KR100381165B1 - A Glass Cutting Device and a Method - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a glass cutting apparatus and a method thereof, and particularly, to form a notch using a short wavelength laser beam or a narrow CO2 laser beam having a wide width on a glass to be processed, and converting the laser beam irradiated with the glass into a wide or narrow region While inducing thermal stress by dividing the sections of the glass to control the cutting for each section, cooling the glass using a highly vaporizable coolant and removing the coolant using a coolant removal means, By cleaving through reheating to complete cleavage,

It improves the quality of the cut surface, and also improves the quality of the start and end edges of the cut portion, while polishing the edge of the glass, there is an effect of improving the cutting speed of the glass.

Description

Glass cutting device and method

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method designed for cutting glass, and in particular, in cutting a glass by using a laser and a coolant, glass cutting that can improve processing speed and quality by varying the beam shape and cutting method. An apparatus and a method thereof are provided.

Representative apparatus for cutting glass to be processed is a laser glass cutting device, the laser glass cutting device is an ellipse, U-shaped, V-shaped laser beam is heated immediately after the glass surface is added to the liquid or gas Cut the glass.

Glass cutting method by the temperature gradient shown in Fig. 1 (1967, DE 1244346) is a non-contact glass cutting technique using a laser (1a), using a coolant (3a) after heating the glass (2a) below the melting temperature To cool. FIG. 1A shows glass 2a 'cut by the glass cutting method.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the glass tube 2b is gold-plated, the glass tube is heated with an elliptical laser beam using a laser 1b, and then cooled with a cotton cloth 3b soaked in water. ) Is also known (RU 857025, 1981). At the time, its applicability to the manufacturing industry in relation to glass in practice was not widely used. 2A shows the glass 2b 'cut by the glass cutting method.

However, the importance of glass processing technology in flat panel displays (FPDs) such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), field emission displays (FEDs), and electro luminescent (EL) devices has recently emerged. As this increases, interest in such a non-contact glass cutting technique is increasing.

In the glass cutting method (WO 9320015) shown in FIG. 3, a method of heating the glass 2c to improve the cutting speed before cutting the glass 2c with a laser and a laser 1c for irradiating an elliptical laser beam A method of cutting the glass 2c by heating the glass 2c and then cooling the portion heated by the fluid refrigerant 3c was introduced.

In addition, the laser glass cutting method (WO 96200062) filed thereafter introduced a method of improving the cutting content and the quality of the cutting surface by further improving the above contents.

In the laser glass cutting method shown in FIG. 4 (US 5984159), the glass 2d is cut in a curved shape using a laser 1d for irradiating a U-shaped and V-shaped laser beam and an ellipsoidal coolant 3d. An easy way to do this has been described.

The operation of the conventional laser glass cutting device as described above is as follows.

The conventional laser glass cutting device cuts the glass by irradiating an ellipse, U-shaped, V-shaped laser beam with glass, heating the glass surface, and then cooling the glass by injecting liquid or gas at a certain distance behind the glass.

First, before cutting the glass 2, a cut line is drawn along the line to be cut. In the conventional notch forming method, the notch is drawn at the beginning or the end of the glass 2 to be cut using the diamond wheel 4 as shown in FIG.

However, in this case, when the blade of the diamond wheel 4 and the surface of the glass 2 come into contact with each other, a long time of use causes a problem in that the position of the diamond wheel 4 is changed and the straightness of the cut surface is lowered. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a problem in that the quality of the cut surface at the intersection portion of the cross-shaped cutting line is not good and the diamond wheel 4 blades need to be periodically replaced.

Thereafter, the glass 2 is heated by irradiating a laser beam with the laser 2 with the notched glass 2, and the heated glass 2 is cut using the coolant 3. .

