KR101430654B1 - Glass cassette conveyor for Flat Panel Display - Google Patents

Abstract

A glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat panel display is disclosed. A glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat panel display according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a transporting body on which a cassette is loaded, a transporting unit provided along a transport path of the cassette to transport the transporting body and transporting the cassette, And a contaminant removing unit for removing contaminants of the cassette conveyed in cooperation with the unit.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a glass cassette conveyor for flat panel display,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat panel display, and more particularly, to a glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat display, which transports a cassette loaded with a glass substrate, .

BACKGROUND ART [0002] Substrates used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDP), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), etc. commonly referred to as flat panel displays (FPDs) .

Since the glass is very susceptible to impact from the outside and the size of the substrate is relatively large, special care is required when moving between a plurality of process chambers used for glass manufacturing and processing.

In addition, glass must be subjected to a manufacturing process in a completely clean environment to reduce the defect rate. That is, in the manufacturing process of the glass, the glasses having been subjected to arbitrary processes are loaded on a cassette by a separate robot. When the loading is completed, the cassette itself is transferred to the next process. The glass is taken out and the corresponding process is performed. At this time, the cassette containing the glass is moved by a conveying device such as a conveyor.

Although a perfect clean environment should be maintained during the loading of the glass and the conveyance of the cassette, contaminants may be generated in the conveying device such as a conveyer for conveying the cassette, thereby contaminating the cassette.

In other words, although the cassette cleaning apparatus is in the middle of the process, since the cassette can not be cleaned every manufacturing process, all kinds of contaminants generated during the cassette transportation are seated on the cassette and affect the manufacturing process, There are problems that provide a major cause.

Korean Intellectual Property Office Publication No. 10-2008-0001010

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a glass cassette transporting apparatus for flat display, which can reduce the elements of defective products caused by contaminants by separately providing units for removing contaminants of the cassettes, .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyance apparatus comprising: a conveyance body on which a cassette is loaded; A transfer unit installed along the movement path of the cassette to the transfer body and transferring the cassette; And a contaminant removing unit provided separately from the transporting unit and configured to remove contaminants from the cassette transported in conjunction with the transporting unit.

The conveying unit includes a plurality of conveying rollers installed in the conveying body; And a driving motor for driving the conveying roller.

The contaminant removing unit may include a brush for contacting the cassette to be transferred and removing the contaminant.

The brush may be a roller brush roller.

The roller brush may be rotated so as to apply a rotational force to the cassette in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the cassette.

The contaminant removing unit may further include a reverse rotation module that transmits the rotational force of the conveying roller to the roller brush between any one of the roller brush and the conveying roller, and transmits the rotational force of the conveying roller in reverse.

Wherein the reverse rotation module includes: a first rotating body coupled to the conveying body and receiving rotational force from one of the conveying rollers; And a second rotating body that is rotated inversely by the first rotating body to drive the roller brush.

The second rotating body may be coupled to the rotating shaft of the roller brush.

The first rotating body and the second rotating body may be gear-engaged.

Wherein the roller brush is coupled to a rotating shaft disposed apart from the second rotating body, the reverse rotating module includes: a first pulley provided in the second rotating body; A second pulley provided on the rotary shaft of the roller brush; And a belt coupled to the first pulley and the second pulley to transmit the rotational force of the second rotator to the rotational shaft of the roller brush.

The contaminant removing unit may further include a scatter preventive cover provided adjacent to the reverse rotation module for blocking contaminants scattering toward the glass side.

The contaminant removing unit may further include a suction unit provided adjacent to the brush for collecting contaminants removed from the cassette.

The suction portion may include a dust box surrounding the brush.

The suction unit may include a suction / discharge pipe provided adjacent to the brush for sucking and discharging contaminants from the brush.

The upper end of the suction / discharge pipe may be provided with a suction pipe formed with a suction port having a larger area toward the upper side toward the brush side.

According to the present invention, a contaminant-removing unit for removing contaminants from a cassette can be provided separately from a transfer unit in an apparatus for conveying a cassette, so that elements of defective products caused by contaminants can be removed in advance, By separately installing the unit, it is possible to smoothly contact the cassette to increase the removal efficiency of the contaminants, and to reduce the interference to the transfer unit during transfer of the cassette.

1 is a front view of a glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat display according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an enlarged view of a portion A in Fig.
3 is a plan view of Fig.
4A is a right side view of Fig.
4B is a perspective view showing the roller brush and dust box of FIG. 4A.
5 is a front view showing an operating state of a glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to fully understand the present invention, operational advantages of the present invention, and objects achieved by the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference symbols in the drawings denote like elements.

