KR20140026749A - Apparatus and method for polishing glass substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a device and a method for polishing glass substrates, capable of uniformly and smoothly polishing glass substrates regardless of the sizes and types of the glass substrates by using a laser. The device for polishing glass substrates according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a mounting module on which the glass substrates are mounted; a radiating module arranged on the lateral side of the glass substrates and radiating laser beams for polishing the glass substrates in a direction parallel with the surface of the glass substrates while moving from top to bottom; a detecting module for detecting a polishing point of the glass substrates; and a control module for controlling the radiating module to start radiating the laser beams for polishing the glass substrates at the polishing point when the polishing point is detected by the detecting module. [Reference numerals] (110) Mounting module; (120) Radiating module; (130) Audio processing unit; (140) Communication system; (150) I/O control module

Description

Apparatus and method for polishing glass substrate

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for polishing glass, and more particularly, to a glass substrate polishing apparatus and a glass substrate polishing method that enable uniform and flat polishing regardless of the size and type of the glass substrate by using a laser.

Glass is widely used for various purposes throughout the life and industry. Such glass is used in various forms, but in particular, a flat glass form, that is, a glass substrate (glass plate) form is widely used. Generally, the glass substrate is often polished to planarize its surface. In particular, in recent years, with the rapid development of display devices, quality requirements of glass substrates applied thereto are gradually increasing. In the case of such a glass substrate for display, it is very important to maintain the flatness at a certain level in order to accurately implement the image. Therefore, it is common for a polishing process to be performed to remove fine irregularities or undulations present on the surface of the glass substrate.

Conventionally, a chemical mechanical polishing method is widely used to polish such a glass substrate. Such chemical mechanical polishing is typically performed by bringing the polishing pad of the upper unit (upper plate) into contact with the glass plate and rotating the lower unit, with the glass substrate placed in the lower unit (lower plate). At this time, the polishing liquid may be supplied onto the upper unit. Alternatively, chemical mechanical polishing is performed by polishing a glass substrate while supplying a predetermined polishing liquid to the polishing target glass substrate while a polishing pad is provided on the lower unit and the glass substrate is fixed to the upper unit (top plate). It may be done.

Such chemical mechanical polishing has several problems. Typically, it is difficult to uniformly grind due to the influence of the surface state of the initial substrate, and it is necessary to change the polishing method according to the size and type of the substrate. In addition, it is necessary to supply a cleaning liquid during polishing, chipping phenomenon that the edge of the substrate is unevenly cut off or falling off easily, and it takes a long time.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for polishing a glass substrate using a laser, which is not a conventional chemical mechanical polishing method, which was devised to solve the above problems.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention. It will also be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Glass substrate polishing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the mounting module on which the glass substrate is mounted; An irradiation module provided on a side surface of the glass substrate and irradiating a laser beam for polishing the glass substrate in a direction parallel to the surface of the glass substrate while moving from an upper side to a lower side; A sensing module sensing a polishing start point of the glass substrate; And a control module for controlling the irradiation module to start irradiation of the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate at the polishing starting point when the polishing starting point is detected by the sensing module.

Advantageously, said sensing module senses the highest portion of said glass substrate as said polishing start point.

Also preferably, the sensing module includes a transmitter for emitting electromagnetic waves in a direction parallel to the surface of the glass substrate and a receiver for receiving the transmitted electromagnetic waves.

Also preferably, the control module controls the irradiation module to start the laser beam irradiation at the polishing start point.

Also preferably, the control module controls the irradiation module to irradiate the laser beam in a state where the moving speed from the top to the bottom is not constant.

Also preferably, the sensing module detects the polishing endpoint of the glass substrate, and the control module controls the irradiation module to terminate the irradiation of the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate at the polishing endpoint.

Glass substrate polishing method according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the step of mounting a glass substrate on the mounting module; Sensing a polishing start point of the glass substrate; And when the polishing start point is detected, moving the laser beam in a direction parallel to the surface of the glass substrate while moving from top to bottom.

