KR20140049169A - Method of cutting strengthened glass - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for cutting a strengthened glass, and more specifically, to a method for stably and rapidly cutting a strengthened glass without a breakage of the glass, which comprises the steps of: (S1) forming scribing lines at predetermined intervals in a direction of a major axis or a minor axis of the strengthened glass; (S2) cutting the strengthened glass at predetermined intervals in a direction of a minor axis or a major axis perpendicular with respect to the scribing lines; and (S3) cutting along the scribing lines.

Description

Method of cutting tempered glass {METHOD OF CUTTING STRENGTHENED GLASS}

The present invention relates to a method of cutting reinforced glass. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of quickly cutting a glass reinforced with high stability without cracking.

Glass products are regarded as essential components in a wide range of technologies and industries such as monitors, cameras, VTRs, mobile phones, video and optical equipment, automobile transportation equipment, various tableware, and building facilities. A glass having various physical properties is manufactured and used.

Touch screen is one of the key components of video equipment. A touch screen is a display and input device which is installed on a monitor for a terminal and inputs various data such as a simple touch, a character or a picture by using an auxiliary input means such as a finger or a pen, Such a touch screen is becoming increasingly important as a core component for various digital devices that transmit or exchange information to one or both of a mobile communication device such as a smart phone, a computer, a camera, a certificate, and the like, The range is expanding rapidly.

Among the components constituting such a touch screen, the upper transparent protective layer, which is directly contacted by the user, is mainly composed of plastic organic materials such as polyester or acrylic. These materials have poor heat resistance and mechanical strength, Or scratches are generated or broken. Therefore, the upper transparent protective layer of the touch screen is being gradually replaced by a chemically strengthened thin plate glass excellent in heat resistance, mechanical strength and hardness from the conventional transparent plastic. In addition, chemically reinforced thin plate glass is used as transparent protection window for LCD or OLED monitor in addition to touch screen. The strengthening of glass is mainly a physical strengthening method and a chemical strengthening method which are referred to as air-cooling strengthening applied to automobile safety glass. In particular, the chemical strengthening technique is a technique that can be applied to laminated glass having a complicated shape or a thickness of about 2 mm or less .

This chemical strengthening technique is a technique for exchanging alkali ions (mainly Na ions) having a small ionic radius existing in the glass with large alkali ions (mainly K ions) under a predetermined condition, and a large compressive stress And strength and hardness are increased. Thin glass for chemical strengthening mainly used for touch screen is composed of alkali metal oxide (Na ₂ O, K ₂ O) and soda containing SiO ₂ , alkaline earth metal oxide (MgO, CaO etc.) and a little Al ₂ O ₃ Lime silicate glass, and recently, alkali alumina silicate glass for chemical strengthening containing a large amount of Al ₂ O ₃ has been introduced (http://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/index.aspx). The conventional method for chemical strengthening is to ion-exchange both sides of the glass by immersing the glass in a salt solution containing K ions at a predetermined temperature lower than the transition temperature of the glass, and the diffusion rate and depth by ion exchange (S. Karlsson, B. Jonson, C. Stalhandske, The technology of chemical glass strengthening-a review, Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A, 2010, 51, 2, 41-54).

On the other hand, chemically tempered glass is not intended, due to the large compressive stress existing on the surface when cutting, and when breakage occurs due to chaotic fragments, or if it is cut into intended shape, Since the compressive stress of the region is lost and the strength is lowered, it is difficult to cut into a desired size or shape after once strengthened regardless of the composition of the glass.

Therefore, a method of performing a chemical strengthening treatment after cutting into a necessary size or shape is widely used. However, determining the size or shape by cutting the glass before tempering is advantageous for the ion exchange process in which the glass is immersed in a salt solution of a limited scale, but it is an obstacle to the productivity improvement of the final product, such as a touch screen.

If it is possible to precisely cut a large-area glass to a desired size or shape even after it has been reinforced, as the glass substrate for LCDs has to have a significant effect on increasing the productivity of the LCD module as it goes to higher generations, It will have a valid impact.

