JP7068631B2 - Glass plate manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a glass plate, and more particularly to a manufacturing method including a step of etching a glass plate with a treatment gas such as hydrogen fluoride.

As is well known, flat panel displays (FPDs) such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays and organic EL displays, and mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablets incorporate glass plates having various thicknesses and sizes.

By the way, in the manufacturing process of a glass plate, a problem may occur due to static electricity charging. For example, when a glass plate is placed on a mounting surface of a workbench and a predetermined treatment is performed, the glass plate may stick to the mounting surface. As a result, the glass plate may be damaged when the treated glass plate is peeled off from the mounting surface.

Therefore, as a countermeasure to the above-mentioned problem, an attempt is made to solve the problem by etching the glass plate with a treatment gas such as hydrogen fluoride to roughen the main surface of the glass plate. Then, an example of a method for performing an etching process on a glass plate is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

In the method disclosed in the same document, the glass plate is etched by the processing gas supplied to the processing space while passing the processing space arranged on the transport path of the glass plate through the glass plate. In the same method, of the main surface of the glass plate in the flat position, only the lower surface or both the lower surface and the upper surface are roughened.

International Publication No. 2017/0433305

However, the above method has the following problems to be solved.

That is, the glass plate subjected to the etching treatment under the aspect of the same method has a problem that the glass powder easily adheres to the main surface. Therefore, when the glass plate is subjected to a film forming process such as a transparent conductive film in a later step, there is a problem that defects such as disconnection of the circuit are likely to occur due to the glass powder adhering to the main surface.

The present invention made in view of the above circumstances is to prevent glass powder from adhering to the main surface of a glass plate that has been etched while passing through a processing space to which the processing gas is supplied. Is a technical issue.

As a result of diligent research, the inventors of the present invention have described that glass powder easily adheres to the main surface of a glass plate that has been etched while passing through a processing space to which the processing gas is supplied. I came to find that it was due to a reason. That is, when the glass plate passes through the processing space, not only the main surface but also the end surface is roughened. Then, the end face located at the head portion when passing through the processing space is particularly liable to be roughened, and glass powder is liable to be generated from the end face as the roughening occurs. Then, it was found that the glass powder generated from the end face becomes the glass powder adhering to the main surface.

Based on this finding, the present invention, which was devised to solve the above problems, uses the processing gas supplied to the processing space while passing the processing space arranged on the transport path of the glass plate through the glass plate. It is a method for manufacturing a glass plate including a processing step of etching a glass plate and a cleaning step of cleaning the glass plate that has undergone the processing step. It is characterized by rubbing and cleaning the end face located at the head portion.

In this method, in the cleaning step, the end face (hereinafter referred to as the front end face) located at the head portion of the glass plate in the transport direction at the time of executing the processing step is rubbed and washed. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the residual processing gas on the front end face, and it is possible to suppress the generation of glass powder due to the residual processing gas roughening the front end face. In addition, glass powder that may later be generated from the front end surface and adhere to the main surface of the glass plate can be removed from the front end surface in advance. As a result, it is possible to prevent the glass powder from adhering to the main surface of the glass plate as much as possible.

In the above method, a pair of roll brushes are arranged on the downstream side of the processing space on the transport path so as to sandwich the transport path, and in the cleaning step, the end face (front end face) located at the head portion is paired. It is preferable to rub it with a roll brush to clean it.

By doing so, since the front end face is rubbed and washed with the pair of roll brushes arranged on the transport path, it is possible to efficiently and surely reduce the generation of glass powder from the front end face later.

In the above method, in the cleaning step, it is preferable to rub and clean the end surface of the glass plate located at the rearmost portion in the transport direction at the time of executing the processing step.

By doing so, it is possible to reduce the generation of glass powder not only from the front end face but also from the end face located at the rearmost portion (hereinafter referred to as the rear end face) with the execution of the cleaning step. As a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent the adhesion of glass powder to the main surface of the glass plate.

