatus 10 taken along line AA in FIG.

  As shown in these drawings, the end surface grinding apparatus 10 mainly includes a pair of upper and lower belt conveying means 12, an adsorption conveying means 14, a grinding means 16, a sensor 18, and a position control unit 20. Since these constituent members 12 to 18 are arranged at symmetrical positions with the center line CL shown in FIG. 2 in between, the constituent members 12 to 18 arranged on the left side of FIG. 2 will be described here. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In these drawings, the symbol X indicates the horizontal conveyance direction of the glass plate G, the symbol Y indicates the horizontal direction orthogonal to the X direction, and the symbol Z indicates the vertical direction orthogonal to these X and Y directions. Yes.

  The belt conveying means 12 conveys the glass plate G in the X direction toward the grinding means 16 while holding the inner side of the end face to be ground of the glass sheet G to be ground. The belt conveying means 12 includes a pair of endless belts 22 and 24 arranged above and below the glass plate G, and these endless belts 22 and 24 are stretched on pulleys (not shown) and extend in the X direction. It is arranged. The endless belts 22 and 24 are moved in the X direction by a driving force of a motor (not shown). Thereby, the glass plate G clamped between the endless belt 22 and the endless belt 24 is conveyed from the upstream side of the end surface grinding apparatus 10 toward the grinding means 16 at a predetermined speed. Reference numeral 26 denotes a guide member that guides the circumferential movement of the endless belt 22, and reference numeral 28 denotes a guide member that guides the circumferential movement of the endless belt 24.

  The suction conveyance means 14 holds the glass plate G by suction on its lower surface, and conveys the glass plate G together with the belt conveyance means 12 from the upstream side of the end surface grinding apparatus 10 toward the grinding means 16. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the suction conveyance means 14, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the suction conveyance means 14.

  As shown in these drawings, the suction conveyance means 14 includes a plurality of suction pads (suction portions) 30, 30... For sucking and holding the glass plate G, and suction pads 30, 30. Advancing / retreating movement means 32, 32 for moving back and forth (up and down), a well-known linear motion guide member 38 comprising a rail 34 and a guide block 36 for guiding the suction pads 30, 30 toward the grinding means 16, a suction pad 30, 30 is moved along the linear motion guide member 38 at the same speed as the conveying speed of the belt conveying means 12, and the driving means 40 is configured to reciprocate the suction pads 30, 30 between the conveyance start position and the conveyance end position. I have. Further, the suction conveyance unit 14 is configured to turn on / off the suction of the glass plate G by the suction pads 30, 30..., Advance and retreat of the suction pads 30, 30. , 30..., 30...

  Further, although six suction pads 30 are used in this embodiment, one or a plurality of suction pads 30 may be used as long as they can be stably held and transported. It is preferable to provide a plurality of suction pads 30 according to the size of the glass plate G because the glass plate G can be stably held. In this embodiment, the suction pad is provided below the 30 glass plate G, but may be provided above.

  For example, an air cylinder can be used as the advancing / retreating means 32, and a rod 33 of the air cylinder is fixed to the lower center portion of the suction pad 30. The suction pad 30 is advanced (raised) toward the lower surface of the glass plate G by the extension operation of the rod 33 and is brought into contact with the lower surface of the glass plate G as shown in FIG. It is retracted downward from the lower surface of. This amount of retraction movement is set to be equal to or more than the amount of deflection of the glass plate G due to its own weight (several tens of mm). The advancing / retreating movement means 32 is not limited to an air cylinder, and any ball screw may be used as long as it can be repeatedly extended and retracted. However, an air cylinder is preferable in terms of cost and simplicity of structure.