According to one aspect of the present invention, by polishing the surface of the glass substrate using a laser beam, uniform and flat polishing may be possible on the entire surface of the substrate regardless of the initial state of the substrate.

Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, by irradiating a laser beam horizontally on the surface of the glass substrate from the side of the glass substrate, polishing can be performed regardless of the size and type of the glass substrate, and there is no need to supply the abrasive.

In addition, according to one aspect of the present invention, the edge of the glass substrate can also be uniformly polished, and the polishing time can be shortened.

In particular, according to one aspect of the present invention, since the polishing proceeds sequentially from the top of the glass substrate and prevents chipping phenomenon in which large glass chunks fall off the surface of the glass substrate at one time, damage or breakage of the glass substrate is prevented due to these chunks. You can prevent it from happening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the description of the invention given below, serve to further the understanding of the technical idea of the invention, And should not be construed as limiting.
1 is a block diagram schematically showing a functional configuration of a glass substrate polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a side view schematically showing the laser polishing configuration by the glass substrate polishing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration in which a sensing module detects a polishing start point according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 to 7 are views sequentially showing a configuration in which irradiation of a laser beam for polishing a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention is started.
8 is a diagram schematically showing an irradiation configuration of a laser beam for polishing a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a flowchart schematically showing a glass substrate polishing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary terms, and the inventor should appropriately interpret the concepts of the terms appropriately It should be construed in accordance with the meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined.

Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, It is to be understood that equivalents and modifications are possible.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a functional configuration of a glass substrate polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a laser polishing configuration by a glass substrate polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention Side view.

1 and 2, the glass substrate polishing apparatus according to the present invention includes a mounting module 110, an irradiation module 120, a sensing module 130, and a control module 140.

The mounting module 110 is a component on which the glass substrate G is mounted. The mounting module 110 supports and fixes the glass substrate G by attaching the glass substrate G to the upper surface in this way. That is, when the top surface of the glass substrate G is to be polished as shown in FIG. 2, the mounting module 110 has the glass substrate G such that the polishing surface of the glass substrate G is located at the top. To be fitted.

However, the mounting module 110 may mount the glass substrate (G) in the lower portion. That is, the glass substrate G may be mounted on the mounting module 110 in a form in which the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 is upside down. In this case, the mounting module 110 may be provided with a vacuum suction means or the like to support and fix the glass substrate G.

In particular, since the mounting module 110 is in direct contact with the glass substrate G, it is preferable that the mounting module 110 can stably support the glass substrate G. Therefore, the mounting module 110 may be provided with a mounting pad on the top to stably support and mount the glass substrate (G). The mounting pad may be provided with a polymer layer to prevent the glass substrate G from being damaged, and the glass substrate G may be stably positioned on the mounting pad.

Preferably, the mounting module 110, as indicated by the arrow b in Figure 2, can rotate the glass substrate (G) in the outer peripheral direction. According to this embodiment, the irradiation module 120 does not need to move in the horizontal direction in order to irradiate the laser beam L on the entire surface of the glass substrate G, but rather in one direction, for example, in the center portion of the glass substrate G. Even if the beam L is irradiated, the effect that the laser beam L is irradiated to the whole glass substrate G by the rotation of the glass substrate G can be acquired.

Also preferably, the mounting module 110 may be configured to be raised or lowered. For example, the mounting module 110 may be lowered to mount the glass substrate G, and the mounting module 110 may be raised to irradiate the laser beam L to the surface of the glass substrate G. have.

In addition, the mounting module 110 may be provided with various fixing devices such as a vacuum suction device to secure the holding and fixing force of the glass substrate (G).

The irradiation module 120 is provided on the side of the glass substrate G, and generates a laser beam L for polishing the glass substrate G, that is, a laser beam for polishing the glass substrate. And the said irradiation module 120 irradiates the polishing laser beam L produced | generated in this way in parallel with glass substrate G from the side surface of glass substrate G to the surface direction of glass substrate G. As shown in FIG. . That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the irradiation module 120 irradiates the laser beam L in a horizontal direction with respect to the surface of the glass substrate G to be polished.

