TWI844755B - Glass film manufacturing method, glass roll manufacturing method, and glass film manufacturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

In the present invention, when a strip-shaped primary glass film G1 is transported in a specified direction by a transport device 8 and cut at the same time, thereby obtaining one or more secondary glass films G2a and G2b, the cutting of the primary glass film G1 is performed by irradiating the primary glass film G1 with a laser in a specified cutting area 21 using a laser cutting device 9. The transport device 8 includes an upstream conveyor 19 and a downstream conveyor 20, and the downstream conveyor 20 includes a plurality of downstream belt conveyors 27, and the downstream belt conveyors 27 can contact and support the secondary glass films G2a and G2b by means of belts 28. The position of the belt 28 of each downstream belt conveyor 27 is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film G1.

Description

Glass film manufacturing method, glass roll manufacturing method, and glass film manufacturing device

The present invention relates to a method and device for manufacturing a glass film, and in particular to a technology for cutting a ribbon-shaped glass film into a predetermined width dimension by laser.

As is well known, the actual situation is that the plate glass used in flat panel displays (FPD) such as liquid crystal displays and organic electroluminescent (EL) displays, the plate glass used in organic EL lighting, the plate glass used in the manufacture of tempered glass, which is a component of touch panels, and the plate glass used in solar cell panels are being thinned.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a plate glass (glass film) having a thickness dimension of several hundred μm or less. As also described in the patent document, this plate glass is usually continuously formed by a forming device using the so-called overflow down draw method.

In this case, the long glass film continuously formed by the overflow down-draw method is transported downstream by the lateral transport section (horizontal transport section) of the transport device after its transport direction is changed from the vertical direction. During the transport, the two ends (thick wall parts) of the glass film in the width direction are cut off and removed. Then, the glass film is rolled into a roll by a winding roller to form a glass roll.

As a technology for cutting a glass film, a cutting method using laser is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The cutting method is a so-called laser cutting method, in which the glass film is transported in its length direction, and an initial crack is formed on the glass film by a crack forming mechanism such as a diamond cutter, and then the portion is irradiated with laser to heat it, and then the heated portion is cooled by a cooling mechanism. Thus, thermal stress is generated in the glass film, and the initial crack develops due to the thermal stress, thereby cutting the glass film.

In addition, this cutting method performed by laser is not only used when cutting the thick wall portions at both ends of the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film, but is also sometimes performed on the glass film after the thick wall portions have been removed. In this case, for example, as described in Patent Document 2, the glass film after the thick wall portions have been removed by the first laser cutting is wound into a roll, and the rolled glass film (glass roll) is transported to a subsequent step, and then the glass film is unwound from the glass roll and laser cutting is performed again, thereby re-cutting the glass film into a predetermined width direction dimension. In the second laser cutting, since the thick wall part (ear part) generated during the forming process has been removed, the glass film can be cut into the specified width direction dimension with better accuracy than the first laser cutting.

When the glass film is cut as described above, the cutting of the glass film is performed by laser irradiation, while the belt-shaped glass film is transported in the direction along its long side by a conveying device such as a belt conveyor, and the laser irradiation device set at a specified position irradiates the laser toward the vertical downward. Here, when the belt conveyor is used as a conveying device, a form is proposed in which a belt is used to contact and support the lower surface of the glass film throughout its entire width direction (refer to patent document 1), or a form in which a plurality of belts are arranged at specified intervals in the width direction of the glass film to contact and support the lower surface of the glass film for the purpose of avoiding the irradiation position of the laser (refer to patent document 2), etc.

[Prior art literature] [Patent Literature]

Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-240883

Patent document 2: International Publication No. 2019/049646

However, as a form of re-cutting the glass film after the thick wall portion is removed, not only a form of cutting (re-cutting) a glass film with a predetermined width dimension from a single glass film as described above, but also a form of cutting a glass film into two or more glass films with predetermined width dimensions from a single glass film. In this case, for example, by adjusting the width direction position of the laser cutting device (laser irradiation device) according to the cutting position of the glass film, the number of slices of the glass film can be changed by one manufacturing line. However, since the belt conveyor is large, the width direction position cannot be easily changed as with the laser irradiation device. Therefore, when multiple belt conveyors are arranged in the width direction of the glass film as described above, the cut glass film may come into contact with the belt at a position biased to one side in the width direction due to the number of slices or the width direction dimension of the cut glass film, causing the cut glass film to move obliquely. This affects the cutting position of the glass film, making it difficult to obtain a glass film with stable cutting quality.

In view of the above situation, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to avoid the poor transportation of the glass film caused by the change of cutting conditions and to stably obtain a glass film of good quality.

The above-mentioned problem is solved by the method for manufacturing the glass film of the present invention. That is, the manufacturing method is a method for manufacturing a glass film, in which a strip-shaped primary glass film is transported in a specified direction by a transport device and cut at the same time, thereby obtaining one or more secondary glass films. The manufacturing method of the glass film is characterized in that the cutting of the primary glass film is performed by irradiating the primary glass film with a laser in a specified cutting area using a laser cutting device, and the transport device includes: an upstream conveyor, which is relatively located on the upstream side of the transport direction of the primary glass film; and a downstream conveyor, which is relatively located on the downstream side of the transport direction of the primary glass film and can transport the secondary glass film, and the downstream conveyor includes a plurality of downstream belt conveyors that can contact and support the secondary glass film with the belt, and the position of the belt of each downstream belt conveyor is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film. Furthermore, the primary glass film mentioned here includes not only the glass film after being formed into a film shape and before undergoing the first cutting process, but also the glass film after undergoing the first cutting process and before undergoing the second cutting process. Furthermore, the secondary glass film mentioned here includes not only the glass film that undergoes further processing thereafter, but also the glass film that is the final processing of the cutting process of the present invention (i.e., the glass film that is essentially the final product). Furthermore, the width direction of the primary glass film mentioned here refers to the direction orthogonal to both the length direction and the thickness direction of the film.

As such, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, the transport device is configured to include an upstream conveyor and a downstream conveyor, wherein the upstream conveyor is relatively located on the upstream side of the transport direction of the primary glass film, and the downstream conveyor is located on the downstream side of the transport direction and can transport the secondary glass film, and the downstream conveyor is configured to include a plurality of downstream belt conveyors that can contact and support the secondary glass film through belts, and the position of the belt of each downstream belt conveyor is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film. Thus, the contact support position of the secondary glass film with the belt in the width direction can be freely set without changing the structure of the upstream conveyor for conveying the primary glass film, so that each downstream belt conveyor can be arranged at an appropriate width direction position according to the width direction position or width direction size of the secondary glass film to be obtained by laser cutting. Therefore, by minimally changing the necessary equipment, it is possible to avoid the secondary glass film contacting the belt at a position deviated to one side in the width direction, thereby preventing the secondary glass film from being skewed due to the deviated contact position and other secondary glass film conveying defects. Furthermore, if the secondary glass film can be transported without tilting, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the situation where the cut surface (side end surface) of one secondary glass film adjacent in the width direction interferes with the cut surface (side end surface) of another secondary glass film, thereby obtaining a glass film with good cut quality.

Furthermore, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, the laser cutting device may have a plurality of laser irradiation parts, and the position of each laser irradiation part is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film.

With such a configuration, the laser irradiation position of the primary glass film can be freely set in the width direction. Therefore, even if the required width dimension of the secondary glass film is changed by, for example, adjusting the width distance of a pair of adjacent laser irradiation parts in the width direction, the changed width dimension can still be managed with good accuracy.

In addition, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, when a plurality of secondary glass films each having a predetermined width dimension are obtained by cutting the primary glass film, the position of the tape can be adjusted according to the width direction position and width direction dimension of each secondary glass film.