  Further, the suction pads 30, 30... Are connected to a suction air tube (not shown) disposed on the flexible cable 46 fed out from the cable bear 44 via a three-way valve (not shown). The pad air tube is connected to a vacuum device (not shown). When the first valve of the three-way valve is opened, the suction force of the vacuum device is transmitted to the suction pads 30, 30... Via the suction air tubes. 3 and 4, the lower surface of the glass plate G is sucked and held by the suction pads 30, 30. When the first valve of the three-way valve is closed and the second valve is opened, the suction pads 30, 30... The suction force is released. The three-way valve is an electromagnetic valve that is opened and closed by an ON / OFF signal from a signal line disposed on the flexible cable 46, and is controlled by the control unit 42.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the advancing / retreating means 32, 32... Are arranged on the upper surface of a hollow traveling body 48 formed in a cross-sectional shape. These forward / backward moving means 32, 32... Are connected to a cylinder air tube (not shown) of a flexible cable 46 fed out from the cable bear 44, and this cylinder air tube is connected to an air supply device via a three-way valve (not shown). It is connected to the. Therefore, when the first valve of the three-way valve is opened and the second valve is closed, the air is supplied from the air supply device via the cylinder air tube, and the lot extending side of the advancing / retreating moving means 32, 32. The rods 33, 33... Of the forward / backward moving means 32, 32. When the first valve of the three-way valve is closed and the second valve is opened, the air supply device causes the air to move forward and backward through the cylinder air tube to the rod contraction side. The rods 33, 33... Of the forward / backward moving means 32, 32. The three-way valve is an electromagnetic valve that is opened and closed by an ON / OFF signal from a signal line disposed on the flexible cable 46, and is controlled by the control unit 42.

  The traveling body 48 is configured such that the guide block 36 of the linear guide member 38 is fixed to the lower surface of the traveling body 48, and is thereby slidable in the X direction of FIG. 3 along the rail 34. Further, a cover member 50 having a bowl-like cross section as shown in FIG. The cover member 50 is disposed along the X direction as shown in FIG. 3, and both ends are fixed to a fixing member (not shown). Further, the cover member 50 is formed to have a size and a length so as to cover the fixed frame 52 in which the cable bear 44 is accommodated, which is located below the cover member 50. Thereby, the cutting water or the cooling water used in the grinding means 16 is prevented from entering the fixed frame 52 by the cover member 50.

  The driving means 40 includes a timing belt 54, a pair of pulleys 56 and 58 that stretch the timing belt 54, and a rotational force applied to the pulley 56. The timing belt 54 is rotated in the forward direction indicated by the arrow A and the reverse direction indicated by the arrow B. It is comprised from the motor 60 which carries out the circumference movement to B. The timing belt 54 is disposed below the cover member 50 as shown in FIG. 4, and a part disposed in the hollow portion of the traveling body 48 is fixed to the traveling body 48. Therefore, when the timing belt 54 is moved in the direction of the arrow A by the motor 60, the traveling body 48 travels from the conveyance start position of the end surface grinding apparatus 10 toward the conveyance end position, and the timing belt 54 is moved by the motor 60. When moved around in the direction of arrow B, the traveling body 48 travels from the transport end position toward the transport start position. The rotation direction of the motor 60 is also controlled by the control unit 42. The driving means 40 is not limited to the present embodiment, and any means that can travel the traveling body 48 in a predetermined direction may be used.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the grinding means 16 includes a pair of grinding wheels 62 and 62 arranged in parallel in the X direction. These grindstones 62 and 62 grind the end surface of the glass plate G, and are mounted on moving tables 64 and 64 (one moving table 64 is not shown) as shown in FIG. The lower parts of these moving bases 64 are supported by the base 66 of the end surface grinding apparatus 10 so as to be slidable in the Y direction, and by driving a motor 70 of a feed screw device 68 provided at the lower part thereof, The entire moving table 64 is slid in the Y direction. Thereby, the space | interval of the grindstones 62 and 62 which oppose on both sides of CL is adjusted. That is, the slide movement of the moving table 64 is performed at the time of a job change for changing the size of the glass plate G.

  The moving table 64 includes a follower 74 on which the grindstone 62 and the grindstone motor 72 are mounted, and a moving unit 76 connected to the base 66 via a feed screw device 68. A follower 74 is slidably mounted in the Y direction. The moving unit 76 is provided with a ball screw device 78 that precisely slides the follower 74 in the Y direction. When the motor 80 of the ball screw device 78 is driven, the follower 74 is moved in the Y direction. Moved precisely. The motor 80 is driven and controlled by the position control unit 20 as shown in FIG. 1, and the position control unit 20 controls the motor 80 based on the edge position of the end face of the glass sheet G output from the sensor 18.