In particular, the irradiation module 120 may be configured to be movable in an upper direction to a lower direction. In addition, the irradiation module 120 may irradiate the laser beam L in the horizontal direction while moving from the top to the bottom direction in this way. According to this embodiment, the laser beam L is irradiated while moving from the top to the bottom with respect to the polishing surface of the glass substrate G. FIG. Therefore, since the laser beam L is continuously irradiated while moving from the upper surface of the glass substrate G to the lower direction, it is possible to prevent the relatively large glass lumps from falling off the polishing surface of the glass substrate G. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the glass substrate G polishing surface from being damaged or broken by these agglomerates.

That is, when the irradiation module 120 irradiates the laser beam only at a predetermined height or at a predetermined height without continuously irradiating the laser beam while moving from the upper surface to the lower direction, large glass chunks at once are formed on the glass substrate G. Can fall off the surface. In addition, the spot where the glass lumps are separated may remain as a defect of the glass substrate G, and the polishing surface of the glass substrate G may be damaged due to the glass lumps. However, according to the present invention, since the irradiation module 120 continuously irradiates (sends) the laser beam while moving from top to bottom, the glass substrate is separated by a fine size from the glass substrate G polishing surface. . Therefore, the defect, damage, etc. of the above glass substrate can be prevented.

The sensing module 130 detects a polishing start point of the glass substrate G. Here, the polishing start point means a point or time point at which polishing of the glass substrate G is started, and the sensing module 130 detects when or where polishing of the glass substrate G should be started. .

Preferably, the sensing module 130 may detect the highest point from the lower surface (bottom surface) of the glass substrate G, that is, the highest point of the glass substrate G as the polishing start point. In other words, the sensing module 130 may identify a portion rising highest from the lower surface of the surface of the glass substrate G to be polished, and may detect this as the polishing start point of the glass substrate G.

3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration in which the sensing module 130 detects a polishing start point according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sensing module 130 may be configured to include a transmitter 131 and a receiver 132.

The transmitter 131 emits electromagnetic waves W in a direction parallel to the surface of the glass substrate G. As shown in FIG. In particular, the transmitter 131 may emit an electromagnetic wave (W) while moving from an upper side to a lower side. Here, the electromagnetic wave W emitted by the transmitter 131 may include various electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, visible rays, or the like.

Preferably, the transmitter 131 may emit a laser beam as electromagnetic wave (W). In this case, the transmitter 131 may be implemented by the irradiation module 120. That is, the irradiation module 120 may irradiate a polishing laser beam for polishing the glass substrate G, and a detection laser beam for detecting a polishing start point as the transmitting unit 131 of the sensing module 130. You can also investigate In this case, the sensing laser beam emitted from the irradiation module 120 may have a lower power (strength) than the polishing laser beam. According to this embodiment, since the configuration of the transmitter 131 of the irradiation module 120 and the sensing module 130 can be integrated, it may be easy to achieve cost and volume reduction.

The receiver 132 receives the electromagnetic wave W transmitted by the transmitter 131. That is, the receiver 132 may receive the electromagnetic wave W when the electromagnetic wave W emitted by the transmitter 131 passes through or is reflected on the glass substrate G surface.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 3, the transmitter 131 may emit electromagnetic waves W in a horizontal direction while vertically moving from a point (c1) to a point (c2). If the transmitter 131 emits electromagnetic waves W in the horizontal direction while being positioned at the point (c1), the surface of the glass substrate G is in the traveling path of the electromagnetic waves W emitted by the transmitter 131. Since it does not exist, the electromagnetic wave W may reach the receiver 132 without being greatly disturbed. On the other hand, when the transmitter 131 emits electromagnetic waves W in the horizontal direction while being positioned at the point (c2), the surface of the glass substrate G is in the traveling path of the electromagnetic waves W emitted by the transmitter 131. Raised. Therefore, the electromagnetic wave W emitted by the transmitter 131 is impeded to be reflected or refracted by the glass substrate G. Therefore, in this case, the receiver 132 may not properly receive the emitted electromagnetic wave W or may recognize a change in the amount or direction thereof. Therefore, the receiver 132 may recognize that there is a change in the received electromagnetic wave W and may detect that the glass substrate G exists at the corresponding height.

