JP6641663B2 - Method for manufacturing glass plate and apparatus for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a glass plate having a step of etching a glass plate using a processing gas such as hydrogen fluoride and an apparatus for manufacturing the same.

  As is well known, a flat panel display (FPD) represented by a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, a field emission display, a mobile device such as a smartphone and a tablet PC, and various other electronic devices include: Glass plates of various thicknesses and sizes are incorporated.

  In a manufacturing process of a glass sheet as a base for producing a glass sheet as a final product of this kind, a problem due to electrostatic charging may occur. For example, when a glass plate is placed on a worktable and a predetermined process is performed, a situation may occur in which the glass plate is stuck to a work surface due to electrostatic charging. Therefore, when the glass plate after the predetermined processing is peeled off from the work table, the glass plate may be damaged.

  As a countermeasure against such a problem, a processing gas such as hydrogen fluoride is sprayed on a glass plate to perform an etching process, and the surface of the glass plate is roughened, thereby solving the above-described problem caused by electrostatic charging. Attempts to do so are underway.

  As a specific example, according to Patent Literature 1, when a glass plate conveyed along a certain conveyance path passes through a processing space, the glass plate is blown from a blowing nozzle and sucked into a suction nozzle by the processing gas. It is disclosed that an etching process is performed on the lower surface of the plate.

  More specifically, in the etching apparatus disclosed in the document, the glass plate being transported is placed between the lower surface of the upper component (upper component) and the upper surface of the lower component (lower component). A processing space for performing an etching process is formed on the lower surface of the substrate. In this case, the upper structure is formed only of the top plate. On the other hand, the lower structure includes a blowing nozzle disposed on the rear side (upstream of the transport path) of the glass plate in the transport direction, a suction nozzle disposed on the front side of the glass sheet in the transport direction (downstream of the transport path), It is formed integrally with a bottom plate interposed between the two nozzles.

International Publication No. 2011/105331

  By the way, in the etching apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the upper surfaces of the blowing nozzle, the bottom plate, and the suction nozzle, which are the lower components, are flush with each other, and the respective upper surfaces are arranged in parallel with the lower surface of the top plate. ing. For this reason, the vertical dimension of the processing space formed between the upper surface of the lower structure and the lower surface of the top plate is uniform over the entire length of the glass plate in the transport direction. Moreover, since the lower surface of the top plate is a single plane, the height of the processing space is the same over the entire length of the glass plate in the transport direction.

  According to this etching apparatus, when the glass plate does not enter the space between the upper surface of the lower structure and the lower surface of the top plate, specifically, the processing space from the arrangement region of the blow nozzle to the arrangement region of the suction nozzle. , The processing space is filled with the processing gas. In this state, when the glass plate enters the processing space, the processing space is divided into an upper space and a lower space by the glass plate. In the upper space, the suction of the processing gas by the suction nozzle is performed. Can't do it. Therefore, the upper surface of the front end of the glass sheet in the transport direction is etched by the already filled processing gas, but this processing gas is not replenished.

  In this case, if the height of the processing space is formed as described above, the processing gas is reduced in a short time while reacting with the glass plate because an appropriate amount is not stored in the upper space. To go. Then, while the glass sheet is leaving the processing space, the processing gas is completely absent, so that the central portion of the glass sheet in the transport direction is not properly etched by the processing gas. Thereafter, when the glass sheet exits the processing space, the processing gas blown to the lower surface of the glass sheet flows from the rear end in the transport direction of the glass sheet to the upper space. Therefore, the upper surface of the rear end portion of the glass sheet in the transport direction is etched by the processing gas, but the processing gas does not flow to the central portion of the glass sheet in the transport direction.

  As described above, in the process from when the glass plate enters the processing space to when it exits, the top surface of the glass plate is first etched at the front end in the transport direction, the center portion in the transport direction is hardly etched, and the transport is performed again. The rear end in the direction is etched. At both ends in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the glass sheet, the processing gas flows around the upper surface of the glass sheet, but this processing gas does not flow to the center in the width direction of the glass sheet.

  Therefore, the upper surface of the glass plate varies in etching between the outer peripheral portion and the central portion, and it is difficult to improve the quality of the glass plate after the etching process.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an etching process on a lower surface of a glass plate while carrying the glass plate in a processing space. And to improve the quality of the glass plate after the etching process.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention has a configuration in which an upper surface of a lower structure having an air supply port and an exhaust port and a lower surface of an upper structure are arranged to face each other, and a space is formed between the opposing surfaces. In the processing space, the lower surface of the glass plate conveyed in the horizontal direction is etched by the processing gas blown out from the air supply port and sucked into the exhaust port, and the air supply port and the exhaust port are connected to the glass plate. In the method for manufacturing a glass plate spaced apart in the transport direction, the processing space is characterized in that the height of the region where the air supply port is located is higher than the height of the region where the exhaust port is located. Here, the “horizontally conveyed glass sheet” means not only the case where the glass sheet is conveyed in the horizontal direction, which is a non-inclination direction, but also that the glass sheet is not more than 30 ° vertically with respect to the horizontal plane. This includes the case where the sheet is conveyed in an inclined direction (the same applies hereinafter). In addition, the posture of the glass plate in these cases is not limited to the posture in which the glass plate is in a non-inclined state with respect to both sides in the conveyance direction, and also the glass plate is moved from one side in the conveyance direction to the other side in the conveyance direction. Includes a posture that is inclined at an angle equal to or less than ° (the same applies hereinafter).