In this regard, the development of a method of cutting toughened glass has a scribing line on the surface of the glass substrate by contacting the glass plate with a higher strength than the cut body, for example, a diamond blade along the cutting path. Although a mechanical method of forming a scribe line or an optical method of forming a scribing line using a laser has been studied, the above methods only suggest a method of forming a scribing line, The method is not an effective solution.

In addition, the Republic of Korea Patent No. 0792771 discloses that the glass can be cut after strengthening by first immersing the glass in molten salt and then immersing or maintaining the glass secondly at a higher temperature to create two different compressive stress patterns within the glass. It features. However, since the transition temperature is limited to only soda lime silicate glass having a transition temperature of 470 ° C. or less and 530 ° C. or less, there is a problem that it is not applicable to ion-exchange alkali alumina silicate glass having a transition temperature of 550 ° C. or higher. In addition, there is a process complexity that requires two processes to generate two compressive stress patterns.

Patent Document 1: Republic of Korea Patent No. 0792771

Non-Patent Document 1: S. Karlsson, B. Jonson, C. Stalhandske, The technology of chemical glass strengthening-a review, Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A, 2010, 51, 2, 41-54

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of quickly cutting a tempered glass.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of cutting a glass that has been tempered at low failure rates.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of cutting a glass which has been strengthened without breaking.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of cutting a glass having a high stability.

1. (S1) forming scribing lines in one direction at predetermined intervals on the tempered glass, (S2) cutting at predetermined intervals in a direction different from the scribing line, and (S3 ) Cutting along the scribing lines.

2. The method of cutting 1 above, wherein the cutting process of step (S2) is performed in the direction of the scribing line formed last from the scribing line first formed in step (S1).

3. In the above 2, the cutting process of the step (S2), the cutting method of the tempered glass is performed in the direction of the end portion from the beginning of the scribing line formed in the step (S1).

4. In the above 1, wherein the scribing line of the step (S1) and the cut line of the step (S2) is a straight or curved cutting method of glass.

5. The method of cutting 1, wherein the scribing line of the step (S1) and the cut line of the step (S2) are orthogonal to each other.

6. In the above 1, the scribing line of the step (S1) is formed in the long axis or short axis direction of the tempered glass, the cutting process of the step (S2) is a short axis orthogonal to the scribing line or A method of cutting tempered glass that is carried out in the long axis direction.

7. In the above 1, wherein the step (S1) of the screening line forming process and the cutting process of the step (S2) are independently cut from each other by a mechanical method or an optical method.

8. The method of 7 above, wherein the optical method is performed using a laser cutting method of the tempered glass.

9. In the above 7, wherein the forming of the scribing line using the laser is a method of cutting the tempered glass is performed by the irradiation of a laser beam and subsequent spraying of a coolant.

10. The method of cutting 9, wherein the laser beam output is 150 to 220W.

11. In the above 10, the long axis length of the shape formed on the glass substrate is irradiated with the laser beam is 10 to 200 mm, the short axis length of the shape formed on the glass substrate is irradiated with a laser beam is 0.01 to 20 mm Method of Cutting Treated Glass.

12. In the above 8, the cutting process of the step (S2) using the laser is a method of cutting the tempered glass is carried out by the irradiation of the laser beam and the subsequent spray of coolant.

13. The method according to the above 12, wherein the output of the laser beam is 230 to 320W.

14. In the above 13, the long axis length of the shape formed on the glass substrate is irradiated with the laser beam is 5 to 70 mm, the short axis length of the shape formed on the glass substrate is irradiated with the laser beam is 0.01 to 10 mm Method of Cutting Treated Glass.

15. The method of cutting 9 or 12, wherein the coolant comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of water, air, alcohols having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and liquid nitrogen.

16. The method of cutting 9 or 12 above, wherein the distance between the irradiated position of the laser beam and the position at which the coolant is injected is 0 to 50 mm.

17. The method of cutting 7 or 10 above, further comprising a means for removing impurities on the surface of the glass that has been tempered before irradiation of the laser beam.

18. The method of cutting 17 above, wherein the impurity removing means is an air injector.

19. The method of cutting the tempered glass according to the above 1, wherein the tempered glass before the scribing line is formed with an electrode pattern formed on a surface thereof.

