JPH09262736A - Method and device for positioning glass panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an edge of a glass panel from being damaged when the glass panel is sucked on an upper surface of a supporting base after it is positioned. SOLUTION: After a glass panel 1 is elastically held between a stopper 6a and a pusher 7a, it is sucked on a reference plane 4 above a supporting base 5. During the suction, the glass panel 1 is slightly lowered. The stopper 6a and the pusher 7a are elastically supported in a freely lowering manner. Thus, the stopper 6a, the pusher 7a, and an edge of the glass panel 1a are not rubbed with each other during the suction, and the glass panel 1 is prevented from being damaged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The method and apparatus for positioning a glass panel according to the present invention divides a large glass panel into glass panels of a predetermined size, and then grinds the edges of the glass panel. It is used to support and fix this glass panel at a predetermined position for processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a technique for dividing a glass panel, there is known so-called cleaving in which a scratch is formed on the surface of the glass panel by a cutter, and thereafter, the glass panel is ruptured by a hand or machine to be divided. For example, when making a glass panel that constitutes a liquid crystal screen used for the display section of various electronic devices such as a small computer with excellent portability called a notebook computer and a liquid crystal television, by breaking the large glass panel, , Obtain a glass panel of a predetermined size. In order to cut a large glass panel to make a glass panel of a predetermined size in this way, first, a diamond single crystal is placed on the upper surface of a large glass panel placed on a table (mounting table) having a flat upper surface. Alternatively, a cutter such as a cemented carbide tip is pressed to form a scratch. Then, the glass panel is cut along the striations manually or by a machine.

When the glass panel is cut in this manner, the split cross section may be a flat surface perpendicular to the front and back surfaces as shown in FIG. 3 (A), but in reality, it is shown in FIG. 3 (B). A sharp edge 2 is formed on the edge of the glass panel 1 as shown in FIG. 2B, or a burr 3 is formed on a part of the split surface as shown in FIG. . When the glass panel 1 on which the sharp edge 2 and the burr 3 are formed is sent as it is to the subsequent process, the sharp edge 2
Chipping and cracking are likely to occur from the portion of the burr 3. Therefore, conventionally, by grinding the fractured surface of the glass panel 1 after cleaving, the edge of the glass panel 1 is finished into a flat surface perpendicular to the front and back surfaces as shown in FIG. 3 (A). ing.

The grinding process performed for such a purpose is performed by copying the above-mentioned fractured surface with a grinding tool while applying water to the glass panel. Therefore, during such grinding,
It is necessary to position the glass panel 1 at a predetermined position and to fix the glass panel 1 by pressing a grinding tool so that the glass panel 1 does not move. Therefore, conventionally, the glass panel 1 after cutting is positioned by the device as shown in FIG.
Furthermore, it is fixed so as not to move by pressing the grinding tool.

The glass panel 1 after being cut is placed on a support 5 whose upper surface is a reference plane 4. In this state, one edge (the left edge in FIG. 4) of the glass panel 1 projects outward from one edge of the support 5 and faces the stopper 6. or,
A pusher 7 is opposed to a portion of the other edge of the glass panel 1 (the right edge in FIG. 4) protruding outward from the other edge of the support 5. The pusher 7 is provided at a tip end portion of a push rod 14 which constitutes an actuator 8 such as an air cylinder or a solenoid. When the glass panel 1 is positioned, the pusher 7 is directed toward the other end edge of the glass panel 1. , Pressed elastically. Further, the support 5
Allows the glass panel 1 to be adsorbed and supported on the reference plane 4 provided on the upper surface thereof. For this reason, a large number of small holes are formed in the reference plane 4 and the support base 5 is hollow so that the support base 5 can communicate with a negative pressure source such as a vacuum pump.

When the glass panel 1 is positioned and fixed, the pusher 7 is retracted to the right in FIG. 4, and the glass panel 1 is placed on the reference plane 4 with the distance between the pusher 7 and the stopper 6 widened. To place. Next, the pusher 7 is moved forward by the actuator 8 to the left in FIG. 4, and the glass panel 1 is elastically sandwiched between the pusher 7 and the stopper 6. In this state, the support 5
The inside has not been made to communicate with the negative pressure source yet. In this way, the glass panel 1 is elastically sandwiched between the pusher 7 and the stopper 6, and if the glass panel 1 is positioned, the inside of the support base 5 is communicated with a negative pressure source, The panel 1 is attached to the reference plane 4. As a result, the glass panel 1 is supported and fixed to the reference plane 4 in a positioned state. Therefore, the fractured surface of the glass panel 1 is ground while the inside of the support table 5 is communicated with the negative pressure source.

