KR102568873B1 - Apparatus and Method for Ultra-Thin Glass Tempering - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a strengthening processing apparatus for ultra-thin glass production. The strengthening processing apparatus for manufacturing ultra-thin glass of the present invention includes a loader unit into which a cassette loaded with target glasses is carried in and out; a process processing unit in which preheating, strengthening, and cooling of target glasses loaded in the cassette are sequentially performed; and a transfer unit provided between the process processing unit and the loader unit and having a transfer space for transporting the cassette between the loader unit and the process processing unit.

Description

Apparatus and method for tempering treatment of ultra-thin glass {Apparatus and Method for Ultra-Thin Glass Tempering}

The present invention relates to a strengthening processing apparatus and method for producing ultra-thin glass.

Tempered glass used in smart phones, tablet PCs, mobile terminals, etc. is in the form of a thin plate, and it is advantageous to have less scratches and excellent light transmission properties. However, in order to manufacture tempered glass having excellent hardness and strength, a glass strengthening process is required.

In general, glass tempering is largely divided into physical tempering and chemical tempering. It is mainly used in manufacturing. However, such physical strengthening cannot be applied to thin sheet glass in which the temperature difference between the surface layer and the center layer of the glass cannot be sufficiently created, and in the case of glass having a small coefficient of thermal expansion, it is difficult to strengthen, and in the case of glass having a complex shape, each There is a disadvantage that the parts do not have a uniform temperature difference. In addition, since the operation is performed at a relatively high temperature, deformation of the glass may occur.

On the other hand, chemical strengthening is to immerse thin glass in a potassium nitrate solution at about 450 ° C for more than 3 hours to replace sodium ions in the glass with potassium ions in the potassium nitrate solution to strengthen the glass. used Chemical strengthening strengthens glass through ion exchange and can be applied to both thin glass and glass with complex shapes, and there is no concern about deformation during processing. In addition, there are advantages in that precision is high, superior to physical reinforcement in terms of strength, and cutting processing after reinforcement is possible.

In this chemical strengthening method, the glass to be strengthened is generally heated at a temperature between about 300 and 450 ° C, and the heated glass is immersed in potassium nitrate salt melted at a temperature of about 380 ° C or higher for a certain period of time to compress the surface of the glass. Glass can be strengthened by forming a stress layer.

Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-1120262 (name: tempering furnace device for producing tempered glass, hereinafter referred to as the prior filed invention) exemplifies a device for manufacturing tempered glass. Specifically, in the prior filed invention, after raising the target glass to a predetermined temperature for chemical strengthening, chemical strengthening is performed by putting the heated target glass into the electrolyte in the tempering furnace, and when the chemical strengthening is completed, the temperature of the heated target glass is slowly cooled. will lower

However, since the time required for preheating is relatively longer than the time required for strengthening the target glass in the tempering furnace, the target glass for processing exists in the tempering furnace or slow cooling furnace while the glass is preheating. There is a problem in that productivity is significantly lowered because there is an idle time that is not performed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a strengthening processing apparatus and method for manufacturing ultra-thin glass capable of maximizing productivity and facility operating efficiency.

The object of the present invention is not limited thereto, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a loader unit into which a cassette loaded with target glasses is carried in and out; a process processing unit in which preheating, strengthening, and cooling of target glasses loaded in the cassette are sequentially performed; and a conveying unit provided between the process unit and the loader unit and having a transfer space for transporting the cassette between the loader unit and the process unit.

In addition, the process processing unit preheating furnace for sequentially preheating a plurality of cassettes according to the preheating time; and a process chamber having a tempering furnace for sequentially receiving the plurality of cassettes preheated in the preheating furnace and performing a tempering treatment process, and a slow cooling furnace for cooling the cassettes tempered in the tempering furnace.

In addition, the preheating furnace has a preheating space in which the cassette is moved; The preheating space may be internally partitioned by curtains or doors.

In the preheating furnace, the cassette may be gradually or step-by-step preheated while passing through the partitioned space.

Also, the preheating furnace and the process chamber may be arranged on a straight line, and the preheating furnace and the process chamber may be arranged side by side with the transfer unit.

In addition, the slow cooling furnace is provided in a laminated form on the top of the strengthening furnace, the slow cooling furnace is connected to the preheating furnace, and a first entrance through which cassettes before strengthening treatment are introduced; and a second entrance connected to the transfer unit and through which the cassette is taken out after the tempering process, and the cassette can be carried in/out from the tempering furnace through the slow cooling furnace.

