TW201832102A - Method for producing glass plate - Google Patents

Abstract

In this method for producing a glass plate, an original glass plate is inspected for defects, defect information is generated, and identification information is then attached to the original glass plate. Calculation is performed to determine cut-out segment information for the original glass plate and quality information for each of the segments on the basis of the defect information, and each of the pieces of information is associated with the identification information and stored in a first database 1a of a first server 1. Cut-out segment information and quality information excluding the defect information from the first database 1a are transmitted from the first server 1 to a second server 3, then associated with identification information and stored in a second database 3a of the second server 3. The identification information for the original glass plate is scanned, the corresponding cut-out segment information and quality information are acquired from the second server 3, glass plates are cut from the original glass plate on the basis of each of the acquired pieces of information, and good products are selected.

Description

Manufacturing method of glass plate

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a glass plate.

[0002] In recent years, in a glass plate manufacturing process, a method of cutting out one or a plurality of glass plates as a product from a glass original plate having a large area is sometimes used from the viewpoint of manufacturing efficiency and the like. Such a method is widely used in a manufacturing process of a glass substrate for a flat panel display (FPD) such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, and an organic EL display. [0003] Specifically, for example, a mother glass is cut out of a shaped original plate manufactured by cutting a glass ribbon to a predetermined length by a float method or a down-draw method. In some cases, or when a glass substrate for FPD is cut out from a mother glass. In the former case, the forming original plate is the glass original plate, and in the latter case, the mother glass is the glass original plate. [0004] When a glass plate is cut out from a glass original plate, a defect inspection is performed in a state of the glass original plate. As a result of this defect inspection, as long as there is any defect in the original glass substrate that does not meet the quality standards, the entire original glass substrate is regarded as a defective product and discarded. This is a common practice in the industry. However, if such a treatment is adopted, with the enlargement of the original glass plate, in addition to the probability of occurrence of defects inevitably increasing, the amount of glass lost due to disposal also becomes very large. As a result, the manufacturing cost is high. [0005] Accordingly, for example, in Patent Document 1, it is disclosed that a process of accumulating defect information of a plurality of mother glasses, a plurality of different cut-out arrangement information, and evaluation reference information is accumulated, and sequentially The combination of these pieces of information is changed and the simulation is repeated to find the combination that can cut out the most glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices. In this way, even if the mother glass contains defects, the mother glass can be effectively used to prevent high manufacturing costs. Prior Art Literature Patent Literature [0006] Patent Literature 1: WO2003 / 087923