In this way, when cutting multiple secondary glass films each having a predetermined widthwise dimension, it is preferable to adjust the widthwise position of the belt of the downstream belt conveyor according to the widthwise position and widthwise dimension of each secondary glass film. In this way, by setting the widthwise position of the belt, the belt can be arranged at a position suitable for the position and size of each cut secondary glass film, thereby avoiding the slanting of all cut secondary glass films and stably transporting them in the correct direction.

Alternatively, in the case where the position of the laser irradiation portion is configured to be adjustable as described above, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, when a plurality of secondary glass films each having a predetermined width direction dimension are obtained by cutting the primary glass film, the position of the belt and the position of the laser irradiation portion can be adjusted according to the width direction position and width direction dimension of each secondary glass film.

Furthermore, when the position of the laser irradiation unit is set to be adjustable, it is preferable to adjust the position of the belt of the downstream belt conveyor and the position of the laser irradiation unit respectively according to the width direction position and width direction size of each secondary glass film. In this way, by setting the width direction position of the belt and the laser irradiation unit, the belt can be arranged at a position suitable for the position and size of each cut secondary glass film, and the laser irradiation unit can be arranged at a position suitable for laser cutting. Therefore, each secondary glass film can be cut into an accurate width direction size, and all the secondary glass films can be stably transported in an accurate direction.

Furthermore, when multiple secondary glass films are obtained as described above, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, the position of the belt can be adjusted according to the center position of each secondary glass film in the width direction. Alternatively, the position of the belt can also be adjusted according to the positions of both ends of each secondary glass film in the width direction.

As described above, according to the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, the position of the belt can be appropriately set according to the required transportation form of the cut secondary glass film. For example, when the main purpose is to suppress the vibration and other changes during the transportation of the secondary glass film, the position of the belt is adjusted according to the positions of the two ends in the width direction of the secondary glass film, and the secondary glass film can be stably supported in contact with both sides in the width direction. Therefore, the secondary glass film can be stably transported while suppressing the above-mentioned changes. Or, as described later, when the main purpose is to avoid contact between the cut surfaces of any pair of secondary glass films adjacent in the width direction, the belt is adjusted according to the center position in the width direction of the secondary glass film, and the secondary glass film can be supported in contact with the center side in the width direction. In this case, the secondary glass film is bent and deformed into a shape that makes the two end sides in the width direction droop more than the center side in the width direction (a shape that bulges upward), thereby preventing the cut surfaces of the secondary glass films just cut from contacting each other and transporting each secondary glass film to the downstream side.

Furthermore, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, at least a portion of the multiple downstream belt conveyors can be configured to be able to adsorb the secondary glass film to the belt.

By configuring the secondary glass film to be adsorbed to the belt in this way, the contact support form of the secondary glass film to the belt can be always maintained in a certain state. Therefore, the secondary glass film can be transported more stably. However, as described later, in consideration of avoiding contact between the cut surfaces of the secondary glass film just cut, for example, as described later, the following structure can also be adopted, that is, one of the belt supporting one side of the width direction of one of the adjacent secondary glass films and the belt supporting the other side of the width direction of the other secondary glass film is set to be adsorbed, and the other is set to be non-adsorbed.

Furthermore, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, it is feasible that the upstream conveyor includes a plurality of upstream belt conveyors that can support the primary glass film by contacting with the belt, and the upstream belt conveyor located at the center of the width direction of the primary glass film among the plurality of upstream belt conveyors is configured to adsorb the primary glass film to the belt.

The glass film (primary glass film) before laser cutting still allows for deviations in the size after forming, and the size is huge, so it is not uncommon for it to be transported in a deformed state such as warping. Therefore, if the primary glass film in the above-mentioned form is to be transported by absorbing it with multiple belts, there is a problem that wrinkles are easily generated due to the left-right difference in the length direction (the difference in the length direction between one end and the other end in the width direction). Based on the above content, from the perspective of suppressing the generation of wrinkles, as described above, it is preferable that the upstream side belt conveyor located at the center of the width direction of the primary glass film among the multiple upstream side belt conveyors is configured to be able to absorb the primary glass film to the belt. By transporting the primary glass film while adsorbing only the center in the width direction, the primary glass film can be supplied to the cutting area by laser while suppressing the generation of wrinkles.

Furthermore, when multiple secondary glass films are obtained by cutting the primary glass film, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, a gap forming part can be provided on the downstream side of the downstream conveyor in the conveying direction of the primary glass film, and the gap forming part is used to form a gap in the width direction between any set of secondary glass films adjacent in the width direction.

By providing the gap forming part on the downstream side of the primary glass film in the conveying direction of the downstream conveyor, a predetermined width direction gap can be formed between the secondary glass films without complicating the structure of the downstream conveyor. Here, the secondary glass film is continuous from its base end (located in the cutting area) to the downstream side, so even if the gap forming part is provided on the downstream side of the downstream conveyor, a predetermined width direction gap can be formed between the secondary glass films just after cutting relatively easily.

Furthermore, when the gap forming part is provided as described above, in the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention, the gap forming part may have the same number of barrel-shaped support rollers as the secondary glass films, with the center of the width direction being the largest diameter, so that each secondary glass film is bent and deformed in a convex direction upward.

In this way, the gap forming part is provided with a barrel-shaped support roller structure with the largest diameter at the center in the width direction, so that, for example, the portion of the secondary glass film passing through the support roller of the gap forming part is bent and deformed in a convex direction upward as the secondary glass film is wound on the downstream side of the support roller. Therefore, it is possible to avoid contact between the secondary glass films with a simple structure, thereby safely transporting each secondary glass film.

Furthermore, according to the above-described method for manufacturing glass film, poor conveyance of the glass film due to the support conveyance position of the glass film being biased to one side in the width direction as the number of slices is changed can be prevented, and a glass film of good quality can be stably obtained. Therefore, for example, the secondary glass film obtained by the above method is rolled into a roll by a winding device located on the downstream side of the conveyor in the conveyance direction to obtain a glass roll, thereby preventing the deviation during winding regardless of the number of slices of the secondary glass film or its width direction dimension, thereby stably obtaining a glass roll of good quality.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned problem can also be solved by the glass film manufacturing device of the present invention. That is, the manufacturing device is a glass film manufacturing device, which is used to transport a strip of primary glass film in a specified direction while cutting it, thereby obtaining one or more secondary glass films. The glass film manufacturing device is characterized by comprising: a transport device that can transport the primary glass film in a specified direction; and a laser cutting device that can irradiate the primary glass film transported by the transport device with a laser and cut it in a specified cutting area. The transport device includes: an upstream conveyor, which is relatively located on the upstream side of the transport direction of the primary glass film; and a downstream conveyor, which is relatively located on the downstream side of the transport direction of the primary glass film and can transport the secondary glass film. The downstream conveyor includes a plurality of downstream belt conveyors that can contact and support the secondary glass film through the belt, and the position of the belt of each downstream belt conveyor is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film.

In this way, in the glass film manufacturing device of the present invention, the transport device is also configured to include an upstream conveyor and a downstream conveyor. The upstream conveyor is relatively located on the upstream side of the transport direction of the primary glass film, and the downstream conveyor is located on the downstream side of the transport direction, which can transport the secondary glass film, and the downstream conveyor includes a plurality of downstream belt conveyors that can contact and support the secondary glass film through the belt, and the position of the belt of each downstream belt conveyor is set to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film. Thus, the contact support position of the secondary glass film with the belt in the width direction can be freely set without changing the structure of the upstream conveyor for conveying the primary glass film, so that each downstream belt conveyor can be arranged at an appropriate width direction position according to the width direction position or width direction size of the secondary glass film to be obtained by laser cutting. Therefore, by minimally changing the necessary equipment, it is possible to avoid the secondary glass film contacting the belt at a position deviated to one side in the width direction, thereby preventing the secondary glass film from being skewed due to the deviated contact position and other secondary glass film conveying defects. Furthermore, if the secondary glass film can be transported without tilting, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the situation where the cut surface of one secondary glass film adjacent to the other in the width direction interferes with the cut surface of another secondary glass film, thereby obtaining a glass film with good cut quality.

