JP6669988B2 - Manufacturing method of glass film - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a glass film including a step of cutting the glass ribbon in the width direction while transporting the glass ribbon in the longitudinal direction in a flat posture.

  In recent years, mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablet PCs, which are rapidly spreading, are required to be thin and lightweight, and therefore, there is an increasing demand for thinner glass substrates incorporated in these terminals. Is the current situation. Under these circumstances, a glass film, which is a glass substrate thinned to a film shape (for example, having a thickness of 300 μm or less), has been developed and manufactured.

  The manufacturing process of the glass film may include a process of winding the band-shaped glass film as a base material thereof into a roll to form a glass roll, and a process of continuously cutting the glass film from the band-shaped glass film. In each of these steps, it is necessary to cut the band-shaped glass film in the width direction. As an example of a method used for such a cutting, a method disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be mentioned.

  This method is a method of cutting the glass ribbon in the width direction in order to form a rear end portion (the last wound portion) of the glass ribbon to be wound when producing the glass roll. In the same method, after forming a scribe line serving as a starting point of cutting on the upper surface side along the width direction with respect to the band-shaped glass film conveyed in the longitudinal direction in the flat position, the forming portion of the scribe line is convex on the upper surface side. Curve so that the glass ribbon is broken and cut.

  In this method, the following mechanism is employed to bend the scribe line forming portion. This mechanism includes a pair of pre-cut rollers and a pair of post-cut rollers for holding the glass band film from both sides thereof on the upstream side and the downstream side of the conveyance path of the glass band film. In addition, a cutting roller that can lift a portion of the belt-like glass film passing through the portion at a location between the pair of rollers in the transport path from below is provided.

  When performing the cutting of the belt-shaped glass film by the same mechanism, by lowering the rotation peripheral speed of the downstream pair of rollers after cutting on the downstream side than the rotation peripheral speed of the roller pair before cutting on the upstream side, the both roller pairs are cut. A portion of the band-shaped glass film passing between each other is bent. Then, the cutting roller lifts the bent portion, thereby bending the portion passing over the cutting roller so that the upper surface side is convex. Thus, when the forming portion of the scribe line passes between the two roller pairs as the belt-shaped glass film is transported, the formed portion is curved convexly on the cutting roller on the cutting roller, and the band-shaped glass film is broken.

  In addition, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not limited to the case where a glass roll is manufactured as described above, by repeatedly forming a scribe line on the glass ribbon and repeatedly breaking the ribbon. It can also be used when continuously cutting a glass film from a belt-shaped glass film.

JP 2010-132347 A

  However, when the method disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is used to cut the band-shaped glass film in the width direction, the following problems to be solved arise.

  That is, in the same method, every time the band-shaped glass film is cut, the rotational peripheral speed of the roller pair is reduced after cutting, and the portion of the band-shaped glass film passing between the two roller pairs is lifted by the cutting roller. It is essential. Therefore, a control mechanism for controlling these operations is naturally required, and the equipment cost and the operation cost of the equipment are unduly increased, and as a result, there is a problem that the production cost of the glass film rises. In addition, in the same method, since the belt-shaped glass film needs to be sandwiched from both the front and back sides by both roller pairs, scratches occur on the front and back surfaces due to this, and the quality of the glass film manufactured from this band-shaped glass film is reduced. There was also a problem of lowering.

  The present invention in view of the above circumstances, while transporting the glass ribbon in the longitudinal direction in a flat position, when manufacturing a glass film by a manufacturing method including a step of cutting the glass ribbon in the width direction It is another technical object of the present invention to reduce the manufacturing cost and improve the quality.

  The present invention, which was devised to solve the above-described problems, is to transport the belt-shaped glass film in the longitudinal direction in a flat manner along the transport path, and to cut the belt-shaped glass film in the width direction. In the section, a cutting starting point forming step of forming a cutting starting point on one surface side along the width direction of the belt-shaped glass film, and in the second section of the transport path, a forming portion of the cutting starting point is curved such that one surface side is convex. And a fold cutting step of breaking and cutting the band-shaped glass film, comprising: providing, in the second section, a direction change portion that changes the direction of the conveyance path in the middle, and cutting. It is characterized in that the formation of the cutting starting point is curved as the formation of the starting point passes through the turning part.