The preheating furnace may include a plurality of preheating chambers to sequentially preheat the cassette, and the cassette may be transferred to the process chamber after sequentially passing through the plurality of preheating chambers.

The preheating furnace may include a plurality of preheating chambers to preheat the cassette, and the cassette may be independently preheated in each of the plurality of preheating chambers and then transferred to the process chamber.

In addition, the loader unit includes at least one carry-in port in which the cassette is placed before processing and at least one or more output ports in which the cassette is placed after processing, and the carry-in port and the carry-out port may be arranged in a straight line. .

According to another feature of the present invention, the step of loading the cassette loaded with target glass to the loader unit; preheating the cassette in a preheating furnace; strengthening the preheated cassette in a tempering furnace; cooling the tempered cassette in a slow cooling furnace; and unloading the cooled cassette to the loader unit; In the preheating step, a plurality of cassettes are preheated by dividing the length and space of the preheating furnace according to the preheating time, and the cassettes are sequentially supplied to the strengthening furnace. .

In addition, in the preheating step, the plurality of cassettes are preheated at each predetermined cycle, and the predetermined cycle may correspond to a processing time when one cassette completes both the strengthening treatment and the cooling treatment. there is.

In addition, the cassette is provided to the strengthening furnace through the slow cooling furnace, the preheated cassette is brought in through a first entrance and exit of the slow cooling furnace connected to the preheating furnace, and the cooled cassette is transferred to the loader unit and the cassette. It may be taken out through the second entrance of the slow cooling furnace connected to the conveying path provided between the slow cooling furnaces.

Also, in the preheating step, the plurality of cassettes may be gradually preheated or preheated in stages.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the productivity of the glass strengthening process can be improved by enabling simultaneous preheating of a plurality of cassettes by dividing the length and space of the preheating furnace according to the preheating time.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from this specification and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view schematically showing a strengthening processing apparatus for manufacturing ultra-thin glass according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the enhancement processing device shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the process chamber shown in FIG. 1 .
4 is a diagram schematically showing a modified example of a tempering processing apparatus for producing ultra-thin glass.
5 is a block diagram of the enhancement processing device shown in FIG. 4;
Figure 6 is a block diagram schematically showing another variant of a tempering processing apparatus for ultra-thin glass production.
7a and 7b are schematic block diagrams of another variant of a tempering processing apparatus for ultra-thin glass production.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following examples. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shapes of elements in the drawings are exaggerated and reduced to emphasize clearer description.

The apparatus of this embodiment can be used to perform a tempering process of tempered glass used in mobile terminals such as smart phones, tablet PCs, and mobile phones, particularly electronic products having a touch panel configuration.

1 is a schematic view of a strengthening processing device for manufacturing ultra-thin glass according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the strengthening processing device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the strengthening processing device shown in FIG. It is a drawing for explaining the process chamber.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , the reinforcement processing device 10 may include a loader unit 100 , a processing unit 300 and a conveyance unit 200 . The loader unit 100, the transport unit 200, and the processing unit 300 may be sequentially arranged in a line.

Hereinafter, the direction in which the loader unit 100, the transport unit 200, and the processing unit 300 are arranged is defined as the first direction 12, and the direction perpendicular to the first direction 12 when viewed from above is It is referred to as the second direction 14, and a direction perpendicular to the plane including the first direction 12 and the second direction 14 is defined as a third direction 16.

A cassette 20 loaded with target glasses (cells) (not shown) may be seated in the loader unit 100 . The target glass may correspond to a cell in which mother glass (before cutting) is cut. The loader unit 100 may include input ports 110 and output ports 120 . The carry-in port 110 may be a port in which the cassette 20 loaded with target glasses before processing is placed, and the take-out port 120 may be a port in which the cassette 20 loaded with the target glasses subjected to the process is placed. The carrying ports 110 and the carrying ports 120 may be arranged in a line along the second direction 14 . For example, the carrying port may be disposed adjacent to the preheating furnace 400 of the processing unit 300, and the carrying port may be disposed adjacent to the slow cooling furnace 550 of the processing unit 300.

1 shows that two input ports 110 and two output ports 120 are provided. However, the number of input ports 110 and output ports 120 may increase or decrease depending on conditions such as process efficiency and footprint of the processing unit 300 .