As described above, according to the present invention, poor transportation of the glass film due to changes in cutting conditions can be avoided, thereby stably obtaining a glass film of good quality.

1: Manufacturing equipment

2: Forming section

3: Direction conversion unit

4: First Transportation Department

5: First cutting section

6: First winding part

7: Extraction section

8: Second transport unit (transport device)

9: Second cutting section

10: Second winding section

11: Molded body

11a: Overflow tank

12: Edge Roller

13: Annealing furnace

14: Annealing furnace roller

15: Support roller

16: Guide roller

17a: Laser irradiation device

17b: Cooling device

18: Roll core

19: Upstream conveyor (conveyor)

20: Downstream conveyor (conveyor)

21: Cut-off area

22: Upstream belt conveyor (belt conveyor)

23: Belt (first belt)

23a, 28a: Surface (supporting transportation surface)

23b, 28b: hole

24, 29: Pulley

24a, 29a: drive pulley

25, 30: Support body

26, 31: Driving source

27: Downstream belt conveyor (belt conveyor)

28: Belt (Second Belt)

32:Track Department

33: Sliding part

34: Axis

35: Retreat space

36: Laser irradiation device

36a: Laser irradiation unit

37: Cooling device

38: First pressure plate

39: First support surface

40: First suction unit (suction unit)

41, 50: Sheet components

42: First air intake

42a, 42a: Openings at both ends

42b: Through hole

43, 53: Connecting Space

44, 54: Exhaust section

45, 55: Connecting tube

46, 56: Support components

47: Second pressure plate

48: Second support surface

49: Second suction unit (suction unit)

51: Second air intake (air intake)

52: The third air inlet (air inlet)

57: Narrow seam

58: Gap forming part

59a, 59b, 59c: Support rollers

60a, 60b: Nozzle

61a, 61b: Rolling core

A-A, B-B, C-C, D-D, E-E: Cutting line

G: Base material glass film

G1: First glass film (glass film), primary glass film

G2a, G2b, G2c: Second glass film (glass film), secondary glass film

GM: Molten glass

GRL1: The first glass roll

GRL2a, GRL2b, GRL2c: Second glass roll

L:Laser light

O: Laser light irradiation position

PL:Route

R: Refrigerant

X: Transportation direction

FIG1 is a side view showing the overall structure of a glass film manufacturing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the transport device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the transport device along the A-A cutting line in Figure 2.

FIG4 is a plan view of the first pressure plate shown in FIG2.

FIG5 is a cross-sectional view of the first pressure plate along the B-B cutting line in FIG4.

FIG6 is a cross-sectional view of the first pressure plate along the C-C cutting line in FIG5.

FIG7 is a plan view of the second pressure plate shown in FIG2.

FIG8 is a cross-sectional view of the second pressure plate along the D-D cutting line in FIG7.

FIG9 is a cross-sectional view of the second pressure plate along the E-E cutting line in FIG8.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the role played by the support roller shown in FIG. 2.

Figure 11 is a plan view of the transport device of the second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 12 is a plan view of the transport device of the third embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes the first embodiment of the method for manufacturing the glass film of the present invention based on Figures 1 to 10. Furthermore, the following describes the case where the glass film is rolled into a roll to obtain a glass roll as an example.

As shown in FIG1 , the manufacturing device 1 of the glass film (glass roll) of the first embodiment of the present invention includes: a forming section 2 for forming a strip-shaped mother glass film G; a direction conversion section 3 for converting the traveling direction of the mother glass film G from the longitudinal downward direction to the transverse direction; a first conveying section 4 for conveying the mother glass film G transversely after the direction conversion; a first cutting section 5 for cutting the two ends of the mother glass film G in the width direction; and a first winding section 6 for winding the glass film G1 with the two ends in the width direction removed (hereinafter referred to as the first glass film) into a roll to obtain the first glass roll GRL1. In addition, in this embodiment, the longitudinal direction is the vertical direction and the transverse direction is the horizontal direction.

In addition, the glass roll manufacturing device 1 further includes: a drawing unit 7 for drawing out the first glass film G1 from the first glass roll GRL1; a second conveying unit 8 for conveying the first glass film G1 drawn out from the drawing unit 7 in a horizontal direction; a second cutting unit 9 for cutting a part of the first glass film G1; and a second winding unit 10 for winding the glass film (hereinafter referred to as the second glass film) G2 cut by the second cutting unit 9 into a roll to obtain the second glass roll GRL2a and the second glass roll GRL2b.

Furthermore, the first glass film G1 in this embodiment is equivalent to the primary glass film of the present invention, and the second glass film is equivalent to the secondary glass film of the present invention. Therefore, the first glass roll GRL1 is equivalent to the glass roll formed by winding the primary glass film of the present invention into a roll, and the second glass roll GRL2 is equivalent to the glass roll formed by winding the secondary glass film of the present invention into a roll.

In addition, the second winding section 10 in this embodiment is equivalent to the winding device of the present invention, the second cutting section 9 is equivalent to the laser cutting device of the present invention, and the second conveying section 8 is equivalent to the conveying device of the present invention.

The forming section 2 includes: a forming body 11 which is roughly wedge-shaped in cross-section and has an overflow groove 11a formed at the upper end; an edge roller 12 which is arranged directly below the forming body 11 and clamps the molten glass GM overflowing from the forming body 11 from both the front and back sides; and an annealer 13 which is arranged directly below the edge roller 12.

The forming part 2 makes the molten glass GM overflowing from the overflow groove 11a of the forming body 11 flow down along both side surfaces and converge at the lower end thereof to form a film. The edge roller 12 restricts the widthwise contraction of the molten glass GM and adjusts the widthwise dimension of the base glass film G. The annealing furnace 13 is a component for performing strain removal treatment on the base glass film G. The annealing furnace 13 has annealing furnace rollers 14 arranged in multiple layers in the vertical direction.

Support rollers 15 are provided below the annealing furnace 13 to hold the base glass film G from both the front and back sides. Tension is applied between the support roller 15 and the edge roller 12, or between the support roller 15 and any annealing furnace roller 14 to cause the base glass film G to become thin-walled.

The direction conversion section 3 is disposed below the support roller 15. On the direction conversion section 3, a plurality of guide rollers 16 for guiding the base glass film G are arranged in a curved shape. These guide rollers 16 guide the base glass film G transported in the lead vertical direction in a transverse direction.

The first conveying section 4 is arranged in front of the direction of travel of the direction-changing section 3 (downstream side). The first conveying section 4 conveys the base glass film G passing through the direction-changing section 3 toward the downstream side along its length direction by driving the driving section having a supporting conveying surface. Furthermore, the first conveying section 4 can adopt any structure, for example, it can include one or more belt conveyors. In this case, the driving section having a supporting conveying surface is a belt, and by driving the belt, the base glass film G can be conveyed in the form described above. Of course, the first conveying section 4 is not limited to the structure exemplified above, and a roller conveyor and other various conveying devices can also be used.

The first cutting section 5 is arranged above the first conveying section 4. In the present embodiment, the first cutting section 5 is configured to cut the base glass film G by laser cutting. Specifically, the first cutting section 5 includes: a pair of laser irradiation devices 17a, and a pair of cooling devices 17b arranged on the downstream side of the laser irradiation device 17a. The first cutting section 5 irradiates the laser light L from each laser irradiation device 17a to heat the specified part of the conveyed base glass film G, and then releases the refrigerant R from the cooling device 17b to cool the heated part.