In the above method, the glass plate forms a rectangular shape, and in the processing step, the glass plate is passed through the processing space and conveyed in a state where the direction in which the two parallel end faces of the glass plate extend and the direction in which the glass plate is conveyed are aligned. It is preferable to dispose a pair of disc brushes across the transport path on the downstream side of the processing space on the path, and in the cleaning step, the two end faces are rubbed with the pair of disc brushes for cleaning.

By doing so, it is possible to reduce the generation of glass powder from two parallel end faces afterwards with the execution of the cleaning step. As a result, it becomes possible to more reliably prevent the adhesion of glass powder to the main surface of the glass plate.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent glass powder from adhering to the main surface of a glass plate that has been etched while passing through a processing space to which the processing gas is supplied.

It is a vertical sectional side view which shows the manufacturing apparatus used in the manufacturing method of the glass plate which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the manufacturing apparatus used in the manufacturing method of the glass plate which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) to (c) are vertical sectional side views which show the cleaning process in the manufacturing method of the glass plate which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical sectional side view which shows the manufacturing apparatus used in the manufacturing method of the glass plate which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

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

First, a manufacturing apparatus used for a method for manufacturing a glass plate will be described. Here, in the following description, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1 is referred to as "width direction". Further, the A direction indicated by the arrow in the figure is the transport direction of the glass plate, and is simply referred to as the “transport direction” in the following description.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a transport device 4 that transports a rectangular glass plate 2 in a flat position along a transport path 3, and a processing space 5 arranged on the transport path 3. A processing device 7 that performs etching treatment with the processing gas 6 while passing through the glass plate 2, and an injection device 9 that injects gas 8 (non-processed gas) that flows along the upper surface 2a of the glass plate 2 that is passing through the processing space 5. And, the end face 2x (hereinafter referred to as front end face 2x) located at the front end portion in the transport direction and the end face 2y (hereinafter referred to as rear end face 2y) located at the rear end portion of the treated glass plate 2 are rubbed and washed. A first cleaning device 10 and a second cleaning device 11 for rubbing and cleaning both end faces 2z and 2z (hereinafter, referred to as width direction end faces 2z) located at both ends of the treated glass plate 2 in the width direction are provided. ..

The transport device 4 includes a plurality of transport rollers 4a arranged along the transport path 3. These transport rollers 4a may be drive rollers or free rollers. The glass plate 2 is conveyed by the conveying device 4 in a state where the extending directions of the end faces 2z and 2z in both width directions are aligned with the conveying direction. Therefore, both the front end surface 2x and the rear end surface 2y of the glass plate 2 being conveyed are in a state of being extended in the width direction.

Here, as a modification of the present embodiment, a conveyor may be arranged instead of a part of the conveyor rollers 4a.

The processing apparatus 7 has a main body portion 7a arranged on the lower side with the transport path 3 vertically interposed therebetween, and a top plate portion 7b arranged on the upper side. A processing space 5 is formed between the main body portion 7a and the top plate portion 7b. The processing space 5 has an opening 5a at the upstream end in the transport direction for allowing the glass plate 2 to enter the space, and an opening 5b at the downstream end for allowing the glass plate 2 to exit the space. The dimension (total width) along the width direction of the processing space 5 is longer than the dimension (total width) along the width direction of the glass plate 2. Further, the dimension of the processing space 5 along the transport direction is shorter than the dimension of the glass plate 2 along the transport direction (the length from the front end surface 2x to the rear end surface 2y).

The main body 7a includes an air supply passage 12 for supplying hydrogen fluoride (HF) as the processing gas 6 to the processing space 5, and an exhaust passage 13 for exhausting the processing gas 6 from the processing space 5. .. The air supply passage 12 and the exhaust passage 13 extend in the vertical direction, and the air supply port and the exhaust port formed at the upper ends of the air supply passages 12 and 13 are formed in a long slit shape in the width direction. In the present embodiment, the processing gas 6 supplied from the intermediate point in the transport direction of the treatment space 5 is branched into a flow toward the upstream side and a flow toward the downstream side in the transport direction after the air is supplied, and then the treatment space 5 is used. Is exhausted from. The processing gas 6 roughens the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2.

