WO2010018674A1

WO2010018674A1 - Molten metal supply pipe, molten metal supply apparatus in which the supply pipe is incorporated, and molten metal supply method

Info

Publication number: WO2010018674A1
Application number: PCT/JP2009/003797
Authority: WO
Inventors: 伊藤元通; 久保賢一
Original assignee: 日立金属株式会社
Priority date: 2008-08-14
Filing date: 2009-08-07
Publication date: 2010-02-18

Abstract

Provided is a molten metal supply pipe with which the admixing of oxides produced on the surface of a solid-phase, low melting point metal material can be limited with a construction that is simpler than prior constructions. The molten metal supply pipe, which is a molten metal supply pipe that melts and supplies a solid-phase, low melting point metal material, is characterized in comprising a melting zone that is directly or indirectly contacted by the low melting point metal material to produce a molten metal and a flow channel roughly in the form of a pipe that has a first opening formed in the melting zone at one end and a second opening at the other end and through which the molten metal produced by the melting zone flows, and by the fact that the melting zone melts the low melting point metal material from which surface oxides have been removed in an oxide removal zone prior to the low melting point metal material being melted.

Description

Molten metal supply cylinder, molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder, and molten metal supply method

The present invention relates to a molten metal supply tube for melting and supplying a low-melting-point metal material such as solder or indium to a member such as glass, ceramics or metal, a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply tube, and a molten metal This is related to the supply method.

51 (a) and 51 (b) show a glass panel that constitutes a vacuum container or a multi-layer glass (so-called pair glass) of an image display device. The glass panel W has a pair of glass substrates w3 in which the main surfaces S1 and S2 are arranged to face each other through a gap holding member Q (for example, a glass sphere or a resin sphere) so that a gap having a dimension g is formed in the thickness direction. And w4 and the main surfaces S1 and S2 are bonded together at the outer peripheral portion (hereinafter referred to as the outer peripheral gap) k of the gap between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and the joint n that seals the outer peripheral gap k and forms an airtight chamber. And have. The joint n has been conventionally formed of glass frit, but in recent years, it may be formed of a low melting point metal such as indium or solder from the viewpoint of improving sealing quality such as high airtightness and low outgas. Proposed. In the following, the present invention will be described by taking a glass panel manufacturing technique as an example, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited.

The glass panels constituting the multilayer glass and the vacuum vessel are manufactured through the following steps. (1) Two rectangular glass substrates w3 and w4 are prepared. (2) A molten metal obtained by melting a low melting point metal material such as indium or solder is supplied in a frame shape along the outer peripheral edge to the bonding surface of one or both glass substrates to form a bonding portion. (3) Position the glass substrates w3 and w4 so that the bonding surfaces face each other. (4) The glass substrates w3 and w4 are overlapped, and the two glass substrates w3 and w4 are bonded via the bonding portion.

The technology relating to the molten metal supply step (2) is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1. That is, Patent Document 1 discloses a metal sealing material (low in this specification) for directly or indirectly joining a front substrate and a rear substrate (both are glass substrates) constituting a vacuum container of an image display device. An apparatus for applying a molten metal sealing material while applying ultrasonic waves to the bonding surface is disclosed in order to form a bonding member composed of a melting point metal material.) On the bonding surface of the front substrate and the rear substrate. ing. Further, Non-Patent Document 1 pays attention to the fact that easily oxidizable elements such as Zn, Al, Si, and Ti improve the bondability between the Pb—Sn solder and the glass substrate, and include one or more of these easily oxidizable elements. A technique for directly joining an object to be joined having an oxidized surface such as a glass substrate using Pb—Sn solder as a bonding material, and applying ultrasonic vibration to the contact interface between the molten solder and the glass substrate to the contact interface. An ultrasonic soldering technique that removes existing bubbles and improves the bondability between the solder and the glass substrate is disclosed.

When an ultrasonic wave is applied when a low melting point metal material thus melted (hereinafter referred to as “molten low melting point metal material” is referred to as “molten metal” in the present specification unless otherwise specified) is applied to a glass substrate, There is an advantage that bubbles and foreign matters existing on the surface of the substrate are removed by ultrasonic waves, and the bonding property of the bonding interface between the glass substrate and the bonding member is improved.

By the way, in general, a metal material is easily oxidized in the atmosphere in both the solid phase and the liquid phase, and an oxide is generated on the surface. The same applies to solid-phase low-melting-point metal materials stored in the atmosphere. When this material is melted to form a joint, the oxide produced on the surface remains as it is and the glass substrate. It intervenes in the joint surface with and mixes in the molten metal. The mixed oxide causes interface defects between the glass substrate and the joint and internal defects in the joint, and deteriorates the airtightness of the joint, the interface strength between the glass substrate and the joint, and the strength of the joint itself. Cause the problem of In particular, as in the technique according to Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1, when forming a joining member using ultrasonic vibration, the above problem is caused because the oxide mixed in the molten metal is stirred by ultrasonic vibration. Appears prominently.

Examples of techniques for solving the above problems are described in

Patent Documents

2 and 3. Patent Document 2 provides a method for manufacturing a glass panel that suppresses generation of an oxide of a metal material, and can stably perform the bonding between the metal material and plate glass and the hermetic sealing thereby, The plate glass is disposed by facing the upper and lower surfaces through a gap, and supplying and filling the molten metal material into the outer circumferential gap from a storage part in which the atmosphere in contact with the surface of the molten metal material to be stored is in an inert gas atmosphere state. A configuration is disclosed in which the members are joined together and the gap is hermetically sealed.

In Patent Document 3, although the metal sealing material melted in the atmosphere is filled, the generation of an oxide film on the surface of the metal sealing material is suppressed, and the wettability of the sealing surface of the metal sealing material is reduced. In order to provide an image display apparatus manufacturing method and a sealing material filling apparatus that can achieve improvement and enable complete sealing, a support base for positioning and supporting an object to be sealed having a sealing surface, and a molten metal seal A sealed reservoir for storing the deposit, a nozzle for filling the sealing surface with the molten metal sealing material sent from the reservoir, and supplying a stable gas to and around the tip of the nozzle to create a stable gas atmosphere. The structure which concerns on the sealing material filling apparatus which consists of a filling head which has a gas supply means is disclosed.

Another technique related to the above step (2) is disclosed in Patent Document 4. Patent Document 4 discloses a metal supply including a discharge port that discharges a stored molten metal material (molten solder) and an introduction plate that is installed at the center of the discharge port and introduces molten solder from the discharge port to the outer peripheral gap. In the method of filling molten solder using a cylinder, even when the gap between the pair of glass sheets is small, it is possible to prevent the molten solder from leaking and reliably fill the outer circumferential gap. A molten solder filling method is disclosed in which the distance between the gaps formed therebetween is set to be 10 times or less the gap dimension of the plate glass. According to the filling method of Patent Document 4, it is described that even when the gap between the plate glasses is small, it is possible to fill the outer peripheral gap with the molten solder while suppressing the spread of the molten solder to an unplanned range. Yes.

Still another technique relating to the above step (2) is disclosed in Patent Document 5. In Patent Document 5, a spacer is provided between a pair of glass plates to form a gap, and a molten single metal material is filled into the peripheral edge of the gap to directly bond the pair of glass plates and the metal material. In the glass panel manufacturing method in which the gap is hermetically sealed, at least a part of the plate-shaped or bar-shaped guide for guiding the molten metal material is supplied to the outer periphery to supply the molten metal material to the outer peripheral gap of the pair of glass plates. A method for producing a glass panel to be inserted into the gap is described.

In Patent Document 5, the introduction of a metal material which is difficult in the case of a narrow outer peripheral gap is facilitated and facilitated by the guide, and the introduction speed is increased. Therefore, direct bonding between the metal material and the glass substrate is possible. It is described that it is easy to form. Further, it is described that the molten metal material can be surely filled into the outer peripheral gap by appropriately setting the size and shape of the guide according to the outer peripheral gap.

Further, in Patent Document 5, in the method of manufacturing a glass panel in which the size of a pair of glass plates is different and the edge of one glass plate protrudes beyond the edge of the other glass plate, Describes a method of manufacturing a glass panel in which molten solder is infiltrated by capillary action from the protruding portion of the metal to the outer peripheral gap, and the outer peripheral gap is filled with molten solder. Patent Document 5 describes that the capillary phenomenon occurs when vibration is applied to at least one of molten solder or a glass plate to improve the wettability of the molten solder to the glass plate.

In addition, in Example 14 of Patent Document 5, a specific solder supply device is described. This solder supply device is melted from a solder melting tank through a pipe having an inner diameter of 3 mm in an outer peripheral gap between two glass plates arranged so that a 0.2 mm gap is formed between main surfaces to be bonded to a metal material. Solder is fed by its own weight, a metal plate guide with a thickness of 0.15 mm attached to the tip of the pipe is inserted into the outer peripheral gap about 5 mm, and the outer peripheral gap of the glass plate is filled with molten solder. It is configured to And according to this solder supply apparatus, the sealing width of the outer peripheral gap by the molten solder is about 5 mm from the outer peripheral edge of the glass plate, and the leak test, the measurement of the thermal conductivity, the lead elution test, the measurement result of the oxygen content rate It is described that there was no problem.

JP 2002-184313 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-255591 JP 2005-331673 A JP 2002-167245 A WO00 / 58234

[First task]
The techniques described in

Patent Documents

2 and 3 operate the molten metal in a non-oxidizing atmosphere, and suppress the generation of oxides in the melting process of the low melting point metal material and the supply process of the molten metal. Therefore, there is an advantage that generation of defects due to oxides generated in these processes can be suppressed. However, it is difficult to completely remove the oxide already existing on the surface of the low-melting-point metal material in the solid phase even if it is operated in a non-oxidizing atmosphere as in the techniques of

Patent Documents

2 and 3. In addition, since it is mixed in the molten metal, the problems of Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1 cannot be solved completely. Further, as exemplified in Non-Patent Document 1 above, when a bonding material containing an easily oxidizable element is directly bonded to an object to be bonded having an oxidized surface, bondability is ensured between the oxidized surface and the bonding material. Therefore, a predetermined amount of oxygen needs to be present. On the other hand, the oxygen causes the molten bonding material to oxidize, and as a result, an oxide film is generated between the bonding material and the object to be bonded, thereby causing a trade-off relationship. This problem cannot be solved by the techniques of

Patent Documents

2 and 3 in which various operations are performed in a non-oxidizing atmosphere.

The present invention has a simple configuration compared to the configuration according to the prior art, and a molten metal supply cylinder capable of suppressing the mixing of oxide into the molten metal when the low-melting-point metal material in the solid phase is melted and supplied, It is a first object of the present invention to provide a molten metal supply device and a supply method for supplying a molten metal while suppressing mixing of oxides by using a supply cylinder.

[Second issue]
The present invention has been made in view of the prior art described in

Patent Documents

4 and 5, and the outer surfaces of the plate-like bodies, which are a pair of materials to be joined, are arranged with a gap between the main surfaces. When supplying molten metal, the second object is to provide a molten metal supply cylinder, a molten metal supply apparatus and a molten metal supply method in which the supply cylinder is improved compared to the prior art.

[Third issue]
When a molten solder is filled in the outer peripheral gap of a pair of glass plates to form a joint, as described in Patent Document 4, it is necessary to keep the molten solder discharge port away from the end surface of the glass plate by a certain distance. There is. In this case, since the molten solder is filled in a state where the gap formed in the discharge port and the end face of the plate glass is filled, the molten solder leaks from the gap, and as shown in FIG. Not only is the molten solder filled in the outer peripheral gap of w4, but the molten solder n1 is also attached to the end surfaces of the plate glasses w3 and w4. When the amount of molten solder leaking from the gap formed between the discharge port and the end face of the plate glass increases, the molten solder n1 adhering to the end face rises, and in some cases, the end face of the plate glass w4 may flow down. Such a glass panel is not only unfavorable in appearance, but also has a risk of impairing its mountability. Further, when the molten solder leaking on the mounting surface of the member on which the plate glass is mounted falls, the quality problem that this molten solder contaminates the surface to be cleaned of the glass plate w4 is mounted. When the next plate glass w4 is placed on the member, there is a problem in industrial production that the positioning accuracy in the height direction deteriorates.

This problem can be solved by optimizing the gap formed between the molten solder discharge port and the end face of the plate glass, or by optimizing the amount of molten solder supplied, but it is appropriate for glass panels with various forms. It is very difficult for industrial production to determine the appropriate conditions one by one, resulting in high costs.

The present invention provides a molten metal that hardly adheres to the end face of the plate-like body when supplying the molten metal to the outer peripheral gap of the plate-like body, which is a pair of materials to be joined with the principal surfaces of each other being interposed via a gap. A third object of the present invention is to provide a supply tube for molten metal, an apparatus for supplying molten metal in which the supply tube is incorporated, and a method for supplying molten metal.

[Fourth issue]
In addition to the third problem, as shown in FIG. 51 (d), the pair of glass plates are different in size, and the edge of one glass plate protrudes beyond the edge of the other glass plate. In addition, when the method of introducing molten solder into the outer peripheral gap using the capillary phenomenon described in Patent Document 5 is used, there is little possibility that the molten solder will flow down the end face of the plate glass w4, as shown in FIG. Thus, it will be in the state which the molten solder n2 leaked greatly to the protrusion part of the glass plate w4. Furthermore, as described in Example 1 of Patent Document 5, there is a problem that the width of the joint portion n is 2.5 to 4 mm and the joint width is not stable.

The present invention provides a molten metal that hardly adheres to the end face of the plate-like body when supplying the molten metal to the outer peripheral gap of the plate-like body, which is a pair of materials to be joined with the principal surfaces of each other being interposed via a gap. Supply tube, molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply tube, and molten metal supply method, in particular, a pair of plate-like bodies have different sizes, and the edge of one plate-like body is the other plate-like body In the case where the molten metal protrudes beyond the edge of the metal, the molten metal does not leak into the protruding portion, and a molten metal supply tube that can stably supply molten metal with a certain width to the outer circumferential gap is incorporated. Another object of the present invention is to provide a molten metal supply apparatus and a molten metal supply method.

[Fifth issue]
When the molten metal material is filled by inserting the guide described in Patent Document 5 into the outer circumferential gap, the molten metal material flows in the gap formed between the guide and the glass substrate and fills the outer circumferential gap. Is done. However, when the gap between the guide and the glass substrate is reduced, the fluid resistance is increased, and the molten solder flowing through the gap is difficult to reach the tip of the guide. In addition, since the guide moves in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the molten metal material is supplied, the amount of molten solder that flows through the gap between the guide and the glass substrate decreases toward the tip. Thus, particularly when the outer peripheral gap is narrowed, it becomes difficult to stably supply the molten metal material to the outer peripheral gap with a constant width.

In addition, when the guide is moved, if the gap between the guide and the glass substrate is reduced to such an extent that the molten solder moves following the guide, the bonding strength between the joint and the glass plate is increased. Specifically, it was found that the size was about 0.01 to 0.005 mm. However, when the guide of Patent Document 5 is used and the gap with the glass substrate is about 0.01 to 0.005 mm, there is a problem that the amount of molten solder reaching the tip of the guide is small and the width is not stable. . In addition, due to insufficient supply of molten solder, there is a problem in that the bonding strength is reduced due to the occurrence of vacancy defects in a linear or dotted manner at the bonding interface between the glass substrate and the bonding portion.

In the present invention, when supplying molten metal to the outer peripheral gap of a plate-like body, which is a pair of materials whose main surfaces are arranged via a gap, the molten metal is stably supplied to the outer peripheral gap with a certain width. It is a fifth object of the present invention to provide a molten metal supply tube, a molten metal supply device incorporating the supply tube, and a molten metal supply method.

(1) The molten metal supply tube according to claim 1, which achieves the first object, is a molten metal supply tube that melts and supplies a solid-phase low-melting-point metal material. A molten part that directly or indirectly abuts to generate a molten metal, a first opening formed in the molten part at one end and a second opening at the other end and a molten metal generated at the molten part A low-melting-point metal material having a surface layer of oxide removed before the low-melting-point metal material is melted in the melting portion. Yes.

The supply cylinder (1) has the following effects. That is, the low-melting-point metal material in the solid phase is melted by coming into contact with the melting part to generate molten metal, and the molten metal flows from the first opening, flows through the flow passage, and flows out from the second opening. Here, since the flow passage is sealed except for the first opening and the second opening, the molten metal does not come into contact with the atmosphere in the supply process, and the generation of oxide is suppressed, and the mixing of the oxide into the molten metal is prevented. Avoided. Furthermore, the low melting point metal material is melted in the melted portion after the surface oxide is removed in the oxide removing portion, so that the oxides adhering to the surface of the low melting point metal material enter the flow passage. The entry is blocked. Note that the “low melting point metal” in this specification refers to a metal that melts at a relatively low temperature of approximately 400 ° C. or less, exemplified by Sn, In, Zn, Ga, and the like.

(2) In the supply cylinder of (1) above, in order to prevent the oxide from being generated again on the surface of the low melting point metal material from which the oxide has been removed, the oxide removal part and the melting part are close to each other. It is desirable that the oxide removal portion is provided integrally with the melting portion, and is configured to remove oxide on the surface layer of the low melting point metal material when the low melting point metal material is melted. Is desirable.

(3) Specifically, in the supply cylinder of (2) above, the first opening opens to the oxide removing portion, and the area of the first opening is less than the area where the low melting point metal material contacts the melting portion. It is desirable. By setting the area of the first opening to be less than the area where the low-melting-point metal material is in contact with the melting part, and bringing the low-melting-point metal material into contact with the melting part so as to close the first opening, the surface of the low-melting-point metal material The oxide adhering to is removed at the outer peripheral edge of the first opening, and the oxide is prevented from entering the flow passage.

(4) In order to avoid the oxide that has been prevented from entering the distribution passage from moving and entering the distribution passage again, in the supply cylinder of (2) or (3) above, It is desirable to provide an oxide capturing part and capture the oxide so that the oxide does not move.

(5) In the supply tube of (2) or (3) above, it is avoided that the oxide that has been prevented from entering the flow passage accumulates in the non-opening around the first opening and enters the flow passage again. In order to achieve this, it is desirable to have an oxide discharge portion that discharges oxide from the periphery of the first opening.

(6) In the supply cylinder of (1) above, the oxide removing section is provided as a separate body, and is configured to remove the oxide on the surface of the low melting point metal material before melting the low melting point metal material. It is desirable.

(7) In the supply cylinder of (6) above, the oxide removal unit can include a blade part for removing the surface layer of the low melting point metal material, (8) plasma irradiation means, or (9) shot blasting means.

(10) In the supply cylinder of (1) above, in order to stably and smoothly supply the molten metal, it is desirable that the surface of the flow passage is subjected to a treatment for improving wettability with the molten metal. As this process, for example, when using solder as a low melting point metal, a metal layer forming process such as Cr, Al, Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta, Ti by plating, CVD, PVD, sputtering or the like is performed. Can be adopted.

(11) In the supply cylinder of (1) above, in order to prevent contamination of the molten metal, the surface of the flow passage is subjected to a corrosion prevention treatment for the molten metal, and the surface of the flow passage is dissolved by the molten metal flowing. It is desirable that impurities are not mixed into the molten solder M1. As such processing, for example, when the supply cylinder is made of steel or the like, a means for performing nitriding treatment on the surface of the flow passage or coating the surface of the flow passage with ceramics such as TiN is adopted. be able to.

(12) In the supply cylinder of (1) above, in order to stably supply the molten metal flowing out from the second opening to the workpiece, guidance for guiding the molten metal generated in the melting part and discharged from the second opening. It is desirable to have a part.

Note that the guide portion is attached to the second opening of the supply cylinder through which the molten metal flows out, so that a desired amount of molten metal is reliably supplied to the outer peripheral gap and the supply width of the molten metal is stabilized. Desirable in terms. Furthermore, as will be described in detail in the section of the embodiment below, in a predetermined case, mixing of oxide into the molten metal when supplied to the outer peripheral gap from the second opening is suppressed.

(13) In the supply cylinder of (12) above, when the molten metal is supplied to the surface of the plate-like member or the gap between the two plate-like members, it is desirable that the guide portion is substantially flat.

(14) In the supply cylinder of (12) above, when the molten metal is supplied into the holes formed in the workpiece, it is desirable that the guide portion has a substantially columnar shape or a substantially cylindrical shape.

(15) In the above supply cylinders (12) to (14), it is desirable that the guide part has a tapered shape so that the molten metal can be smoothly guided by the guide part and supplied to the workpiece without interruption.

(16) In the supply cylinder of (12) to (14) above, in order to smoothly guide the molten metal at the guide portion and supply it to the workpiece without interruption, a guide groove for the molten metal is formed in the guide portion. It is desirable that

(17) In the above supply cylinders (12) to (14), in order to remove bubbles and foreign matter existing on the workpiece surface, improve the activity of the workpiece surface, and increase the wettability of the molten metal to the workpiece surface. It is desirable that the guide portion is formed with an abutting surface that abuts on a surface to be supplied with molten metal.

(18) In the supply cylinder of (12), in which the molten metal is supplied to the outer peripheral gap of the pair of plate-like bodies whose main surfaces are arranged with a gap therebetween, in order to achieve the second object, a guide is provided. The portion has a first plane opposing the main surface of one plate-like body via a first gap and a second plane opposing the main surface of the other plate-like body via a second gap. A iron part configured to be insertable into the outer peripheral gap of the pair of plate-like bodies, a first contact part and / or a iron that protrudes from the first plane of the iron part and can contact the main surface of one plate-like body It is desirable to have the 2nd contact part which protrudes from the 2nd plane of a part, and can contact the main surface of the other plate-shaped object.

According to the supply cylinder of (18), the molten metal supplied to the outer peripheral gap of the pair of plate-like bodies is inserted into the outer peripheral gap and moved along the outer peripheral edge of the pair of plate-like bodies. Is supplied to the outer circumferential gap by the section. In this molten metal supply operation, the molten metal introduced into the first gap and the second gap set between each main surface of the plate-like body and the first plane and the second plane of the iron portion. The metal is pressed by the iron portion by the movement of the iron portion along the outer peripheral edge of the plate-like body, and is applied to each main surface of the plate-like body. The molten metal to which fluidity is imparted by the operation of applying the coating promotes the activation of the main surface to increase the wettability of the molten metal and the main surface, and removes bubbles and foreign substances existing at the contact interface between the molten metal and the main surface. Since it removes, the joining quality of the plate-shaped body which is a to-be-joined material, and a junction part can be improved.

In addition, the first contact portion provided in the guide portion protrudes from the first plane of the iron portion and is configured to be able to contact the main surface of one plate-like body, and the second contact portion is the first portion of the iron portion. It protrudes from two planes and is configured to be able to contact the main surface of the other plate-like body. Therefore, in the above supply operation, for example, even when the iron part moves relatively in the thickness direction of the outer peripheral gap due to the problem of the operation accuracy of the mechanism for positioning the pair of plate-like bodies and the mechanism for moving the guide part, the plate-like body When the contact part comes into contact with the main surface of the steel plate, direct contact between the iron part and the main surface is avoided. As a result, the main surface is prevented from being damaged and the bonding quality between the plate-like body and the joint is improved. can do. Note that the guide unit may be provided with only the first contact unit or the second contact unit, or both of them may be provided, and selection thereof is performed by a peripheral device for operating the guide unit as illustrated above. It is determined by the accuracy of the operation and the dimensional accuracy of the outer peripheral gap due to the combination of the plate-like bodies.