The first winding section 6 is provided on the downstream side of the first conveying section 4 and the first cutting section 5. The first winding section 6 winds the first glass film G1 into a roll shape by rotating the winding core 18. The first glass roll GRL1 obtained in this way is conveyed to the position of the extraction section 7. The extraction section 7 extracts the first glass film G1 from the first glass roll GRL1 obtained by the first winding section 6 and supplies it to the second conveying section 8.

The second conveying section 8 conveys the first glass film G1 drawn out from the first glass roll GRL1 in the drawing section 7 in the transverse direction (hereinafter referred to as the conveying direction X). Here, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the second conveying section 8 includes two conveyors 19 and 20. In this case, the supporting conveying surface of the second conveying section 8 is divided by the cutting area 21 (the area surrounded by a one-point chain in FIG. 2 ) of the first glass film G1 by the second cutting section 9. Thereby, the second conveying section 8 forms a structure divided into an upstream conveyor 19 and a downstream conveyor 20, wherein the upstream conveyor 19 is located more upstream of the cutting area 21 in the conveying direction of the first glass film G1, and the downstream conveyor 20 is located more downstream of the cutting area 21 in the conveying direction.

Among them, the upstream conveyor 19 includes a plurality of upstream belt conveyors 22. The plurality of upstream belt conveyors 22 are configured to support and transport the first glass film G1 in the same direction using a belt (hereinafter referred to as the first belt 23). Here, each first belt 23 is, for example, an annular belt, and each first belt 23 is set at the same height position so that the entire area contacted by the first glass film G1 in its length direction is maintained in a substantially horizontal posture. Thereby, on the surface 23a of each first belt 23, which becomes the support and transport surface of the first glass film G1, a route PL of the first glass film G1 along the horizontal direction is formed (refer to FIG. 5, etc. described later).

Here, as shown in FIG3, each upstream side belt conveyor 22 includes: the first endless belt 23 described above, a plurality of pulleys 24 for applying tension to the first belt 23 and arranging the first belt 23 at a predetermined position, and a support 25 for supporting the plurality of pulleys 24. The support 25 is fixed to the ground. In addition, a drive source 26 such as a motor is connected to a predetermined pulley 24 (driving pulley 24a) among the plurality of pulleys 24 (refer to FIG2), and the first belt 23 of each upstream side belt conveyor 22 can be driven in a predetermined direction by applying a driving force to the driving pulley 24a by the driving source 26.

Furthermore, the plurality of upstream side belt conveyors 22 of the above-mentioned structure are respectively arranged at predetermined widthwise positions. Here, it is assumed that a plurality of first glass films G1 having different widthwise dimensions are transported on the upstream side conveyor 19, and the widthwise positions of the first belts 23 are set in such a manner that the first glass films G1 are contact-supported at both ends in the widthwise direction. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the upstream side belt conveyors 22 are arranged in such a manner that all the first glass films G1 are contact-supported at the central positions in the widthwise direction regardless of the widthwise dimensions (see FIG. 2 ), and the upstream side belt conveyors 22 can adsorb the first glass films G1 to the surface 23a of the first belt 23 serving as its support and transport surface. In this embodiment, a plurality of holes 23b are formed on the surface 23a of the first tape 23, and the first glass film G1 can be adsorbed on the surface 23a by suction through the holes 23b.

The downstream conveyor 20 includes a plurality of downstream belt conveyors 27. The plurality of downstream belt conveyors 27 are configured to contact and support the cut first glass film G1, that is, the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b in the same direction using belts (hereinafter referred to as second belts 28) and to transport them downstream. Here, each second belt 28 is, for example, an endless belt, and each second belt 28 is set at the same height position so that the entire area of the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b in contact with each other in the length direction thereof is kept in a substantially horizontal position. Thus, the surface 23a of each first belt 23 serving as the support and conveying surface of the first glass film G1 and the surface 28a of each second belt 28 serving as the support and conveying surface of the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b form a route PL before and after the cutting of the first glass film G1 along the horizontal direction, that is, a route PL of the second conveying unit 8.

Here, as shown in FIG3, each downstream side belt conveyor 27 includes: the above-mentioned endless belt-shaped second belt 28, a plurality of pulleys 29 for applying tension to the second belt 28 and arranging the second belt 28 at a predetermined position, and a support 30 for supporting the plurality of pulleys 29. In addition, a driving source 31 such as a motor is connected to a predetermined pulley 29 (driving pulley 29a) among the plurality of pulleys 29 (refer to FIG2), and the second belt 28 of each downstream side belt conveyor 27 can be driven in a predetermined direction by applying a driving force to the driving pulley 29a by the driving source 31. The driving source 31 is independently provided from the driving source 26 of the upstream side belt conveyor 22. Therefore, the driving of each drive source 26, 31, as well as the upstream side belt conveyor 22 and the downstream side belt conveyor 27 can be controlled individually without linkage.

Furthermore, the plurality of downstream side belt conveyors 27 are configured to be respectively arranged at predetermined widthwise positions, and the positions of the second belts 28 can be adjusted in the widthwise direction of the first glass film G1. Specifically, a rail section 32 extending in the widthwise direction of the first glass film G1 is provided below each downstream side belt conveyor 27. Moreover, a sliding section 33 that can move relatively between the rail sections 32 is installed at the lower portion of the support body 30 constituting each downstream side belt conveyor 27. Thus, the plurality of pulleys 29 supported by each support body 30 and the second belts 28 supported by the pulleys 29 can slide in the widthwise direction as a whole. Furthermore, the driving pulley 29a of each downstream side belt conveyor 27 is supported slidably in the width direction relative to the common shaft 34. Therefore, the position in the width direction relative to the shaft 34 can be freely changed, and the driving force from the driving source 31 can be received at any width direction position to drive.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG2 , the width direction position of each second belt 28 (each downstream side belt conveyor 27) is adjusted so that a pair of second belts 28 are located near both ends in the width direction of each second glass film G2a and G2b after the first glass film G1 is cut. Furthermore, when both ends in the width direction of the first glass film G1 are cut off and two second glass films G2a and G2b are cut from the first glass film G1 as in this embodiment, one of the downstream side belt conveyors 27 is not required, so for example, the downstream side belt conveyor 27 located at the outermost side in the width direction can be moved to the retreat space 35. In this way, it is possible to reliably avoid the situation where the unnecessary downstream side belt conveyors 27 interfere with the second glass films G2a and G2b, and the two sheets of the second glass films G2a and G2b are supported and transported by each of the two downstream side belt conveyors 27, and at the same time, the width direction ends of the cut first glass film G1 are supported and transported by each of the downstream side belt conveyors 27. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the second belts 28 of all the downstream side belt conveyors 27 are configured to absorb the second glass films G2a and G2b onto the surface 28a that serves as the support and transport surface. In this embodiment, a plurality of holes 28b are formed on the surface 28a of the second belt 28, and the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b can be adsorbed on the surface 28a by suction through the holes 28b.