That is, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the sensing module 130 senses the glass substrate G at the first point (c2) while the transmitting unit 131 descends, and thus, the glass substrate (G) at the c2 point. You can see that there is the highest part of. Therefore, the sensing module 130 may sense the c2 point as the polishing start point.

However, the polishing start point detection configuration shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to this polishing start point detection configuration. For example, in FIG. 3, the configuration in which the transmitter 131 transmits the electromagnetic wave W in the horizontal direction while moving from top to bottom is illustrated, but the transmitter 131 does not move and emits the electromagnetic wave W. It is also possible to change the direction only. As another example, in FIG. 3, the configuration in which the receiver 132 is installed on the opposite side of the transmitter 131 based on the glass substrate G is illustrated, but the receiver 132 is the same side as the transmitter 131. It can also be installed in. In this case, the receiver 132 may receive the electromagnetic wave W reflected by the glass substrate G.

When the polishing start point is detected by the sensing module 130, the control module 140 controls the irradiation module 120 to start irradiation of the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate at the polishing start point. In other words, in the glass substrate polishing apparatus according to the present invention, the irradiation module 120 does not continuously irradiate a laser beam for polishing the glass substrate G while moving from top to bottom, and the sensing module 130 Is controlled by the control module 140 so as to irradiate the laser beam only when the polishing start point of the glass substrate G is sensed.

4 to 7 are views sequentially showing a configuration in which irradiation of a laser beam for polishing a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention is started. 4-7, the grinding | polishing surface of glass substrate G is an upper surface, and the height of the highest part from the lower surface among the grinding | polishing surfaces of glass substrate G is called h.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, both the irradiation module 120 and the sensing module 130 may move from the top to the bottom as indicated by arrow a.

First, referring to FIG. 4, the sensing module 130 may emit (transmit) electromagnetic waves W in a horizontal direction while moving in the direction of arrow a. In FIG. 4, since the electromagnetic wave W emission height by the sensing module 130 is higher than h, the electromagnetic wave W is not disturbed by the glass substrate G, and the sensing module 130 is polished. The starting point has not been detected yet. Therefore, in this case, the control module 140 causes the irradiation module 120 to not irradiate the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, the sensing module 130 descends in the direction of arrow a and may be positioned at a height h from the lower surface of the glass substrate G. In this case, the electromagnetic wave W emitted by the sensing module 130 is first impeded by the glass substrate G and is refracted or reflected. In this case, the sensing module 130 may be regarded as sensing the polishing start point of the glass substrate G. That is, the sensing module 130 may detect a point at which the height from the lower surface of the glass substrate G is h as the polishing start point. In addition, this information may be transmitted to the control module 140.

Then, the control module 140 can start irradiation of the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate when the irradiation module 120 is located at this polishing start point, as shown in FIG. 6. That is, when the irradiation module 120 is located in the position where the height from the lower surface of the glass substrate G is h, the control module 140 can make it irradiate the laser beam for glass substrate grinding | polishing. At this time, the control module 140 considers the distance between the sensing module 130 and the irradiation module 120, the vertical movement speed of the irradiation module 120, or the like, or the irradiation module 120 from the bottom surface of the glass substrate G. In consideration of the distance between the and the like, it may be determined whether the irradiation module 120 is located at the polishing start point.

As such, the irradiation module 120 irradiates the polishing laser beam from the polishing start point to start polishing the glass substrate G. The irradiation of the laser beam is performed by the irradiation module 120 as shown in FIG. 7. It continues to be performed while moving in the direction (a direction).

As such, according to this embodiment of the present invention, since the polishing laser beam is irradiated only when the polishing start point requiring polishing is detected, unnecessary irradiation of the laser beam can be prevented. In addition, since the polishing laser beam is continuously and continuously made while moving in the downward direction, the chipping phenomenon or the glass defect caused by the glass substrate G falling into large chunks can be prevented.