Problems to be Solved by the Invention [0007] However, as described above, various kinds of information of the glass original plate are measured or calculated, and based on the information, the optimal cut-out area of the glass original plate is determined. Generally, the measurement or calculation is performed. The information is managed and stored in a database of servers. In this case, for example, in a process of cutting a glass plate from a glass original plate (hereinafter also referred to as a processing process), information is obtained from a server through a predetermined network or the like, and the glass original plate is cut based on the obtained information. [0008] However, in the database of the server, for example, there are many detailed information related to the original glass including defect position, size, and type of defect information. Therefore, in processing engineering, if you want to obtain detailed information including defect information from the server, the amount of data will become very large, and the server load will increase. Especially when processing is performed at a plurality of locations at the same time, the server load becomes significant. As a result, system failures such as reduced server functions and temporary server crashes are likely to occur. Therefore, it may happen that the necessary information cannot be smoothly obtained from the server, and the glass plate cannot be efficiently manufactured from the original glass plate. [0009] The technical problem of the present invention is to reduce the load of a server that stores information related to a glass original plate, and to efficiently manufacture a glass plate from a glass original plate. Technical means to solve the problem [0010] The present invention, which was created to solve the above-mentioned problems, is characterized by: a process for inspecting the defects of the original glass plate to generate defect information; and based on the defect information, calculating the cut of the original glass plate by calculation Projects that produce partition information and quality information indicating the quality of each of its partitions; and projects that cause defect information, cut-out partition information, and quality information to be stored in the first database of the first server; and Except for the defect information, the cut-out partition information and quality information are transmitted from the first server to the second server and memorized to the second database of the second server; and the identification of the original glass obtained from the second server and the glass plate Projects corresponding to information to cut out partition information and quality information; and projects based on cutting out partition information obtained from a second server to cut one or more glass plates from a glass original plate; and based on a second server The process of screening quality products from glass plates by obtaining quality information. [0011] According to such a structure, the server that manages various information is divided into a first server and a second server. In the first database of the first server, the detailed information including defect information, cut-out partition information, and quality information is stored. In the second database of the second server, the cut-out partition information except defect information is stored. Simple information about quality information. In addition, in a processing process including a process of cutting out a glass original plate or a process of screening out a cut glass plate, various information is not directly obtained from the first server, but simple information obtained from the second server is used. Therefore, in the processing project, the first server will not be overloaded. In addition, the information obtained from the second server is only limited to simple information, so it will not cause excessive load to the second server. Because of this, it is possible to stably maintain a state where information necessary for processing can be smoothly obtained from the second server, and therefore, a glass plate can be efficiently manufactured from a glass original plate. [0012] In the above configuration, after the process of generating defect information and before the process of cutting out the glass plate, a process of packaging and conveying the original glass plate may be provided. [0013] According to this method, a place where the defect inspection of the glass original plate is performed to generate defect information and a place where the glass plate is cut out from the glass original plate can be set as separate places away from each other. For example, the former can also be carried out in domestic factories, and the latter can be carried out in overseas factories. In this case, although the communication speed between the first server and the second server is likely to be slow, except for the defect information, the cut-out partition information and quality information are transmitted from the first server to the second server. The communication speed of the network line is slow, and the transmission from the first server to the second server can still be performed stably. [0014] In the above-mentioned project of obtaining quality information through calculation, the first server can also obtain quality information through calculation. [0015] If the quality information is calculated by the first server like this, the cost of the equipment can be reduced compared to the case where it is calculated by other servers. In addition, compared with the case where calculation is performed by each computer used for defect inspection or identification of identification information, the application of the quality information calculation can be upgraded at one time, which can improve maintainability. [0016] In the case of cutting out the glass plate in the above configuration, when the glass plate is required to be cut out based on the second cut-out area information obtained from the second server that is different from the cut-out area information, it can also be designed as The second server transmits the second cut-out partition information and identification information to the first server together. The first server calculates again based on the defect information corresponding to the identification information to obtain each partition indicating the second cut-out partition information. The second quality information of the qualified quality is transmitted to the second server. [0017] In this way, in the process of cutting out the glass plate, even when it is required to cut out the glass plate based on the second cut-out area information obtained from the second server and different from the cut-out area information, No need to move the defect information to the second server, only a small amount of information between the first server and the second server can handle it. Effects of the Invention [0018] According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to reduce the load on the server that stores information related to the original glass plate, and to efficiently manufacture the glass plate from the original glass plate.

