KR20070100618A - Apparatus for measuring thickness of glass substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for measuring thickness of a glass substrate is provided to measure thickness of a thin flat panel display accurately even while the glass substrate is being transported by installing plural displacement sensors perpendicular to transport path of the glass substrate and radiating waves and receiving the reflected waves to calculate the thickness of the flat panel display. A device for measuring thickness of a glass substrate comprises a plurality of sensors installed perpendicular to the transport path of a glass substrate(GL) wherein the sensors are disposed on the surface side and on the opposite side of the glass substrate, a first unit calculating the distance between the sensors and the glass substrate on the basis of the signals from the each sensors, a second unit calculating the thickness of the glass substrate being transported on basis of the calculated value from the first unit and the distance between two predetermined sensors(D0). The sensors are displacement sensors transmitting radiant waves at a regular time intervals and receives the reflected waves. The reflected waves are waves reflected off the outer surface of the glass substrate. A PLC(Programmable Logic Controller) unit acquiring the thickness of the glass substrate calculated by the second unit. The sensors include a radiating unit(TR) emitting a laser beam, a light receiving unit(RV) receiving the reflected waves. The light receiving unit has a CCD(Charge Coupled Devices).

Description

Plate thickness measuring apparatus of glass substrate {APPARATUS FOR MEASURING THICKNESS OF GLASS SUBSTRATE}

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The figure which shows the whole structure of a processing apparatus after arrange | positioning a plate thickness measuring apparatus.

2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a plate thickness measuring apparatus.

3 shows an arrangement position of a sensor head.

4 is a diagram illustrating a measurement operation.

5 is a time chart illustrating the operation of each part of the plate thickness measuring apparatus.

6 is a perspective view showing a part of an introduction part;

7 is a perspective view showing another part of the introduction portion;

8 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of another sheet thickness measuring apparatus.

9 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a laminated glass substrate.

10 illustrates a problem of the prior art;

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

GL: laminated glass substrate 1: introduction

2 washing part 3 dewatering part

4: measuring unit 5: deriving unit

10: loading part 11: rotating arm

12: fixed block 13: support plate

14: Notch 15: Jersey plate

16: cushioning material 17: O ring

20: drive unit 21: output shaft

22A, 22B: Retention part 23: connecting arm

24: drive source 25: cylinder

26: piston 27: through pin

28 support shaft 40 plate thickness measuring device

41 laser displacement meter 42 pass-through sensor

43: PLC 43a: input port

43b: AD converter 43c: Ethernet controller

43d: real entry and exit port 43e: CPU unit

44: touch panel 45: personal computer

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to the plate | board thickness measurement apparatus which can measure the plate | board thickness correctly, conveying the glass substrate thinned by chemical polishing process etc.

Flat panel display (hereinafter referred to as FPD) is a term that contrasts with a bulging display device such as a CRT display CRT display, and has a great feature in that the display panel is slim due to its small depth and space saving. In FPDs, liquid crystal monitors, plasma displays, organic EL displays, and the like have been put to practical use. Among FPDs, in particular, liquid crystal monitors are widely used not only for television receivers but also for display devices such as mobile phones and computer devices.

By the way, in recent years, the method of chemically polishing the laminated glass substrate which comprises a liquid crystal monitor to the limit is employ | adopted suitably based on the request of weight reduction and thickness reduction of a liquid crystal monitor. Specifically, the 1st and 2nd glass substrates 60 and 60 which provided several display panel area PN ... PN are bonded together, and the laminated glass substrate GL is formed. And the laminated glass substrate GL is immersed in the aqueous solution containing hydrofluoric acid, and chemically polished and thinned in the state which sealed the outer periphery 62 of laminated glass substrate GL severely (refer FIG. 9). According to this chemical polishing method, not only can a plurality of display panels PN... PN be manufactured in combination, but also the processing speed is higher than that of mechanical polishing, and thus there is an advantage in that the productivity is excellent. In addition, since the laminated glass substrate GL can be thinned to a limit, it is possible to meet further requests for thinner and lighter display panel PN.

