JP5983445B2 - Sheet material loading method and sheet material loading device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet material stacking method and a sheet material stacking apparatus for stacking sheet materials such as glass sheets on an inclined surface.

  Thin glass used for liquid crystal substrate glass and the like is required to have nano-level smoothness, and is manufactured, for example, by an overflow downdraw method that does not require a polishing step. The overflow down draw method is a method in which molten glass is continuously supplied to an overflow tank formed in the upper part of a molded body having a substantially wedge-shaped cross section, and the molten glass is allowed to overflow from the overflow tank so as to overflow the sidewall of the molded body. After flowing down along the bottom of the molded body to form a single plate-like form, when the plate glass of this form is solidified, by pulling it downward while holding it with a tension roller, This is a method for producing a single sheet glass. The thin glass produced by the overflow downdraw method is cut into a sheet of a predetermined size to form a glass sheet, conveyed to each step, and then loaded on a pallet.

  As a conventional technique for loading a glass sheet (glass plate) on a pallet, there is known a method of loading a glass plate in a posture leaning on the pallet (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  The glass plate stacking device of Patent Document 1 includes a glass adsorbing unit that adsorbs and holds a glass plate with an adsorbing pad, and an interleaf holding unit that holds an interleaving paper. Is operated, and glass plates and slip sheets are alternately stacked on the pallet. The glass plate stacking apparatus of Patent Document 2 also loads a glass plate and a slip sheet alternately on a pallet by a robot.

JP 2005-60063 A JP 2008-162760 A

  When loading a glass plate on a pallet, it may be placed in a leaning state on the pallet, as in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, but in particular when handling a thin glass sheet with a small thickness, FIG. As shown, (a) after holding the glass sheet with a chuck and transporting it to the inclined surface of the pallet, (b) releasing the chuck and placing it on the pallet. At this time, (c) the thin glass is There was a case where it was folded in the direction away from the pallet and damaged. In order to prevent the thin glass from being folded, it is conceivable that the thin glass is loaded in a state where the thin glass is sufficiently tilted to the placement surface side by laying the placement surface of the pallet. However, if the mounting surface of the pallet is largely laid, it is necessary to move the chuck holding the thin glass in the vertical and forward / backward directions when loading the thin glass on the pallet, which takes time to load. . Furthermore, since the installation area of a pallet with a large mounting surface is increased, the space efficiency of the loading device is also reduced.

  Further, since the thin glass has a large area while being lightweight, it is easily affected by external forces such as vibration, wind pressure, and inertial force. In particular, as thin glass in recent years has been made thinner and the area has been increased to increase production efficiency, it is more susceptible to external forces during transportation and loading, and is more likely to be deformed by external forces. It has become. If the thin glass is affected by external force, for example, the thin glass may be deformed in an unexpected direction during transportation, and the stability during transportation will be impaired. There is also a risk of damage due to concentration. For this reason, it is difficult to increase the conveying speed of the thin glass, and it takes time to load the pallet.

  Furthermore, since the glass plate stacking apparatus of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 lifts the effective surface of the glass plate by sucking it with a suction pad, the posture of the glass plate is greatly changed when the glass plate is loaded on the pallet. There is a need. At this time, external forces such as vibration, wind pressure, and inertial force act on the glass plate. Therefore, when the object to be loaded is a thin plate glass such as a liquid crystal substrate glass, the glass plate may be swung or bent. Could be damaged. Further, if the posture changes greatly when the glass plate is loaded on the pallet, the amount of movement until the glass plate is loaded on the pallet is inevitably increased, so that the efficiency of the loading operation is reduced. Further, when the effective surface of the glass plate is adsorbed by the adsorption pad, there is a problem that the surface of the glass plate is easily damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is safe, quick, reliable, and efficient to load a pallet or the like on a sheet material that is easily influenced by an external force such as a thin glass or a glass sheet. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet material stacking method and a sheet material stacking apparatus that can be carried out automatically.

  A sheet material stacking method according to the present invention for solving the above-described problem is characterized in that a sheet material includes a holding process for holding a sheet material and a placing process for placing the held sheet material on an inclined surface. In the loading method, in the holding step, the sheet material is held in a curved state protruding with respect to the inclined surface, and in the placing step, the holding of the sheet material is released, and the sheet material is in a flat state. It is to be placed on the inclined surface while returning to the position.