[0020] An embodiment of a method for manufacturing a glass plate according to the present invention will be described. [0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the method for manufacturing a glass plate according to this embodiment includes a forming process S1 of a glass original plate, a transportation process S2 of a glass original plate, and a processing process S3 of a glass original plate. The forming process S1 communicates with the first server 1 through the network 2 (for example, an internal network), and the processing process S3 communicates with the second server 3 through the network 4 (for example, an internal network). The first server 1 and the second server 3 communicate through the network 5. The network 5 used by the first server 1 and the second server 3 for communication can also be a dedicated line (including both wireless and wired), but preferably the Internet (especially a VPN). For example, the first server 1 is placed in a factory where the forming process S1 is performed, and the second server 3 is placed in a factory where the processing process S3 is performed. [0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the forming process S1 includes a cutting process S11, that is, a glass ribbon continuously formed by an overflow down-draw method is maintained in a vertical posture and cut at a predetermined length. Thereby, a glass original plate G, which is a shaped original plate, is manufactured. In the cutting process S11, rough cutting of a glass ribbon is performed by cutting | disconnection by bending stress. The forming process S1 is not limited to those using an overflow down-drawer. For example, another down-draw method such as a slot down-draw method or a re-draw method, or a float method may be used. [0023] In addition, the forming process S1 includes a defect inspection process S12 for inspecting the defects of the original glass plate G, a cutting process S12 for inspecting the defects of the original glass plate G, an identification process S13 for attaching identification information to the original glass plate G, and Packaging Engineering S14. In this embodiment, in the forming process S1, the glass original plate G is conveyed in a vertical posture (preferably a vertical posture) from left to right in FIG. 2. During this transportation, for example, the original glass plate G is suspended and supported by a chuck mechanism or the like. In addition, the glass original plate G may be conveyed in a horizontal posture (preferably a horizontal posture) by a conveyor or the like. [0024] The defect inspection process S12 includes a process S12a for measuring the type (for example, bubbles, foreign matter, etc.), position (coordinates), and size of defects contained in the original glass plate G with the sensor 6. In this embodiment, the defect inspection process S12 includes a process S12b for measuring the thickness unevenness of the glass original plate G with the sensor 7 before the process S12a, and a rib (pulsation) for measuring the glass original plate G with the sensor 8. Engineering S12c. The order of the processes S12a to S12c is not particularly limited. In the defect inspection process S12, defect information including inspection results of the processes S12a to S12c is generated and transmitted to the first server 1. In addition, process S12b and process S12c may be omitted. [0025] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the first server 1 stores the defect information related to the identification information of the original glass plate G and memorizes it to the first database 1a, and performs calculations based on the defect information. (Simulation) The cut-out area information and quality information of the glass original plate G are automatically obtained. Here, the section information is cut out to show how to cut out one or a plurality of pieces of glass plate Ga from one glass original plate G. In addition, the quality information is information for determining whether the quality of each out-of-area quality included in the partition information is determined (consisting of information indicating qualification and information indicating failure). One partition corresponds to a portion of the glass plate Ga that becomes one piece. [0026] As shown in FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C, the first server 1 has a plurality of different patterns as candidates for cutting out the partition information in advance. For example, there are three types: taking a piece in FIG. 3A, trimming in FIG. 3B, and taking multiple faces in the example in FIG. From these patterns, the position and size of the defects included in the defect information are considered, and the best cut-out partition information is automatically selected. As the cut-out area information, it is preferably designed to select a type in which the amount of waste glass is minimized. In the present embodiment, one glass original sheet G without defects is set to take one piece, and the glass original sheet G with defects is set to be cut or taken to have multiple faces in consideration of the position or size of the defects. Candidate patterns for cutting out partition information can be added, edited, and deleted. [0027] As shown in FIG. 3A, when one piece is taken, a rectangular partition C1 excluding the peripheral edge portion of the glass original plate G is selected as cut-out partition information. The size of the partition C1 is set in advance, but may be changed. [0028] As shown in FIG. 3B, in the case of cutting, the peripheral edge portion of the glass original plate G is removed, and one of the adjacent starting points P1 to P4 formed at the four corners of the glass original plate G is used as an angle. The rectangular partition is selected as the cut-out partition information. Therefore, the information of the selected starting points P1 to P4 may also be included in the cut-out partition information. For example, when there are defects d1, d2 in the original glass plate G, the rectangular partition C2 including the starting point P1 is selected as the cut-out partition information, so as not to include the defects d1 and d2. The size of the partition C2 is set in advance, but it can also be changed. [0029] As shown in FIG. 3C, when multiple faces are taken, a plurality of