Here, as a modification of the present embodiment, the arrangement of the supply air passage 12 and the exhaust passage 13 is changed, and the processing gas 6 after supplying air to the processing space 5 is directed from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction. Only, or may flow only from the downstream side to the upstream side.

The top plate portion 7b is arranged so as to form a gap for flowing the gas 8 between the top plate portion 7b and the upper surface 2a of the glass plate 2 passing through the processing space 5.

The injection device 9 injects clean dry air (CDA) as the gas 8. The injection device 9 has a slit-shaped injection port that is long in the width direction, and the injection port directs the opening 5a from the outside of the processing space 5. The opening dimension along the width direction of the injection port is longer than the dimension along the width direction of the glass plate 2. The gas 8 injected from the injection port flows through the gap for flowing the gas 8 from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction.

Here, as a modification of the present embodiment, a new injection device may be added in addition to the above-mentioned injection device 9. For example, an injection device having an injection port directed at the opening 5b from the outside of the processing space 5 may be added. This new injection device forms a flow of gas 8 from the downstream side to the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the gap for flowing the gas 8. On the other hand, as another modification, the injection device 9 may be removed so that the gas 8 is not injected at all.

The first cleaning device 10 is arranged on the transport path 3 on the downstream side of the processing space 5 (processing device 7). The first cleaning device 10 includes roll brushes 10a and 10a that form a pair with the transport path 3 sandwiched vertically.

Each roll brush 10a has a rotation axis extending in the width direction and a large number of brush bristles planted on the outer peripheral surface of the rotation axis. Each roll brush 10a rotates so that its rotation circumferential direction and the transport direction coincide with each other. The dimension along the width direction of each roll brush 10a is longer than the dimension along the width direction of the glass plate 2. Thereby, when the paired roll brushes 10a and 10a rub the front end surface 2x and the rear end surface 2y of the glass plate 2 for cleaning, it is possible to clean the entire surface (total width) of these end surfaces 2x and 2y. be.

Each roll brush 10a can move so as to approach and separate from the transport path 3, and in the present embodiment, it can move along the vertical direction. As a result, it is possible to move between the operating position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 and the retracted position shown by the alternate long and short dash line. The operating position is the position when each roll brush 10a rubs and cleans the front end surface 2x and the rear end surface 2y of the glass plate 2, and the retracted position is the position where each roll brush 10a separates from the transport path 3 and the glass plate 2 It is a position where contact with can be avoided.

Here, as a modification of the present embodiment, the rotation circumferential direction of each roll brush 10a may be a direction opposite to the transport direction. Further, only one of the pair of roll brushes 10a and 10a may be arranged. That is, only the upper roll brush 10a or only the lower roll brush 10a may be arranged. Further, a sponge roller or the like may be used instead of the roll brush 10a, but the roll brush 10a is preferable from the viewpoint of improving the detergency. Further, instead of the roll brush 10a, a plurality of disc brushes, disc sponges and the like arranged side by side in the width direction may be used, but the roll brush 10a is preferable from the viewpoint of reducing the equipment cost.

The second cleaning device 11 is arranged on the transport path 3 on the downstream side of the first cleaning device 10. The second cleaning device 11 includes disc brushes 11a and 11a that form a pair with the transport path 3 interposed therebetween. Two pairs of disc brushes 11a and 11a forming a pair are arranged, and one for cleaning one of the end faces 2z and 2z in both width directions and the other for cleaning are arranged.