In the laminated glass substrate thinned by chemical polishing, the plate thickness is measured at a plurality of inspection points for each laminated glass substrate thereafter, and it is checked whether or not the variation in the plate thickness is within a predetermined range. A laser sensor is used for this plate | board thickness test, and plate | board thickness is specified by extracting the reflected wave R1 of a 1st glass substrate and the reflected wave R2 of a 2nd glass substrate (refer FIG. 10).

However, as the laminated glass substrate became thinner, this plate thickness measurement became difficult. That is, since the plate | board thickness of a glass substrate was thin, there was hardly a difference in the path | route of two reflection waves R1 and R2, and it was difficult to distinguish and extract both. In particular, in the laminated glass substrate for liquid crystal monitors, since scattering wave (Rn) from the enclosure between a 1st and 2nd glass substrate also exists, accurate plate | board thickness measurement was hardly possible.

In addition, in order to further improve the productivity of the display panel, it is preferable to measure the plate thickness with respect to the glass substrate which is moving the conveying path. However, since the glass surface of the moving glass substrate is slightly pulsating on the conveying path, the conventional apparatus It was not possible to make accurate measurements.

This invention is made | formed in view of these problems, and an object of this invention is to provide the plate | board thickness measuring apparatus which can measure plate | board thickness correctly, even if it thins a glass substrate. Moreover, an object of this invention is to provide the plate | board thickness measuring apparatus which can measure the plate | board thickness correctly even if it is a moving glass substrate.

MEANS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM In order to achieve the said objective, this invention is a plate | board thickness measuring apparatus of the glass substrate for flat panel displays which accommodates the thin-processed glass substrate and measures the plate | board thickness of several points with respect to the glass substrate, The said glass substrate conveys A plurality of sets of sensors arranged on the front side and the back side of the glass substrate at right angles to the conveying path, the first means for calculating the separation distance between each sensor and the surface of the glass substrate based on an output signal from the sensor; And 2nd means which calculate the plate | board thickness of the said glass substrate currently conveyed based on the calculated value of the said 1st means, and the separation distance of a pair of sensors previously specified.

In the present invention, the sensor is preferably a displacement sensor configured to receive the reflected wave while transmitting the radiation wave at predetermined time intervals. It is also suitable to use reflected waves reflected from the outer surface of the glass substrate.

In addition, the present invention is effective to further include a pass sensor that outputs an ON signal when the PLC and the conveying path that acquire the calculated plate thickness value of the second means are always monitored to grasp the glass substrate. Although a glass substrate is not specifically limited, The effect of this invention is high as it is a laminated glass substrate comprised by bonding two glass substrates together. In addition, the sensor has a radiating part that emits laser light and a light receiving part that receives reflected waves from the glass substrate, and the light receiving part is effective if it is composed of a CCD.

According to the present invention described above, even if the glass substrate is thinned, a plate thickness measuring apparatus capable of accurately measuring the plate thickness is realized. Moreover, even if it is a moving glass substrate, the board thickness can be measured correctly.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on Examples. 1 is a block diagram showing a processing apparatus EQU after having a plate thickness measuring apparatus 40 according to an embodiment. 1 schematically shows a plan view (a), a front view (b) and a left side view (c). Subsequently, in the post-processing apparatus EQU, the cleaning process, the drying process, and the plate thickness measurement process are continuously performed on the glass substrate thinned by the chemical polishing process.

Although glass substrate GL is not specifically limited, In this Example, the laminated glass substrate GL for liquid crystal monitors provided with the liquid crystal sealing area 61 between two glass substrates 60 and 60 is made into object. (See Figure 9). Although the chemical polishing process is not specifically limited, either, the peripheral part 62 of the laminated glass substrate GL mentioned above is uniformly thinned by being immersed in the polishing liquid containing hydrofluoric acid as a main component in the state sealed by the acid-resistant sealant, for example. .