In the supply cylinder (18), the guide groove (16) is preferably formed in the contact portion. The reason will be described below. That is, as an aspect of supplying the molten metal to the outer peripheral gap, for example, the molten metal is supplied to the outer peripheral gap in front of the guide portion in the moving direction of the guide portion moving along the outer peripheral edge of the pair of plate-like bodies and then moved. The soldering iron part can be configured to be immersed in the supplied molten solder. However, in this configuration, since the molten metal flows into the outer peripheral gap before the iron part is immersed, it may be constant due to fluctuations in the supply pressure of the molten metal or unevenness in the wettability between the molten metal and the plate-like body. It is difficult to supply molten metal with a width, and the width of the formed joint portion may be nonuniform. Further, when the outer peripheral gap becomes narrow, there are cases where the molten solder cannot be supplied sufficiently. On the other hand, in the above preferred embodiment, the molten metal smoothly flows directly into the iron part through the guide groove formed in the contact part, and further, the wetting and spreading of the molten metal stays in the range of the iron part due to wetting with the iron part. The metal is supplied with a constant width, so that the width of the joint can be made more uniform. Furthermore, as will be described in detail below, in a predetermined case, the inclusion of oxide generated on the surface of the molten metal supplied to the outer circumferential gap is suppressed, and the bonding quality between the bonded portion and the plate-like body is improved. It is possible to produce an effect of being able to.

(19) In the supply cylinder of (18), when the guide portion is inserted into the outer circumferential gap, the first contact portion contacts the main surface of one plate-like body, and the second contact portion is the other plate. It is desirable to be comprised so that the main surface of a shape may be contacted. According to this preferable configuration, since the first contact portion and the second contact portion are always in contact with the main surfaces of the pair of plate-like bodies, the first contact portion and the second contact portion are used. The guide portion is in a state of being fitted into the outer peripheral gap. Therefore, the amount of the first gap between the first plane of the iron part and the main surface of one plate-like body is regulated by the projection amount of the first contact portion, and the second plane and the other plate-like body The amount of the second gap with the main surface is regulated by the amount of protrusion of the second contact portion. Thereby, the amount of the first gap and the second gap between each main surface of the plate-like body and the iron part during the supplying operation is always constant, and the molten metal is always applied to the main surface in the same state. Therefore, the bonding strength between the bonding portion and the plate-like body can be made uniform, and the bonding quality can be improved.

(20) In the supply cylinder of (18) above, in order to prevent the plate-like body from being damaged due to the sliding of the plate-like body and the contact portion accompanying the movement of the guide portion, and to smoothly slide the contact portion. In addition, it is desirable that the contact surface of the contact portion with the main surface of the plate-like body is subjected to a process for improving the slidability with the plate-like body.

(21) Further, for the same purpose, it is desirable that the contact portion is formed with a recess along the direction of insertion into the outer peripheral gap of the guide portion so that the contact area with the plate-like body is reduced.

(22) In the supply cylinder of (18) above, when a wiring pattern or the like is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the joint formed on each main surface of the plate-like body, the wiring pattern or the like due to contact of the contact portion In order to prevent damage, it is desirable that the contact portion is disposed on the rear end side in the insertion direction of the guide portion into the outer circumferential gap.

(23) Further, when a wiring pattern or the like is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the joint portion formed on each main surface of the plate-like body, the contact portion is on the tip side in the insertion direction into the outer peripheral gap of the guide portion. It is desirable to be arranged in. In addition, as described in detail below, in a predetermined case, it is possible to achieve an effect that the width of the joint portion can be regulated with high accuracy by regulating the flow of the molten metal at the contact portion arranged on the tip side. .

(24) In the supply cylinder of (18) above, it is desirable that the contact portion has elasticity capable of bending in the thickness direction of the outer peripheral gap.

According to this desirable mode, the following effects can be achieved. That is, for example, when sufficient assembly accuracy cannot be ensured and the outer peripheral gap of the plate-like body is bent, or the outer peripheral gap is formed in a straight line, the running accuracy of the plate-like body moving mechanism can be sufficiently ensured. When the guide part moves relatively non-horizontal while the position of the outer peripheral gap varies in the thickness direction, the plate-like body is It may be in a state of contacting the guide part. However, according to the above configuration, the plate-like body first contacts the first and second contact portions and presses the first and second contact portions with a predetermined force along the thickness direction of the outer circumferential gap. Since the pressed first and second contact portions bend due to their elasticity, the guide portion moves up and down while following the change in the position of the outer circumferential gap in the thickness direction. As a result, even if it becomes the said state, while being able to prevent a contact with a iron part and a plate-shaped object, a molten metal can be stably filled with an outer periphery clearance gap.

(25) In the supply cylinder of (12), in which the molten metal is supplied to the outer peripheral gap of the pair of plate-like bodies whose main surfaces are arranged with a gap, in order to achieve the third object, a guide is provided. The part is attached so as to cross the second opening, and the amount of molten metal discharged from the lower discharge port is the upper side in the second opening divided into the upper discharge port and the lower discharge port by the guide unit. It is desirable that the amount is less than the amount of molten metal discharged from the discharge port. As a result, it is possible to reduce the amount of molten metal that is exposed to a downwardly opened state among the molten metal discharged from the discharge port, thereby preventing the molten metal from rising and sagging on the end face of the plate-like body. can do.

(26) In the supply cylinder of (25) above, it is desirable that the area of the lower outlet is smaller than the area of the upper outlet.

(27) In the supply cylinder of (25) above, the guide portion is inserted into the flow channel at a predetermined depth from the second opening, and in the flow channel divided into the upper flow channel and the lower flow channel by the guide portion, It is desirable that the volume of the side channel is smaller than the volume of the upper channel.

(28) In the supply cylinder of (25) above, it is desirable that the guide portion is inserted into the flow passage in a state offset downward from the center of the second opening.

(29) In the supply cylinder of (25) above, the guide portion is inserted into the flow passage across the vicinity of the center of the second opening, and the lower discharge is formed on the discharge port forming surface below the flow passage guide portion. It is desirable to install a dam plate that makes the area of the outlet smaller than the area of the upper outlet.

(30) In the supply cylinder of (25) above, the guide is inserted into the flow passage across the vicinity of the center of the second opening, and the weir that makes the volume of the lower flow path smaller than the volume of the upper flow path It is desirable that the member is formed in the lower flow path of the circulation passage.

(31) In the supply cylinder of (12), in which the molten metal is supplied to the outer peripheral gap of the pair of plate-like bodies whose main surfaces are arranged with a gap between them, in order to achieve the fourth object, a guide It is desirable that the part is attached below the second opening or below the second opening, and the molten metal discharged from the second opening flows out from the upper surface of the guide part. As described above, the molten metal discharged from the second opening is allowed to flow only from the upper surface of the guide portion and not to flow along the lower surface. Therefore, even with a pair of plate-like bodies arranged with the lower side protruding. The molten metal leaks into the protruding portion and hardly adheres to the protruding portion. Further, even in a pair of plate-like bodies whose both ends coincide with each other, there is little molten metal exposed to a state of being opened downward, and it is possible to prevent the molten metal from rising and sagging on the end surface of the plate-like body.

(32) Further, in the supply cylinder of (31) above, it is desirable that a penetrating portion for guiding the molten metal from the upper surface to the lower surface side is formed at the tip of the guide portion.

(33) In the supply cylinder of (31), it is preferable that the guide portion has an inclined portion that is continuous with the tip portion, and the tip portion and the inclined portion have an obtuse angle or a right angle.

(34) In the supply cylinder of (31) above, the guide portion has an inclined portion that is continuous with the distal end portion and a proximal end portion that is continuous with the inclined portion, and the distal end portion and the proximal end portion are parallel or obtuse, and 2 It is desirable that the portion has a bent step shape.

(35) In the supply cylinder of (31) above, the lower part including the flow passage has a notch surface that is notched in the axial direction by a predetermined length from the second opening side, and the guide portion has the notch surface at the upper surface. In the case where the flow passage that is attached in contact and is cut out is exposed on the lower surface side of the guide portion, a member that seals the gap is preferably attached.

(36) The supply cylinder of (31) has a flat portion where the flow passage is not exposed in a lower portion within a predetermined length in the axial direction from the second opening side, and the guide portion abuts the upper surface on the flat portion. It is desirable to be attached.

(37) In the supply cylinder of (31) above, the pair of plate-like members may be arranged vertically such that the edge of the lower plate-like member protrudes beyond the edge of the upper plate-like member. desirable.

(38) In the supply cylinder of (12), in which the molten metal is supplied to the outer peripheral gap of the pair of plate-like bodies whose main surfaces are arranged with a gap between them, in order to achieve the fifth object, a guide is provided. It is preferable that the molten metal supply tube is characterized in that a notch portion is formed at the tip of the side portion facing the moving direction of the guide portion.

By adopting the above structure, a part of the molten metal can enter the side surface of the notch portion from the main surface of the guide portion, and can flow to the tip of the guide portion along the side surface. Since the molten metal flowing along the tip reaches the tip of the guide and flows along the tip, the position of the molten metal is regulated by the edge of the tip, and a joint having a predetermined width defined by the length of the guide can be stably obtained. . Moreover, since the flow rate of the molten metal at the front end side of the guide portion increases, the bonding strength between the bonding portion and the plate-like body can be increased.

(39) In the supply cylinder of (38), it is desirable that the notch has an inclined surface facing backward with respect to the moving direction of the guide.

(40) In the supply tube of (38) above, the notch is substantially parallel to the inclined surface facing backward with respect to the moving direction of the guide portion and the moving direction of the guide portion smoothly connected to the inclined surface. It is desirable to have a flat surface.

(41) In the supply tube of (38) above, the notch is substantially orthogonal to the inclined surface facing backward with respect to the moving direction of the guide portion and the moving direction of the guide portion smoothly connected to the inclined surface. It is desirable to have the surface to do.

(42) In the supply tube of (38), the notch is preferably formed by a straight line, a curved line, or a combination thereof.

(43) In the above supply cylinders (12) to (42), it is desirable that the contact surface of the guide portion with the molten metal is subjected to a treatment for improving wettability with the molten metal.

(44) The molten metal supply device according to claim 44, which achieves the first object, has the molten metal supply cylinder according to any one of (1) to (43). .

(45) In the supply device of (44), it is desirable that the supply cylinder is supported indirectly or directly by a floating mechanism. According to the supply device of this preferred aspect, the variation in the shape of the work to which the molten metal is applied and the variation in the posture of the supply cylinder are absorbed by the floating mechanism, so that the molten metal can be stably applied to the work. It becomes possible.

(46) The molten metal supply apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the molten metal supply apparatus according to any one of (1) to (11) is incorporated. A plate-like body arranging means for arranging a pair of plate-like bodies in a state where a predetermined gap is formed, and a supply cylinder positioning means for positioning the supply cylinder in a state where the second opening is substantially connected to the gap. It is characterized by having.

Suppose that the supply device of this aspect is described by taking the case of two rectangular glass substrates as a plate-like body as an example, the following effects are obtained. First, the two glass substrates are arranged in a state where a predetermined gap is formed by the plate-like body arranging means. Next, the supply cylinder is positioned by the supply cylinder positioning means so that the second opening is substantially connected to the gap. The molten metal is supplied to the gap between the two glass substrates through the second opening of the supply cylinder. Here, as described above, the second opening of the supply cylinder is disposed so as to be substantially connected to the gap between the two glass substrates, so that the molten metal supplied through the second opening fills the gap without being exposed to the atmosphere. Thus, the progress of oxidation in the molten metal supply process is suppressed. The above-mentioned “state in which the second opening is substantially connected to the gap” means not only the state in which the second opening and the gap are in close contact, but also the end face of the second opening and the two glass substrates (a plane perpendicular to the gap). Even if the second opening and the gap are not completely in close contact with each other, the state in which the molten metal flowing out from the second opening does not leak from the gap is It means to be included in the range.

(47) The molten metal supply apparatus according to claim 47, wherein any one of the second to fifth objects is achieved, wherein the molten metal supply cylinder according to any one of (12) to (43) is incorporated. A molten metal supply device, in which a pair of plate-like bodies are arranged in a state where a predetermined gap is formed, and a guide portion is inserted into the gap formed between the pair of plate-like bodies. And a supply cylinder positioning means. According to this supply device, the molten metal can be smoothly supplied to the gap between the plate-like bodies through the guide portion.

(48) In the supply device of (46) or (47), it is desirable that the second opening has a diameter exceeding the thickness of the outer peripheral gap. The operation of the supply device of this aspect will be described by taking the case of a glass substrate as an example as described above. The molten metal supplied through the second opening is not only supplied to the gap between the glass substrates, but also the portion other than the gap. That is, it is also applied to the end surfaces (surfaces perpendicular to the gap) of the two glass substrates included in the second opening. For this reason, a surplus portion made of molten metal is further formed outside the molten metal supplied to the gap. Accordingly, this surplus portion serves as a barrier to the atmosphere, and the effect of suppressing the progress of oxidation due to the molten metal already supplied to the gap coming into contact with the atmosphere is produced. Further, according to this configuration, the molten metal can be adhered to the outer peripheral end surfaces of the pair of plate-like bodies, and as a result, a joint portion having a sealing function can be formed so as to cover the outer peripheral end surfaces. Suitable when leak performance is required.

(49) In the supply device of (46) or (47) above, when it is not preferable to form a sealing portion on the outer peripheral end surface from the surface of mountability and aesthetics of the glass panel, for example, the second opening is the outer periphery It is desirable to have a caliber that is less than the thickness of the gap.

(50) In the supply device of (46) or (47) above, from the same viewpoint as the floating mechanism of the supply device of (45), the guide unit may be supported indirectly or directly by the floating mechanism. desirable.

(51) In the supply device according to (50), it is desirable that the floating mechanism be configured to restrain movement of the guide portion in a plane parallel to the gap formed by the pair of plate-like bodies.

According to this desirable mode, the guide part is supported by the floating mechanism that restrains the movement of the guide part in a plane parallel to the gap formed by the pair of plate-like bodies, in other words, the thickness direction of the outer peripheral gap. Alternatively, the guide unit can move around the insertion axis of the guide unit. As a result, even if fluctuations occur in the position of the outer peripheral gap of the plate-like body, the guide part moves up and down in the thickness direction following the fluctuation by the floating mechanism, so it is formed on each main surface and iron part of the plate-like body The formed gap is maintained, and the molten metal is stably filled in the outer circumferential gap.

(52) In the supply device of (46) or (47) above, in order to improve the wettability between the molten metal supplied to the gap through the guide and the plate-like body and improve the bonding reliability, It is desirable to remove bubbles and foreign substances present at the interface with the plate-like body, and it is desirable to have ultrasonic application means for applying ultrasonic waves to the interface between the molten metal and the plate-like body.

(53) The method for supplying molten metal according to claim 53, which achieves the first object, is a method for supplying molten metal by a molten metal supply cylinder according to any one of (1) to (11). A plate-like body arranging step of arranging a pair of plate-like bodies in a state where a predetermined gap is formed, a supply cylinder positioning step of positioning the supply cylinder in a state where the second opening is substantially connected to the gap, and a second And a molten metal supply step of supplying the molten metal to the gap through the opening.

If the supply method of this aspect is demonstrated as an example in the case of two rectangular glass substrates as a plate-shaped body, the following effect | actions will be show | played. First, the two glass substrates are arranged in a state where a predetermined gap is formed in the plate-like body arranging step. Next, the supply cylinder is positioned in the supply cylinder positioning step so that the second opening is substantially connected to the gap. In the molten metal supply step, molten metal is supplied to the gap between the two glass substrates through the second opening of the supply cylinder. Here, as described above, the second opening of the supply cylinder is disposed so as to be substantially connected to the gap between the two glass substrates, so that the molten metal supplied through the second opening fills the gap without being exposed to the atmosphere. Thus, the progress of oxidation in the molten metal supply process is suppressed.

(54) The molten metal supply apparatus according to claim 54, which achieves any one of the second to fifth objects, by the molten metal supply cylinder according to any one of (12) to (43). A plate-like body arranging step of arranging a pair of plate-like bodies in a state where a predetermined gap is formed, and supplying the guide portion into the gap formed between the pair of plate-like bodies The method includes a cylinder positioning step and a molten metal supply step of supplying a molten metal to the gap through the second opening. According to this supply method, the molten metal can be smoothly supplied to the gap between the plate-like bodies through the guide portion.

(55) In addition, in the supply method of (53) or (54) above, in order to increase the wettability between the molten metal supplied to the gap through the guide portion and the plate-like body and improve the bonding reliability, It is desirable to remove bubbles and foreign substances present at the interface between the metal and the plate-like body, and it is desirable to apply ultrasonic waves to the interface between the molten metal and the plate-like body.

As described above, according to the molten metal supply cylinder, the molten metal supply apparatus and the molten metal supply method incorporating the supply cylinder according to the present invention, the problems of the present invention can be solved.

It is a schematic block diagram of the glass panel manufacturing line containing the molten metal supply apparatus of the 1-1st example. It is the front view and side view of the molten metal supply apparatus of 1-1 example. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged side view of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a modification of the oxide removing unit in FIG. 4. FIG. It is a modification of the thread solder sending part of FIG. It is the front view and side view of a glass substrate joining apparatus which are included in the glass panel production line of FIG. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged front view of FIG. 7. It is the front view and side view of the molten metal supply apparatus of 1-2 example. FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 9. It is the elements on larger scale of FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged front view of a molten metal supply apparatus of Example 1-3. It is a figure which shows the modification of the supply cylinder of FIG. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the molten metal supply apparatus of the 2-1 example. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the support part of FIG. It is the front view and side view of the molten metal supply apparatus of the 2-1 example. It is a partial expansion perspective view of the supply cylinder of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view of the E section of FIG. 14, and its side view. It is a figure which shows another modification of the supply cylinder shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows another modification of the supply cylinder shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the operation state of the supply apparatus of FIG. It is another figure explaining the operation state of the supply apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows another modification of the supply cylinder shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows another modification of the supply cylinder shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged plan view and a front view of a molten metal supply device of Example 2-2. It is a partial expanded sectional view of FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of the molten metal supply apparatus of the 3-1 example. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the supply cylinder of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the supply cylinder of FIG. It is a figure which shows the supply state of the molten solder by the guide part of FIG. 27 in a steady state. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the supply cylinder of the molten metal supply apparatus of the 3-2 example. FIG. 32 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the supply cylinder of FIG. 31. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows another modification of the supply cylinder of FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of the molten metal supply apparatus of the 4-1 example. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the structure of the supply cylinder of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the guide part of FIG. 35, and its modification. FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing another modified example of the guide unit of FIG. 35. It is a figure which shows the supply state of the molten solder by the guide part of FIG. FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing another modification of the supply tube of FIG. 35. It is a perspective view which shows the supply cylinder of the molten metal supply apparatus of the 4th-2 example. It is a perspective view which shows the supply cylinder of the molten metal supply apparatus of the 4th-3 example. FIG. 37 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a modification of the contact portion in the guide portion of FIG. 36. It is a schematic block diagram of the molten metal supply apparatus of a 5th example. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the structure of the supply cylinder of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the guide part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the supply state of the molten solder by the guide part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the flow state of the molten solder in the guide part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the guide part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the contact part in the guide part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a glass panel. It is a figure which shows the structure of another glass panel.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the embodiments, a molten solder obtained by melting a SnAgAl-based alloy that is a low melting point metal is supplied to the outer peripheral gap of a pair of glass substrates that are plate-like bodies, and then a pair of bonded bodies as a joined body. A case where a glass substrate is bonded to manufacture a glass panel will be specifically described. However, even when the glass substrate is replaced with a metal substrate or a ceramic substrate, similar actions and effects can be obtained. Further, even when solders having various compositions including, for example, Sn, Zn, Ti, etc., or In alloys are used as the low melting point metal, similar actions and effects can be obtained. Further, the present invention is not limited to these examples, and can be modified within the technical scope within the same range as the examples.

[First aspect]
First, a molten metal supply cylinder of the aspect described in the above (1), a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder, a molten metal supply method, and desirable aspects thereof will be described below as Example 1-1. Description will be made based on 1-2 examples and 1-3 examples.

[Example 1-1]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the molten metal supply cylinder according to Example 1-1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The configuration of a glass panel manufactured using the supply device of Example 1-1 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIGS. 50 (a) and 50 (c), the symbol W is a glass panel manufactured using the supply device of Example 1-1. The symbols w1 and w2 are a pair of glass substrates having a dimension g and opposing main surfaces with a predetermined gap therebetween. The symbol m is provided in a frame shape on the outer peripheral edge portions of the glass substrates w1 and w2 arranged opposite to each other, specifically slightly inward of the respective outer peripheral edges, and is directly joined to the respective main surfaces to be described later. It is the junction part which forms. Here, as shown in FIGS. 50B and 50C, the bonding portion m includes a bonding portion m1 formed on the glass substrate w1 and a bonding portion m2 formed on the glass substrate w2 on each bonding surface. It is configured in a state of being joined and integrated. In addition, as a joining part m, SnAgAl-type alloy which is a low melting metal excellent in the joining property of the glass substrates w1 and w2, specifically, Ag is 8.5% in mass%, Al is 0.35%, and the remainder An alloy made of Sn is used. The space defined by the glass substrates w1 and w2 and the joint portion m constitutes an airtight chamber, and the airtight chamber is filled with a vacuum atmosphere or a predetermined gas or liquid according to the use of the glass panel W. .

The configuration of the glass panel W is not limited to the above. For example, as shown in FIG. 50 (d), the bonding portion m is directly bonded only to one glass substrate w1 and melted with the bonding portion m. As shown in FIG. 50 (e), the glass panel W in a mode in which it is bonded to the other glass substrate w2 through the base layer u rich in wettability, or the bonding portion m is bonded directly to only one substrate w1. The glass panel W of the aspect joined to the other glass substrate w2 via the frame-shaped member V and the glass frit G which were comprised with the metal, glass, etc. for ensuring the clearance gap between the glass substrates w1 and w2 is excluded. Not what you want. That is, the supply device and the supply method of Example 1-1 can be applied to the glass panel W in which the bonding portion m is directly bonded to at least one of the pair of glass substrates w1 and w2.

Next, a production line for producing the glass panel W will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 1 denotes a production line for the glass panel W including the supply device of Example 1-1. The preload chamber 1a that houses the glass substrates w1 and w2 in order and has a predetermined atmosphere, and foreign matter and moisture adhering to the surface. Glass substrate w1 and w2 for heat treatment, pretreatment chamber 1b for performing plasma irradiation treatment, molten solder supply chamber 1c incorporating the supply device of Example 1-1, and glass substrates w1 and w2 are joined. A bonding chamber 1d for forming a glass panel, a cooling chamber 1e for cooling the glass panel, an unloading chamber 1f for discharging the glass panel, and a conveying means for transferring the glass substrates w1 and w2 processed in the chambers to the chambers. It consists of In this production line 1, the prepared glass substrates w1 and w2 are put into a preload chamber 1a, and then a pretreatment chamber 1b, a molten solder supply chamber 1c, a bonding chamber 1d, a cooling chamber 1e, and an unload chamber 1f are sequentially arranged. The glass panel W is processed.

A description will be given of the supply device of Example 1-1 incorporated in the molten solder supply chamber 1c with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 2 denotes a supply device. The supply device 2 controls the atmosphere of the thread solder supply means 2a, the heating and melting means 3, the moving means 2e, the airtight chamber 2k containing each of the above means, the control means 2p for controlling the operation of each of the above means, and the airtight chamber 2k. It is comprised with the atmosphere control means 2s. About each said component, the case where molten solder is supplied to one glass substrate w1 is demonstrated below as an example.

[Thread solder supply means]
Reference numeral 2b is a bobbin-shaped thread solder sending section for winding a wire-like material (hereinafter referred to as thread solder) M made of SnAgAl-based alloy. The thread solder M is rotated quantitatively by a motor or the like not shown. Send it out. Reference numeral 2c denotes a substantially tubular thread solder guide portion having both ends opened and having a through hole which is a guide passage through which the thread solder M can be inserted. The supply device 2 uses the thread solder M formed to have a diameter of about 2 mm. In the initial state, the tip of the thread solder M wound around the thread solder delivery part 2b is drawn out from the thread solder delivery part 2b. The yarn solder guide portion 2c is set in a state where it is inserted into the guide passage from the upper end opening and protrudes from the lower end opening (see FIG. 3).