According to the sheet material stacking method of this configuration, since the sheet material is held in a curved state protruding with respect to the inclined surface in the holding step, the rigidity of the sheet material against bending can be increased. For this reason, even if external force such as vibration, wind pressure, and inertial force acts on the sheet material until the sheet material is held and placed on the inclined surface, the sheet material maintains a stable posture. The rocking, bending, breakage, etc. of the material can be prevented.
In the placing step, the sheet material is elastically restored from the curved state to the original flat state, and placed on the inclined surface as it is. Here, if the holding | maintenance of the curved sheet material which protrudes with respect to an inclined surface is cancelled | released, a sheet | seat material will be mounted in an inclined surface, bouncing so that it may approach an inclined surface, and a folding will not generate | occur | produce easily. Therefore, the sheet material stacking operation can be performed quickly and reliably. Further, since the sheet material is placed on the inclined surface in a state where the bending rigidity is increased due to the bending, the sheet material is easily adhered to the inclined surface, and as a result, the sheet material is densely stacked on the inclined surface. be able to.

  In the sheet material stacking method according to the present invention, a buffer sheet for protecting the sheet material is waited between the sheet material and the inclined surface, and in the holding step, the sheet material is received by the buffer sheet. Then, by deforming the buffer sheet, the sheet material is held in the curved state, and in the placing step, the holding of the sheet material is released in a state where the sheet material and the buffer sheet are stacked, It is preferable that the sheet material is placed on the inclined surface via a buffer sheet.

According to the sheet material stacking method of the present configuration, the buffer sheet for protecting the sheet material is made to wait between the sheet material and the inclined surface, so that the buffer sheet receives the sheet material, and then the sheet material is buffered. It becomes possible to place it on the inclined surface in a state of being stacked on the surface. Further, when the buffer sheet receives the sheet material, the sheet material can be held in a curved state by deforming the buffer sheet. In this case, since the sheet material and the buffer sheet overlap with each other in a state where there is no gap, the sheet material is hardly displaced from the buffer sheet.
In the placing process, since the holding of the curved sheet material is released in a state where the sheet material and the buffer sheet overlap, the sheet material elastically returns from the curved state to the original flat state, and quickly becomes an inclined surface. Placed. At this time, the sheet material is placed on the inclined surface while being bounced so as to approach the inclined surface together with the buffer sheet, so that folding does not easily occur. Furthermore, since the sheet material and the buffer sheet are placed on the inclined surface in a stacked state, a large impact is less likely to be transmitted to the sheet material as compared with the case where the sheet material is placed alone. Therefore, even if the holding is released at a position relatively away from the inclined surface, the sheet material is hardly damaged, and the stacking operation can be executed safely.

  In the sheet material stacking method according to the present invention, in the placing step, the holding of the sheet material is released in a state in which at least a part of the buffer sheet superimposed on the sheet material is in contact with the inclined surface, It is preferable that the sheet material is placed on the inclined surface via the buffer sheet.

  According to the sheet material stacking method of the present configuration, the holding of the sheet material is released and the sheet material is placed on the inclined surface in a state where at least a part of the buffer sheet superimposed on the sheet material is in contact with the inclined surface. Thereby, the contact | adherence effect of a sheet | seat material or a buffer sheet | seat, and an inclined surface further increases, and a sheet | seat material can be closely stacked on an inclined surface.

  In the sheet material stacking method according to the present invention, it is preferable that an upper part and a lower part of both side sides of the buffer sheet held between the sheet material and the inclined surface are held by a holder.

  According to the sheet material stacking method of the present configuration, the buffer sheet is held by the upper part and the lower part of both sides by the holder, so that when the buffer sheet receives the sheet material, the buffer sheet is unlikely to become a wrinkle. It is possible to superimpose the sheet material and the buffer sheet in a state in which the sheet material and the buffer sheet are in contact with each other. In addition, since the posture when the sheet material is placed on the inclined surface is stable, the sheet material can be accurately positioned with respect to the inclined surface.

  In the sheet material stacking method according to the present invention, it is preferable that the holder is configured to be capable of adjusting a holding interval of the buffer sheet.

  According to the sheet material stacking method of the present configuration, since the holding interval of the buffer sheet can be adjusted by the holder, the buffer sheet can be deformed into a more appropriate shape according to the curved state of the sheet material. . Further, if the holding interval of the buffer sheet is adjusted in a state where the sheet material and the buffer sheet are overlapped, the curved state of the sheet material can be adjusted.

  In the sheet material stacking method according to the present invention, it is preferable that in the holding step, the sheet material is held in a curved state protruding from the inclined surface in a plan view.

  According to the sheet material stacking method of the present configuration, since the sheet material is held in a curved state protruding with respect to the inclined surface in plan view, it is possible to particularly increase the rigidity of the sheet material against bending in the vertical direction. .

  In the sheet material stacking method according to the present invention, it is preferable that in the holding step, the sheet material is held in the curved state by using a plurality of chucks capable of individually changing timings for holding or releasing the sheet material. .

