JPH0973992A - Static elimination and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continuously eliminate static electricity from a commodity charged with static electricity by carrying ions accompanying corona discharge with clean air and thus eliminating static electricity given to an objective on a conveyor. SOLUTION: Clean air is sent along flow of a roller conveyor 34 moving in horizontal direction. And thus, ion arising in corona discharge on the side of clean air supply is carried with the clean air, so that static electricity charged in a glass substrate for liquid crystal 44, on the roller conveyor 34 is removed. Ion generated with corona discharge in an ion generator 41 is carried with clean air flowing in nearly horizontal direction from upstream side of downstream side of a treatment chamber 31. Accordingly, the time of its contact with the substrate 44 on the roller conveyor 34 is increased drastically, so that static electricity charged on the substrate 44 is removed positively.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for removing static electricity charged on an article during transportation on a conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of removing static electricity charged on an article such as a glass substrate for liquid crystal, a method of neutralizing using an ionizer has been adopted. The ionizer conveys the ions generated by the corona discharge of the needle electrode (emitter) by a uniform flow in the room, and neutralizes the charges on the charged body with the ions of the opposite polarity.

An ionizer is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-254.
417, JP-A-3-34424, JP-A-5
No. 243200, for example. Further, FIG. 5 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-73991 discloses a slit nozzle type ionizer that blows an air stream containing ions to a static elimination target on a conveyor at high speed from a slit nozzle.

However, the slit nozzle type ionizer has the following problems. Depending on the speed of the conveyor, sufficient charge removal cannot be performed. Airflow turbulence such as dust winding occurs due to the high-speed airflow. Since it is sprayed from above, the shape of the article is limited. FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a conventional static eliminator. In the figure, 1 represents a clean room. The clean room 1 is provided with a high-performance filter 2 such as a HEPA filter on the ceiling side, a floor plate 3 such as a grating plate on the floor side, and the ceiling space 4 and the underfloor space 5 are connected by a central air conditioner 6 to clean the room. Air can be circulated and supplied by vertical downflow.

In the clean room 1, two types of production devices 7 and 8 are arranged with a roller conveyor 9 interposed therebetween.
Then, above the roller conveyor 9, a hanging type ionizer 10 having a length of about 1 m is arranged. Therefore, the roller conveyor 9 disposed between the two types of production devices 7 and 8 and the hanging ionizer 10 form the static elimination processing region 12.

[0006] An open hood 13 is provided on the upper portion of the roller conveyor 9 so that dust from workers does not enter the static elimination area 12 when the roller conveyor 9 conveys it. In this conventional example, as shown in FIG. 22, the glass substrate 11 for liquid crystal processed by the production apparatus 7 is conveyed from the hanging ionizer 10 to the corona discharge in the process of being carried into the next production apparatus 8 by the roller conveyor 9. The static electricity is removed by the ions generated by.

In FIG. 22, however, one hanging ionizer 10 is installed in the vertical downflow clean room 1.
Since the static electricity is removed by spots, the ions discharged from the hanging ionizer 10 are transported to the underfloor space 5 by the vertical downflow, and only the area directly under the hanging ionizer 10 is discharged as shown in FIG.

In addition, the length of the hanging type ionizer is about 1
Since it is about m, the speed of the roller conveyor 9 is 0.5 m
In the above-described conventional static elimination method in which the static elimination performance is performed in about / sec, the liquid crystal glass substrate 11 passes under the hanging ionizer in 2 seconds, and the static elimination performance is insufficient. Further, in the case where the liquid crystal glass substrate 11 is of a cassette type in which a plurality of liquid crystal substrates are stacked, it is difficult to remove the charge from the lower liquid crystal glass substrate 11.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, it is conceivable to arrange a plurality of suspended ionizers 10 in the flow direction of the roller conveyor 9.

[0010]

However, as shown in FIG. 24, even if a plurality of suspended ionizers 10 are arranged in the flow direction of the roller conveyor 9, the clean room 1 is a vertical downflow, The liquid crystal glass substrate 11,
In the case of a cassette type in which a plurality of sheets are loaded, it is difficult to remove the charge from the lower glass substrate 11 for liquid crystal.