  In this method, the direction of the conveyance path of the glass ribbon is changed midway in the direction change section provided in the second section. With this, as the forming portion of the cutting start point that has been formed in the first section and has moved to the second section passes through the direction changing section, the forming section follows the direction change of the transport path and the one surface side It curves to be convex. Then, a bending stress acts on the formation portion due to the curvature of the formation portion of the cutting start point, and the band-shaped glass film is broken from the cutting start point and cut in the width direction. As described above, in the present method, since the transport path itself has a function of bending the forming portion of the cutting start point, a mechanism for bending the forming portion and a control for controlling the operation of the mechanism are provided. There is no need to provide a separate mechanism. As a result, in manufacturing the glass film, it is possible to avoid unnecessarily increasing the equipment cost and the operation cost of the equipment, so that the manufacturing cost of the glass film can be reduced. Further, in the present method, the belt-shaped glass film including the direction changing section is transported along the transport path in a flat state. Thereby, the strip-shaped glass film can be cut in the width direction while being conveyed without substantially contacting the upper surface of the strip-shaped glass film. As a result, the occurrence of scratches on the upper surface is suppressed as much as possible, and the quality of the glass film manufactured from this belt-shaped glass film can be improved.

  In the above method, the cutting start point is formed on the upper surface side of the belt-shaped glass film, and the cutting start point forming section is curved so that the upper surface side becomes convex as the cutting start point forming section passes through the direction changing section. Preferably.

  Since the belt-shaped glass film is transported flat, a force in a direction from the upper surface side to the lower surface side acts on the belt-shaped glass film by its own weight. From this, when the cutting start point is formed on the upper surface side and the upper surface side is curved so as to be convex as the cutting start point is formed to pass through the direction changing portion, the following effects are obtained. Is obtained. That is, in this case, when the forming portion of the cutting start point is curved so that the upper surface side is convex, the portion of the band-shaped glass film connected to the upstream side of the forming portion and the band-shaped glass film connected to the downstream side. Both parts are easily deflected downward by their own weight. As a result, the formation portion of the cutting start point can be smoothly curved, and a bending stress can be suitably applied, which is advantageous in avoiding occurrence of cutting failure in the glass ribbon.

  In the above-described method, the direction changing unit connects the two paths: an uphill path having an uphill slope as a transport path, and a downhill path extending downstream of the uphill path and having a downhill transport path. It is preferred that

  In this way, the formation unit of the cutting start point that has moved to the direction change unit immediately enters the downward slope path after passing through the upward slope path. For this reason, when the formation portion of the cutting start point is curved so that the upper surface side becomes convex with the passage of the direction change portion, the curvature of the curvature can be easily increased. Accordingly, it is easy to apply a bending stress having a sufficient magnitude to the breaking at the portion where the cutting start point is formed, and it is possible to more reliably avoid the occurrence of defective cutting in the glass ribbon.

  In the above-described method, it is preferable that, in a section located between the first section and the second section on the transport path, the formation portion of the cutting start point be kept flat.

  With this configuration, after the cutting start point is formed in the first section, the bending stress due to the bending is improperly applied to the forming section before the forming section of the cutting start point enters the direction changing section in the second section. It is possible to prevent occurrence of such a situation. Thereby, it can be avoided that the belt-shaped glass film is cut at an unintended position on the transport path.

  In the above method, the glass film may be cut out continuously from the belt-shaped glass film by repeatedly executing the cutting starting point forming step and the split cutting step.

  In the method of manufacturing a glass film according to the present invention, as described above, the transport path itself has a function of bending the forming portion of the cutting start point, and controls the mechanism for bending the forming portion and the operation of the mechanism. It is not necessary to separately provide a control mechanism for performing the control. For this reason, even when a glass film is cut out continuously from a belt-shaped glass film, a large number of glass films can be manufactured at low cost.

  In the above method, a first transport device for transporting the glass film, a second transport device for transferring the glass film unloaded from the first transport device is provided, and compared with the feed speed of the glass film by the first transport device. In addition, it is preferable that the feeding speed of the glass film by the second transport device is increased.