However, in the conventional laser glass cutting device, after irradiating a laser beam having a certain size of energy along the cut line of the glass, the glass is cooled using a coolant having a constant flow rate, and the glass is cut at the same cutting speed. Therefore, since the start and end edges of the glass are heated in the same manner as the center of the glass and are cut by the same cooling temperature, thermal shock is concentrated so that the cut surface of the cut glass 2 'is irregularly formed as shown in FIG. 7A. There is this.

In addition, in the conventional laser glass cutting device, when liquid is included in the coolant 3, the liquid is buried in the glass 2 'after glass cutting, as shown in FIG. There is a problem that a fatal defect in the manufacturing process.

In addition, in the conventional laser glass cutting device, the diamond wheel 4, the laser 1, and the coolant 3 are fixed in a straight line as shown in FIG. 8, so that the glass is easily cut only in a straight line shape. Even if the glass is to be cut in a curved form, when the radius of curvature is small, there is a problem in that the glass is not cut.

Finally, the conventional laser glass cutting device uses a method of breaking the uncut surface of the glass by applying a bending force after cracking the glass surface with a laser beam and a coolant when the glass is thicker than 0.5 mm. In this case, there is a problem that the state of the cut surface is uneven and the edge is broken in a sharp form.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the object of which is to form a notch before cutting the glass to ensure that the glass is cut without cracking while improving the cutting speed, cut the glass by section The present invention provides a glass cutting device and a method for cutting a corner and a center part by controlling the same, and cutting the glass which is not cut efficiently using a laser beam.

1 and 1A is a perspective view showing a first example and a cutting example of a conventional glass cutting device,

2 and 2a is a perspective view showing a second example of the conventional glass cutting device and its cutting example,

3 is a perspective view showing a third example of a conventional glass cutting device,

4 is a perspective view showing a fourth example of a conventional glass cutting device,

5 and 6 are perspective views showing a diamond wheel of the conventional glass cutting device,

7 and 7a and 7b is a perspective view showing a conventional glass cutting device and its cutting example,

8 is a plan view showing the components of a conventional glass cutting device,

9 is a plan view showing an image formed on the glass due to the glass cutting device according to the present invention,

10 and 11 are perspective views of the notch beam generating portion of the glass cutting device according to the present invention,

12 and 12a is a perspective view showing a glass cutting device and a cutting example thereof according to the present invention,

13 and 14 are a perspective view showing a glass cutting device according to the invention,

15 is a plan view showing the components of the glass cutting device according to the invention,

16 is a perspective view showing the components of the glass cutting device according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

11: glass 12: notched beam generating part

13: first cutting beam generating unit 14: cooling means

15: second cutting beam generating unit

According to a feature of the glass cutting device according to the present invention for solving the above problems, the first beam generating unit for irradiating a laser beam to form a notch to the glass to be processed, along the notch formed on the glass A second beam generator for irradiating the primary laser beam to the glass to heat the glass, cooling means for first cutting the glass by cooling the glass heated by the second beam generator, and the cooling means. And a third beam generator for irradiating a secondary laser beam to the glass so that the glass is cut second along the cut line of the glass formed by the glass.

In particular, the glass cutting device is a pulse generator for adjusting the size of the laser beam energy so that the start and the end of the glass cut portion the same as the glass center portion, and the flow rate of the coolant used in the cooling means And a flow rate controller, a driver for adjusting a distance between the beam generator and the glass so that the focusing distance of the laser beam is adjusted, and a controller for controlling the pulse generation ratio, the flow controller, and the driver. .

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The glass cutting device according to the present invention is to provide a notch beam generating unit 12 for irradiating a short wavelength laser beam to form notches with the glass 11 to be processed, and to heat the glass 11 formed with the notches First cutting beam generation unit 13 for irradiating a laser beam primarily, cooling means 14 for cooling the glass 11 so that the heated glass 11 is cut, and completely cut the cooled glass It consists of a 2nd cutting beam generation part 15.

The laser beam image formed on the glass 11 to be processed by the notched beam generating unit 12, the first cutting beam generating unit 13, the cooling unit 14, and the second cutting beam generating unit 15 is As shown in FIG.

