KR100957615B1 - Work receiving device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to stably float a workpiece when the workpiece is suspended by air. The object receiving apparatus of the present invention enters the air blowing means into the storage cassette by the lifting operation by the lifting means, and floats the object to be taken out from the storage cassette by the air blowing means. A pad protruding from the upper surface and contacting the lower surface of the object to be processed is provided.

Description

Work receiving device

The present invention relates to a workpiece storage device for storing a workpiece such as a glass substrate in a storage cassette.

The object to be processed in a rectangular plate shape, such as a glass substrate used in the manufacture of a thin display, is stored in multiple stages in a storage cassette. At the time of processing the object to be processed, the object to be processed is extracted one by one by the transfer device from the storage cassette and conveyed to the processing device or the like, and the processed object is again brought into the storage cassette by the transfer device. In such a facility, an apparatus for passing an object to be processed between a storage cassette and a transfer device is required.

As a device of this kind, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-75643 provides an air blowing device and a roller conveyor below the storage cassette, and sequentially removes the workpiece from the storage cassette at the lower end of the storage cassette. Is disclosed. In this apparatus, the storage cassette is lowered, and air is blown out from the air blowing device to float the object to be processed in the storage cassette from the seating portions at each end, and press the edge of the object to be positioned to perform the positioning. . After positioning of the object, the air blowing device is lowered so that the object is placed on the roller conveyor, and the object is taken out of the storage cassette by the roller conveyor.

However, since the object to be processed in the suspended state is in an unstable state, when an external force is applied to the object to be processed, the object may slide and collide with surrounding members, thereby damaging the object. For example, if the workpiece is to be positioned in the floating state as in the apparatus described in JP 2005-75643 A, the workpiece is slid when the edge of the workpiece is pressed by the positioning device. There is a risk of colliding with the member and damaging the object. In addition, although not disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-75643, even when the transfer device supports the end of the object to be processed in a suspended state and discharges it out of the storage cassette, the transfer device is used to move the end of the object. When supporting, there is a fear of slipping of the object.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to stably float a workpiece when the workpiece is suspended by air.

According to the present invention, there is provided a substantially horizontal upper surface in which a plurality of air ejection openings are formed, and air ejecting means for floating a rectangular plate-shaped object on the upper surface in a substantially horizontal posture by ejecting air from the ejecting opening, and the vertical direction. And a plurality of seating portions which are formed in multiple stages and have openings through which the air blowing means can pass, and at which the workpiece is seated in a substantially horizontal posture; And a storage cassette provided above the air blowing means, and elevating means for elevating the storage cassette and the air blowing means up and down relatively. The air blowing means enters into the storage cassette in accordance with the lifting operation A processing object storage device for floating the processing object carried out from the storage cassette to the outside by the air blowing means, wherein the processing object is protruded from the upper surface of the air blowing means and is in the floating state. Provided is a workpiece storage device comprising a pad in contact with a bottom surface thereof.

In this object storage device, the pad resists a sudden movement of the object in the floating state. Therefore, even if an external force acts on the object to be suspended, the slip of the object can be reduced and the object can be floated more stably.

In the present invention, the pad lifting means for raising and lowering the pad between the projecting position and the non-projecting position projecting from the upper surface of the air blowing means may be further provided. When the object to be processed is taken out, the pad can be lowered to prevent the pad from touching the lower surface of the object to damage the object.

Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable that the said pad is a suction pad which adsorb | sucks on the lower surface of the said to-be-processed object by the suction of air. Since the object to be processed is supported by the suction pad, the slip of the object can be further reduced, and the object can be floated more stably.

Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable to further provide the moving means which moves the said suction pad to the carrying-out direction of the said to-be-processed object. By the movement of the suction pad by the moving means, the object to be processed can be taken out of the storage cassette by a certain amount, and the object to be processed can be smoothly passed by the transfer device.

Further, in the present invention, an auxiliary roller may be further provided which protrudes from the upper surface of the air blowing means and contacts the lower surface of the object to be processed as the suction pad moves by the moving means. A certain amount can be taken out more stably.