  With this configuration, among the glass films continuously cut out from the belt-shaped glass film, two glass films adjacent on the glass film conveyance path are rearward in the conveyance direction of the glass film located on the downstream side of the conveyance path. It is easy to avoid that the end on the side and the end on the front side in the transport direction of the glass film located on the upstream side are unduly contacted. This is because the glass film located on the downstream side is transferred from the first conveyance device to the second conveyance device because the glass film feeding speed by the second conveyance device is higher than that of the first conveyance device. This is because the distance from the glass film located on the upstream side can be increased. And, as described above, since it is easy to avoid unjustified contact between the end portions, it is difficult to cause problems such as scratching of the glass film due to the contact, and to prevent the quality of the glass film from deteriorating. Easier to do.

  In the above method, with respect to the transport surface of the first transport device, the transport surface of the second transport device is located below, and, toward the transport surface of the second transport device, each glass film cut from the belt-shaped glass film. By supplying a protective sheet corresponding to the above, the glass film carried out from the first transport device is dropped on the protective sheet being transported by the second transport device, so that the glass film can be transferred to the second transport device. preferable.

  It is customary to handle the glass film in a state of being superimposed on a protective sheet in order to prevent scratches on the front and back surfaces. Therefore, as in the present method, if the glass film transported from the first transport device is allowed to fall onto the protective sheet being transported by the second transport device, the glass film is superimposed on the protective sheet accordingly. In addition, the glass film can be protected from scratches and the like. Further, according to the present method, the glass film can be superimposed on the protective sheet while being conveyed toward the downstream process. Therefore, there is no need to separately and independently provide a step of laminating the glass film and the protective sheet, and the production efficiency of the glass film can be improved.

  In the above method, when the glass ribbon is wound into a roll to produce a glass roll, the rear end of the glass ribbon to be wound is formed by performing a cutting starting point forming step and a split cutting step. Is also good.

  In the method for manufacturing a glass film according to the present invention, if a starting point of cutting is formed in the belt-shaped glass film in the first section of the conveying path, then the conveying path itself cuts the band-shaped glass film by cutting. For this reason, when the strip glass film of a desired length is wound as a glass roll, if the starting point of cutting is formed in the strip glass film, the rear end of the strip glass film to be wound can be formed, and the glass roll is completed. It is possible to do.

  In the above method, it is preferable that the starting point of cutting is formed only at one end of both ends in the width direction of the glass ribbon.

  For example, if a cutting start point is formed at any of the width direction both end portions of the band-shaped glass film, a cutting portion that extends from the cutting start point formed at one end toward the other end and a cut end formed at the other end. There is a case where the cut portion extending from the cut starting point toward the one end side does not merge well at the center in the width direction, and both cut portions are formed in a state shifted in the longitudinal direction of the band-shaped glass film. As a result, the shape of the cut end of the band-shaped glass film (the end formed by the development of both cut portions) may be deteriorated. However, if the cutting start point is formed only at one end of the both ends in the width direction, the above-described risk can be accurately eliminated. In addition, cracks are inevitably more likely to occur in the portion where the cutting start point is formed than in the portion where the cutting start point is not formed. For this reason, if the cutting starting point is formed not at the center in the width direction but at the end in the width direction, cracks hardly remain at the center, which is advantageous for improving the quality of the glass film.

  According to the present invention, while manufacturing the glass film by a manufacturing method including a step of cutting the band-shaped glass film in the width direction while transporting the band-shaped glass film in the longitudinal direction in the flat position, the manufacturing cost is reduced. It becomes possible to reduce.

It is a partial section side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal section front view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a third embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view showing the manufacturing method of the glass film concerning a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

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

<First embodiment>
Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a glass film according to the first embodiment will be described.