  According to such a configuration, when the glass plate does not enter the processing space (specifically, the space from the area where the air supply port is located to the area where the exhaust port is located), the glass plate goes upward from the air supply port. The processing gas blown out reaches the exhaust port while being filled over the entire processing space. In this state, when the glass plate enters the processing space and the processing space is divided into the upper space and the lower space by the glass plate, the processing gas that has already filled the upper space, It may still be well stored in the upper space. That is, the processing space is higher in the area where the air supply port is located than in the area where the exhaust port is located. Therefore, in the space above the processing space, there is not enough space for the higher area. An amount of process gas can be stored. In addition, since the processing gas stored in the higher region is prevented from flowing outward by the lower region, the reduction of the processing gas is suppressed, and the processing gas stored in the upper region is also reduced. It is possible to maintain a state where a sufficient amount of the processing gas is stored in the space. Therefore, even when the glass plate is in the process of exiting the processing space, an appropriate amount of the processing gas remains while reacting with the upper surface of the glass plate, and the center of the upper surface of the glass plate in the transport direction is appropriately etched. You. In such a mode, the upper surface of the glass plate can be appropriately etched by the processing gas stored in the upper space until the glass plate completely comes out of the processing space. Therefore, between the time when the glass plate enters the processing space and when it exits, not only the outer peripheral portion including the front end and the rear end in the transport direction on the upper surface of the glass plate, but also the central portion is appropriately etched. obtain. As a result, the etching process is made uniform over the entire upper surface of the glass plate, and the lower surface of the glass plate is inherently subjected to an appropriate and uniform etching process. High quality is realized.

  In the above method, the air supply port is preferably located on the rear side in the transport direction of the glass sheet with respect to the exhaust port.

  With this configuration, the above-described effect can be enjoyed with a higher probability.

  In the above method, the lower surface of the upper structure includes two flat portions having a height difference between a region where the air supply port is located and a region where the exhaust port is located, and of the two flat portions, the former is used. It is preferable that the plane portion corresponding to the region is formed at a higher position than the plane portion corresponding to the latter region.

  In this way, the processing gas existing in the space above the glass plate in the processing space becomes sufficient in amount to be stored, and in addition, the stepped portion between the two flat portions becomes a flow resistance, so that the gas flows outward. Flow may be blocked. Therefore, the processing gas is more easily accumulated in the space above the processing space. Therefore, in the space above the processing space, the etching process using the processing gas over the entire upper surface of the glass plate can be further uniformed.

  In the above method, it is preferable that the upper surface of the lower structure includes one flat portion having no difference in height between a region where the air supply port is located and a region where the exhaust port is located.

  In this way, it is not necessary to add a significant improvement or special design to the structure of the lower structure, and a combination with the technical idea that the lower surface of the above-described upper structure includes two flat portions having a height difference. This makes the form of the processing space suitable and meaningful.

  In the above method, the difference between the height of the region where the air supply port is located and the height of the region where the exhaust port is located is preferably 5 to 100 mm.

  With this configuration, the processing gas existing in the space above the glass plate in the processing space can be maintained in a state where an appropriate amount is reliably stored without being unduly reduced. That is, if the height difference is less than 5 mm, the amount of the processing gas stored is insufficient and the flow of the processing gas to the outside of the processing space cannot be sufficiently prevented, so that the central portion of the glass plate can be appropriately etched. It may disappear. On the other hand, when the above-mentioned height difference exceeds 100 mm, the higher region with respect to the amount of the processing gas becomes too wide and the distribution state of the processing gas becomes sparse, which may hinder uniform etching. . Therefore, the height difference in this case is preferably within the above numerical range.

  In the above method, a second air supply port for blowing out a processing gas to perform an etching process on the upper surface of the glass plate conveyed in the horizontal direction may be formed on the lower surface of the upper structure.

  In this case, the upper surface of the glass plate can be uniformly and sufficiently etched over the entire surface by the processing gas blown downward from the second air supply port. That is, when the second air supply port is not formed, even if the etching process can be uniformized, only a small amount of the remaining processing gas contacts and reacts on the upper surface of the glass plate. Absent. However, if the processing gas is blown from the second air supply port toward the upper surface of the glass plate, the upper surface of the glass plate reacts with a sufficient amount of the processing gas, so that problems such as insufficient etching hardly occur. If the processing gas blown out from the second air supply port is sucked into the above-described exhaust port, the exhaust port is shared, and the number of parts and the configuration can be reduced. It is planned. In this case, the suction of the processing gas into the exhaust port can also be performed through both ends of the glass plate in the width direction (the direction orthogonal to the transport direction).