The method of cutting the tempered glass of the present invention forms a line to be cut later than a scribing line orthogonal thereto so that the line to be cut at the intersection with the scribing line is not disconnected, thereby breaking the glass. The phenomenon can be prevented.

The method of cutting the tempered glass of the present invention can implement a rapid cutting process of glass by applying a step of cutting simultaneously with scribing without using a method of passing a separate cutting process after forming a conventional scribing line.

In the method of cutting the tempered glass of the present invention, since the cutting process is performed immediately in the vertical direction of the line after the formation of the primary scribing line, it is possible to prevent the spread of the cracking phenomenon in the subsequent process, thereby lowering the defective rate.

The tempered glass cutting method of the present invention can easily cut a tempered glass by using a laser.

The method of cutting the tempered glass of the present invention can further form a scribing line by further comprising means for removing impurities before irradiation of the laser beam.

Since the method of cutting the tempered glass of the present invention can cut the tempered glass, the electrode pattern or the like can be formed on the tempered glass surface before the scribing line is formed, so the productivity is very high.

1 is a view schematically showing an example of a unit glass product 11 obtained by cutting from a tempered glass 10.
2 is a view schematically showing an example of a cutting method according to the present invention.
3 is a view schematically showing a laser beam irradiation and coolant injection according to the present invention.

The present invention comprises the steps of (S1) forming the scribing lines in the predetermined direction at a predetermined interval on the tempered glass, (S2) cutting at a predetermined interval in a direction different from the scribing line, and ( S3) by cutting along the scribing lines, the present invention relates to a method for quickly cutting a glass stably reinforced without breaking the glass.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

The present invention provides a method for cutting tempered glass.

Usually, the tempered glass used for the outermost part of a mobile phone or a touch panel is tempered after cutting to a required size after manufacturing glass of a large area. FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of a unit glass article 11 obtained by cutting from a large area of glass 10.

As described above, conventionally, since there is a difficulty in cutting the tempered glass, the large-area glass is cut before the tempering treatment to obtain a unit glass product, and the touch electrodes required for the unit glass product are patterned.

However, the present invention provides a method for cutting toughened large area glass. When the large-area glass tempered according to the present invention is cut, a touch pattern electrode or the like may be formed in advance in a region corresponding to the unit glass product 11 of the large-area glass 10 tempered before the cutting process. Thereby, the productivity of the unit glass product 11 in which the pattern electrode was formed can be raised remarkably.

Hereinafter, the cutting method of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, scribing lines are formed in one direction at predetermined intervals on the tempered glass (S1).

A scribing line is a crack formed at a certain depth along a cutting path to cut a glass. The scribing line provides the cutting path, which is followed by a physical force applied along the scribing line to sever the tempered glass. In the present invention, the shape of the scribing line is not particularly limited, and may be formed, for example, in a straight line or a curve.

For example, a mechanical method or an optical method may be used to form a scribing line, and the mechanical method may be a cutting tool having a stronger strength than a cut body, for example, a disc having a predetermined diameter. There is a method of forming a scribing line on the surface of the glass substrate by contacting a diamond blade formed on the circumference of the glass plate along the cutting path, and optically forming a scribing line using a laser There is a way. Among these methods, an optical method using a laser is preferable.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a laser beam irradiation apparatus that can be used in the present invention. Hereinafter, a method of using a laser will be described as an example.

Specific examples of the laser usable in the present invention may be a carbon dioxide laser, a UV laser, a YAG laser, or the like, and preferably a carbon dioxide laser. CO2 lasers are excellent in terms of energy transfer and can form scribing lines faster.

The output of the laser beam for forming the scribing line is preferably 150 to 220W. In addition, the specific shape of the laser beam irradiated in the output range can be appropriately selected in consideration of the specific type of the glass, which has been strengthened. Preferably, the long axis length of the shape in which the laser beam is irradiated and formed on the glass substrate may be 10 to 200 mm. In the above range, the scribing line can be formed uniformly and stably. Moreover, it is preferable that the short axis length of the shape in which the said laser beam is irradiated and formed in a glass substrate is 0.01-20 mm. In the above range, the scribing line can be formed uniformly and stably.