  According to the sheet material stacking method of this configuration, the posture when the sheet material is delivered to the buffer sheet by holding the sheet material using a plurality of chucks that can individually change the timing of holding or releasing the sheet material. And time can be adjusted easily. Further, the buffer sheet is unlikely to become wrinkles when the sheet material is received, and can be overlapped in a state where the sheet material and the buffer sheet are in reliable contact.

  In the sheet material stacking method according to the present invention, it is preferable that in the holding step, the sheet material is held in a suspended state from above.

  According to the sheet material stacking method of this configuration, since the sheet material is held in a suspended state from above, it is possible to increase the bending rigidity by curving the upper side of the sheet material that is easy to be folded in a direction away from the inclined surface. it can. Further, if the sheet material is held in a suspended state from above, the curved state of the sheet material becomes gentler downward, and it is possible to place the sheet material on the inclined surface with the lower end side being substantially linear. If the sheet is held in this manner, the sheet material can be easily positioned with respect to the inclined surface. In addition, when the sheet material is placed on the inclined surface, the lower side of the sheet material and the inclined surface (the lower side of the buffer sheet and the inclined surface when the buffer sheet is interposed) are easily in close contact with each other. Misalignment with respect to the lower end of the inclined surface hardly occurs. Furthermore, because of the close contact effect, it is difficult to collect air between the stacked sheet materials, so that the sheet materials can be densely stacked on the inclined surface.

  The characteristic configuration of the sheet material stacking apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above problems is a sheet material stacking apparatus for stacking sheet materials on an inclined surface, wherein the sheet material protrudes with respect to the inclined surface. And a holding portion that is placed on the inclined surface while releasing the holding of the sheet material and returning the sheet material to a flat state.

  According to the sheet material stacking apparatus having this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the above-described sheet material stacking method.

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a glass sheet stacking apparatus according to an embodiment. 2A is a front view of the operation free chuck, and FIG. 2B is a plan view thereof. 3A is a front view of the operation free chuck provided with the drive mechanism, and FIG. 3B is a plan view thereof. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relative positional relationship before and after the movement of the chuck holding the glass sheet. FIG. 5 is a plan view and a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a glass sheet stacking apparatus according to another embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view and a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a glass sheet stacking apparatus according to another embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a problem that occurs when a thin glass plate is placed using a conventional stacking apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments relating to a sheet material stacking method and a sheet material stacking apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The sheet material stacking method of the present invention will be described together with the description of the sheet material stacking apparatus. However, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the configurations described in the embodiments and drawings described below.

<Configuration of sheet material loading device>
The sheet material stacking apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus used for stacking sheet materials on an inclined surface. The sheet material to be stacked is a thin material having a certain degree of elasticity, and examples thereof include a glass sheet, a resin film, a paper product, a textile product, a metal sheet, and a wooden sheet. In this specification, a glass sheet will be described as an example of the sheet material to be stacked. Accordingly, in the following description, the sheet material stacking apparatus of the present invention is treated as a “glass sheet stacking apparatus”.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view and a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a glass sheet stacking apparatus 100. In FIG. 1, the steps of holding and transporting the glass sheet G by the glass sheet stacking device 100 and stacking the transported glass sheet G on the pallet 30 are shown step by step in the order of (a) to (d). The conveyance direction of the glass sheet G is the direction shown by the arrow A during each process of FIG. The glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 includes a chuck 10 as a holding unit that holds the glass sheet G. The chuck 10 is configured to be operable by a base 20 to which the chuck 10 is attached. In addition, about the base 20, in order to make the operation | movement of the chuck | zipper 10 easy to see, it has shown with the virtual line (broken line). The glass sheet G to be conveyed is, for example, a thin glass sheet having a thickness of 0.2 mm or less manufactured by the overflow down draw method. A glass sheet G formed by cutting a thin glass sheet into sheets of a predetermined size is held in a suspended state at the upper end by the chuck 10, and the base 20 is operated in this suspended holding state to perform subsequent steps (for example, (Pallet placing step).

  The base 20 that transports the glass sheet G includes a transport mechanism (not shown) that is driven by a drive source (not shown) such as a motor. A chuck 10 is attached below the base 20. A plurality of chucks 10 are provided so that the glass sheet G can be stably held. In the present embodiment, four chucks 10 a to 10 d are provided below the base 20 as the chuck 10. Among these, the chucks 10a and 10d are the outer chucks that respectively hold the outside of the glass sheet G (near both sides of the upper end), and the chucks 10b and 10c respectively hold the inside of the glass sheet G (near the center of the upper end). It is an inner chuck to hold. Chuck 10a-10d is comprised so that adjustment of holding | maintenance force is possible so that the glass sheet G can be hold | maintained safely and reliably. In the present embodiment, the chucks 10a to 10d are configured as fixed chucks in which the arrangement is fixed linearly. As will be described later, the chucks 10 a to 10 d can be configured as an operation-free chuck that can change the posture following the shape of the glass sheet G while holding the glass sheet G.