  In the above method, the upper structure may have a top plate, and a processing space may be formed between the lower surface of the top plate and the upper surface of the lower structure.

  In this way, the top plate, which is a component of an existing device that has been conventionally used (see Patent Document 1 described above), is effectively used.

  In this case, the top plate is divided into a front top plate on the front side in the transport direction of the glass plate and a rear top plate on the rear side in the transport direction, and the lower surface of the front top plate and the lower surface of the rear top plate. It is preferable that a height difference is provided between the two.

  In this way, the existing top plate is divided into a front top plate and a rear top plate, and a height difference is provided between the two to assemble and integrate them, thereby forming a processing space of a desired form. Therefore, the configuration can be simplified.

  Further, in this case, at the divided portion between the front top plate and the rear top plate, a second air supply port for blowing out a processing gas to perform an etching process on the upper surface of the glass plate conveyed in the horizontal direction is located. Is also good.

  With this configuration, the divided portion between the front top plate and the rear top plate is effectively used as the arrangement position of the second air supply port, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the assembling work can be facilitated.

  In the above method, it is preferable that the second air supply port is located between the air supply port and the air exhaust port in the glass sheet conveyance direction.

  With this configuration, the flow direction of the processing gas blown out from the air supply port toward the exhaust port and the flow direction of the processing gas blown out from the second air supply port toward the exhaust port are made to be the same direction. Can be. This makes it difficult to generate a turbulent flow of the processing gas, which is advantageous in performing a uniform etching process on the entire upper surface and lower surface of the glass plate.

  The device according to the present invention that has been devised to solve the above-described problem has an arrangement in which the upper surface of a lower structure having an air supply port and an exhaust port and the lower surface of an upper structure are opposed to each other. In the processing space formed between, by the processing gas blown out from the air supply port to reach the exhaust port, while etching the lower surface of the glass plate conveyed in the horizontal direction, the air supply port and the exhaust port, In the apparatus for manufacturing a glass plate which is located at a distance in the direction of transport of the glass plate, the processing space is characterized in that the height of the region where the air supply port is located is higher than the height of the region where the exhaust port is located. Can be

  This apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet has substantially the same components as the method for manufacturing a glass sheet according to the present invention described above. Therefore, the description of this apparatus is substantially the same as the description of the above-described method, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  According to the present invention, when the lower surface of the glass plate is etched while being transported in the processing space, the upper surface of the glass plate is also uniformly etched at the outer peripheral portion and the central portion, and after the etching process. Quality of the glass plate is improved.

1 is a vertical sectional front view showing the overall schematic configuration of a glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged vertical sectional front view showing a configuration of a main part of a glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged vertical sectional side view showing an air supply structure which is a component of a glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention and the periphery thereof. It is an important section enlarged longitudinal section front view showing a peripheral structure of an air supply opening which is a component of a glass sheet manufacturing device concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part enlarged longitudinal front view which shows the effect | action of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass plate which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged longitudinal front view which shows the effect | action of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass plate which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged vertical section front view showing the important section composition of the glass sheet manufacturing device concerning a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part enlarged longitudinal front view which shows the effect | action of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass plate which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged longitudinal front view which shows the effect | action of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass plate which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a glass sheet and an apparatus for manufacturing the glass sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First embodiment>
First, the overall schematic configuration of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view showing the overall schematic configuration. In the following description, a direction orthogonal to the plane of the paper of FIG. 1 is referred to as a width direction. As shown in the figure, the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus 1 is provided on a transfer path of the glass sheet 3 in the chamber 2 while horizontally transferring the glass sheet 3 carried into the chamber 2 from the carry-in entrance 2a. In the processing area 4, an etching process is performed by using hydrogen fluoride as the processing gas 5. Then, the glass plate 3 after the etching process is carried out of the chamber 2 from the carry-out port 2b. Further, the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus 1 is configured to transfer the glass sheet 3 along a transfer path extending linearly in a horizontal direction by a plurality of rollers 6 arranged inside and outside the chamber 2. Note that a plurality of rollers 6 are arranged not only in the direction along the transport path but also in the width direction (see FIG. 3).

  The outer shape of the chamber 2 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the width direction, and prevents the processing gas 5 from flowing out from its internal space. The above-described carry-in port 2a and carry-out port 2b are formed in the side wall 2c of the chamber 2. The material of the chamber 2 is polyvinyl chloride having excellent corrosion resistance to the processing gas 5 (hydrogen fluoride).