The paired disc brushes 11a and 11a rotate in the same direction with each other. Further, one of the paired disc brushes 11a and 11a and the other are in a state where the tip portions (brush hairs) are in contact with each other when the widthwise end faces 2z are not washed. On the other hand, at the time of cleaning the widthwise end faces 2z, the widthwise end faces 2z enter between the tip portions, and the width direction end faces 2z are interposed between the tip ends.

Here, as a modification of the present embodiment, even if the arrangement of the second cleaning device 11 is changed and arranged between the processing space 5 (processing device 7) and the first cleaning device 10 on the transport path 3. good. Further, although a disc sponge or the like may be used instead of the disc brushes 11a and 11a, the disc brush 11a is preferable from the viewpoint of improving the cleaning power.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a glass plate using the above-mentioned manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described.

First, the processing step P1 for etching the glass plate 2 is executed.

In the processing step P1, the processing space 5 arranged on the transport path 3 is passed through the glass plate 2, and the glass plate 2 is etched by the processing gas 6 supplied to the processing space 5. As a result, the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2 is roughened. During the execution of the processing step P1, the upper surface 2a is unreasonably roughened by the processing gas 6 by forming a flow of the gas 8 from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction along the upper surface 2a of the glass plate 2. Avoid being transformed.

Here, the target to be roughened in the processing step P1 is the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2, but inevitably, the portion other than the lower surface 2b is also roughened. In particular, the front end surface 2x of the glass plate 2 is likely to be roughened, and glass powder is likely to be generated from the front end surface 2x as the roughening occurs.

When the treatment step P1 is completed, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the front end face 2x, the rear end face 2y, and the end faces 2z and 2z in both width directions of the glass plate 2 that have passed through the treatment step P1 are washed. The cleaning step P2 is executed.

In the cleaning step P2, as shown in FIG. 3A, first, as shown in FIG. Rub with roll brushes 10a and 10a to clean. At that time, a cleaning liquid (for example, pure water) is supplied to the roll brushes 10a, 10a and / or the front end surface 2x from a nozzle (not shown) provided in the first cleaning device 10. When the rubbing cleaning of the front end surface 2x is completed, each roll brush 10a is immediately moved from the operating position to the retracted position as shown by an arrow in the figure. Therefore, each roll brush 10a does not substantially come into contact with the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2. For example, each roll brush 10a contacts a region of the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2 from the front end surface 2x to a position of 200 mm or less, and does not contact the central region of the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2. .. At this point, cleaning of the end faces 2z and 2z in both width directions of the glass plate 2 has not started.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the glass plates 2 reach the locations where the paired disc brushes 11a and 11a are arranged along with the transportation, one side and the other side in the width direction respectively. , The widthwise end face 2z is rubbed with a pair of disc brushes 11a and 11a for cleaning. At that time, a cleaning liquid (for example, pure water) is supplied to the disc brushes 11a, 11a and / or the end face 2z in the width direction from a nozzle (not shown) provided in the second cleaning device 11. Regarding the paired roll brushes 10a and 10a, the rear end faces 2y, which are the end faces located at the rearmost portion of the glass plate 2 in the transport direction at the time of executing the processing step P1, are the paired roll brushes 10a and 10a. Wait at the retracted position until the location is reached.

After that, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the rear end surface 2y of the glass plate 2 reaches the location where the pair of roll brushes 10a and 10a are arranged along with the transportation, as shown by an arrow in the figure. , Each roll brush 10a is moved from the retracted position to the operating position again. Also in this case, each roll brush 10a does not substantially come into contact with the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2. For example, each roll brush 10a contacts a region of the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2 from the rear end surface 2y to a position of 200 mm or less, and does not contact the central region of the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2. .. Then, the rear end surface 2y is rubbed and washed with a pair of roll brushes 10a and 10a in the operating position. At that time, a cleaning liquid (for example, pure water) is supplied to the roll brushes 10a, 10a and / or the rear end surface 2y from a nozzle (not shown) provided in the first cleaning device 10. After the rubbing cleaning of the rear end surface 2y is completed, when the glass plate 2 finishes passing through the locations where the paired disc brushes 11a and 11a are arranged, the cleaning of the widthwise end surface 2z is also completed and the cleaning step P2 is completed. do.