On the other hand, in the ionizer, dust is likely to adhere to the electrode, and the dust may drop and adhere to the object to be processed. Therefore, maintenance is required to prevent the dust from falling. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 24, when a plurality of suspended ionizers 10 are used, maintenance is performed to prevent the dust attached to the electrodes of each suspended ionizer 10 from falling down by one suspended ionizer. There is a problem that it must be performed more frequently than the static eliminator of FIG.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a conventional problem, and an object thereof is a static elimination method capable of continuously eliminating static electricity charged articles by one ion generator. And to provide the device.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, clean air is sent along the flow of a horizontally moving conveyor, and ions generated by corona discharge on the air supply side of the clean air are cleaned air. It is characterized in that the static electricity charged on the object to be treated on the conveyor is removed while being conveyed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the conveyor is arranged in a duct-shaped processing chamber having an inlet / outlet portion, and the clean air supplied at the upstream side of the processing chamber is sucked at the downstream side of the processing chamber, so that the flow of the conveyor flows. Flow clean air along
It is characterized in that ions are generated by corona discharge in the clean air supply section of the processing chamber, and the generated ions are conveyed by clean air to remove static electricity charged on the object to be processed on the conveyor. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the conveyor is arranged in the duct-shaped processing chamber having the inlet / outlet portion, and the clean air supplied from the upper side on the upstream side of the processing chamber is sucked on the lower side on the downstream side of the processing chamber. As a result, clean air is made to flow along the flow of the conveyor, corona discharge is generated in the clean air supply section of the processing chamber, and the generated ions are conveyed by the clean air to charge the workpiece on the conveyor. It is characterized by removing the static electricity generated.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to third aspects, clean air introduced into the clean room and purified is used. According to the invention of claim 5, a duct-shaped processing chamber having an inlet / outlet portion, a conveyor arranged in the processing chamber, a clean air supply means provided on the upstream side of the processing chamber, and a downstream side of the processing chamber. It is characterized in that it is provided with a provided clean air exhaust means and an ion generator provided in the clean air supply means.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the fifth aspect, the clean air supply means is provided on the ceiling of the processing chamber, and the clean air exhaust means is provided on the floor of the processing chamber. It is a thing. The invention of claim 7 is the invention of claim 5.
In the above, the clean air supply means and the clean air exhaust means are provided on the ceiling of the processing chamber.

The invention according to claim 8 is any of claims 5 to 7.
In any one of the above items, the clean air supply means and the clean air exhaust means are constituted by a high performance filter and a fan. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, the clean air supply means and the clean air exhaust means are composed of a blowout port and a suction port communicating with the circulation fan. It is characterized by.

The invention of claim 10 is the same as that of claim 5,
A clean air flow control mechanism is provided on the ceiling side at the entrance and exit of the processing chamber. According to the invention of claim 11, in claim 5, the ion generator is
It is characterized in that it is provided at the blowout part of the clean air supply means. The invention of claim 12 is the invention of claim 9.
In the above, the ion generator is provided at the air outlet.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, clean air is sent along the flow of the horizontally moving conveyor, and the ions generated by corona discharge on the air supply side of the clean air are conveyed by the clean air on the conveyor. It is possible to remove the static electricity charged on the object to be treated.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the conveyor is disposed in the duct-shaped processing chamber having the inlet / outlet portion, and the clean air supplied on the upstream side of the processing chamber is sucked on the downstream side of the processing chamber, whereby the conveyor Clean air is flown along the flow, and ions are generated by corona discharge in the clean air supply section of the processing chamber. While the generated ions are conveyed by the clean air, static electricity charged on the workpiece on the conveyor is removed. can do.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the conveyor is arranged in the duct-shaped processing chamber having the inlet / outlet portion, and clean air supplied from the upper side on the upstream side of the processing chamber is sucked on the lower side on the downstream side of the processing chamber. By doing so, clean air is made to flow along the conveyor flow, ions are generated by corona discharge in the clean air supply section of the processing chamber, and the generated ions are conveyed by the clean air and the workpiece on the conveyor is charged. It is possible to eliminate the static electricity that is generated.

In the invention of claim 4, the clean air in the clean room is sucked by the fan on the air supply side, purified by the high performance filter to a predetermined cleanliness level, and blown out to the upstream side of the processing chamber. It In the invention of claim 5, the conveyor is arranged in the duct-shaped processing chamber having the inlet / outlet portion, and the clean air supplied from the clean air supply means provided on the upstream side of the processing chamber is provided on the downstream side of the processing chamber. By sucking with the clean air exhaust means provided, clean air flows along the flow of the conveyor,
Ion generators provided in the clean air supply means of the processing chamber generate ions by corona discharge, and remove the static electricity charged on the workpiece on the conveyor while conveying the generated ions with clean air. be able to.

