JP7086350B2 - Sheet glass manufacturing method and manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a flat glass and a manufacturing apparatus.

When manufacturing flat panel displays (FPDs) such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma displays (PDPs), and organic EL displays (OLEDs), large glass substrates formed by a molding method such as the downdraw method, for example. By cutting, a plate glass of a predetermined size is formed. Specifically, the flat glass is formed by cutting the glass substrate using a scribe wheel such as a diamond cutter.

When a plate glass is formed by cutting a glass substrate, minute cracks having a depth of about several μm to 100 μm are formed on the cut surface (end surface). Since this crack causes a decrease in the mechanical strength of the flat glass, it is removed by processing the end face of the flat glass. That is, in order to increase the mechanical strength of the plate glass, prevent cracking and chipping of the plate glass, and facilitate handling in the subsequent process, the end face of the plate glass is subjected to grinding (chamfering) and polishing.

As a flat glass manufacturing apparatus, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a cutting portion for inserting a cutting line (scribing wire) into a glass substrate, a folding portion for breaking the glass substrate along the cutting line, and a folding portion. Some are provided with a grinding unit for grinding the end face of the plate glass to be formed later, and a transport unit for transporting the plate glass.

The transport unit in this manufacturing apparatus includes a plurality of suction pads that can be raised and lowered, and a transfer device that moves the suction pads in the horizontal direction. The suction pad descends toward the glass substrate placed on the cut portion, and ascends after adsorbing the plate glass. After that, the suction pad is moved horizontally by the transfer device, descends from above the split portion, and the glass substrate is placed on the split portion. Similarly, the suction pad sucks the plate glass formed by the split portion and transfers it to the grinding portion.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-47455

Since the transport unit in the conventional manufacturing device transports the plate glass by the suction pad and the transfer device, it takes time to transport the plate glass by the raising and lowering operation and the suction operation of the suction pad and the horizontal movement operation of the plate glass by the transfer device. It takes. For this reason, the tact time related to the production of the flat glass becomes long, and it is not possible to efficiently manufacture the flat glass.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to shorten the tact time and improve the manufacturing efficiency by efficiently transporting the flat glass when processing the end face of the flat glass. It is an object of the present invention to provide the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of.

The present invention is for solving the above-mentioned problems, and is a method for manufacturing a flat glass including an end face processing step of processing the end face of the flat glass by an end face processing device. The end face processing step includes a transfer step of moving the plate glass to a first standby position and a processing position provided on the downstream side of the transfer device in the transfer direction from the first standby position by the transfer device. The end face processing device includes a surface plate having a support surface on which the plate glass is placed and a fixing portion for fixing the plate glass. The transport device includes a transport belt that transports the plate glass, a guide member that guides the traveling of the transport belt, and an elevating device that raises and lowers a part of the transport belt by moving the guide member in the vertical direction. Be prepared. The upstream end of the guide member is located upstream of the upstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction. The downstream end of the guide member is located downstream of the downstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction. In the transfer step, when the plate glass is moved from the first standby position to the processing position, a part of the transfer belt is moved upward by the elevating device so as to place the plate glass above the processing position. When the end face of the plate glass is processed by the end face processing apparatus, the plate glass arranged above the processing position is arranged at the processing position, and the transport belt is moved from the plate glass. A lowering step of moving the part of the transport belt moved upward by the elevating device below the processing position and processing the end surface of the plate glass arranged at the processing position to the end surface processing. The present invention includes a step of arranging another flat glass in the first standby position by running the transport belt moved below the processing position while processing by the apparatus.

In the above configuration, when the plate glass is moved from the first standby position to the processing position in order to process the end face of the plate glass by the end face processing device, the elevating device moves a part of the transport belt upward (ascending step). As a result, the flat glass moves above the machining position by the transport belt without contacting a part of the end face machining device (for example, a surface plate) at the machining position. At that time, it is possible to prevent a part of the transport belt from bending, and it is possible to stably transport the flat glass. This is because the upstream end of the guide member is located upstream of the upstream end of the surface plate and the downstream end of the guide member is located downstream of the downstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction. Because it does. Further, by moving a part of the raised transport belt downward, the flat glass is placed in the processing position. The transport belt moves further downward from this processing position due to the operation of the elevating device, and separates from the plate glass at the processing position (lowering step).

By separating the conveyor belt from the plate glass, it becomes possible to travel without contacting the plate glass. Therefore, a new unprocessed plate glass (another plate glass) can be arranged in the first standby position by running the transport belt while the plate glass is arranged in the processed position. This makes it possible to arrange the new plate glass in the first standby position while processing the end surface of the plate glass by the end face processing device. Therefore, the tact time can be shortened as much as possible and the manufacturing efficiency of the flat glass can be improved.

Further, in the present method, the transport device is connected to the upstream end portion of the guide member, and is connected to the first auxiliary member for guiding the traveling of the transport belt and the downstream end portion of the guide member. , It is desirable to provide a second auxiliary member for guiding the traveling of the transport belt. In this case, in the ascending step, the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member are tilted as the guide member is moved upward by the elevating device, and in the descending step, the guide is provided by the elevating device. As the member is moved downward, the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member are leveled. As a result, a part of the transport belt is tilted while being held by the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member, so that bending can be reduced even at the tilted portion of the transport belt, and the flat glass can be more stably transported in the ascending step.

In the present method, the transport device is the first tilting device that tilts the first auxiliary member by raising a part of the first auxiliary member, and the transfer device by raising a part of the second auxiliary member. A second tilting device for tilting the second auxiliary member may be provided. In this case, in the ascending step, as the guide member is moved upward by the elevating device, the first auxiliary member is tilted by the first tilting device and the second auxiliary member is tilted by the second tilting device. To incline. Further, in the lowering step, as the guide member is moved downward by the elevating device, the first auxiliary member is made horizontal by the first tilting device and the second auxiliary member is leveled by the second tilting device. Level. As a result, a part of the transport belt is tilted by using the first tilting device and the second tilting device in addition to the elevating device, so that the flat glass can be more stably conveyed in the ascending step.

In this method, it is desirable that the transport device is provided with a horizontal maintenance mechanism that mechanically maintains the guide member horizontally in the process of moving the guide member by the elevating device. As a result, the guide member is surely maintained horizontally, so that the flat glass can be stably moved up and down together with the guide member.