  The method for manufacturing a glass film according to the first embodiment is divided into two drawings, FIG. 1 and FIG. 1 and 2 show only some of the steps in the same method. The arrow II shown in FIG. 1 indicates that the step downstream of the arrow II is shown in FIG. 2 and the illustration in FIG. 1 is omitted, and the arrow I shown in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 1 and the illustration in FIG. 2 is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the method for manufacturing a glass film according to the first embodiment includes a forming step P1 of forming a band-shaped glass film 2 from a molten glass 1 by an overflow down draw method, and a band-like shape conveyed vertically downward after forming. A transfer direction changing step P2 for changing the transfer direction of the glass film 2 to a horizontal direction, and a cutting and removing step for cutting and removing an ineffective portion 2a, which is an unnecessary portion, from the strip-shaped glass film 2 whose transfer direction has been changed by a laser cutting method. P3.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the method for manufacturing a glass film according to the first embodiment is configured such that the strip-shaped glass film 3 from which the ineffective portion 2 a has been removed is transported flat in the longitudinal direction, In section S1, a cutting starting point forming step P4 for forming a cutting starting point 4 (see FIG. 5) on the upper surface 3a side in the width direction, and in a second section S2 of the transport path, a forming section 3f of the cutting starting point 4 (see FIG. 5) is bent so that the upper surface 3a side is convex, and the glass film 5 cut out from the glass ribbon film 3 along with the splitting and cutting step P5 for breaking and cutting the glass ribbon glass 3 is cut into: And a laminating step P6 of laminating the protective sheet 6aa unwound from the sheet roll 6 in a superimposed manner.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a wedge-shaped formed body 7 is used for performing the forming step P1. The molded body 7 includes an overflow groove 7a formed at a top portion into which the molten glass 1 flows, and a pair of side surfaces 7b, 7b for flowing down the molten glass 1 overflowing to both sides from the overflow groove 7a. A lower end portion 7c for fusing and integrating the molten glass 1 flowing down along each of the side surface portions 7b, 7b. The molded body 7 can form the glass ribbon 8 from the molten glass 1 fused and integrated at the lower end 7c of the molded body 7. The glass ribbon 8 thus formed is gradually cooled while being pulled downward by a pair of rollers (not shown) arranged in a plurality of upper and lower stages while being sandwiched from both the front and back sides. I do.

  The belt-shaped glass film 2 is formed to a thickness that can provide flexibility, for example, to a thickness of 300 μm or less. The strip-shaped glass film 2 includes an effective portion 2b located at the center in the width direction and later serving as a product, and a pair of non-effective portions 2a located outside the effective portion 2b in the width direction and later to be removed. , 2a. Note that each of the non-effective portions 2a, 2a includes an ear portion that is thicker than other portions.

  In the execution of the transport direction changing step P2, a roller group 9 including a plurality of rollers 9a arranged along an arc-shaped trajectory is used. The roller group 9 allows the band-shaped glass film 2 to pass therethrough while being curved along an arc-shaped orbit while supporting the band-shaped glass film 2 from one side. Thereby, the transport direction of the glass ribbon 2 carried into the roller group 9 while being transported vertically downward is changed, and the glass ribbon 2 is carried out while being transported in the horizontal direction.

  The belt-shaped glass film 2 whose transfer direction has been changed is transferred from the roller group 9 to the belt conveyor 10. On the belt conveyor 10, a gas (for example, air) (not shown) is blown from below toward the effective portion 2 b of the belt-shaped glass film 2, and the belt-shaped glass film 2 is lifted while the effective portion 2 b is floated. It is transported to the downstream side of the transport route. The belt-shaped glass film 2 carried out from the belt conveyor 10 is transferred to the belt conveyor 11. Below the belt conveyor 11, a sheet roll 12 in which a belt-shaped protection sheet 12a is wound in a roll shape is arranged. The belt-shaped protective sheet 12a is sequentially unwound from the sheet roll 12, and is continuously supplied to the conveying surface 11a of the belt conveyor 11. The transport surface 11a is capable of adsorbing the belt-like protective sheet 12a. A suction hole (not shown) is formed in the transport surface 11a, and the belt-like protection sheet 12a is suctioned through the suction hole by generating a negative pressure. Then, the transport surface 11a sends the sucked belt-shaped protective sheet 12a to the downstream side of the transport path of the belt-shaped glass film 2 with the turning operation of the belt conveyor 11. Thereby, the belt-shaped glass film 2 transferred to the belt conveyor 11 is transported to the downstream side of the transport path while being supported on the transport surface 11a via the belt-shaped protective sheet 12a.