The transfer unit 200 may be provided between the processing unit 300 and the loader unit 100 . In the transport unit 200 , the cassette 20 is transported between the loader unit 100 and the processing unit 300 . The transport unit 200 may include a transport space 210 for transporting the cassette 20 and a cassette transport unit 220 transporting the cassette 20 in the transport space 210 . For example, the cassette transport unit 220 includes a transport device such as an overhead transform (OHT) installed on the upper portion of the transport space 210 or a transport robot installed on the floor of the transport space 210 and equipped with a hand that directly handles the cassette. A variety of devices may be used.

In the processing unit 300 , preheating, strengthening, and cooling of target glasses loaded in the cassette 20 may be sequentially performed. The process processing unit 300 may include a preheating furnace 400 and a process chamber 500 . The preheating furnace 400 and the process chamber 500 may be arranged on a straight line along the second direction 14 , and the preheating furnace 400 and the process chamber 500 may be arranged side by side with the transfer unit 200 .

The preheating furnace 400 may provide a preheating space for sequentially preheating a plurality of cassettes according to the preheating time. The preheating space of the preheating furnace 400 may be partitioned inside by a space partition member 490 (air curtain, physical curtain or door). In this embodiment, the preheating furnace 400 is illustrated as including two preheating spaces by one space partition member 490, but is not limited thereto.

The preheating furnace 400 may be gradually or step-by-step preheated while passing through a space in which cassettes are partitioned.

The length of the preheating furnace (configured to be long according to the preheating time) according to the preheating time (for example, the time that exists between about 1 hour and 30 minutes and about 2 hours), or the space (two or more preheating space) can be divided and operated.

Since the preheating degree 400 requires a preheating time that is several times longer than the tempering time of the tempering furnace, a plurality of cassettes before tempering treatment are sequentially or simultaneously expanded to a length for preheating or a space for preheating can be separated.

On one side of the preheating furnace 400 (the front side facing the transport space), an inlet 401 into which cassettes before preheating treatment are loaded is provided, and on the other side (the side facing the process chamber), an outlet through which preheated cassettes are taken out ( 402) may be provided. The outlet 402 of the preheating furnace 400 may be connected to the first entrance and exit of the slow cooling furnace.

In the process chamber 500, the cassette 20 loaded with the target glasses preheated in the preheating furnace 400 is immersed in a potassium nitrate solution to replace sodium ions of the target glass with potassium ions of the potassium nitrate solution to make tempered glass. It may include a tempering furnace 510 and a slow cooling furnace 550 provided at the top of the tempering furnace 510 and cooling the target glass tempered in the tempering furnace 510 . The slow cooling furnace 550 may be provided in a laminated form on top of the strengthening furnace 510.

The strengthening furnace 510 may be configured in the form of a chamber in which a working space 512 is formed so that the cassette 20 can be put and heated therein. Here, the chamber may be provided with an insulating wall 514 in which an air layer is formed between the two materials using refractory bricks or ceramic wool and a ceramic board for thermal insulation. In addition, a heat source 516 for heating the working space 512 may be installed in the strengthening furnace 510 . An entrance 518 through which the cassette 20 can be inserted and taken out is provided at the top of the strengthening furnace 510, and the entrance 518 can be opened and closed by a door (not shown).

The slow cooling furnace 550 is disposed above the entrance 518 of the strengthening furnace 510. A heater 556 may be installed on the inner wall surface of the slow cooling furnace 550. The inside of the slow cooling furnace 550 can be maintained in an elevated temperature state by the heater 556 . The heater 556 is provided to prevent a rapid decrease in temperature of target glasses moved in the preheating furnace 400 . The slow cooling furnace 550 has a first entrance 552 and a second entrance 554 on the side. The first entrance 552 is connected to the preheating furnace 400 and corresponds to an entrance through which the cassette 20 before the reinforcement process is loaded, and the second entrance 554 is connected to the transfer unit 200 and after the reinforcement process. Corresponds to an outlet through which the cassette 20 is taken out. The cassette 20 is carried in/out of the strengthening furnace 510 through the slow cooling furnace 550.

A cassette transport device 590 for moving the cassette 20 within the process chamber 500 may be provided in the slow cooling furnace 550 . The cassette transport device 590 holds the cassette 20 at the first entrance 552 and transports it to the tempering furnace 510, and holds the cassette 20 reinforced in the tempering furnace 510 to the second entrance ( 554) can be returned. For reference, the tempered cassette is to be understood as a cassette in which tempered target glasses are loaded.