In the invention of claim 6, the clean air supplied from the clean air supply means provided on the upstream side of the processing chamber is sucked by the clean air exhaust means provided on the floor of the processing chamber. You can In the invention of claim 7, clean air supplied from the clean air supply unit provided on the upstream side of the processing chamber can be sucked by the clean air exhaust unit provided on the ceiling of the processing chamber.

In the eighth aspect of the invention, the air sucked by the fan is purified by the high performance filter and blown out. In the invention of claim 9, clean air is blown out from the air outlet by the circulation fan, and clean air is sucked in from the suction port by the circulation fan. In the invention of claim 10, on the inlet side of the processing chamber, the clean air supplied from the clean air supply means provided on the upstream side of the processing chamber is controlled so as not to leak to the inlet side, and the downstream side is controlled. To facilitate the flow, on the outlet side of the processing chamber,
The clean air exhaust means provided on the downstream side of the processing chamber facilitates sucking the clean air flowing in the processing chamber.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, ions can be emitted to the clean air blown out from the clean air supply means. According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, the ions can be emitted to the clean air blown out from the air outlet.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the static eliminator according to the first embodiment of the present invention is installed in a clean room. In the figure, 21 indicates a clean room. Clean room 21
Install a high-performance filter 24 such as a HEPA filter on the ceiling 23 side, provide a floor plate 25 such as a grating plate on the floor side, and connect the space 22 on the ceiling 23 side and the underfloor space 26 by a central air conditioner 27. As a result, clean air can be circulated and supplied by vertical downflow.

In the clean room 21, a static eliminator 30 is arranged with two types of production devices 28 and 29 sandwiched therebetween. The static eliminator 30 includes a duct-shaped processing chamber 31 having inlets and outlets 32 and 33 in the front and rear, a roller conveyor 34 horizontally arranged in the processing chamber 31, and a ceiling 31 a on the upstream side of the processing chamber 31. Fan 36 and HEPA installed in
A fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35 in which a high-performance filter 37 such as a filter is combined, and a fan 39 provided on a floor plate 31b on the downstream side of the processing chamber 31.
And a high-performance filter 40 such as a HEPA filter combined fan filter unit (clean air exhaust means)
38, and an ion generator (ionizer) 41 provided on the lower surface of the fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35.

Here, the processing chamber 31 is provided with inlets / outlets 32, 33.
Other than that, it is closed. That is, the ceiling 31a and the floor plate 31
It is surrounded by b and the side plate 31c. Also, this static eliminator 30
Hanging walls 42 and 43 are provided on the ceiling sides of the entrances and exits 32 and 33. Further, the static eliminator 30 includes casters 30.
a is provided so that it can be moved as needed.

According to the present embodiment configured as described above,
In the clean room 21, the clean air supplied from the space 22 on the ceiling side flows down toward the underfloor space 26 as a vertical downflow. As a result, the cleanliness can be set to class 10. On the other hand, the static eliminator 30
In the above, the roller conveyor 34 is driven at a speed of about 0.05 to 1 m / sec by a driving device such as a motor (not shown).

Further, a fan filter unit (clean air supply means) provided on the ceiling 31a on the upstream side of the processing chamber 31.
In 35, after the clean air in the clean room 21 is sucked by the fan 36, it is purified by the high-performance filter 37 and blown out into the processing chamber 31, and at the same time, the fan filter unit (on the floor plate 31b on the downstream side of the processing chamber 31 ( In the clean air exhaust unit) 38, the clean air in the processing chamber 31 is sucked by the fan 39, purified by the high performance filter 40, and blown into the clean room 21.

As a result, the clean air blown into the processing chamber 31 from the fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35 provided on the ceiling 31a on the upstream side of the processing chamber 31 becomes the floor plate on the downstream side of the processing chamber 31. Since it is sucked by the fan filter unit (clean air exhausting means) 38 provided in 31 b, it flows along the roller conveyor 34 arranged horizontally in the processing chamber 31.