  The cutting and removing step P3 is performed on the belt-shaped glass film 2 conveyed on the belt conveyor 11. For the execution of the cutting and removing step P3, a laser cutting machine 13 capable of executing a laser cutting method is used. The laser cutting machine 13 is installed in a state fixed at a fixed point above the transport path, and irradiates the glass glass film 2 passing below the laser cutting machine 13 with the laser 14 and the coolant 15 (for example, mist-like water or the like). ) Is possible. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the laser cutting machine 13 causes the local heating unit heated by the laser 14 along the planned cutting line 16 which is the boundary between the effective part 2 b and the ineffective part 2 a of the glass ribbon 2. 14a and the local cooling portion 15a cooled by the refrigerant 15 are formed adjacent to each other. Due to the thermal stress generated due to the temperature difference between these two portions 14a and 15a, the ribbon-shaped glass film 2 is cut continuously along the longitudinal direction, and the ineffective portion 2a is gradually removed from the ribbon-shaped glass film 2. Go. After the cutting and removing step P3 is performed, the belt-shaped glass film 3 including only the effective portion 2b is obtained. Both end portions 3b, 3b in the width direction of the band-shaped glass film 3 are cut end portions formed by a laser cutting method. Here, in the present embodiment, the cutting and removing step P3 is performed using the laser cutting method, but in addition, the cutting and removing step P3 may be performed using the laser fusing method.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the non-effective portion 2a removed from the belt-shaped glass film 2 is transferred from the belt conveyor 11 to the belt conveyor 17, and is separated downward from the transport path of the belt-shaped glass film 3 (effective portion 2b). Discard. On the other hand, the belt-shaped glass film 3 is transferred from the belt conveyor 11 to the plate-like body 18, further transferred from the plate-like body 18 to the belt conveyor 19, and transported to the downstream side of the transport path. Here, the belt-shaped protective sheet 20a unwound from the sheet roll 20 is continuously applied to the transport surface 18a of the plate 18 in the same manner as the supply of the belt-shaped protective sheet 12a to the transport surface 11a of the belt conveyor 11. Supply. The belt-shaped protective sheet 20a that has passed through the transport surface 18a of the plate 18 is transferred from the plate 18 to the belt conveyor 19, and is continuously supplied to the transport surface 19a of the belt conveyor 19. As a result, on the plate-like body 18 and the belt conveyor 19, the belt-like glass film 3 is transported to the downstream side of the transport path while the belt-like glass film 3 is supported on the transport surface 18a and the transport surface 19a via the belt-like protection sheet 20a. The transport surface 19a of the belt conveyor 19 can adsorb the belt-shaped protective sheet 20a by the same mechanism as the transport surface 11a of the belt conveyor 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the belt-shaped glass film 3 carried out from the belt conveyor 19 is transferred to the plate-shaped body 21 in which the conveying surface 21a is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. The transport surface 21a is an inclined plane that gradually rises toward the downstream side of the transport path, and the transport surface 21a causes the transport path of the belt-shaped glass film 3 on the plate-like body 21 to become an upward slope path. ing. The belt-shaped protective sheet 20a that has passed through the transport surface 19a of the belt conveyor 19 is continuously supplied to the transport surface 21a of the plate-like body 21. The belt-shaped protection sheet 20a is transferred from the belt conveyor 19 to the plate 21 via a tensioner roller 22 disposed between the belt conveyor 19 and the plate 21. Thus, on the plate-like body 21, the belt-like glass film 3 is transported to the downstream side of the transport path (upward gradient path) while the belt-like glass film 3 is supported on the transport surface 21a via the belt-like protective sheet 20a.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cutting start point forming step P4 is performed on the strip-shaped glass film 3 conveyed on the plate-shaped body 21. In the execution of the cutting start point forming step P4, a grindstone 23 (for example, a diamond whetstone or the like) is used as a flawing means for damaging the glass ribbon 3 to form the cutting start point 4. The grindstone 23 can be moved along the trajectory 23a during operation, and can be kept on standby above the transport path during non-operation. The whetstone 23 moves in the width direction on the upper surface 3a of the glass ribbon 3 along the trajectory 23a, so that only the one end 3b of the both ends 3b in the width direction of the glass ribbon 3 has the cutting starting point 4. To form The grindstone 23 is moved on the upper surface 3a of the belt-shaped glass film 3 in a non-rotating state. Here, in this embodiment, the scratch formed on the belt-shaped glass film 3 using the grindstone 23 is used as the cutting starting point 4. In addition, a scribe line formed in the width direction of the belt-shaped glass film 3 using a scribe wheel is used. The cutting start point 4 may be used. A scribe line formed in the width direction of the glass ribbon 3 using a laser such as a CO ₂ laser may be used as the cutting starting point 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the belt-shaped protective sheet 20a that has passed through the transport surface 21a of the plate-like body 21 is wound around a roller 24 disposed downstream of the plate-like body 21 in the transport path. A portion 20aa of the belt-like protection sheet 20a that is bridged between the plate-like body 21 and the roller 24 (hereinafter, referred to as a bridge portion 20aa) gradually moves downward toward the downstream side of the transport path. So inclined. The bridging portion 20aa functions as a first transporting device that transports the glass film 5 cut out of the belt-shaped glass film 3, and the transport route of the bridging portion 20aa becomes a downward slope route due to the inclination of the bridging portion 20aa. Has become. This downward slope path is connected to the downstream side of the above-described upward slope path, and the connection between the two paths, the upward slope path and the downward slope path, is a direction changing unit 25 that changes the direction of the transport path. . Note that the direction changing unit 25 is located in the second section S2 of the transport path.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the split cutting step P <b> 5, the forming portion 3 f of the cutting start point 4 in the belt-shaped glass film 3 is curved as the forming portion 3 f passes through the direction changing portion 25. Run with In the split cutting process P5, the forming portion 3f of the cutting starting point 4 is curved by utilizing the own weight of the belt-shaped glass film 3 passing through the direction changing portion 25. As a result, the bending stress generated due to the bending is applied to the forming portion 3f, and the cutting portion 4 is advanced in the width direction with the cutting starting point 4 as a starting point, thereby cutting the glass ribbon 3 in the width direction. Along with this, the glass film 5 is cut out from the band-shaped glass film 3. The split cutting step P5 and the above-described cutting starting point forming step P4 are repeatedly performed a plurality of times. Thereby, a plurality of glass films 5 are continuously cut out from the belt-shaped glass film 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the laminating step P6, when the glass film 5 carried out from the bridging section 20aa is transferred to the belt conveyor 26 as the second conveyor, the glass film 5 is transferred to the belt conveyor 26. This is executed by dropping on the protective sheet 6aa being conveyed. Note that the laminating step P6 is performed on each of the glass films 5 cut from the belt-shaped glass film 3. The protection sheet 6aa has a size slightly larger than the glass film 5, and can cover the entire lower surface 5b of the glass film 5. The transport surface 26a of the belt conveyor 26 is located below the bridging portion 20aa (the transport surface in the bridging portion 20aa) and has a slope gradually rising toward the downstream side of the transport path. The feed speed V1 of the glass film 5 (the protective sheet 6aa and the laminated glass film 5) by the belt conveyor 26 is higher than the feed speed V2 of the glass film 5 by the bridging portion 20aa. Here, the feed speed V1 is preferably set to a speed that is increased by 2% to 20% based on the feed speed V2. The supply of the protection sheet 6aa to the conveyance surface 26a of the belt conveyor 26 is performed from the sheet roll 6 disposed below the plate-like body 21. More specifically, the belt-shaped protective sheet 6a unwound from the sheet roll 6 is held by a pair of rollers 27, 27 from both the front and back sides, and the belt-shaped protective sheet 6a is rotated by the rotation of the rollers 27, 27. The sheet is sent out toward the transfer surface 26a of the sheet 26. Then, when the length of the sent portion reaches a desired length, the band-shaped protection sheet 6a is cut in the width direction by a cutting machine 28 (for example, a cutter or the like), and the protection sheet 6aa is cut out.