  The sensor 18 is arranged on the upstream side of the grinding means 16, detects a plurality of positions of the end face of the glass plate G sucked and held by the sucking and conveying means 14 in one glass plate G, and positions the end face positions. Output to the control unit 20. Then, the position control unit 20 controls the motor 80 of the ball screw device 78 based on the plurality of end face positions detected by the sensor 18 and feed-forward controls the position in the Y direction of the grinding means 16.

  When it is detected by an entrance substrate detection detector (not shown) that the first glass plate G before end face grinding has been carried into the entrance (upstream side) of the end face grinding apparatus 10, after the predetermined time has elapsed, An inlet positioning member (not shown) moves forward toward the glass plate G. As a result, the glass plate G is positioned with respect to the belt conveying means 12 and the suction conveying means 14. Then, during the positioning of the glass plate G by the inlet positioning member, the suction pad A (the suction pad 30 of the suction conveyance means 14 on the left side in FIG. 2) is moved downstream from the conveyance start position by the adsorption conveyance means 14 (synchronous transmission). The suction pad A is moved forward and backward toward the glass plate G by the advancing / retreating means 32 after the predetermined time has elapsed, and the suction holding of the glass plate G by the suction pad A is performed after the predetermined time has elapsed. Therefore, the glass plate G is conveyed toward the grinding means 16 by both the belt conveying means 12 and the suction conveying means 14.

  Next, when a predetermined time elapses after the suction, the end surface position of the glass plate G is detected by the sensor 18 as the glass plate G passes through the vicinity of the sensor 18, and this end surface position is output to the position control unit 20. Then, the position control unit 20 feedforward-controls the motor 80 of the ball screw device 78 based on the plurality of end surface positions output from the sensor 18 so that the position of the grindstone 62 follows the end surface shape of the glass plate G. The follower 74 is moved in the Y direction. Thereby, the end surface of the glass plate G is ground accurately. Even during the grinding of the glass plate G, the glass plate G is transported by both the belt transport unit 12 and the suction transport unit 14.

  When the detection unit detects that the second glass plate G before end surface grinding has been carried into the entrance of the end surface grinding apparatus 10 during and after the grinding of the first glass plate G, After the lapse of the predetermined time, the inlet positioning member moves forward toward the glass plate G. As a result, the glass plate G is positioned with respect to the belt conveying means 12 and the suction conveying means 14. During the positioning of the glass plate G by the inlet positioning member, the suction pad B (the suction pad 30 of the suction transport means 14 on the right side in FIG. 2) is moved from the upstream side to the downstream side (synchronous forward movement). After the predetermined time elapses, the suction pad B moves forward toward the glass plate G by the advancing / retreating movement means 32, and after the predetermined time elapses, the glass plate G is held by suction by the suction pad B. Therefore, the second glass plate G is conveyed toward the grinding means 16 by both the belt conveying means 12 and the suction conveying means 14.

  Next, when a predetermined time elapses after the suction, the end surface position of the second glass plate G is detected by the sensor 18 as the second glass plate G passes through the vicinity of the sensor 18, and this end surface position is the position. It is output to the control unit 20. Then, the position control unit 20 feedforward-controls the motor 80 of the ball screw device 78 based on the plurality of edge positions output from the sensor 18, and the position of the grindstone 62 is changed to the end face shape of the second glass plate G. The follower 74 is moved in the Y direction so as to follow. Thereby, the end surface of the second glass plate G is precisely ground. Even during the grinding of the second glass plate G, the second glass plate G is conveyed by both the belt conveying means 12 and the suction conveying means 14.

  On the other hand, if the suction pad A confirms that the glass plate G has been carried out of the grinding means by the detection unit of the exit substrate after the grinding processing of the glass plate G is completed, the suction pad A sucks the first glass plate G. The suction pad A is retracted downward from the glass plate G by the advancing / retreating movement means 32 after a predetermined time has elapsed. After that, after a predetermined time has passed, it is moved to the conveyance end position, temporarily stopped, then moved back at high speed by the suction conveyance means 14 and returned to the original conveyance start position. And it waits until the 3rd glass plate G is detected, and when the 3rd glass plate G is detected, the operation | movement mentioned above is repeated. The same operation is repeated in the suction pad B.