1 is a front view of a glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, a glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat display according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a transporting body 100 on which a cassette C is loaded, a transporting unit 100 for transporting the cassette C to the transporting body 100, A transfer unit 110 installed along the path for transferring the cassette C and a contaminant removal unit for removing the contaminants of the cassette C interlocked with the transfer unit 110, (120).

The conveying body 100 may have a structure in which vibration is blocked from the ground and is stably supported, and a box in which a passage through which the cassette C can move is formed therein. That is, the transportation body 100 includes a lower body 102 having an upper body 101 with a passage formed therein and a plurality of frames 103 supporting the upper body 101.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the transfer unit 110 is disposed on the upper portion of the lower main body 102 between the upper main body 101 and the lower main body 102. That is, the transfer unit 110 is arranged to support the cassette C along the path of the upper main body 101, and is configured to transfer the cassette C. The conveying unit 110 includes a plurality of conveying rollers 111, 115 and 116 installed along the passage of the conveying body 100 and a driving motor 118 for driving the conveying rollers 111, 115 and 116 . The conveying rollers 111, 115 and 116 support the bottom surface of the cassette C and are rotated by the driving motor 118. The cassette C can be conveyed in the advancing direction on the right side in Fig. 1 by the rotation of the conveying rollers 111, 115, and 116. [

Referring again to FIG. 1, a contaminant removal unit 120 may be provided at the right end of the transfer unit 110. That is, the contaminant removing unit 120 may be disposed so that the bottom surface of the cassette C passes when the cassette C advances. The contaminants attached to the cassette C generated in the transporting process or other processes of the cassette C can be removed by the contaminant removal unit 120 disposed in the transport path of the cassette C. [ By thus removing the contaminants attached to the cassette C, a clean manufacturing environment for the glass can be maintained. That is, a contamination source that can contaminate the glass when the glass is taken out or stored in the next processing step can be removed in advance. The contaminant removing unit 120 is installed separately from the conveying unit 110 in the conveying path of the cassette C so as to reduce the interference with the cassette C and the conveying unit 110, Transfer and removal of contaminants can be achieved.

More specifically, the contaminant removing unit 120 may be installed on the upper right side of the lower main body 102 when the cassette moves in the right direction as shown in FIG. 1. When the traveling direction of the cassette C is opposite And may be installed at the upper left side of the lower main body 102. The contaminant removal unit 120 is not limited in its location to a specific region of the transportation body 100. The contaminant removing unit 120 may be arranged to remove contamination on the bottom surface of the cassette C at the end of the transfer unit 110 when contaminants are assumed to be generated from the transfer unit 110 have.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of part A of Fig. 1 in which the pollutant removal unit 120 is shown. Hereinafter, the pollutant removal unit 120 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

1 and 2, the contaminant removing unit 120 includes a brush 121 for contacting contaminants, a reverse rotation module 130 for the brush 121, And a suction unit 150. [ The brush 121 is operated by the reverse rotation module 130 to apply the contact force in the direction opposite to the advancing direction of the cassette C when the cassette C moves along the rightward traveling direction, The contaminants can be separated from the cassette (C) by the brushes (121). The contaminants may be separated from the cassette C, and then sucked into the suction unit 150 and discharged to the outside.

Here, the roller 121 R may be selected as a roller-shaped roller brush 121 R so that the bottom surface C 'of the cassette C can be swept away while being rotated counterclockwise by the reverse rotation module 130. The roller brush 121R may be disposed between two transfer rollers 115 and 116 which are coupled to a separate rotary shaft 125 and disposed on the end side of the transfer unit 110. [ The diameter of the roller brush 121R may be selected to be approximately equal to the diameter of the feed rollers 115 and 116 or slightly larger by several millimeters so that the roller brush 121R can contact the bottom surface C 'of the cassette C.

At this time, the brush 121 is not limited to the roller brush 121R, but may be of any shape that can contact the bottom surface C 'of the cassette C to remove contaminants. That is, the brush 121 is formed in a rectangular shape in cross section so as to be able to contact the bottom surface C 'of the cassette C, so that the contaminants can be released from the cassette C. In addition, the suction force of the suction unit 150 can be further strengthened so that the contaminants do not stick to the cassette C side again due to static electricity or the like, and the reverse rotation module 130 can be omitted. At this time, when the reverse rotation module 130 is disposed again, the operation can be controlled so as to switch between the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion of the brush 121 in accordance with the wear of the brush 121.

3 is a plan view of Fig. The configuration of the reverse rotation module 130 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the driving direction may be selected so that the roller brush 121R is rotated counterclockwise. In other words, it can be rotated so as to apply a contact force to the bottom surface of the cassette C, as opposed to the moving direction of the cassette C. At this time, between the roller brush 121R and the last two conveying rollers 115 and 116, the rotational force of the conveying roller 115 is transmitted to the roller brush 121R for the reverse rotation of the roller brush 121R, And a reverse rotation module 130 for transmitting the reverse rotation module 130 in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotating shaft.