The glass plate 2 that has undergone the cleaning step P2 is then manufactured as a product glass plate through various treatments, inspections, and the like. For example, as a post-process of the cleaning step P2 (rubbing cleaning step), a step of shower cleaning the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2 (shower cleaning step) and a drying step of removing the cleaning liquid from the glass plate 2 with an air knife or the like are performed. It may be provided. The shower cleaning step may be provided between the processing step P1 and the rubbing cleaning step P2.

Hereinafter, the main actions and effects of the above method for manufacturing a glass plate will be described.

In the above manufacturing method, in the cleaning step P2, the front end surface 2x, which is the end surface located at the head portion of the glass plate 2 in the transport direction at the time of executing the processing step P1, is rubbed and cleaned. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the residual processing gas on the front end face 2x, and it is possible to suppress the generation of glass powder due to the residual processing gas roughening the front end face 2x. Further, the glass powder that may later be generated from the front end surface 2x and adhere to the upper and lower surfaces 2a and 2b of the glass plate 2 can be removed from the front end surface 2x in advance. As a result, it is possible to prevent the glass powder from adhering to the upper and lower surfaces 2a and 2b of the glass plate 2 as much as possible.

Here, the method for manufacturing a glass plate according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in the above embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in addition to the main body portion 7a side of the processing apparatus 7, an air supply path 12 for the processing gas 6 is provided on the top plate portion 7b side, and only the lower surface 2b of the glass plate 2 is provided in the processing step P1. Instead, the upper surface 2a may also be roughened. Even in this case, the cleaning step P2 can be performed in the same manner as in the above embodiment. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the injection device 9 is removed unlike the above embodiment.

Further, in the above embodiment, the roll brushes can be moved so as to approach and separate from the transport path, but this is not the case. Each roll brush may be configured so that it cannot be moved so that each roll brush is always in the operating position. In this way, the pair of roll brushes may be used to rub and clean not only the front end face and the rear end face of the glass plate but also the upper and lower surfaces and the end faces in both width directions.

Further, in the above embodiment, the front end face of the glass plate is rubbed with a pair of roll brushes for cleaning, but this is not the case. When cleaning the front end face, a roll brush that rotates around a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction may be used. Then, by moving the roll brush along the front end surface of the glass plate while rotating it, the front end surface may be rubbed and washed.

2 Glass plate 2x Front end face 2y Rear end face 2z Width direction end face 3 Transport path 5 Treatment space 6 Treatment gas 10a Roll brush 11a Disc brush A Transport direction P1 Treatment process P2 Cleaning process

Claims (4)

A processing step of etching the glass plate with the processing gas supplied to the processing space while passing the processing space arranged on the transport path of the glass plate to the glass plate, and the glass having undergone the processing step. A method for manufacturing a glass plate including a cleaning process for cleaning the plate.
The cleaning step is a method for manufacturing a glass plate, which comprises rubbing and cleaning an end surface of the glass plate located at the head end in a transport direction when the processing step is executed. A pair of roll brushes sandwiching the transport path is arranged on the downstream side of the processing space on the transport path.
The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1, wherein in the cleaning step, the end face located at the head portion is rubbed with the pair of roll brushes for cleaning. The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the cleaning step, the end face located at the end of the glass plate in the transport direction is rubbed and cleaned when the processing step is executed. The glass plate forms a rectangle,
In the processing step, the glass plate is passed through the processing space in a state where the direction in which the two parallel end faces of the glass plate extend and the direction in which the glass plate is conveyed are aligned.
A pair of disc brushes sandwiching the transport path is arranged on the downstream side of the processing space on the transport path.
The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the cleaning step, the two end faces are rubbed with a pair of disc brushes for cleaning.

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