  As described above, the end surface grinding apparatus 10 according to the embodiment combines the belt conveying means 12 with high productivity and the suction conveying means 14 with high positioning accuracy, and does not increase the load on the equipment and enlarges the equipment. In addition, the belt conveyance unit 12 compensates for the disadvantage that the suction conveyance unit 14 has a slow tact, and the productivity is improved.

  And by the sensor 18 provided in the glass plate conveyance direction upstream of the grinding means 16, the end surface position of the glass plate G adsorbed and held by the adsorption conveyance means 14 is detected at a plurality of locations on one glass plate G, and these Based on a plurality of edge positions, the position control unit 20 feed-forward-controls the position of the grindstone 62.

  Thereby, the glass plate G is positioned by the suction conveyance means 14 at the time of grinding, and the grindstone 62 of the grinding means 16 can follow the variation in the end face accuracy of the glass plate G and perform end face grinding. That is, the relative positional accuracy between the end face of the glass plate G and the grindstone 62 is high, and the end face grinding can be performed with a constant allowance as compared with the conventional apparatus. Even in the deformation of the convex portion or the like, since the grindstone 62 follows and moves along the shape thereof, the end face grinding can be stably performed without damaging the end face of the glass plate G or the grindstone 62.

  Regarding the position detection of the end face of the glass plate G by the sensor 18, when only one place is detected in one glass plate G, the relative position of the glass plate G with the grindstone 62 can be grasped, but the glass plate G It is not possible to grasp the shape of the end face of the sheet and the shift due to the conveyance of the glass plate G. According to the present embodiment, a plurality of end surface positions of the glass plate G are detected, so that the end surface shape can be detected in a substantially linear or curved shape, and even if the conveyance accuracy of the glass plate G is poor, the glass plate G Since the relative position of the end face of the grindstone 62 with respect to the grindstone 62 can be grasped, the follow-up accuracy of the grindstone 62 is increased, and the above effect can be obtained. In addition, the said some places refers to the space | interval of about 5-500 mm, for example. The sampling interval by the sensor 18 is preferably as small as possible, and is preferably about 5 to 10 mm. Thereby, correspondence of a convex part becomes easy.

  The position control unit 20 stores in advance the edge reference position of the end face of the glass plate G, calculates the difference between the edge reference position and the edge position detected by the sensor 18, and cancels the difference. In this way, the position of the grindstone 62 is feedforward controlled. As the moving means of the grindstone 62, a ball screw device 68 with high feeding accuracy is suitable, but is not limited to this.

  Moreover, as the sensor 18, it is preferable to use a non-contact type sensor. Thereby, the damage of the end surface of the glass plate G and the damage of the sensor 18 resulting from the sensor 18 contacting the end surface of the glass plate G can be prevented. In particular, thin glass such as glass substrates for liquid crystal displays and glass substrates for plasma displays has a thin thickness of 0.3 to 2.8 mm, and its end surface is sharp like a razor blade. Formulas are an effective means.

  As the non-contact type sensor 18, it is preferable to use a sensor that uses image processing technology (binarization processing) by a camera such as a CCD or CMOS, or an ultrasonic sensor that detects a distance from the end face. In the case of a camera, in order to detect the edge position of the end face, it is only necessary to image the edge by placing it above or below the glass plate G. However, the grinding process is an environment where water is used, and adhesion of grinding debris. In consideration of the above, it is preferable to dispose them above. In the case of an ultrasonic sensor, the ultrasonic sensor may be disposed so as to face the end face so as to receive the ultrasonic wave reflected by the end face.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment, the suction pad 30 in which wrinkles are unlikely to be generated is illustrated as the suction portion of the suction conveyance unit 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. Further, in order to improve the conveyance accuracy, a vacuum suction portion may be provided in a metal block such as aluminum, stainless steel, or iron.

