JP5614350B2 - Glass substrate for flat panel display - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a glass substrate for a flat panel display. Specifically, when the glass substrate is placed (transferred) on a flat placement surface of a work table such as a setter, the glass substrate is placed on the placement surface. The present invention relates to a technique for accurately positioning a glass substrate.

  As is well known, plasma display, field emission display (including surface emission display), liquid crystal display, and flat panel display such as electroluminescence display and organic EL display (hereinafter also referred to as FPD) are made of FPD glass substrates. It is manufactured using the panel glass processed as. In that case, a required element is formed on the surface of the glass substrate for FPD (hereinafter also simply referred to as a glass substrate) as an original plate. In forming this element, it is usual to heat-treat the glass substrate. It is.

  This heat treatment is generally performed by a method in which the glass substrate is placed on a flat placement surface of a work table typified by a setter and transported into a heating furnace. In order to perform an appropriate heat treatment, it is necessary to maintain a state where the glass substrate is accurately positioned in an appropriate posture with respect to the mounting surface of the setter. In order to meet such a demand, when a glass substrate is placed (transferred) on the placement surface of the setter, that is, immediately after placing the glass substrate, the glass substrate slips on the placement surface. It is important to take such measures.

  As an example of the countermeasure, for example, as disclosed in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, with the glass substrate placed on the placement surface of the setter, the glass substrate is arcuate only in one direction. A curved shape is formed, and two parallel sides at both ends of the glass substrate are brought into contact with the mounting surface. Further, in FIG. 3 of the same document, on the setting surface of the setter, the glass substrate has a shape having a single peak in a wide area at the center, and the peripheral portions on the four sides of the glass substrate are set on the mounting surface Is disclosed.

  Further, for example, in Patent Document 2, the glass substrate has a corrugated shape in which the glass substrate has alternating peaks and valleys in a direction along one side on the setting surface of the setter. It is disclosed that the substrate is brought into line contact at a plurality of locations on the setting surface of the setter.

JP 2008-7364 A JP 2009-227471 A

  However, in the countermeasure disclosed in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1 described above, when the glass substrate is deformed to approach a flat state by its own weight, the degree of deformation is large, The air layer in between creates a force that lifts the glass substrate. And since the glass substrate has such a shape, it takes a long time for air to escape from the air layer, and in combination with this, the glass substrate is placed on the mounting surface. Slip easily occurs immediately after.

  In addition, according to the countermeasure disclosed in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1 described above, when the glass substrate is deformed to approach a flat state by its own weight, the air layer between the mounting surface is in a closed state. Thus, since there is no air passage, the force for lifting the glass substrate increases, and the problem of slipping becomes more serious.

  Furthermore, according to the measures disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, the glass substrate is waved on the mounting surface of the setter to form a plurality of linear air passages. It will only cause air flow in one direction. For this reason, when the air flow in one direction of these ventilation paths is hindered, it is impossible for air to escape in the other direction anymore, so the air layer is closed in the ventilation path, and this air layer The presence can cause the above-mentioned slip problem. Factors that hinder the air flow in the ventilation path include the fact that the glass substrate is deformed unexpectedly as a result of the recent increase in thickness and thickness, blocking the ventilation path, and that the setting surface of the setter is maintained flat. In some cases, however, there may be a groove or a convex part with regularity in a part of the region, which may block the air passage.

  In particular, in this corrugated glass substrate, since all the air passages are formed under substantially the same conditions, it is difficult to assume that only one air passage impedes air flow. It can be inferred that there is a high possibility that the road is uniformly obstructed by the air flow in one direction and no air escapes in the other direction. When such a situation occurs, many air layers are in a closed state, and thus the problem of slipping becomes more serious.

  As described above, if the glass substrate slips on the mounting surface of the work table such as a setter, the glass substrate is not accurately positioned. It is obstructed, and it develops into a fatal problem that high-quality panel glass cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and eliminates the problem of slipping when a glass substrate is placed on a placement surface of a workbench such as a setter so that accurate positioning is achieved. This makes it a technical subject to perform an appropriate process to a glass substrate.