A preferred example of the thread solder delivery unit 2b will be described with reference to FIG. 6 is a package for storing the thread solder M in a non-oxidizing atmosphere. The thread solder M is wound around the winding core 5b. It is composed of a hollow cylindrical box 5a for storing the thread solder M, a hole 5d formed on the side of the box 5a, and a drawing member 5e fitted in the hole 5d. The drawing member 5e has a drawing hole smaller than the diameter of the thread solder M. The drawing member 5e is formed of an elastic material such as rubber, and when the free end of the thread solder M is pulled out from the drawing hole. The inner surface of the lead-out hole is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M, and the airtightness of the storage chamber 5c of the thread solder delivery section 5 that is a package is maintained. The atmosphere of the storage chamber 5c is, for example, a vacuum atmosphere or an inert atmosphere, and it is preferable that a moisture removing agent such as activated carbon is enclosed in order to keep the humidity of the storage chamber 5c constant.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 2d denotes an ultrasonic wave that irradiates ultrasonic waves to the contact interface between the molten solder M1 and the main surface S of the glass substrate w1 through the molten solder M1 formed by melting the yarn solder M by the heating and melting means 3. It is an application part (refer FIG. 3). In the supply device 2, for the convenience of the device configuration, the ultrasonic application unit 2 d is incorporated in the heating and melting means 3 and is configured to apply ultrasonic waves through the supply tube 3 a of the heating and melting means 3.

[Heating and melting means]
In the heating and melting means 3, reference numeral 3a is a supply cylinder that supplies the molten solder M1 to the main surface S, which is the surface on which the joint portion of the glass substrate w1 is to be formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the supply cylinder 3a has a substantially columnar shape, and a core material is formed of stainless steel having a high thermal conductivity, and the outer peripheral surface of the core material is rich in wettability with the molten solder M1. A Cr layer is formed, and a Ni layer having low wettability with the molten solder M1 is formed on the Cr layer except for the lower end surface of the supply cylinder 3a. The supply cylinder 3a is arranged such that the lower end surface where the second opening 3f opens is opposed to the main surface S of the glass substrate w1, and supplies the molten solder M1 to the main surface S. Reference numeral 3 c is a heater wound around the outer periphery of the supply cylinder 3 a and heats the supply cylinder 3 a to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the thread solder M. Reference numeral 3b in FIG. 2 is a main body portion in which the supply cylinder 3a is fixed and a heating circuit of the heater 3c is incorporated. As described above, the ultrasonic generator, the control circuit, and the like of the ultrasonic application unit 2d are built in the main body 3b.

As shown in FIG. 3, the supply cylinder 3 a is provided with a melting portion 3 g where the thread solder M abuts and generates the molten solder M 1 at the upper portion (one end portion), and one opening (first opening) 3 e is the melting portion. The other opening (second opening) 3f opens on the lower end surface (the other end surface). A sealed circular passage 3d is provided in the inside except for the first opening 3e and the second opening 3f. Therefore, the molten solder M1 generated in the melting part 3g flows into the flow passage 3d from the first opening 3e that is the introduction port of the molten solder M1, flows downward through the flow passage 3d, and the second opening 3f that is the discharge port. And flows out from the main surface S of the glass substrate w1. In the melting part 3g and the flow passage 3d, a Cr layer that improves wettability with the molten solder M1 is formed on the surface as a preferable configuration for smoothly flowing the molten solder M1. A layer made of Al, Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta may be provided instead of the Cr layer. Further, the flow passage 3d of this example is subjected to nitriding treatment as an anti-corrosion treatment so that the surface thereof is eroded by the molten solder M1 and impurities are not mixed into the molten solder M1, and the Cr layer is nitridated. Formed on the surface. In addition, what is necessary is just to select suitably the process which improves the said wettability, and a corrosion prevention process with the molten metal made into object.

The melting part 3g will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the melting part 3g is formed in a concave shape on the upper side surface of the supply tube 3a, and an annular oxide removing part 4 is provided integrally with the melting part 3g at the bottom. It has been. In FIG. 4 (a), the oxide removing portion 4 is shown with a cross hatch for the sake of understanding, but the oxide removing portion 4 is integrally formed with the molten portion 3g. The first opening 3e is open to the melting surface 3j where the thread solder M, which is the upper surface of the oxide removing portion 4 (the bottom surface of the melting portion 3g), contacts and melts. The diameter Φ2 of the first opening 3e is less than the diameter Φ1 of the end surface of the thread solder M that comes into contact with the melting surface 3j.

Here, the lower end portion of the thread solder guide portion 2c is positioned and fixed to the fixing member 2j of the moving means 2e in a posture toward the first opening 3e of the oxide removing portion 4 opened to the melting surface 3j. (See FIG. 2). When the supply device 2 is in operation, the yarn solder M sent quantitatively from the yarn solder delivery portion 2b is guided by the guide passage of the yarn solder guide portion 2c, and is fed out from the opening at the lower end portion. It abuts on the melting surface 3j in a posture to close the first opening 3e. The heating and melting means 3 is positioned and fixed to the fixing member 2j of the moving means 2e so that the positional relationship between the yarn solder M fed from the yarn solder guide portion 2c and the melting portion 3g can be maintained (FIG. 2).

According to the configuration of the heating and melting means 3, the thread solder M fed out from the opening at the lower end of the thread solder guide portion 2c comes into contact with the melting surface 3j heated by the heater 3c and melts, so that the molten solder M1 is melted. It is formed. Here, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the thread solder M is melted so that the end face of the first opening 3e of the oxide removing portion 4 formed to have a diameter Φ2 smaller than the diameter Φ1 is closed. The molten solder M1 is generated by contacting and melting 3j. On the surface of the molten solder M1, the oxide E2 generated on the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M flows into the molten portion 3g and the oxide E2 generated during melting exists. However, the oxide E2 and the clean molten solder M1 in the central portion not containing the oxide are separated at the outer peripheral edge portion of the first opening 3e of the oxide removing portion 4, and the oxide E2 is removed. Therefore, inflow of the oxide E2 into the flow passage 3d is prevented by the melting surface 3j which is the outer peripheral edge of the first opening 3e, and only clean molten solder M1 in which the oxide E2 is not mixed is passed through the first opening 3e. It flows into 3d. Furthermore, since the inside of the flow passage 3d extending from the first opening 3e to the second opening 3f is a sealed non-oxidizing atmosphere, the progress of oxidation of the molten solder M1 during the supply process is also suppressed. Note that the thickness of the layer of the oxide E1 generated on the surface of the thread solder M stored in the atmosphere is usually about several tens of μm, and thus is a difference in diameter between the thread solder M and the first opening 3e. It is sufficient to set Φ1 to Φ2 around 1 mm, but the dimensions may be appropriately determined depending on the low melting point metal material to be supplied.

The oxide E2 that has been prevented from flowing into the flow passage 3d as described above is stored in the storage portion 3k and remains around the first opening 3e. In order to prevent the oxide E2 from flowing in the storage portion 3k and flowing into the flow passage 3d again, in this example, the oxide discharge portion 3h that discharges the oxide E2 from the periphery of the first opening 3e is provided. It is provided as a preferred configuration. The oxide discharge portion 3h has an inclined surface 3i that continues downward from the melting surface 3j, and is configured such that the oxide E2 remaining around the first opening 3e flows downward. What is necessary is just to collect | recover the oxide E2 which flowed out from this oxide discharge part 3h by a suitable means. Needless to say, other means such as a structure for sucking and discharging the oxide E2 can be adopted as the oxide discharging portion 3h as long as the oxide E2 can be discharged from the periphery of the first opening 3e.

Further, in order to prevent the oxide E2 remaining around the first opening 3e from flowing and flowing into the flow passage 3d, an oxide capturing part 3l is provided on the melting surface 3j as shown in FIG. 4B. Can do. The oxide capturing part 3l in FIG. 4B is a plurality of irregularities formed on the surface of the melting surface 3j, and the oxide E2 is captured by the irregularities, whereby the flow of the oxide E2 is suppressed. In addition, by using the oxide discharge part 3h and the oxide capturing part 3l in combination, the effect of preventing the residual oxide E2 from flowing into the flow passage 3d can be further enhanced.

A modification of the oxide removing unit 4 will be described with reference to FIG. The oxide removing unit 4a according to the first modification shown in FIG. 5A has an aspect in which the oxide removing unit 4a is provided separately from the supply tube 3a. That is, the substantially annular oxide removing portion 4a has a through hole 4b in which an upper opening is formed with a diameter Φ3 smaller than the diameter Φ1 of the thread solder M, and the lower opening of the through hole 4b is a flow passage. It is arranged at a position opposite to the 3d first opening 3e. The outer peripheral edge of the upper opening of the through hole 4b is configured as a blade portion for cutting and removing the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M. Accordingly, the oxide E1 on the outer peripheral surface of the supplied thread solder M is removed by the blade at the outer peripheral edge of the upper opening having a smaller diameter than the thread solder M, and the thread solder M in a state where the oxide E1 is removed is downward. The molten solder M1 that is sent and abuts on the melting part 3g and melts and does not contain oxide flows into the flow passage 3d through the first opening 3e. In addition, since the oxide is not generated again in the thread solder M from which the oxide E1 on the outer peripheral surface has been removed by the oxide removing unit 4a, an inert gas is supplied from the nozzle 4c between the oxide removing unit 4a and the first opening 3e. It is desirable that a non-oxidizing atmosphere be formed between the oxide removing portion 4a and the first opening 3e.

FIG. 5B shows the oxide removing unit 4d according to the second modification. The oxide removing portion 4d is an example of removing the oxide E1 with the plasma 4e, and the annular oxide removing portion 4d having a through-hole through which the thread solder M can be inserted is connected to a plasma generating means (not shown). It is configured as a plasma irradiation means for irradiating plasma 4e from the inner surface toward the center. The oxide removing unit 4d is arranged separately from the supply cylinder 3a at a position where the outer periphery of the supplied thread solder M can be irradiated with the plasma 4e, and is supplied to the through hole of the oxide removing unit 4d. The oxide E1 on the outer peripheral surface of the threaded solder M is removed by the plasma 4e, and the threaded solder M from which the oxide E1 has been removed comes into contact with the melting portion 3g and melts.

FIG. 5C shows the oxide removing unit 4f according to the third modification. The oxide removing portion 4f is an example in which the oxide E1 is removed with 4g of hard particles. That is, the oxide removing portion 4f has an upper opening inserted in a state in which the thread solder M to which the oxide E1 has adhered is in close contact and a lower opening to be discharged in a state in which the thread solder M from which the oxide E1 has been removed is in close contact. It has a substantially circular tubular container 4j in which a through-hole is formed, and a flow pipe 4h having a particle supply passage 4i provided penetrating from the right side surface to the left side surface of the container 4j. The right end of the flow pipe 4h is connected to a hard particle supply means for supplying a gas containing hard particles 4g such as ceramic particles at a predetermined flow rate, and the oxide removing unit 4f is arranged from the right side to the left side of the flow pipe 4h. It is configured as shot blasting means in which 4 g of hard particles are distributed. And the oxide removal part 4f is arrange | positioned separately from the supply cylinder 3a in the position which can irradiate the hard particle 4g to the outer peripheral surface of the supplied thread solder M, and it is arrange | positioned in the through-hole of the oxide removal part 4f. The oxide E1 on the outer peripheral surface of the supplied thread solder M is removed by the hard particles 4g, and the thread solder M from which the oxide E1 has been removed comes into contact with the melting portion 3g and melts. It is preferable to supply the thread solder M to the oxide removing portion 4f while rotating it around the axis because the oxide E1 can be uniformly removed.

[transportation]
As shown in FIG. 2, the moving means 2e includes a portal-type support 2f, an elevating part 2g fixed to the upper side of the support 2f, and provided between both sides of the support 2f. A horizontal moving part 2h that can move in the horizontal direction, and a table 2i provided on the horizontal moving part 2h that can place the glass substrate w1 in a horizontal posture with the main surface on which the joint m1 is formed facing upward. Has been. As described above, the thread solder guide portion 2c and the heating and melting means 3 are connected to the lower end portion of the elevating portion 2g via the fixing member 2j. Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 2A, the vertical movement direction of the elevating part 2g is the Z-axis direction, and the horizontal movement part 2h is the movement direction parallel to the plane of the paper, the X-axis direction, the X-axis, and the Z-axis. The direction perpendicular to the axis is called the Y-axis direction.

The table 2i may be provided with a panel-like heating element that can heat the entire surface of the glass substrate w1. By heating the glass substrate w1 to about the melting temperature of the molten solder M1 with this heating element, it is possible to prevent the glass substrate w1 from being damaged due to the stress caused by the temperature difference between the molten solder M1 and the glass substrate w1. Since the wettability between the solder M1 and the glass substrate w1 is increased, the bondability between the bonding portion m1 and the glass substrate w1 can be improved.

[Control means]
As shown in FIG. 2, the control means 2p is comprised by the control part 2r connected with the said each component of the supply apparatus 2 via the telecommunication line 2q, and controls operation | movement of each component. Specifically, the control unit 2r is configured by a computer, and the operation part (CPU) stored in the storage unit (memory) is read by the operation unit (CPU) and appropriately calculated, whereby the yarn solder sending unit 2b. To control the supply amount of the thread solder M, to control the heat generation temperature by instructing the heater 3c, to instruct the elevator unit 2g and the horizontal moving unit 2h constituting the moving means 2e to It is configured to control the movement route and movement speed.

[Airtight room]
As shown in FIG. 2, the hermetic chamber 2k includes a housing 2l that forms an airtight space 2m that encloses each of the above-described components of the supply device 2, and a housing for loading and discharging the glass substrate w1 into and from the manufacturing device 2. It comprises a carry-in port 2n and a carry-out port 2o provided on both side walls of the body 2l. The carry-in port 2n and the carry-out port 2o are provided with hermetic doors in order to ensure the hermeticity of the hermetic chamber 2k.

[Atmosphere control means]
As shown in FIG. 2, the atmosphere control means 2s includes a gas supply unit 2u that is provided with a supply pump and can supply a predetermined gas stored at a predetermined pressure, and a vacuum pump that vacuums the airtight space 2m of the airtight chamber 2k. 2v, a gas supply unit 2u, and a vacuum pump 2v are connected to a supply pipe 2t that connects the airtight space 2m, and the airtight space 2m is controlled to a predetermined atmosphere. Here, the gas supply unit 2u includes a plurality of kinds of gases applied according to the use of the glass substrate w1, for example, an argon gas that is an inert gas, a nitrogen gas, a hydrogen gas that is a reducing gas, or a carbon monoxide gas. The oxygen gas, which is an oxidizing gas, can be separated and stored, and these gases can be mixed at a predetermined ratio and supplied to the airtight space 2m by a mixing valve provided in the gas supply unit 2u.

Hereinafter, the operation of the supply device 2 of Example 1-1 will be described, including the entire operation of the glass panel production line 1.

[Preparation process]
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the prepared glass substrates w1 and w2 are put into the preload chamber 1a. After the glass substrates w1 and w2 are charged, the inside of the preload chamber 1a is once evacuated and then replaced with argon gas to create an inert atmosphere. Note that the following pretreatment chamber 1b, bonding portion forming chamber 1c, bonding chamber 1d, cooling chamber 1e, and unload chamber 1f are similarly in an inert atmosphere.

[Washing process]
Next, the glass substrates w1 and w2 are put into the pretreatment chamber 1b and subjected to a heat treatment at a predetermined temperature or a plasma cleaning process to clean and remove moisture and foreign matters adhering to the surfaces of the glass substrates w1 and w2. Here, in the case where the bonding portion that generates an impurity gas such as glass frit is formed on the glass substrates w1 and w2, a degassing process for removing the impurity gas generated from the bonding portion in the heat treatment step is also performed. Can do.

[Molded solder supply process]
Glass substrates w1 and w2 cleaned in the pretreatment process are put into molten solder supply chamber 1c and melted to form joints m1 and m2 on glass substrates w1 and w2, respectively, as shown in FIG. 50 (b). Solder M1 and M2 are supplied. Here, since the method of supplying the molten solder to the molten solders M1 and M2 is the same, the case where the molten solder M1 is supplied to the glass substrate w1 will be described below as an example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the glass substrate w1 is placed on the table 2i in a horizontal posture with the main surface S, which is the surface to which the joining portion m1 is to be joined, facing upward. Next, in the supply device 2, a predetermined gap is formed between the lower end surface of the supply tube 3a and the main surface S of the glass substrate w1 (see FIG. 3), and the starting point is the rectangular frame-shaped joint portion m1 to be formed. The elevation part 2g and the horizontal movement part 2h are moved in the X, Y, and Z axis directions so that the lower end surface of the supply cylinder 3a is positioned at the corner B1 defined as follows (see FIG. 50B).

The supply device 2 drives the motor of the thread solder delivery section 2b and feeds the thread solder M from the thread solder guide section 2c. The drawn-out solder Y comes into contact with the molten surface 3j heated by the heater 3c and becomes the molten solder M1. As described above, the oxide E1 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M is separated from the molten solder M1 by the molten surface 3j of the oxide removing portion 4, and only clean molten solder M1 in which the oxide E1 is not mixed is obtained. It flows into the flow passage 3d, flows out from the second opening 3f, and is supplied to the main surface S of the glass substrate w1.

The supply device 2 moves the glass substrate w1 by the horizontal moving unit 2h, and relatively moves the supply cylinder 3a horizontally from the corners B1 to B2 of the glass substrate w1. Here, since ultrasonic waves are applied to the contact interface between the supplied molten solder M1 and the main surface S of the glass substrate w1 by the ultrasonic wave application means, bubbles and foreign substances existing at the contact interface are removed, The wettability of the molten solder M1 with respect to the glass substrate w1 increases. Thereafter, the glass substrate w1 is moved by the horizontal moving part 2h, and the supply cylinder 3a is horizontally moved along the movement path of one stroke writing which ends at the corner B1 which is the starting point via the corners B3 and B4 of the glass substrate w1. (See FIG. 50B), the molten solder M1 is supplied in a rectangular frame shape.

[Jointing process]
Glass substrates w1 and w2 to which molten solders M1 and M2 have been supplied in the molten solder supply step are put into a bonding chamber 1d shown in FIG. 1 and bonded by a glass substrate bonding apparatus 6 shown in FIGS.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the joining device 6 is driven and controlled by the control means 2p, which is placed in the internal space 2m of the airtight chamber 2k whose atmosphere is controlled by the atmosphere control means 2s, similar to the supply device 2 described above. The moving means 2e is provided. The table 2i of the moving means 2e is configured such that the glass substrate w1 can be placed in a horizontal posture with the main surface S supplied with the molten solder M1 facing upward. In addition, the elevating part 2g incorporates holding means 7 for holding the glass substrate w2 in a horizontal posture with the main surface S supplied with the molten solder M2 facing downward.

As shown in FIG. 8, the holding means 7 includes a holding portion 7a capable of holding the glass substrate w2 in the above-described posture, and a panel-like heating portion that generates heat by energization provided between the holding portion 7a and the glass substrate w2. 7b. In FIG. 8, in order to facilitate understanding of the positional relationship between the glass substrates w 1 and w 2 and the heat generating portion 7 b, they are shown in a cross-sectional view.

The heat generating portion 7b is formed with a rectangular frame-shaped protruding portion 7c corresponding to the molten solder M2 supplied to the main surface of the glass substrate w2. When the glass substrate w2 is held by the holding portion 7a, the protrusion 7c is in a position corresponding to the molten solder M2 in the horizontal plane and contacts a surface opposite to the surface to which the molten solder M2 is supplied. When the heat generating part 7b generates heat, only the molten solder M2 is efficiently heated through the protrusions 7c, and the molten state of the molten solder M2 is maintained.

The operation of the joining device 6 will be described. First, the glass substrate w1 is placed on the table 2i with the main surface S on which the molten solder M1 is formed facing upward, and the glass substrate w2 is directed on the main surface S on which the molten solder M2 is formed downward. The holding unit 7a is held in the posture. At this time, the heating element of the table 2i and the heat generating portion 7b of the holding means 28 are energized to generate heat, and the molten solders M1 and M2 maintain a molten state. Next, the joining device 6 moves the elevating unit 2g and the horizontal moving unit 2h in the X, Y, and Z axis directions so that the surfaces of the molten solders M1 and M2 are in contact with each other, and the elevating unit 2g Is driven downward to slightly pressurize the contact interface between the molten solders M1 and M2. Then, the molten solders M1 and M2 are joined and integrated at the contact interface. Thereafter, the joining device 6 stops energization of the heating element of the table 2i and the heating part 7b of the holding means 7, and the joined molten solder M1 and M2 are cooled and solidified to form the joined part m. As described above, the glass panel W shown in FIG. 50A can be obtained.

[Cooling process]
The glass panel W formed in the glass substrate bonding step is put into the cooling chamber 1e and held until it reaches room temperature.

[Payout process]
The cooled glass panel W is put into the unload chamber 1f. The glass panel W is discharged to the outside after the inside of the unload chamber 1f is substituted from the argon gas to the atmosphere.

[Example 1-2]
The supply cylinder of Example 1-2 of the present invention and the molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder will be described with reference to FIGS.

The glass panel W manufactured by the supply device of Example 1-2 is basically the same as the glass panel W manufactured by the glass panel manufacturing line of Example 1-1, but FIG. As shown in b), there is no bonding interface in the bonding portion n for bonding the glass substrates w3 and w4, and a gap for forming a gap between the glass substrates w3 and w4. The difference is that the holding member Q is provided. In the following description, it is assumed that the dimensions of the glass substrates w3 and w4 are the same.

As shown in FIG. 9, the supply device 8 of Example 1-2 includes a thread solder supply means 2a, a heating and melting means 9, a moving means 8a, an airtight chamber 8c, and a control means 2p, and further, glass in a predetermined posture. A holding means 8d for holding the substrate w3 is incorporated. Of the components of the supply device 8 such as the thread solder supply means 2a, the moving means 8a, the airtight chamber 8c, and the control means 2p, the same components as those of the supply device 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Description is omitted.

[Holding means, moving means]
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the holding unit 8 d includes a plurality of suction portions 8 f that can suck and hold the glass substrate w 3 in a horizontal posture with the main surface to which the joint portion n is to be joined facing downward, and suction portions. It is comprised by the substantially flat support part 8e to which 8f was fixed. Further, the moving means 8a of the supply device 8 includes a first elevating part 2g fixed to the left end of the upper side part of the support 2f, and a second elevating part 8b fixed to the right end of the upper side part. The holding means 8d is attached to the lower end of the second elevating part 8b. And the said 2nd raising / lowering part 8b and the horizontal movement part 2h comprise the positioning means of the glass substrate w3 with respect to the glass substrate w4 by these cooperation, and each end surface is substantially as shown to Fig.10 (a). The glass substrates w3 and w4 are opposed to each other in the horizontal direction so as to be in a straight line, and are positioned in the vertical direction so that a predetermined gap is formed between the glass substrates w3 and w4. After the vertical positioning of the glass substrates w3 and w4 is completed, the suction of the glass substrate w3 by the suction portion 8f is released, but the gap is held by the gap holding member Q.

[Airtight room]
The above-mentioned supply device 2 is controlled in an inert atmosphere by the atmosphere control means in that the airtight chamber 8c for storing the yarn solder supply means 2a, the heating and melting means 9 and the moving means 8a is an atmospheric atmosphere (oxidizing atmosphere). This is different from the airtight chamber 2k. As will be described below, the structure of the supply cylinder 9a of the supply device 8 can supply the molten solder M1 to the glass substrates w3 and w4 while suppressing the progress of oxidation even in the supply process in the atmospheric atmosphere, that is, the oxidizing atmosphere. This is because.

[Heating and melting means]
The basic configuration of the heating and melting means 9 of this example is similar to that of the heating and melting means 3, but the structure of the supply cylinder and its attitude with respect to the glass substrates w3 and w4 are different. That is, as shown in FIG. 10A, the supply tube 9a of the heating and melting means 9 is provided with a melting portion 3g at the right end portion (one end portion) where the thread solder M abuts and generates the molten solder M1. One opening (first opening) 3e is opened in the oxide removing portion 4 (cross hatch portion) provided integrally with the portion 3g, and the other opening (second opening) 3f is the left end surface (the other end surface). A substantially circular flow passage 3d that is open at the inside is provided inside. Specifically, the melting portion 3g is formed in a concave shape on the upper surface of the right end of the supply cylinder 9a, and the first opening 3e is a bottom surface of the melting portion 3g, that is, a melting surface 3j on which the thread solder M abuts and melts, that is, oxide removal. An opening is formed on the upper surface of the portion 4. The diameter ΦB of the first opening 3e is less than the diameter ΦA of the end surface of the thread solder M that is in contact with the melting surface 3j, and the diameter ΦC of the second opening 3f is less than or equal to the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. It is. Then, after the thread solder M is fed out from the opening at the lower end of the thread solder guide portion, the end surface abuts against the melting surface 3j so as to close the first opening 3e.