When irradiating a laser beam, it is preferable to spray a coolant after irradiation of a laser beam, as shown in FIG. The tempered glass heated by the irradiation of the laser beam is instantaneously cooled by the coolant to be sprayed, and thus may have a more desirable effect on the formation of the scribing line.

When the coolant is sprayed, the distance between the position where the laser beam is irradiated and the position where the coolant is sprayed is preferably -30 to 100 mm. When the distance has a negative value, it means that the coolant is irradiated into the laser beam. Accordingly, when the coolant has a negative distance between the laser beams (when the coolant is irradiated into the laser beam) It is natural that the length of the laser beam is larger than the absolute value of the distance.

As the cooling agent, those commonly used in the art can be used without any particular limitation. For example, water, air, an alcohol having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, liquid nitrogen and the like may be used alone or in combination of two or more, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In another aspect of the present invention, it is possible to further comprise means for removing impurities on the glass surface reinforced before irradiation of the laser beam if necessary. The presence of impurities on the surface absorbs the energy of the laser beam, so that sufficient energy is not transferred to the tempered glass, so scribing line formation may not be uniform. As such impurity removing means, for example, an air injector for injecting air may be used, but it is not limited thereto.

Next, cut at predetermined intervals in a direction different from the scribing line (S2).

The shape of the line to be cut is not particularly limited like the scribing line, and may be, for example, formed in a straight line or a curve. Therefore, in the present invention, the shape of the large-area glass before obtaining the unit glass product is not particularly limited, but may have a rectangular shape, for example. In the case of rectangular large-area glass, it is usually square or rectangular in shape, in which case the scribing line of step (S1) and the cut line of step (S2) are each formed substantially parallel to the outer edge of the glass. And orthogonal to each other is preferable.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 for the case where the large area glass is rectangular, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 1, in order to obtain a unit glass product from the large area glass, it is necessary to cut both the large area glass in the short axis direction and the long axis direction. In an embodiment of the present invention, in step S1, only a scribing line is formed in a long axis or a short axis direction, and in step S2, a step of directly cutting in a short axis or a long axis direction perpendicular to the scribing line is performed. Perform.

Comparing the process of forming one scribing line with the same tempered glass and the process of completely cutting the same length, the depth of the crack is formed at or near the thickness of the tempered glass in order to be completely cut. As such, the process of forming the scribing line can be performed faster. Although after the scribing line is formed, a separate cutting process must be performed, but if this is to be performed only once, the separate cutting process can be performed in a shorter time than a process of completely cutting from the beginning.

However, as shown in FIG. 1, in order to obtain a plurality of unit glass products from large area glass, a plurality of scribing lines have to be formed and separate cutting processes have to be repeated. Will increase significantly. In this case, applying the process of cutting completely in one time may shorten the process time than applying the process of cutting twice in a scribing line forming process and a separate cutting process.

In addition, when performing a process of cutting completely, it is possible to block the propagation of the cracking phenomenon of the glass that may occur during the process, it is advantageous to reduce the defective rate and improve the yield.

The complete cutting process of step (S2) may be performed in the same manner as the scribing line forming process of step (S1), but may be performed by forming the depth of the crack as close to or as the thickness of the glass. In order to deepen the crack depth, the process of forming the scribing line may be repeatedly performed several times in the above-described mechanical or optical method.

In another aspect of the present invention, in the case of completely cutting by irradiating the laser beam, the cutting process is performed by setting the output and specific shape of the laser beam differently from when forming the scribing line. The power of the laser beam to completely cut the tempered glass is preferably 230 to 320W. In addition, the long axis length of the shape formed on the glass substrate by the laser beam is irradiated in the output range may be 5 to 70mm. Cutting of the tempered glass in the above range can be performed uniformly and stably. Moreover, it is preferable that the short axis length of the shape in which the said laser beam is irradiated and formed in a glass substrate is 0.01-10 mm. Cutting of the tempered glass in the above range can be performed uniformly and stably.

3 schematically shows an embodiment of the cutting method of the present invention. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

3, after forming the scribing lines B1, B2, B3, ..., Bn in the long axis direction at predetermined intervals, the cutting lines A1, A2, A3, ..., in the short axis direction The complete cutting process is carried out at predetermined intervals according to An).