The post-processing apparatus EQU shown in FIG. 1 includes an introduction part 1 accommodating the laminated glass substrate GL which has been polished and a washing part 2 for water washing the upper and lower surfaces of the accommodated laminated glass substrate GL. And a measurement unit 4 for measuring the plate thickness of the dewatering unit 3 using the air knife AK and the dry laminated glass substrate GL, and a lead-out unit 5 for extracting the laminated glass substrate GL that has finished the measurement process. It consists of). And the plate | board thickness measurement apparatus 40 is arrange | positioned at the measurement part 4.

In the post-processing apparatus EQU, several rotation rollers RL ... RL are provided on the same plane from the introduction part 1 toward the lead part 5. In the process of conveying the laminated glass substrate GL horizontally on this rotating roller RL, the washing | cleaning process, the drying process, and plate | board thickness measurement process of a polishing liquid are performed automatically. In addition, although the introduction part 1 and the derivation part 5 are substantially the same structure, they perform the opposite operation.

 FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the plate thickness measuring apparatus 40 constituting the measuring unit 4. This plate thickness measuring apparatus 40 has the pass sensor part 42 which monitors the passage of the laser displacement meter 41 which measures the separation distance D to the front and back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL, and the laminated glass substrate GL. Programmable logic controller (PLC) 43 that receives data from the laser displacement meter 41 and the pass-through sensor unit 42, and the touch panel 44 and the laminated glass substrate used in initial setting and other operations of the apparatus. It consists of a personal computer 45 which stores management data including the plate thickness T of GL.

PLC 43 is connected to input port 43a receiving ON / OFF signal from pass sensor section 42 and AD converter 43b and personal computer 45 receiving plate thickness signal T from laser displacement meter 41; Ethernet controller 43c for exchanging data, a real input / output port 43d for exchanging serial data with the touch panel 44, and a CPU unit 43e for controlling the operation of each part. have. Ethernet is a registered trademark.

If the laser displacement meter 41 can obtain a significant detection signal from the sensor head Si, the laser displacement meter 41 executes a predetermined calculation process and continuously transmits the calculation result to the PLC 43 as the thickness analog signal T. It is configured to transmit. On the other hand, when the PLC 43 confirms that the glass substrate GL has reached the measurement unit 4 based on the ON signal from the passage sensor unit 42, the following measurement operation is performed.

First, the PLC 43 digitally converts the plate-thickness analog signal T received from the laser displacement meter 41 by the AD converter 43b, and adds time information (year, date, hour, minute, and second) to the plate thickness data and registers the internal register. To remember sequentially. When the PLC 43 finishes acquiring the predetermined number of sheet thickness data and receives the OFF signal from the passage sensor section 42, the ready flag is turned ON to complete this measurement operation.

On the other hand, the personal computer 45 grasps the ON state of the ready flag by the flag sense process, and collects management data including the plate | board thickness data from the PLC 43 via an Ethernet cable. The personal computer 45 then executes a book display or a graph display based on the management data. When the value T of the collected sheet thickness data exceeds the upper limit or the lower limit, an alarm is displayed. Moreover, since the sampling frequency of PLC43 is 80 times with respect to one laminated glass substrate GL, the plate | board thickness data of 3x80 = 240 points per glass substrate is acquired.

In order to realize the above-described operation by the PLC 43, the pass sensor section 42 is composed of two photoelectric sensors SN and a preamplifier AMP that amplifies the output of each photoelectric sensor SN. The photoelectric sensor SN is equipped with the light emitting part and the light receiving part. In this embodiment, the photoelectric sensor SN determines whether the inspection light from the light emitting portion is reflected by the laminated glass substrate GL and reaches the light receiving portion. Moreover, two photoelectric sensors SN are arrange | positioned in the upstream position, for example near the laser displacement meter 41. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the pass sensor part 42 outputs an ON signal when the laminated glass substrate GL reaches the measuring part 4, and then outputs an OFF signal after the laminated glass substrate GL passes through the measuring part 4. .