This onset Ming was invented in order to solve the above technical problem, it is placed on a workbench of a flat mounting on surface with a predetermined processing is performed, which is placed on the mounting surface A flat panel display glass substrate having a peak portion and a valley portion and having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and the mounting surface when placed on the mounting surface And a plurality of valleys that are in contact with the placement surface are formed, and these valleys are formed in two adjacent sides. It is characterized by being discontinuous in any direction parallel to each side .

  According to such a configuration, when a glass substrate is placed on a placement surface of a work table such as a setter, at least two sides (at least at least) of the glass substrate are placed between the placement surface and the glass substrate. Since air passages that open to two right angles) are formed, the air interposed between the mounting surface and the glass substrate is not only from one direction of the glass substrate but also from the other direction perpendicular thereto. Can also get out. Thereby, the probability that the air flow from which the air escapes from one direction of the glass substrate and the air passage from which the air escapes from the other direction is obstructed uniformly is extremely small. As a result, a closed air layer sufficient to lift the glass substrate is less likely to be generated in these ventilation paths, and slippage of the glass substrate is suppressed, so that the glass substrate can be accurately positioned with respect to the mounting surface. Thus, the heat treatment or the like can be appropriately performed.

  In this case, it is preferable that the ventilation path opened to the at least two adjacent sides in the glass substrate is in communication.

  In this way, for example, even when the air passage opened to one side of the glass substrate is closed in the middle or near the open end, the air in the air passage is Since it is possible to escape from the air passages that open to other sides at right angles, a situation in which a large closed air layer is generated across these air passages can be avoided, and slipping of the glass substrate on the mounting surface can be avoided. It becomes possible to suppress more reliably.

  In the above configuration, the air passage is preferably formed in multiple directions on the outer peripheral side.

  In this way, even if a single air layer or a plurality of independent air layers are formed in the central region of the glass substrate, which is a region where air is difficult to escape, from the air layer, the outer peripheral side is multi-directional. Since the air efficiently escapes through the air passage that faces, slipping on the mounting surface of the glass substrate can be effectively avoided.

In the present invention, as described above, the glass substrate is formed with a plurality of valleys that are in contact with the placement surface, and these valleys are respectively parallel to two adjacent sides of the glass substrate. The direction is also discontinuous.

  In this way, it is possible to easily open the air passage formed between the plurality of troughs between the mounting surface and the glass substrate to at least two sides of the glass substrate. The production of a glass substrate having such a shape is simplified. In addition, it is more preferable that the plurality of valleys are discontinuous in all directions. In such a case, the air passage formed between the plurality of valleys is formed by any valley. Not only can it be blocked, but all the air passages will communicate. Therefore, in this case, air escapes quickly and smoothly from between the placement surface and the glass substrate, and the factors that cause the glass substrate to slip are reduced as much as possible.

  In such a configuration, it is preferable that the plurality of valleys are scattered irregularly.

  In this way, since the deformation due to the weight of the glass substrate is moderately dispersed, it is possible to suppress a situation in which all the air passages are subjected to pressure deformation at once and the air flow is deteriorated.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a glass substrate is placed on the placement surface of a work table such as a setter, the air interposed between the placement surface and the glass substrate is Therefore, it is difficult to form an air layer in a closed state sufficient to lift the glass substrate in these ventilation paths. Thereby, since the slip of a glass substrate is suppressed, the exact positioning of a glass substrate with respect to a mounting surface is attained, and processes, such as heat processing, can be performed appropriately.

It is a schematic perspective view which exaggerates and shows typically the glass substrate which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows typically a contact state with the mounting surface at the time of capturing the glass substrate which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention by planar view. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the height relationship with the mounting surface in a part of glass substrate which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which exaggerates and shows typically the glass substrate which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which exaggerates and shows typically the glass substrate which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a glass substrate for a flat panel display according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 exaggerates the state in which the glass substrate 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is placed on the flat placement surface 2 a of the setter 2. The glass substrate 1 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, the dimension of one side is 400 to 5000 mm, the dimension of the other side perpendicular to the one side is 800 to 5000 mm, and the average plate thickness is 0.5 to 3. 0 mm. The glass substrate 1 is placed on the placement surface 2a of the setter 2 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, when the glass substrate 1 is placed on the placement surface 2a of the setter 2, the peaks 1a and valleys 1b are irregularly scattered, and the placement surface 2a. Between the glass substrate 1 and the glass substrate 1, an air passage 3 that opens to the four sides 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the glass substrate 1 is formed. These air passages 3 are formed in multiple directions on the outer peripheral side of the glass substrate 1. The heights and widths of the peaks 1a and valleys 1b of the glass substrate 1 are not uniform and are different from each other. In addition, in the same figure, the direction of the main air flow which passes through each ventilation path 3 is shown by the arrow A.