Further, the supply cylinder 9a of the 1-2 example extends in the horizontal direction along the axial center of the flow passage 3d as shown in FIG. 10 (a) and FIG. A substantially flat guide portion 9b is provided. The guide portion 9b has a protruding portion 9c protruding from the second opening 3f by a predetermined length L at the tip thereof. The protruding length L of the protruding portion 9c is in accordance with the width of the joint n to be formed, and the thickness thereof is less than the size g of the outer peripheral gap k formed between the glass substrates w3 and w4. The guide portion 9b realizes a function of smoothly supplying the molten solder M1 flowing out from the second opening 3f to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 as described in detail below. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 10B, which is a BB cross section of FIG. 10A, the base end of the guide portion 9b needs to be included in the second opening 3f. On the other hand, a gap through which the molten solder M1 can flow must be formed between the guide portion 9b and the flow passage 3d so that the guide portion 9b does not hinder the outflow of the molten solder M1 from the second opening 3f. . Further, in order to smoothly supply the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k, the surface of the guide portion 9b is subjected to a process for improving the wettability with the molten solder M1 similarly to the molten portion 3g and the flow passage 3d. It is preferable. In the supply device 8 of the present example, the supply cylinder 9a provided with the guide portion 9b will be described below as an example. For example, when the molten metal has high wettability, the molten metal has a relatively wide dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k In the case where the wet spread is smooth, the guide portion is not necessarily an essential component.

The supply cylinder 9a is held in a horizontal posture so that the protruding portion 9c can be inserted into the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 disposed so as to face each other, and when supplying the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k, Since the left end surface on which the two openings 3f are formed is in contact with the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, the second opening 3f is positioned by the moving means 8a so as to be connected to the outer peripheral gap k. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 10A, the flow passage 3d is directly connected to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 to which the molten solder M1 is to be supplied, and the molten solder M1 that flows through the flow passage 3d. Fills the outer circumferential gap k without touching the surrounding atmosphere (oxygen). Furthermore, since the guide portion 9b is provided, the molten solder M1 flowing out from the second opening 3f is filled very smoothly into the outer peripheral gap k. Since the melting part 3g of the supply cylinder 9a is configured similarly to the supply cylinder 3a, it goes without saying that the oxide E1 existing on the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M1 can be prevented from being mixed into the molten solder M1. .

Here, a modified example of the guide portion 9b will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (d) and 10 (e). The guide portion 9d in FIG. 10 (d) has a tip tapered along the axial center of the flow passage 3d, and the molten solder M1 flowing out of the second opening 3f flows more smoothly into the outer peripheral gap k. It is comprised so that the supply property of molten solder may improve. Further, for the same purpose, a guide groove u for guiding the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k is formed in the guide portion 9e of FIG. In FIG. 10 (e), a plurality of guide grooves u are formed in a straight line substantially parallel to the axial center of the flow passage 3d. However, a plurality of guide grooves are formed radially or curved. May be formed.

Hereinafter, the operation of the supply device 8 of Example 1-2 will be described. In addition, the glass substrates w3 and w4 thrown into the supply apparatus 8 have already finished the pretreatment process, and moisture and foreign substances have been removed from the surfaces thereof.

[Board positioning process]
The glass substrate w3 is held by the holding means 8d in a horizontal posture with the main surface to which the bonding portion n is bonded downward, and the glass is applied to the table 2i in a horizontal posture with the main surface to which the bonding portion n is bonded upward. A substrate w4 is placed. The supply device 8 moves the second elevating unit 8b and the horizontal moving unit 2h, and arranges the glass substrates w3 and w4 in the horizontal direction so as to face each other so that the outer peripheral end surfaces are aligned and substantially in a straight line. Positioning in the vertical direction is performed so that a predetermined gap is formed between the substrates w3 and w4. Thereafter, the supply device 8 cancels the suction of the glass substrate w3 by the suction portion 8f, and lifts the second lifting / lowering portion 8b to retract the holding means 8d from above the table 2i.

[Molded solder supply process]
The supply device 8 generates heat from the heating element built in the table 2i and heats the glass substrates w3 and w4 to about the melting temperature of the molten solder M1. Then, the first elevating part 2g and the horizontal moving part 2h are moved, and the protruding part 9c of the guide part 9b is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k at one corner of the glass substrates w3 and w4 held by the gap maintaining member Q. The supply tube 9a is positioned so that the left end surface of the guide portion 9b is in contact with the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4.

Next, the supply device 8 drives the motor of the yarn solder delivery unit and feeds the yarn solder M from the yarn solder supply unit. The drawn-out solder Y comes into contact with the molten surface 3j heated by the heater 3c, and a molten solder M1 is generated. The oxide E1 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M is separated from the molten solder M1 by the oxide removing unit 4, and only clean molten solder M1 in which the oxide E1 is not mixed flows into the flow passage 3d. Then, the melted solder M1 flowing in the closed flow passage 3d except for the first opening 3e and the second opening 3f flows out from the second opening 3f without being exposed to the atmosphere, and is further guided by the guide portion 9b, and the supply process. The clean molten solder M1 in which the oxidation is suppressed is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4.

The horizontal movement unit 2h moves the glass substrates w3 and w4 so that the supply cylinder 9a goes around the outer periphery of the glass substrates w3 and w4 while maintaining the vertical positional relationship between the supply cylinder 9a and the glass substrates w3 and w4. By doing so, the molten solder M1 is supplied to all of the outer peripheral gaps k of the glass substrates w3 and w4, and the molten solder M1 is filled in a rectangular frame shape.
In addition, the heating function of the glass substrate w3 is provided in the holding means 8d, and the second elevating part 8b is configured to be movable in the X and Y axis directions, so that the above can be achieved without using the gap holding member Q. The molten solder M1 can be supplied to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 by a similar operation.

[Jointing process]
The energization of the heating element of the table 2i is closed, the glass substrates w3 and w4 are cooled, and the molten solder M1 is solidified to form the joint n. As described above, the oxide E1 of the thread solder M and the clean molten solder M1 in which mixing of the oxide generated in the supply process is suppressed are supplied to the outer peripheral gap k, so that the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the joint n It is difficult for bonding failure to occur at the bonding interface, and a glass panel W having excellent airtightness and bonding strength can be obtained.

In the above description, the glass substrates w3 and w4 have the same dimensions for ease of understanding. However, even if the dimensions are different, the joining apparatus can be configured by appropriately devising the structure of the supply cylinder 9a. That is, when the planar dimensions of the glass substrates w3 and w4 are different and the end surfaces of both the glass substrates w3 and w4 are not aligned and a step is formed, the left end surface of the supply tube 9a may be shaped according to the step. .

A preferred example of the supply cylinder 9a of Example 1-2 will be described with reference to FIG. The supply cylinder 9f in FIG. 11 (a) is an example of FIG. 51 (b), that is, a glass having a joining portion n having a surplus portion n1 in a portion protruding from the end face as well as the outer peripheral gap k of the glass substrates w3 and w4. This is an example of forming a panel W. A supply cylinder 9f shown in FIG. 11A is a second opening 9h having a diameter Φ3 larger than the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k of the glass substrates w3 and w4, in other words, the second opening 9h formed so as to include the outer peripheral gap k. The surplus portion n1 is formed in a portion larger than the outer peripheral gap k in the second opening 9h. This surplus portion n1 becomes a barrier to the atmosphere, and the progress of oxidation after the supply due to the molten solder M1 supplied to the outer circumferential gap k coming into contact with the atmosphere is suppressed.

Further, the supply cylinder 9i in FIG. 11B removes bubbles and foreign substances existing on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and improves the activity of the surface so that the wettability of the molten solder M1 with respect to the glass substrate. This is an example in which a contact surface 9l that contacts the supply surface to which the molten solder M1 is supplied is provided on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. In addition, although the contact surface 9l in FIG.11 (b) has comprised the protrusion part 9k of the guide part 9j so that it can contact with the main surface of the glass substrates w3 and w4, it is comprised in ninety-fold shape, 9l may be appropriately configured so as not to impair the flow of the molten solder M1 in the outer peripheral gap k.

[Example 1-3]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder according to the first to third examples of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the basic configuration of the supply device is the same as that shown in FIG. 9, and a description of the structure and operation of the entire supply device will be omitted.

The supply device in the first to second examples shown in FIG. 12 supplies the molten solder M1 horizontally to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. This method is different from the supply device of the first and second examples in that a method of supplying the molten solder M1 vertically is used and no guide is provided.

The supply cylinder 10 shown in FIG. 12 (a) is a bottomed circular container with an upper opening. A heater 10 d for melting the thread solder M is wound around the outer periphery of the supply cylinder 10. An annular protrusion formed at the center of the supply cylinder 10 and having an upper surface serving as the melting surface 10b is a melting portion 10a that generates the molten solder M1, and the oxide removing portion 10i is provided integrally on the upper portion of the melting portion 10a. The first opening 10f opens on the melting surface 10b, the second opening 10g opens on the lower surface, and a flow passage 10e formed so as to connect the first opening 10f and the second opening 10g is provided in the center. As in the supply cylinder 9a shown in FIG. 10, the diameter ΦB of the first opening 10f is less than the diameter ΦA of the thread solder M, and the diameter ΦC of the second opening 10g is the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. It is below dimension g. Furthermore, the supply cylinder 10 is formed with a storage portion 10c for storing the removed oxide E2 so as to form an annular groove around the melting portion 10a, and the oxide E2 stored in the storage portion 10c. Is configured to be discharged at an oxide discharge portion (not shown).

The supply cylinder 10 is configured such that the second opening 10g is connected to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 facing each other in a posture in which the main surface on which the joint portion n is to be formed stands in the vertical direction. k and the flow passage 10e are held in a connectable posture. When supplying the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k, the lower surface on which the second opening 10g is formed contacts the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, so that the second opening 10g is positioned in a state of being connected to the outer peripheral gap k. The

According to the configuration of the supply means 10, the thread solder M fed from the thread solder supply section comes into contact with the melting surface 10b, and the molten solder M1 is generated. The molten solder M1 is quickly supplied by gravity to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. The structure of the supply cylinder 10 and the positional relationship between the glass substrates w3 and w4 are the same as those of the supply cylinder 9a. Needless to say, mixing can be suppressed, and oxidation of the molten solder M1 in the supply process can be suppressed.

The supply cylinder 10j shown in FIG. 12 (b) has basically the same configuration as the supply cylinder 10 except that the diameter ΦC of the second opening 10l is larger than the dimension g of the outer circumferential gap k. According to the supply cylinder 10j having such a configuration, the glass panel W having the surplus portion n1 can be formed in the same manner as the supply cylinder 9a described with reference to FIG.

Furthermore, the supply cylinder 10m shown in FIG. 13 has basically the same configuration as the supply cylinder 10, but differs in that it has a tubular guide portion 10n connected below the second opening 10g. According to the supply cylinder 10m in this example, the molten solder M1 is more smoothly supplied to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4.

[Second embodiment]
Regarding the molten metal supply cylinder, the molten metal supply apparatus, the molten metal supply method in which the supply cylinder of the aspect described in the above (18) is incorporated, and the desirable aspects thereof, examples 2-1 and 2 -A description will be given based on an example.

[Example 2-1]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder according to Example 2-1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, in FIG. 19, 20, 23, 24 which shows the modification of FIG. 14, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component, and the description of the repetition of the same element is abbreviate | omitted.

The supply device 11 of Example 2-1 manufactures the glass panel W described with reference to FIGS. 51A and 51B. As shown in FIG. 16, the supply device 11 has a configuration suitable for automation. It comprises a placement means 11a, a thread solder supply means 11d, a molten solder supply means 12, a moving means 11g, a control means 11o, an airtight chamber 11l and an atmosphere control means 11r. Hereinafter, each component will be described.

[Mounting means]
In the mounting means 11a, reference numeral 11b denotes a first glass substrate (hereinafter referred to as the first substrate in Example 2-1 and the same in Example 2-2) through the gap holding member w3 and the second. The glass substrate (hereinafter referred to as the second substrate in the 2-1 example and the same in the 2-2 example) w4 is positioned so as to be opposed to each other and a predetermined gap is formed between the main surfaces S. It is a table on which the unjoined body W0 composed of the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be placed in a horizontal posture. This table 11b has a built-in panel-like heating element capable of heating the unbonded body W0 as a preferred configuration, and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are heated to about the melting temperature of the molten solder by this heating element. The glass substrate w3 and w4 can be prevented from being damaged by the stress generated by the temperature difference between the molten solder and the glass substrates w3 and w4, and the wettability between the molten solder and the glass substrates w3 and w4 is increased. Bondability with the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be improved.

Numeral 11c is a table moving unit provided with a table 11b at the top and capable of moving vertically and horizontally with respect to the paper surface. In the following, as shown in FIG. 16A, the movement direction of the table moving unit 11c and the axis parallel to the paper surface are the X axis and the vertical axis is the Y axis, and both are orthogonal to the X and Y axes. The vertical axis to be used is the Z axis. The main surface S of each of the glass substrates w3 and w4 constituting the unbonded body W0 is substantially parallel to a plane including the X axis and the Y axis, and the outer peripheral end surface of the unbonded body W0 is substantially parallel to the Z axis. Is placed.

[Thread solder supply means]
In a thread solder supply means 11d which is an example of a configuration for supplying a raw material for forming molten solder, reference numeral 11e denotes a bobbin around which a wire-shaped material (hereinafter referred to as thread solder) M made of SnAgAl-based alloy is wound. This is a thread solder sending unit that is rotated by a motor or the like (not shown) to send the thread solder M quantitatively. Reference numeral 11f denotes a substantially tubular thread solder guide portion having both ends open and having a through hole that is a guide passage through which the thread solder M can be inserted, and is positioned and fixed to the fixing member 11k of the moving means 11g. In the supply device 11 of this example, the thread solder M formed to have a diameter of about 2 mm is used. In the initial state, the tip of the thread solder M wound around the thread solder delivery unit 11e is from the thread solder delivery unit 11e. It is pulled out, inserted into the guide passage from the introduction opening of the thread solder guide portion 11f, protrudes from the supply opening, and is set to take a posture toward the inlet 14a of the supply cylinder 14 (see FIG. 14).

[Melt solder supply means]
In the molten solder supply means 12, reference numeral 13 denotes a molten solder supply unit. As shown in FIG. 14, the molten solder supply unit 13 includes a supply tube 14, a guide unit 16 attached to the tip of the supply tube 14, and a support unit 15 that is a floating mechanism that supports the supply tube 14.

First, the supply cylinder 14 will be described. In the supply cylinder 14, reference numeral 14 h is a cylindrical body having a substantially cylindrical shape whose left end is reduced in diameter. The cylindrical body 14h has one surface (hereinafter referred to as a melting surface in Examples 2-1 and 2-2) 14e provided on the upper right portion of the cylindrical body 14h and the other surface (hereinafter referred to as the second surface) provided on the left end. -1 example and 2-2 example are referred to as discharge surfaces. . The supply cylinder 14 of this example has annular weirs 14g on both sides of the melting surface 14e, and the bottom surface of the concave portion surrounded by the two weirs 14g is the melting surface 14e. The cylindrical body 14h is preferably formed of stainless steel or the like having a high thermal conductivity. In order to make the molten solder M1 flow more smoothly, the molten surface 14e and the discharge surface 14f are provided with a Cr layer or the like rich in wettability with the molten solder M1. It is desirable to form.

Reference numeral 14d is a heating member that is wound in a coil shape along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 14h between the melting surface 14e and the discharge surface 14f, and heats the cylindrical body 14h above the melting temperature of the thread solder M. A heating control unit 12a for controlling the heat generation temperature and the heat generation pattern is connected to the heating member 14d.

Reference numeral 14c denotes a flow path that penetrates the inside of the cylindrical body 14h, and includes a first opening (hereinafter referred to as an inflow port in Examples 2-1 and 2-2) 14a opened on the melting surface 14e, and a discharge surface 14f. A second opening (hereinafter referred to as a discharge port in Examples 2-1 and 2-2) 14b. The inflow port 14a has a diameter ΦB less than the diameter ΦA of the thread solder M. It is. The cross-sectional shape of the flow path 14c is not limited to a circular shape, and may be a rectangular shape, for example.

It is desirable that a Cr layer having high wettability with the molten solder M1 is formed on the surface of the flow path 14c so that the molten solder M1 flows smoothly. Instead of this Cr layer, a layer made of Al, Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta, Ag or Ni may be provided. In addition, it is desirable that the flow path 14c be subjected to nitriding treatment as a corrosion preventing treatment so that the surface thereof is eroded by the molten solder M1 and impurities are not mixed into the molten solder M1.

As shown in FIG. 18A in which the illustration of the molten solder M1 is omitted for the sake of understanding, the discharge port 14b has a diameter D1 that is the diameter exceeding the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k. The reached molten solder M1 comes into contact with the outer peripheral end surfaces of the first substrate w3 and the second substrate w4 and is supplied not only to the outer peripheral gap k but also to the outer peripheral end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 51 (b), in the glass panel W manufactured using the discharge port 14b of this example, a joint portion n including a protruding portion n1 that is in close contact with the outer peripheral end surface is formed in the outer peripheral gap k. Is done.

On the other hand, the diameter D1 of the discharge port 17a can be set to be equal to or less than the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k as in the supply cylinder 17 shown in FIG. 19A in which the illustration of the molten solder M1 is omitted for understanding. In this example, since the discharge port 17a is opened only in the outer peripheral gap k, the molten solder M1 reaching the discharge port 17a is filled only in the outer peripheral gap k. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 51 (c), in the glass panel W manufactured using the supply cylinder 17 of this example, the joint portion n is formed only in the outer peripheral gap k. In the case of the discharge port 17a, if the diameter D1 is the same as the diameter of the discharge port 17a over the entire length of the flow path 14c, the flow resistance may increase and the fluidity of the molten solder M1 may decrease. Therefore, the shape of the terminal portion of the flow path 14c is substantially reduced in diameter toward the discharge surface 14f so that the discharge port 17a on the discharge surface 14f on which the molten solder M1 is actually discharged is less than or equal to the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k. A conical shape is preferred.

As shown in FIG. 14, the tip of the thread solder M is set on the thread solder guide 11f in a posture toward the inlet 14a of the supply cylinder 14. Accordingly, the thread solder M sent out quantitatively from the thread solder delivery section 11e comes into contact with the melting surface 14e in such a posture that the tip end face closes the inflow port 14a. The thread solder M that has touched the melting surface 14e heated by the heating member 14d is melted to form a molten solder M1. The molten solder M1 flows in from the inflow port 14a, flows in the flow path 14c toward the left end, and is discharged from the discharge port 14b. The cylindrical body 14h is positioned and fixed to the fixing member 11k so that the positional relationship between the thread solder M fed from the thread solder guide portion 11f and the melting surface 14e can be maintained.

As described above, the supply device 11 of the present example is an example in which the solid solder M supplied by the thread solder supply means 11d is melted by the supply cylinder 14 itself to form the molten solder M1. A configuration in which molten solder is extruded from its container that can be stored in a molten state by its own weight or pressure and supplied to the supply cylinder can be incorporated in the supply device 11, and other supply mechanisms can be incorporated as long as the object of the present invention is not contradicted. You can also

Next, the guide unit 16 will be described. The guide portion 16 is inserted into the outer circumferential gap k of the unjoined body W0 in the direction (hereinafter referred to as the insertion direction) from the outer peripheral end surface of the unjoined body W0 along the horizontal plane as indicated by an arrow Y1 in FIG. The molten solder M1 discharged from the discharge port 14b of the supply cylinder 14 is guided and supplied to the outer peripheral gap k. Therefore, the guide part 16 is fitted so as to cross the discharge port 14b in an attachment groove formed at a substantially central part of the discharge surface 14f in the Z-axis direction.

In FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrating the details of the guide portion 16, a reference numeral 16h denotes a thin plate-like iron portion that is as thin as T2 with respect to the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k and protrudes from the discharge surface 14f of the supply cylinder 14 by a length L2. It is. The iron part 16 includes an upper surface (first plane) 16i facing the main surface S1 of the first substrate w3 of the unjoined body W0 placed on the mounting means 11a via a predetermined first gap G1, and a first surface 16i. It has a main surface S2 of the two substrates w4 and a lower surface (second plane) 16j facing each other with a predetermined second gap G2. In this example, the first gap G1 and the second gap G2 have the same size. According to the iron part 16h having such a structure, the molten solder M1 supplied to the outer peripheral gap k through the discharge port 14b is introduced into the upper surface 16i and the lower surface 16j of the iron part 16 and spreads between the gaps G1 and G2. However, the wet spread of the molten solder M1 remains at the tip of the iron part 16h (the tip in FIG. 17 and the left end in FIG. 18A). Therefore, the width of the supplied molten solder M1 from the outer edge of the unjoined body W0 is regulated by the length L2 of the iron part 16h. Then, when the molten solder supply unit 13 is moved horizontally along the outer edge of the unjoined body W0 in the state where the gaps G1 and G2 are filled with the molten solder M1, the molten solder M1 supplied to the gaps G1 and G2 by the horizontal movement. The molten solder M1 is applied to the glass substrates w3 and w4 by the flow of the molten solder M1, and the molten solder M1 fills the outer peripheral gap k with a substantially constant width along the outer edge of the unjoined body W0. The

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, the supply device 11 of this example includes an ultrasonic oscillation unit 12 b that transmits ultrasonic waves to the iron part 16 h as shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, and melts filling the gaps G 1 and G 2. Ultrasonic wave is applied to the contact interface between the solder M1 and the glass substrates w3 and w4 through the iron part 16h to activate the solder and adjust the solder to the contact interface, and it is possible to remove bubbles and foreign substances existing on the contact interface. It is configured as follows. It is more preferable to apply ultrasonic waves so that the iron part 16h vibrates along the insertion direction of the guide part 16.

Note that at least the upper surface 16i and the lower surface 16j of the iron portion 16h are preferably provided with a layer made of Cr, Al, Mo, W, V, Nb, Ag, Ni, or Ta in order to improve wettability with the molten solder M1. Further, it is desirable to perform a nitriding treatment or the like as an anti-corrosion treatment so that the iron part 16h is eroded by the molten solder M1 and impurities are not mixed into the molten solder M1. Furthermore, in order to improve the followability of the molten solder M1, it is preferable to form irregularities that intersect the moving direction of the iron part 16h on the upper surface 16i and the lower surface 16j of the iron part 16h.

17 and 18, reference numeral 16a is a first contact portion, and reference numeral 16f is a second contact portion. The first contact portion 16a is composed of a pair of

protrusions

16b and 16c protruding from the upper surface 16i of the iron portion 16h. The

protrusions

16b and 16c have a first contact surface 16d that contacts the main surface S1 of the first substrate w3 in a state where the guide portion 16 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, and the length in the X-axis direction is supplied. It is L1 on the basis of the discharge surface 14f of the cylinder 14, and the height in the Z-axis direction is substantially the same as the first gap G1.

Similarly to the first contact portion 16a, the second contact portion 16f includes a pair of

protrusions

16m and 16l protruding from the lower surface 16j of the iron portion 16h. Each of the

protrusions

16m and 16l has a second contact surface 16g that contacts the main surface S2 of the second substrate w4 in a state where the guide portion 16 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, and the first contact portion 16a and the first contact portion 16a. Similarly, the length is L1, and its height is almost the same size as the second gap G2. The first contact surface 16d and the second contact surface 16g are convex in the width direction of the guide portion 16 (the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the guide portion 16 in the horizontal plane) because of the relationship with the floating mechanism described later. The cylindrical surface is formed.