In the present invention, the cutting step in the short axis direction is more preferably performed in the direction in which the scribe line in the long axis direction formed last from the scribing line in the long axis direction first formed. That is, referring to Figure 3, if the scribe line in the long axis direction is formed in the order of B1, B2, B3, ..., Bn, the cutting process (A1, A2, A3, ..., An in the short axis direction) ) Is preferably formed in the direction from B1 to Bn (arrow direction of A1, A2, A3, ..., An).

The formation of a scribing line using a laser beam and a coolant results in the residue of coolant remaining on the glass surface, which may act as an impurity upon laser beam irradiation. Thus, the coolant residue that was used in forming the scribe line in the long axis direction may act as an impurity in the cutting process in the short axis direction.

In order to solve this problem, the cutting process of step (S2) of the present invention can be performed in the direction of the long axis scribe line formed last from the long axis direction scribing line first formed in step (S1). have. Since the coolant is evaporated or volatilized after time, the uniaxial cutting process may be performed in the direction of the later formed side of the scribe line in the long axis direction in order to secure the time for the coolant to evaporate or volatilize. have.

In this aspect, the cutting step in the short axis direction is more preferably carried out in the direction from the start of the scribe line in the long axis direction first formed (the direction from A1 to An).

Next, cut along the formed scribing lines (S3).

When the cutting process of the step (S2) is completed, a glass fragment in which the scribing line is formed in the short axis direction is obtained. These scribing lines are those generated in step S1. The unit glass product may be obtained by undergoing an additional cutting process according to the scribing line. The cutting process along the scribing line can apply without limitation methods known in the art.

Claims (19)

(S1) forming scribing lines in one direction at predetermined intervals on the tempered glass,
(S2) cutting at predetermined intervals in a direction different from the scribing line, and
(S3) cutting along the scribing lines
≪ / RTI >
The cutting method of claim 1, wherein the cutting process of the step (S2) is performed in a direction in which the scribing line formed last from the scribing line first formed in the step (S1) is located.
The method of claim 2, wherein the cutting step of the step (S2) is performed in the direction from the start portion to the end portion of the scribing line formed in the step (S1).
The method of claim 1, wherein the scribing line of step (S1) and the cut line of step (S2) are straight or curved.
The method of claim 1, wherein the scribing line of step (S1) and the cut line of step (S2) are orthogonal to each other.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the scribing line of the step (S1) is formed in the long axis or short axis direction of the tempered glass, the cutting process of the step (S2) is a short axis or long axis direction orthogonal to the scribing line Method of cutting the tempered glass that is carried out with.
The method of claim 1, wherein the screening line forming step (S1) and the cutting step (S2) are performed independently of each other by a mechanical method or an optical method.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the optical method is performed using a laser.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the formation of the scribing line using the laser is performed by irradiation of a laser beam followed by injection of a coolant.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the output of the laser beam is 150-220W.
The method according to claim 10, wherein the long axis length of the shape formed on the glass substrate by irradiating the laser beam is 10 to 200mm, the short axis length of the shape formed on the glass substrate by irradiating the laser beam is 0.01 to 20mm Method of cutting glass.
The method of claim 8, wherein the cutting of the step S2 using the laser is performed by irradiation of a laser beam followed by injection of a coolant.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the power of the laser beam is 230-320 W.
The method according to claim 13, wherein the long axis length of the shape is formed on the glass substrate by irradiating the laser beam is 5 to 70 mm, the short axis length of the shape is formed on the glass substrate by irradiating the laser beam is 0.01 to 10 mm Method of cutting glass.
The method of claim 9 or 12, wherein the coolant comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of water, air, alcohols having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and liquid nitrogen.
The method of claim 9 or 12, wherein the distance between the irradiated position of the laser beam and the position at which the coolant is injected is 0 to 50 mm.
The method of claim 7 or 10, further comprising means for removing impurities on the glass surface that has been strengthened prior to irradiation of the laser beam.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the impurity removal means is an air injector.
The method of claim 1, wherein the tempered glass before forming the scribing line has an electrode pattern formed on a surface thereof.

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