  1A to 1D, the x direction and the y direction are set in order to explain the operation and state of the glass sheet G. The x direction is a direction perpendicular to the transport direction A, and the y direction is the same direction as the transport direction A. For reference, the vertical direction is shown as the z direction. When holding the glass sheet G in a flat state before conveyance, the chucks 10a to 10d suspend and hold the upper end portions of the glass sheet G in line at substantially equal intervals, as shown in FIG. ). While holding the glass plate G, the chucks 10a to 10d pull the glass plate G in the z direction to a position where the lower end of the glass plate G is lifted in the air as necessary. When the holding of the glass plate G is completed, the glass plate G is transported in the transport direction A (y direction). The transported glass sheet G is placed on the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 arranged at the transport destination (placement process).

  When the glass sheet G is stacked on the pallet 30, the buffer sheet S may be sandwiched between the glass sheets G in order to protect the effective surface of the glass sheet G. As the buffer sheet S, for example, a resin sheet having flexibility (for example, a non-crosslinked foamed polyethylene sheet “Miramat (registered trademark)” commercially available from JSP Corporation) is used. In the glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the buffer sheet S is kept in a hollow standby state between the glass sheet G and the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30. The buffer sheet S in standby is held on both sides in the width direction (x direction) by the holder 40. Note that the holder 40 can continue to hold the buffer sheet S as it is even after the glass sheet G has moved to the buffer sheet S, as will be described later. That is, the holder 40 holds the buffer sheet S, thereby indirectly holding the glass sheet G. Therefore, the holder 40 also has a function as a holding portion that holds the glass sheet G.

  The holder 40 includes an upper holder 40a and a lower holder 40b, and holds an upper part and a lower part on both sides of the buffer sheet S. The posture of the buffer sheet S held by the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b is basically maintained parallel to the glass sheet G. However, the buffer sheet S in standby is preferably in a state in which at least a part thereof is in contact with the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 in order to smoothly perform the subsequent placing process. For example, the lower end portion of the buffer sheet S is in line contact with the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30. In this case, positioning of the buffer sheet S with respect to the inclined surface 31 can be performed reliably. More preferably, a region extending from the lower end of the buffer sheet S to a predetermined width above is in surface contact with the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30. In this case, in addition to improving the positioning accuracy of the buffer sheet S with respect to the inclined surface 31, due to the close contact effect between the buffer sheet S and the inclined surface 31, air between the buffer sheet S and the buffer sheet S and the inclined surface 31. Can be prevented from entering, so that the glass sheets G can be densely stacked on the inclined surface 31.

  The upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b are configured to be movable along the x direction, and the holding interval of the buffer sheet S can be adjusted. Further, the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b can be moved in the x direction while holding the buffer sheet S. For this reason, for example, if the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b are moved in the direction approaching each other along the x direction while holding the buffer sheet S, the held buffer sheet S may be loosened. it can. The holding interval of the buffer sheet S by the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b can be set separately. In this case, the slackness of the buffer sheet S can be made different between the upper side and the lower side of the buffer sheet S. .

  In executing the placing process, the base 20 is driven from the state of FIG. 1A and approached to the vicinity where the glass sheet G held by the chucks 10a to 10d contacts the outside of the buffer sheet S. At the time, as shown in FIG. 1B, the glass sheet G is released from the holding of the outer chucks 10a and 10d, and the glass sheet G is further held with the glass sheets G held only by the inner chucks 10b and 10c. Move forward. Here, the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b holding the buffer sheet S move slightly in the direction approaching each other along the x direction. Thereby, the buffer sheet S is in a slightly loosened state. Further, the buffer sheet S itself extends slightly. As a result, the glass sheet G comes into contact with the outer side of the buffer sheet S, and is bent so as to be wound backward, thereby being in a curved state. The curved state of the glass sheet G is the largest at the upper end side held by the inner chucks 10b and 10c, becomes gentler downward, and can be made substantially linear at the lower end side. As will be described in another embodiment described later, a driving mechanism is provided in at least a part of the chucks 10a to 10d, and the curved state of the glass sheet G is positively changed by changing the arrangement of the chucks 10a to 10d in a curved shape. It can also be formed. As shown in FIG. 1B, when the glass sheet G is in a curved state, the rigidity of the glass sheet G against bending in the vertical direction increases, and a stable posture can be maintained. For this reason, even if an external force such as vibration, wind pressure, or inertial force acts on the glass sheet G, it is possible to prevent the glass sheet G from being swung, bent, damaged, or the like.