The laser displacement meter 41 operates the sensor head Si having the radiating part TR and the light receiving part RV, and the sensor controller CT1 to an analog signal from the light receiving part RV by operating the radiating part TR at a predetermined period. It consists of the analog controllers ANC1-ANC3 which calculate the plate | board thickness of the laminated glass substrate GL based on time difference signal (tauij) received by CT3) and the sensor controller CTi.

In this sheet thickness measuring apparatus 40, six sensor heads Si arranged as shown in FIG. 3 (b) are used. And laser light is radiated toward the laminated glass substrate GL from the radiation part TR of each sensor head Si. The reflected waves from the laminated glass substrate GL are arranged to be received by the light receiving portion RV composed of CCD (Charge Coupled Devices).

The radiation part TR is arrange | positioned so that a laser beam may be radiated at angle (theta) with respect to the perpendicular | vertical line with respect to the laminated glass substrate GL which moves a horizontal plane (refer FIG. 4 (c)). Therefore, the vertical distance D from the radiation point P of the laser light to the glass substrate GL becomes D = L × COS (θ) in relation to the path propagation distance L of the laser light. Here, the backward propagation distance L is equal to L = (τ × v + δ) / 2 based on the separation distance 6 between the radiation point P and the reception point Q and the propagation time T of the laser light. Is specified. Therefore, the vertical distance D to the glass substrate GL is calculated as D = (τ × v + δ) / 2 × COS (θ). Is the relative distance measured according to the received wave, and v is the speed of light.

3 is a view showing an arrangement state of six sensor heads Si functioning as described above, and a plan view (a), a front view (b), and an AA arrow view (c) of the measurement unit 4 are schematically shown. Is shown. As shown, a rectangular frame FM is formed by the left and right vertical plates 46R and 46L and the upper and lower retaining rails 47U and 47D spanning the vertical plate 46, and the glass substrate GL is formed by the rectangular frame FM. Surrounds the conveying path. That is, the holding rail 47U is spread over the glass substrate GL, and the holding rail 47D is spread below the glass substrate GL.

And, the holding rail (47) on the upper side has been by way of the mounting portion 48, the sensor head (S1 ~S3 _{u u)} fixed. In addition, the rails are held 47 of the lower side through the mounting portion 48, and the sensor head (S1 _d ~S3 _d) fixation. The upper and lower sensor heads Si _u and Si _d are disposed at positions of vertical symmetry with respect to the laminated glass substrate GL transported in the horizontal direction, and the radiating portion TR of the upper and lower sensor heads Si _u and Si _d is disposed. , TR) is managed with a predetermined value D0 precisely (see Fig. 4 (a)). And the inspection line LN1-LN3 of the laminated glass substrate GL is specified by the pair of upper and lower sensor heads Si _u and Si _d . As shown in FIG.3 (d), the plate | board thickness T of the laminated glass substrate GL is measured along the inspection line LN1-LN3 of a left-right position and a center position.

The upper and lower pairs of sensor heads Si _u and Si _d arranged as in FIG. 3 are connected to the sensor controller CTi (see FIG. 2). The sensor controllers CT1 to CT3 simultaneously drive the radiation units TR of the six sensor heads Si at predetermined cycles, and simultaneously receive sensor signals from the light receiving unit RV. 4 (d) and 4 (e) show ideal radiation waves and light reception waves in principle. In addition, as shown in FIG.4 (b), in the laminated glass substrate GL, the surface reflection wave RF1 of the 1st glass substrate 60a, the back reflection wave RF2 of the 1st glass substrate 60a, and a liquid crystal encapsulation area | region are carried out. Irregular reflection wave RF3 from 61, the surface reflection wave RF4 of the second glass substrate 60b, the back reflection wave RF5 of the second glass substrate 60b, and the like can be obtained.