The notch beam generating unit 12 forms a notch on the glass 11 to be processed by a non-contact etching process using the short wavelength laser beam 12a. The first cutting beam generating unit 13 is divided into a front end region and a rear end region according to the glass cutting progress direction, and the front end region is wider than the rear end region. Investigate

The laser beam 13a of the first cutting beam generator 13 is generated in the form of a key hole by a combination of laser lenses and is irradiated onto the glass 11 to heat the glass 11. do. If a straight laser beam is used, the cutting speed of the glass 11 may be improved.

In addition, the keyhole laser beam 13a is irradiated with heat to the glass 11 without rapid thermal shock due to thermal radiation because the front end region has a smaller range than the rear end region according to the cutting progress direction. Since the beam of the rear end region irradiates thermal energy locally on the glass 11 adjacent to the front end region, it is possible to double the thermal stress acting on the glass 11.

The coolant 14a that cools the glass 11 in the cooling means 14 has a long hole shape so as to increase the cooling effect of the glass 11. After seconds, it is sprayed on the glass 11. After the coolant 14a is injected, the glass 11 is formed with a subcooled area at the center where the coolant 14a is injected, and a cooling area around the glass 11.

The second cutting beam generating unit 15 irradiates the laser beam 15a with the glass 11 partially cut in the primary cross-sectional direction by the cooling means 14 so that the glass 11 is heated and completely. The glass 11 is second cut to cut.

As shown in FIG. 10, the indentation line of the glass 11 is a beginning portion of the cut portion of the glass 11 by a short wavelength laser beam that is well absorbed by the glass 11 irradiated from the incidence beam generation unit 12. And ends are formed. In particular, the present invention is a non-contact glass cutting device that does not contact with the glass, so even when used for a long time there is no fear of falling straightness when forming the notched line is also applied to the intersection of the cutting line is particularly advantageous for cutting the intersection.

In addition, the short wavelength laser beam is a laser beam having a wavelength between 100 nm and 600 nm, and the shorter the wavelength, the better the absorption is due to the absorption of the glass 11. If the wavelength is longer than 600 nm, as shown in FIG. 11, the surface of the glass 11 is coated with paint so that the short wavelength laser beam is absorbed well.

As such, when the initial cut line is formed by using a short wavelength laser beam, the processed part or cut part of the glass 11 has not the cut line caused by the crack, but has the cut line in the state of breaking the ring of the glass processed part molecule. 11) Straightness can be maintained even during the cutting process. In addition, the laser cut edge using the present method is irradiated to the focal point or a predetermined plane by using the notch generation unit 12. Thus, the edge of the glass 11 is polished.

If the initial indentation is to be formed by using a laser to heat the glass 11, the indentation due to the crack is formed in the glass 11 due to thermal shock. Therefore, when forming a notch using a laser for heating the glass 11 as described above, a narrow CO2 laser beam is used.

In addition, by using a highly vaporizable coolant as a coolant for cooling the glass 11 to be cut first after the glass 11 is heated, it improves the cooling effect compared to the conventional gas coolant and at the same time coolant after cooling Do not allow residues of to vaporize immediately in the air.

As the highly vaporizable solid coolant, a substance which changes to a solid state when a liquid substance is sprayed into the air, such as solid carbonate particles (dry ice) generated when the liquid carbonic acid is sprayed into the air, is used.

If the coolant is a liquid coolant that does not vaporize immediately, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 12, the liquid coolant remaining on the glass surface is heated by using an additional coolant removing means 14 ′ following the cooling means 14. As a result, the remaining liquid coolant is evaporated off at the same time as the first cut of the glass 11.

FIG. 12A shows the glass 11 ′ with the liquid coolant removed after the first cut through the above process. In addition, as the coolant removing unit 14 ′, an additional beam generator, an air heater, and a strong suction device may be used.