  Next, when the glass sheet G is further advanced in the transport direction A from the state of FIG. 1B, the curved glass sheet G held by the inner chucks 10b and 10c is inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 in plan view. Therefore, the vicinity of the center in the width direction (x direction) of the glass sheet G (particularly, the vicinity of the center of the upper end of the glass sheet G) is in contact with the buffer sheet S that is waiting in the hollow state. Touch. At this time or just before this, the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b holding the buffer sheet S are appropriately moved in the direction approaching each other along the x direction, so that the buffer sheet S matches the curved state of the glass sheet G. To be deformed. Then, when the chucks 10b and 10c holding the glass sheet G are released in this state, as shown in FIG. 1C, the curved glass sheet G is exchanged between the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b. It is received by the buffer sheet S loosened by the approach. At this time, since the glass sheet G overlaps with the buffer sheet S substantially in contact with the buffer sheet S, the buffer sheet S is unlikely to become wrinkles and air does not easily accumulate between the glass sheet G and the buffer sheet S. Therefore, the glass sheet G is not easily displaced from the buffer sheet S. Moreover, since the glass sheet G is delivered to the buffer sheet S in standby, the movement amount (stroke) of the chucks 10a to 10d can be reduced as compared with the case where the glass sheet G is directly placed on the pallet 30. .

  Next, the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b holding the buffer sheet S are released from the state of FIG. Then, the glass sheet G elastically returns from the curved state to the original flat state while being in a state of being overlapped with the buffer sheet S, and is placed on the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 as shown in FIG. The inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 is configured by a rectangular surface having a larger size so that the glass sheet G and the buffer sheet S can be received. Further, the inclined surface 31 is provided so as to be inclined at an inclination angle α so that the lower side of the rectangular surface is the front side and the upper side is the back side when viewed from the conveyance direction A. The inclination angle α of the inclined surface 31 can be set to an arbitrary value, and is set, for example, in a range of 10 to 30 degrees, and is set to 18 degrees in the present embodiment. In the present invention, since the glass sheet G is placed on the pallet 30 from the state in which the bending rigidity is increased, the glass sheet G is inclined even when the inclination angle α of the inclined surface 31 is relatively small. It is difficult to turn back in a direction away from the surface 31. In addition, it is difficult for positional deviation with respect to the lower end of the inclined surface 31 to occur. Therefore, it is possible to reliably load the glass sheet G onto the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 while suppressing an increase in the movement amount of the chucks 10a to 10d.

  In placing the glass sheet G on the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30, as a procedure for releasing the upper holder 40 a and the lower holder 40 b holding the buffer sheet S, the holding of the upper holder 40 a is first released, and then It is preferable to release the holding of the lower holder 40b. In this case, when the upper holder 40a is released, the lower part of the cushioning sheet S is still fixed by the lower holder 40b, so that the lower end of the cushioning sheet S is positioned with respect to the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30. The glass sheet G can be placed on the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30. For this reason, the shift | offset | difference of the stacking position of the glass sheet G decreases, and stacking accuracy improves. In addition, since the adhesion between the buffer sheet S and the inclined surface 31 is increased, air hardly accumulates between the stacked glass sheets G, and the glass sheets G can be densely stacked on the inclined surface 31.

<Operation free chuck configuration>
In the glass sheet stacking apparatus 100, the chucks 10a to 10d can be configured as operation-free chucks. An operation free chuck is a chuck that can operate freely in the direction in which the external force acts when an external force is applied. The operation of the chucks 10a to 10d as the operation-free chuck is one of movement in the x direction, movement in the y direction, and rotation in the xy plane, or a combination thereof.

  FIG. 2 exemplifies the structure of the chuck 10a, which is one of the outer chucks configured as an operation free chuck, and shows a (a) front view and (b) plan view of the chuck 10a, respectively. (A) The inside of the blowing in the front view shows a state in which the holding portion 18 of the chuck 10a is rotated by 90 °. The chuck 10d, which is another outer chuck, has the same configuration as the chuck 10a. The basic configuration of the chucks 10b and 10c, which are inner chucks, is the same as that of the chucks 10a and 10d, but the movable range in the x direction and the y direction may be smaller than the chucks 10a and 10d.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the chuck 10a includes an x moving mechanism 11 including a guide portion 19 movable in the x direction and a y moving mechanism 12 including a guide portion 19 movable in the y direction. . Further, the chuck 10 a is configured so as to be free to rotate in the xy plane via the ball bearing 15. For this reason, the chuck | zipper 10a can move and rotate freely following the shape change of the glass sheet G currently hold | maintaining, and can change the attitude | position. Therefore, for example, even if the shape of the glass sheet G changes during conveyance, the glass sheet G is not subjected to stress from the chuck 10a. The chucks 10b to 10d can be moved and rotated so as to follow the shape of the glass sheet G being held, similarly to the chuck 10a.