At this time, the ceiling 31a on the upstream side of the processing chamber 31
As shown in FIG. 3, the clean air blown into the processing chamber 31 from the fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35 provided in the production wall 28 is directed toward the production device 28 as shown in FIG.
Since 2 is provided, the flow toward the production device 28 side is reduced, and the flow toward the downstream side of the processing chamber 31 is achieved. Further, the ions generated by the corona discharge from the ion generator (ionizer) 41 provided on the lower surface of the fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35 provided on the ceiling 31a on the upstream side of the processing chamber 31 are as described above. Further, it is carried by the clean air flowing in the processing chamber 31 along the roller conveyor 34.

On the other hand, even in the downstream side of the processing chamber 31, since the flow rate of clean air in the processing chamber 31 to the production device 29 is reduced, as shown in FIG.
Is provided. By the hanging walls 42 and 43, the processing chamber 31
The clean air blown into the processing chamber 31 from the fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35 provided on the ceiling 31a on the upstream side can be effectively flowed in the horizontal direction along the conveyed object. In this state, the liquid crystal glass substrate 44 processed by the production device 28 is placed on the roller conveyor 34 and conveyed toward the next production device 29. In this process, the glass substrate for liquid crystal 44
The static electricity charged on the ion contacts with the ions carried by the clean air flowing along the roller conveyor 34,
Removed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, clean air is sent along the flow of the roller conveyor 34 that moves in the horizontal direction, and the ions generated by corona discharge on the air supply side of the clean air are cleaned. Liquid crystal glass substrate (object to be processed) 44 on the roller conveyor 34 while being transported by
It is possible to remove static electricity that is charged in the background. Especially,
Ions generated by the corona discharge from the ion generator (ionizer) 41 are not vertical downflow as in the conventional case, but are carried by clean air flowing substantially horizontally from the upstream side to the downstream side of the processing chamber 31, The contact time with the liquid crystal glass substrate (object to be processed) 44 on the roller conveyor 34 is significantly lengthened, and the static electricity charged on the liquid crystal glass substrate 44 is reliably removed.

Further, a glass substrate for liquid crystal (object to be processed) 44
Is conveyed by the roller conveyor 34, so that the upper surface 4
In addition to 4a, the lower surface 44b side is also neutralized. 6 to 13 show that the clean air blown into the processing chamber 31 from the fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35 provided on the ceiling 31a on the upstream side of the processing chamber 31 has a flow rate toward the production device 28. An example is shown in which a clean air flow control mechanism is provided on the lower surface side of the fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35 in order to reduce and quickly form a horizontal flow in the processing chamber 31.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the punching plate 45 is arranged so that the opening ratio on the lower surface side is smaller than the opening ratio on the side surface side so that the flow toward the downstream side can be created. In this example,
The position where the hanging wall 42 was provided is closed.
Further, the punching plate 45 is provided with an ion generator (ionizer) 41 on the side surface side with a large aperture ratio.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the side surface of the punching plate 45 in FIG. 6 is elliptical, and FIG. 8 shows an example in which the side surface of the punching plate 45 in FIG. 6 is semicircular. FIG.
An example in which the punching plate 45 in FIG. 6 is replaced with a resistance plate 46 that is bent in an approximately L shape is shown. By this resistance plate 46, the clean air blown into the processing chamber 31 from the fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 35 provided on the ceiling 31a on the upstream side of the processing chamber 31 is changed to a flow toward the downstream side. .

FIG. 10 shows an example in which a plate body 46a extending in the horizontal direction is added to the resistance plate 46 in FIG. FIG.
Shows an example in which the inclined portion 46b of the resistance plate 46 in FIG. 9 is punched. 12 shows the resistance plate 4 in FIG.
6 shows an example in which the inclined portion 46b and the plate body 46a extending in the horizontal direction are punched.

FIG. 13 shows an example in which the resistance plate 46 which is bent in a substantially L shape in FIG. 9 is formed in an arc shape. Figure 14
In order to obtain the same effect as the hanging wall 42 shown in FIG. 3, the shape of the high-performance filter 37 of the fan filter unit 35 is a horizontal portion 37a and an arcuate portion 37b connected to the horizontal portion 37a, and the ventilation resistance is horizontal. 37a is large and the arcuate portion 3
An example in which 7b is reduced will be shown.

According to this example, the air sent from the fan 36 is supplied at low speed in the horizontal portion 37a and at high speed in the arcuate portion 37b. FIG. 15 shows an example in which an arc-shaped airflow guide plate 47 is provided in place of the hanging wall 43 on the downstream side in the processing chamber 31. According to this example, the flow of clean air in the processing chamber 31 can be changed similarly to the hanging wall 43, and the change can be made more smoothly than the hanging wall 43.