In addition, the cutting speed of the glass 11 may be improved by using a mixture of a liquid having a high volatility and a gas having a high thermal conductivity as the coolant.

After that, in the present invention, the first cutting beam generating unit 13 and the cooling means 14 are used to generate a crack on the surface of the glass 11 and cut it first, and then a laser beam having an appropriate size of energy. As shown in FIG. 13, the glass 11 is secondarily cut by using the second cutting beam generator 15 for irradiating. Here, the second cutting beam generator 15 may replace the coolant removing means 14 ′.

By using the second cut beam generator 15, the primary cut glass 11 is itself broken due to heat, and its cross section is cut cleanly. This secondary cutting effectively cuts the hard glass (Borosilicate, Aluminosilicate) used for LCD, EL, FED, etc., or the thick glass used for PDP or monitor.

Finally, the glass cutting device according to the present invention is a position that can adjust the position of the notched beam generating portion 12, the first cutting beam generating portion 13, the cooling means 14 to the left and right with respect to the glass cutting progress direction. Drive devices 12b, 13c, and 14b were installed as shown in FIG.

Therefore, the laser beams 12a and 13a irradiated from the beam generators 12 and 13 and the coolant 14a sprayed from the cooling means 14 are in accordance with the radius of curvature of the curve to be cut as shown in FIG. 15. Each of the required positions can be heated and cooled, thereby making it easy to cut the glass 11 into a curved shape.

In addition, in order to improve the cutting quality, the glass cutting device divides the beginning, the center, and the end of the cut portion of the glass 11 from three times up to five times as necessary, and then irradiates the lasers respectively. By cutting the glass 11 by controlling the energy size of the beam, the injection amount of the coolant to be injected, the cutting speed and the laser focus length, the quality of the beginning and the end of the glass 11 is improved.

In order to control the size of the laser beam and the coolant by section as described above, the glass cutting device of the present invention, as shown in Figure 16, the pulse generator 16 for changing the laser beam energy magnitude, and used in the cooling means A flow controller 17 for controlling the flow rate of the coolant, a driver 18 for adjusting the distance between the beam generator for irradiating the laser beam and the glass, the pulse generator 16, the flow controller 17 and The controller 19 is configured to control signals of the devices 16, 17, and 18 by exchanging signals to change output values of the driver 18.

Looking at the operation of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, a cut line is formed by irradiating a short wavelength laser beam with glass to be processed.

Thereafter, the sections at the beginning, the end, and the center of the glass are divided three times or up to five times as necessary, and the laser beams having different energy magnitudes for each divided section along the formed notch are each distance. Investigate at

After the laser beam passes through the glass, the glass is cooled by a coolant at a different flow rate for each of the divided sections.

Here, the coolant is used a solid vaporizer having a strong vaporization, or a liquid coolant is used. If a liquid coolant is used, coolant removal means for heating the coolant is used to evaporate off the liquid coolant remaining in the glass.

In addition, the beam generating unit for irradiating the laser beams, and the cooling means for cooling the glass moves left and right according to the cutting progress direction of the glass and smoothly cuts the glass in a curved shape.

Thereafter, the glass is cut completely by irradiating the laser beam with the first cut glass as described above and performing the second cut. The laser beam serves to thermally break the glass by heating the cooled glass.

Here, the beam generator for cutting the glass secondary may also serve to remove the coolant remaining in the glass.

The glass cutting device and the method of the present invention configured as described above form a notch using a short wavelength laser beam or a narrow CO2 laser beam having a width on a glass to be processed, and convert the laser beam irradiated with the glass into a wide area or a narrow area. While inducing efficient thermal stress, while dividing the sections of the glass to control the cutting for each section, cooling the glass using a highly vaporizable coolant and removing the coolant using a coolant removal means, By reheating to break (Thermal Break)

It improves the quality of the cut surface, and also improves the quality of the start and end edges of the cut portion, while polishing the edge of the glass, there is an effect of improving the cutting speed of the glass.