In this method, the horizontal maintenance mechanism may adopt a configuration having a first rotating member and a second rotating member that can rotate around an axis orthogonal to the transport direction. In this configuration, the first rotating member and the second rotating member are arranged at intervals in the transport direction, and the guide member is rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the transport direction. Is concatenated with.

In the present method, the transfer step is configured to move the flat glass whose end face processing has been completed to a second standby position provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction from the processing position by the transfer belt, and the second standby is provided. At the position, a holding device for holding the plate glass in a state where the plate glass is separated from the transfer belt is provided, and in the transfer step, the plate glass is arranged at the processing position and the other plate glass is arranged. When arranging the plate glass in the first standby position, it is desirable to further include a holding step of holding the plate glass in the second standby position above the second standby position by the holding device.

According to the above configuration, the flat glass moved from the first standby position to the processing position can be conveyed to the second standby position on the downstream side by the transfer belt. The holding device can separate the plate glass from the transport belt by holding the plate glass that has arrived at the second standby position above the second standby position (holding step). As a result, the transport belt can travel without coming into contact with the flat glass. That is, the transport belt moves the new unprocessed plate glass to the first standby position without coming into contact with the plate glass processed at the processed position and the processed plate glass by going through the above-mentioned lowering step and this holding step. Can be placed. Therefore, it becomes possible to arrange a new plate glass in the first standby position while processing the end surface of the plate glass by the end surface processing device. As a result, the tact time can be further shortened and the manufacturing efficiency of the flat glass can be dramatically improved.

In the present method, in the transfer step, the movement of the plate glass in the first standby position to the processing position, the movement of the plate glass whose processing is completed at the processing position to the second standby position, and the above-mentioned It is desirable to simultaneously move the flat glass in the second standby position to the downstream side. As a result, the flat glass can be efficiently conveyed.

In the present method, the end face processing device includes a platen having a support surface on which the plate glass is placed and a fixing portion for fixing the plate glass, a positioning device for positioning the plate glass, and positions of the end faces of the plate glass. The end face processing step is a positioning step of the plate glass by the positioning device, a fixing step of fixing the plate glass to the support surface by the fixing portion, and the plate glass by the displacement sensor. It is desirable to have a measuring step for measuring the position of the end face of the glass.

According to the above configuration, by executing the measurement step after the positioning step and the fixing step, the position of the end face of the flat glass after fixing can be accurately grasped. Therefore, the end face processing device can accurately process the end face based on the position information of the end face obtained by the displacement sensor.

In this method, the plate glass is configured in a square shape, and it is desirable that the measurement step measures the position of the end face of the two opposite sides of the plate glass by the displacement sensor. According to such a configuration, by measuring the positions of the end faces related to the two sides of the flat glass, the end face processing device can process these end faces with high accuracy.

In this method, it is desirable that the surface plate is divided into a plurality of constituent members, and a traveling path of the conveyor belt is formed between the constituent members. As a result, the transport belt can transport the flat glass without contacting the surface plate.

The present invention is for solving the above-mentioned problems, and is a plate glass manufacturing apparatus including a transport device for transporting plate glass in a predetermined transport direction and an end face processing device for processing the end face of the plate glass. The end face processing device includes a surface plate having a support surface on which the plate glass is placed and a fixing portion for fixing the plate glass. The transport device includes a transport belt that transports the plate glass, a guide member that guides the traveling of the transport belt, and an elevating device that raises and lowers a part of the transport belt by moving the guide member in the vertical direction. Be prepared. The upstream end of the guide member is located upstream of the upstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction. The downstream end of the guide member is located downstream of the downstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction. The transport belt is configured to move the flat glass to a first standby position and a processing position provided on the downstream side in the transport direction from the first standby position. When the plate glass is moved from the first standby position to the processing position, the transfer device moves a part of the transfer belt upward by an elevating device so as to place the plate glass above the processing position. When the end face of the plate glass is processed by the end face processing device, the plate glass arranged above the processing position is arranged at the processing position, and the support of the plate glass by the transport belt is released. Therefore, a part of the conveyor belt that has been moved upward is moved below the processing position by the elevating device, and the end face of the plate glass arranged at the processing position is processed by the end face processing device. By running the transport belt that has been moved below the processing position, the other flat glass is configured to be arranged at the first standby position.

According to the above configuration, when the plate glass is moved from the first standby position to the processing position in order to process the end face of the plate glass by the end face processing device, the elevating device moves a part of the transport belt upward. As a result, the flat glass moves above the machining position by the transport belt without contacting a part of the end face machining device (for example, a surface plate) at the machining position. At that time, it is possible to prevent a part of the transport belt from bending, and it is possible to stably transport the flat glass. This is because the upstream end of the guide member is located upstream of the upstream end of the surface plate and the downstream end of the guide member is located downstream of the downstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction. Because it does. Further, from this state, the flat glass is placed at the processing position by moving a part of the raised transport belt downward. The transport belt is moved further downward from the machined position by the operation of the elevating device and is separated from the plate glass at the machined position.

By separating the conveyor belt from the plate glass, it becomes possible to travel without contacting the plate glass. Therefore, a new unprocessed plate glass (another plate glass) can be arranged in the first standby position by running the transport belt while the plate glass is arranged in the processed position.

As described above, by directly supporting the plate glass by the transport belt and raising and lowering a part of the transport belt, the plate glass can be efficiently transported. As a result, the tact time can be shortened as much as possible and the manufacturing efficiency of the flat glass can be improved.

In the present manufacturing apparatus, the transport device is connected to the upstream end of the guide member, and is connected to a first auxiliary member for guiding the traveling of the transport belt and the downstream end of the guide member. It is desirable to include a second auxiliary member that guides the traveling of the transport belt. In this case, the transport device tilts the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member as the guide member is moved upward by the elevating device, and lowers the guide member by the elevating device. The first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member are configured to be horizontal as they are moved to. As a result, a part of the transport belt is tilted while being held by the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member, so that bending can be reduced even at the tilted portion of the transport belt, and the flat glass can be more stably transported in the ascending step.

In the present manufacturing apparatus, it is desirable that the transport device includes a first tilting device that tilts the first auxiliary member and a second tilting device that tilts the second auxiliary member. In this case, the transport device tilts the first auxiliary member by the first tilting device and the second auxiliary member by the second tilting device as the guide member is moved upward by the lifting device. And as the guide member is moved downward by the elevating device, the first auxiliary member is made horizontal by the first tilting device and the second auxiliary member is moved by the second tilting device. It is configured to be horizontal. As a result, since a part of the transport belt is tilted by using the first tilting device and the second tilting device in addition to the elevating device, the flat glass can be transported more stably with the part of the transport belt raised.