[0007]

In the conventional glass panel positioning device as described above, when excessive stress acts on a part of the glass panel 1 to cause damage such as cracking to the glass panel 1. There is. The present inventor has studied the cause of such damage, and as shown below, the edge of the glass panel 1, the stopper 6 and the pusher 7 are accompanied by the adsorption of the glass panel 1 on the reference plane 4. I found that it was because they rub against each other.

That is, water applied when the edge of the glass panel 1 is ground is attached to the reference plane 4. Therefore, if the glass panel 1 is simply placed on the reference plane 4, a water film exists between the lower surface of the glass panel 1 and the reference plane 4. This water film is sucked and lost in the support table 5 when the negative pressure source is communicated in the support table 5,
The lower surface of the glass panel 1 and the reference plane 4 are in direct contact with each other. Therefore, the glass panel 1 is lowered by the thickness of the water film by communicating the support table 5 with a negative pressure source.

When the glass panel 1 descends in this manner, since the stopper 6 and the pusher 7 are elastically pressed against the edge of the glass panel 1, the edge of the glass panel 1 is lowered as the glass panel 1 descends. The edge, the stopper 6 and the pusher 7 rub against each other. As a result, an unreasonable stress acts on a part of the glass panel 1, causing damage such as cracks in the glass panel 1. The present invention is intended to prevent damage to the glass panel 1 due to such a cause.

[0010]

Of the glass panel positioning method and device of the present invention, the glass panel positioning method described in claim 1 is similar to the conventional glass panel positioning method described above. A glass panel is projected on the upper surface of the supporting base as a reference plane, one edge of the glass panel protruding outward from one end edge of the supporting base, and the other end edge protruding outward from the other end edge of the supporting base. The glass panel is placed in a state of being pressed, one end edge of the glass panel is abutted against the stopper, and the glass panel is pressed against the stopper by the pusher abutting the other end edge of the glass panel. Adsorb to the upper surface of the support table. In particular, in the glass panel positioning method of the present invention, the stopper and the pusher are supported so as to be able to move up and down, and the glass panel is sandwiched between the stopper and the pusher so as to move up and down, This glass panel is adsorbed on the upper surface of the support.

Further, the glass panel positioning device according to a second aspect of the invention is similar to the above-described conventional glass panel positioning device, and a support base having an upper surface as a reference plane, and the support base mounted on the support base. A stopper that can abut the one edge of the glass panel protruding outward from the one edge of the support base,
An upper surface of the support table is provided with a pusher that is placed on the support table and abuts against the other edge of the glass panel protruding from the other edge of the support table to press the glass panel toward the stopper. In addition, the glass panel is freely supported by suction. In particular, in the glass panel positioning device of the present invention, the stopper and pusher are supported so as to be able to move up and down a little.

[0012]

According to the glass panel positioning method and apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, even if the glass panel is lowered by adsorbing the glass panel on the reference plane of the upper surface of the support base, The edges of the glass panel do not rub against the stopper and pusher. That is, when the glass panel is placed on the reference plane and the glass panel is elastically sandwiched between the stopper and the pusher for positioning, the glass panel is sucked onto the upper surface of the support base. Will drop slightly. At this time, the stopper and pusher are also lowered slightly together with the glass panel. Therefore, the edge of the glass panel and the stopper and pusher do not rub against each other, and an unreasonable stress is not applied to the edge of the glass panel.