rectangular partitions of the same size arranged adjacent to each other in a region excluding the peripheral edge portion of the glass original plate G is selected as cut-out partition information. For example, in the case of taking six sides, the partitions C3 to C8 are selected as the cut-out partition information. In this case, the quality information includes information that the quality of the partitions C3, C5, and C7 where defects d3 to d5 exist is unqualified, and the quality of the partitions C4, C6, and C8 where no defect exists Qualifying information. The number of the partitions C3 to C8 (the number of faces) is set in advance, but it can also be changed. [0030] The first server 1 establishes identification information related to the glass original plate G and cuts out the partition information and quality information obtained by calculation and stores the identification information in the first database 1a. In conjunction with this, the first server 1 transmits the cut-out partition information, quality information, and identification information to the second server 3 together. The second server 3 associates the information with the identification information and stores it in the second database 3a. In this way, the cut-out partition information and quality information stored in the second database 3a will be synchronized with the cut-out partition information and quality information stored in the first database 1a. At this time, the defect information is not transmitted from the first server 1 to the second server 3, but is excluded from the synchronization information. Therefore, in the first server 1, the memory contains detailed information of defect information, cut-out partition information, and quality information. In the second server 3, the defect information is excluded. The memory contains cut-out partition information and quality information. Information. In addition, the cut-out partition information and quality information transmitted from the first server 1 to the second server 3 may be only difference information from the cut-out partition information and quality information stored in the second server 3. [0031] Returning to FIG. 2 and description, in the identification process S13, identification information is attached to ineffective parts (such as parts cut off and removed during fine cutting) such as the peripheral portion of the glass original plate G by the identification device 9. The identification information is ID information of the glass original plate G, and is attached to the glass original plate G, for example, in the form of a two-dimensional code (preferably, a DataMatrix code). As a method of attaching identification information to the identification device 9, for example, a sticker is attached, laser processing, inkjet printing, or the like is used. When inkjet printing is used, it is preferable to use a paste containing no metal component. [0032] In the packaging process S14, a plurality of glass original plates G are laminated on the pallet 10 to be packaged. At this time, if necessary, the original glass G may be appropriately classified based on the cut-out area information. The lamination operation is performed by a human or a robot. In the present embodiment, the pallet 10 in which the glass original plate G is stacked in a vertical posture is used. However, the pallet in which the glass original plate G is stacked in a horizontal posture may be used. In the case of the vertical posture, the posture of the glass original plate G is preferably 45 ° to 80 °, and more preferably 60 ° to 75 °. In the case of the horizontal posture, the posture of the glass original plate G is preferably 0 ° (horizontal posture) to 30 °, and more preferably 0 ° to 15 °. In these cases, it is preferable that a protective sheet (not shown) such as paper (backing paper) or a foamed resin sheet is interposed between each of the glass original sheets G. In FIG. 2, the pallet 10 and the original glass package G on the pallet 10 are shown in a side view for convenience of explanation. [0033] After the above-mentioned packaging process S14 is completed, the glass original plate G packaged on the pallet 10 is transported to the processing process S3 (transportation process S2). Conveying, including at least one of land, air and sea. As shown in FIG. 4, the processing process S3 includes a reading process S31 that scans the identification information X attached to the original glass plate G, and a cutting process S32 that cuts out the mother glass, that is, the glass plate Ga, from the original glass plate G. And S33 for screening glass plate Ga. In the present embodiment, in the processing process S3, the glass original plate G is conveyed in a horizontal posture (preferably a horizontal posture) from left to right in FIG. 4, but it can also be conveyed in a vertical posture. In the present embodiment, the case where the glass original plate G taken out from the pallet 10 is subjected to the processing process S3 is taken as an example, but it is not limited to this. The removal of the glass original plate G from the pallet 10 is performed by a person or a robot. In FIG. 4, the pallet 10 and the glass original plate G packaged on the pallet 10 are shown as side views for convenience of explanation. [0035] In the reading process S31, the scanned identification information is transmitted to the second server 3, and the cut-out area information and quality information corresponding to the identification information are obtained from the second server 3. [0036] The cutting process S32 includes a process S32a of forming a scribe line L on the glass original plate G based on the cut-out area information obtained from the second server 3, and the glass original plate G along the scribe line L Breaking works S32b. In the process S32a, the scribe line L is formed by a push by a wheel cutter, a laser irradiation, or the like. Process S32b includes a process of breaking the glass original plate G along a scribe line L extending in a first direction parallel to the conveying direction of the glass original plate G, and a process of extending a second direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The process that the scribe line L breaks the original glass G. In addition, FIG. 4 illustrates a case where the obtained cut-out section