  Here, the above-described cutting start point forming step P4, split cutting step P5, and laminating step P6 are executed in conjunction with each other. The interlocking of these steps will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, the cutting start point 4 is formed on the belt-shaped glass film 3 by the grindstone 23 by executing the cutting start point forming step P4. At this time, in order to prepare for the laminating step P6 to be executed later, the feeding of the belt-shaped protective sheet 6a toward the transport surface 26a of the belt conveyor 26 has already been started by the pair of rollers 27,27. As shown in FIG. 6, after the formation of the cutting starting point 4, the section 3 f of the cutting starting point 4 is kept flat on the plate-like body 21 and between the first section S <b> 1 and the second section S <b> 2. The located section is moved to approach the direction changing unit 25. When the forming portion 3f of the cutting start point 4 reaches the direction changing portion 25, as shown in FIG. 7, the strip-shaped glass film 3 is split and a split cutting step P5 is executed to separate the glass film 5 from the strip-shaped glass film 3. cut. After that, the belt-shaped protective sheet 6a sent out to the pair of rollers 27, 27 in advance is cut, and as shown in FIG. 8, a laminating step P6 is performed to overlap the cut-out protective sheet 6aa and the glass film 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the glass film 5 laminated with the protective sheet 6aa is transferred from the belt conveyor 26 to the belt conveyor 29, and further transported to the downstream side of the transport path, and finally, the protective sheet 6aa And the glass film 5 are alternately stacked and stored. Note that the height position of the conveyor surface 29a of the belt conveyor 29 is the same as the above-described conveyor surface 19a of the belt conveyor 19. That is, the height position where the belt-shaped glass film 3 is transported before the execution of the cutting start point forming step P4 and the height position where the glass film 5 is transported after the execution of the laminating step P6 are not displaced. As described above, the method for manufacturing a glass film according to the first embodiment is completed.