  More specifically, the glass substrate 1 is supported on the mounting surface 2a by contacting all or a part of the plurality of valleys 1b (at least three valleys 1b) with the mounting surface 2a. A part of the gap formed between the contacting valleys 1b reaching the four sides 11, 12, 13, 14 is the air passage 3. The size of the flow path area of the ventilation path 3 varies depending on the height and width of the mountain portion 1a. Here, regarding the distinction between the peak 1a and the valley 1b, in this embodiment, when the peak 1a and the valley 1b are smoothly continuous, the peak from the bottom end of the valley 1b. It is divided into a valley 1b and a peak 1a with reference to the center in the height direction up to the top end of 1a.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view schematically showing a form of the glass substrate 1 in a plan view. In the figure, a region B with cross-hatching indicates the lowest portion of the valley 1b of the glass substrate 1 and is in contact with the placement surface 2a, and a region C surrounded by a dotted line is glass The periphery of the top end of the peak 1a of the substrate 1 is shown. A gap is formed between the cross-hatched regions B, but the main air flow direction, that is, the direction in which air passes through the air passage 3 is multidirectional as indicated by the arrow A.

  In this case, the plurality of valley portions 1b (particularly, the plurality of regions B with cross-hatching) are not continuous in the direction parallel to the one side 11 (13) of the glass substrate 1 and the one side 11 (13 ) Is not continuous in the direction parallel to the other side 12 (14) adjacent to the other side. Accordingly, all the air passages 3 formed around the valley portions 1b communicate with each other. In addition, about this some ventilation path 3, as long as it is possible to let air escape from between the mounting surface 2a and the glass substrate 1, some of them may be non-communication.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the curved shape of the glass substrate 1 in one direction in a state where the glass substrate 1 is placed on the placement surface 2 a of the setter 2. The shape of the glass substrate 1 will be described with reference to the figure. The symbol H is up to the maximum clearance between the mounting surface 2a and the glass substrate 1, and the maximum clearance H is 0.15 mm or less. Moreover, the symbol h is a height difference between the peak portion 1a and the higher valley portion 1b of the adjacent valley portions 1b, and the maximum value hmax of these height differences h is 0.003 to 0.003. 0.1 mm, preferably 0.007 to 0.1 mm. When the length of the glass substrate 1 is L, hmax / L is less than 0.002%, and the peak portion 1a and the valley portion 1b satisfying such a relationship have a unit area (1 m ² ). It exists in one or more locations.

  With the above configuration, when the glass substrate 1 is placed on the flat placement surface 2a of the setter 2, the four sides of the glass substrate 1 are placed between the glass substrate 1 and the placement surface 2a. 11, 12, 13, and 14 are formed so that the air passages 3 open in different directions, the air interposed between the mounting surface 2 a and the glass substrate 1 You can escape from one direction as well as another direction. Therefore, even when the glass substrate 1 is deformed by its own weight, the air flow is not inhibited uniformly by the plurality of air passages 3, so that a closed air layer sufficient to lift the glass substrate 1 is placed. It does not occur between the surface 2a. Thereby, since the slip of the said glass substrate 1 on the mounting surface 2a immediately after transferring the glass substrate 1 to the mounting surface 2a is suppressed, exact positioning of the glass substrate 1 with respect to the mounting surface 2a is possible. Thus, the subsequent heat treatment or the like can be appropriately performed.