According to the present invention, the tact time can be shortened and the manufacturing efficiency can be improved by efficiently transporting the flat glass when processing the end face of the flat glass.

It is a side view of the end face processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the end face processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the lifting apparatus in the end face processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a vertical sectional view of the holding device in the end face processing device of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the manufacturing method of a flat glass. It is a flowchart which shows the end face processing process. It is a side view which shows a part of the transfer process in the end face processing process of a plate glass. It is a side view which shows a part of the transfer process in the end face processing process of a plate glass. It is a side view which shows a part of the transfer process in the end face processing process of a plate glass. It is a side view which shows a part of the transfer process in the end face processing process of a plate glass. It is a side view which shows a part of the transfer process in the end face processing process of a plate glass. It is a side view of the end face processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the horizontal maintenance mechanism of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the state which raised the guide member in 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 11 show an embodiment (first embodiment) of a plate glass manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a transport device 2 for transporting the plate glass G in a predetermined direction, and an end face processing device 3 for processing the end surface of the plate glass G. In addition, the manufacturing device 1 includes a cutting device 4 arranged upstream of the end face processing device 3 and a cleaning device 5 arranged downstream of the end face processing device 3.

The transfer device 2 transfers the flat glass G from the cutting device 4 to the end face processing device 3 and from the end face processing device 3 to the cleaning device 5. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the transport device 2 has a first standby position WP1, a machining position CP for machining by the end face machining device 3, and a downstream side of the machining position CP in the transport process of the flat glass G. The plate glass G is moved to the second standby position WP2 in which the plate glass G is made to stand by. Further, the transport device 2 interlocks with a sensor (not shown) to stop the flat glass G at each position WP1, CP, WP2.

The transport device 2 includes a plurality of transport belts 6 for transporting the plate glass G, an elevating device 8 for moving a part of the transport belt 6 up and down, and a holding device 12 for holding the plate glass G at a predetermined position.

The transport belt 6 is configured to be endless with rubber or other elastic body, and is configured to circulate and circulate by being driven by the drive device 7. In this embodiment, three transport belts 6 are exemplified, but the number of transport belts 6 is not limited to this, and can be appropriately set according to the size of the flat glass G.

The drive device 7 has a plurality of pulleys 7a around which the conveyor belt 6 is wound, and a motor (not shown) for driving the pulleys 7a. The drive device 7 is not limited to the pulley 7a described above, but may drive the conveyor belt 6 in a rotary manner by a sprocket or other various drive bodies.

The elevating device 8 moves the guide member 9 that guides the transport belt 6 in the vertical direction in order to raise and lower a part of the transport belt 6. The elevating device 8 is composed of two actuators 8a that move the guide member 9 up and down. The number of actuators 8a may be one or three or more. The actuator 8a is composed of, but is not limited to, a cylinder device. The actuator 8a changes the position of the guide member 9 to a standby position and a position above the standby position.

The guide member 9 extends along the transport direction. In the transport direction, the upstream end 9a of the guide member 9 is located upstream of the upstream end of the surface plate 18, and the downstream end 9b of the guide member 9 is downstream of the downstream end of the surface plate 18. Located in. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide member 9 has a recess 9c that supports the transport belt 6. The guide member 9 may be made of, for example, a synthetic resin.

The upstream end 9a of the guide member 9 is rotatably connected to the downstream end 10b of the first auxiliary member 10 via a joint (not shown), and the downstream end 9b of the guide member 9 is a joint. It is rotatably connected to the upstream end portion 11a of the second auxiliary member 11 via (not shown). Further, the upstream end portion 10a of the first auxiliary member 10 and the downstream end portion 11b of the second auxiliary member 11 are held so as to be rotatable and horizontally movable.

As a result, when the guide member 9 is in the standby position, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 are both horizontal, and the guide member 9, the first auxiliary member 10, and the second auxiliary member 11 form a straight line. It is formed (see FIG. 1). When the guide member 9 is changed to a position above the standby position, the first auxiliary member 10 is tilted as the downstream end portion 10b of the first auxiliary member 10 rises (see FIG. 8). Further, the second auxiliary member 11 is inclined as the upstream end portion 11a of the second auxiliary member 11 rises. The upstream end 9a of the guide member 9 is connected to the downstream end 10b of the first auxiliary member 10 so as to be rotatable and horizontally movable via a joint (not shown), and the guide member 9 is connected. The downstream end portion 9b may be rotatably and horizontally movable via a joint (not shown) and may be connected to the upstream end portion 11a of the second auxiliary member 11. In this case, the upstream end 10a of the first auxiliary member 10 and the downstream end 11b of the second auxiliary member 11 are rotatably held.

Both the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 have a recess like the guide member 9 in order to support the transfer belt 6 and guide the traveling of the transfer belt 6.

As shown in FIG. 1, the holding device 12 included in the transport device 2 is arranged so as to correspond to the second standby position WP2 of the flat glass G. The holding device 12 includes a plurality of holding members 13 capable of holding the flat glass G, and an actuator 14 for raising and lowering each holding member 13.

The holding member 13 is a hollow rod member made of metal and configured in a long shape. The width of the holding member 13 is set to be smaller than the distance between the transport belts 6. As a result, the holding member 13 can move in the vertical direction between the transport belts 6. As shown in FIG. 4, the inside of the holding member 13 is filled with a liquid L such as water. The holding member 13 has a hole 15 for discharging the liquid L to the outside. The holding member 13 is not limited to the above configuration, and may be configured to have, for example, a pipe through which the liquid L can flow, and to discharge the liquid L from the pipe through the hole 15.

A support portion 16 for supporting the lower surface of the plate glass G is provided on the upper surface of the holding member 13. The support portion 16 is formed in a rectangular shape and is also made of an elastic body such as rubber. The material of the support portion 16 is not limited to the elastic body, and may be made of a sponge or other shrinkable material. The support portion 16 has a hole 17 that communicates with the hole 15 of the holding member 13. The hole 17 functions as a discharge portion for discharging the liquid L filled inside the holding member 13 to the upper surface of the support portion 16.

The end face processing device 3 is arranged corresponding to the processing position CP of the flat glass G set by the transfer device 2. In the present embodiment, the end face processing device 3 is exemplified as a grinding device for chamfering the end face of the plate glass G, but is not limited to this, and may include a polishing device for polishing the end face of the plate glass G.