The reverse rotation module 130 includes a first rotating body 131 coupled to an elongated rotating shaft 115 'of a second right conveying roller 115 coupled to the conveying body 100 and receiving a rotational force, And a second rotating body 132 that is rotated inversely by the entire body 131 to drive the roller brush 121R. Here, unlike the present embodiment, the second rotating body 132 may be coupled to the rotating shaft 125 of the roller brush 121R provided separately to the transporting body 100. 2 and 3, when it is assumed that the rotation axis 132 'of the second rotating body 132 and the rotation axis 125 of the roller brush 121R are arranged on the same axis, The second rotating body 132 is rotated in the direction opposite to the first rotating body 131 by the rotation of the rotating body 131 and the roller brush 121R is rotated in the same direction as the second rotating body 132 Can be brought into contact with the bottom surface (C ') of the cassette (C). That is, when the first rotating body 131 is rotated clockwise, the second rotating body 132 is rotated counterclockwise, and the roller brush 121R can also be rotated counterclockwise. The first rotating body 131 and the second rotating body 132 are not limited to the coupling of the power transmission between the first rotating body 131 and the second rotating body 132, The driving force can be transmitted through the gear combination.

2 and 3, in the present embodiment, the rotational force of the second rotating body 132 is applied between the second rotating body 132 of the reverse rotation module 130 and the roller brush 121R in the same direction A further power transmission element may be arranged for transmission. That is, the roller brush 121R is coupled to a separate rotary shaft 125 disposed apart from the second rotary body 132, and the reverse rotary module 130 is coupled to the rotary shaft 132 'of the second rotary body 132. [ A second pulley 142 provided on the rotation shaft 125 of the roller brush 121R and a second pulley 142 coupled to the first pulley 141 and the second pulley 142, And a belt 145 for transmitting the rotational force of the entire brush 132 to the rotational axis 125 of the roller brush 121R.

At this time, when the first rotating body 131 is rotated and the second rotating body 132 is rotated in the opposite direction, the first pulley 141 disposed coaxially with the second rotating body 132 is rotated by the second rotating body 132, And the rotational force of the first pulley 141 can be transmitted to the second pulley 142 by the belt 145. [ Since the second pulley 142 is connected to the first pulley 141 by the belt 145, the second pulley 142 can be rotated in the same direction as the first pulley 141. Therefore, the roller brush 121R coaxially coupled to the second pulley 142 can be rotated in the same direction as the second pulley 142. [

The combination of the pulleys 141 and 142 and the belt 145 is used as the power transmitting element for rotating the roller brush 121R in the same direction as the second rotating body 132 in the above- The present invention is not limited thereto and the present invention is not limited thereto and can be applied to a power transmitting element which is disposed between two conveying rollers 115 and 116 and can transmit the rotational force of the second rotating body 132 to the roller brush 121R side in the same direction Is enough.

4A is a right side view of Fig. 4B is a perspective view illustrating the roller brush 121R and the dust collection box 155 of FIG. 4A. 2 and 4A, in this embodiment, the pollutant removing unit 120 further includes a scatter preventive cover 152 and a suction unit 150. [

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4A, the contaminant removal unit 120 first includes a scatter prevention cover 152 provided adjacent to the reverse rotation module 130 to block contaminants scattering toward the glass side. The anti-scattering cover 152 may be formed to surround the reverse rotation module 130 and may be fixed to the transportation body 100. The scatter preventive cover 152 is disposed between the first and second rotors 131 and 132 and the first and second pulleys 141 and 142 when contaminants are present in the reverse rotation module 130 and the reverse rotation module 130 is operated. It is possible to prevent the contaminants from scattering due to the centrifugal force generated from the cassette C, 142 and the like to contaminate the cassette C. The scatter prevention cover 152 may be omitted when the suction force of the suction unit 150 is sufficiently influenced by the reverse rotation module 130 to prevent re-scattering of contaminants to the reverse rotation module 130 have.

Next, the pollutant removal unit 120 further includes a suction unit 150. [ The suction unit 150 can discharge contaminants to the outside of the transporting body 100 in association with the brushes 121. The suction unit 150 includes a dust box 155 disposed adjacent to the brush 121 and collecting contaminants removed from the cassette C and a dust box 155 disposed adjacent to the brush 121 to remove contaminants And a suction pipe 158 provided at an upper end of the suction and discharge pipe 157 and having a suction port 159 having a larger area toward the upper side toward the brush 121 side.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the dust collection box 155 of the suction unit 150 may be formed in such a manner that the dust collection box 155 surrounds the four sides of the roller brush 121R and has open top and bottom. At this time, the dust collecting box 155 may block the contaminants introduced into the dust collecting box 155, and the suction force of the suction and discharge pipe 157 may be completely applied to the roller brush 121R.