4 to 7, the irradiation module 120 and the sensing module 130 are shown to be located at different heights, but the irradiation module 120 and the sensing module 130 are located at the same height. You may. In this embodiment, as soon as the polishing start point is detected by the sensing module 130, the control module 140 may be controlled to irradiate the polishing laser beam by the irradiation module 120.

In addition, as described above, the irradiation module 120 may be configured to irradiate the polishing laser beam and may also be configured to irradiate the sensing laser beam. In this embodiment, the irradiation module 120 outputs a laser beam for detection of relatively weak intensity before the polishing start point is detected, and increases the output (intensity) after detecting the polishing start point to output the polishing laser beam. can do. For example, referring to the embodiments of FIGS. 4 to 7, when the irradiation module 120 is located at a point higher than h, the irradiation module 120 outputs a laser beam of weak intensity to detect the polishing start point, When the polishing start point is detected at the position h of 120, the laser beam of stronger intensity may be output to polish the glass substrate G.

On the other hand, when both the sensing module 130 and the irradiation module 120 is configured to move from the top to the lower direction, the detection module 130 and the irradiation module 120 may be fixedly connected to each other. As such, when the sensing module 130 and the irradiation module 120 are fixedly connected to each other, vertical movement from the top to the bottom may be simultaneously performed. For example, the sensing module 130 and the irradiation module 120 are fixed such that the sensing module 130 is spaced apart from the irradiation module 120 by a predetermined distance, and thus the sensing module 130 and the irradiation module ( 120 may be configured to vertically move at the same speed with each other. Alternatively, the sensing module 130 and the irradiation module 120 may be positioned at the same height with respect to the bottom surface of the glass substrate G, and perform sensing and laser beam irradiation functions at the same height, respectively. As such, when the sensing module 130 and the irradiation module 120 are fixed to each other, the vertical movement of the sensing module 130 and the irradiation module 120 may be facilitated, and the control module 140 may include the sensing module 130. It may be easier to control the laser beam irradiation by the irradiation module 120 to be made at the polishing start point sensed by.

Preferably, the control module 140 may allow the irradiation module 120 to irradiate the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate in a state in which the moving speed from the top to the bottom is not constant. In particular, the irradiation module 120, under the control of the control module 140, may irradiate the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate in a state of being stopped for a predetermined time every predetermined height. This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 8.

8 is a diagram schematically showing an irradiation configuration of a laser beam for polishing a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 8, the upper side surface of the glass substrate corresponds to the polishing surface.

Assuming that the starting point of polishing is the height h1 from the lower surface of the glass substrate G in FIG. 8, the irradiation module 120 moves downward, as indicated by the arrow a, and reaches the h1 point. The polishing laser beam can be irradiated to the surface of the glass substrate G. The irradiation module 120 may continue to move downward while irradiating the polishing laser beam, and may stop for a predetermined time every predetermined height.

That is, the irradiation module 120 may start the irradiation of the polishing laser beam at the h1 point and move downward, and when the h2 point is reached, the irradiation module 120 may irradiate the laser beam in a stopped state for a predetermined time. Then, after a predetermined time elapses, when the irradiation module 120 moves downward and reaches the h3 point, the irradiation module 120 may irradiate the laser beam in a state of being stopped for a predetermined time. Then, after a predetermined time elapses, the irradiation module 120 may move downward again while irradiating the laser beam.

At this time, the stop time at a predetermined height may be configured the same for each height, or may be configured differently. For example, the irradiation module 120 may irradiate the polishing laser beam while stopping for 5 seconds at the h2 and h3 points, respectively.

According to this embodiment, the polishing laser beam is irradiated to the glass substrate G in a state where it is stopped for every predetermined height for a predetermined time, so that the glass substrate G can be polished more reliably at that height. For example, when the irradiation module 120 irradiates a laser beam while continuously moving downward, the irradiation module 120 is not properly polished at a point (height) where the amount of the portion to be polished is relatively large. ) Can move downward. However, if the laser beam is to be irradiated in a state where it is stopped for a predetermined time for every predetermined height as in this embodiment, the glass substrate is more reliably polished by the laser beam for each predetermined height. (G) The effect of polishing can be improved.