In the present invention, the suction pad and the auxiliary roller are spaced apart from each other in the discharging direction of the workpiece, and the suction pad is lifted between the projected position and the non-projected position projecting from the upper surface of the air blowing means. And an auxiliary roller elevating means for elevating the auxiliary roller between the protruding position and the non-protruding position protruding from the upper surface of the air ejecting means, wherein the adsorption pad and the auxiliary roller are synchronized with each other. You can also get on and off. Since the suction pad and the auxiliary roller are spaced apart from each other in the carrying direction of the object to be processed, a certain amount of the object to be processed can be more stably carried out. In addition, by lifting the suction pad and the auxiliary roller synchronously, the auxiliary roller can be positioned in the protruding position only when necessary.

Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable to provide the positioning means for positioning the said to-be-processed object by pressing the edge of the said to-be-processed object in a substantially horizontal direction in a substantially horizontal direction. In the present invention, by providing the pad, even if the edge of the object is pressed, the slip of the object can be reduced, and the positioning can be performed without damaging the object.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same components are assigned the same reference numerals.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

1 is a plan view showing the layout of the object processing apparatus 100 using the object receiving apparatus A according to the embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an external perspective view of the transfer device C. FIG.

3 is an external perspective view of the object storage device A. FIG.

4 is an external perspective view of the storage cassette 20.

5 is a view showing a seating portion for one stage.

6 is an external perspective view of the elevating device 30.

7 is an exploded perspective view of the elevating unit 31.

8 is an external perspective view of the air blowing device 10.

9 is an external perspective view of the positioning device 40.

10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the controller 50 of the object storage device A. As shown in FIG.

11 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

12 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

13 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

14 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

15 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

16 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

17 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

18 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

19 is an explanatory view of the operation of the object storage device A. FIG.

20 is an external perspective view of the storage cassette 20 '.

21 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the comb teeth 26a on the carry-in and out ports 24 side.

22 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the comb teeth 26a on the carry-in / out port 24 side.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the Example of the board | substrate carrying-out apparatus to which this invention is applied is demonstrated with reference to drawings.

<Overall Configuration of Equipment>

1 is a plan view showing the layout of the object processing apparatus 100 using the object receiving apparatus A according to the embodiment of the present invention. In each figure, X and Y represent a horizontal direction perpendicular to each other, and Z represents a vertical direction. The object processing facility 100 is a facility for processing a rectangular plate-shaped glass substrate as a workpiece, and includes a workpiece storage device A, a processing device B, and a transfer device C.

The conveying apparatus C is movable on the rail 1 extended in a Y direction. In addition, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the conveying apparatus C can carry in and carry out a glass substrate to an X direction with respect to the object accommodation apparatus A and the processing apparatus B. FIG. In FIG. 1, although the some processing apparatus B is shown, the process content of each processing apparatus B may be another content, and may be the same content. In the object processing apparatus 100 having such a configuration, the unprocessed glass substrate is conveyed from the object storage device A to the processing apparatus B through the transfer device C, and the processed glass substrate is processed. In (B), it is returned to the object receiving device (A) through the transfer device (C).

<Configuration of Transfer Device (C)>

2 is an external perspective view of the transfer device C in the present embodiment. The transfer apparatus C shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and various transfer apparatus C can be employ | adopted as the transfer apparatus C used with the object storage apparatus A. FIG. The transfer device C includes a support table 2, a pair of linear guides 3 provided on the left and right sides of the support table 2, and a pair of hand units moving along the linear guides 3 4) and the traveling unit 5 which supports the support table 2, and moves the whole moving apparatus C reciprocally along the rail 1 in the Y direction.

On the upper surface of the support table 2, a plurality of ejection openings 2a for ejecting air are formed, and the air supplied from an air supply device (for example, a compressor) not shown is ejected. The linear guide 3 reciprocates the hand unit 4 in the X direction in the form of a linear motor. The air suction port 4a is formed in the upper surface of the front-end | tip part, and the hand unit 4 sucks air by the air suction apparatus (for example, a compressor) which is not shown in figure. The traveling unit 5 is equipped with the drive wheel 5a which moves the whole moving apparatus C along the rail 1, and drive means, such as a motor which rotates the drive wheel.