The sensor controller CTi (= CT1 to CT3) is proportional to the time difference τ between the surface reflection wave RF1 and the radiation wave first received among the reflection waves RF1 to RF4 received from the upper and lower sensor heads Si _u and Si _d . The analog time difference signal τij (i = 1 to 3, j = 1 to 2) is output to the analog controller ANCi. As described earlier, the vertical distance D between the sensor head Si and the glass substrate GL is described. Since D = (τ × v + δ) / 2 × COS (θ), the above-mentioned vertical distance D is specified based on the time difference signal τij output from the sensor controller CTi.

Thus, the analog controller ANCi (= ANCl to ANC3) calculates the separation distances Dl and D2 from the radiator TR to the glass substrate based on the time difference signal tau ij received from the sensor controller CTi. For example, the vertical distance D1 from the radiating portion of the upper sensor head S1 _{u to} the upper surface of the laminated glass substrate GL with respect to the first inspection line LN1 is D1 = (τ11 × v + δ1) / 2. Calculated by COS (θ), the vertical distance D2 from the radiation portion TR of the lower sensor head Sd _{d to} the lower surface of the laminated glass substrate GL is D2 = (τ12 × v + δ2) It is calculated as / 2xC0S (θ). Here, τ11 and τ12 are time differences between the emission timing of the radiation wave and the light reception timing of the surface reflection wave RF1, and δ1 and δ2 are the relative distances between the radiation point P and the reception point Q calculated according to the reception wave. Are the values for the upper and lower sensor heads S1 _u and S1 _d , respectively.

Next, in the analog controller ANCi, the plate thickness T of the laminated glass substrate GL is calculated based on the calculated distances D1 and D2. Specifically, the plate thickness T of the laminated glass substrate GL is calculated as T = D0-D1-D2 based on the vertical separation distance D0 of the upper and lower radiation portions TR and TR (Fig. 4 (a). ) Reference). Then, the calculated plate thickness T is output as an analog signal.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the distances Dl and D2 between the radiator TR and the glass substrate are specified using only the surface reflection waves RF1 among the plurality of reflection waves RF1 to RF4, and D 0-D1-. The plate | board thickness T of a glass substrate is computed from the calculation of D2. Therefore, the mechanical accuracy of the vertical separation distance D0 of the upper and lower radiating parts TR and TR is only increased, and the laminated glass substrate GL of the conveying path constituted by the rotating roller RL can be accurately The plate thickness T can be measured.

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing the time difference signal? Ij received by the analog controller ANCi from the sensor controller CTj and the thickness analog signal T output from the analog controller ANCi to the PLC 43. Further, (a) the time difference signal τ ij is proportional to the time difference τ between the radiation wave of the laser light and the surface reflection wave RF1 from the glass substrate, (b) Therefore, the time difference signal τ ij is the laser radiation portion ( The separation distances D1 and D2 between TR) and the glass substrate front and back surfaces are as described above.

As shown in Fig. 5, the time difference signal τij (substantially the separation distances D1 and D2) is waved and displaced because the laminated glass substrate GL is conveyed in accordance with the rotation of the rotary roller RL. to be. However, even if the laminated glass substrate GL is waved and conveyed, the separation distance D1 to the surface of the laminated glass substrate GL and the separation distance D2 to the rear surface are displaced in the opposite direction (Fig. 5 ( a) (b)), the plate thickness T of the laminated glass substrate GL is always correctly calculated from the calculation of D0- (D1 + D2) (see FIG. 5 (c)).

In addition, in this embodiment, the analog controller ANCi is interposed between the sensor controller CTi and the PLC 43 so that the transmission / reception time difference τij of the laser light and the plate thickness T of the laminated glass substrate GL are converted into analog signals. The reason for the transmission is to realize the speedy transfer processing, increase the resolution of the signal to be handled, and increase the accuracy of the calculated plate thickness T.