  Further, even when the air passage 3 that opens to one side of the glass substrate 1 is closed in the middle or in the vicinity of the open end, the air present between the glass substrate 1 and the mounting surface 2a is: It is possible to escape through the air passage 3 that opens to the other side of the glass substrate 1. Therefore, a large air layer in a closed state is not formed between the glass substrate 1 and the placement surface 2a, and even when some of the air passages 3 are closed in this way, The slip suppression effect of the glass substrate 1 and thus the accurate positioning of the glass substrate 1 can be ensured.

  FIG. 4 illustrates a state when the glass substrate 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is placed on the placement surface 2 a of the setter 2. The glass substrate 1 according to the second embodiment is different from that according to the first embodiment described above in that the crests 1a and the troughs 1b are regularly arranged on the glass substrate 1 and the crests The height and width of 1a and the depth and width of the valley portion 1b are substantially the same. Therefore, the directionality of the ventilation path 3 opened to each of the four sides 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the glass substrate 1 according to the second embodiment is substantially perpendicular to each corresponding side, and all the ventilation paths. The flow path area of 3 is the same condition. Even with such a configuration, the same operation as described above can be performed, so that the glass substrate 1 can be prevented from slipping on the mounting surface 2a, and thus the glass substrate 1 can be accurately positioned with respect to the mounting surface 2a. Is secured. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the glass substrate 1 according to the first embodiment described above, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same configuration requirements in FIG. 4 and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 5 illustrates a state when the glass substrate 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is placed on the placement surface 2 a of the setter 2. The difference between the glass substrate 1 according to the third embodiment and that according to the first and second embodiments described above is that the peak portion 1a and the periphery of the two adjacent sides 111 and 12 on the diagonal line are A valley 1b is formed, and almost no peaks and valleys are formed around the two adjacent sides 13 and 14 on the other side. Road 3 is open. Even with such a configuration, the air interposed between the mounting surface 2a and the glass substrate 1 can escape not only from one direction of the glass substrate 1 but also from the other direction perpendicular thereto. The slip prevention effect of the glass substrate 1 on the surface 2a, and hence the accurate positioning of the glass substrate 1 with respect to the placement surface 2a are ensured. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the glass substrate 1 according to the first and second embodiments described above, the same components as those in FIG.

  The glass substrate 1 which concerns on the above 1st, 2nd, 3rd embodiment is manufactured using the float process as follows, for example. That is, after forming molten glass into a strip-shaped glass substrate base material in a float bath, a plurality of protrusions are formed on the outer peripheral surface of a rotating roller that supports the glass substrate base material in a soft state from below and transports it to a slow cooling furnace or the like. The portions are formed so as to be scattered. If it does in this way, a peak part will be formed in a strip | belt-shaped glass substrate base material by the contact with the convex part of a rotating roller, and another site | part will become a trough part. And after this strip | belt-shaped glass substrate base material is solidified, the above-mentioned glass substrate 1 can be obtained by excising unnecessary parts, such as an ear | edge part, and also dividing | segmenting into several pieces. In addition, if the arrangement state of the plurality of convex portions formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller is made regular or irregular, or the sizes of the convex portions are different from each other, the plurality of types of glasses exemplified above are used. The substrate 1 can be manufactured.

1 Glass substrate for flat panel display (glass substrate)
1a Yamabe 1b Valley 2 Setter (workbench)
2a Placement surface 3 Ventilation path 11, 12, 13, 14 Side of glass substrate

Claims (4)

It is mounted on the flat mounting surface of the work table and is subjected to predetermined processing, and has a shape in which peaks and valleys exist when mounted on the mounting surface described above, and in plan view. Is a glass substrate for a flat panel display having a substantially rectangular shape,
When placed on the placement surface, a ventilation path that is open to at least two adjacent sides is formed between the placement surface and contacts the placement surface. A glass substrate for a flat panel display, wherein a plurality of valleys are formed, and these valleys are discontinuous in any direction parallel to two adjacent sides .   The glass substrate for a flat panel display according to claim 1, wherein an air passage opening to at least two adjacent sides communicates.   The glass substrate for a flat panel display according to claim 1, wherein the air passage is formed in multiple directions on the outer peripheral side. The glass substrate for a flat panel display according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of valleys are scattered irregularly.

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