The operation | movement of the transfer apparatus C which consists of such a structure is demonstrated. First, in the case of receiving the glass substrate from the object storage device A and transporting the glass substrate to the processing device B, the transfer device C is moved to the position facing the object storage device A by the traveling unit 5. Move it. Next, the hand unit 4 is moved to the end portion in the + X direction, air is sucked from the suction port 4a, and the end portion of the glass substrate accommodated in the object storage device A is supported. Next, air is blown out from the blower outlet 2a, the hand unit 4 which supported the glass substrate is moved to-X direction, and the glass substrate is moved on the support table 2. The glass substrate is suspended on the support table 2 by the blowing of the air from the blowing port 2a.

Next, the transfer device C is moved to the position facing the processing apparatus B of the conveyance destination of a glass substrate by the traveling unit 5. Then, the hand unit 4 is moved back to the end part of the + X direction, and the glass substrate is passed to the processing apparatus B. FIG. Then, the blowing of the air from the blowing port 2a and the suction of the air from the suction port 4a are stopped, and one unit of processing is completed. When the glass substrate is received by the processing apparatus B and conveyed to the object storage apparatus A, the reverse procedure is performed.

<Configuration of the object storage device A>

3 is an external perspective view of the object storage device A. FIG. The object storage device A includes an air blowing device 10, a storage cassette 20 provided above the air blowing device 10, a lifting device 30, and a positioning device 40. do.

<Storing cassette>

4 is an external perspective view of the storage cassette 20. The storage cassette 20 is a cassette capable of storing a glass substrate in multiple stages in the vertical direction (Z direction). 3 and 4 illustrate a state in which the glass substrate is not stored. In the present embodiment, the storage cassette 20 forms a substantially rectangular parallelepiped frame body by the plurality of pillar members 21a and 21b and the beam members 22a to 22g.

The pillar members 21b are provided in plural in the X direction and are equally spaced apart in the Y direction, and are predetermined in the vertical direction (Z direction) between the pillar members 21b in the Y direction and between the pillar members 21a. The plurality of wires 23 are laid at a pitch of. The wire 23 forms a plurality of stages in which the glass substrate is mounted in a substantially horizontal posture in the vertical direction. 5 is a view showing a seating portion for one stage. The seating portions at each end are formed by a plurality of wires 23 spaced apart in the X direction at the same height, and the glass substrate W is seated on the wires 23. Between each wire 23 and the outside of the wire 23 at both ends of X direction, the opening part 23a which the air blowing device 10 mentioned later respectively can pass is formed. In the present embodiment, the seating portion is formed of a wire, but other methods can of course be employed. However, by using wires, the distance between the substrates to be stored can be reduced, and the storage efficiency of the storage cassette 200 can be increased.

Returning to Fig. 4, both sides of the storage cassette 20 facing each other in the X direction are opened in a door shape by the beam member 22a and the pillar member 21a, respectively, and the side in the -X direction is the glass substrate. The carry-in port 24 is formed. The bottom portion of the storage cassette 20 is constituted by a pair of beam members 22d, a plurality of beam members 22b, and one beam member 22f, and between them and both ends of the beam members 22d. The inlet port 25 through which the air blowing device 10 which is mentioned later is passed through is formed.

Lifting device

6 is an external perspective view of the elevating device 30, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the elevating unit 31. The elevating device 30 is a device for elevating the storage cassette 20 and the air blowing device 10 up and down relatively. In this embodiment, although the air blowing device 10 is fixed and the storage cassette 20 is lifted and lowered, the structure which fixes the storage cassette 20 and raises and lowers the air blowing device 10 can also be adopted.

In the present embodiment, the lifting device 30 is provided on both sides of the storage cassette 20 opposite to each other in the Y direction so as to sandwich the storage cassette 20, and a pair for cantilevering the storage cassette 20. The lifting unit 31 is composed of. According to this structure, the lifting unit 31 can be made thinner, and the installation space of the whole object storage device A can be made smaller. In addition, the space of the inlet / outlet of the glass substrate and the air blowing device 10 can be secured more widely.

