JPH1179388A - Glass sheet handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To handle sheets of glass by taking the glass in and out of a unbendingly and smoothly which can store a plurality of large-sized glass sheets in multiple tiers. SOLUTION: This device has an exclusive cassette 12 which stores substrate glass 10 at many steps at an interval and is provided with a window opened by facing a plate face of the substrate glass 10. A lifting means which lifts this cassette 12 intermittently is provided, and a roller conveyance means 20 which can come in and out of the window of the cassette 12 which is lifted and lowered and comes in roll-contact with a lower face of glass is provided. The lifting means is constituted by a lifting actuator and a lifting table supported by it, and the lifting table is provided with a roller 36 for carrying in and out the cassette.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a single-wafer processing apparatus for glass, and more particularly, to a single-wafer processing apparatus which uses a cassette for accommodating a plurality of glass and which can take out and take out the cassette one by one. It relates to a processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a dedicated storage cassette is used for normal transportation of a substrate glass for an FPD (Flat Panel Display). In order for the substrate glass to be processed into products during construction, etc., the substrate glass is unloaded one by one from the cassette and sent out to the processing unit. It is necessary to take measures to accommodate them. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the work of taking in and taking out the substrate glass from the cassette one by one.

In recent years, it has become extremely difficult to manually move substrate glass into and out of the cassette due to the improvement in productivity and size of substrate glass. From such a viewpoint, the substrate glass is mechanically moved in and out of the cassette. This is generally done by inserting two robot arms between the substrate glasses in the cassette, floating the glass slightly and placing it on the arm,
By moving this backward, it is carried out. The loading operation is the reverse operation.

[0004]

However, in the conventional method, there is a problem that it is difficult to carry out the carry-in and carry-out work smoothly in the arm supporting method because the substrate glass is large.
That is, when the large substrate glass is put in and taken out by the arm, the arm bends or the stroke must be increased, and the weight is heavy, so that the arm cannot be put in and out of the cassette. Such a problem is not limited to the above-mentioned substrate glass, but also applies to a flat plate similar to a glass that needs to be processed in a single sheet while simultaneously storing a plurality of sheets in a cassette.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is possible to smoothly put glass in and out of a cassette capable of storing a plurality of glasses in multiple stages, and to increase the size of the glass. It is an object of the present invention to provide a single-wafer glass processing apparatus capable of performing single-wafer processing without causing bending even when the processing is performed.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a single-wafer processing apparatus for glass according to the present invention accommodates glass at a plurality of intervals and faces a plate surface of the glass. A cassette provided with a window having an opening which is open and closed, and comprising elevating means for intermittently elevating and lowering the cassette, and a roller conveying means capable of entering and exiting the window of the cassette to be elevated and rotatably contacting the lower surface of the glass. It is characterized by having. In this case, the elevating means may include an elevating actuator and an elevating table supported by the elevating table, and the elevating table may be provided with a moving roller for loading and unloading the cassette.

[0007]

According to the above structure, when carrying out the glass housed in the cassette, the roller conveying means is inserted through the window of the cassette, and the lowermost glass is received on the roller surface.
Glasses are sent out of the cassette by roller drive,
It is transferred to another transport means. After the conveyance of one glass is completed, when the cassette is lowered by the storage pitch interval by the elevating means, the roller conveying means supports the next glass. By sequentially repeating this, the glass can be carried out intermittently. On the other hand, when carrying in, the upper stage of the empty cassette is adjusted to the receiving height, and the roller conveying means is arranged at the upper position from the window. When the glass is introduced from the entrance of the cassette, the roller conveying means facing the inside of the cassette carries the glass to an appropriate position and stores it in the receiving groove for the glass. Next, by raising the cassette by one step, the glass is separated from the roller conveying means and supported by the receiving groove, and the roller conveying means moves to the next step. By repeating this operation sequentially, the glass is stored in the cassette. Such a cassette can be moved by a roller conveyor provided on an elevating table, and can move to the next tact and receive the next cassette.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a specific embodiment in which the single-wafer processing apparatus for glass according to the present invention is applied to a single-wafer processing apparatus for substrate glass for an FPD (Flat Panel Display) will be described.
This will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The single-wafer forming apparatus according to the embodiment includes a dedicated cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of substrate glasses in multiple stages at intervals, a cassette elevating device that moves up and down by driving a ball screw, and six roller transports for loading and unloading substrate glass. It is composed of means and the like.