More preferably, the sensing module 130 may detect whether the glass substrate G is removed at a predetermined height. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, when the irradiation module 120 irradiates the polishing laser beam at the h2 point, the sensing module 130 may have a glass substrate (G) polishing surface located at a point higher than the h2 point. You can detect whether everything has been removed.

In this case, the control module 140 may control the vertical movement speed of the irradiation module 120 according to the detection result of removing the glass substrate by the sensing module 130.

For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, the sensing module 130 may detect whether the glass substrate is removed at the height h2, h3 and h4, respectively. That is, the sensing module 130 detects whether all of the glass substrates higher than the h2 point are removed when the irradiation module 120 is located at the h2 point, and the h3 point when the irradiation module 120 is located at the h3 point. It is possible to detect whether all of the higher glass substrates have been removed.

If, when the irradiation module 120 is located at the h2 point, it is detected that all of the glass substrate is not removed, the control module 140 may cause the movement speed in the downward direction relative to the irradiation module 120 is slowed down. have. That is, when the irradiation module 120 detects that the glass substrate of the corresponding portion is not removed in a situation where the polishing laser beam is irradiated at the h2 point, the polishing of the glass substrate is not performed properly, and thus the control module 140 ) May slow down the irradiation module 120 so that the polishing by the laser beam can be more surely performed.

In particular, in this embodiment, the control module 140 may control the irradiation module 120 to move downward only when it is detected by the sensing module 130 that the removal of the glass substrate is completed at a predetermined height. Can be. More specifically, referring to the embodiment of FIG. 8, when the irradiation module 120 is located at the h2 point, only when the sensing module 130 detects that all of the glass substrates are removed at a portion higher than the h2 point. The control module 140 may cause the irradiation module 120 to move downward. In other words, when the irradiation module 120 is located at the h2 point, the control module 140 returns to the irradiation module 120 when it is confirmed that the removal of the glass substrate is not completed at all and partly at the point. Can be prevented from moving downward.

Also preferably, the sensing module 130 may detect the polishing end point of the glass substrate. Here, the polishing end point of the glass substrate refers to a point or time point at which polishing of the glass substrate by the laser beam is to be finished, and the sensing module 130 may detect when or where polishing should be finished.

In this case, the sensing module 130 may detect the polishing end point from the thickness of the glass substrate. That is, the sensing module 130 may detect the polishing end point through the height from the lower surface of the glass substrate. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, the sensing module 130 may detect the point where the height from the bottom surface of the glass substrate is h4 as the polishing end point.

As such, in the embodiment in which the polishing endpoint is sensed by the sensing module 130, the control module 140 may control the irradiation module 120 to terminate the irradiation of the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate at the polishing endpoint. . That is, as shown in the above embodiment, when the h4 point of FIG. 8 is detected as the polishing end point by the sensing module 130, the control module 140 performs the polishing laser when the irradiation module 120 is located at the h4 point. Irradiation of the beam may be terminated.

In particular, the control module 140 may cause the irradiation module 120 to irradiate the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate for a predetermined time while the irradiation module 120 is stopped at the polishing end point, and then such irradiation may be terminated. For example, as in the above embodiment, when the h4 point in FIG. 8 is referred to as the polishing end point, the control module 140 immediately terminates the irradiation of the laser beam when the irradiation module 120 descends and is located at the h4 point. Instead of irradiating the laser beam for a predetermined time, the irradiation of the laser beam can be terminated when the predetermined time has elapsed. According to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the polishing from being performed properly at the polishing end point by preventing the irradiation of the laser beam at the polishing end point immediately.

Meanwhile, in the above embodiment, an embodiment of the configuration in which the control module 140 causes the irradiation module 120 to irradiate the polishing laser beam in a state where the moving speed from the top to the bottom direction is not constant has been mainly described. The control module 140 may control the irradiation module 120 to irradiate the polishing laser beam in a state in which the moving speed from the top to the bottom direction is constant.