  If the chucks 10a to 10d are configured as operation-free chucks as described above, the chucks 10a to 10d can move during the conveyance of the glass sheet G, but the shape of the glass sheet G changes during the conveyance. If not, or if not actively changed, it is preferable to provide a lock mechanism for fixing the arrangement of the chucks 10a to 10d. For example, the lock mechanism can be configured by providing a brake mechanism in each guide portion 19 of the x moving mechanism 11 and the y moving mechanism 12. In this case, since the arrangement | sequence of chuck | zipper 10a-10d is fixed and it can convey, maintaining the state of the glass sheet G, the attitude | position of the glass sheet G at the time of conveyance can be stabilized more.

  After the chucks 10a to 10d release the holding of the glass sheet G, an elastic member (not shown) is provided to the chucks 10a to 10d in order to return the chucks 10a to 10d whose posture has changed due to operation free. Is attached to constitute a return mechanism, and when the holding of the chucks 10a to 10d is released, the return posture is automatically returned. In this case, when the glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 finishes the conveyance of one glass plate G, releases the holding, and goes to take the next glass plate G, the chucks 10a to 10d are straightened from the curved array immediately by the return mechanism. Therefore, the work can be efficiently transported without interruption. In this case, the elastic force (restoring force) of the elastic member may be set smaller than the elastic force of the glass plate G.

  If the glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 of the present invention described above is used and the glass sheet stacking method of the present invention is executed, the glass sheet G is curved so as to protrude with respect to the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 in the holding step. Therefore, the rigidity with respect to the bending of the glass sheet G can be increased. For this reason, even if an external force such as vibration, wind pressure, or inertial force acts on the glass sheet G until the glass sheet G is held and placed on the inclined surface 31, the glass sheet G maintains a stable posture. Thus, the glass sheet G can be prevented from swinging, bending, breakage, and the like. Therefore, the glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 of the present invention and the glass sheet stacking method of the present invention are suitably used for transporting a thin glass sheet having a thickness of 0.2 mm or less or a G11 class glass sheet having a length exceeding 3000 mm. be able to.

  Moreover, in the glass sheet stacking method of the present invention, in the placing step, the glass sheet G is elastically restored from the curved state to the original flat state and placed on the inclined surface 31 as it is. Here, if the holding | maintenance of the glass sheet G of the curved state which protrudes with respect to the inclined surface 31 is cancelled | released, since the glass sheet G will be mounted on the inclined surface 31 while bouncing so that it may approach the inclined surface 31, from the inclined surface 31 It becomes difficult to return in the direction of separation. In addition, it is difficult for positional deviation with respect to the lower end of the inclined surface 31 to occur. Therefore, the operation of loading the glass sheet G onto the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 can be performed quickly and reliably. Further, since the glass sheet G is placed on the inclined surface 31 from a state where the bending rigidity is increased by the bending, the glass sheet G is easily adhered to the inclined surface 31. As a result, the stacking operation of the glass sheets G can be performed quickly and reliably while densely stacking the glass sheets G on the inclined surface 31.

  The glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 of the present invention can be realized with a small-scale improvement in the conventional glass sheet conveying apparatus by simply replacing the fixed chuck with an operation free chuck. Therefore, it can be said that the efficiency of the stacking operation of the glass sheets G can be increased while suppressing the equipment cost, and the apparatus is excellent in practicality.

<Another embodiment>
(1) In the above embodiment, the chucks 10a to 10d are configured as operation-free chucks that can freely move and rotate following the shape change of the glass sheet G that is held, but at least one of the chucks 10a to 10d. It is also possible to provide a drive mechanism in the part so that the arrangement of the chucks 10a to 10d can be positively changed. FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of the chuck 10a provided with a drive mechanism, and shows a (a) front view and (b) plan view of the chuck 10a, respectively. (A) The inside of the blowing in the front view shows a state in which the holding portion 18 of the chuck 10a is rotated by 90 °. The chuck 10d, which is another outer chuck, has the same configuration as the chuck 10a. The chucks 10b and 10c, which are inner chucks, have the same basic configuration as the chucks 10a and 10d, but the drive mechanism is not essential, and the movable range in the x and y directions is smaller than that of the chucks 10a and 10d. It doesn't matter. As shown in FIG. 3, the chuck 10 a includes an x operation mechanism 13 including a guide portion 19 operable in the x direction, and a y operation mechanism 14 including a guide portion 19 operable in the y direction. . The x operation mechanism 13 and the y operation mechanism 14 are provided with a ball screw 16 and a motor 17, respectively. As the motor 17, it is preferable to use a servo motor capable of accurately controlling the moving distance (that is, the rotation speed). When the motor 17 rotates the ball screw 16 to operate the x operation mechanism 13 and the y operation mechanism 14, respectively, the chuck 10a moves in the x direction and the y direction. When the x operation mechanism 13 and the y operation mechanism 14 are operated simultaneously, the chuck 10a directly moves to a position interpolated between both directions. At this time, the rotation of the chuck 10a is not restricted, and the rotation within the xy plane is configured to be operation free via the ball bearing 15. For this reason, the chuck 10a freely rotates following the change in the shape of the glass plate G being held, and changes its posture. Therefore, even after the operations of the x operation mechanism 13 and the y operation mechanism 14 are completed, the glass plate G does not receive stress from the chuck 10a.