The

contact portions

16a and 16f configured as described above will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 18, the thickness of the guide portion 16 where the

contact portions

16a and 16f are formed is equal to the thickness T2 of the iron portion 16h and the height of the

contact portions

16a and 16f (from the upper surface 16i of the iron portion 16h). 1 to the contact surface 16d and the height from the lower surface 16j of the iron part 16h to the second contact surface 16g). The thickness T1 is equal to or slightly smaller than the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k so that the

contact portions

16a and 16f are in contact with the main surfaces S1 and S2 of each glass substrate and can slide in the outer peripheral gap k. Dimensions. Therefore, when the guide portion 16 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, the contact surfaces 16d and 16g are in contact with the main surfaces S1 and S2, and the guide portion 16 is fitted in the outer peripheral gap k.
Further, the height from the upper surface 16i of the iron part 16h, which is the height of the first contact part 16a, to the first contact surface 16d is the same as the gap G1, and the iron part is the height of the second contact part 16f. The height from the lower surface 16j of 16h to the second contact surface 16g is the same as the gap G2. As a result, when the iron part 16h is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, the iron part 16h is positioned so that the first gap G1 and the second gap G2 are formed in the Z-axis direction. When the molten solder supply part 13 is moved horizontally along the outer peripheral end face of the unjoined body W0 in order to supply the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k, the

contact parts

16a and 16f are always sliding with the main surfaces S1 and S2. Since the guide portion 16 moves, the sizes of the gaps G1 and G2 are always maintained constant.

In addition, the height of the first contact portion 16a and the second contact portion 16f in this example, that is, the dimensions of the first gap G1 and the second gap G2 are the same, but this dimension depends on the characteristics of the molten solder M1. What is necessary is just to set suitably according to it, and you may comprise so that the dimension of both may differ. In this case, since the supplied molten solder M1 flows down by gravity, it is preferable to make the first gap G1 larger than the second gap G2.

The first contact surface 16d and the second contact surface 16g are preferably subjected to a Ni water repellent plating process or a surface smoothing process, which is a process for improving the slidability between the glass substrates w3 and w4. Further, as shown in FIG. 19A illustrating a modification of the guide portion of FIG. 14, the

contact portions

16a and 16f are respectively provided with

recesses

17c and 17d in the intermediate portion along the insertion direction Y1 of the guide portion 16 in the drawing. You may form. By providing the

concave portions

17c and 17d in the

contact portions

16a and 16f and reducing the sliding resistance by reducing the contact area between the glass substrates w3 and w4, the molten solder supply portion 13 can be moved smoothly. Thus, damage to the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be further suppressed. If necessary, the

contact portions

16a and 16f may be configured to make point contact with the main surfaces S1 and S2.

Further, in order to facilitate the insertion into the outer peripheral gap k of the unjoined body W0, the

contact portions

16a and 16f are corners of the face C1 and the side face C2 facing the outer peripheral end surface of the unjoined body W0 in the insertion direction Y1 shown in FIG. It is preferable to form a C plane or an R plane. The C surface and the R surface can be formed by applying cutting, abrasive processing, etching, or the like to the corners of the surfaces C1 and C2.

Furthermore, as will be described in detail in the description of the supply device of Example 2-2, the

contact portions

16a and 16f have a certain amount in the Z-axis direction in order to cope with fluctuations in the position and size of the outer circumferential gap k of the unjoined body W0. It is desirable to have elasticity that can only bend.

17 and 18, reference numeral 16e is a first guide groove provided at the upper part of the iron part 16h, and reference numeral 16k is a second guide groove provided at the lower part. In order to smoothly guide the molten solder M1 discharged from the discharge port 14b of the supply cylinder 14 to the iron part 16h, the

guide grooves

16e and 16k are provided with projections 16b of the

contact parts

16a and 16f in the width direction of the guide part 16, A rectangular groove is formed between 16c and 16m and 16l. In other words, the

guide grooves

16e and 16k are provided so as to divide the center of each of the

contact portions

16a and 16f, and the iron portion 16h and the discharge port 14b are directly connected via the

guide grooves

16e and 16k. .

The shape of the

guide grooves

16e and 16k, that is, the cross-sectional shape, width, depth, and the like may be determined as appropriate according to the fluidity of the molten solder M1, but in order to smoothly guide the molten solder M1 to the iron part 16h, The bottom surface of the guide groove 16e is formed in the same plane as the upper surface 16i of the iron portion 16h, and the bottom surface of the guide groove 16k is formed in the same plane as the lower surface 16j of the iron portion 16h, and the step at the connecting portion between the

guide grooves

16e and 16k It is preferable that there is no. Further, it is preferable to provide a layer made of Cr, Al, Mo, W, V, Nb, Ta, Ag or Ni on the inner surfaces of the

guide grooves

16e and 16k in order to improve wettability with the molten solder M1, and further melt It is desirable to perform a nitriding treatment or the like as an anti-corrosion treatment so that impurities are not mixed into the molten solder M1 after being eroded by the solder M1.

Furthermore, the configuration of the guide groove is not limited to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, and contact portions 18a and 18d are provided at the center portion of the iron portion 16h in the width direction as in the guide portion 18 shown in FIG. 19B. The upper and lower guide grooves 18b and 18c and 18e and 18f communicating from the discharge port 14b to the upper surface 16i and the lower surface 16j may be arranged on both sides of the contact portions 18a and 18d.

The iron part and the contact part may have an integral structure, but the iron part and the contact part have different functions and different characteristics. Therefore, for example, as in the guide part 19 shown in FIG. 20, the iron part 19f is made of a material having high wettability with the molten solder M1, and the

contact parts

19a and 19c are made of a material that is excellent in slidability with the glass substrate and hardly wears. It is also possible to form the guide part by forming and assembling the separate iron part 19f and the

contact parts

19a and 19c by an appropriate method such as bonding or screwing. Furthermore, a soldering part or a contact part may be formed on the discharge surface of the supply cylinder, or they may be integrally formed.

Next, the support part 15 incorporated in the supply apparatus 11 of this example as a preferable structure will be described with reference to FIGS. The support portion 15 of this example indirectly supports the guide portion 16 via the supply tube 14, and also the Z-axis direction (thickness direction of the outer peripheral gap k) and the axis of the supply tube 14 (insertion axis of the guide portion 16). ) A floating mechanism is constructed that follows the force acting on the guide portion 16 only in the vicinity of the guide portion 16 and swings the guide portion 16 (that is, does not move in the horizontal plane). In the support portion 15, reference numeral 15 g is a columnar support member connected to the right end surface of the supply cylinder 14. The small diameter portion 15 i is adjacent to the right end, and the large diameter portion 15 h is adjacent to the small diameter portion 15 i in the axial direction. Is formed. The small diameter portion 15i is supported by a bearing 15j provided on the bearing member 15f, and the support member 15g is rotatable around the axis of the supply cylinder 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 15 which is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the support member 15g and the bearing member 15f of FIG. 14 as viewed from the left side, the large diameter portion 15h has a substantially fan shape with the lower part cut away. A pair of coiled compression springs 15k are inserted in a compressed state between the notch of the large diameter portion 15h and both side surfaces of the protrusion 15l provided on the inner surface of the bearing member 15f. The pair of compression springs are adjusted so that the guide portion 16 is in a horizontal posture when there is no load.

Reference numeral 15e is a U-shaped moving member opened on the left side, and the bearing member 15f is attached to the inner side surface. Reference numeral 15b is a linear guide as a linear drive member, and a moving element is attached to the outer surface of the moving member 15e to move the moving member 15e only in the Z-axis direction. Reference numeral 15a is a U-shaped casing that opens to the left that is slightly larger than the moving member 15e. A rail of the linear guide 15b is attached to the inner surface, and the casing 15a is positioned on the fixed member 11k of the moving means 11g. It is fixed (see FIG. 16). Reference numeral 15c is a pair of elastic members incorporated in a compressed state between the outer upper arm surface of the moving member 15e and the upper arm inner surface of the casing 15a and between the lower arm outer surface of the moving member 15e and the lower arm inner surface of the casing 15a. Reference numeral 15d denotes a coil-like compression spring. One end of the casing 15a is inserted into a through hole (not shown) provided in the upper arm and the lower arm of the casing 15a and the compression spring 15c so as to be freely movable, and the upper arm of the moving member 15e. The other end is fixed to the lower arm and is a regulating shaft that regulates the radial movement of the compression spring 15c.

The support portion 15 having such a structure performs the following operation. That is, as shown in FIG. 22, for example, when the position along the Z axis of the outer peripheral gap k of the unjoined body W0 fluctuates due to inadequate combination accuracy of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and inadequate running accuracy of the table moving unit 11c. A constant force around the axis of the supply tube 14 or along the Z-axis direction acts on the guide portion 16 via the

contact portions

16a and 16f that contact the glass substrates w3 and w4. The force around the axis of the supply cylinder 14 is transmitted to the support member 15g via the supply cylinder 14. The support member 15g is restricted in the direction of movement only in the rotational direction by the bearing member 15f, and the large-diameter portion 15h is supported by a pair of compression springs 15k. Move only to. Further, the Z-axis direction force acting on the guide portion 16 is transmitted to the moving member 15e via the supply cylinder 14 and the like. Since the moving direction of the moving member 15e is restricted by the linear moving member 15b so as to be movable only in the Z-axis direction and is supported by the compression spring 15c, the moving member 15e moves only in the Z-axis direction according to the applied force.

[transportation]
As shown in FIG. 16, the moving means 11g is composed of a gate-shaped support 11h and an elevating part 11i fixed to the upper side of the support 11h, and is moved up and down in the Z-axis direction in the figure at the bottom of the elevating part 11i. In addition, a lifting shaft 11j that turns in the θ-axis direction is provided. As described above, the thread solder guide portion 11f and the molten solder supply portion 13 are connected to the lower end portion of the lifting shaft 11j via the fixing member 11k.

[Control means]
As shown in FIG. 16, the control means 11o is comprised by the control part 11q connected with each said component of the supply apparatus 11 via the telecommunication line 11p, and controls operation | movement of each component. Specifically, the control unit 11q is configured by a computer, and the calculation unit (CPU) reads out the program and various data stored in the storage unit (memory) and appropriately calculates them, whereby the yarn solder sending unit 11e. To control the supply amount of the thread solder M by instructing the motor incorporated in the motor, to instruct the heating control means 12a to control the heat generation temperature of the heating member 14d, to instruct the ultrasonic oscillator 12b to the iron part 16h It is configured to control the output and application pattern of ultrasonic waves to be applied, and to instruct the elevating unit 11i and the table moving unit 11c constituting the moving unit 11g to control the moving path and moving speed.

[Airtight room]
As shown in FIG. 16, the hermetic chamber 11 l is configured with a housing 11 m that forms a hermetic space 11 n that encloses the above-described components of the supply device 11.

[Atmosphere control means]
As shown in FIG. 16, the atmosphere control means 11r includes a supply pump and a gas supply unit 11t capable of supplying a predetermined gas stored therein at a predetermined pressure, and a vacuum pump that vacuums the airtight space 11n of the airtight chamber 11l. 11u, a gas supply unit 11t, and a vacuum pump 11u are connected to the airtight space 11n. The airtight space 11n is controlled to a predetermined atmosphere. Here, in the gas supply unit 11t, a plurality of kinds of gases applied according to the use of the glass panel, for example, argon gas as an inert gas, nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas as a reducing gas, carbon monoxide gas, Oxygen gas, which is an oxidizing gas, can be separated and stored, and these gases can be mixed at a predetermined ratio and supplied to the airtight space 11n by a mixing valve provided in the gas supply unit 11t.

The operation of the supply device 11 having the above configuration will be described below. First, it is a preparation process. As shown in FIG. 16, the unjoined body W0 in which the main surfaces S1 and S2 are opposed to each other through a predetermined gap by the gap holding member Q is placed at a predetermined position on the table 11b in a horizontal posture. Next, when the supply device 11 is activated, the supply device 11 makes the airtight space 11n airtight and exhausts the air with the vacuum pump 11u to bring the inside of the airtight space 11n into a vacuum state. Thereafter, the supply device 11 supplies a gas containing oxygen at a predetermined ratio from the gas supply unit 11t to the airtight space 11n, and the molten solder M1 made of SnAgAl-based solder containing an easily oxidizable element is joined to the glass substrates w3 and w4. Easy atmosphere. Further, the supply device 11 generates heat from the heating element built in the table 11b, heats the unbonded body W0 to about the melting temperature of the molten solder M1, and further applies ultrasonic waves to be applied to the molten solder M1 to the iron part 16h. The ultrasonic oscillator 12b is oscillated to transmit to

Next is the supply cylinder positioning process. The supply device 11 lowers the lifting shaft 11j by the lifting and lowering portion 11i and further turns it when necessary to position the molten solder supply portion 13 at a predetermined position. When the molten solder supply portion 13 is positioned, as shown in FIG. 14, the molten solder supply portion 13 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k of the unjoined body W0 in the Z-axis direction. In a possible position, in the θ-axis direction, the discharge surface 14f of the supply tube 14 and the outer peripheral end surface of the unjoined body W0 are arranged in parallel. Next, the supply device 11 horizontally moves the table moving unit 11c so that the discharge surface 14f of the supply cylinder 14 and the outer peripheral end surface of the unjoined body W0 are opposed to each other with a very small gap. Position W0 at a predetermined position. In the process in which the unjoined body W0 is positioned in the horizontal plane, the guide portion 16 is inserted into the outer circumferential gap k of the unjoined body W0. However, the corners of the

contact portions

16a and 16f of the guide portion 16 are as described above. Since the C surface and the R surface are formed, the

contact portions

16a and 16f are smoothly inserted into the outer peripheral gap k. In addition, since the guide portion 16 is supported by the support portion 15 that is a floating mechanism, for example, even if the center of the outer peripheral gap k and the guide portion 16 in the Z-axis direction is different, the difference follows the difference. The moving

contact portions

16a and 16f are inserted into the outer peripheral gap k. When the positioning operation of the unjoined body W0 is completed, the

contact portions

16a and 16f come into contact with the main surfaces S1 and S2 of the glass substrates w3 and w4, respectively, and therefore the guide portion 16 is fitted into the outer peripheral gap k. In this state, the iron part 16h is positioned substantially at the center of the outer circumferential gap k in the Z-axis direction, and gaps G1 and G2 are formed between the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the iron part 16h.

Next, a molten solder supply process. The supply device 11 drives the motor of the thread solder delivery part 11e shown in FIG. 16, and feeds the thread solder M from the lower end of the thread solder guide part 11f. As shown in FIG. 14, the unwound yarn solder M is brought into contact with the melting surface 14e of the supply cylinder 14 heated by the heating member 14d at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting temperature of the yarn solder M, thereby forming a molten solder M1. Here, since the diameter ΦB of the inlet 14a opened to the melt surface 14e is smaller than the diameter ΦA of the thread solder M, even if oxide is generated on the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M, the oxide is not in the inlet 14a. It is separated and removed by the outer peripheral edge, that is, the melting surface 14e. As a result, mixing of the oxide into the flow path 14c is prevented, and clean molten solder M1 in which almost no oxide is mixed flows into the flow path 14c. Thereafter, the supply device 11 continuously sends out the thread solder M at a constant speed until the filling operation is completed, and supplies the molten solder M1 to the flow path 14c. Since the thickness of the oxide layer formed on the surface of the thread solder M stored in the atmosphere is usually about several tens of μm, the difference in diameter between the thread solder M and the inlet 14a (ΦA−ΦB) Is sufficient if it is about 1 mm.

The oxide removed at the melting surface 14e in the supply step is deposited around the inlet 14a while being restricted in flow by the weir 14g, and then swept away by the subsequent oxide to reach the lower surface of the supply cylinder 14, where It is collected by the collecting means that does not.

As described above, the molten solder M1 flowing into the flow path 14c is discharged from the discharge port 14b and flows in the upper and

lower guide grooves

16e and 16k of the guide portion 16 as shown in FIG. Is introduced into the gap G2. Here, the molten solder M1 supplied from the supply cylinder 14 passes through the

guide grooves

16e and 16k in a state of being substantially sealed by the glass substrates w3 and W4 and the discharge surface 14f and not touching oxygen, and is supplied to the gaps G1 and G2. The Accordingly, since the main surfaces S1 and S2 of the glass substrates w3 and w4 are coated in a state where the oxidation of the surface of the molten solder M1 is suppressed, the sealing quality in the glass panel can be improved.

Then, as shown in FIG. 16, the supply device 11 forms a rectangular frame around the outer peripheral edge of the unjoined body W0 while maintaining the horizontal positional relationship between the molten solder supply section 13 and the unjoined body W0. The table moving unit 11c is caused to travel at a constant speed in the X-axis or Y-axis direction so that the guide unit 16 goes around, thereby moving the unjoined body W0 horizontally. Then, the molten solder M1 supplied to the gaps G1 and G2 wets the main surfaces S1 and S2 of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and fills the outer peripheral gap k with the width of the length L2 of the guide portion 16 while being applied. It will be done. At the four corners of the unjoined body W0, the supply device 11 controls the movement of the unjoined body W0 in the X and Y axis directions by the table moving portion 11c, as shown in FIG. 21, which is a partially enlarged plan view of FIG. And the movement control in the θ-axis direction of the molten solder supply unit 13 by the elevating shaft 11j are combined, the guide unit 16 is horizontally moved along an arcuate path, and the outer peripheral gap k at the four corners is filled with the molten solder M1.

Here, while the guide part 16 moves horizontally in the supply step, the

contact parts

16a and 16f are always in contact with the main surfaces S1 and S2 of the glass substrates w3 and w4 as shown in FIG. The movement of the iron part 16h in the direction is regulated by the

contact parts

16a and 16f. As a result, the iron part 16h does not come into contact with the glass substrates w3 and w4, and the main surfaces S1 and S2 are not damaged so as to hinder the bonding property with the bonding part n. Furthermore, the sizes of the gaps G1 and G2 between the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the iron part 16h, which are one element for satisfactorily applying the molten solder M1 to the glass substrates w3 and w4, are the gaps G1 and G2. The

contact portions

16a and 16f projected from the iron portion 16h at a height corresponding to the height are maintained during the supplying process. As a result, the bonding strength between the bonding portion n and the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be made uniform.

In addition, since the guide portion 16 is supported by the support portion 15 which is a floating mechanism, there is a case where the outer peripheral gap k of the unjoined body W0 as shown in FIG. Even when the travel route of the table moving part 11c is inclined by an angle ρ with respect to the outer peripheral gap k as shown in FIG. Move up and down. As a result, the gaps G1 and G2 between the guide portion 16 and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are kept constant.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14, since ultrasonic waves are applied to the contact interface between the molten metal M1 filled in the gaps G1 and G2 and the glass substrates w3 and w4 via the guide portion 16, the glass substrates w3 and w4 are applied. As a result, the wettability with the molten solder M1 increases, and the molten solder M1 is sufficiently supplied to the narrow gaps G1 and G2. Furthermore, since foreign substances such as bubbles and oxide films present at the contact interface are removed by ultrasonic vibration, the bonding strength between the bonded portion of the glass panel as the product and the glass substrate can be increased.

After the above supply process is completed and all the outer peripheral gaps k of the unjoined body W0 are filled with the molten solder M1, the joint is formed through a molten solder cooling process for cooling and solidifying the filled molten solder M1. Then, the glass substrates w3 and w4 are joined to form the glass panel W. This cooling step may be performed by stopping the heat generation of the heating body while the unjoined body W0 is placed on the table 11b shown in FIG. 16, or the unjoined body W0 is removed from the table 11b and performed separately. Also good. In order to automate the manufacturing of the glass panel, for example, the table 11b is structured so as to be detachable from the table moving unit 11c, and the table 11b itself on which the unjoined body W0 is placed can be replaced at every supply process It is desirable to do.

In the supply device 11 described above, an example in which the

contact portions

16a and 16f are provided on the rear end side of the iron portion 16h in the insertion direction Y1 of the guide portion 16 as illustrated in FIGS. In this example, the guide portion 16 slides the contact portion outside the joint portion for protection of the wiring pattern, such as a glass panel in which the wiring pattern incorporated in the flat image display device is formed inside the joint portion. This is a suitable configuration when it is necessary to move it. On the other hand, in the glass substrates w3 and w4, the jointability of the joint portion existing in the sliding portion between the

contact portions

16a and 16f is inferior to the non-sliding portion due to the sliding between the

contact portions

16a and 16f. In other words, the joints that exist in the region become wasteful and the width of the joints must be relatively wide.
Therefore, when it is necessary to form a relatively narrow joint portion, it is preferable to use the guide portion 20 shown in FIG. In the guide part 20 shown in FIG. 23, the

contact parts

20a and 20c are arranged at the tip of the iron part 20e in the insertion direction Y1 of the guide part 20. In this example, since the molten solder M1 discharged from the discharge port 14b of the supply cylinder 14 is directly supplied to the iron part 20e, no guide groove is provided. According to this guide part 20, like the guide part 16, the iron part 20e does not contact the glass substrates w3 and w4, and the supplied molten solder M1 wets and spreads the upper and lower surfaces of the iron part 20e. Although the gap between the molten solders M1 is filled by the

contact portions

20a and 20c, the molten solder M1 can be filled with a relatively narrow width from the outer edge of the unjoined body. In addition, by regulating the wetting and spreading of the molten solder by the

contact portions

20a and 20c, the molten solder can be filled in the outer peripheral gap with a substantially constant width along the outer edge of the unjoined body.

Furthermore, in the supply device 11 of the above example, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, when the guide portion 16 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, the first contact portion 16a is disposed on the main surface S1 of the first substrate w3. Although both the second contact portions 16f are in contact with the main surface S2 of the two substrates w4 simultaneously, the

contact portions

21a and 21b are always in contact with the main surfaces S1 and S2 as in the guide portion 21 shown in FIG. However, it may be configured to contact the glass substrates w3 and w4 when necessary. In other words, the basic structure of the guide portion 21 is the same as that of the guide portion 16; the iron portion 16h, the first contact portion 21a protruding from the upper surface of the iron portion 16h, and the first protrusion protruding from the lower surface of the iron portion 16h. As shown in FIG. 24A, the thickness T1 of the guide portion 21 in the

contact portions

21a and 21b is less than the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k. Therefore, when the guide portion 21 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, the first contact portion 21a faces the main surface S1 of the first substrate w3 via the first gap, and similarly the second contact portion 21b. Faces the main surface S2 of the second substrate w4 via the second gap, and the

contact portions

21a and 21b do not contact the main surfaces S1 and S2 when the guide portion 21 is inserted. According to the guide portion 21, as shown in FIG. 24B, even when the position of the guide portion 21 is relatively changed along the Z axis in the direction of the arrow Z1 during the molten metal supply process. Since the iron parts 16h do not touch the glass substrates w3 and w4 due to the regulation of the

contact parts

21a and 21b, the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be prevented from being damaged and the joining quality of the joining parts can be improved.

Note that the floating mechanism incorporated in the support portion is not necessarily required, and each contact surface formed on the contact portion of the guide portion may be a flat surface, and only one on one surface of the iron portion. A contact portion may be formed. Even in such a configuration, in a predetermined case such as when the dimensional accuracy of the outer peripheral gap of the unjoined body is high or when the traveling accuracy of the table moving unit is high, contact between the main surface of the glass substrate and the iron portion is avoided. The action exerted by the contact portion can prevent the glass substrate from being damaged, and thus can exhibit the effect of enhancing the sealing performance with the joint portion in the glass panel.

[Example 2-2]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder according to Example 2-2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 and 26. FIG. The supply device of Example 2-2 is basically configured in the same manner as the supply device 11 described with reference to FIG. 16, and only the molten solder supply unit is different. Only the portion related to the supply unit is shown, and the other components are not shown. Moreover, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component same as the supply apparatus 11, and the detailed description of the structure and operation | movement is abbreviate | omitted.