information is information indicating that four pieces of the glass plate Ga are cut out from one piece of the glass original plate G. [0037] Here, in the dicing mechanism or the breaking mechanism used in the cutting process S32, a candidate pattern for cutting out partition information is registered in advance. When a person presses a selection switch corresponding to the cut-out area information obtained from the second server 3, processing corresponding to the cut-out area information obtained from the second server 3 is automatically performed. In addition, a dicing mechanism or a breaking mechanism can also be designed to directly obtain the cut-out area information from the second server 3, and automatically select the processing corresponding to the cut-out area information from the registered pattern. [0038] In the cutting process S32, the glass original plate G may be cut by laser cutting or laser fusing. [0039] In the screening process S33, based on the quality information obtained by the second server 3, good products are screened from the cut glass plate Ga. When the screening process S33 is performed by a person, it is preferable to arrange the display device 11 to display quality information. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, in the display device 11, “○” is displayed in a zone with acceptable quality, and “×” is displayed in a zone with unqualified quality. In addition, the screening process S33 may be performed automatically by a robot. In this case, the display device 11 may be omitted. The defect-free glass plate (mother glass) Ga, which is regarded as a good product, is sold to customers who manufacture liquid crystal display devices and the like. [0040] According to the structure described above, the server that manages various information is divided into a first server 1 and a second server 3. In the first server 1, detailed information including defect information, cut-out partition information, and quality information is stored, and in the second server 3, only simple information including cut-out partition information and quality information except the defect information is stored. In the process S3, instead of directly obtaining various information from the first server 1, only simple information obtained from the second server 3 is used. Therefore, in the processing process S3, the first server 1 will not be overloaded, and the information obtained from the second server 3 will be limited to simple information, so it will not cause an excessive load on the second server 3. This is because the state necessary for smoothly obtaining the information necessary for processing from the second server 3 can be stably maintained, and therefore the glass plate Ga can be efficiently produced from the glass original plate G. In addition, as long as the operator of the processing project S3 is restricted (prohibited) from accessing the first server 1, the operator of the processing project S3 cannot access the defect information stored in the first server 1 only. If such a situation is set, the risk of leaking defect information with high confidentiality can be reduced. [0041] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment, nor is it limited to the aforementioned effects. The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. [0042] In the above embodiment, the case where the identification information is attached to the original glass plate G has been described. However, the identification information may also be attached to an accessory (such as a pallet) of the original glass plate G. In this case, the glass original plate G can be identified by the identification information of the attached object (stack) and the stowage position. In addition, it is also possible to directly attach the cut-out area information and quality information obtained through calculation to the glass original plate G. The amount of information is very small compared to the defect information, and therefore, for example, a two-dimensional code can be embedded. In this case, in the processing process S3, the cutting status and quality information can be directly read out from the identification information attached to the glass original plate G, so the communication with the second server 3 can also be reduced or omitted. [0043] In the above embodiment, the first server 1 calculates the cut-out area information and quality information of the glass original plate G based on the defect information, but it can also be calculated by other servers or by The computer used in the defect inspection process S12 or the identification process S13 is calculated. [0044] In the above embodiment, the case where the glass substrate G is cut in accordance with the cut-out area information obtained by the second server 3 in the processing process S3 has been described, but it can also be based on the processing from the second servo in the process S3. The cut-out area information (second cut-out area information) obtained by the device 3 is different from the cut-out area information to cut the glass original plate G. In this case, the following configuration is preferable. That is, the second server 3 transmits the second cut-out area information to the first server 1 together with the identification information of the glass original plate G required to be cut in accordance with the second cut-out area information. Next, based on the defect information corresponding to the identification information, the first server 1 calculates again the second quality information indicating whether the quality of each partition of the second cut-out partition information is qualified. Thereafter, the first server 1 transmits the second quality information to the second server 3. If in this way, there is no need to move the defect information to the second server 3, and only by a small amount of information exchange between the first server 1 and the second server 3, it can meet the request for changing the information cut out in the processing project S3. [0045] In the above embodiment, the case where the mother glass is cut out from the shaped original plate has been described. However, this manufacturing method is also applicable to the case where a glass substrate for a final product such as a liquid crystal display device is cut out from the mother glass.