In the case where the drive mechanism is provided in at least a part of the chucks 10a to 10d as in this embodiment, the movement amount of the chucks 10a to 10d can be adjusted as follows. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relative positional relationship before and after the movement of the chucks 10a to 10d holding the glass sheet G. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in a case where a glass sheet G having a width of 2000 mm is held at intervals of 500 mm by chucks 10a to 10d, the glass sheet G is curved so as to form an arc having a radius R = 1000 mm. The movement amount (Δx1, Δy1) of the chuck 10a is obtained as follows.
Δx1 = 750 (mm)-x1 ≒ 68 (mm)
Δy1 = 1000 (mm) −y1≈268 (mm)
As shown in FIG. 4, x1 and y1 in the above formula are the positions (x1, y1) of the chuck 10a after movement based on the center of the arc obtained by bending the glass sheet G.

Similarly, the movement amount (Δx2, Δy2) of the chuck 10b is obtained as follows.
Δx2 = 250 (mm) −x2≈3 (mm)
Δy2 = 1000 (mm) −y2≈31 (mm)
X2 and y2 in the above formula are the positions (x2, y2) of the chuck 10b after the movement with reference to the center of the arc obtained by bending the glass plate G, as shown in FIG.

  The amount of movement of the chuck 10d and the chuck 10c can also be obtained by the same calculation as described above. The chuck 10d has substantially the same amount of movement as the chuck 10a, and the chuck 10c has substantially the same amount of movement as the chuck 10b. If the movement amount thus obtained is set in the x operation mechanism 13 and the y operation mechanism 14 and the chucks 10a and 10d are moved, the chucks 10a to 10d become an arcuate curved array, and the glass plate G is set. Can be deformed into a curved state. If only the chucks 10a and 10d are moved as in this embodiment, complicated control becomes unnecessary.

(2) In the above embodiment, the buffer sheet S is made to stand by between the glass sheet G and the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30, but the buffer sheet S is inclined to the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 (the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30). In the case where the glass sheet G is placed on the glass sheet G, the glass sheet G is placed in advance on the uppermost glass sheet G), and the placing process of the glass sheet G can be executed in that state. FIG. 5 is a plan view and a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 5, similarly to FIG. 1, the steps of holding and transporting the glass sheet G by the glass sheet stacking device 100 and stacking the transported glass sheet G on the pallet 30 are stepwise in order of (a) to (d). It is shown.

  In performing the placing process, the buffer sheet is driven by driving the base 20 from the state of FIG. 5A and holding the glass sheet G held by the chucks 10 a to 10 d on the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30. When approaching the vicinity of contact with S, as shown in FIG. 5B, the chucks 10a to 10d are changed to an arcuate curved array. Then, the glass sheet G is bent so that the outer side is wound backward, and is in a curved state. When the glass sheet G is brought close to the buffer sheet S and at least the lower end side of the glass sheet G comes into contact with the buffer sheet S, the glass sheet G is held by the chucks 10a to 10d as shown in FIG. Is released. Then, the glass sheet G is elastically restored from the curved state to the original flat state, and is loaded on the buffer sheet S placed on the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 as shown in FIG. The

(3) In each of the above embodiments, the buffer sheet S waits in a flat state until it receives the glass sheet G, but it can also be kept in a relaxed state in advance. FIG. 6 is a plan view and a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 6, as in FIG. 1, the steps of holding and transporting the glass sheet G by the glass sheet stacking apparatus 100 and stacking the transported glass sheet G on the pallet 30 are stepwise in order of (a) to (d). It is shown.