The end face processing device 3 includes a surface plate 18 on which the plate glass G is placed, processing tools 19a and 19b, a positioning device 20 for positioning the plate glass G, and displacement sensors 21a to 21c for measuring the position of the end surface of the plate glass G. And prepare.

The surface plate 18 is divided into a plurality of constituent members 18a to 18d. By increasing or decreasing the number of the constituent members 18a to 18d, the size of the surface plate 18 can be changed according to the size of the plate glass G to be processed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the constituent members 18a to 18d are formed in a long shape and are arranged at regular intervals. As a result, a space (running path) 22 through which the transport belt 6 can pass is formed between the constituent members 18a to 18d. The upper surfaces of the constituent members 18a to 18d are support surfaces 23 that support the flat glass G.

Each of the constituent members 18a to 18d is provided with a fixing portion 24 for fixing the flat glass G to the support surface 23. The fixing portion 24 is a hole formed in the support surface 23 and is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). By the action of the vacuum pump, the fixing portion 24 adsorbs the plate glass G placed on the support surface 23.

The processing tools 19a and 19b are composed of grinding tools such as diamond wheels. As shown in FIG. 2, the processing tools 19a and 19b include a processing tool 19a for processing the end face of one side G1 and the other side G2 so as to process the end faces of the two sides G1 and G2 of the flat glass G. It has a processing tool 19b for processing the end face. Each of the processing tools 19a and 19b linearly moves from one end to the other of each side G1 and G2 while rotating (indicated by a solid line and a two-dot chain line), whereby the end face of the flat glass G is covered by the total length. Grind (chamfer) over. The linear movement of the processing tools 19a and 19b is performed by, for example, a linear motion guide, but the linear movement is not limited to this.

As shown in FIG. 2, the positioning device 20 includes two pressing members 25a and 25b that can abut on the first side G1 of the square plate glass G mounted on the support surface 23 of the platen 18. The two receiving members 26a and 26b that can abut on the second side G2 facing the first side G1 and the third side that forms a right angle with the first side G1 and the second side G2. It has one pressing member 25c capable of abutting on the side G3 and one receiving member 26c capable of abutting on the fourth side G4 facing the third side G3.

In this case, the four sides G1 to G4 of the plate glass G are located outside the outer peripheral edge of the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18, and the pressing members 25a to 25c and the receiving members 26a to 26c are the surface plates. It is arranged outside the outer peripheral edge of the support surface 23 of 18, and further outside the four sides G1 to G4 of the flat glass G. Therefore, the flat glass G is supported at three points by a total of three receiving members 26a to 26c, and is also supported at three points by a total of three pressing members 25a to 25c.

The pressing members 25a to 25c and the receiving members 26a to 26c are configured to come into contact with the plate glass G when positioning the plate glass G, and to retract from the plate glass G when the positioning is completed.

Each of the pressing members 25a to 25c is orthogonal to each of the circular contact pushers that abut on the corresponding sides G1 and G3 of the plate glass G and the sides G1 and G3 of the plate glass G with respect to each contact pusher. It has an actuator that applies a moving force in each direction.

The receiving members 26a to 26c have a cylindrical (or cylindrical) contact receiving body that abuts on the corresponding sides G2 and G4 of the plate glass G. The abutting receiver is made of an elastic body and is supported by an urging member such as a spring or a fluid pressure cylinder. Therefore, each contact receiving body is movable together with the flat glass G while maintaining contact with the corresponding sides G2 and G4 of the flat glass G.

As shown in FIG. 2, the displacement sensors 21a to 21c have two displacement sensors 21a that can abut on the first side G1 of the plate glass G and two displacement sensors 21a that can abut on the second side G2 of the plate glass G. Displacement sensor 21b and one displacement sensor 21c capable of contacting the third side G3.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the displacement sensors 21a to 21c is a contact type sensor and has a contactor capable of contacting each of the corresponding sides G1 to G3 of the plate glass G. The displacement sensors 21a to 21c can measure the amount of misalignment of the plate glass G generated during positioning by comparing the position data measured in contact with the plate glass G with the reference value.

The cutting device 4 has a scribe wheel such as a diamond cutter. The cutting device 4 engraves a scribe line on a glass substrate by the scribe wheel, and folds the glass substrate along the scribe line to form a plate glass G having a predetermined size.

The cleaning device 5 has a supply device for supplying a predetermined cleaning liquid to the plate glass G, and a rotatable cleaning head. The cleaning device 5 brings the cleaning head into contact with the surface of the plate glass G while supplying the cleaning liquid to the plate glass G by the supply device, and removes foreign substances adhering to the plate glass G by its rotation.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the flat glass G will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the method for manufacturing the flat glass G according to the present embodiment mainly includes a molding step S1, a cutting step S2, an end face processing step S3, and a cleaning step S4.

In the forming step S1, a known float method, rollout method, slot down draw method, redraw method, or the like can be used, but it is preferable to form the glass substrate by the overflow down draw method. In the overflow down draw method, molten glass is poured into an overflow groove provided in the upper part of a molded body having a substantially wedge-shaped cross section, and the molten glass overflowing from the overflow groove on both sides is flowed along the side walls on both sides of the molded body. While flowing down, it is fused and integrated at the lower end of the molded body, and stretched downward to continuously form a single glass substrate. As a result, a large glass substrate with high dimensional accuracy is formed.

In the cutting step S2, the glass substrate is cut by screen cutting by the cutting device 4, and a plate glass G having a predetermined size is obtained. In this cutting step S2, the scribe wheel is run along the planned cutting line set on the glass substrate, and the scribe line having a predetermined depth is engraved on the glass substrate along the planned cutting line. Then, a bending moment is applied around the scribe line to break the flat glass G along the scribe line. A plurality of flat glass G are obtained by this folding. Each flat glass G is sequentially sent to the end face processing apparatus 3, and the end face processing step S3 is executed.

The end face processing step S3 includes a transfer step of carrying in / out the flat glass G to the end face processing device 3. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, in the end face processing step S3, the plate glass G is performed by the positioning step S31 of the plate glass G by the positioning device 20, the fixing step S32 of fixing the plate glass G to the platen 18, and the displacement sensors 21a to 21c. It is provided with a measuring step S33 for measuring the position of the end surface of the glass plate G and a grinding process S34 for chamfering the end surface of the plate glass G with the processing tools 19a and 19b.

Hereinafter, the transfer process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11. In FIGS. 7 to 11, for convenience of explanation, the end face processing apparatus 3 is not shown.