[0013]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the above-described conventional glass panel positioning method and device, the glass panel 1 after cleaving is
It is placed on a support 5 whose upper surface is a reference plane 4. In this state, one edge of the glass panel 1 (the left edge in FIG. 1) protrudes outward from the one edge of the support base 5 and is fixed to the upper surface of the tip of the swing arm 9 (the right edge in FIG. 1). It faces the stopper 6a. An intermediate portion of the swing arm 9 is swingably supported by a horizontal shaft 10. A weak compression spring 11 is provided between the lower surface of the tip of the swing arm 9 and the upper surface of a fixed portion such as a frame (not shown). Further, a stud 12 is screwed to the base end portion of the swing arm 9, and the stud 1
The lower end of 2 is free to abut on a fixed portion such as a frame (not shown). The vertical position of the stud 12 with respect to the swing arm 9 does not move carelessly by tightening the lock nut 13. Therefore, the stopper 6a is normally located at a predetermined position, but when a downward force is applied, the stopper 6a descends with a light force.

On the other hand, the other edge of the glass panel 1 (see FIG.
The pusher 7a faces a portion of the right end edge of the support base 5 that protrudes outward from the other end edge of the support base 5. This pusher 7a
Is the tip of the push rod 14 (the left end in FIG. 1) that constitutes the actuator 8 such as an air cylinder or a solenoid.
In addition, it is provided via the leaf spring 15. This leaf spring 1
5 has a certain degree of rigidity in the pushing / pulling direction, but has a rigidity in the swinging direction that is weak enough to support the weight of the pusher 7a. Therefore, the pusher 7a is elastically abutted against the other end edge of the glass panel 1 as the push rod 14 is projected, but when the glass panel 1 is moved up and down, it is moved up and down together with the glass panel.

Further, the support base 5 is capable of adsorbing and supporting the glass panel 1 on the reference plane 4 provided on the upper surface thereof. For this reason, a large number of small holes are formed in the reference plane 4 and the support base 5 is hollow so that the support base 5 can communicate with a negative pressure source such as a vacuum pump.

When the glass panel positioning device of the present invention constructed as described above is used to position and fix the glass panel 1, first, the push rod 14 of the actuator 8 is pulled in to move the pusher 7a to the position shown in FIG.
Evacuate to the right of. By retracting the pusher 7a in this way, the glass panel 1 is placed on the reference plane 4 on the upper surface of the support 5 with the gap between the pusher 7a and the stopper 6a widened. Next, the actuator 8
The push rod 14 is pushed out to move the pusher 7a forward to the left in FIG. 1, and the glass panel 1 is elastically sandwiched between the pusher 7a and the stopper 6a. In this state, the inside of the support base 5 is not yet communicated with the negative pressure source.

In this way, the glass panel 1 is attached to the pusher 7
When the glass panel 1 is positioned by elastically sandwiching it between a and the stopper 6a, the inside of the support base 5 is communicated with a negative pressure source, and the glass panel 1 is attracted to the reference plane 4. . As a result, the glass panel 1 is supported and fixed to the reference plane 4 in a positioned state. In this way, in a state where the glass panel 1 is elastically sandwiched between the stopper 6a and the pusher 7a for positioning,
When the glass panel 1 is adsorbed on the upper surface of the support base 5, the glass panel 1 is slightly lowered by the amount of water film lost between the reference plane 4 and the lower surface of the glass panel 1 as described above. At this time, the stopper 6a and the pusher 7a holding the glass panel 1 are also lowered slightly together with the glass panel 1. Therefore, the edge of the glass panel 1 and the stopper 6a and the pusher 7a do not rub against each other, and undue stress is not applied to the edge of the glass panel 1.

In this way, the glass panel 1 is attached to the reference plane 4
On the other hand, if the glass panel 1 is supported and fixed in a predetermined positional relationship, the split surface of the glass panel 1 is ground while the inside of the support base 5 is communicated with the negative pressure source.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a second example of an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to claim 3. This example is intended to prevent the lower surface of the glass panel 1 from being damaged when the glass panel 1 is positioned by sandwiching the glass panel 1 between the stopper 6a and the pusher 7a (see FIG. 1). It is intended. That is, in the case of the glass panel positioning device shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, when the glass panel 1 is placed on the reference plane 4 on the upper surface of the support 5, the space between the reference plane 4 and the lower surface of the glass panel 1 is reduced. Although there is a water film on the substrate, if the water film is thin, a part of the reference plane 4 and a part of the lower surface of the glass panel 1 may come into direct contact with each other. If the pusher 7a is abutted against the edge of the glass panel 1 in this state and the glass panel 1 is displaced with respect to the reference plane 4, the lower surface of the glass panel 1 may be damaged.