  In executing the placing step, the base 20 is driven from the state of FIG. 6A and the glass sheet G held by the chucks 10a to 10d comes into contact with the outside of the buffer sheet S that is loosened. When approaching the vicinity, as shown in FIG. 6B, the chucks 10a to 10d are changed to an arcuate curved array. Then, the glass sheet G is bent so that the outer side is wound backward, and is in a curved state. In this state, the glass sheet G is further advanced. When at least the glass sheet G comes into contact with the outer side of the buffer sheet S, the holding of the glass sheet G by the chucks 10a to 10d is released as shown in FIG. Then, the curved glass sheet G is received by the buffer sheet S that has been slackened. At this time, by moving the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b holding the buffer sheet S in the directions approaching each other along the x direction, the shape of the glass sheet G that is curving the shape of the buffer sheet S Make sure to match. As a result, since the glass sheet G overlaps with the buffer sheet S in a substantially entirely contacted state, the buffer sheet S is unlikely to become wrinkles and air does not easily accumulate between the glass sheet G and the buffer sheet S. Therefore, the glass sheet G is not easily displaced from the buffer sheet S. It is also possible to reduce the degree of slackening of the buffer sheet S when the glass sheet G is received with the buffer sheet S in standby being loosened. Next, the upper holder 40a and the lower holder 40b holding the buffer sheet S are released from the state of FIG. Then, the glass sheet G is elastically restored from the curved state to the original flat state while being overlapped with the buffer sheet S, and is placed on the inclined surface 31 of the pallet 30 as shown in FIG.

(4) In the above embodiment, the four chucks 10a to 10d are provided as the chuck 10 that holds the glass sheet G. However, the number of chucks 10 can be further increased. When the number of chucks 10 is set to 5 or more, it becomes easy to optimize the timing when the glass sheet G is delivered to the buffer sheet S, and further the accuracy of delivery of the glass sheet G to the buffer sheet S is improved. be able to. On the other hand, the number of chucks 10 may be at least three. In this case, the apparatus configuration can be simplified.

  The sheet material stacking method and sheet material stacking apparatus of the present invention can be used in a scene where a glass sheet is stacked on a pallet or the like, but it is a material other than glass and has a certain degree of elasticity, for example, It can also be applied to stacking resin films, paper products, textile products, metal sheets, wooden sheets and the like.

10 Chuck (holding part)
10a, 10d outer chuck 10b, 10c inner chuck 11 x moving mechanism 12 y moving mechanism 15 ball bearing 20 base (conveying section)
30 Pallet 31 Inclined surface 40 Holder (holding part)
40a Upper holder 40b Lower holder 100 Glass sheet stacking device (sheet material stacking device)
G Glass sheet (sheet material)
S Buffer sheet A Conveying direction

Claims (9)

A holding step for holding the sheet material;
A placing step of placing the held sheet material on an inclined surface;
A sheet material loading method including:
In the holding step, the sheet material is held in a curved state protruding with respect to the inclined surface,
In the placing step, the sheet material stacking method of releasing the holding of the sheet material and placing the sheet material on the inclined surface while returning the sheet material to a flat state. A buffer sheet for protecting the sheet material is placed on standby between the sheet material and the inclined surface,
In the holding step, the sheet material is received by the buffer sheet, and by deforming the buffer sheet, the sheet material is held in the curved state,
2. The mounting step according to claim 1, wherein the holding of the sheet material is released in a state where the sheet material and the buffer sheet are overlapped, and the sheet material is placed on the inclined surface via the buffer sheet in the placing step. Sheet material loading method.   In the placing step, the holding of the sheet material is released in a state in which at least a part of the buffer sheet overlapped with the sheet material is in contact with the inclined surface, and the sheet material is removed via the buffer sheet. The sheet material stacking method according to claim 2, wherein the sheet material is loaded on the inclined surface.   4. The sheet material stacking method according to claim 2, wherein the buffer sheet waiting between the sheet material and the inclined surface holds an upper portion and a lower portion on both sides by a holder. 5.   The sheet material stacking method according to claim 4, wherein the holder is configured to be capable of adjusting a holding interval of the buffer sheet.   The sheet material stacking method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein in the holding step, the sheet material is held in a curved state protruding with respect to the inclined surface in a plan view.   The said holding | maintenance process WHEREIN: The said sheet | seat material is hold | maintained in the said curved state using the several chuck | zipper which can change the timing which hold | maintains or cancels | releases the said sheet | seat material individually. Sheet material loading method.   The sheet material stacking method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein in the holding step, the sheet material is held in a suspended state from above. A sheet material loading device for loading sheet material on an inclined surface,
A holding portion that can be held in a curved state protruding with respect to the inclined surface and that holds the sheet material and puts the sheet material on the inclined surface while returning the sheet material to a flat state. Equipped with sheet material loading device.

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