FIG. 7 illustrates a case where the processing of the plate glass G arranged at the processing position CP is completed and the end face processing is performed on the plate glass G waiting at the first standby position WP1. In the state shown in FIG. 7, the guide member 9 of the elevating device 8 and the holding member 13 of the holding device 12 are in the standby position, and the transport belt 6 is stopped. Further, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 are in a horizontal posture.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the first standby position WP1, the plate glass G to be processed next is on standby in a state of being placed on the upper part of the transport belt 6.

At the processing position CP, the processed flat glass G is placed on the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18. In this case, in the processing position CP, the upper portion of the transport belt 6 is located below the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18, and is not in contact with the flat glass G. Further, at the processing position CP, the adsorption of the flat glass G by the fixing portion 24 is released.

At the second standby position WP2, the plate glass G that has already been processed by the end face processing device 3 is on standby in a state of being placed on the upper part of the transport belt 6. As described above, the transport belt 6 supports the plate glass G at the first standby position WP1 and the second standby position WP2, but does not support the plate glass G at the processing position CP.

From the state shown in FIG. 7, the transport device 2 transfers the plate glass G at the second standby position WP2 to the cleaning device 5 on the downstream side, and moves the plate glass G at the processing position CP to the second standby position WP2. , The flat glass G in the first standby position WP1 is moved to the processing position CP.

That is, in the transfer process, the plate glass G in the first standby position WP1 is moved to the processing position CP, the plate glass G whose processing is completed at the processing position CP is moved to the second standby position WP2, and the second standby position. The flat glass G in WP2 is moved to the downstream side at the same time. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the elevating device 8 raises the guide member 9 and pushes up the upper part of the transport belt 6 upward. As a result, the downstream end portion 10b of the first auxiliary member 10 rises, and the first auxiliary member 10 tilts. Further, the upstream end portion 11a of the second auxiliary member 11 also rises, and the second auxiliary member 11 also tilts. Along with this, the upper part of the transport belt 6 is elastically deformed to form a shape along the guide member 9, the first auxiliary member 10, and the second auxiliary member 11. At that time, the portion of the transport belt 6 supported by the guide member 9 lifts the plate glass G at the processing position CP, and the plate glass G moves above the processing position CP (the position of the plate glass G indicated by the alternate long and short dash line). do.

As a result, all of the three flat glass plates G are supported by the transport belt 6 and are simultaneously transported by the transport device 2. In this state, the transfer device 2 rotates the pulley 7a of the drive device 7 and rotates the transfer belt 6 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. As a result, each plate glass G moves to the next position.

In particular, the flat glass G waiting at the first standby position WP1 is moved by the transport belt 6 to a position above the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18, that is, to a position above the processing position CP. At this time, the transport device 2 temporarily stops the rotating transport belt 6. As described above, in the transfer process, when the plate glass G is moved from the first standby position WP1 to the processing position CP, a part of the transfer belt 6 is arranged so that the plate glass G is arranged above the processing position CP. Has a step (climbing step) of moving the glass upward by the elevating device 8.

Next, the elevating device 8 lowers the guide member 9 at the upper position and returns it to the standby position. Along with this, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 also return to the horizontal posture. As a result, the flat glass G that has moved from the first standby position WP1 to the machining position CP descends from the upper position of the surface plate 18 toward the surface plate 18 and is mounted on the support surface 23 thereof, as shown in FIG. Placed. When the guide member 9 returns to the standby position, the transport belt 6 moves below the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18. As described above, in the transfer process, when the end face of the plate glass G is processed, the plate glass G arranged above the processing position CP is arranged at the processing position CP, and the support of the plate glass G by the transfer belt 6 is released. Therefore, the lifting device 8 has a step (lowering step) of moving a part of the transport belt 6 below the machining position CP (the position of the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18).

As shown in FIG. 9, the plate glass G at the processing position in FIG. 8 has moved to the second standby position WP2, and the plate glass G at the second standby position WP2 has been transferred to the cleaning device 5. Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a new flat glass G formed by the cutting device 4 is moving toward the end face processing device 3.

Before receiving the new flat glass G, the transport device 2 operates the holding device 12 to move the holding member 13 upward from the standby position. Then, the support portion 16 of the holding member 13 comes into contact with the lower surface of the plate glass G at the second standby position WP2, and further pushes up the plate glass G upward. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the flat glass G is in a state of being separated upward from the transport belt 6, that is, in a state of being located above the second standby position WP2.

As described above, in the transfer process, when the plate glass G is arranged at the processing position CP and another plate glass G is arranged at the first standby position WP1, the plate glass G arranged at the second standby position WP2 is used. The holding device 12 has a step (holding step) of holding the glass at a position above the second standby position WP2. In this holding step, the support portion 16 of the holding member 13 discharges the liquid L from the hole 17. As a result, the liquid L is interposed between the support portion 16 and the plate glass G, and the occurrence of scratches on the plate glass G in the holding step is prevented.

In this state, there is no flat glass G that comes into contact with the transport belt 6. In this state, the positioning step S31, the fixing step S32, the measuring step S33, and the grinding step S34 are sequentially executed on the flat glass G at the machining position CP. During the execution of these steps S31 to S34, the transport device 2 rotates the transport belt 6 and receives a new flat glass G from the cutting device 4, and as shown in FIG. 11, the flat glass G is placed in the first standby position. After moving to WP1, the transport belt 6 is stopped.

When the new flat glass G arrives at the first standby position WP1, the holding device 12 lowers the holding member 13 and returns it to the standby position (the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 11). As a result, the glass G is separated from the holding member 13 and is supported by the transport belt 6 again. When the holding member 13 returns to the standby position, the transport device 2 returns to the state shown in FIG. 7, and thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated.

In the positioning step S31, the contact pushing body of the two pressing members 25a and 25b pushes the first side G1 of the plate glass G, and the contact pushing body of one pressing member 25c pushes the third side G3. Push it. As a result, the second side G2 of the flat glass G abuts on the contact receiving body of the two receiving members 26a and 26b, and the fourth side G4 hits the abutting receiving body of one receiving member 26c. Contact (see Fig. 2). As a result, the flat glass G is positioned with respect to the surface plate 18.

When the positioning step S31 is completed, the positioning device 20 is retracted from the plate glass G, and the fixing step S32 is executed. In the fixing step S32, a negative pressure is generated on the back surface side of the plate glass G through the plurality of fixing portions (holes) 24 of the surface plate 18, whereby the plate glass G is attracted and held on the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18.