First, FIG. 3 shows the details of the dedicated cassette 12 for accommodating the substrate glass 10. As shown in this figure,
The cassette container body 14 having a frame structure has a rectangular top plate 14A and a bottom plate 14B, and both of them have four columns 1
4C, the openings are formed on all sides. Cross members 16 are provided at regular intervals vertically on the inner surface of each support 14 of such a cassette container body 14,
By supporting the edge of the substrate glass 10 on the crosspiece members 16 having the same height, the substrate glass 10 can be stored in the cassette 12 in a plurality of stages. Further, a plurality of windows 18 are opened in the dedicated cassette 12 so as to face the plate surface of the accommodated substrate glass 10. This window 18 is at least
B, and is opened so that the roller conveying means 20, which will be described in detail later, can enter and exit. On the other hand, on the apparatus main body side, a number of roller conveying means 20 corresponding to the numerical aperture of the window 18 of the dedicated cassette 12 (four windows are typically opened in FIG. 3) are provided. By moving the dedicated cassette up and down, the roller conveying means 20
The transfer surface is placed inside, and the glass substrate 10 is transferred onto the roller surface so that the roller can be transferred to the outside of the cassette.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a specific structure of a single-wafer processing apparatus for carrying the substrate glass 10 in and out of the dedicated cassette 12. In this apparatus, a roller conveying means 20 is fixedly installed inside the center, which is 6 in the illustrated example.
It is based. The roller conveying means 20 is fixed via a support bracket 22, and is set so that the roller conveying surface is located slightly above the upper opening surface of the apparatus frame 24. The apparatus frame 24 is provided with an elevating table 26 so as to include such a roller transporting means 20. The elevating table 26 can be moved up and down by mounting the dedicated cassette 12 described above. The lifting mechanism includes a screw shaft 2 attached to the device frame 24.
8 and a nut member 30 provided on an elevating table 26, which is elevated by a ball screw mechanism. The lifting drive is performed by a motor 32. The motor 32 is intermittently moved up and down at intervals of the glass storage pitch, based on the time when the roller surface coincides with the uppermost storage position or the lowermost storage position in the dedicated cassette 12 placed on the table 26. Is controlled as follows.

Although six roller transport means 20 are provided in the illustrated example, the lift table 26 moves up and down with the roller transport means 20 fixedly disposed therein. Elevating windows 34 are provided in the transport means 20 corresponding to the positions. On the other hand, a window 18 is also opened in the dedicated cassette 12 in the same shape and arrangement. Thereby, when the dedicated cassette 12 is moved on the elevating table 26 and stopped at a fixed position, the roller transporting means 20 moves in and out of the cassette 12 which is raised and lowered by the operation of the elevating table 26, and the roller transporting surface is appropriately moved to the substrate glass 10 The substrate glass 10 can be unloaded one by one or loaded into the cassette by adjusting the position to the storage height.

The dedicated cassette 1 is mounted on the lifting table 26.
A cassette moving roller means 36 is provided for moving the cassette 2 on or off the table. As shown in FIG. 1A, these are provided at four positions corresponding to the lower edge of the cassette 12, so that the cassette 12 can be moved upward by moving upward when the cassette is moved.

The single-wafer processing apparatus for the substrate glass 10 thus configured is operated as follows. First, the procedure for forming the substrate glass 10 into a single wafer is as follows. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the actual cassette 12 (which means that the substrate glass 10 is stored) set in the single-wafer forming apparatus is transferred from the outside, the actual cassette 12 When the cassette moving roller means 36 is lowered from the surface of the table 26, as shown in FIG. 4 (2), the lowermost storage height position of the cassette and the height position of the external conveyor (not shown) are increased. When they match, preparation for carrying out the substrate is completed. Thus, the external conveyor and the elevating table 26
After the transfer surface heights of the roller transfer means 20 arranged inside are matched, by driving the roller transfer means 20 in the unloading direction from the lowermost substrate glass 10, the dedicated cassette 12 is transferred to the external transfer conveyor. The substrate glass 10 moves and can transport one sheet to the next place.