The lifting unit 31 includes a beam member 311 on which the beam members 22d at the bottom of the storage cassette 20 are seated. Each beam member 311 of each lifting unit 31 is moved up and down (Z direction) synchronously so that the storage cassette 20 is lifted. The elevating unit 31 has a support 312 extending in the vertical direction, and a pair of rail members 313 and the rack 314 extending in the vertical direction are fixed to the inner surface of the support 312. It is. Between each elevating unit 31, the beam member 32 is provided on the upper end of the support 312.

The beam member 311 is fixedly supported on one side of the support plate 315 through a bracket 315a. Four slide members 316 movable along the rail member 313 are fixed to the other side of the support plate 315, and the beam member 311 and the support plate 315 are moved up and down by the guide of the rail member 313. Move. The drive unit 317 is composed of a motor 317a and a reduction gear 317b, and is fixed to and supported on one side of the support plate 318. The output shaft of the reducer 317b penetrates through the support plate 318 and is connected to the pinion 319a provided on the other side of the support plate 318.

The support plate 315 and the support plate 318 are fixed to each other at predetermined intervals, and pinions 319b to 319d are provided in the gaps between the support plate 315 and the support plate 318. The pinions 319b to 319d are rotatably axially supported between the support plate 315 and the support plate 318, and the pinion 319b and the pinion 319d follow the rotation of the pinion 319a to rotate. The pinion 319c rotates following the rotation of the pinion 319b. The pinions 319b to 319d are pinions of the same standard, and the two pinions 319c and 319d are engaged with the respective racks 314.

When the driving unit 317 is driven, the pinion 319a is rotated, and the driving unit 317, the support plates 315 and 318, the slide member 316 and the beam member 311 are integrated by the driving force. Moving upward or downward, the storage cassette 20 mounted on the beam member 311 may be lifted. Each lifting unit 31 is provided with a sensor 311a that detects a deviation of the lifting heights of the beam members 311 at each end of the beam member 311.

The sensor 311a is, for example, an optical sensor provided with a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion. As shown in FIG. In the case of receiving light, there is no deviation of the lifting heights of the beam members 311, and in the case of not receiving light, there is a deviation in the lifting height. When the deviation of the lifting height is detected by the sensor 311a, the control is controlled so that the deviation is eliminated by the control of the motor 317a. By providing the sensor 311a to control the deviation of the lifting height of the beam member 311, the storage cassette 20 can be prevented from tilting during the lifting, and the storage cassette 20 can be raised and lowered more stably.

The two sensors 311a provided in each beam member 311 may have a structure in which one of them has one of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion, and the other thereof has the other of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion. In addition, not only an optical sensor but other sensors are also employable.

<Air blowing device>

8 is an external perspective view of the air blowing device 10. In the case of this embodiment, the air blowing device 10 is composed of a plurality of air blowing units 11, each air blowing unit 11 does not interfere with the storage cassette 20 during the lifting of the storage cassette 20. It is set to the magnitude | size and position which can pass through the entrance port 25 and the opening part 23a so that it may pass. Each air blowing unit 11 has an approximately horizontal upper surface 111 in which a plurality of air blowing holes 111a are formed. Each upper surface 111 of each air blowing unit 11 is located on approximately the same horizontal surface. The blower outlet 111a blows off the air supplied from the air supply apparatus (for example, a compressor) which is not shown in figure, and floats the glass substrate accommodated in the storage cassette 20 on the upper surface 111 in a substantially horizontal position. .

The linear guide 12 is provided in each bottom part inner side of the two air blowing units 11 located in the shortest part of the -X direction side among each air blowing unit 11. As shown in FIG. Each linear guide 12 is of a linear motor type and reciprocates the air actuator 13 provided on the side of the air blowing unit 11 in the X direction. The air actuator 13 is an actuator which expands and contracts in the vertical direction (Z direction) by moving the rod part up and down, and a suction pad 14 is attached to the rod part. A plurality of air suction ports 14a are provided on the upper surface of the suction pad 14, and air is sucked by an air suction device (for example, a compressor) (not shown).