However, it is not limited to the circuit structure of FIG. 2 at all, As shown in FIG. 8, you may provide the controller CTL1-CTL3 which calculates plate | board thickness based on the sensor signal received from the sensor head Si. In addition, the calculated plate thickness T does not necessarily need to be supplied to the PLC 43 as an analog signal, but is also suitable to be supplied to the input ports IN1 to IN3 of the PLC 43 as digital data. In addition, the PLC 43 is not necessarily required, but the personal computer 45 may substitute the function of the PLC 43.

Subsequently, another part of the post-processing apparatus EQU of FIG. 1 will be described. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing the configuration of the introduction portion 1 (the lead portion 5), the mounting portion 10 holding the laminated glass substrate GL, and the driving portion undulating the mounting portion 10. 20 is shown. The loading unit 10 and the driving unit 20 are connected via the output shaft 21 of the driving unit 20, and the lowering state in which the loading unit 10 is positioned on a horizontal plane in response to the piston reciprocating motion of the driving unit 20 ( 6, it is set to switch to the standing state which rises to a posture of about 60-80 degrees.

Referring to FIG. 6 again with reference to FIG. 6, the loading part 10 of the illustration is fixed to a pair of rotating arms 11 and 11 and the base end of the rotating arm 11 which are formed in a comb shape. It is comprised centering around the some support plate 13 ... 13 which supports the blocks 12 and 12 and the laminated glass substrate GL.

These corner parts 11-13 consist of aluminum alloys, for example, and the rotational arm 11 and the fixed block 12 are integrated by aluminum welding or other methods. And the through-arm which accommodates the output shaft 21 is formed in the rotation arm 11 and the fixed block 12. As shown in FIG. In addition, the through hole has a key groove KY, and the rotation of the output shaft 21 is reliably transmitted to the rotation arms 11 and 11 by fitting the key of the output shaft 21 to the key groove KY. It is supposed to be.

As shown in Fig. 6 (b), the rotation arm 11 is generally composed of an L-shaped main body portion BDY and a comb portion CMB protruding from the main body portion BDY. The arrangement pitch of the comb teeth CMB is the same as the arrangement pitch of the rotation roller RL, but the comb teeth CMB and the rotation roller RL are shifted by half pitch each other, and the lowered state of the rotation arm 11 (FIG. 6). ), The comb teeth CMB enter between the adjacent rotating rollers RL and RL. However, only one missing part SP is provided in the comb part CMB, and an operator extends the range to the back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL using this missing part SP, and the laminated glass substrate reliably ( GL) can be held. Moreover, in the lowest state of the rotation arm 11, the laminated glass substrate GL held by the rotation arm 11 until then is hold | maintained by the rotating roller RL (refer FIG. 6 (b)).

As shown in FIG. 6B, the tip of the comb portion CMB protrudes in a U shape, that is, the notch 14 corresponding to the plate thickness of the support plate 13 is formed at the tip of the comb portion CMB. Is formed. Then, in a state where both ends of the support plate 13 are fitted to the notch 14, the stop plate 15 is fixed to the tip of the rotation arm 11, and the support plate 13 is attached to the stop plate 15 by the stop plate 15. It is fixedly fixed to the rotating arm 11.

The support plate 13 is specifically divided into two types of support plates 13A and 13B which differ in the vertical width. Among these, the support plate 13A arrange | positioned at the base end side of the rotation arm 11 is wider than the other support plate 13B. Moreover, the cushioning material 16 adheres to the contact surface with the peripheral part of the laminated glass substrate GL of the support plate 13A, and protects the laminated glass substrate GL.