FIG. 16 shows a static eliminator according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIG.
Fan filter unit (clean air exhaust means) 38
Is provided on the ceiling 31a on the downstream side of the processing chamber 31. Also in this embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the embodiment shown in FIG.

Since the clean air blown out from the fan filter unit 35 is sucked by the fan filter unit (clean air exhaust means) 38 provided on the lower side of the processing chamber 1, the clean air is horizontally fed into the processing chamber 31. Flows along the arranged roller conveyor 34. FIG. 17 shows a static eliminator according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is that
A fan filter unit (clean air supply unit) 35 provided on the ceiling 31a on the upstream side of the processing chamber 31 and the processing chamber 31.
The fan filter unit (clean air exhaust means) 38 provided on the floor plate 31b on the downstream side of the air outlet 51 and the suction port 52 are replaced by the fan 51 and the suction port 52 by the circulation fan 50 via the duct 53. The air is connected and the clean air is circulated by the circulation fan 50 and the high-performance filter 51a.

FIG. 18 shows a static eliminator according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The suction port 52 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 17 is provided in the ceiling 31a on the downstream side of the processing chamber 31.
Also in this embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the embodiment shown in FIG.

19 to 21 show a carrier case 60 for accommodating and transporting a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates 44 used in the static elimination method of the present invention. This carrier case 6
0 is publicly known, has a height of about 300 mm, and 16 steps 61 for accommodating the liquid crystal glass substrates 44 one by one are formed in the frame 61, and there is a gap through which clean air can flow from the top, bottom, left, and right, The liquid crystal glass substrate 44 is accommodated while being moved along the step 61 from the one side.

The top of the carrier case 60 (frame 61
50mm below the top surface of the), middle (about 100mm below the top) and bottom (about 100mm from the middle)
Then, after accommodating the glass substrates for liquid crystal 44 one by one at a position of about 50 mm from the lower surface of the frame 61, the flow velocity in the processing chamber 31 is 0.5 m / sec, the temperature is 23 ° C., and the humidity is 55%. Then, the top, middle and bottom glass substrates for liquid crystal 4
The charge removal characteristics of No. 4 were measured by a charged plate monitor. The amount of static charge of the tested liquid crystal glass substrate 44 is -18.
00V.

The results are as follows. The highest level glass substrate 44 for liquid crystal has a static charge amount of − after 25 seconds.
It became 100V. The intermediate liquid crystal glass substrate 44 is 5
After 2 seconds, the electrostatic charge amount became −100V.

The lowermost glass substrate for liquid crystal 44 had an electrostatic charge of -100 V after 60 seconds. For comparison, in a vertical downflow clean room, the charge removal characteristics of the uppermost, middle and lowermost liquid crystal glass substrates 44 were measured by a charged plate monitor in the same manner as above. The amount of electrostatic charge of the tested glass substrate 44 for liquid crystal is -1800.
There was V. The vertical downflow velocity is 0.5 m /
The temperature was 23 ° C and the humidity was 55%.

The uppermost glass substrate for liquid crystal 44 had an electrostatic charge amount of -100 V after 50 seconds. The intermediate liquid crystal glass substrate 44 has a static charge amount of −260 seconds later.
It became 100V. The lowest liquid crystal glass substrate 44 is
After 160 seconds, the electrostatic charge amount became -100V.

In this embodiment, since the charge is removed from the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal glass substrate 44, it is considered that the charge can be removed in a shorter time than the charge removal from the upper surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate 44 as in the conventional example. .

Although the glass substrate for liquid crystal has been described as the object to be processed in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a semiconductor, for example. Further, the case where the present invention is applied to a clean room using a high performance filter on the entire ceiling has been described, but a conventional type clean room may be used.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, clean air is sent along the flow of a horizontally moving conveyor, and ions generated by corona discharge on the air supply side of the clean air are cleaned. Since the static electricity charged on the object to be processed on the conveyor is removed while being conveyed, the ions can be brought into contact with the object to be processed for a long time, and the static electricity can be reliably removed.