The second substrate glass 10 is taken out by driving the elevating device of the elevating table 26 to lower the height of the cassette by one step so that the substrate glass 10 of the second stage from the bottom can be transported to the outside. Thereafter, the same operation can be carried out to the outside. Thereafter, by repeating the same operation, the substrate glasses 10 can be transported one by one from the actual cassette 12 one by one (FIG. 4C).
Can be easily performed.

Next, the case where the substrate glass 10 is inserted into the empty dedicated cassette 12 is as follows. The dedicated cassette 12 is set on the elevating table 26 of the single-wafer apparatus, and the empty cassette 12 is lowered to the lower limit position by the elevating mechanism. The roller transport means 20 is located at the uppermost shelf of the empty cassette by using the elevating window 34 of the elevating table 26 and the window 18 of the dedicated cassette 12.

In this state, the height position of the external substrate transfer conveyor (not shown) matches the empty cassette storage height position,
The movement of the substrate glass 10 becomes possible. That is, when the substrate glass 10 moves from the external conveyor in the direction of the empty cassette 12, the substrate glass 10 is sent to the uppermost storage position via the internal roller conveying means 20. The substrate glass 10 that has reached the storage position is stopped manually by a roller or automatically stopped by a separately provided substrate position detection device.

In order to insert the next substrate glass 10,
After confirming the first storage of the substrate glass at the uppermost storage position, the cassette lifting device is operated to raise the lifting table 26 by one step. By raising the carriage by one step, the carrying height is matched with the external carrying conveyor, and the carrying-in preparation is completed. When the preparation for the reception is completed, the second substrate glass can be similarly stored in the second-stage accommodation position by moving the external conveyor.

Thereafter, the substrate glass 10 can be stored up to the lowermost storage shelf in a similar procedure. When the substrate glass 10 is completely stored in the dedicated cassette 12, the cassette moving roller means 36 rises from the cassette elevating and lowering support portion of the sheet feeding apparatus, and transfers the dedicated cassette 12 to the outside. As a whole, after the transfer to the outside of the dedicated cassette 12, the empty dedicated cassette 12 is transferred to the single-wafer forming apparatus, and preparation for receiving is performed. Thereafter, the substrate glass 10 is stored in the empty cassette 12 in the same procedure.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the state in which the plurality of substrate glasses 10 are stored in the
The single-wafer processing for sending the wafers one by one to the processing step can be easily performed, and the processed substrate glass 10 can be stored in the cassette 12 again in multiple stages. This operation can be performed automatically. In particular, even when the substrate glass 10 is large, the operation of entering and leaving the cassette 12 can be performed.
Since the transfer is performed by the roller conveying means 20 which can enter the inside of the cassette 12, the substrate glass 10 can be properly sent out while being supported at a position where the substrate glass 10 does not bend, so that the substrate glass 10 is not adversely affected.

[0020]

As described above, the single-wafer processing apparatus for glass according to the present invention accommodates glass at multiple intervals and provides a window that opens to face the plate surface of the glass. A cassette transporter, comprising: elevating means for intermittently elevating and lowering the cassette; roller conveying means capable of moving in and out of the window of the cassette to be elevated and being rolled on the lower surface of the glass; and A cassette that is composed of a lifting actuator and a lifting table supported by the lifting table, and is provided with a moving roller for loading and unloading the cassette on the surface of the lifting table. In addition, the glass can be smoothly taken in and out, and even if the glass is enlarged, the glass can be prevented from being bent, thereby achieving an effect of performing a single-wafer processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a front view of a substrate glass single wafer processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the same device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a dedicated cassette.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a substrate glass removing operation process of the single wafer processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate glass 12 Dedicated cassette 14 Cassette container main body 14A Top plate 14B Bottom plate 14C Support column 16 Bar member 18 Roller access window 20 Roller conveyance means 22 Support bracket 24 Device frame 26 Elevating table 28 Screw shaft 30 Nut member 32 Motor 34 Elevating window 36 Cassette Moving roller means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cassette which accommodates glasses at a plurality of intervals and which has a window which is open to face a plate surface of the glasses, and which has an elevating means for intermittently elevating and lowering the cassette. And a roller conveying means which is capable of entering and exiting the window of the cassette to be moved up and down and rolls on the lower surface of the glass. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said elevating means includes an elevating actuator and an elevating table supported by the elevating table, and the elevating table is provided with a moving roller for carrying in and out the cassette. 2. The glass single-wafer processing apparatus according to 1.