  In the processing area 4, an etching device 7 for performing an etching process by spraying a processing gas 5 on the glass plate 3 conveyed by a plurality of rollers 6 installed in the chamber 2 is arranged. The etching device 7 is installed at the bottom 2 e of the chamber 2 so that a gap 8 is formed between the etching device 7 and the ceiling wall 2 d of the chamber 2.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional front view for explaining the configuration of the etching apparatus 7 in detail. In the following description, the direction orthogonal to the plane of FIG. 2 is referred to as the width direction. The direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 2 is the direction in which the glass plate 3 is conveyed, and the direction of arrow A is simply called the direction of conveyance. Therefore, the left side in FIG. 2 is the front side in the transport direction (downstream side of the transport path), and the right side is the rear side in the transport direction (upstream side of the transport path).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the etching apparatus 7 has an upper structure 9 disposed on the upper side and a lower structure 10 disposed on the lower side. Both ends are connected and integrated by a connecting wall 11. A processing space 12 is formed between the lower surface of the upper structure 9 and the upper surface of the lower structure 10 for performing an etching process with the processing gas 5 on the lower surface of the glass plate 3 to be conveyed. . The material of the upper structure 9 and the lower structure 10 is polyvinyl chloride.

  The lower structure 10 includes a bottom plate 13 having a single upper surface, an air supply structure 14 fixed to the rear of the bottom plate 13 in the conveyance direction, and an exhaust structure fixed to the front of the bottom plate 13 in the conveyance direction. 15. An air supply hole 16 communicating with the processing space 12 is formed at the rear of the bottom plate 13 in the transport direction, and an air supply passage 17 communicating with the air supply hole 16 is formed in the air supply structure 14. Therefore, the air supply passage 18 for guiding the processing gas 5 upward and blowing it out to the processing space 12 includes the air supply hole 16 and the air supply passage 17. The upper end opening of the air supply passage 18 serves as an air supply port 20 formed on the upper surface 19 of the bottom plate 13. The air supply hole 16 has an air supply small hole portion 16a whose upper part is narrowed and the passage area is reduced, and the upper end of the air supply small hole portion 16a is the above-described air supply port 20.

  An exhaust hole 21 communicating with the processing space 12 is formed at a front portion of the bottom plate 13 in the transport direction, and an exhaust passage 22 communicating with the exhaust hole 21 is formed in the exhaust structure 15. Therefore, the recovery passage 23 for sucking the processing gas 5 downward from the processing space 12 and recovering the same is constituted by the exhaust hole 21 and the exhaust path 22. The upper end opening of the collection passage 23 serves as an exhaust port 24 formed on the upper surface 19 of the bottom plate 13. The exhaust hole 21 has an exhaust hole 21a whose upper part is narrowed to reduce the passage area, and the upper end of the exhaust hole 21a is the above-described exhaust port 24. The lower end of the air supply passage 17 and the lower end of the exhaust passage 22 communicate with a pipe (not shown) outside the chamber 2 through through holes 25 and 26 formed in the bottom wall 2f of the chamber 2, respectively.

  The upper structural body 9 is composed of a top plate 27. The top plate 27 is divided into a front top plate 28 on the front side in the transport direction and a rear top plate 29 on the rear side in the transport direction. The plates 28 and 29 are fixedly integrated with a step 30 (a height difference). Therefore, the lower surface of the upper structure 9 is perpendicular to the lower surface 31 of the rear top plate 29 located at a relatively high position, the lower surface 32 of the front top plate 28 located at a relatively low position, and the lower surfaces 31 and 32. (Step forming surface) 30. The lower surface 31 of the rear top plate 29 is formed above the region where the air supply port 20 is located, and the lower surface 32 of the front top plate 28 is formed above the region where the exhaust port 24 is located. The lower surface 32 of the front top plate 28 and the lower surface 31 of the rear top plate 29 are both flat. Further, the vertical surface forming the step 30 is also a flat surface.

  In the present embodiment, the height difference dimension H at the step 30 between the lower surfaces 31 and 32 of the top plates 29 and 28 is set to 5 to 100 mm. Therefore, in the processing space 12, the height of the region where the air supply port 20 is located is higher than the height of the region where the exhaust port 24 is located by the height difference dimension H. In addition, the air supply port 20 is located on the rear side in the transport direction from the exhaust port 24, and a step is formed at a middle part in the transport direction between the air supply port 20 and the exhaust port 24 (in the present embodiment, a central part in the transport direction). 30 are located. Further, the lower surfaces 31 and 32 of the rear top plate 29 and the front top plate 28 are parallel to each other, and the lower surfaces 31 and 32 are parallel to the upper surface 19 of the bottom plate 13. In addition, the lower surfaces 31 and 32 and the upper surface 19 are parallel to the upper surface 3b and the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3 conveyed to the processing space 12. Here, strictly speaking, the processing space 12 is located within the separation distance in the transport direction from the air supply port 20 to the exhaust port 24 between the lower surfaces 31 and 32 of the upper structure 9 and the upper surface 19 of the lower structure 10. It is a space that is formed.