Also preferably, the control module 140 may control the irradiation module 120 to move upward so that the irradiation module 120 moves from a lower level to an upper direction at a predetermined height. That is, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the irradiation module 120 moves from the top to the bottom has been described mainly, but the irradiation module 120 may be configured to move from the bottom to the upper direction at a predetermined height. According to this embodiment, the laser beam irradiation by the movement of the irradiation module 120 may be repeatedly performed two or more times at a predetermined height. Therefore, polishing of a glass substrate by laser beam irradiation can be made more reliably.

In particular, in this case, the control module 140 may control the irradiation module 120 to irradiate the laser beam while the irradiation module 120 moves from the bottom to the top direction.

For example, referring to the embodiment of FIG. 8, the irradiation module 120 irradiates the laser beam to the surface of the glass substrate while moving downward from the h1 point to the h3 point, and then from the h3 point to the h2 point. The laser beam can be irradiated to the surface of the glass substrate while moving upward. In this case, since the laser beam irradiation is performed by the irradiation module 120 in both the downward direction movement and the upward direction movement, the laser polishing can be performed in a shorter time.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment in which the mounting module 110 rotates the glass substrate, as shown in FIG. 2, the control module 140 is connected to the mounting module 110 to increase the glass substrate rotation speed of the mounting module 110. Can be controlled. According to this embodiment, it is possible to enable a more efficient glass substrate polishing through the control of the rotational speed of the glass substrate. For example, the control module 140 may allow the rotation speed of the glass substrate to be higher after the polishing start point is detected by the sensing module 130 than before the detection start point is detected.

In addition, the shape, scale, etc. about each structure of a glass substrate or a glass substrate grinding | polishing apparatus in FIGS. 2-8 are shown only for convenience of description, and this invention is not limited by this illustration structure.

Preferably, the glass substrate polishing apparatus according to the present invention may further include a removal module 150, as shown in FIG.

The removal module 150 may remove foreign substances present on the surface of the glass substrate. That is, the removal module 150 is irradiated with a laser beam by the irradiation module 120 when the polishing process for the surface of the glass substrate is performed, such as debris from the glass substrate by such a polishing process, such as glass fragments or Foreign substances such as debris can be removed.

In this case, the removal module 150 may remove the foreign matter from the surface of the glass substrate by suctioning the foreign matter by vacuum suction or the like. Alternatively, the removal module 150 may remove foreign substances from the surface of the glass substrate by injecting a fluid such as air or water onto the surface of the glass substrate. Alternatively, the removal module 150 may perform the removal of foreign substances using both of the suction and injection methods.

In particular, according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to supply abrasives or the like to the polishing surface of the glass substrate, it is possible to simply carry out the suction and / or air injection or the like without performing a complicated cleaning operation such as cleaning the glass substrate by a separate cleaning liquid. Abrasive debris can be removed.

The above-mentioned glass substrate polishing apparatus can be applied to a polishing process at the time of manufacturing a glass substrate. That is, the glass substrate manufacturing apparatus which concerns on this invention can contain the above-mentioned glass substrate grinding apparatus. In particular, when the glass substrate polishing apparatus described above is used for polishing an LCD glass substrate, a larger effect can be obtained. This is because a glass substrate used in a display device such as an LCD glass substrate may have a flat level or more by polishing to achieve high image quality and thereby increase display quality.

9 is a flowchart schematically showing a glass substrate polishing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, the main body of each step can be said to be each component of the above-mentioned glass substrate grinding apparatus.

9, the glass substrate polishing method according to the present invention includes a glass substrate mounting step S110, a polishing start point detection step S120, and a laser beam irradiation step S130.

The glass substrate mounting step (S110) is a step in which a glass substrate is mounted on the mounting module 110.

In the polishing start point detection step (S120), a polishing start point indicating a point at which the glass substrate should be polished is detected.