The second cutting section 9 is arranged above the area between the upstream conveyor 19 and the downstream conveyor 20 in the second transport section 8 (see FIGS. 1 and 3 ). In the present embodiment, the second cutting section 9 is configured to cut the first glass film G1 by laser cutting, and includes a plurality of laser irradiation devices 36 and cooling devices 37 arranged on the downstream side of each laser irradiation device 36. In this case, the cooling devices 37 are arranged in the same number as the laser irradiation devices 36. In the present embodiment, the cutting area 21 of the first glass film G1 using the second cutting section 9 is set at three locations in the width direction (see FIG. 2 ), so three laser irradiation devices 36 and three cooling devices 37 are also arranged. The second cutting section 9 of the above structure is configured to heat the first glass film G1 being transported by irradiating a predetermined portion of the film with laser light L from each laser irradiation device 36, and then cool the heated portion by releasing a refrigerant R from the cooling device 37. Details will be described later.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , a first pressing plate 38 is disposed at a position of the first glass film G1 that is far from the cutting region 21 in the width direction and that can contact and support the first glass film G1 transported by the second transport unit 8. Specifically, the first pressing plate 38 is disposed at a position corresponding to the center side in the width direction of the first glass film G1 (the second glass film G2a, the second glass film G2b) after the cutting. In the present embodiment, since the two second glass films G2a and G2b are cut from one first glass film G1, the first pressing plate 38 is disposed at a position that is located in the width direction relative to the cutting region 21 and corresponds to the center in the width direction of each of the second glass films G2a and the second glass film G2b. The first pressure plate 38 is omitted in the figure, and is set on the ground and fixed, always in a static state.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4 , the first pressure plate 38 includes: a first support surface 39 that can provide contact support to the first glass film G1; and a first suction portion 40 that can suck the first glass film G1 toward the first support surface 39.

The first pressure plate 38 is formed of metal in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, for example. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , the first support surface 39 is formed by the surface of a sheet member 41 disposed on the upper side of the first pressure plate 38. The sheet member 41 is formed of a material having low resistance when in contact with the first glass film G1, such as resin, or a material having good sliding properties with respect to the first glass film G1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first support surface 39 is formed by the surface of the sheet member 41, but of course, the first support surface 39 may also be formed by the upper surface of the first pressure plate 38.

Furthermore, the height direction position of the first support surface 39 may be the same as the path PL of the first glass film G1, or may be set slightly higher (e.g. within 3 mm) than the path PL as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In this way, the first glass film G1 and the first support surface 39 can be more securely in close contact.

In the present embodiment, the first suction portion 40 includes: a first air intake port 42 opening on the first support surface 39, a connecting space 43 connected to the first air intake port 42, an exhaust portion 44 such as a pump for exhausting the inside of the connecting space 43, and a connecting pipe 45 connecting the connecting space 43 and the exhaust portion 44 (all refer to FIG. 3). In the present embodiment, the first air intake port 42 is formed in a groove shape. Furthermore, the first air intake port 42 formed in a groove shape is formed on the first support surface 39 in a manner extending along the length direction of the first glass film G1, that is, along the conveying direction (refer to FIG. 4). The first air intake port 42 is formed in a manner penetrating the sheet member 41 and opening on the upper surface of the first pressure plate 38. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, both ends of the first air intake port 42 in the length direction are opened on the side surfaces of the first pressure plate 38 relative to the first pressure plate 38. Therefore, the openings 42a at both ends of the first air inlet 42 are always open to the outside space (outside air).

A plurality of through holes 42b are formed on the bottom surface of the first air intake port 42, and are connected to a connecting space 43 formed on a supporting member 46 that supports the first pressure plate 38. In this case, the through hole 42b is formed in the first pressure plate 38, and the connecting space 43 is formed in the supporting member 46. A connecting pipe 45 is mounted on the supporting member 46. For example, the exhaust portion 44 is shared, and one exhaust portion 44 can be connected by the same number of connecting pipes 45 as the first pressure plate 38. Alternatively, the connecting space 43 may be shared and a plurality of first pressure plates 38 may be supported by one supporting member 46. In this case, one connecting pipe 45 is mounted on one supporting member 46. According to the first suction part 40 having the above structure, the exhaust part 44 is driven to suck air from the first suction port 42 opened on the first support surface 39 and the two end openings 42a and the two end openings 42a located at the two ends in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, when the first glass film G1 is transported on the first support surface 39 of the first platen 38, the lower surface of the first glass film G1 can be sucked to the first support surface 39 by the above suction action.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , a second pressure plate 47 is provided in the cutting area 21 of the first glass film G1 to provide contact support to the first glass film G1. In this embodiment, since the first glass film G1 is cut at three locations in the width direction, three second pressure plates 47 are provided for the three cutting areas 21 respectively. The illustration of these second pressure plates 47 is omitted, and they are set on the ground and fixed, and are always in a static state.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7 , the second pressure plate 47 includes: a second support surface 48 that can provide contact support to the first glass film G1; and a second suction portion 49 that can suck the first glass film G1 toward the second support surface 48.

The second platen 47 is formed of metal in a substantially rectangular shape, for example. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG8 , the second support surface 48 is formed by the surface of a sheet member 50 disposed on the upper side of the second platen 47. The sheet member 50 is formed of a material such as resin that has little resistance when in contact with the first glass film G1, or is formed of a material that has good sliding properties with respect to the first glass film G1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second support surface 48 is formed by the surface of the sheet member 50, but of course, the second support surface 48 may also be formed by the upper surface of the second platen 47.

Furthermore, the height direction position of the second support surface 48 can be the same as the position of the route PL of the first glass film G1, or can be set slightly higher than the route PL (for example, within a range of 3 mm) as shown in Figures 8 and 9. In this way, the first glass film G1 can be more securely in close contact with the second support surface 48.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG8 and FIG9, the second suction part 49 includes: a second air inlet 51 opened on the second support surface 48, a pair of third air inlets 52, 52 located on both sides of the width direction of the second air inlet 51, a connecting space 53 connected to the second air inlet 51 and the third air inlet 52, 52, an exhaust part 54 such as a pump for exhausting the inside of the connecting space 53, and a connecting pipe 55 connecting the connecting space 53 and the exhaust part 54.

In this embodiment, the second air inlet 51 and the third air inlet 52 are formed on the second support surface 48 in the form of a long hole extending along the conveying direction X of the first glass film G1. Here, the width dimension or length dimension of the second air inlet 51 can be set to an appropriate size taking into account the width dimension or length dimension of the third air inlet 52. In other words, the above-mentioned dimensions, especially the size relationship between the various dimensions of the second air inlet 51 and the various dimensions of the third air inlet 52, can be appropriately set according to the required suction force (deformation force) on the first glass film G1.

The second air intake port 51 and a pair of third air intake ports 52, 52 of the above structure are formed in the sheet member 50 and the second pressure plate 47. The second air intake port 51 and the third air intake port 52, 52 are formed in a manner that the sheet member 50 and the second pressure plate 47 are connected in the vertical direction, respectively, and are connected to the communication space 53 formed in the support member 56 that supports the second pressure plate 47 from below. In this case, the communication space 53 is formed in the support member 56, and the connecting pipe 55 is installed on the lower side of the support member 56. The exhaust part 54 is shared, for example, and one exhaust part 54 can be connected by the same number of connecting pipes 55 as the second pressure plate 47. Alternatively, the communication space 53 can be shared, and a plurality of second pressure plates 47 can be supported by one support member 56. In this case, a connecting pipe 55 is installed on a supporting member 56. In addition, in this embodiment, a slit portion 57 is formed between the supporting member 56 and the second pressure plate 47. The slit portion 57 is open in the width direction of the supporting member 56 to suck in external air.

According to the second suction part 49 formed with the above structure, the exhaust part 54 drives the second suction port 51 and the third suction port 52, the third suction port 52 and the slit part 57 opened on the second support surface 48 to suck air. Therefore, when the first glass film G1 is transported on the second support surface 48 of the second platen 47, the lower surface of the first glass film G1 can be sucked to the second support surface 48 by the above suction action.