  Hereinafter, main functions and effects of the glass film manufacturing method according to the first embodiment will be described.

  In the method of manufacturing a glass film according to the first embodiment, as the forming portion 3f of the cutting start point 4 passes through the direction changing portion 25, the forming portion 3f is convex on the upper surface 3a following the direction change of the transport path. It curves to become. Thus, the band-shaped glass film 3 is broken and cut in the width direction. As described above, since the transport path itself has a function of bending the forming portion 3f of the cutting start point 4, a mechanism for bending the forming portion 3f and a control mechanism for controlling the operation of the mechanism are provided. Need not be provided separately. As a result, when manufacturing the glass film 5, it is possible to avoid unduly increasing the equipment cost and the operation cost of the equipment, so that the manufacturing cost of the glass film 5 can be reduced. In addition, in the same method, it is possible to avoid contact with the upper surface 3a of the belt-shaped glass film 3 which is conveyed flat, except when the cutting starting point 4 is formed. As a result, the occurrence of scratches on the upper surface 3a is suppressed as much as possible, and the quality of the glass film 5 manufactured from the belt-shaped glass film 3 can be improved.

  Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a glass film according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the description of the other embodiments, the elements already described in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings referred to in the description of the other embodiments, and redundant description will be omitted. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described.

<Second embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 9, the method of manufacturing a glass film according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the above-described first embodiment in that the configuration of the direction changing unit 25 is different. . In the present embodiment, the bridging portion 20aa extends in parallel with the horizontal plane, and the transport path formed by the bridging portion 20aa is a horizontal route that is connected to the downstream side of the uphill route. Thus, in the present embodiment, the direction changing unit 25 is a connection unit between the uphill route and the horizontal route.

<Third embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 10, the method of manufacturing a glass film according to the third embodiment of the present invention is different from the above-described first embodiment in that the configuration of the direction changing unit 25 is different. . In the present embodiment, the transport surface 21a of the plate-like body 21 is a horizontal plane, and the transport path of the band-shaped glass film 3 on the plate-like body 21 is a horizontal path that is continuous with the upstream side of the downward slope path. . Thus, in the present embodiment, the direction changing unit 25 is a connection unit between the horizontal route and the downward slope route.
<Fourth embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 11, the method of manufacturing a glass film according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is different from the above-described first embodiment in that the band-shaped glass film 3 and the band-shaped protection sheet 6 a are overlapped. When the glass roll 30 is manufactured by winding these in a roll shape in the folded state, a cutting starting point forming step P4 and a split cutting step P5 are performed. In the present embodiment, the cutting start point forming step P4 and the split cutting step P5 are each performed only once, and the rear side end 3c of the belt-shaped glass film 3 wound into a roll is formed. In the laminating step P6, the band-shaped glass film 3 wound up in a roll shape is continuously superimposed on the band-shaped protection sheet 6a which is sequentially unwound from the sheet roll 6, and the rear side edge of the band-shaped protection sheet 6a. The band-shaped protective sheet 6a is cut only once in the width direction to form the portion 6ab.