On the other hand, a plurality of O rings 17 are wound on the other supporting plate 13B, respectively, to protect the back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL on the supporting plate 13B. However, as described above, in the lowered state of the mounting portion 10 illustrated in FIG. 6, the laminated glass substrate GL leaves the contact with the O-ring 17 and contacts the rotating roller RL.

7 is a perspective view illustrating a specific configuration of the drive unit 20. The drive unit 20 is connected to the holding arm 22A, 22B for pivotally supporting both ends of the output shaft 21 and the output arm 21 protruding from the output shaft 21 protruding from the holding part 22A on one side. ) And a drive source 24 for swinging the connecting arm 23.

The drive source 24 is comprised by the cylinder 25 arrange | positioned so that the swinging | movement is possible, and the piston 26 which is controlled by the control apparatus which is not shown and reciprocates. Here, the circumferential hole penetrates in the radial direction at the front-end | tip of the piston 26, and the through pin 27 inserted through this circumferential hole is being fixed to the connecting arm 23. As shown in FIG. In addition, the through pin 27 is relieved at the circumferential hole of the piston 26, and as a result, the connecting arm 23 and the piston 26 are connected to each other to be rotatable. Moreover, the base end part of the cylinder 25 is pivotally supported by the support shaft 28, and is comprised so that the drive source 24 as a whole can oscillate.

Since the connecting arm 23 and the driving source 24 are connected as described above, in the first state where the piston 26 is drawn into the cylinder 25 (see FIG. 1 (d)), the loading portion 10 Descend to the horizontal state. On the other hand, in the analog state where the piston 26 protrudes from the cylinder 25 (see FIG. 1 (b)), the mounting portion 10 rises about 60 ° to 80 ° from the horizontal state and stands up.

Based on the above, the operation | movement content of the post-processing apparatus EQU shown in FIG. 1 is demonstrated. When the person in charge performs an appropriate switch operation on the control device (not shown), the drive unit 20 of the introduction unit 1 shifts from the first state to the second state, and as a result, the loading unit 10 of the introduction unit 1 ) Rises from the down state to the standing state.

At this time, since the laminated glass substrate GL which completed the chemical polishing process is conveyed to the position of the introduction part 1, the person in charge maintains one laminated glass substrate GL and mounts it on the mounting part 10 of a standing state. . In this stacking operation, the person in charge grips the left and right corners of the center of the laminated glass substrate GL in the vertical direction, and the missing portions SP are provided on the pivoting arms 11 and 11 because the missing portions SP of the comb teeth are provided. By using it, it becomes possible to mount the hold | maintained laminated glass substrate GL on the mounting part 10 easily. Moreover, in this loading state, the lower peripheral part of the laminated glass substrate GL contacts the cushioning material 16 of the support plate 13A, and the back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL contacts the O ring 17 of the support plate 13B. .

After that, when the person in charge performs the switch operation again, the drive unit 20 of the introduction unit 1 slowly shifts from the second state to the first state, and the loading unit 10 of the introduction unit 1 moves from the standing state to the descending state. Go back. As described above, in the strongest state of the mounting portion 10, the rear surface of the laminated glass substrate GL leaves the contact with the O-ring 17 and is in contact with the rotating roller RL.

Therefore, the laminated glass substrate GL accommodated in the introduction part 1 is sent to the water washing part 2 by rotating the rotating roller RL in the state which the loading part 10 reached the lowest state. Since the washing | cleaning material flows in the front and back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL which moves the water washing part 2, the polishing liquid of the glass surface adhered by the chemical polishing process will be wash | cleaned.

The laminated glass substrate GL which has undergone the operation of the water washing unit 2 is then sent to the dewatering unit 3. And in the dehydration part 3, the high pressure air formed in the linear linear with respect to the laminated glass substrate GL conveyed to the right direction of FIG. 1 is sprayed finely, and the washing | cleaning adhered to the front and back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL The number is reliably removed. And the front and back surface of a laminated glass substrate turns into a dry state by the conveyance of the laminated glass substrate GL after that.