The adsorption pad 14 has an upper surface protruding from the upper surface 111 of the air blowing unit 11 and a non-protruding position whose upper surface is approximately the same height as the upper surface 111 or lower than the upper surface 111. Is lifted by the air actuator 13 at. The amount of protrusion from the upper surface 111 of the upper surface of the suction pad 14 at the protruding position is set to be substantially equal to the amount of floating from the upper surface 111 of the glass substrate, and the suction pad 14 is positioned at the protruding position. In this case, the upper surface of the suction pad 14 contacts the lower surface of the glass substrate in a floating state on the upper surface 111 of the air blowing unit 11.

As the means for elevating the suction pad 14, the elevating pad 14 is not limited to the air actuator 13, and other elevating means may be employed. In addition, the linear guide 12 functions as a moving means for moving the suction pad 14 in the conveying direction (-X direction) of the glass substrate, but means other than the linear guide 12 can be employed as such moving means.

Next, in each of the air blowing units 11, brackets 15 are respectively provided on the inner side of each bottom of the two air blowing units 11 positioned second from the shortest end on the + X direction side, and each bracket is provided. An air actuator 16 is attached to 15. The air actuator 16 is an actuator which expands and contracts in the up and down direction (Z direction) by moving the rod part up and down, and an auxiliary roller 17 is attached to the rod part. The auxiliary roller 17 is a free roller having no driving force. In this embodiment, the suction pad 14 and the auxiliary roller 17 are located at positions spaced apart from each other in the carrying out direction of the glass substrate.

The auxiliary roller 17 has an upper end between a protruding position protruding from the upper surface 111 of the air blowing unit 11 and a non-protruding position whose upper end is approximately the same height as the upper surface 111 or lower than the upper surface 111. Is lifted by the air actuator 16 at. The amount of protrusion from the upper surface 111 of the upper end of the auxiliary roller 17 in the protruding position is set to be approximately equal to the amount of floating from the upper surface 111 of the glass substrate, and the auxiliary roller 17 is positioned at the protruding position. In this case, the upper end of the auxiliary roller 17 is in contact with the lower surface of the glass substrate in a floating state on the upper surface 111 of the air blowing unit (11). In the present embodiment, the auxiliary roller 17 is moved up and down synchronously with the lifting and lowering of the suction pad (14). The means for elevating the auxiliary roller 17 is not limited to the air actuator 16, and other elevating means may be employed.

Positioning device

9 is an external perspective view of the positioning device 40. In the case of this embodiment, four positioning devices 40 are provided. The four positioning apparatus 40 is set in two pieces, respectively. One set of positioning devices 40 is provided spaced apart in the Y direction so as to face each other. The two sets of positioning devices 40 are spaced apart in the X direction.

Each positioning device 40 includes a circular roller 41 for pressing the edge of the glass substrate (in this embodiment, both ends in the Y direction) in a substantially horizontal direction, and a roller reciprocating in the Y direction. The pusher 42 is provided. The pusher 42 is an air actuator which expands and contracts in the Y direction here. The roller 41 is axially rotatably supported by the tip portion of the pusher 42.

<Control part>

10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 50 of the object storage device A. FIG. The control unit 50 provides a CPU 51 which is in charge of controlling the entire processing object storage device A, a RAM 52 which provides a work area of the CPU 51 and stores variable data, a control program, R0M 53 is provided which stores fixed data such as control data. The RAM 52 and the R0M 53 can employ other storage means.

The input interface (I / F) 54 is an interface between the CPU 51 and the sensor 311a, and the CPU 51 acquires the detection result of the sensor 311a via the input I / F 54. The output interface (I / F) 55 is an interface between the CPU 51 and the motor 317a, the linear guide 12, and the control valve. The output of the CPU 41 is output through the output I / F 55. ), The linear guide 12 and the control valve. The control valve is provided with or without air from the jet port 111a of each air jet unit 11, with or without air from the suction port 14a of the suction pad 14, operation of the air actuators 13 and 16, It is a control valve for switching the operation of the pusher 42.