Therefore, in the case of the present example, the glass panel 1 is floated from the reference plane 4 by the support pins 16 made of a material softer than the glass panel 1, such as synthetic resin. The support prevents the lower surface of the glass panel 1 from being damaged. That is, in the case of this example, the support base 5a is provided with a plurality of locking holes 17, 17 which are opened on the upper surface of the support base 5a.
The support pins 16 and 16 are fitted inside 7 and 17 so as to be movable up and down. The weak compression springs 18, 18, which are elastic members, are used to support the support pins 16, 1, respectively.
6 gives a weak upward elasticity. These support pins 16 and 16 have their upper ends at the time of maximum rise due to the elasticity of the compression springs 18 and 18, respectively, and have their upper ends fixed to the support base 5a.
It slightly projects from the reference plane 4 on the upper surface.

The support base 5a incorporating the support pins 16 and 16 as described above is incorporated in the glass panel positioning apparatus of the present invention in place of the support base 5 shown in FIG. For positioning the glass panel 1, this glass panel 1 is used as a support base 5
When placed on a, the lower surface of the glass panel 1 abuts on the upper end surfaces of the support pins 16, 16. Therefore, before the inside of the support base 5a is communicated with the negative pressure source, the lower surface of the glass panel 1 does not come into contact with the reference plane 4 made of a hard material such as metal. Therefore,
Even if the glass panel 1 is sandwiched between the stopper 6a and the pusher 7a (FIG. 1) for positioning and the glass panel 1 is displaced in the plane direction, the glass panel 1
The lower surface of is not damaged. In order to support and fix the glass panel 1, the inside of the support base 5a is made to communicate with a negative pressure source, and in a state where the glass panel 1 is attracted to the reference plane 4, the support pins 16 and 16 are compressed by the compression springs 18 and 18, respectively. It is pushed into the locking holes 17, 17 against the elasticity. Therefore, the supporting and fixing of the glass panel 1 is surely performed as in the case where the supporting pins 16 and 16 are not provided.

[0022]

Since the glass panel positioning method and apparatus of the present invention are constructed and operate as described above, the glass panel can be effectively prevented from being damaged when the glass panel is positioned, and the liquid crystal panel. For example, it is possible to improve the yield of various products manufactured by processing glass panels and contribute to the cost reduction of these various products.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of essential parts showing a first example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a support base showing the second example.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing three examples of the shape of the edge of the glass panel.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of essential parts showing an example of a conventional positioning device for a glass panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 glass panel 2 sharp edge 3 burr 4 reference plane 5, 5a support base 6 6a stopper 7, 7a pusher 8 actuator 9 swinging arm 10 horizontal axis 11 compression spring 12 stud 13 lock nut 14 push rod 15 leaf spring 16 support pin 17 Locking hole 18 Compression spring

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A glass panel is provided on an upper surface of a support base whose upper surface is a reference plane, one edge of the glass panel is outward from one end edge of the support base, and the other end edge is the other end edge of the support base. From the outside, each is placed in a protruding state, and one edge of the glass panel is abutted against the stopper,
In a method of positioning a glass panel in which the glass panel is attracted to the upper surface of the support table in a state where the glass panel is pressed toward the stopper by a pusher that abuts against the other end of the glass panel, the stopper and A glass characterized in that the pusher is supported so as to be able to move up and down, and the glass panel is held between the stopper and the pusher so as to be able to move up and down. Panel positioning method. 2. A support base having an upper surface as a reference plane, and a stopper capable of abutting one end edge of a glass panel placed on the support base and protruding outward from one end edge of the support base.
An upper surface of the support table is provided with a pusher that is placed on the support table and abuts against the other edge of the glass panel protruding from the other edge of the support table to press the glass panel toward the stopper. 1. A glass panel positioning device capable of adsorbing and supporting the glass panel, wherein the stopper and pusher are supported so that they can be moved up and down a little. 3. A plurality of locking holes opened on the upper surface of the support base, and support pins which are fitted in the respective locking holes so as to be able to move up and down, and whose upper ends slightly project from the upper surface of the support base. The glass panel positioning device according to claim 2, further comprising: an elastic member that imparts upward elasticity to the support pin.