Further, since clean air can be sent along the flow of the conveyor which moves in the horizontal direction, it is only necessary to install one ion generator on the upstream side to continuously remove static electricity that charges the object to be processed. Since it can be reliably removed, a plurality of ionizers are not required and maintenance is easy. Furthermore, since the clean air that flows along the flow of the horizontally moving conveyor conveys the ions, it is possible to bring the ions into contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the object to be processed, and a cassette type that stacks multiple glass substrates, etc. Even if there is, static electricity charged on the upper and lower surfaces of the object to be processed can be reliably removed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a static eliminator according to a first embodiment of the present invention is installed in a clean room.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the static eliminator of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of clean air in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of clean air in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG. 1.

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of clean air in an exhaust portion of the clean air of the static eliminator of FIG.

6 is an explanatory diagram showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

7 is an explanatory diagram showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

8 is an explanatory diagram showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

9 is an explanatory view showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

10 is an explanatory diagram showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

11 is an explanatory diagram showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

12 is an explanatory diagram showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

13 is an explanatory diagram showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

14 is an explanatory diagram showing a lean air flow control mechanism provided in a clean air supply unit of the static eliminator of FIG.

15 is an explanatory view showing an example in which an arc-shaped airflow guide plate is provided in place of the hanging wall on the downstream side in the static eliminator of FIG.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a static eliminator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a static eliminator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a static eliminator according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a front view of a carrier case that accommodates and conveys a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates used in the charge eliminating method of the present invention.

20 is a side view of the carrier case shown in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a rear view of the carrier case shown in FIG.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a conventional static eliminator.

23 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between an ionizer of the conventional static eliminator shown in FIG. 22 and an object to be processed on a roller conveyor.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a conventional static eliminator.

25 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the ionizer of the conventional static eliminator shown in FIG. 24 and the object to be treated on the roller conveyor.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 clean room 22 fan filter unit 28, 29 production device 30 static eliminator 31 processing chamber 32, 33 inlet / outlet 34 roller conveyor 35 fan filter unit (clean air supply means) 38 fan filter unit (clean air exhaust means) 41 ion generator (Ionizer) 42, 43 Hanging wall 44 Glass substrate for liquid crystal.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. Clean air is sent along the flow of a horizontally moving conveyor, and the ions generated by corona discharge on the air supply side of the clean air are transferred by the clean air to charge an object to be processed on the conveyor. A static elimination method characterized by removing static electricity generated. 2. A clean air is provided along the flow of the conveyor by arranging the conveyor in a duct-shaped processing chamber having an inlet / outlet portion and sucking clean air supplied at the upstream side of the processing chamber at the downstream side of the processing chamber. And generate the ions by corona discharge in the clean air supply section of the processing chamber, and remove the static electricity charged on the object to be processed on the conveyor while conveying the generated ions with the clean air. Static elimination method. 3. A conveyor is arranged in a duct-shaped processing chamber having an inlet / outlet portion, and clean air supplied from an upper side on the upstream side of the processing chamber is sucked on a lower side on the downstream side of the processing chamber. Clean air is flown along the flow, and ions are generated by corona discharge in the clean air supply section of the processing chamber. While the generated ions are conveyed by the clean air, static electricity charged on the workpiece on the conveyor is removed. A static elimination method characterized by: 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A static elimination method characterized by introducing clean air in a clean room and using purified clean air. 5. A duct-shaped processing chamber having an inlet / outlet portion, a conveyor arranged in the processing chamber, clean air supply means provided on the upstream side of the processing chamber, and a downstream side of the processing chamber. A static eliminator comprising a clean air exhaust means and an ion generator provided in the clean air supply means. 6. The static eliminator according to claim 5, wherein the clean air supply means is provided on a ceiling portion of the processing chamber, and the clean air exhaust means is provided on a floor portion of the processing chamber. 7. The static eliminator according to claim 5, wherein the clean air supply means and the clean air exhaust means are provided on the ceiling of the processing chamber. 8. A static eliminator according to claim 5, wherein the clean air supply means and the clean air exhaust means are composed of a high-performance filter and a fan. 9. The clean air supply means and the clean air exhaust means according to claim 5, wherein the clean air supply means and the clean air exhaust means are composed of a blower outlet and a suction inlet communicating with the circulation fan. Static eliminator. 10. The static eliminator according to claim 5, wherein a clean air flow control mechanism is provided on the ceiling side at the entrance and exit of the processing chamber. 11. The ion generator according to claim 5,
A static eliminator provided in the blowout part of the clean air supply means. 12. The ion generator according to claim 9,
A static eliminator provided at the air outlet.