Furthermore, as described in the present embodiment, when independent exhaust parts 44 and exhaust parts 54 are provided in the first suction part 40 and the second suction part 49, respectively, the suction forces can be controlled separately. For example, the suction forces generated by the suction parts 40 and 49 can be adjusted separately in such a way that the suction force of the first suction part 40 on the first glass film G1 is smaller than the suction force of the second suction part 49 on the first glass film G1. In other words, the exhaust volume generated by the exhaust parts 44 and 54 can be adjusted separately. Of course, the exhaust part (omitted from the figure) can also be shared by the first suction part 40 and the second suction part 49 to simplify the structure.

The laser irradiation device 36 locally heats a predetermined portion of the first glass film G1 moving along the conveying direction X by irradiating the portion with laser light L. As shown in FIG. 9 , the laser irradiation device 36 has a plurality of laser irradiation units 36a. Each laser irradiation unit 36a is disposed above the second air intake port 51 of the second platen 47. Thus, the laser irradiation unit 36a irradiates the plurality of portions of the first glass film G1 passing through the second air intake port 51 opened on the second support surface 48 with laser light L. The irradiation position O of the laser light L from each laser irradiation unit 36a is set in a manner to be located on a straight line substantially parallel to the conveying direction X of the first glass film G1.

The cooling device 37 is arranged downstream of the laser irradiation device 36 in the conveying direction X of the first glass film G1. The cooling device 37 supplies the cooling medium R to the portion of the first glass film G1 that is locally heated by the irradiation of the laser light L described above, thereby cooling the portion.

A gap forming portion 58 is provided on the downstream side of the second conveying portion 8. The gap forming portion 58 is used to form a gap in the width direction between a pair of second glass films G2a and G2b adjacent in the width direction. In the present embodiment, the gap forming portion 58 has barrel-shaped support rollers 59a and 59b with the largest diameter at the center in the width direction in a manner that each second glass film G2a and G2b is bent and deformed in a direction convex upward. In the present embodiment, the second glass films G2a and G2b are cut into two pieces, so two support rollers 59a and 59b are provided. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10 , in this embodiment, nozzles 60a and 60b are provided for spraying gas such as air from above toward both ends in the width direction of each second glass film G2a and G2b supported by support rollers 59a and 59b.

The second winding section 10 is disposed on the downstream side of the second conveying section 8. Specifically, the second winding section 10 winds the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b conveyed by the second conveying section 8 using the winding core 61a and the winding core 61b to obtain the second glass roll GRL2a and the second glass roll GRL2b. In this embodiment, the second glass film G2a and G2b are cut into two pieces, so by winding the two second glass films G2a and G2b respectively, two second glass rolls GRL2a and GRL2b can be obtained.

As the material of the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b (first glass film G1) manufactured by the manufacturing device 1 of the above structure, silicate glass and silica dioxide glass are used, preferably borosilicate glass, sodium calcium glass, aluminum silicate glass, chemically strengthened glass, and alkali-free glass is the best. Here, the so-called alkali-free glass refers to glass that does not substantially contain alkali components (alkali metal oxides), specifically, refers to glass with a weight ratio of alkali components of 3000ppm or less. The weight ratio of alkali components in the present invention is preferably 1000ppm or less, more preferably 500ppm or less, and best 300ppm or less.

In addition, the thickness of the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b (the first glass film G1) is set to be greater than 10 μm and less than 300 μm, preferably greater than 30 μm and less than 200 μm, and most preferably greater than 30 μm and less than 100 μm.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b (the second glass roll GRL2a and the second glass roll GRL2b in this embodiment) using the manufacturing device 1 of the above structure will be described. The method includes: a forming step S1, a two-end removal step S2, a first winding step S3, a drawing step S4, a cutting step S5, and a second winding step S6.

In the forming step S1, as shown in FIG1, the molten glass GM overflowing from the overflow groove 11a of the forming body 11 in the forming part 2 flows down along the two side surfaces of the forming body 11, and converges at its lower end to form a film. At this time, the shrinkage of the molten glass GM in the width direction is restricted by the edge roller 12 to form a base glass film G of a specified width. Thereafter, the base glass film G is subjected to strain removal treatment (slow cooling step) by the annealing furnace 13. The base glass film G is formed into a specified thickness by the tension of the support roller 15.

In the end removal step S2, as shown in FIG1, the base glass film G is sent to the downstream side by the direction conversion unit 3 and the first conveying unit 4, and in the first cutting unit 5, a portion of the base glass film G is irradiated with laser light L from the laser irradiation device 17a to heat it. After that, the cooling medium R is sprayed on the heated part by the cooling device 17b. Thereby, thermal stress is generated in the base glass film G. An initial crack is formed in the base glass film G in advance, and the crack is advanced by thermal stress. Thereby, the end portions of the base glass film G in the width direction are removed to form the first glass film G1.

In the next first winding step S3, as shown in FIG1 , the first glass film G1 is wound around the winding core 18 to obtain the first glass roll GRL1. Thereafter, the first glass roll GRL1 is transferred to the extraction section 7. In the extraction step S4, the first glass film G1 is extracted from the first glass roll GRL1 transferred to the extraction section 7 and transported to the cutting area 21 on the second transport section 8 by the second transport section 8 (refer to FIG2 and FIG3 ).

In the cutting step S5, the laser irradiation device 36 irradiates the portion of the first glass film G1 passing through the cutting area 21 on the second conveying section 8 with laser light L, and sprays the irradiated area with a coolant R, thereby cutting the first glass film G1 in the direction of the conveying direction X. At this time, the first glass film G1 is conveyed in the direction along the conveying direction X by the upstream conveyor 19, and passes through the first support surface 39 of the first platen 38 disposed at a position far from the cutting area 21 in the width direction (see FIG. 2). Here, by operating the exhaust part 44 of the first suction part 40 (by operating it all the time), a downward suction force is applied to the first glass film G1 on the first support surface 39 through the first suction port 42 opened on the first support surface 39, and the first glass film G1 is sucked toward the first support surface 39. As a result, the first glass film G1 is supported in contact with the first support surface 39 and is transported along the transport direction X. In addition, depending on the degree of the suction force generated by the first suction part 40, the sucked portion of the first glass film G1 is deformed (for example, bent and deformed in a convex direction downward as shown in FIG. 5).

In addition, in the present embodiment, the second platen 47 is provided in the cutting area 21, so that the first glass film G1 passes through the second supporting surface 48 of the second platen 47 (see FIG. 2 ) while passing through the cutting area 21 as described above. Here, by operating the exhaust portion 54 of the second suction portion 49, a downward suction force is applied to the first glass film G1 on the second supporting surface 48 through the second suction port 51 and the pair of third suction ports 52, 52 opened in the second supporting surface 48, and the first glass film G1 is sucked toward the second supporting surface 48. Thus, the first glass film G1 is transported along the transport direction X while being supported by the second supporting surface 48 in contact with it. Furthermore, depending on the degree of suction force generated by the second suction unit 49, the sucked portion of the first glass film G1 is deformed (for example, as shown in FIG. 8 , the portions directly above the air inlets 51 and 52 are bent and deformed in a convex downward direction).

Furthermore, at this time, the suction force generated by the first suction part 40 is controlled to an appropriate size, for example, by adjusting the output of the exhaust part 44 or the shape and size of each opening part (the first air inlet 42, the two-end opening part 42a, and the two-end opening part 42a). Similarly, the suction force generated by the second suction part 49 is controlled to an appropriate size, for example, by adjusting the output of the exhaust part 54 or the shape and size of each opening part (the second air inlet 51, the third air inlet 52, and the slit part 57).

In the adjustment of the suction force described above, there is a tendency that if the suction force is increased, the deformation of the first glass film G1 described above becomes larger, while the amplitude of the up and down movement of the first glass film G1 becomes smaller. Conversely, there is a tendency that if the suction force is reduced, the deformation described above becomes smaller, while the amplitude of the up and down movement becomes larger. Therefore, it is better to reduce the deformation as much as possible within the range of the allowable amplitude of the up and down movement.