  Furthermore, in the end surface grinding apparatus 10 of the embodiment, two suction conveyance units 14 and 14 are provided, and each of the suction conveyance units 14 and 14 has a time difference so as to match the conveyance timing of the glass plate G. 30 forward and backward movement operations are controlled by the control unit 42. Thereby, the glass plate G can be smoothly conveyed by the suction pads 30 and 30 even if it carries in continuously, without carrying in the glass plate G in the end surface grinding apparatus 10 intermittently. Note that the number of the suction conveyance means 14 is not limited to two, and may be three or more. Further, the grindstone 62 may be a chamfering grindstone that chamfers the corner portion.

The top view which showed the end surface grinding apparatus of the glass plate of embodiment Longitudinal sectional view of the end surface grinding apparatus along line AA in FIG. The perspective view which showed the adsorption conveyance means of the end surface grinding apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the suction conveyance means shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... End surface grinding apparatus of a glass plate, 12 ... Belt conveyance means, 14 ... Adsorption conveyance means, 16 ... Grinding means, 18 ... Sensor, 20 ... Position control part, 22 ... Endless belt, 24 ... Endless belt, 26 ... Guide member, 28 ... Guide member, 30 ... Suction pad, 32 ... Advancing / retreating means, 33 ... Rod, 34 ... Rail, 36 ... Guide block, 38 ... Linear guide member, 40 ... Drive means, 42 ... Control unit, 44 ... cable bearer, 46 ... flexible cable, 48 ... traveling body, 50 ... cover member, 52 ... fixed frame, 54 ... timing belt, 56 ... pulley, 58 ... pulley, 60 ... motor, 62 ... grinding wheel, 64 ... movement Stand, 66 ... Base, 68 ... Feed screw device, 70 ... Motor, 72 ... Grinding wheel motor, 74 ... Tracking unit, 76 ... Moving unit, 78 ... Ball screw device, 80 ... Motor

Claims (4)

A facet grinding apparatus for a glass plate for grinding the end face of the glass sheet while conveying the substantially rectangular glass plate in the horizontal direction, the glass plate is grinding by clamping the inner side than the end face which is grinding of the glass plate At least a pair of belt conveying means for conveying in a predetermined direction along the end of the belt;
Suction conveyance means for sucking and holding the glass plate and conveying the glass plate in the predetermined direction;
Grinding means for pressing the end face of the glass plate conveyed by the belt conveying means and the adsorption conveying means to grind the end face;
A moving table including a follower portion on which the grinding means is mounted and a moving portion on which the follower portion is mounted;
The follower moves the grinding means in the horizontal direction with respect to the end surface of the glass plate to be ground by moving the follower in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the glass plate with respect to the moving part. Driving means,
Glass that moves the grinding means in the horizontal direction with respect to the end surface of the glass plate to be ground through the follower by moving the moving portion in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the glass plate. Drive means for changing the plate size;
A sensor that is provided on the upstream side of the grinding means in the glass plate conveyance direction, and detects a plurality of positions in the horizontal direction of the edge surface of the glass plate that is suction-held by the suction conveyance means in a single glass plate,
A position control unit that feed-forward-controls the position of the grinding means by controlling the follow-up drive means based on the horizontal positions of the plurality of end faces detected by the sensor;
An apparatus for grinding an end face of a glass plate.   The glass sheet end surface grinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a non-contact sensor. The suction conveyance means includes
An adsorbing part for adsorbing and holding the glass plate;
Forward / backward moving means for moving the suction portion forward / backward relative to the glass plate;
A linear motion guide member for guiding the suction portion in the predetermined direction;
Driving means for moving the suction portion along the linear guide member at the same speed as the transport speed by the belt transport means, and reciprocating the suction section between a transport start position and a transport end position;
A controller that controls the suction ON / OFF of the glass plate by the suction part, the forward / backward movement of the suction part by the forward / backward movement means, and the forward and backward movement of the suction part by the drive means; The end surface grinding apparatus of the glass plate of Claim 1 or 2.   The glass plate end surface grinding device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the suction conveyance units are provided, and each suction conveyance unit is controlled by the control unit with a forward movement operation and a backward movement operation of each adsorption unit with a time difference. .

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