The communication interface (I / F) 56 is an interface between the host computer 6 and the CPU 51 that controls the entire processing object processing facility 100, and the CPU 51 responds to instructions from the host computer 6. Accordingly, the object receiving apparatus A is controlled.

<Operation of the object storage device A>

The operation at the time of carrying out the glass substrate in the object storage device A will be described. 11-19 is explanatory drawing of operation | movement of the object accommodation apparatus A. FIG. 11 and 15 are plan views of the air blowing device 10 and the storage cassette 20, and FIGS. 12 to 14 and 16 to 19 are cross-sectional views taken along the line I-I of FIG. In each figure, only the main part is shown, and the wire 23 etc. are abbreviate | omitted.

In this embodiment, the air blowing device 10 enters into the storage cassette 20 in accordance with the lifting operation by the lifting device 30, and the air blowing device 10 is placed on the seating portion (that is, the wire of each stage ( 23) Float the glass substrate on the seat from the seat. Then, the hand unit 4 of the transfer device C is allowed to take out the glass substrate in the floating state, and is carried out of the storage cassette 20.

12 shows a state where the storage cassette 20 is located above the air blowing device 10 and the air blowing device 10 has not yet entered the storage cassette 20. At each end of the storage cassette 20 shown in Fig. 12, a glass substrate W is mounted. The glass substrate W is carried out from the lower one. As shown in FIG. 12, when the glass cassette W is filled with the storage cassette 20, the lowermost glass substrate W is first taken out.

First, as shown in FIG. 13, air is blown out from the blowing port 111a of each air blowing unit 11. As shown in FIG. Further, the air actuators 13 and 16 raise the suction pads 14 and the auxiliary rollers 17 at the ends in the + X direction to the protruding positions, respectively, and suck air from the suction port 14a. In FIG. 13, the line L1 represents the position (height) of the upper surface 111 of each air blowing unit 11 in the Z direction, and the line L2 represents the upper surface of the suction pad 14 and the auxiliary roller 17. The position (height) of the Z direction of the upper end of is shown.

Next, the lifting cassette 30 lowers the storage cassette 20 as shown in FIG. 14 to enter the air blowing device 10 into the storage cassette 20, so that the upper surface of each air blowing unit 11 ( 111) is at approximately the same height as the bottom seat. Then, the glass substrate W, which has been seated on the lowermost seating portion, floats due to the blowing of air from the blowout port 111a, resulting in a floating state. At the same time, the upper surface of the suction pad 14 is in contact with the lower surface of the glass substrate W, and the glass substrate W is sucked by the suction pad 14 by suction of air from the suction port 14a. Since the adsorption pad 14 adsorbs a very small portion of the glass substrate W, the adsorption pad 14 is not enough to fix the glass substrate W. In addition, the upper end of the auxiliary roller 17 is in contact with the lower surface of the glass substrate (W).

Next, as shown in FIG. 15, the pusher 42 of the positioning device 40 is driven to move the roller 41 toward the storage cassette 20 in the Y direction. The height of the roller 41 in the Z direction is set slightly above the height of the upper surface 111 of each air blowing unit 11, and the roller 41 enters the storage cassette 20 to hold the glass substrate ( Press the edge of W). Thereby, positioning of the glass substrate W in a floating state is performed. After positioning, the roller 41 returns to its original position.

When the roller 41 presses the glass substrate W, the glass substrate W may be suddenly moved when the rollers 41 are in contact with the glass substrate W, thereby causing the glass substrate W to slip. However, in this embodiment, since the glass substrate W is adsorbed by the adsorption pad 14, the glass substrate W is supported by the adsorption pad 14, and resists the rapid movement of the glass substrate W. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the sliding of the glass substrate W is reduced, and the glass substrate W can be floated more stably.

When the positioning of the glass substrate W is completed, the linear guide 13 is driven as shown in FIG. 16 to move the suction pad 14 in the -X direction (the discharge direction of the glass substrate W). Since the glass substrate 14 is adsorbed by the suction pad 14 and the air is blown out from the blowing port 111a of each air blowing unit 11, the glass substrate 14 is moved by the suction pad 14. In the -X direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 16, a part of the glass substrate 14 protrudes from the storage cassette 20. As shown in FIG. When the glass substrate W moves, the auxiliary roller 17 installed spaced apart from the suction pad 14 in the discharging direction supports the rear portion of the glass substrate W in the moving direction, so that the glass substrate W Can move stably.