The suction pipe 158 has a funnel shape and its suction port 159 can be connected to the bottom surface of the dust box 155. The pollutant can flow along the suction / discharge pipe 157 and be discharged to the outside by the suction force of the suction / discharge pipe 157 applied to the suction pipe 158. Although not shown, a pipe of a vacuum pump that applies a suction force may be connected to an end of the suction and discharge pipe 157.

5 is a front view showing an operating state of a glass cassette transporting apparatus for a flat display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the first rotating body 131, the second rotating body 132, the first pulley 141, the second pulley 142, and the roller brushes 121R ) In the direction of the rotation.

3 and 5, when the cassette C advances from left to right along the conveying rollers 111, 115, and 116, the first rotating body 131 rotates by the driving motor 118 The second rotating body 132 is rotated. When the second rotating body 132 is rotated, the coaxial first pulley 141 is rotated and the second pulley 142 is rotated in the same direction as the first pulley 141 by the belt 145. When the second pulley 142 is rotated, the coaxial roller brush 121R is rotated, and the roller brush 121R moves the dustbin box 155 away from the bottom surface C 'of the advancing cassette C, As shown in FIG. At the same time, since the suction force through the suction pipe 158 connected to the bottom surface of the dust box 155 is applied to the dust box 155, the pollutant is discharged to the outside through the suction pipe 158 via the suction pipe 158.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, such modifications or variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

C: Cassette
100: carrying body 101: upper body
102: lower body 110: conveying unit
111, 115, 116: Feed roller 118: Drive motor
120: Pollutant removing unit 121: Brush
121R: roller brush 125: rotary shaft
130: reverse rotation module 131: first rotation
132: Second Rotor 141: First Pulley
142: second pulley 145: belt
150: Suction part 152: Shatterproof cover
155: dust collection box 157: suction discharge pipe
158: Suction pipe 159: Suction port

Claims (15)

A carrying body on which a cassette is loaded;
A transfer unit installed along the movement path of the cassette to the transfer body and transferring the cassette; And
A contaminant removal unit provided separately from the transfer unit for removing contaminants from the cassette,
The transfer unit
A plurality of conveying rollers installed on the conveying body; And
And a driving motor for driving the conveying roller,
Wherein the contaminant removal unit includes a brush that contacts the cassette being transported to remove the contaminant,
Wherein the pollutant removal unit comprises:
Further comprising a reverse rotation module connected between the brush and any one of the plurality of feed rollers and connected to the brush and the feed roller and for transmitting the rotational force of the feed roller to the brush when the feed roller rotates, ,
Wherein the pollutant removal unit comprises:
A shake-resistant cover provided adjacent to the reverse rotation module and configured to surround the reverse rotation module, the shake prevention cover being fixed to the transport body and blocking contaminants from scattering on the reverse rotation module and contaminating the cassette Further comprising: a conveying device for conveying the glass cassette for flat display. delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the brush is a roller brush of a roller shape. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the roller brush is rotated so as to apply a rotational force in an opposite direction to the moving direction of the cassette. delete 5. The method of claim 4,
The reverse-
A first rotating body coupled to the conveying body and coupled to any one of the plurality of conveying rollers to receive rotational force from the conveying roller; And
The roller brush is connected to the first rotating body so as to rotate in a direction opposite to the rotation of the first rotating body when the first rotating body rotates and connected to the roller brush to drive the roller brush by a rotational force transmitted from the first rotating body. And a second rotating body for rotating the glass body. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the first rotating body and the second rotating body are gear-coupled. 8. The method of claim 7,
And the second rotary member is coupled to the rotary shaft of the roller brush. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the roller brush is coupled to a rotating shaft disposed apart from the second rotating body,
The reverse-
A first pulley provided on the second rotating body;
A second pulley provided on the rotary shaft of the roller brush; And
Further comprising a belt coupled to the first pulley and the second pulley to transmit the rotational force of the second rotational body to the rotational shaft of the roller brush. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the contaminant removing unit further comprises a suction part provided adjacent to the brush for collecting contaminants removed from the cassette. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the suction portion includes a dust box surrounding the brush. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the suction unit includes a suction / discharge pipe provided adjacent to the brush for sucking and discharging contaminants from the brush. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein a suction pipe is provided at an upper end of the suction / discharge pipe, the suction pipe having a suction port whose area increases toward the brush toward the upper side.

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