In this manner, the laminated glass substrate GL passes through the measurement unit 4 in a state where the front and back surfaces are cleaned. The measurement part 4 is provided with the plate | board thickness measuring apparatus 40 which arrange | positioned the sensor head Siu, Sid in the up-and-down position of the laminated glass substrate GL which moves a conveyance path (refer FIG. 2). In the plate thickness measuring apparatus 40, the distance between the upper and lower sensor heads Si _u and Si _d and the laminated glass substrate GL is based on the laser light reflected from the front and rear surfaces of the laminated glass substrate GL. Dl and D2) are specified and the plate thickness of the laminated glass substrate GL is calculated based on the calculation of D0-D1-D2. And total 240 pieces of plate | board thickness data are acquired by three inspection lines LN1-LN3 about one laminated glass substrate GL, and is preserve | saved in the personal computer 45. FIG.

Thereafter, the laminated glass substrate GL moves to the position of the lead portion 5 and stops. The lead-out part 5 is the same structure as the inlet part 1 shown to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, and the loading part 10 of the lead-out part 5 waits in a descending state in the state in which the laminated glass substrate GL was carried in. Doing.

When the person in charge performs proper switch operation with the laminated glass substrate GL carried on the loading portion 10, the loading portion 10 starts the ascending motion slowly in response to this, and then the rotating roller RL The laminated glass substrate GL held was guided to the support plate 13B of the mounting portion 10 and ascended. In addition, although the glass substrate GL tries to slide on the O-ring 17 of the support plate 13B in this raising process, since the lower peripheral part of the laminated glass substrate GL is received by the cushioning material 16, it joins, There is no possibility that the glass substrate GL may slip and be damaged.

Since the loading part 10 raises and stops to a limit position, the person in charge turns to the back surface of the laminated glass substrate GL using the missing part SP of the rotating arm 11, and then glass substrate GL. Gripping. And the grasped laminated glass substrate is extracted from the derivation part 5. Since the extracted laminated glass substrate GL is thinned to a predetermined thickness by a chemical polishing process, after that, the sealing of the peripheral part of the laminated glass substrate GL is released, and it transfers to the next process, such as a sealing process of a liquid crystal.

As mentioned above, since the plate | board thickness measuring apparatus 40 which has a characteristic structure is provided in this Example, the plate | board thickness of the laminated glass substrate GL which completed the chemical polishing process can be measured correctly during conveyance of a glass substrate.

Claims (7)

As a plate | board thickness measuring apparatus which accommodates a thin-processed glass substrate and measures the plate | board thickness of several points with respect to the glass substrate, Orthogonal to the conveyance path to which the said glass substrate is conveyed, and the separation distance of each sensor and the surface of the said glass substrate based on several sets of sensors arrange | positioned at the surface side and the back surface side of the said glass substrate, and the output signal from the said sensor And a second means for calculating the sheet thickness of the glass substrate being conveyed based on the calculated value of the first means and the distance of the pair of sensors previously specified. Plate thickness measuring apparatus of glass substrate for flat panel displays. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a displacement sensor configured to receive a reflected wave while transmitting radiation waves at predetermined time intervals. The sheet thickness measuring apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reflected wave is a reflected wave reflected from an outer surface of the glass substrate. 4. A plate thickness measuring apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a programmable logic controller (PLC) for acquiring the plate thickness value calculated by said second means. The plate thickness measuring apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a pass sensor that constantly monitors the conveying path and outputs an ON signal when the glass substrate is grasped. The said glass substrate is comprised by joining two glass substrates, The plate thickness measuring apparatus in any one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned.  The plate thickness according to claim 1, wherein the sensor has a radiating part for emitting laser light and a light receiving part for receiving reflected waves from the glass substrate, wherein the light receiving part is composed of CCD (Charge Coupled Devices). Measuring device.

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