Next, as shown in FIG. 17, the hand unit 4 of the transfer apparatus C comes to receive the glass substrate W. Next, as shown in FIG. The hand unit 4 suctions and supports the lower surface of the end portion of the glass substrate W by sucking air from the suction port 4a. Since the glass substrate W is adsorbed on the suction pad 14, the glass substrate W is prevented from slipping when the hand unit 4 comes to receive the glass substrate W. When the hand unit 4 supports the end of the glass substrate W, the suction of the air from the suction port 14a of the suction pad 14 is stopped and the suction of the glass substrate W by the suction pad 14 occurs. Release the adsorption. In addition, the air actuators 13 and 16 are operated to move the suction pad 14 and the auxiliary roller 16 to the non-projected position, respectively. The blowing of air from the blowing port 111a of each air blowing unit 11 is continued.

Next, as shown in FIG. 18, the hand unit 4 of the transfer apparatus C is moved to-X direction, and it carries out, so that the glass substrate W may be taken out from the storage cassette 20. FIG. In addition, the linear guide 12 is operated to move the suction pad 14 in the + X direction to return it to its original position. In this way, the carry-out of one glass substrate W is complete | finished.

When the hand unit 4 extracts the glass substrate W, the adsorption pad 14 is in the non-projection position, so that the adsorption pad 14 contacts the lower surface of the glass substrate W so as to contact the glass substrate W. At the same time, damage is prevented, and the suction pad 14 can be returned to its original position early to prepare for the next glass substrate W to be taken out.

Further, when the glass substrate W is passed from the storage cassette 20 to the transfer device C, the glass unit W is transported in a predetermined amount of the storage cassette 20 as shown in FIG. Since 4) can receive the glass substrate W, the hand unit 4 does not need to enter the storage cassette 20, and the object to be processed can be smoothly passed to the transfer device C. That is, the suction pad 14 of the present embodiment is the object to be processed to the transfer device C by not only the sliding of the glass substrate W by the movement of the suction pad 14 but also a certain amount of the glass substrate W being taken out. Can achieve the smoothing of

In addition, by lifting and lowering the suction pad 14 and the auxiliary roller 17 synchronously, the auxiliary roller 17 has an upper surface () of the air blowing unit 11 only when auxiliary support of the glass substrate W is necessary. 111) can be projected from.

Thereafter, the storage cassette 20 is sequentially lowered, and the glass substrate W is sequentially carried out by repeating the same procedure. 19 is a view illustrating a state in which the glass substrate W is unloaded to an intermediate seating portion. As the storage cassette 20 descends, the air blowing device 10 further enters the storage cassette 20. . In addition, in the case where the glass substrate W is brought into the storage cassette 20 from the transfer device C, the glass substrate W can be carried out in a substantially opposite operation to that described above. We carry in glass substrate W in sequence from seating part of.

<Other examples of storage cassettes>

The storage cassette 20 is mounted on a forklift or the like and conveyed, and is seated on the beam member 311 of the lifting device 30. When conveying the storage cassette 20, the glass substrate accommodated in the storage cassette 20 may jump out of the carrying out opening 24 by vibration. 20 is an external perspective view of the storage cassette 20 'which solves this problem. In FIG. 20, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the structure similar to the storage cassette 20 mentioned above, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

The storage cassette 20 'includes beam members 22d' and 22e 'in which the beam members 22d and 22e of the storage cassette 20 extend in the ± X direction, respectively, and at each end thereof, a restricting member ( 26) is installed. The restricting member 26 is made of, for example, a resin having plasticity, and has a plurality of comb teeth 26a protruding in the Y direction from the main body portion having a rectangular frame. The comb 26a is provided at the same pitch as the mounting pitch of each seating portion of the storage cassette 20 'in the vertical direction (Z direction), and the width in the Z direction is approximately equal to the thickness of the glass substrate W. As shown in FIG.