In the laser beam irradiation step (S130), when the polishing start point of the glass substrate is detected in step S120, the laser beam is irradiated in a direction parallel to the polishing surface of the glass substrate. At this time, the laser beam is irradiated in parallel with respect to the polishing surface of the glass substrate, the oscillation position of the laser beam moves from the top to the bottom direction. That is, in step S130, the laser beam is irradiated in the horizontal direction while moving in the vertical direction.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Meanwhile, in the present specification, the term 'unit' is used, such as 'mounting module', 'irradiation module', 'detection module', 'control module', etc., but this indicates a logical structural unit and may be physically separated. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention does not represent a component that is or should be physically separated.

In addition, terms such as 'up', 'down', 'left' and 'right' are used in the present specification, but this may vary depending on the position or perspective of the observer, the arrangement of the object, and the like. For example, the glass substrate may be mounted below the mounting module, in which case the irradiation module may irradiate a laser beam for polishing the glass substrate while moving from the bottom to the upper direction.

110: mounting module
120: survey module
130: detection module
140: control module
150: removal module
G: glass substrate
L: laser beam
W: electromagnetic wave

Claims (20)

A mounting module having a glass substrate mounted thereon;
An irradiation module provided on a side surface of the glass substrate and irradiating a laser beam for polishing the glass substrate in a direction parallel to the surface of the glass substrate while moving from an upper side to a lower side;
A sensing module sensing a polishing start point of the glass substrate; And
A control module for controlling the irradiation module to start irradiation of the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate at the polishing start point when the polishing start point is detected by the sensing module
Glass substrate polishing apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1,
And the sensing module detects the highest portion of the glass substrate as the polishing start point. The method of claim 1,
And the sensing module comprises a transmitter for emitting electromagnetic waves in a direction parallel to the surface of the glass substrate and a receiver for receiving the transmitted electromagnetic waves. The method of claim 3,
The transmitting unit is a glass substrate polishing apparatus, characterized in that implemented by the irradiation module. The method of claim 1,
And the control module controls the irradiation module to start the laser beam irradiation at the polishing start point. The method of claim 1,
The control module, the glass substrate polishing apparatus, characterized in that for controlling the irradiation module to irradiate the laser beam in a state where the moving speed from the top to the lower direction is not constant. The method according to claim 6,
And the control module controls the irradiation module to irradiate the laser beam in a state where it is stopped for a predetermined time at a predetermined height. 8. The method of claim 7,
The sensing module detects whether the glass substrate is removed at a predetermined height,
The control module, the glass substrate polishing apparatus, characterized in that for controlling the vertical movement speed of the irradiation module according to the detection result of the removal of the glass substrate by the sensing module. 9. The method of claim 8,
And the control module controls the irradiation module to move downward when the sensing module detects that the glass substrate has been removed at a predetermined height. The method of claim 1,
The sensing module detects the polishing endpoint of the glass substrate,
And the control module controls the irradiation module to terminate irradiation of the laser beam for polishing the glass substrate at the polishing end point. 11. The method of claim 10,
And the control module controls the irradiation module to irradiate a laser beam for polishing a glass substrate for a predetermined time while stopped at the polishing end point. 11. The method of claim 10,
And the sensing module detects the polishing endpoint from the thickness of the glass substrate. The method of claim 1,
The control module controls the irradiation module to move upward at a predetermined height. The method of claim 1,
And the control module controls the irradiation module to irradiate the laser beam during the upward movement. The method of claim 1,
And a removal module for removing foreign substances present on the surface of the glass substrate. 16. The method of claim 15,
The removal module is a glass substrate polishing apparatus, characterized in that for removing the foreign matter by sucking the foreign matter. 16. The method of claim 15,
The removal module is a glass substrate polishing apparatus, characterized in that for removing the foreign matter by injecting a fluid. The method of claim 1,
And said mounting module rotates said mounted glass substrate. 19. The method of claim 18,
And the control module controls the rotational speed of the mounting module. Mounting the glass substrate to the mounting module;
Sensing a polishing start point of the glass substrate; And
When the polishing start point is detected, moving the laser beam in a direction parallel to the surface of the glass substrate while moving from top to bottom
Glass substrate polishing method comprising a.

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