As shown in FIG. 25, the molten solder supply unit 22 of the supply device of Example 2-2 includes a supply cylinder 23 having substantially the same configuration as the supply cylinder 14 and a support member 22d connected to a simple support portion that does not constitute a floating mechanism. The guide tube 22 is separated from the guide portion 22a in front of the guide portion 22a in the moving direction of the molten solder supply portion 22 in the supply step indicated by the arrow X1 in the drawing. Arranged in a state. An outer diameter supply pipe 23a that can be inserted into the outer peripheral gap k of the unjoined body W0 is provided at the distal end of the supply cylinder 23, and the molten solder M1 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k in front of the guide portion 22a in the moving direction. Supply. A plurality of supply pipes 23a may be arranged, or a supply pipe having an elliptical cross section or a rectangular cross section may be used. The insertion depth of the supply pipe 23a may be determined in accordance with the width of the joint portion to be formed. Particularly when a wide joint portion is formed, a plurality of supply pipes may be configured to change the insertion depth. It is valid. Furthermore, it is desirable that the supply pipe 23a is made of a soft material or coated with a resin, for example, so as not to damage the glass substrates w3 and w4 when contacted.

The guide portion 22a in this example is bent in the Z-axis direction which is the thickness direction of the outer peripheral gap k or around the axis of the supply cylinder 23 instead of the floating mechanism like the supply device in the 2-1 example. It has a configuration that can be elastic. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 25, the guide portion 22a has upper and

lower contact portions

22b and 22c formed of elastic metal, resin, or other elastic members, and the

contact portions

22b and 22c have flexibility. Thus, even when the position of the outer peripheral gap k varies, the

contact portions

22b and 22c are configured to be able to bend and follow. Note that the

entire contact portions

22b and 22c are not formed of an elastic member, and for example, an elastic layer may be provided on the contact surfaces of the main surfaces S1 and S2 of the glass substrates w3 and w4 of the

contact portions

22b and 22c. Such a configuration has an advantage that the structure of the supply device can be simplified, and is particularly advantageous when the position variation in the Z-axis direction of the outer circumferential gap k of the unjoined body W0 is relatively small.

A guide portion 22e shown in FIG. 26A is a first modification of the guide portion 22a. The guide portion 22e has

elastic layers

22f and 22g formed on the surfaces of the

contact portions

16a and 16f behind the guide portion 22e in the insertion direction Y1, and is supported from above and below by a support member 22d whose tip is cracked. The

elastic layers

22f and 22g are sandwiched and supported. Then, in the molten solder supplying process, the guide portion 22e has the

elastic layers

22f and 22g of which the contact surfaces of the exposed

contact portions

16a and 16f where the

elastic layers

22f and 22g are not formed are in contact with the glass substrates w3 and w4. Do not touch directly. Accordingly, the

elastic layers

22f and 22g can cope with the fluctuations in the position of the outer peripheral gap k in the same manner as described above, and are configured by separate members suitable for performing the functions of the

contact portions

16a and 16f and the

elastic layers

22f and 22g. There is also an advantage of being able to.

A guide portion 22h shown in FIG. 26B is a second modification of the guide portion 22a. The guide portion 22h is provided with an elastic portion 22i between the support portion 22d and the iron portion 16h and the

contact portions

16a and 16f inserted into the outer peripheral gap k of the unjoined body W0. The elastic portion 22i is formed in a thin plate shape with a protruding length L3 from the end face of the support member 22d so as to be easily bent in the Z-axis direction.

A guide portion 22j shown in FIG. 26C is a third modification of the guide portion 22a. The guide portion 22j is provided with a pair of upper and lower elastic portions 22k and 22l between the iron portion 16h and the

contact portions

16a and 16f and the support member 22d inserted into the outer peripheral gap k of the unjoined body W0. The elastic portion 22k is formed in a thin plate shape behind the contact portion 16a, and the elastic portion 22l is formed behind the contact portion 16f with a protruding length L3 from the end face of the support member 22d. According to this guide portion 22j, when the position of the outer peripheral gap k in the Z-axis direction fluctuates, the elastic portions 22k and 22l are displaced in a link shape with the iron portion 16h and the

contact portions

16a and 16f as an integral fulcrum. There is an advantage that the iron part 16h and the

contact parts

16a and 16f can follow up while maintaining a horizontal posture against the fluctuation of the outer peripheral gap k.

In the supply device of Example 2-2, the guide portions 22a to 22j are incorporated in place of the floating mechanism, but the guide portions 22a to 22j are provided with a floating mechanism depending on the object to be filled. Of course, it may be incorporated in the supply device.

Further, in the above description, the unjoined body W0 composed of the glass substrates w3 and w4 having the same size in plan view is targeted for easy understanding, but a glass substrate having a different size can be used. be able to. That is, the end portions of the unjoined body in which two glass substrates having different sizes are aligned do not coincide, and a step is formed, but the shape of the discharge surface of the supply cylinder may be a shape corresponding to the step. .

[Third aspect]
Regarding the molten metal supply cylinder, the molten metal supply apparatus and the molten metal supply method in which the supply cylinder of the aspect described in the above (25) is incorporated, and desirable aspects thereof, examples 3-1 and 3 -A description will be given based on an example.

[Example 3-1]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder according to Example 3-1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 27 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the main part of the molten metal supply device in this example, and FIGS. 28 and 29 are a cross-sectional view and a partial perspective view of the supply tube 24 in this example.

First, the molten metal supply device will be described. The supply device manufactures the glass panel W described with reference to FIGS. 51A and 51B. The supply tube 24, the holder 24a to which the supply tube 24 is attached, and the holder 24a are mainly floated up and down. A floating mechanism 24b to be moved, and a casing 24e for supporting the floating mechanism 24b. The floating mechanism 24b can be realized by a structure in which rubbers and springs having appropriate flexibility are arranged above and below, and the supply cylinder 24 without applying an excessive force to the glass substrates w3 and w4 or the supply cylinder 24. Can keep the posture. In addition, it is preferable that the ultrasonic vibrator 24 c attached to the holder 24 a is joined to the supply cylinder 24 via the shaft member 24 d and the ultrasonic vibration is applied in the longitudinal direction of the supply cylinder 24.

As shown in FIG. 28, the supply cylinder 24 has a circular cross-sectional flow path 24i through which the molten solder M1 opened on one surface 24m and the other surface 24n flows, and has a second opening 24h orthogonal to the other surface 24n. A guide portion 25 that is inserted and attached to the flow path 24i by a depth L0 is provided so as to supply the molten solder M1 discharged from the second opening 24h to the outer peripheral gap via the guide portion 25.

The supply device inserts the guide tube 25 into the outer peripheral gap k of the glass substrates w3 and w4 while the other surface 24n is separated from the outer peripheral end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 by a predetermined gap s. It is moved so that it can make a round along the outer circumferential gap k at a predetermined speed. Note that this movement operation does not have to be performed by the entire supply device, and may be relatively performed by sharing a table or the like on which the glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed. Thus, the supply device can take various structures in accordance with the movement form. Whatever the structure based on the movement form, the movement mechanism of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the movement mechanism of the supply device are known techniques, for example, linear movement is a motor and a ball screw or a linear guide, and swivel movement is a motor or cylinder. This can be realized by combining the bearings. The casing 24e may be attached to the moving mechanism through a jig or the like that adjusts the position in the vertical direction. With this configuration, the height of the guide portion 25 can be adjusted with respect to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 in accordance with the thickness of the glass substrate w4 and the height of the gap holding member Q. .

The guide unit 25 will be described. The guide portion 25 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and is discharged from the second opening (hereinafter referred to as a discharge port in the third and third examples) of the supply tube 24. The molten solder M1 is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k. When the guide portion 25 is moved along the outer circumferential gap k, the molten solder M1 is slid on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, and is supplied to the outer edge interval k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 while being applied. . And the area of the upper and lower discharge ports divided by the introduction plate of the discharge port that the introduction plate described in Patent Document 4 similar to the guide portion in this example is installed at the center of the discharge port of the molten solder is the same Unlike the arrangement, as shown in FIG. 30, the guide portion 25 is arranged in a state offset downward from the center of the discharge port 24h in the vertical direction. Therefore, the area of the upper outlet 24j partitioned by the guide portion 25 is larger than the area of the lower outlet 24k.

As shown in FIG. 29, the guide portion 25 includes a plate-like body 25c having a thickness (T2) smaller than the dimension g of the outer-periphery gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and an outer peripheral gap protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like body 25c. and a protrusion 25a having substantially the same thickness (T1) as the dimension g of k. This plate-like body 25c is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, and molten solder M1 is introduced into the gap between the glass substrates w3 and w4 facing the surface of the plate-like body 25c, and is applied to the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. The portion of L2 that is inserted into the outer circumferential gap k is hereinafter referred to as a soldering portion 25d. Further, the protrusions 25a formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like body 25c are formed so as to protrude by L1 from the discharge port 24h. The protrusion 25a has a contact surface that is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k and is slidable with the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. Hereinafter, a portion where the contact surface is formed is referred to as a contact portion 25b.

When the guide portion 25 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, the vertical position of the iron portion 25d in the outer peripheral gap k is defined by fitting the contact portion 25b into the outer peripheral gap k. That is, as shown in FIG. 30, the first gap Gu between the upper surface of the iron part 25d and the glass substrate w3 and the second gap Gd between the lower surface of the iron part 25d and the glass substrate w4 are kept constant. can do. The contact portion 25b is preferably subjected to a surface treatment for improving the slipperiness between the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, for example, Ni water repellent plating. Further, it is preferable to chamfer c on the contact portion 25b at the corner of the step surface with the side surface or the iron portion 25d so that the contact portion 25b can be easily fitted into the outer peripheral gap k. The chamfering c is a portion where the corner is rounded into a straight line or a curve, and can be formed by cutting, abrasive processing, etching, or the like.

In addition, the plate-like body 25c and the protrusion 25a may be formed as an integral structure, or may be an assembly structure in which different members are fixed by adhesion or a lamination process. When the assembly structure is adopted, an appropriate material can be selected and combined in accordance with a required function, for example, the plate-like body 25c is made of glass and the protrusion 25a is made of metal.

As shown in FIG. 29 (a), the protrusions 25a formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like body 25c are arranged to the left and right so as to sandwich the

guide grooves

25e and 25h through which the molten solder M1 from the flow path 24i can flow. Is formed. The

guide grooves

25e and 25h can be formed, for example, by performing groove processing so as to divide the integrally formed protrusion 25a. The width and depth of the

guide grooves

25e and 25h may be appropriately determined in accordance with the flowability of the molten solder M1, but a larger one is preferable for flowability, and a plate-like body 25c is dug as shown in FIG. In this case, the iron part 25d may be reached.

As described above, the iron part 25d is for introducing the molten solder M1 supplied via the

guide grooves

25e and 25h into the gaps Gu and Gd, and for firmly bonding the glass substrates w3 and w4. Therefore, as the iron part 25d moves, the outer peripheral gap k behind the iron part 25d in the moving direction is filled with the molten solder M1 from the gaps Gu and Gd, and the width of the joint part n is the iron part 25d. Is defined by a length L2. The thickness T2 of the iron part 25d is set from the dimensions of the first gap Gu and the second gap Gd so that the molten solder M1 can be applied if it is brought into contact with the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 with a uniform surface pressure. Is done. In order for the molten solder M1 to move together following the iron part 25d and be satisfactorily applied to the glass substrates w3 and w4, the gaps Gu and Gd are preferably narrow. Further, in order to improve the followability of the molten solder M1, a groove that intersects the moving direction may be formed on the surface of the iron part 25d.

The supply cylinder 24 will be described. The supply cylinder 24 supplies the molten solder M1 from a first opening 24g formed on one surface 24m, and discharges it from a discharge port 24h which is a second opening formed on the other surface 24n. The molten solder M1 supplied to the first opening 24g is melted by, for example, the supply cylinder 24 while feeding the thread solder M to the first opening 24g at a predetermined speed, and sufficiently fills the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. It is supplied at a controlled flow rate based on the supply amount.

As shown in FIG. 28, the supply cylinder 24 is formed with a flow path 24i through which the molten solder M1 formed by melting the thread solder M as described above and a first opening 24g of the flow path 24i are formed. It has a melting surface 24m for melting M and a discharge surface 24n which is the other surface on which the discharge port 24h is formed, and a heater 24l for melting the yarn solder M is wound around the outer peripheral surface thereof. According to the supply cylinder 24 having such a configuration, the thread solder M is sent out at a controlled speed so that the lower end surface is in contact with the melting surface 24m so as to close the first opening 24g, and is pressed and melted against the melting surface 24m. Then, the molten solder M1 flows through the flow path 24i and is continuously discharged from the discharge port 24h.

The melting surface 24m through which the first opening 24g opens is a bottom surface of a concave portion formed by, for example, counterboring the surface of the supply cylinder 24. The first opening 24g has a diameter ΦB that is less than the diameter ΦA of the end face of the thread solder M that contacts the melting surface 24m, and the flow path 24i is formed in a tubular shape having a diameter ΦB at least in the vicinity of the melting surface 24m. Thereby, even if the oxide E is generated on the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M, the inflow of the oxide E into the flow path 24i is blocked by the outer peripheral edge portion of the first opening 24g, that is, the melting surface 24m. Only clean molten solder M1 in which E hardly mixes flows into the flow path 24i. Since the thickness of the oxide E layer generated on the surface of the yarn solder M stored in the atmosphere is usually about several tens of μm, the difference in diameter between the yarn solder M and the first opening 24g, that is, It is sufficient to set ΦA-ΦB to around 1 mm.

In addition, it is preferable to form the peripheral wall 24o around the circumference of the supply cylinder 24 so as to surround the melting surface 24m. The oxide E, which is prevented from flowing into the flow path 24i, is stored in the concave bottom of the melting surface 24m. However, it may be recovered by appropriately sucking it out or cutting out a part of the peripheral wall 24o. Moreover, it is preferable to form the terminal part of the flow path 24i near the discharge surface 24n so as to be substantially orthogonal to the discharge surface 24n. Thus, when the supply tube 24 is positioned so that the discharge surface 24n faces the outer peripheral end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 with a gap s, the flow path 24i in the vicinity of the discharge surface 24n is parallel to the outer peripheral gap k. It becomes a state.

The operation of supplying the molten solder M1 by the supply cylinder 24 will be described. When supplying the molten solder M1, the supply device is configured to move along the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 when the flow state of the molten solder M1 in the supply cylinder 24 is in a steady state. This steady state refers to a state in which the molten solder M1 can be introduced into the gaps Gu and Gd from the

guide grooves

25e and 25h of the guide portion 25. As shown in FIG. 30, the molten solder M1 reaching the discharge port 24h is guided. In this state, the level is higher than that of the groove 25e. Here, the time from when the molten solder M1 is supplied from the first opening 24g until the steady state is reached is preferably as short as possible. For this reason, when the supply of the molten solder M1 that is in an unsteady state is started, the flow path 24i is quickly filled with the molten solder M1, and in the steady state, the molten solder M1 has a flow rate that can sufficiently fill the outer circumferential gap k. The amount of supply is controlled.

In the steady state, the lower flow path 24q of the flow paths 24i divided up and down by the guide portion 25 is filled with the molten solder M1, so that the lower discharge where the lower flow path 24q is opened. The molten solder M1 is also filled in the gap s between the outlet 24k and the end surface of the glass substrate w4. In this state, the molten solder M1 is introduced into the second gap Gd, but excess molten solder M1 overflows from the gap s between the discharge port 24k and the end face of the glass substrate w4. The molten solder M1 supplied to the flow path 24i has a controlled flow rate, and the molten solder M1 existing in the gap s between the discharge port 24k and the end surface of the glass substrate w4 is applied with a small supply pressure. Since the direction (downward) is open, the leaked molten solder M1 hangs down. Since the leakage from the lower flow path 24q also occurs from the start of the supply of the molten metal M1 until the steady state is reached, it is desirable that the amount of leakage be small. On the other hand, even if the gap s between the upper discharge port 24j connected to the upper flow path 24p and the end surface of the glass substrate w3 is filled with the molten solder M1, the molten solder M1 existing in this gap leaks because the guide portion 25 exists. Hard to put out. Accordingly, in order to reduce the amount of molten solder M1 leaking from the gap s between the discharge port 24h and the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, the amount of molten solder M1 discharged from the lower flow path 24q should be reduced. That's fine.

Since the supply tube 24 is attached at a position where the guide 25 is offset downward from the center of the discharge port 24h, the area of the lower discharge port 24k is smaller than the area of the upper discharge port 24j. Further, the volume of the lower flow path 24q is smaller than the volume of the upper flow path 24p. Accordingly, the amount discharged from the lower discharge port 24k is smaller than the amount discharged from the upper discharge port 24j. That is, the amount of molten solder M1 discharged from the lower flow path 24q in the supply cylinder 24 is small, and the amount of leakage from the gap s between the discharge port 24h and the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be reduced. The time to reach a steady state can also be shortened. The offset amount F of the guide portion 25 is appropriately set based on the supply amount of the molten solder M1, the size of the gap s between the discharge surface 24n and the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, the size of the

guide grooves

25e and 25h, and the like. However, the larger the amount, the smaller the amount of molten solder M1 that fills the lower flow path 24q. Therefore, the amount of leakage can be reduced, and the time to reach a steady state can be shortened.

When the supply cylinder 24 is used, the supplied clean molten solder M1 can be brought into contact with the external atmosphere only slightly by the gap s between the discharge surface 24n and the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the gaps Gu and Gd. And w4 are supplied to the outer peripheral gap k. Accordingly, the supplied clean molten solder M1 comes into contact with the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 in a state in which oxidation is suppressed even in an air atmosphere. Therefore, the supply device of this example is suitable for using SnAgAl alloy solder having excellent bonding properties with glass through an appropriate amount of oxygen. In order to improve the filling property of the molten solder M1, a process for increasing the wettability with the molten solder M1, for example, Ag, Cr, Al, Mo, etc. It is preferable to coat W, V, Nb, Ta, and the like, and the surface of the guide portion 25 is eroded by the molten solder M1 so that impurities are not mixed into the molten solder M1. It is preferable to apply. These treatments are also preferably performed on the surface of the flow path 24i.

Next, the supply operation of the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k by the supply device of this example will be described. The glass substrates w3 and w4 set up and down via a gap holding member Q having a predetermined dimension are positioned on a table that is movable in the XY2 axis direction with a built-in heating element, and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are made of the molten solder M1. Heat to about melting temperature. In the supply cylinder 24, the guide portion 25 is inserted into a predetermined position at one end of the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and a predetermined gap s is formed between the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the discharge surface 24n. Moved. At this time, the mounting position of the iron part 25d is adjusted in advance so as to be near the center in the vertical direction of the outer circumferential gap k, but it is difficult to adjust precisely to the center of the outer circumferential gap k. However, if this adjustment is not performed satisfactorily, even if the iron part 25d is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, there is a possibility that the contact part 25b hits the end surface of either the upper or lower glass substrate w3 or w4. is there. Here, since the supply cylinder 24 is supported by a floating mechanism in the vertical direction, and the chamfering c is applied to the contact portion 25b, the contact portion 25b is easily fitted into the outer peripheral gap k. As a result, the iron part 25d is positioned substantially in the center in the vertical direction of the outer peripheral gap k, and the gaps Gu and Gd between the iron part 25d and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are substantially the same in the vertical direction.

A predetermined amount of clean molten solder M1 is supplied to the flow path 24i and begins to be discharged from the discharge port 24h. Since the guide portion 25 is offset and attached to the lower side of the discharge port 24h, it reaches a steady state in a short time, and immediately passes the glass substrates w3 and w4 in one direction to supply the molten solder M1 to one side of the outer peripheral gap k. It can be moved in the (X direction) at a predetermined speed. During this time, the molten solder M1 is introduced into the gaps Gu and Gd and filled into the outer peripheral gap k. However, the molten solder M1 leaks from the gap s between the discharge port 24k below the guide portion 25 and the glass substrate w4, and droops or drops. Hardly occurs. Further, since the contact portion 25b is fitted in the outer peripheral gap k and is in a floating state, the outer periphery generated during the movement of the glass substrates w3 and w4 such as the variation in the thickness of the glass substrate w4 and the vertical undulation of the table in the X direction. Following the positional variation in the vertical direction of the gap k, the sizes of the gaps Gu and Gd are maintained. As a result, the molten solder M1 is introduced in substantially the same amount along the upper and lower surfaces of the iron portion 25d, so that the flow state of the molten solder M1 that moves with the movement of the iron portion 25d is substantially the same in the gaps Gu and Gd. The molten solder M1 is supplied in the same manner to the main surface of the glass substrate w3 and to the main surface of the glass substrate w4.

Further, when the ultrasonic vibration is applied during the filling and the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the guide portion 25, the wettability of the molten solder M1 and the guide portion 25 and the molten solder M1 and the glass substrates w3 and w4 is improved, and the gap Gu and Even when Gd is narrow, the molten solder M1 is supplied smoothly. This ultrasonic vibration also acts on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 via the molten solder M1, and removes foreign matters such as bubbles and oxide films existing at the contact interface between the molten solder M1 and the glass substrates w3 and w4. Therefore, the bondability of the molten solder M1 to the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be enhanced, and it is effective for improving the bonding strength of the glass panel W.

When the supply of the molten solder M1 in one side of the outer peripheral gap k is completed as described above, the casing 24e fitted with the supply cylinder 24 turns 90 degrees horizontally, and then the glass substrates w3 and w4 are the other sides orthogonal to the one side. Move horizontally along. In the other sides, similarly to the one side, the molten metal M1 is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k with almost no dripping of the molten solder M1 on the outer peripheral end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. This operation is sequentially performed on each side, and the molten solder M1 is supplied to all of the outer peripheral gaps k of the glass substrates w3 and w4. Is supplied. When the supply operation to the glass substrates w3 and w4 is completed, the table on which the glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed is transferred to the outside. Although the glass substrates w3 and w4 are removed from the table carried out to the outside, the operation of removing the solder from the table is not necessary because the molten solder M1 is not attached on the table.

Subsequently, another table on which the other glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed and prepared for heating is newly placed and melted in the same manner as the above-described supply operation to the outer peripheral gap k between the new glass substrates w3 and w4. Supply work of the solder M1 is performed. Here, the position of the outer peripheral gap k in the vertical direction is different between the new glass substrates w3 and w4 due to the difference in thickness accuracy of the glass substrate w4 and the mounting state of the glass substrates w3 and w4 on the table. there is a possibility. Even in this case, according to the supply device of this example, the supply cylinder 24 is supported by the floating mechanism in the vertical direction, and the chamfering c is applied to the contact portion 25b. It can be inserted at the center position of the outer peripheral gap k, and the molten solder M1 can be filled while maintaining the dimensions of the gaps Gu and Gd.

In addition, when the guide part 25 moves along the outer periphery gap k, the molten solder M1 permeates between the contact part 25b and the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 by a capillary phenomenon. The molten solder M1 is drawn from the iron portion 25d and supplied to the contact area after the contact portion 25b passes through the contact portion 25b while being in contact with the molten solder M1. However, when the length L1 of the contact portion 25b is long, the molten solder M1 may not be supplied to all portions of the contact region. Therefore, it is preferable that the length L1 of the contact portion 25b shown in FIG. The width is preferably about 10 to 20% of the width of the junction n. The upper and lower surfaces of the contact portion 25b are not limited to a flat plane as shown in FIG. 29, and may be a plane in which a groove is formed, or may be a curved surface.

[Example 3-2]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder, which is a third-second example of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS.

The supply cylinder 24 of the third example is a form in which the guide portion 25 is attached to be offset downward from the center of the discharge port 24h. However, the

supply cylinders

26a, 26c, and 26e in this example are the same as the discharge port 24h. While the guide portion 25 is attached at or near the center, the amount of molten solder M1 discharged from the lower discharge port 24k of the discharge port 24h is configured to be smaller than the amount discharged from the upper discharge port 24j. Is.

FIG. 31 (a) shows a supply cylinder 26a having a weir plate 26b attached to the end of the lower flow path 24q. The dam plate 26b is disposed through a gap with the lower surface of the guide portion 25, and the gap forms a lower discharge port 24k. A supply cylinder 26c shown in FIG. 31 (b) is provided with a weir plate 26d in the same manner as described above. However, no gap is provided between the guide tube 25 and a small cross section is melted above the weir plate 26d. A passage hole through which the solder M1 passes is formed, and this hole is used as the lower discharge port 24k. A supply cylinder 26e in FIG. 31 (c) has a weir member 26f attached in the lower flow path 24q, and the volume of the lower flow path 24q is smaller than the volume of the upper flow path 24p. .