Claims (20)

A first beam generator for irradiating a laser beam to form notches with glass to be processed; A second beam generator for irradiating a primary laser beam onto the glass such that the glass is heated along a cut line formed in the glass; Cooling means for first cutting the glass by cooling a portion of the glass heated by the second beam generator; And a third beam generation unit for irradiating a secondary laser beam to the glass such that the glass is cut second along the cutting line of the glass formed by the cooling means. And the first beam balance upper portion is configured to irradiate a short wavelength laser beam having a wavelength between 100 and 600 nm so that the glass is absorbed well. delete The method of claim 2, When the short-wavelength laser beam has a wavelength of 600nm or more, the glass cutting device, characterized in that the absorption of the short-wavelength laser beam by coating the paint on the glass. The method of claim 1, And the second beam generator is configured to irradiate a laser beam having energy of different size according to the section of the glass such that the start and end portions of the glass cut portion are heated in the same manner as the center portion of the glass. Device. The method of claim 1, The shape of the laser beam irradiated to the glass from the second beam generating unit is divided into a front end region and a rear end region according to the glass cutting progress direction, and the front end region is larger than the rear end region. . The method according to claim 1 or 5, The laser beam of the second beam generating unit is a glass cutting device, characterized in that the shape of a key hole (Key Hole). The method of claim 1, The coolant used in the cooling means is a glass cutting device, characterized in that composed of a solid vaporization coolant. The method of claim 7, wherein Wherein said solid coolant is comprised of a material that is converted to a solid state when sprayed into a liquid material in air. The method of claim 8, And the material is composed of solid carbonate particles. The method of claim 1, The glass cutting device further comprises a fourth beam generating unit for evaporating and removing the coolant remaining on the surface of the glass cooled by the cooling means. The method of claim 1, The glass cutting device further comprises a hot air heater (Air Heater) for evaporating and removing the coolant remaining on the surface of the glass cooled by the cooling means. The method of claim 1, The glass cutting device further comprises a suction device for sucking the coolant remaining on the surface of the glass cooled by the cooling means. The method of claim 1, The glass cutting device may further include a first and second beam generating unit and a position driving device for allowing the glass to be cut in a curved shape and allowing the cooling means to move leftward and rightward with respect to the glass cutting direction. A glass cutting device, characterized in that. A beam generator for irradiating a laser beam with the glass to heat the glass to be processed; In the glass cutting device comprising a cooling means for cooling the glass to cut the heated glass, A pulse generator for controlling the magnitude of the laser beam energy for each section of the glass such that the start and end portions of the glass cut portion are cut in the same manner as the glass center portion; A flow controller for controlling the flow rate of the coolant used in the cooling means; A driver configured to adjust a distance between the beam generator and the glass so that the focusing distance of the laser beam is adjusted; And a control part configured to control the pulse generator, the flow controller, and the driving part. A first step of drawing a cut line by irradiating a laser beam with glass to be processed; A second step of thermally cooling the glass to cut the glass first; And a third step of secondly cutting the glass by irradiating a laser beam along a cutting line of the first cut glass. And the laser beam of the first step is a short wavelength laser having a wavelength between 100 and 600 nm. delete The method of claim 15, And if the laser beam of the first step has a wavelength of 600 nm or more, coating the glass with paint. The method of claim 15, And the second step further comprises a coolant removal step of evaporating and removing the coolant remaining in the glass after cooling the glass. The method of claim 15, And the coolant remaining in the glass is removed by heating the laser beam to the glass in the third step. A first step of dividing a section of a start portion, a center portion, and an end portion of a glass cut portion to be processed; A second step of heating the glass by irradiating a laser beam having a different energy magnitude for each divided section of the glass at each distance; And cooling the heated glass by varying a flow rate of a coolant for each of the sections, thereby cutting the glass.