When the fixing step S32 is completed, the measuring step S33 is executed. In this measurement step S33, the displacement sensors 21a to 21c come into contact with the end faces of the sides G1 to G3 of the corresponding flat glass G, and the positions (displacements) are measured. In this measurement step S33, the amount of deviation from the reference position in the plate glass G positioned in the positioning step S31 is detected.

When the measurement step S33 is completed, the displacement sensors 21a to 21c are retracted from the plate glass G, and the grinding process S34 is executed. In this grinding process S34, the grinding amount of each processing tool 19a, 19b is determined based on the deviation amount of the end face in the plate glass G measured by the displacement sensors 21a to 21c. Each of the processing tools 19a and 19b grinds the end face based on the grinding amount determined by the displacement sensors 21a to 21c. Each of the processing tools 19a and 19b grinds the end face of the first side G1 and the second side G2 from one end to the other end.

In the end face processing step S3, after grinding the end faces of the square plate glass G relating to the two sides G1 and G2, the plate glass G is rotated by 90 ° in the horizontal direction to change its posture, and the remaining two. The end faces of the sides G3 and G4 are ground, but this process is not shown. Further, after the grinding step S34 is performed, the corner cutting step (not shown) of the plate glass G can be executed, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

When the grinding process S34 is completed, the cleaning process S4 is executed. In the cleaning step S4, the plate glass G for which the end face processing has been completed is transferred to the cleaning device 5, the cleaning liquid is supplied by the supply device, and the surface of the plate glass G is cleaned by the cleaning head. By going through each of the above steps S1 to S4, the flat glass G is commercialized.

According to the method for manufacturing the flat glass G and the manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the flat glass G is directly supported by the transport belt 6 and a part of the transport belt 6 is moved up and down to transport the flat glass G. Can be done efficiently.

That is, when the flat glass G is moved from the first standby position WP1 to the machining position CP, the transport device 2 moves a part of the transport belt 6 upward by the elevating device 8 (raising step). As a result, the flat glass G moves above the machining position CP by the transport belt 6 without coming into contact with the surface plate 18 of the end face machining device 3.

Further, by moving a part of the raised transport belt 6 downward, the plate glass G is placed on the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18, that is, the processing position CP. At this time, the transport belt 6 is further moved downward from the support surface 23 of the surface plate 18 which is the processing position CP by the elevating device 8 (lowering step), and is separated from the plate glass G at the processing position CP.

By separating the conveyor belt 6 from the plate glass G, the conveyor belt 6 can travel without contacting the plate glass G. Therefore, by running the transport belt 6 while the flat glass G is placed at the processing position CP, the new raw flat glass G can be transported to the first standby position WP1.

Further, in the holding step (see FIGS. 10 and 11), the plate glass G is transported from the processing position CP to the second standby position WP2, and the plate glass G supported by the transport belt 6 by the holding device 12 is transferred to the second standby position. Hold above WP2. As a result, the flat glass G is separated from the transport belt 6 and can rotate without coming into contact with the flat glass G.

That is, the transport belt 6 first obtains a new unprocessed flat glass G without coming into contact with the flat glass G processed at the processing position CP and the processed flat glass G through the lowering step and the holding step. It can be arranged in the standby position WP1. Therefore, the end face processing device 3 makes it possible to arrange the new plate glass G at the first standby position WP1 while processing the end surface of the plate glass G at the processing position CP.

As a result, the flat glass G can be efficiently processed and conveyed. Therefore, the tact time can be shortened as much as possible, and the manufacturing efficiency of the flat glass G can be dramatically improved.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and is not limited to the above-mentioned action and effect. The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention.

In the above-mentioned first embodiment, in the end face processing step S3, the grinding process S34 for chamfering the end face of the plate glass G is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The end face processing step S3 may include a polishing process for polishing the end face of the plate glass G in addition to the grinding process S34.

In the above first embodiment, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 are used, but one of the transport belts 6 is used only by the guide member 9 without using the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11. The part may be raised and lowered. Further, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 may be non-rotatably connected to the guide member 9, in other words, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 in an inclined state are guided. It may be fixed to the member 9. In this embodiment, when the guide member 9 is in the standby position, the transport belt 6 does not come into contact with the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11. As the guide member 9 rises, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 come into contact with the conveyor belt 6 to guide the traveling of the conveyor belt 6.

In the above first embodiment, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 are tilted only by the elevating device 8, but as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the transport device 2 is tilted first. The device 31 and the second tilting device 32 may be provided.

The manufacturing device 1 of the second embodiment is obtained by adding the first tilting device 31 and the second tilting device 32 to the manufacturing device 1 of the first embodiment. The first tilting device 31 tilts the first auxiliary member 10 by raising a part of the first auxiliary member 10, and horizontally lowers the first auxiliary member 10 by lowering a part of the first auxiliary member 10. Return to. Further, the second tilting device 32 tilts the second auxiliary member 11 by raising a part of the second auxiliary member 11, and lowers a part of the second auxiliary member 11 to lower the second auxiliary member 11. Return to horizontal. Such a first tilting device 31 and a second tilting device 32 can be configured by an actuator in the same manner as the elevating device 8.

In the first embodiment described above, the guide member 9 is supported by the two actuators 8a, but as in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the horizontal maintenance mechanism that maintains the guide member 9 in a horizontal state is maintained. May be provided. In addition, in FIGS. 13 and 14, only the elevating device 8, the guide member 9, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 are shown in order to facilitate the understanding of the horizontal maintenance mechanism 40, and other configurations are shown. Omit.

In the third embodiment, the upstream end 9a of the guide member 9 and the downstream end 10b of the first auxiliary member 10 are rotatably and movably connected in the longitudinal direction of the first auxiliary member 10. In order to connect in this way, a connecting arm 9d is provided at the upstream end 9a of the guide member 9, and a pin 9e is fixed to the tip of the connecting arm 9d. Further, the downstream end portion 10b of the first auxiliary member 10 is provided with an elongated hole 10c for receiving the pin 9e provided at the tip of the connecting arm 9d. Therefore, the pin 9e provided at the tip of the connecting arm 9d can be rotated and moved in the longitudinal direction of the first auxiliary member 10 by the elongated hole 10c of the downstream end portion 10b of the first auxiliary member 10. .. Similarly, the downstream end 9b of the guide member 9 and the upstream end 11a of the second auxiliary member 11 are rotatably and movably connected in the longitudinal direction of the first auxiliary member 10.