As described above, in the supply devices of Examples 3-1 and 3-2, the protrusions constituting the contact portion 25b are formed on the guide portion 25 in order to keep the gaps Gu and Gd between the iron portion 25d and the glass substrates w3 and w4 constant. In this example, the body 25a is provided, and the protrusion 25a is inserted into the supply tube 24 and disposed. However, unlike the supply cylinder 26g shown in FIG. 32 (a), the protrusion 25a is not inserted into the supply cylinder 24, and the protrusion 25a is formed only on the part immediately coming out from the end surface of the supply cylinder 24, and the contact portion 25b. can do. Further, as shown in the supply cylinder 26k in FIG. 32 (b), a protrusion 25a can be formed at the tip of the plate-like body 25c to form the contact portion 25b. In addition, the plate-like body 25c and the protrusion 25a in the guide part 25 can be made of the same material such as metal, glass, ceramics, or different materials.

In addition, only a plate-like body 26q having the same thickness and having no protrusions, such as a supply cylinder 26p shown in FIG. 32 (c), can be used. This is because the variation in the thickness of the glass substrate and the guide deflection of the moving mechanism of the glass substrate are extremely small, such as for a small size glass substrate with a side of several to several tens of centimeters, and the gap fluctuates only to be negligible. It is good to apply to cases. In this case, the supply cylinder does not necessarily have to be supported by the floating mechanism as the supply device.

In the above description, the planar dimensions of the glass substrates w3 and w4 are the same for easy understanding, but they can be handled even if they have different dimensions. That is, when the planar dimensions of the glass substrates w3 and w4 are different and the outer edges of the glass substrates w3 and w4 are not aligned and a step is formed, as shown in the supply tube 26r of FIG. 33, the discharge port 24h is opened. This can be dealt with by making the discharge surface 24n to be shaped according to the level difference.

[Fourth aspect]
Regarding the molten metal supply cylinder (31), the molten metal supply apparatus in which the supply cylinder is incorporated, the molten metal supply method, and desirable modes thereof, Examples 4-1 and 4-2 will be described below. This will be described based on Example 4-3.

[4-1 example]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder according to Example 4-1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 34 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the main part of the supply device in Example 4-1, FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view of the supply cylinder in this example, and FIGS. 36 and 37 are perspective views showing the guide part in this example and its modifications. 38 is a view showing a state when the guide portion of FIG. 36 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap of the glass substrate and molten solder is supplied, and FIG. 39 is a view showing a modification of the guide portion of FIG.

First, the supply device of this example will be described. In the supply apparatus, the planar dimensions of the glass substrates w3 and w4 described with reference to FIG. 51 (d) are different, and the edge of the lower glass substrate w4 protrudes beyond the edge of the upper glass substrate w3. A supply device for manufacturing the glass panel W, which includes a supply cylinder 27, a holder 27a for attaching the supply cylinder 27, a floating mechanism 27b for floating the holder 27a mainly up and down, and a casing 27e for supporting the floating mechanism 27b. Yes. The floating mechanism 27b can be realized by a structure in which rubbers and springs having appropriate flexibility are arranged above and below, and the supply cylinder 27 without applying an excessive force to the glass substrates w3 and w4 or the supply cylinder 27. Can keep the posture. In addition, it is preferable that the ultrasonic vibration body 27c attached to the holder 27a is joined to the supply cylinder 27 via the shaft member 27d, and the ultrasonic vibration is applied in the longitudinal direction of the supply cylinder 27.

The supply cylinder 27 has a flow path 27i through which molten solder M1 having a circular cross section opened to one surface 27k on the side surface and the other surface 271 on the end surface side flows, and a guide portion 28 attached to the other surface 271 side. The leading end of the guide portion 28 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and the second opening on the other surface 27l side (hereinafter referred to as Example 4-1, Example 4-2, Example 4-3). The molten solder M1 discharged from 27h is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k through the guide portion 28.
As shown in FIG. 34, when the molten solder M1 is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, the supply cylinder 27 interferes with the protruding portion of the lower glass substrate w4 that protrudes from the upper glass substrate w3. In order to avoid this, it is positioned at a position away from the outer peripheral gap k by a predetermined height. Accordingly, the guide portion 28 in the present example has a shape having a step corresponding to the difference in height between the discharge port 27h of the supply tube 27 and the outer circumferential gap k in the vertical direction.

The supply device inserts the tip of the guide portion 28 into the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, with the other surface 271 separated from the end surface of the upper glass substrate w3 by a predetermined gap s. At the same time, it is moved along the outer peripheral gap so that it can make one round at a predetermined speed.
The moving operation need not be performed entirely by the supply device, and may be performed relatively by sharing the table on which the glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed. Thus, the supply apparatus can take various structures according to the movement form. Whatever the structure based on the movement form, the movement mechanism of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the movement mechanism of the supply device are known techniques, for example, linear movement is a motor and a ball screw or a linear guide, and swivel movement is a motor or cylinder. This can be realized by combining the bearings. The casing 27e may be attached to the moving mechanism via a jig or the like that adjusts the position in the vertical direction. With this configuration, the height of the guide portion 25 relative to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be adjusted according to the thickness of the glass substrate w4 and the height of the gap holding member P.

The guide unit 28 of this example will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 36A and 38, the guide portion 28 is attached to the lower portion of the discharge port 27h so that only the upper surface thereof faces the flow path 27i, and the molten solder M1 discharged from the discharge port 27h is basically the same. Therefore, it is configured to flow only on the upper surface and not on the lower surface.

As shown in FIGS. 36 and 37, the guide portion 28 includes a single stepped plate-like body 28c and a protrusion 28a formed on the surface of the plate-like body 28c. The plate-like body 28c has a base end portion 28e attached to the supply cylinder 27, a tip end portion 28d inserted into the outer peripheral gap, and an inclined portion 28f connecting between the two. The proximal end portion 28e is disposed substantially parallel to the distal end portion 28d, and the inclined portion 28f is disposed so as to form a predetermined angle θ with respect to the distal end portion 28d. This angle θ is an angle determined by the protruding dimension L in the horizontal direction of the inclined portion 28f and the step dimension F in the height direction. The dimensions L and F are determined based on the gap s between the other surface 271 of the supply cylinder 27 and the glass substrate w3, the outer diameter dimensions of the supply cylinder 27 and the flow path 27i, and the like. The angle θ is usually an obtuse angle, but the protruding dimension L may be zero. In this case, the angle θ is 90 °. The plate-like body 28c may be formed by bending a plate material at two places, or may be formed by cutting from a block body by cutting.

As shown in FIG. 38, the guide portion 28 has the tip 28d of the plate-like body 28c inserted into the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and the outer periphery of the molten solder M1 discharged from the discharge port 27h of the supply tube 27. Supply to gap k. When the guide portion 28 is moved along the outer peripheral gap k, the molten solder M1 is slid on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, and is supplied to the outer edge interval k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 while being applied. . Therefore, the front end portion 28d of the plate-like body 28c has a thickness T2 smaller than the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. The range of L2 from the tip of the tip portion 28d is hereinafter referred to as a trowel portion 28g. The upper and lower surfaces of the iron portion 28g are arranged to face the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 with a certain gap Gu and Gd therebetween.

When the guide 28 is inserted and moved in the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, the protrusion 28a maintains the gaps Gu and Gd constant even if there is a change in the position of the outer peripheral gap k in the vertical direction. . The protrusion 28a is provided at the tip 28d, but may be formed other than the tip 28d for other purposes to be described later. Hereinafter, the protrusion 28a provided at the distal end portion 28d is referred to as a contact portion 28b. The contact portion 28b protrudes from the upper and lower surfaces of the tip end portion 28d, and its thickness T1 is substantially the same as the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k. The contact portion 28b is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k and can slide on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. Has a good contact surface. The protrusion 28a (contact portion 28b) may be formed on the plate-like body 28c (tip portion 28d) by adhesion or a lamination process. Thus, for example, the metal, glass, ceramics and the like used for the plate-like body 28c do not necessarily have to be made of the same material, and an appropriate material according to the required function such as slidability and wear resistance. Can be used. The protrusion 28a may be formed integrally with the plate-like body 28c.

According to the guide part 28, when the guide part 28 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, the vertical position of the iron part 28g in the outer peripheral gap k is defined by fitting the contact part 28b into the outer peripheral gap k. . That is, the first gap Gu between the upper surface of the iron part 28g and the glass substrate w3 and the second gap Gd between the lower surface of the iron part 28g and the glass substrate w4 can be maintained constant. The contact portion 28b is preferably subjected to surface treatment for improving the slipperiness with the glass substrates w3 and w4, for example, Ni water repellent plating. Further, it is preferable to chamfer the corner portion in the insertion direction in order to make the contact portion 28b easily fit into the outer circumferential gap k. This chamfering is a part in which a corner is rounded into a straight line or a curve, and can be formed by cutting, abrasive processing, etching, or the like.

The molten solder M1 from the discharge port 27h is discharged to the upper surface of the guide portion 28. A guide groove 28h for smoothly guiding the molten solder M1 to the distal end portion 28d is provided on the upper surface of the guide portion 28 of this example as a preferred embodiment. The plurality of linear guide grooves 28h are continuous with the upper surface of the base end portion 28e, the inclined portion 28f, and the tip end portion 28d along the axis of the flow path 27i in the vicinity of the discharge port 27h, which is the discharge direction of the molten solder M1. Is formed. The guide groove is not limited to the mode shown in FIG. 36 (a), but a guide having a predetermined width and depth on the plate-like body 28c, such as a guide portion 29 shown in FIG. 36 (b). A groove 29a may be provided, and as in the guide portion 30 shown in FIG. 37 (a), the protrusion 28a extends to the inclined portion 28f and the base end portion 28e, and the protrusion 28a serves as a side wall. It can be set as the aspect which provided the groove | channel 30a. The structure of the guide groove may be suitably formed as a single structure or a composite structure in accordance with the flowability of the molten solder M1 and the dimension g of the outer peripheral gap k.

The molten solder M1 flows on the upper surface of the guide portion 28 and is supplied to the first gap Gu. In the supply cylinder of this example, as a preferred mode, in order to introduce the molten solder M1 supplied to the first gap Gu into the second gap Gd, as shown in FIGS. 36 and 37 (a), the thickness direction A through hole 28b formed by a through hole 29b or a notch 28j penetrating the tip 28d is provided in the tip 28d. Note that, as in the guide portion 31 shown in FIG. 37 (b), a notch portion 31a is provided on the side surface of the tip portion facing the moving direction indicated by the arrow when the guide portion 28 is inserted and moved in the outer circumferential gap k. The molten solder M1 introduced into the first gap Gu may be introduced into the second gap Gd. The notch 31a is also an embodiment of the through portion 28i.

By providing the penetrating portion 28i, the molten solder M1 introduced into the first gap Gu is good in the second gap Gd as the guide portion 28 inserted into the outer gap k moves along the outer gap k. Led to. As a result, in the moving direction of the guide portion 28, the molten solder M1 is supplied from the gaps Gu and Gd to the outer peripheral gap k behind the guide portion 28, and is applied to the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 by the iron portion 28g. Is included. Here, the supply width of the molten metal M1 is substantially defined by the length L2 of the iron part 28g, and a stable supply width can be obtained. The thickness T2 of the iron part 28g is set based on the dimensions of the gaps Gu and Gd that can be applied while bringing the molten solder M1 into contact with the glass substrates w3 and w4 with a uniform surface pressure. The gaps Gu and Gd are preferably narrow so that the molten solder M1 moves together following the iron part 28g and can be satisfactorily applied to the glass substrates w3 and w4. Further, in order to improve the followability of the molten solder M1, it is preferable to form a fine groove that intersects the moving direction on the surface of the iron part 28g.

The supply cylinder 27 will be described. The supply cylinder 27 supplies the molten solder M1 from the first opening 27g formed on the one surface 27k, and discharges it from the discharge port 27h which is the second opening formed on the other surface 27l. The molten solder M1 supplied to the first opening 27g is melted by the supply cylinder 27 while feeding, for example, the thread solder M to the first opening 27g at a predetermined speed, and sufficiently fills the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. It is supplied at a controlled flow rate based on the supply amount.

As shown in FIG. 35, the supply cylinder 27 has a flow path 27i through which the molten solder M1 formed by melting the thread solder M and a first opening 27g of the flow path 27i are formed to melt the thread solder M. It has a melting surface 27k and a discharge surface 27l in which a discharge port 27h is formed, and a heater 27j for melting the yarn solder M is wound around the outer peripheral surface thereof. According to the supply cylinder 27 having such a configuration, the thread solder M is sent out at a controlled speed so that the lower end surface is in contact with the melting surface 27k so as to close the first opening 27g, and is pressed against the melting surface 27k to be melted. Then, the molten solder M1 flows through the flow path 27i and is continuously discharged from the discharge port 27h.

The melting surface 27k through which the first opening 27g opens is a bottom surface of a concave portion formed by, for example, counterboring the side surface of the supply cylinder 27. The diameter ΦB of the first opening 27g is less than the diameter ΦA of the end surface of the thread solder M that contacts the melting surface 27k, and the flow path 27i is formed in a tubular shape having a diameter ΦB in the vicinity of the melting surface 27k. Thereby, even if the oxide E is generated on the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M, the inflow of the oxide E into the flow path 27i is blocked by the outer peripheral edge portion of the first opening 27g, that is, the melting surface 27k. Only clean molten solder M1 in which E hardly mixes flows into the flow path 27i. Since the thickness of the oxide E layer generated on the surface of the yarn solder M stored in the atmosphere is usually about several tens of μm, the difference in diameter between the yarn solder M and the first opening 24g, that is, It is sufficient to set ΦA-ΦB to around 1 mm.

In addition, it is preferable to form a peripheral wall 27m around the supply cylinder 27 so as to surround the melting surface 27k. The oxide E, which is prevented from flowing into the flow path 27i, is stored in the concave bottom of the melting surface 27k, but may be sucked out or removed by cutting out a part of the peripheral wall 27m and recovered appropriately. Moreover, it is preferable to form the terminal part of the flow path 27i close to the discharge surface 27l so as to be substantially orthogonal to the discharge surface 27l. Thus, when the supply cylinder 27 is positioned so that the discharge surface 27l faces the outer peripheral end surface of the glass substrate w3 with a gap s, the flow path 24i in the vicinity of the discharge surface 24n is in a state parallel to the outer peripheral gap k. Become.

36A, a notch groove is provided below the discharge surface 27, and the base end portion 28e is inserted into the notch groove so that the base end portion 28e is exposed to the flow path 27i. Thus, the guide portion 28 is incorporated in the supply cylinder 27. However, the guide portion 28 may be configured such that the molten solder M1 discharged from the discharge port 27h flows only on the upper surface even if the upper surface is not exposed to the flow path 27i. Like the supply cylinder 32 shown in FIG. 39 (a), a lower portion of the supply cylinder 27 is cut out from the discharge surface 27l in a predetermined length axial direction so as to include the flow path 27i to form a notch. It is good also as an aspect which stuck the upper surface of the base end part 28e so that a part may be plugged up, and joined these. In the case where a gap is generated between the joint between the notch and the base end portion 28e, a sealing plate 32a is provided to seal the gap.
Further, as in the supply cylinder 32 shown in FIG. 39 (b), an attachment surface in which the flow path 27i is not exposed is formed in the lower portion of the supply cylinder 27 in the axial direction, and the upper surface of the base end portion 28e is adhered to the attachment surface. These may be joined together. In addition, in the supply cylinder 27 shown in FIG. 36A, an insertion hole is provided in the cylindrical portion of the supply cylinder 27 so as not to expose the flow path 27i, and the guide portion 28 is inserted into the insertion hole. May be incorporated.

In addition, in the supply cylinder 27 of FIG. 36A, the distal end portion 28d and the proximal end portion 28e of the guide portion 28 are arranged in parallel, but the distal end portion 28d and the proximal end portion 28e intersect at a predetermined angle. It may be arranged as follows.

The operation of supplying the molten solder M1 by the supply cylinder 24 will be described. When supplying the molten solder M1, the supply device is configured to move along the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 when the flow state of the molten solder M1 in the supply cylinder 27 is in a steady state. This steady state means a state in which the molten solder M1 is discharged from the discharge port 27h onto the upper surface of the guide portion 28 and can be introduced into the outer circumferential gap k. As shown in FIG. 38, the discharge port 27h is almost filled with the molten solder M1. It is the state that was done. Here, it is preferable that the time from when the molten solder M1 is supplied from the first opening 27g until the steady state is reached is as short as possible. For this reason, the flow path 27i is quickly filled with the molten solder M1 at the start of supply of the molten solder M1, which is in an unsteady state, and in a steady state, the flow rate is such that the outer peripheral gap k can be sufficiently filled. The supply amount of the molten solder M1 is controlled.

In the steady state, as shown in FIG. 38, the molten solder M1 discharged from the discharge port 27h is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k only from the upper surface of the guide portion 28, and is therefore first introduced into the first gap Gu. After that, it is introduced into the second gap Gd through the first gap Gu. At this time, the molten solder M1 is introduced into the first gap Gu while filling the gap s between the upper surface of the inclined portion 28f and the glass substrate w3. Here, since the molten solder M1 flows down the inclined portion 28f and the guide groove 28h is formed in the guide portion 28 along the flowing direction of the molten solder M1, the molten solder M1 is very smoothly formed in the first gap Gu. Introduced into. On the other hand, the molten solder M1 present in the gap s between the upper surface of the inclined portion 28f and the glass substrate w3 has almost no leakage from the inclined portion 28f because the tip portion 28d exists. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 51 (e), the joint n where the molten solder M1 does not leak can be formed in the protruding portion of the lower glass substrate w4.

When the supply cylinder 27 is used, the supplied clean molten solder M1 is slightly exposed to the external atmosphere at the gaps s and the gaps Gu and Gd between the discharge surface 27l and the end surface of the glass substrate w3. The outer peripheral gap k is filled. Accordingly, the supplied clean molten solder M1 comes into contact with the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 in a state in which oxidation is suppressed even in an air atmosphere. Therefore, the supply device of this example is suitable for using SnAgAl alloy solder having excellent bonding properties with glass through an appropriate amount of oxygen. In order to improve the filling property of the molten solder M1, a process for increasing the wettability with the molten solder M1, for example, Ag, Cr, Al, Mo, It is preferable to coat W, V, Nb, Ta, etc., and a nitriding treatment is performed as a corrosion preventing treatment so that the surface of the guide portion 27 is eroded by molten solder M1 and impurities are not mixed into the molten solder M1. It is preferable. In addition, it is preferable to perform these processes also on the surface of the flow path 27i.

Next, the supply operation of the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k by the supply device of this example will be described. The glass substrates w3 and w4 set up and down via a gap holding member P of a predetermined size are positioned on a table that can move in the XY2 axis direction with a built-in heating element, and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are made of the molten solder M1. Heat to about melting temperature. In the supply cylinder 27, the iron part 28g of the guide part 28 is inserted into a predetermined position at one end of the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and a predetermined gap s is formed between the end surface of the glass substrate w3 and the discharge surface 27l. Moved to form. At this time, the mounting position of the iron part 28g is adjusted in advance so as to be near the center in the vertical direction of the outer peripheral gap k, but it is difficult to adjust precisely to the center of the outer peripheral gap k. However, if this adjustment is not performed satisfactorily, even if the iron part 28g is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, there is a possibility that the contact part 28b hits the end surface of either the upper or lower glass substrate w3 or w4. Here, since the supply cylinder 27 is supported by a floating mechanism in the vertical direction, and the contact portion 28b is chamfered, the contact portion 28b is easily fitted into the outer peripheral gap k. Thereby, the iron part 28g is positioned substantially in the center in the vertical direction of the outer peripheral gap k, and the gaps Gu and Gd between the iron part 28g and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are substantially the same both in the vertical direction.

Since the controlled flow rate of the molten solder M1 is supplied to the flow path 27i, the steady state is reached in a short time, and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are immediately unidirectionally supplied to supply the molten solder M1 to one side of the outer peripheral gap k ( X direction) can be moved at a predetermined speed. During this time, the molten solder M1 is introduced into the gaps Gu and Gd and supplied to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. However, since the molten solder M1 is not supplied from the lower surface of the guide portion 28, the lower glass The molten solder M1 does not leak into the protruding portion of the substrate w4. Further, since the contact portion 28b is fitted in the outer peripheral gap k and is in a floating state, the outer periphery generated when the glass substrates w3 and w4 are moved, such as the thickness variation of the glass substrate w4 and the vertical swell of the table in the X direction. The position changes in the vertical direction of the gap k, and the dimensions of the gaps Gu and Gd are maintained. As a result, the molten solder M1 is introduced in substantially the same amount along the upper and lower surfaces of the iron portion 28g, so that the flow state of the molten solder M1 that moves with the movement of the iron portion 28g is substantially the same in the gaps Gu and Gd. The molten solder M1 is supplied in the same manner to the main surface of the glass substrate w3 and to the main surface of the glass substrate w4.

Further, when the ultrasonic vibration is applied during the filling and the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the guide portion 28, the wettability of the molten solder M1 and the guide portion 28, and the molten solder M1 and the glass substrates w3 and w4 is improved, and the gap Gu and Even when Gd is narrow, the molten solder M1 is supplied smoothly. This ultrasonic vibration also acts on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 via the molten solder M1, and removes foreign matters such as bubbles and oxide films existing at the contact interface between the molten solder M1 and the glass substrates w3 and w4. Therefore, the bondability of the molten solder M1 to the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be enhanced, and it is effective for improving the bonding strength of the glass panel W.

When the supply of the molten solder M1 in one side of the outer peripheral gap k is completed as described above, the casing 27e fitted with the supply cylinder 27 turns 90 degrees horizontally, and then the glass substrates w3 and w4 are the other sides orthogonal to the one side. Move horizontally along In the other side, similarly to the one side, the molten metal M1 is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k without the molten solder M1 leaking into the protruding portion of the glass substrate w4. This operation is sequentially performed on each side, and the molten solder M1 is supplied to all the outer peripheral gaps k of the glass substrates w3 and w4, and the molten solder M1 is supplied without leaking to the protruding portion of the glass substrate w4. When the supply operation to the glass substrates w3 and w4 is completed, the table on which the glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed is transferred to the outside. Although the glass substrates w3 and w4 are removed from the table carried out to the outside, the operation of removing the solder from the table is not necessary because the molten solder M1 is not attached on the table.

Subsequently, another table on which the other glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed and prepared for heating is newly placed and melted in the same manner as the above-described supply operation to the outer peripheral gap k between the new glass substrates w3 and w4. Supply work of the solder M1 is performed. Here, the position of the outer peripheral gap k in the vertical direction is different between the new glass substrates w3 and w4 due to the difference in thickness accuracy of the glass substrate w4 and the mounting state of the glass substrates w3 and w4 on the table. there is a possibility. Even in this case, according to the supply device of this example, the supply tube 28 is supported by the floating mechanism in the vertical direction, and the contact portion 28b is chamfered. It can be inserted at the center position of the gap k, and the molten solder M1 can be filled while maintaining the dimensions of the gaps Gu and Gd.

In addition, when the guide part 28 moves along the outer periphery gap k, the molten solder M1 permeates between the contact part 28b and the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 by a capillary phenomenon. The molten solder M1 wraps around from the iron portion 28g and is supplied to the contact area after the contact portion 28b passes through the contact portion 28b while being in contact with the molten solder M1. However, when the length of the contact portion 28b is long, the molten solder M1 may not be supplied to all portions of the contact region. Therefore, it is preferable that the length of the contact portion 28b is short and the width of the joint portion n. It is preferably about 10 to 20%. The upper and lower surfaces of the contact portion 28b are not limited to a flat plane as shown in FIG. 36 or 37, and may be a plane in which a groove is formed, or may be a curved surface.