The cassette 20 tempered in the tempering furnace 510 may be slowly cooled in the slow cooling furnace 550 by the cassette carrying device 590 and then taken out through the second entrance 554 .

Meanwhile, a cleaning furnace in which a cleaning treatment is performed may be provided below the preheating furnace 400 . That is, all or part of the preheating furnace 400 may be stacked on top of the cleaning furnace.

In the strengthening processing method in the strengthening processing apparatus for manufacturing ultra-thin glass having the above structure, the cassette 20 loaded with the target glasses is loaded into the loader unit 100, and the cassette 20 is placed in the preheating furnace 400. Step of preheat treatment, step of tempering the preheated cassette 20 in a tempering furnace 510, step of cooling the tempered cassette 20 in a slow cooling furnace 550, and step of cooling the cassette 20 It may include unloading to the loader unit 100.

Here, in the step of preheating, the cassettes 20 may be sequentially provided to the strengthening furnace 510 by preheating the plurality of cassettes 20 by dividing the length and space of the preheating furnace 400 according to the preheating time. The plurality of cassettes 20 may be gradually preheated or stepwise preheated in the preheating furnace 400 .

In the preheating step, the plurality of cassettes 20 are preheated at predetermined cycles, and the predetermined cycle preferably corresponds to a treatment time when one cassette 20 completes both the strengthening and cooling steps. do.

For example, assuming that the process time for strengthening the cassette 20 and the time it takes for the cassette 20 to be cooled and taken out of the process chamber 500 are 30 minutes, in the preheating furnace 400, the cassette 20 is removed every 30 minutes. may be preheated one by one and brought into the process chamber 500 . Therefore, the tempering furnace 510 can continuously perform the tempering process of the cassette 20 loaded with the target glasses without idle time, thereby improving productivity.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a modified example of a tempering processing apparatus for manufacturing ultra-thin glass, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the tempering processing apparatus shown in FIG. 4 .

4 and 5, the reinforcement processing device 10a according to the modified example includes a loader unit 100a, a process processing unit 300a, and a transport unit 200a, which are the loader unit shown in FIG. 1 ( 100), the processing unit 300, and the conveying unit 200 are provided with substantially similar configurations and functions, hereinafter, modifications will be described focusing on differences from the present embodiment.

In this modification, the preheating furnace 400a may include three preheating chambers 400-1,400-2,400-3, and the cassette 20 includes the first preheating chamber 400-1 to the third preheating chamber 400-3. Its characteristic is that it is preheated to the set temperature while going through step 3). For example, the cassette is preheated to 100°C in the first preheating chamber 400-1, the cassette is preheated to 200°C in the second preheating chamber 400-2, and the cassette is heated to 300°C in the third preheating chamber 400-3. Cassettes can be preheated. As such, each of the preheating chambers may have different heating conditions.

According to a modified example, the first entrance 552 and the second entrance 554 of the slow cooling furnace 550 may be provided on opposite sides of each other. The first entrance 552 may be connected to the third preheating chamber 400 - 3 , and the second entrance 554 may be connected to the transfer unit 200 .

Figure 6 is a block diagram schematically showing another variant of a tempering processing apparatus for ultra-thin glass production.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the preheating furnace 400b may include three preheating chambers 400c, and each of the preheating chambers 400c independently performs a preheating process of preheating the target glass to a set temperature. can do. Accordingly, the cassettes preheated in each of the preheating chambers 400c may be provided to the process chambers 500, respectively.

In this case, the three preheating chambers 400c may sequentially preheat the plurality of cassettes at a predetermined time interval or simultaneously preheat the plurality of cassettes.

7a and 7b are schematic block diagrams of another variant of a tempering processing apparatus for ultra-thin glass production. The modified example is provided with substantially similar configuration and functions to the enhanced processing device shown in FIG. 1, and the differences will be mainly described below.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B , the process processing unit 300c includes a process chamber 500, a preheating furnace 400, and a cleaning furnace 700, and the cleaning furnace 700 includes a preheating furnace 400 can be placed below.

The washing furnace 700 and the preheating furnace 400 are provided with entrances and exits 701 and 401 connected to the transport space 210, and the cassette 20 is transported to the preheating furnace 400 by a cassette transport unit (for example, a hoist) 220. ) Is brought in through the entrance 401, and the slowly cooled cassette 20 is taken out of the slow cooling furnace 550 and then brought into the cleaning furnace 700 through the entrance and exit of the cleaning furnace 700, and the cassette 20 has been cleaned. 20 may be transported through the entrance and exit of the cleaning furnace 700 by the cassette conveying unit 220 again.