  At the rear end in the transport direction of the upper structure 9, that is, at the rear end in the transport direction of the rear top plate 29, a convex portion 9 a projecting downward from the lower surface 31 of the rear top plate 29 is formed. In the present embodiment, the projection 9a is the lower end of the end plate 29a fixed to the rear end surface of the rear top plate 29 in the transport direction. The projection 9a is formed to prevent the processing gas 5 from flowing out from the processing space 12 to the rear in the transport direction or to ensure that the processing gas 5 is prevented from flowing out. The height position of the lower end surface of the convex portion 9a is the same or substantially the same as the height position of the lower surface 32 of the front top plate 28. A heating member for preventing dew condensation due to the processing gas 5 is provided between the air supply structure 14 and the exhaust structure 15 of the lower structure 10 and the rear top plate 29 and the front top plate 28 of the upper structure 9. 33 (for example, a heater or the like) is incorporated.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional side view of the air supply structure 14 and the bottom plate 13 cut in a mode including a flow center axis of the air supply passage 18. As shown in the figure, the air supply passage 18 has a five-layer structure composed of first to fourth plate members 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d constituting the air supply structure 14 and a rear portion of the bottom plate 13 in the transport direction. Formed inside. A supply flow path 14aa for supplying the processing gas 5 to the first plate member 14a is formed in the first plate member 14a located at the lowermost layer. Then, the first plate member 14a and the second plate member 14b laminated thereon are overlapped to form a branch passage 14ba for the processing gas 5 supplied from the supply passage 14aa. Further, by overlapping the second plate member 14b and the third plate member 14c laminated thereon, a branch passage 14ca for further branching the branch passage 14ba is formed. A space 14da is formed in the fourth plate 14d stacked above the third plate 14c to merge the branched flow paths 14ca. Further, a perforated plate 14dc having a large number of through holes 14db for passing the processing gas 5 is attached to the fourth plate 14d. In the bottom plate 13 located on the uppermost layer, the air supply holes 16 including the above-described small air supply holes 16a for blowing the processing gas 5 into the processing space 12 are formed.

  The air supply hole 16 and the air supply port 20 formed at the rear of the bottom plate 13 in the conveyance direction, and the exhaust hole 21 and the gas exhaust port 24 formed at the front of the bottom plate 13 in the conveyance direction are all long in the width direction. It is formed in a simple slot shape. The width direction dimensions of these air supply holes 16, the air supply ports 20, the exhaust holes 21, and the exhaust ports 24 are longer than the width direction dimensions of the glass plate 3. Therefore, both the air supply port 20 and the exhaust port 24 communicate with the upper surface 3 b of the glass plate 3 via the outer gaps at both ends in the width direction of the glass plate 3. In other words, the lower space (lower space) 12a of the glass plate 3 communicates with the upper space (upper space) 12b of the glass plate 3 via outer gaps at both ends in the width direction of the glass plate 3. I have.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional front view of a main part showing a peripheral structure of an air supply small hole portion 16a constituting an upper portion of the air supply hole 16 formed in the bottom plate 13. As shown in the drawing, the dimension L in the transport direction of the small air supply hole 16a is made constant by a plurality of spacers 34 arranged in the width direction at the middle in the vertical direction of the small air supply hole 16a. Has been adjusted. That is, in the present embodiment, the air supply holes 16 including the small air supply holes 16a are gaps between the opposed end faces of the divided bottom plates obtained by dividing the bottom plate 13 at the rear in the transport direction. Has been adjusted by

  Here, it is preferable that the depth dimension D from the air supply port 20 to the spacer 34 in the small air supply hole 16a is in the range of 10 to 100 mm. If the depth D is too short, the flow of the processing gas 5 in the small air supply portion 16a may be disturbed by the presence of the spacer 34, and the lower surface of the glass plate 3 may be unevenly roughened by the etching process. is there. On the other hand, if the depth dimension D is too long, it becomes difficult to finely adjust the transport direction dimension L of the air supply port 20. Therefore, the supply amount of the processing gas 5 from the air supply port 20 to the processing space 12 may be excessively large or small, and the lower surface of the glass plate 3 may not be roughened to a desired surface roughness. Therefore, it is preferable that the depth dimension D from the air supply port 20 to the spacer 34 be within the above numerical range.