In the cutting step S5, as described above, the first glass film G1 is sucked to the first support surface 39 of the first platen 38 and the second support surface 48 of the second platen 47, and the first glass film G1 is transported in a predetermined transport direction X by the second transport section 8 (upstream conveyor 19), and the first glass film G1 is irradiated with a plurality of laser beams L from the laser irradiation section 36a of the laser irradiation device 36 (laser irradiation step). The laser beam L is irradiated to the portion of the first glass film G1 that passes through the second suction port 51 of the second platen 47.

By irradiation with the laser light L as described above, the first glass film G1 is heated at the irradiation position O (see FIG. 7 ). Thereafter, when the heated portion of the first glass film G1 reaches directly below the cooling device 37 located on the downstream side of the second air intake port 51, it is exposed to the coolant R ejected downward from the cooling device 37 and cooled. Thermal stress is generated in the first glass film G1 by expansion due to local heating by the laser irradiation device 36 and contraction due to cooling by the cooling device 37. An initial crack is formed in advance in the first glass film G1 by a mechanism not shown in the figure, and the initial crack is advanced by the above-mentioned thermal stress, thereby continuously cutting (cutting) the first glass film G1 at a predetermined position in its width direction. In this embodiment, the above-mentioned laser cutting is performed at three locations in the width direction to cut off the two ends of the first glass film G1 in the width direction, and cut into two second glass films G2a and G2b having predetermined width dimensions (see FIG. 2 ). The second glass films G2a and G2b are transported to the second winding section 10 located further downstream in the transport direction X than the downstream conveyor 20 by the downstream conveyor 20 located further downstream in the transport direction X than the cutting section 21.

In the second winding step S6, the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b are wound by the winding cores 61a and 61b respectively arranged at predetermined positions. By winding the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b of predetermined length, the second glass roll GRL2a and the second glass roll GRL2b can be obtained.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, support rollers 59a and 59b are provided as gap forming parts 58 between the downstream conveyor 20 and the second winding part 10, so that the second glass film G2 passing through each support roller 59a and 59b is transported toward the downstream side while deforming along the outer peripheral surface shape of the support roller 59a and 59b (here, it is bent and deformed in a direction convex upward). Thereby, a predetermined width direction gap is formed between the second glass films G2a and G2b just after being cut (refer to FIG. 10), so that the interference between the cut surfaces can be avoided and they can be transported toward the second winding part 10 respectively.

As described above, in the manufacturing method of the glass film (second glass film G2a, second glass film G2b) of the present embodiment, the second conveying section 8 as a conveying device is configured to include an upstream conveyor 19 and a downstream conveyor 20. The upstream conveyor 19 is relatively located on the upstream side of the conveying direction X of the first glass film G1, and the downstream conveyor 20 is located on the downstream side of the conveying direction X, and can convey the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b. The downstream conveyor 20 includes a plurality of downstream belt conveyors 27 that can contact and support the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b through the second belt 28, and the position of the second belt 28 of each downstream belt conveyor 27 is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the first glass film G1. Thus, the contact and support position of the second glass films G2a and G2b with the second belt 28 in the width direction can be freely set without changing the structure of the upstream conveyor 19 for conveying the first glass film G1, so that each downstream belt conveyor 27 can be arranged at an appropriate width direction position according to the width direction position or width direction size of the second glass films G2a and G2b to be obtained by laser cutting. Therefore, by minimally changing the necessary equipment, it is possible to avoid the second glass films G2a and G2b contacting the second belt 28 at a position deviated to one side in the width direction, thereby preventing conveyance failure of the second glass films G2a and G2b such as the slanting of the second glass films G2a and G2b caused by the deviated contact position. Furthermore, if the second glass films G2a and G2b can be transported without being tilted, the situation where the cut surface (side cross section) of one of the second glass films G2a adjacent to each other in the width direction interferes with the cut surface (side cross section) of the other second glass film G2b can be avoided as much as possible, thereby obtaining the second glass films G2a and G2b with good cut quality.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when a plurality of second glass films G2a and G2b having predetermined widthwise dimensions are obtained by cutting the first glass film G1, the position of the second ribbon 28 is adjusted according to the widthwise position and widthwise dimension of each of the second glass films G2a and G2b. Thus, the second ribbon 28 can be arranged at a position suitable for the position and size of each of the cut second glass films G2a and G2b, thereby preventing all the cut second glass films G2a and G2b from tilting and stably transporting them in the correct direction. In particular, in this embodiment, the position of the second belt 28 can be adjusted according to the positions of both ends of each second glass film G2a and G2b in the width direction, so that the second glass films G2a and G2b can be stably contacted and supported on both sides in the width direction. Therefore, the vibration and other changes during the transportation of the second glass films G2a and G2b can be suppressed, and the second glass films G2a and G2b can be stably transported.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a gap forming portion 58 (here, supporting rollers 59a and 59b) is provided on the downstream side of the downstream conveyor 20 in the conveying direction of the first glass film G1, and the gap forming portion 58 is used to form a gap in the width direction between any pair of second glass films G2a and G2b adjacent to each other in the width direction. As a result, the portions of the second glass films G2a and G2b passing through the gap forming portion 58 on the supporting rollers 59a and 59b are bent and deformed in a direction convex upward. Therefore, when the downstream side belt conveyor 27 supports both ends of the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b in the width direction as described above, the second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b that have just been cut can be prevented from contacting each other, thereby safely transporting each second glass film G2a and the second glass film G2b.

The above describes the first embodiment of the glass film manufacturing method and manufacturing device of the present invention, but the manufacturing method and manufacturing device can of course adopt any form within the scope of the present invention.

FIG11 shows a second embodiment of the glass film manufacturing method of the present invention. That is, in the first embodiment, the structure of the case where the present invention is applied when a first glass film G1 is cut into two second glass films G2a and G2b is illustrated, but in this embodiment, the structure of the case where the present invention is applied when a first glass film G1 is cut into three second glass films G2a, G2b, and G2c is illustrated. That is, in this embodiment, in the manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG11, the width direction position of the downstream side belt conveyor 27 is adjusted according to the width direction position and width direction size of the cut second glass films G2a to G2c. That is, as shown in FIG. 11 , the plurality of downstream side belt conveyors 27 are configured to slide along the rail portion 32 in the width direction, for example, according to the positions of the two ends of the second glass film G2a to the second glass film G2c in the width direction, the positions of the second belts 28 of the plurality of downstream side belt conveyors 27 are adjusted in the width direction.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the number and widthwise position of the first platen 38 and the second platen 47 are adjusted according to the widthwise position and widthwise dimension of the second glass film G2a to the second glass film G2c. Furthermore, the number and widthwise position of the laser irradiation device 36 and the cooling device 37 are adjusted according to the widthwise position and widthwise dimension of the second glass film G2a to the second glass film G2c. That is, although not shown in the figure, the laser irradiation device 36 and the cooling device 37 are arranged on each second platen 47 after the position adjustment.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11 , when a gap forming portion 58 is provided between the downstream conveyor 20 and the second winding portion 10, support rollers 59a to 59c with appropriate width direction dimensions are respectively arranged at appropriate width direction positions according to the width direction positions and width direction dimensions of the second glass films G2a to G2c.