21 and 22 are enlarged cross-sectional views of the vicinity of the comb teeth 26a of the restricting member 26 on the -X side. FIG. 21 shows a case where the glass substrate W is in a seated state on the seating portion in the storage cassette 20 '. As shown in Fig. 21, the comb teeth 26a exist in the -X direction of the glass substrate W, and the glass substrate W interferes with the comb teeth 26a when the glass substrate W is to be discharged in the -X direction. As a result, the glass substrate W is regulated to move in the carrying out direction (-X direction) due to vibration or the like at the time of conveyance of the storage cassette 20 '. Similarly, the restricting member 26 on the + X side in FIG. 20 also restricts the glass substrate W from moving in the + X direction due to vibration or the like during conveyance of the storage cassette 20 '.

Next, FIG. 22 shows a case where one of the glass substrates W is floating on the seating portion in the storage cassette 20 '. That is, the lowermost glass substrate W of FIG. 22 is going to be carried out. By floating the glass substrate W, the glass substrate W can pass through the gap between the comb teeth 26a, and the regulating member 26 has the floating glass substrate W in the floating direction (-X). Direction) is not regulated.

In the case of the method of discharging by supporting the end of the glass substrate as in the hand unit 4 of the transfer device C described above, in the past, the hand unit had to enter the storage cassette a little to support the glass substrate. In the configuration in which the restricting member 26 is provided as in the example, the hand unit and the restricting member 26 interfere with each other so that the hand unit 4 cannot enter the storage cassette 20 '.

However, in the present embodiment, the glass substrate W can be protruded from the storage cassette 20 'by the movement of the suction pad 14, so that the hand unit 4 needs to enter the storage cassette 20'. There is no. Therefore, the storage cassette 20 'provided with the restricting member 26 can also be supported.

<Other Embodiments>

In the above embodiment, although the adsorption pad 14 having the adsorption function is employed, the pad does not necessarily need to be a adsorption function to prevent slippage of the glass substrate, and the pad resists sudden movement (sliding) of the glass substrate W. do. For example, the pad which has rubber | gum, a felt cloth, etc. in an upper surface may be sufficient. Of course, the pad having the adsorption function, such as the adsorption pad 14, is effective for preventing the sliding of the glass substrate.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

Claims (7)

An air ejecting means having a substantially horizontal upper surface having a plurality of air ejecting openings formed therein, and causing a rectangular plate-shaped object to be suspended on the upper surface in a substantially horizontal posture by ejecting air from the ejecting opening; A plurality of seating portions formed in multiple stages in the vertical direction and having an opening through which the air blowing means passes, and at which the workpiece is to be seated in a substantially horizontal position; a side portion forming an outlet of the workpiece; and the air An accommodating cassette having a bottom portion defining an entry port through which the ejecting means passes, and installed above the air ejecting means; And elevating means for elevating the storage cassette and the air blowing means up and down relatively, The air blowing means enters into the storage cassette by the lifting operation by the lifting means, and causes the object to be carried out from the storage cassette to be floated from the seat by the air blowing means. In Adsorption pads protruding from the upper surface of the air blowing means and adsorbed by suction of air are provided on the lower surface of the object to be processed in a floating state, And a moving means for moving the suction pad in the carrying out direction of the workpiece. The method of claim 1, And an adsorption pad lifting means for raising and lowering the suction pad between the protruding position and the non-protruding position protruding from the upper surface of the air blowing means. delete delete The method of claim 1, And an auxiliary roller which protrudes from the upper surface of the air blowing means and contacts the lower surface of the object to be processed as the suction pad moves by the moving means. The method of claim 5, The suction pad and the auxiliary roller are spaced apart in the carrying out direction of the object, Suction pad lifting means for elevating the suction pad between a protruding position and a non-protruding position protruding from the upper surface of the air blowing means; And an auxiliary roller elevating means for elevating the auxiliary roller between a protruding position and a non-projecting position protruding from the upper surface of the air blowing means. And the suction pad and the auxiliary roller are moved up and down synchronously. The method of claim 1, And a positioning means for positioning the object by pressing the edge of the object in a floating state in a substantially horizontal direction.

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