Both the upstream end 10a of the first auxiliary member 10 and the downstream end 11b of the second auxiliary member 11 are rotatably held. In order to hold the first auxiliary member 10 in this way, rotation pins 10d and 11d are provided at the upstream end portion 10a of the first auxiliary member 10 and the downstream end portion 11b of the second auxiliary member 11, respectively. Both the rotating pins 10d and 11d are held by a first holding member (not shown).

The leveling mechanism 40 has a first rotating member 41 and a second rotating member 42 that can rotate around an axis orthogonal to the transport direction (an axis perpendicular to the paper surface). Both the first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 of the third embodiment have a triangular shape and can rotate around the axes of the rotating pins 41a and 42a provided on the first top. Is. Both the rotating pins 41a and 42a are held by a second holding member (not shown).

The first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 are arranged side by side along the transport direction at intervals. Further, both the first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 are connected to the guide member 9 in a state of being rotatable around an axis orthogonal to the transport direction. The first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 of the third embodiment are connected to the guide member 9 via the connecting pins 41b and 42b provided on the second top, respectively, and the connecting pins 41b and 42b are connected to each other. It is rotatable around the axis of.

The tip of the rod of the actuator 8a, which is the elevating device 8, is pressed from below against the third tops of the first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42.

Subsequently, the operation of the vertical movement of the guide member 9 by the manufacturing apparatus of the third embodiment will be described. When raising the guide member 9, as shown in FIG. 14, the actuator 8a, which is the elevating device 8, is extended. As a result, the third top of the first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 is pushed up by the actuator 8a, so that the first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 of the rotating pins 41a and 42a It rotates counterclockwise around the axis. As a result, the guide member 9 moves slightly in the direction opposite to the transport direction while rising.

As the guide member 9 rises, the first auxiliary member 10 rotates around the axis of the rotation pin 10d provided at the upstream end portion 10a thereof and inclines. Further, the second auxiliary member 11 rotates around the axis of the rotation pin 11d provided at the downstream end portion 11b thereof and inclines.

As the guide member 9 moves slightly in the direction opposite to the transport direction, a pin 9e fixed to the connecting arm 9d on the upstream side of the guide member 9 is provided at the downstream end portion 10b of the first auxiliary member 10. It moves in the elongated hole 10c. Further, the pin 9h fixed to the connecting arm 9f on the downstream side of the guide member 9 moves in the elongated hole 11c provided at the upstream end portion 11a of the second auxiliary member 11.

The quadrangle whose apex is the axis of the rotating pin 41a, the connecting pin 41b, the connecting pin 42b, and the rotating pin 42a is a parallelogram. In the process of raising the guide member 9, the parallelogram is maintained while changing the angle of the internal angle. Therefore, the line segment connecting the connecting pin 41b and the connecting pin 42b is maintained in a state parallel to the line segment connecting the rotating pin 41a and the rotating pin 42a. Here, since the line segment connecting the rotating pin 41a and the rotating pin 42a is always horizontal, the line segment connecting the connecting pin 41b and the connecting pin 42b is also always horizontal. Therefore, in the process of raising the guide member 9, the guide member 9 is maintained in a horizontal state.

When lowering the guide member 9, the actuator 8a, which is the elevating device 8, is shortened. In response to this, the first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 rotate clockwise around the axes of the rotating pins 41a and 42a due to their own weight, so that the guide member 9 descends slightly in the transport direction. Move to. As the guide member 9 descends, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 become horizontal (see FIG. 13). Even in the process of descending the guide member 9, the guide member 9 is maintained in a horizontal state for the same reason as in the ascending process.

In the above-mentioned third embodiment, the first auxiliary member 10 and the second auxiliary member 11 are tilted only by the elevating device 8, but the first tilting device 31 and the second tilting device 32 are assisted as in the second embodiment. It may be provided as a target.

The first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 may be connected to the actuator 8a, which is the elevating device 8, via a connecting pin. In this case, the third tops of the first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 rotate around the axes of the rotating pins 41a and 42a, and the positions in the transport direction slightly move. In order to absorb this slight movement of the third top, it is preferable to make the hole for receiving the connecting pin an elongated hole or to make the inner diameter of the hole larger than the outer diameter of the connecting pin. From the viewpoint of durability and operational stability, it is more preferable to hold the lower end of the actuator 8a rotatably. If the lower end of the actuator 8a is held rotatably, the actuator 8a will move around the rotation axis provided at the lower end of the actuator 8a in response to the movement of the upper end of the actuator 8a following the movement of the third top. It rotates and tilts.

The elevating device 8 is not limited to the actuator 8a, and a motor may be used. In this case, for example, the rotating shaft may be fixed to the first rotating member 41 instead of the rotating pin 41a, and the rotating shaft may be connected to the motor in a state where the rotating shaft is rotatably supported.

The first rotating member 41 and the second rotating member 42 are not limited to a triangular shape, but may be a rod shape.

1 Manufacturing equipment 2 Conveyor equipment 3 End surface processing equipment 6 Conveyance belt 8 Elevating device 9 Guide member 9a Upstream side end 9b Downstream side end 10 First auxiliary member 10a Upstream side end 10b Downstream side end 11 Second auxiliary member 11a Upstream end 11b Downstream end 12 Holding device 18 Surface plate 18a Surface plate component 18b Surface plate component 18c Surface plate component 18d Surface plate component 20 Positioning device 21a Displacement sensor 21b Displacement sensor 21c Displacement Sensor 23 Support surface 24 Fixed part 31 1st tilting device 32 2nd tilting device 40 Horizontal maintenance mechanism 41 1st rotating member 42 2nd rotating member CP Machining position G Plate glass S3 End face machining process S31 Positioning process S32 Fixing process S33 Measurement Process WP1 1st standby position WP2 2nd standby position

Claims (15)