  Next, the operation of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus 1 having the above configuration, that is, a method of manufacturing a glass sheet will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, when the glass plate 3 does not enter the processing space 12, the processing gas 5 flows in the processing space 12 as described below. That is, the processing gas 5 flowing into the air supply passage 18 is blown upward (vertically upward) from the air supply port 20, flows through the processing space 12, is sucked into the exhaust port 24, and is collected. Collected through 23. In this case, when the processing gas 5 flows in the processing space 12, the processing gas 5 tends to flow toward the front side in the transport direction as a whole, but a step 30 is provided in the middle of the flow path. . The step 30 serves as an obstruction, and the processing gas 5 is forced to change direction around the step 30 in a bent shape as indicated by reference numeral E. In this state, the processing gas 5 is sucked into the exhaust port 24. . Here, a solid line with an arrow shown in the figure represents the flow direction of the processing gas 5.

  In this case, the processing gas 5 is blown out from the air supply port 20 and is sucked into the exhaust port 24, and is filled in a region surrounded by a chain line denoted by reference numeral J 1 in FIG. State. In this case, in the processing space 12, the height of the region where the air supply port 20 is located is higher than the height of the region where the exhaust port 24 is located. Becomes full. As a result, the entire processing space 12 is filled with a large amount of the processing gas 5. In addition, even if the processing gas 5 filled in the processing space 12 tries to flow out from the rear end of the processing space 12 in the transport direction, the outflow is effectively prevented by the projection 9a.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the glass plate 3 enters the processing space 12, the processing space 12 is divided into the lower space 12a and the upper space 12b by the glass plate 3. In this state, the upper space 12b is not replenished with the processing gas 5 from the air supply port 20, but the upper space 12b is still filled with a sufficient amount of the processing gas 5 in a region surrounded by a dashed line denoted by J2. Is stored. That is, in the processing space 12, the region where the air supply port 20 is located is higher in height than the region where the exhaust port 24 is located. Therefore, in the upper space 12 b of the processing space 12, The region is in a state where a sufficient amount of the processing gas 5 is stored. In addition, the processing gas 5 remaining in the upper space 12b is prevented from flowing forward in the transport direction due to the flow resistance of the step 30 between the lower surfaces 31 and 32 of the top plates 29 and 28, so that the processing gas 5 flows from the processing space 12 in the transport Outflow to the front side is suppressed. Therefore, the processing gas 5 is more easily accumulated in the upper space 12b of the processing space 12. Accordingly, a portion of the upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3 from the front end in the transport direction to the vicinity of the center is subjected to an etching process with a sufficient amount of the processing gas 5.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the glass plate 3 is transported to the processing space 12, the processing space 12 is completely separated into the lower space 12a and the upper space 12b. The flow of the gas 5 is as follows. That is, in the lower space 12 a, the processing gas 5 is blown upward from the air supply port 20, flows downstream along the lower surface of the glass plate 3, and is sucked into the exhaust port 24. Thus, the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3 conveyed in the horizontal direction is appropriately etched, and the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3 is uniformly roughened over the entire area.

  On the other hand, in the upper space 12b, the processing gas 5 is not replenished from the air supply port 20. However, since a sufficient amount of the processing gas 5 has already been stored in the upper space 12b as described above, even if the amount of the processing gas 5 is reduced due to the reaction with the upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3, the reference numeral is used. A sufficient amount of the processing gas 5 is still stored in a region surrounded by a chain line with J3. Therefore, the processing gas 5 appropriately etches the center of the upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3 in the transport direction. Moreover, the processing gas 5 appropriately etches the upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3 until the glass plate 3 completely escapes from the processing space 12. Therefore, during the period from when the glass plate 3 enters the processing space 12 to when it exits, the appropriate etching process is performed over the entire upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3, and if only the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3 is used. Even on the upper surface 3b, the etching process can be made uniform.

  When the above operation is performed, if the height difference H of the step 30 between the lower surfaces 31 and 32 of the top plates 29 and 28 is less than 5 mm, the lower region of the lower surface 31 of the rear top plate 29, that is, the processing space It becomes difficult to store a sufficient amount of the processing gas 5 in the higher region of the processing gas 12. In addition, there is a possibility that the stored processing gas 5 may not be prevented from flowing out of the processing space 12 to the front outside in the transport direction. Therefore, it may be difficult to appropriately etch the central portion of the glass plate 3 in the transport direction. On the other hand, if the above-mentioned height difference exceeds 100 mm, the higher region of the processing space 12 becomes too large with respect to the amount of the processing gas 5 blown out from the air supply port 20, and the distribution state of the processing gas 5 is sparse. Therefore, there is a possibility that the uniform etching process is hindered. Therefore, the height difference dimension H of the step 30 is set to 5 to 100 mm, but in consideration of the above matters, the height difference dimension H is preferably set to 10 to 70 mm, preferably 10 to 70 mm. More preferably, it is set to ５０50 mm. Then, the flow rate of the processing gas 5 that is going to flow backward in the transport direction of the step 30 changes according to the length of the height difference H of the step 30. Therefore, if the length of the protrusion of the projection 9a protruding downward from the lower surface 31 of the rear top plate 29 is made to correspond to the height H of the step 30, the outflow of the processing gas 5 can be efficiently performed. Can be blocked.