In this way, by adjusting the position of the downstream side belt conveyor 27 in the width direction according to the width direction position and width direction size of the second glass film G2a~second glass film G2c, the second glass film G2a can be supported and transported at a uniform position in the width direction. Therefore, even if the number of cut second glass films G2a~second glass films G2c or the width direction size changes, it is still possible to avoid the situation where the second glass film G2a~second glass film G2c contacts the second belt 28 at a position biased to one side in the width direction, thereby preventing the second glass film G2a~second glass film G2c from being tilted due to the deviation of the contact position and other poor transport of the second glass film G2a~second glass film G2c.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the positions of the plurality of downstream side belt conveyors 27 are adjusted in the width direction so that the second glass films G2a and G2b cut from the first glass film can be supported in contact near both ends in the width direction (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 11 ), but other configurations may be used. FIG. 12 shows an example (the third embodiment of the present invention). As shown in FIG. 12 , in this embodiment, a plurality of downstream side belt conveyors 27 are configured to slide along the rail portion 32 in the width direction, and the positions of the second belts 28 of the corresponding two pairs of downstream side belt conveyors 27 are adjusted in the width direction according to the central position in the width direction of at least a portion of the second glass films G2a and G2c.

By adjusting the position of the downstream side belt conveyor 27 in the width direction in this way, the corresponding second glass films G2a and G2c can be contacted and supported at the center position in the width direction. In this case, since the second glass films G2a and G2c are bent and deformed into a shape that makes the two ends in the width direction more drooping than the center in the width direction (a shape that bulges upward), each second glass film G2a to G2c can be transported toward the downstream side while avoiding the contact between the cut surfaces of the second glass films G2a (G2c) and G2b just after cutting.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the second press plate 47 is arranged in the cutting area 21 of the first glass film G1, and the first press plate 38 is arranged at a position far from the cutting area 21 in the width direction, but it is of course not limited to this. If it does not bring a significant impact on laser cutting, a third conveyor (omitted from the figure) is arranged in a manner to support the conveying surface passing through the cutting area 21, and at least one of the first press plate 38 and the second press plate 47 can be omitted.

Furthermore, the supporting conveying surface of the conveying device (second conveying section) is not necessarily divided at the position corresponding to the cutting area 21 in the conveying direction X. For example, the supporting conveying surface of the second conveying section 8 may be divided at a position offset from the cutting area toward the downstream side of the conveying direction X.

Furthermore, in the above description, the upstream conveyor 19 and the downstream conveyor 20 formed by dividing the second conveying section 8 as a conveying device in the cutting area 21 are exemplified as both comprising belt conveyors. Of course, other forms may be adopted, for example, the upstream conveyor 19 may comprise a roller conveyor and other various conveying devices.

In the above description, the case where a first glass film G1 is cut into two (or three) second glass films G2a and G2b (G2a to G2c) is exemplified. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a case where a second glass film G2a having different dimensions in the width direction is cut, and the present invention can also be applied to a case where a second glass film G2a having more than four dimensions is cut.

Furthermore, in the above description, the present invention is applied to the first glass film G1 obtained by cutting both ends of the base glass film G in the width direction by the first cutting section 5, but the present invention can also be applied to the cutting of the base glass film G by the first cutting section 5. In this case, the present invention can be implemented by the first conveying section 4 adopting the same structure as the second conveying section 8 shown in FIG. 2, etc.

Furthermore, in the above description, the present invention is applied to the case where the first glass film G1 is formed in a strip shape, but of course the present invention can also be applied to the first glass film G1 formed in other shapes. That is, although the illustration is omitted, the present invention can be applied to a single sheet of plate glass (glass film) such as a rectangular shape. Moreover, the second glass film G2a... obtained by cutting does not necessarily have to be wound into a roll. In other words, the present invention can also be applied to the manufacturing step of the second glass film G2a... that is not wound into a roll.

8: Second transport unit (transport device)

10: Second winding section

19: Upstream conveyor (conveyor)

20: Downstream conveyor (conveyor)

21: Cut-off area

22: Upstream belt conveyor (belt conveyor)

23: Belt (first belt)

23a, 28a: Surface (supporting transportation surface)

23b, 28b: hole

26, 31: Driving source

27: Downstream belt conveyor (belt conveyor)

28: Belt (Second Belt)

32:Track Department

33: Sliding part

34: Axis

35: Retreat space

38: First pressure plate

39: First support surface

40: First suction unit (suction unit)

47: Second pressure plate

48: Second support surface

49: Second suction unit (suction unit)

58: Gap forming part

59a, 59b: Support roller

61a, 61b: Rolling core

A-A: Cutting line

G1: First glass film (glass film), primary glass film

G2a, G2b: Second glass film (glass film), secondary glass film

GRL2a, GRL2b: Second glass roll

X: Transportation direction

Claims (12)

A method for manufacturing a glass film, wherein a strip of primary glass film is transported in a specified direction by a transport device and cut at the same time, thereby obtaining one or more secondary glass films. The method for manufacturing a glass film is characterized in that the cutting of the primary glass film is performed by irradiating the primary glass film with a laser in a specified cutting area using a laser cutting device, and the transport device comprises: an upstream conveyor, which is relatively located at the upstream side of the conveyor. The conveyor is located upstream in the conveying direction of the primary glass film; and a downstream conveyor is relatively located downstream in the conveying direction of the primary glass film, capable of conveying the secondary glass film, the downstream conveyor includes a plurality of downstream belt conveyors capable of contacting and supporting the secondary glass film by belts, and the position of the belt of each downstream belt conveyor is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in claim 1, wherein the laser cutting device has a plurality of laser irradiation sections, and the position of each of the laser irradiation sections is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in claim 1, wherein a plurality of secondary glass films each having a predetermined width dimension are obtained by cutting the primary glass film, and the position of the tape is adjusted according to the width direction position and width direction dimension of each secondary glass film. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in claim 2, wherein a plurality of secondary glass films each having a predetermined widthwise dimension are obtained by cutting the primary glass film, and the position of the band and the position of the laser irradiation portion are adjusted according to the widthwise position and widthwise dimension of each secondary glass film. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the position of the belt is adjusted according to the center position in the width direction of each secondary glass film. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the position of the belt is adjusted according to the positions of both ends of each secondary glass film in the width direction. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein a gap forming portion for forming a gap in the width direction between any set of the secondary glass films adjacent in the width direction is arranged on the downstream side of the conveying direction of the primary glass film more than the downstream conveyor. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in claim 7, wherein the gap forming portion is formed in such a way that each of the secondary glass films is bent and deformed in a direction convex upward, and has a barrel-shaped support roller having the same number of the secondary glass films as the secondary glass films and having the largest diameter in the center in the width direction. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of downstream belt conveyors is configured to be able to adsorb the secondary glass film to the belt. A method for manufacturing a glass film as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the upstream conveyor includes a plurality of upstream belt conveyors capable of contacting and supporting the primary glass film with a belt, and the upstream belt conveyor located at the center of the width direction of the primary glass film among the plurality of upstream belt conveyors is configured to be able to adsorb the primary glass film to the belt. A method for manufacturing a glass roll, using a winding device located on the downstream side of the conveying direction relative to the downstream conveyor, to wind the secondary glass film obtained by the method for manufacturing a glass film as described in any one of claim 1 to claim 4 into a roll, thereby obtaining a glass roll. A glass film manufacturing device is used to transport a strip of primary glass film in a specified direction and cut it at the same time, thereby obtaining one or more secondary glass films. The glass film manufacturing device is characterized by comprising: a transport device capable of transporting the primary glass film in a specified direction; and a laser cutting device capable of irradiating the primary glass film transported by the transport device with a laser to cut it at a specified cutting area. The transport device comprises: an upstream A side conveyor is relatively located on the upstream side of the conveying direction of the primary glass film; and a downstream side conveyor is relatively located on the downstream side of the conveying direction of the primary glass film, capable of conveying the secondary glass film, the downstream side conveyor includes a plurality of downstream side belt conveyors capable of contacting and supporting the secondary glass film by belts, and the position of the belt of each downstream side belt conveyor is configured to be adjustable in the width direction of the primary glass film.