It is a method for manufacturing a flat glass including an end face processing step of processing the end face of the flat glass by an end face processing device.
The end face processing step includes a transfer step of moving the plate glass to a first standby position and a processing position provided downstream of the first standby position in the transfer direction of the transfer device by the transfer device.
The end face processing apparatus includes a surface plate having a support surface on which the plate glass is placed and a fixing portion for fixing the plate glass.
The transport device includes a transport belt that transports the plate glass, a guide member that guides the traveling of the transport belt, and an elevating device that raises and lowers a part of the transport belt by moving the guide member in the vertical direction. Prepare,
The upstream end of the guide member is located upstream of the upstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction.
The downstream end of the guide member is located downstream of the downstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction.
The transfer process is
When moving the plate glass from the first standby position to the processing position, an ascending step of moving a part of the transport belt upward by the elevating device in order to arrange the plate glass above the processing position.
When the end face of the plate glass is processed by the end face processing apparatus, the plate glass arranged above the processing position is arranged at the processing position, and the transport belt is moved upward so as to be separated from the plate glass. A lowering step of moving the part of the conveyor belt moved to the lower side of the processing position by the elevating device, and a lowering step.
While processing the end face of the plate glass arranged at the processing position by the end surface processing device, the transport belt moved downward from the processing position is run to move the other plate glass to the first standby position. A method for manufacturing a flat glass, which comprises a process of arranging in. The transport device is connected to the upstream end of the guide member, is connected to a first auxiliary member that guides the traveling of the transport belt, and is connected to the downstream end of the guide member, and travels the transport belt. Equipped with a second auxiliary member to guide
In the ascending step, the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member are tilted as the guide member is moved upward by the elevating device.
The method for manufacturing a flat glass according to claim 1, wherein in the lowering step, the guide member is moved downward by the elevating device, and the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member are leveled. The transport device includes a first tilting device that tilts the first auxiliary member by raising a part of the first auxiliary member, and the second auxiliary member by raising a part of the second auxiliary member. Equipped with a second tilting device to tilt
In the ascending step, as the guide member is moved upward by the elevating device, the first auxiliary member is tilted by the first tilting device and the second auxiliary member is tilted by the second tilting device. ,
In the lowering step, as the guide member is moved downward by the elevating device, the first auxiliary member is made horizontal by the first tilting device and the second auxiliary member is made horizontal by the second tilting device. The method for manufacturing a flat glass according to claim 2. The method for manufacturing a flat glass according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transport device includes a horizontal maintenance mechanism for mechanically maintaining the guide member horizontally in the process of moving the guide member by the elevating device. .. The horizontal maintenance mechanism has a first rotating member and a second rotating member that can rotate around an axis orthogonal to the transport direction.
The first rotating member and the second rotating member are arranged at intervals in the transport direction, and are connected to the guide member in a state of being rotatable around an axis orthogonal to the transport direction. The method for manufacturing a flat glass according to claim 4. The transfer step is configured to move the flat glass having finished end face processing to a second standby position provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction from the processing position by the transfer belt.
At the second standby position, a holding device for holding the flat glass in a state where the flat glass is separated from the transport belt is provided.
In the transfer step, when the plate glass is arranged at the processing position and the other plate glass is arranged at the first standby position, the plate glass at the second standby position is held by the holding device. 2. The method for manufacturing a flat glass according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a holding step of holding the glass above the standby position. In the transfer step, the plate glass in the first standby position is moved to the processing position, the plate glass whose processing is completed at the processing position is moved to the second standby position, and the second standby position is reached. The method for manufacturing a flat glass according to claim 6, wherein the flat glass is moved to the downstream side at the same time. The end face processing device includes a surface plate having a support surface on which the plate glass is placed and a fixing portion for fixing the plate glass, a positioning device for positioning the plate glass, and a displacement for measuring the position of the end surface of the plate glass. With a sensor,
The end face processing step includes a positioning step of the plate glass by the positioning device, a fixing step of fixing the plate glass to the support surface by the fixing portion, and a measurement step of measuring the position of the end surface of the plate glass by the displacement sensor. The method for manufacturing a flat glass according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The flat glass is configured in a square shape.
The method for manufacturing a flat glass according to claim 8, wherein the measuring step measures the position of the end face of the two opposing sides of the flat glass with the displacement sensor. The one according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the surface plate is divided into a plurality of constituent members, and a traveling path of the conveyor belt is formed between the constituent members. How to manufacture flat glass. In a plate glass manufacturing apparatus including a transport device for transporting a plate glass in a predetermined transport direction and an end face processing device for processing the end face of the plate glass.
The end face processing apparatus includes a surface plate having a support surface on which the plate glass is placed and a fixing portion for fixing the plate glass.
The transport device includes a transport belt that transports the plate glass, a guide member that guides the traveling of the transport belt, and an elevating device that raises and lowers a part of the transport belt by moving the guide member in the vertical direction. Prepare,
The upstream end of the guide member is located upstream of the upstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction.
The downstream end of the guide member is located downstream of the downstream end of the surface plate in the transport direction.
The transport belt is configured to move the flat glass to a first standby position and a processing position provided on the downstream side in the transport direction from the first standby position.
The transport device is
When the plate glass is moved from the first standby position to the processing position, a part of the transport belt is moved upward by an elevating device so that the plate glass is arranged above the processing position.
When the end face of the plate glass is processed by the end face processing device, the plate glass arranged above the processing position is arranged at the processing position, and the support of the plate glass by the transfer belt is released. , A part of the conveyor belt moved upward is moved below the processing position by the elevating device.
While processing the end face of the plate glass arranged at the processing position by the end surface processing device, the transport belt moved downward from the processing position is run to move the other plate glass to the first standby position. A flat glass manufacturing device characterized in that it is configured to be placed in. The transport device is connected to the upstream end of the guide member, is connected to a first auxiliary member that guides the traveling of the transport belt, and is connected to the downstream end of the guide member, and travels the transport belt. Equipped with a second auxiliary member to guide
The guide member is moved upward by the elevating device, the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member are tilted, and the guide member is moved downward by the elevating device. The plate glass transfer device according to claim 11, wherein the first auxiliary member and the second auxiliary member are configured to be horizontal. The transport device includes a first tilting device that tilts the first auxiliary member and a second tilting device that tilts the second auxiliary member.
As the guide member is moved upward by the elevating device, the first auxiliary member is tilted by the first tilting device, the second auxiliary member is tilted by the second tilting device, and the elevating / lowering device is used. As the guide member is moved downward by the device, the first tilting device makes the first auxiliary member horizontal, and the second tilting device makes the second auxiliary member horizontal. The flat glass transfer device according to claim 12. The flat glass transport device according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the transport device includes a horizontal maintenance mechanism that mechanically maintains the guide member horizontally in the process of moving the guide member by the elevating device. .. The horizontal maintenance mechanism has a first rotating member and a second rotating member that can rotate around an axis orthogonal to the transport direction.
The first rotating member and the second rotating member are arranged at intervals in the transport direction, and are connected to the guide member in a state of being rotatable around an axis orthogonal to the transport direction. The plate glass transfer device according to claim 14.

Images