  The height H of the step 30 is 0.5 to 10.0, preferably 2.10, with respect to the vertical separation S1 between the upper surface 19 of the bottom plate 13 and the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3. The ratio is set so as to be 0 to 9.0. Further, under the condition that the glass plate 3 divides the processing space 12 into the lower space 12a and the upper space 12b, the vertical separation dimension S1 between the upper surface 19 of the bottom plate 13 and the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3 is The distance S2 between the lower surface 32 of the top plate 28 and the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3 in the vertical direction is set to a ratio of 0.5 to 2.0, preferably 0.7 to 1.5. Have been.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a glass plate manufacturing apparatus (the manufacturing method thereof) according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the description of the second embodiment, for the components already described in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the reference drawings to omit redundant description, and here, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be described. Only the differences will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment in that the upper structure 9 is The point is that the second air supply structure 40 is mounted and fixed on a divided portion between the front top plate 28 and the rear top plate 29. The second air supply port 42, which is the lower end opening of the air supply passage 41 in the second air supply structure 40, is located at a division between the front top plate 28 and the rear top plate 29, and is fluorinated. The processing gas 43 made of hydrogen is blown downward (vertically downward). The second air supply port 42 is formed so as to be flush with the lower surface 31 of the rear top plate 29. In addition, the divided portion of the front top plate 28 and the rear top plate 29 and the second air supply port 42 are located at the intermediate portion in the conveyance direction between the air supply port 20 and the exhaust port 24 (in this embodiment, the center in the conveyance direction). Division) is located. The second air supply structure 40 has substantially the same internal structure as the air supply structure 14 shown in FIG.

  According to such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 7, when the glass plate 3 does not enter the processing space 12, the processing gas 5 flows in the processing space 12 as follows. That is, in the processing space 12, the processing gas 5 blown upward from the air supply port 20 of the lower structure 10, and downward (vertically downward) from the second gas supply port 42 of the upper structure 9. All of the blown processing gas 43 is sucked into the exhaust port 24 of the lower structure 10. Therefore, both the flow of the processing gas 5 from the air supply port 20 of the lower structure 10 and the flow of the processing gas 43 from the second air supply port 42 of the upper structure 9 are directed forward in the transport direction. Heading. Therefore, there is no occurrence of a situation in which the processing gases 5 and 43 collide head-on and cause turbulence and the like. Under this state, the processing gas 5 and 43 are blown out from the air supply port 20 and the second air supply port 42 and are sucked into the exhaust port 24 while being filled in substantially the entire area of the processing space 12. Become. In this case, a larger amount of the processing gas 5 and 43 is filled in the processing space 12 than in the first embodiment.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, when the glass plate 3 enters the processing space 12, the processing space 12 is divided by the glass plate 3 into a lower space 12a and an upper space 12b. In this state, the processing gas 5 blown out from the air supply port 20 into the lower space 12a is sucked into the exhaust port 24 after performing etching on the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3, and the second air supply port The processing gas 43 blown out from 42 into the upper space 12 b is sucked into the exhaust port 24 after performing an etching process on the upper surface 3 b of the glass plate 3. Therefore, not only the lower surface 3a but also the upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3 is uniformly and sufficiently etched by the processing gas 43 in the region from the front end in the transport direction to the vicinity of the center.

  When the glass plate 3 completely separates the processing space 12 into the lower space 12a and the upper space 12b as shown in FIG. 9 during the flow of the processing gases 5 and 43, the processing is performed. The flows of the gases 5 and 43 are as follows. That is, in the lower space 12a, the processing gas 5 blown upward from the air supply port 20 is sucked into the exhaust port 24 after performing an appropriate etching process on the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3. On the other hand, in the upper space 12 b, the processing gas 43 blown downward from the second air supply port 42 performs an appropriate etching process on the upper surface 3 b of the glass plate 3, It is sucked into the exhaust port 24 from both ends in the width direction through the outer gap. Therefore, even in this state, not only the lower surface 3a but also the upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3 is uniformly and sufficiently etched by the processing gas 43, and the processing gas 43 is properly sucked. Then, the processing gas 43 appropriately etches the upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3 until the glass plate 3 completely escapes from the processing space 12. Therefore, during the period from when the glass plate 3 enters the processing space 12 to when it exits, the appropriate etching process is performed over the entire upper surface 3b of the glass plate 3, and if only the lower surface 3a of the glass plate 3 is used. Even on the upper surface 3b, the etching process can be made uniform. In consideration of such a flow of the processing gases 5 and 43, a convex portion (not shown) projecting downward from the lower surface 32 may be provided at the front end of the front top plate 28 in the transport direction. preferable. In this case, the flow rate of the processing gas 43 blown out from the second air supply port 42 may be smaller or larger than the flow rate of the processing gas 5 blown out from the air supply port 20, or may be the same. You may.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the transport direction of the glass plate 3 is the direction from the air supply port 20 to the exhaust port 24. On the contrary, the transport direction of the glass plate 3 is opposite. The present invention can be similarly applied to the direction from the exhaust port 24 to the air supply port 20.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the step (step forming surface) 30 is formed of a vertical surface formed of a flat surface, but the inclined surface is inclined downward toward the front in the transport direction or the rear surface in the transport direction. It may be an inclined surface that is inclined downward toward, or may be a curved surface or a curved surface.

  Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments described above, the region where the air supply port 20 is located is a flat portion (the upper surface of the rear in the transport direction of the lower structure 10 forming the processing space 12), and the exhaust port 24 is located at the position. The area to be formed is also a flat portion (the upper surface in the transport direction of the lower structure 10 forming the processing space 12). However, one or both of these regions may be a curved surface portion or the like that is curved within a range that does not excessively impair the function as the flat portion. Also, the area where the air supply port 20 is located and the area where the exhaust port 24 is located may be the same or different.

  In addition, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the air supply structure 14 and the exhaust structure 15 are separated from each other and are arranged separately from each other in the transport direction. They may be integrated.

  Further, in the above-described second embodiment, the second air supply port 42 is located at the division between the front top plate 28 and the rear top plate 29. The second air supply port 42 may be located at a position separated from the side or the front and rear sides).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Glass plate manufacturing apparatus 3 Glass plate 3a Lower surface of glass plate 3b Upper surface of glass plate 3x Rear end of glass plate in transport direction 5 Processing gas 9 Upper structure 10 Lower structure 12 Processing space 13 Bottom plate 14 Supply structure 15 Exhaust structure Reference Signs List 20 air supply port 24 exhaust port 27 top plate 28 front top plate 29 rear top plate 30 step (difference in height)
31 Lower surface of the rear top plate 32 Lower surface of the front top plate 33 Heating member 34 Spacer 40 Air supply structure 42 Second air supply port 43 Processing gas H Height difference dimension

Claims (11)

The upper surface of the lower structure having the air supply port and the exhaust port and the lower surface of the upper structure are arranged to face each other, and the processing space formed between the opposed surfaces is blown out from the air supply port. The lower surface of the glass plate transported in the horizontal direction is subjected to an etching process by the processing gas sucked into the exhaust port, and the air supply port and the exhaust port are separated from each other in the transport direction of the glass plate. In the method for producing a glass plate,
The process space is characterized in that a height of a region where the air supply port is located is higher than a height of a region where the exhaust port is located.   The method for manufacturing a glass sheet according to claim 1, wherein the air supply port is located behind the exhaust port in a conveying direction of the glass sheet.   The lower surface of the upper structure includes two plane portions having a height difference between a region where the air supply port is located and a region where the exhaust port is located, and the former region of the two plane portions. The method for manufacturing a glass sheet according to claim 1, wherein the flat portion corresponding to the first region is formed at a position higher than the flat portion corresponding to the latter region.   The upper surface of the lower structure has one flat portion having no height difference between a region where the air supply port is located and a region where the exhaust port is located, wherein: 3. The method for producing a glass plate according to any one of 3.   The difference between the height of the region where the air supply port is located and the height of the region where the exhaust port is located is 5 to 100 mm, the glass plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein Production method.   The second air supply port for blowing out a processing gas to perform an etching process on an upper surface of the glass plate conveyed in the horizontal direction is formed on a lower surface of the upper structure, according to claim 1, wherein: The method for producing a glass plate according to any one of the above.   The said upper structure has a top plate, The said processing space was formed between the lower surface of the said top plate and the upper surface of the said lower structure, The one in any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The method for producing a glass plate according to the above.   The top plate is divided into a front top plate on the front side in the conveyance direction of the glass plate, and a rear top plate on the rear side in the conveyance direction, and a lower surface of the front top plate and a lower surface of the rear top plate. The method for manufacturing a glass sheet according to claim 7, wherein a height difference is provided between the glass sheets.   In the division between the front top plate and the rear top plate, a second air supply port for blowing out a processing gas to perform an etching process on the upper surface of the glass plate conveyed in the horizontal direction is located. The method for producing a glass sheet according to claim 8, wherein: Wherein the second air supply port, a manufacturing method of a glass plate according to claim 6 or 9, characterized in that is located between the air inlet and the air outlet in the conveying direction of the glass plate. The upper surface of the lower structure having the air supply port and the exhaust port and the lower surface of the upper structure are arranged to face each other, and the processing space formed between the opposed surfaces is blown out from the air supply port. With the processing gas reaching the exhaust port, an etching process is performed on the lower surface of the glass plate transported in the horizontal direction, and the air supply port and the exhaust port are located apart from each other in the transport direction of the glass plate. Glass plate manufacturing equipment,
The apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet, wherein the processing space has a region in which the supply port is located higher than a region in which the exhaust port is located.

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