Alternatively, the cleaning furnace 700 may form an entrance at a joint surface with the preheating furnace 400 . At this time, the preheating furnace 400 carries in the cassette 20 through entrances located at the bottom and the top of the cleaning furnace 700, and the cassette 20, which has been cleaned in the cleaning furnace 700, is passed through the entrance at the top of the cleaning furnace 700. It can also be exported through

A transfer space is formed on one side of the entrances 554, 401, and 701, and the process chambers 500, 510, the preheating furnace 400, and the cleaning furnace 700 may be disposed on the opposite side of the transport space. .

The above detailed description is illustrative of the present invention. In addition, the foregoing is intended to illustrate and describe preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. That is, changes or modifications are possible within the scope of the concept of the invention disclosed in this specification, within the scope equivalent to the written disclosure and / or within the scope of skill or knowledge in the art. The written embodiment describes the best state for implementing the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes required in the specific application field and use of the present invention are also possible. Therefore, the above detailed description of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments. Also, the appended claims should be construed to cover other embodiments as well.

100: loader unit 200: transfer unit
300: process processing unit 400: preheating furnace
510: strengthening furnace 550: slow cooling furnace

Claims (13)

a preheating furnace having an inlet through which the glass cassette is loaded and an outlet through which the glass is taken out; and
Including a process chamber including a slow cooling furnace and a strengthening furnace located below the gravity direction of the slow cooling furnace,
The preheating furnace is configured to simultaneously preheat the glasses loaded in a plurality of cassettes, and the process cycle of preheating the glass of one cassette is the process of cooling the glass of one cassette in a slow cooling furnace and the tempering furnace. Configured to correspond to the processing time to complete all the strengthening processing processes,
Reinforcing processing unit for ultra-thin glass manufacturing. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a cassette conveying unit located on one side of the preheating furnace or the process chamber in a first direction crossing the gravity direction and configured to be movable in a second direction crossing the first direction and the gravity direction,
The process chamber includes a first entrance through which cassettes loaded with glass before tempering treatment are brought into the slow cooling furnace, a second entrance through which cassettes loaded with glass after tempering treatment are taken out from the slow cooling furnace, and the slow cooling furnace and the tempering furnace. With a third entrance connecting the
The inlet of the preheating furnace is located on the one side surface in the first direction,
The second entrance of the process chamber is located on the side of the one side in the first direction,
In the preheating furnace, the cassette is at least partially configured to be transportable in the second direction;
When a cassette loaded with glass before preheating is brought into the preheating furnace, it is brought into the preheating furnace through the inlet using the cassette transfer unit,
When the cassette is transferred from the preheating furnace to the process chamber, it is taken out of the preheating furnace through the outlet and brought into the slow cooling furnace through the first entrance;
When the cassette is transferred from the slow cooling furnace to the strengthening furnace, it is brought into the strengthening furnace through the third entrance,
When the cassette is transferred from the strengthening furnace to the slow cooling furnace, it is brought into the slow cooling furnace through the third entrance,
When the cassette loaded with glass after slow cooling is taken out from the slow cooling furnace, it is taken out of the slow cooling furnace through the second entrance using the cassette transfer unit,
A strengthening processing device for manufacturing ultra-thin glass configured to move and preheat the partitioned inner space of the preheating furnace. According to claim 2,
Further comprising a cleaning furnace located below the gravity direction of the preheating furnace,
The cleaning furnace has an entrance located on the one side in the first direction, and is configured to be carried in and out by the cassette conveying unit. According to claim 1,
The preheating furnace has an inner space partitioned by an air curtain. According to claim 1,
The glass preheating process performed in the preheating furnace,
A tempering treatment device for manufacturing ultra-thin glass configured to be performed for a longer time than the glass tempering process performed in the tempering furnace. delete delete delete delete A method carried out using the strengthening processing device of claim 1,
preheating the cassette loaded with the target glass in a preheating furnace;
tempering the cassette loaded with preheated glass in a tempering furnace; and
A tempering treatment method for manufacturing ultra-thin glass comprising the step of cooling the cassette loaded with tempered glass in a slow cooling furnace. According to claim 10,
The time the cassette stays in the preheating furnace is 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. delete delete

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