[0046]

1‧‧‧first server

1a‧‧‧First Database

3‧‧‧Second server

3a‧‧‧Second Database

G‧‧‧Glass original plate (formed original plate)

Ga‧‧‧ glass plate (mother glass)

S1‧‧‧Forming Engineering

S11‧‧‧cut-off process (rough cut)

S12‧‧‧Defect inspection project

S13‧‧‧Sign Engineering

S14‧‧‧Packaging Engineering

S2‧‧‧Transportation Engineering

S3‧‧‧Processing Engineering

S31‧‧‧Reading Project

S32‧‧‧cut-off process (fine cutting)

S33‧‧‧Screening Project

[0019] [FIG. 1] A schematic conceptual diagram of a method for manufacturing a glass plate. [Fig. 2] A schematic plan view of the forming process.图 [Fig. 3A] Cut out the partition information for illustration.图 [Figure 3B] Cut out the partition information for illustration.图 [Figure 3C] Cut out the partition information for illustration.图 [Fig. 4] A schematic plan view of the processing process.图 [Figure 5] An example of the quality information displayed on the display device.

Claims (4)

A method for manufacturing a glass plate, comprising: (i) a process for inspecting defects of a glass original plate to generate defect information; (ii) based on the foregoing defect information, calculating the cut-out area information of the glass original plate by calculation and indicating each of the partitions. The project of quality information that is qualified or not; 工程 order the aforementioned defect information, the aforementioned cut-out partition information, and the aforementioned quality information to be stored in the first database of the first server; order the aforementioned cut-out partition except the aforementioned defect information The information and the quality information are transmitted from the first server to the second server, and are memorized to the second database of the second server; 取得 Obtain the corresponding information from the second server and the identification information of the original glass plate. The aforementioned project of cutting out partition information and the aforementioned quality information; the project of cutting out one or a plurality of glass plates from the original glass plate based on the aforementioned cutting out partition information obtained from the aforementioned second server; Filter from the aforementioned glass plates Good quality project. The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein after the process of generating the aforementioned defect information and before the process of cutting out the aforementioned glass plate, a process of packaging and transporting the aforementioned original glass plate is provided. The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to item 1 or 2 of the scope of the patent application, wherein in the process of obtaining the aforementioned quality information through calculation, the aforementioned first server obtains the aforementioned quality information through calculation. The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to any one of the scope of claims 1 to 3, wherein, in the process of cutting out the aforementioned glass plate, when requesting based on the information obtained from the aforementioned second server and the aforementioned cutting out, In the case where the second cut-out partition information with different partition information is used to cut out the glass plate, the second server transmits the second cut-out partition information and the identification information to the first server, and the first server Based on the aforementioned defect information corresponding to the aforementioned identification information, the server calculates again the second quality information indicating the quality of each of the partitions of the second cut-out partition information, and transmits the second quality information to the second server.