  Also in the method for manufacturing a glass film according to the second to fourth embodiments described above, it is possible to obtain the operations and effects described above in the description of the method for manufacturing a glass film according to the first embodiment.

  Here, the method for producing a glass film according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in the above embodiments. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the strip glass film is formed by the overflow down draw method, but the strip glass film may be formed by the slot down draw method, the redraw method, or the float method. In addition, by repeatedly performing the cutting starting point forming step and the split cutting step on the strip-shaped glass film sequentially unwound from the glass roll, the glass film is continuously cut out from the strip-shaped glass film. You may.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the cutting starting point is formed on the upper surface side of the belt-shaped glass film, but the cutting starting point may be formed on the lower surface side. In this case, for example, the connection between the horizontal path and the uphill path connected to the downstream side of the horizontal path is defined as a turning point, and as the cutting start point is passed through the turning point forming section, the cutting start point What is necessary is just to curve a formation part so that a lower surface side may become convex.

Reference Signs List 3 strip glass film 3a upper surface 3b width direction end 3c rear end 3f forming part 4 starting point of cutting 5 glass film 6aa protective sheet 20aa bridging part 25 direction changing part 26 belt conveyor 26a conveying surface 30 glass roll P4 cutting starting point forming step P5 Folding cutting process S1 First section S2 Second section V1 Feed speed V2 Feed speed

Claims (7)

While transporting the glass ribbon in the longitudinal direction in a flat state along the transport path, by cutting the glass ribbon in the width direction, when cutting the glass film from the glass ribbon ,
In the first section of the transport path, a cutting start point forming step of forming a cutting start point on one surface side along the width direction of the belt-shaped glass film, and in the second section of the transport path, the forming section of the cutting start point A method of manufacturing a glass film, wherein the one surface side is curved so as to be convex, and a cutting step of cutting and cutting the band-shaped glass film.
In the second section, there is provided a direction changing unit that changes the direction of the conveyance path in the middle, and the forming unit of the cutting start point is curved as the forming unit of the cutting start point passes through the direction changing unit. then,
A first transport device that transports the glass film, and a second transport device that transfers the glass film transported from the first transport device is provided,
With respect to the transport surface of the first transport device, the transport surface of the second transport device is positioned below, and toward the transport surface of the second transport device, the glass film cut out from the belt-shaped glass film. Supply the corresponding protective sheet,
The glass film transported from the first transport device, by dropping onto the protective sheet being transported by the second transport device, to transfer the glass film to the second transport device,
A method for producing a glass film, wherein the conveying surface of the second conveying device is inclined upward . Forming the cutting start point on the upper surface side of the belt-shaped glass film,
2. The glass film according to claim 1, wherein the cutting start point forming portion is curved so that the upper surface side is convex as the cutting starting point forming portion passes through the direction changing portion. 3. Method.   The direction changing unit is a connecting portion of both paths of an uphill path having the transport path as an uphill slope and a downhill path connecting the downstream side of the uphill path and having the transport path as a downhill path. The method for producing a glass film according to claim 2, wherein:   The section formed between the first section and the second section of the transport path, the section formed between the first section and the second section, the cutting start point being maintained flat. Production method of glass film. The glass film according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the glass film is continuously cut from the belt-shaped glass film by repeatedly performing the cutting starting point forming step and the split cutting step. Manufacturing method. Compared to the feeding speed of the glass film by the prior SL first conveying device, according to claim 1, characterized in that the feed speed of the glass film by the second conveying device at a high speed Manufacturing method of glass film. The method for producing a glass film according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the cutting start point is formed only at one end of both ends in the width direction of the band-shaped glass film.

Images