[Example 4-2]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder according to the 4-2 example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the fourth example, the supply tube 27 is formed by replacing the plate-like body 28c having a stepped shape bent at two locations having a distal end portion 28d, a proximal end portion 28e, and an inclined portion 28f that connects the distal end portion 28d with the guide portion 28. Described in the example of elements. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 40, the supply cylinder 33 in this example uses an L-shaped plate 33c opened by a predetermined angle θ as an element of the guide portion. That is, the plate-like body 33c is bent at one place, has a tip portion 33d and an inclined portion 33e, and the inclined portion 33e is at the bottom of the discharge port 33b in a posture parallel to the flow path 27i. It is attached. The supply cylinder 33 of this example can supply the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k by flowing the molten solder M1 only on the upper surface of the plate-like body 33c, as in the case of the supply cylinder 27. The shape of the plate-like body 33c can be simplified. In addition, in the supply cylinder 33 of this example, when the molten solder M1 is supplied to the outer circumferential gap k, the flow path 27i is inclined with respect to the outer circumferential gap k by a predetermined angle θ, and the flow path 27i is inclined downward. The cylinder 33 is arranged. Therefore, the molten solder M1 in the flow path 27i tends to flow downward, and the fluidity of the molten solder M1 in the flow path 27i is high. Therefore, the molten solder M1 can be supplied to the outer peripheral gap k satisfactorily.

[Example 4-3]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder, which is a fourth example of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG.

The

supply cylinders

27 and 33 in the examples 4-1 and 4-2 used a plate-like body bent at one or two places, but the

supply cylinders

34 and 35 in this example are The difference is that a straight plate-like body in which the distal end portion and the proximal end portion are directly connected in a straight line is used as an element of the guide portion. The supply cylinder 34 shown in FIG. 41 (a) forms a notch by notching the lower part of the supply cylinder 34 in the axial direction by a predetermined length from the discharge surface 27l so as to include the flow path 27i. The upper surface of the base end portion 34d of the plate-like body 34c is in close contact and joined so as to close the surface, and the molten solder M1 is allowed to flow only on the upper surface of the plate-like body 34c and is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k. The molten solder M1 is supplied via Note that the length of the notch is equal to or longer than the length of the protruding portion of the lower glass substrate w4. If a gap occurs at the joint between the notch and the base end 34d, the gap is sealed. A sealing plate 32a that stops is provided. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the protruding portion of the glass substrate w4 from interfering with the supply cylinder 34 without arranging the supply cylinder 34 above the glass substrate w4 when supplying the molten solder M1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 41 (b), a supply tube 35 having a square cross section in which the bottom surface to which the base end portion 35d is attached is a plane may be used. In this case, the molten solder M1 may be discharged from the entire surface of the discharge port 27h opened to the discharge surface 27l to the upper surface of the guide portion 35d. However, from the viewpoint of preventing the molten solder M1 from being oxidized, it is desirable to attach to the discharge surface 27l a lid 35b that has a discharge port 35c that opens only at the bottom of the discharge port 27h and closes the top. The lid 35b that closes the discharge surface 27l can also be applied to the supply cylinders of the above-described examples 4-1 and 4-2.

As described above, in Examples 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3, the contact portion for maintaining a constant gap between the iron portion and the main surface of the glass substrate is provided on the rear end side of the plate-like body. Although an example of the arranged supply cylinder has been described, as shown in FIG. 42A, it may be a guide part 36 in which a contact part 28b is arranged at the tip of the tip part 28d. In this case, a joint with a more stable width can be formed.
Moreover, it can also be set as the structure which does not have a contact part like the guide part 37 shown in FIG.42 (b). This is because, for example, a glass substrate of a small size with a side of several to several tens of centimeters has a very small thickness variation of the glass substrate and a guide swing of the glass substrate moving mechanism, and the gap fluctuates only to be negligible. It is good to apply to. In this case, the supply device may not necessarily support the supply cylinder with the floating mechanism.

In this example, the glass substrates W3 and w4 have different plane dimensions, and the glass panel W in which the lower glass substrate w4 protrudes from the upper glass substrate w3 is described as an example. However, the above example can also be applied to the glass panel W using the glass substrates w3 and w4 having the same dimensions and having matching end faces.

[Fifth aspect]
(38) The molten metal supply cylinder, the molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder, the molten metal supply method, and desirable modes thereof will be described below based on the fifth example.

[Fifth example]
A molten metal supply cylinder and a molten metal supply apparatus incorporating the supply cylinder according to a fifth example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the supply device will be described. The supply device manufactures the glass panel W described with reference to FIGS. 51A and 51B. The supply tube 38, the holder 38a to which the supply tube 38 is attached, and the holder 38a are mainly floated up and down. A floating mechanism 38b to be moved, and a casing 38e for supporting the floating mechanism 38b. The floating mechanism 38b can be realized by a structure in which rubbers and springs having appropriate flexibility are arranged above and below, and the supply cylinder 38 without exerting an excessive force on the glass substrates w3 and w4 or the supply cylinder 38. Can keep the posture. Note that it is preferable to apply an ultrasonic vibration in the longitudinal direction of the supply cylinder 38 so that the ultrasonic vibration body 38c is attached to the holder 38a and joined to the supply cylinder 38 via the shaft member 38d.

As shown in FIGS. 43 and 44, the supply cylinder 24 has a circular cross-sectional flow path 38i through which the molten solder M1 opened on one surface 38k and the other surface 38l flows, and is perpendicular to the other surface 38l and has a second opening. (Hereinafter referred to as a discharge port in the fifth example.) A guide part 39 is provided which is inserted by a depth L0 into the flow path 38i across 38h, and is provided with an opening (hereinafter referred to as the fifth example in the fifth example). The molten solder M1 supplied from 38g and discharged from the second opening 38h is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k through the guide portion 39.

The supply device inserts the guide tube 39 into the outer peripheral gap k of the glass substrates w3 and w4 while the other surface 38l is separated from the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 by a predetermined gap s. It is moved so that it can make one round along the gap k at a predetermined speed. Note that this moving operation is not necessarily performed by the supply device, but is performed relatively by a table or the like on which the glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed. May be. Thus, the supply device can take various structures in accordance with the movement form. Whatever the structure based on the movement form, the movement mechanism of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the movement mechanism of the supply device are known techniques, for example, linear movement is a motor and a ball screw or a linear guide, and swivel movement is a motor or cylinder. This can be realized by combining the bearings. The casing 24e may be attached to the moving mechanism through a jig or the like that adjusts the position in the vertical direction. With this configuration, the height of the guide portion 25 can be adjusted with respect to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 in accordance with the thickness of the glass substrate w4 and the height of the gap holding member Q. .

As shown in FIG. 45, the guide portion 39 includes a plate-like body 39c having a thickness (T2) smaller than the dimension g of the outer-space gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and an outer peripheral gap protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like body 39c. And a protrusion 39a having substantially the same thickness (T1) as the above-mentioned dimension. The protrusions 39a of this example are arranged on the left and right sides of the rear end side of the plate-like body 39c, and the guide portion 39 is inserted into the supply cylinder 38 so as to cross the substantially central portion of the discharge port 38h in the vertical direction. It is attached with.

As shown in FIG. 46, the guide portion 39 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and supplies the molten solder M1 discharged from the discharge port 38h of the supply cylinder 38 to the outer peripheral gap k. . When the guide portion 39 is moved along the outer peripheral gap k, the molten solder M1 is slid on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, and is supplied to the outer edge interval k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 while being applied. Here, as shown in FIG. 45, the portion of L2 inserted into the outer peripheral gap k in the plate-like body 39c is hereinafter referred to as a trowel portion 39d. Further, the protrusions 39a formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like body 39c are formed so as to protrude by L1 from the discharge port 38h. The protrusion 39a has a contact surface that is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k and is slidable with the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. Hereinafter, a portion where the contact surface is formed is referred to as a contact portion 39b.

As shown in FIG. 46, the iron part 39d uses the molten solder M1 supplied from the discharge port 38h, the first gap Gu between the upper surface of the iron part 39d and the glass substrate w3, the lower surface of the iron part 39d, and the glass substrate w4. And is applied to the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. Therefore, in order for the molten solder M1 to be satisfactorily applied to the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, it is preferable that the gaps Gu and Gd are narrow so that the molten solder M1 moves together following the iron part 39d. However, the molten solder M1 introduced into the narrow gaps Gu and Gd is difficult to reach the tip of the iron part 39d due to fluid resistance.

Hereinafter, the flow state of the molten solder M1 introduced into the gaps Gu and Gd will be described with reference to FIG. 47A is a tip portion of a plate-like body having a rectangular shape in plan view, and the iron portion 40c moves in the direction of arrow F.

In the figure, the molten solder M1 supplied from the supply cylinder 38 flows in the gaps Gu and Gd toward the tip 40g of the iron part 40c. Here, the flow rate of the molten solder M1 decreases toward the tip 40g due to fluid resistance, and the iron part 40c moves in the direction of the arrow F, so the flow direction of the molten solder M1 flowing through the gaps Gu and Gd is The closer to the tip of the iron part 40c, the more backward the movement direction F is. Here, the flow lines of the molten solder M1 flowing in the gaps Gu and Gd are the supply amount of the molten solder M1, the flow velocity at the entrance of the gaps Gu and Gd, the friction coefficient between the glass substrate and the iron part, the glass substrate and Although depending on the supply conditions such as the wettability of the iron part with the molten solder M1 and the moving speed of the iron part 40c, when the sizes of the gaps Gu and Gd are narrowed, the molten solder M1 flowing through the gaps Gu and Gd The outer periphery r does not reach the tip 40g of the iron part 40c.

Here, the width of the joint portion n to be finally formed is the coating width when the molten solder M1 that has flowed through the gaps Gu and Gd is separated from the rear surface 40i of the iron portion 40c and merges to fill the outer peripheral gap. It is prescribed by. The coating width is defined by the position of the outer periphery r of the molten metal M1 on the rear surface 40i. When the outer periphery r of the molten solder M1 that has flowed through the gaps Gu and Gd does not reach the tip 40g of the iron part 40c, the molten solder M1 flows in an unstable state without any restriction in the gaps Gu and Gd. To do. Therefore, when the supply conditions described above change, the flow state of the molten solder M1 also changes, and the molten solder M1 moves away from the rear surface 40i at a position where the outer periphery r is different between the first gap Gu and the second gap Gd. As a result, the coating width becomes non-uniform. Further, on the tip side of the iron part 40c, since the amount of the molten solder M1 that moves as the iron part 40c moves is small, defects such as voids occur in the contact interface between the molten solder M1 and the glass substrate, and the glass of the joint part Bonding strength to the substrate and sealing performance are reduced. If the supply pressure is increased so that the molten solder M1 reaches the tip of the iron part 40c and the supply amount of the molten solder M1 is increased, the flow state of the molten solder M1 is regulated by the tip 40g, so that the coating width is stabilized. However, in this case, the molten solder M1 leaks from the gap s between the supply cylinder 38 and the end face of the glass substrate, which causes a problem that the appearance quality and the like of the glass panel deteriorate.

The guide unit 39 of the fifth example solves the above problem. As shown in FIG. 45, the iron part 39d of the guide part 39 is a side part facing in the moving direction F and has a notch part 39m at its tip part facing in the protruding direction. Specifically, the iron part 39d includes a front surface 39f orthogonal to the movement direction F, a tip surface 39g formed at the tip in the protruding direction of the iron part 39d and parallel to the movement direction F of the iron part 39d, and a iron part. It has a shape having an inclined surface 39h and a rear surface 39i which are inclined backward with respect to the moving direction F of 39d and connect the front surface 39f and the tip surface 39g in a chamfered manner, and are inclined with an extension line of the front surface 39f and the tip surface 39g. A region defined by the surface 39h is a notch 39m.
According to the iron part 39d having the notch part 39m, the following effects are obtained. That is, as shown in FIG. 47 (b), of the molten solder M1 flowing through the first gap Gu, the molten solder M1 existing at the front in the moving direction F reaches the inclined surface 39h of the iron portion 39d. It flows along the inclined surface 39h and is guided to the tip surface 39g. Further, a part of the molten solder M1 reaching the inclined surface 39h gets over the inclined surface 39h and enters the notch 39m, and then joins the molten solder M1 flowing through the second gap Gd, along the inclined surface 39h. It flows and is guided to the tip surface 39g. As a result, the position of the outer circumference r of the molten solder M1 flowing through the gaps Gu and Gd is regulated by the front end surface 39g and is always constant, and the width of the molten solder M1 that has merged away from the rear surface 39i is stabilized. Further, since the flow rate of the molten solder M1 at the tip portion of the iron part 36d is increased, defects such as holes are hardly generated at the contact interface between the molten solder M1 and the glass substrate, and a bonded portion having a desired bonding quality is obtained. be able to. As described above, the iron part 39d of this example cuts the outer periphery r of the molten solder M1 flowing through the gaps Gu and Gd without filling the outer peripheral gap between the glass substrates with excessive supply of the molten solder M1. The molten solder M1 can be supplied in a desired width by crossing the inclined surface 39h of the notch 39m and guiding it to the tip surface 39g.

A modification of the iron part 39d will be described with reference to FIG. The iron part 41d attached to the supply cylinder 41 shown in FIG. 48A is similar to the iron part 39d in addition to the inclined surface (first inclined surface) 39h formed at the tip of the iron part 41d. The second inclined surface 41a has a second inclined surface 41a which is inclined rearward with respect to the moving direction F and formed on the proximal end side of the iron part 41d. The second inclined surface 41 has a first inclined surface 39h and ends thereof are R-shaped. The notches 41m are defined by the extended lines of the front end surface 39g and the front surface 39f, the first inclined surface 39h, and the second inclined surface 41a.
The iron part 42d attached to the supply cylinder 42 shown in FIG. 48 (b) is parallel to the moving direction F of the iron part 42d in addition to the inclined surface 39h formed at the tip of the iron part 42d, like the iron part 39d. The parallel surface 42a is formed on the base end side of the iron portion 42d, and the parallel surface 42a is smoothly connected to the inclined surface 39h by the R surface, and the extended surface of the end surface 39g and the front surface 39f and the inclined surface 39h. A notch 42m is defined by the parallel surface 42a.
The iron part 43d attached to the supply cylinder 43 shown in FIG. 48 (c) is inclined backward with respect to the movement direction F of the iron part 43d and formed on the base end side of the iron part 43d. The inclined surface 43b is orthogonally connected to the orthogonal surface 43a and the ends thereof are smoothly connected to each other by the R surface, and the extended line and the inclined surface of the end surface 39g and the front surface 39f. A notch 43m is defined by the surface 43b and the orthogonal surface 43a.
In the above example, the

cutaway portions

39m and 41m to 43m are formed by defining a straight surface in plan view. However, even if these surfaces are curved, the shape is a combination of a straight line and a curved line. There may be. Further, the tip of the iron portion does not have to be a tip surface having a certain length, and for example, may have a shape with a sharp tip. Further, the inclination angle and shape of the inclined surface, etc. are the supply amount of the molten solder, the flow rate of the molten solder at the entrance of the gap between the glass substrate and the iron part, the friction coefficient between the glass substrate and the iron part, the glass substrate and the iron part What is necessary is just to determine suitably based on supply conditions, such as wettability with a molten solder and the moving speed of a iron part. Further, a rear surface 44a may be formed so as to be substantially parallel to the inclined surface 39h like a soldering portion 44d attached to the supply cylinder 44 shown in FIG. In this iron part 44d, the length of the iron part 44d along the movement direction F of the iron part 44d is substantially constant from the base end to the distal end surface 39g, and in the direction (width direction) perpendicular to the movement direction F, The effect of applying the molten solder M1 to the main surface can be made uniform.

The contact part 39b will be described. As shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, when the guide portion 39 is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, the guide portion 39 is fitted in the outer peripheral gap k so that the iron portion 39d is moved in the vertical direction in the outer peripheral gap k. The position of is defined. That is, the first gap Gu between the upper surface of the iron part 39d and the glass substrate w3 and the second gap Gd between the lower surface of the iron part 39d and the glass substrate w4 can be maintained constant. The contact portion 39b is preferably subjected to a surface treatment for improving the slipperiness between the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4, for example, Ni water repellent plating. The plate-like body 39c constituting the iron part 39d and the protrusion 39a constituting the contact part 39b may be formed in an integrated structure or may be an assembly structure in which another member is fixed by adhesion or a lamination process. With the assembly structure, it is possible to select and combine appropriate materials in accordance with required functions, such as using the plate-like body 39c as glass and the protrusion 39a as metal. Further, it is preferable to chamfer c on the side surface or the corner of the stepped surface with the trowel portion 39d so that the contact portion 39b can be easily fitted into the outer peripheral gap k. This chamfering is a part in which a corner is rounded into a straight line or a curve, and can be formed by cutting, abrasive processing, etching, or the like.

The guide groove formed in the guide part will be described. As shown in FIG. 45A, guide grooves 39e having left and right protrusions 39a as side walls are formed at the base ends of the upper and lower surfaces of the guide portion 39. As shown in FIG. Since the guide groove 39e communicates with the flow path 38i via the discharge port 38h, the molten solder M1 flowing through the flow path 38i and discharged from the senior outlet 38h flows into the iron part 39d via the guide groove 39e. The width, depth, and shape of the guide groove 39e may be appropriately determined according to the fluidity of the molten solder M1. For example, as shown in FIG. 45 (b), a guide groove that digs into the upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like body 39c and reaches the inclined surface 39h may be provided.

The supply cylinder 38 supplies the molten solder M1 from the first opening 38g formed on the one surface 38k, and discharges it from the discharge port 38h formed on the other surface 38l. For example, the molten solder M1 supplied to the first opening 38g is melted by the supply cylinder 38 while feeding the thread solder M to the first opening 38g at a predetermined speed, and sufficiently fills the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. It is supplied at a controlled flow rate based on the supply amount.

As shown in FIG. 44, the supply cylinder 24 is formed with a flow path 38i through which the molten solder M1 formed by melting the thread solder M as described above and a first opening 38g of the flow path 38i are formed. It has a melting surface 38k for melting M and a discharge surface 38l in which a discharge port 38h is formed, and a heater 38j for melting the thread solder M is wound around the outer peripheral surface thereof. According to the supply cylinder 38 having such a configuration, the yarn solder M is sent out at a speed controlled so that the lower end surface of the first opening 38g is in contact with the melting surface 38k, and is pressed against the melting surface 38k to be melted. Then, the molten solder M1 flows through the flow path 38i and is continuously discharged from the discharge port 38h.

The melting surface 38k through which the first opening 38g opens is, for example, a bottom surface of a concave portion formed by counterboring the surface of the supply cylinder 38. The first opening 38g has a diameter ΦB that is less than the diameter ΦA of the end face of the thread solder M that abuts the melting surface 38k, and the flow path 38i is formed in a tubular shape having a diameter ΦB at least in the vicinity of the melting surface 38k. Thereby, even if the oxide E is generated on the outer peripheral surface of the thread solder M, the inflow of the oxide E into the flow path 38i is blocked by the outer peripheral edge portion of the first opening 38g, that is, the melting surface 38k. Only clean molten solder M1 in which E hardly mixes flows into the flow path 38i. Since the thickness of the oxide E layer generated on the surface of the yarn solder M stored in the atmosphere is usually about several tens of μm, the difference in diameter between the yarn solder M and the first opening 38g, that is, It is sufficient to set ΦA-ΦB to around 1 mm.

Note that it is preferable to form a peripheral wall 38m around the supply cylinder 38 so as to surround the melting surface 38k. The oxide E, which is prevented from flowing into the flow path 38i, is stored in the concave bottom of the melting surface 38k, but may be sucked out or discharged by cutting out a part of the peripheral wall 38m as appropriate. Moreover, it is preferable to form the terminal part of the flow path 38i near the discharge surface 38l so as to be substantially orthogonal to the discharge surface 38l. Accordingly, when the supply cylinder 38 is positioned so that the discharge surface 38l faces the outer peripheral end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 with a gap s, the flow path 38i near the discharge surface 38l is parallel to the outer peripheral gap k. It becomes a state.

The operation of supplying the molten solder M1 by the supply cylinder 38 will be described. When supplying the molten solder M1, the supply device is configured to move along the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4 when the flow state of the molten solder M1 in the supply cylinder 38 is in a steady state. This steady state means a state in which the molten solder M1 is discharged from the discharge port 38h onto the upper surface of the guide portion 39 and can be introduced into the outer circumferential gap k. As shown in FIG. 46, the discharge port 38h is substantially filled with the molten solder M1. It is the state that was done. Here, the time from when the molten solder M1 is supplied from the first opening 38g until the steady state is reached is preferably as short as possible. For this reason, the flow path 38i is quickly filled with the molten solder M1 when the supply of the molten solder M1 in an unsteady state is started, and in a steady state, the flow rate is such that the outer peripheral gap k can be sufficiently filled. The supply amount of the molten solder M1 is controlled.

When the above supply cylinder 38 is used, the supplied clean molten solder M1 is slightly touched with the external atmosphere at the gaps s and gaps Gu and Gd between the discharge surface 38l and the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4. And w4 are filled in the outer circumferential gap k. Accordingly, the supplied clean molten solder M1 comes into contact with the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 in a state in which oxidation is suppressed even in an air atmosphere. Therefore, the supply device of this example is suitable for using SnAgAl alloy solder having excellent bonding properties with glass through an appropriate amount of oxygen. In order to improve the filling property of the molten solder M1, a process for increasing the wettability with the molten solder M1, for example, Ag, Cr, Al, Mo, etc. It is preferable to coat W, V, Nb, Ta, etc., and a nitriding treatment is performed as a corrosion preventing treatment so that the surface of the guide portion 39 is eroded by the molten solder M1 and impurities are not mixed into the molten solder M1. It is preferable. In addition, it is preferable to perform these processes also on the surface of the flow path 38i.

Next, the supply operation of the molten solder M1 to the outer peripheral gap k by the supply device of this example will be described. The glass substrates w3 and w4 set up and down via a gap holding member Q having a predetermined dimension are positioned on a table that is movable in the XY2 axis direction with a built-in heating element, and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are made of the molten solder M1. Heat to about melting temperature. In the supply cylinder 38, the iron part 39d of the guide part 39 is inserted at a predetermined position on one side edge in the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4, and a predetermined gap is formed between the end surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 and the discharge surface 38l. It is moved so that s is formed. At this time, the attachment position of the iron part 39d is adjusted in advance so as to be near the center in the vertical direction of the outer circumferential gap k, but it is difficult to adjust precisely to the center of the outer circumferential gap k. However, if this adjustment is not performed satisfactorily, even if the iron part 39d is inserted into the outer peripheral gap k, there is a possibility that the contact part 39b hits the end surface of either the upper or lower glass substrate w3 or w4. Here, since the supply cylinder 38 is supported by a floating mechanism in the vertical direction, and the chamfering c is applied to the contact portion 39b, the contact portion 39b can be easily fitted into the outer peripheral gap k. As a result, the iron part 39d is positioned substantially in the center in the vertical direction of the outer circumferential gap k, and the gaps Gu and Gd between the iron part 39d and the glass substrates w3 and w4 are substantially the same in the vertical direction.

Glass substrates w3 and w4 are supplied in order to supply clean molten solder M1 having a predetermined flow rate to flow path 38i and begin to be discharged from discharge port 38h, reach a steady state in a short time, and supply molten solder M1 to one side of outer peripheral gap k. Can be immediately moved in one direction (X direction) at a predetermined speed. During this time, the molten solder M1 is introduced into the gaps Gu and Gd and supplied to the outer peripheral gap k between the glass substrates w3 and w4. However, the contact portion 39b is fitted into the outer peripheral gap k and is in a floating state. It follows the vertical position fluctuation of the outer peripheral gap k caused by the movement of the glass substrates w3 and w4, such as the thickness variation of the substrate w4 and the vertical waviness of the table in the X direction, and the gaps Gu and Gd are respectively The dimensions are maintained. As a result, the molten solder M1 is introduced in substantially the same amount along the upper and lower surfaces of the iron portion 39d, so that the flow state of the molten solder M1 that moves with the movement of the iron portion 39d is substantially the same in the gaps Gu and Gd. The molten solder M1 is supplied in the same manner to the main surface of the glass substrate w3 and to the main surface of the glass substrate w4.

Further, when the ultrasonic vibration is applied during the filling and the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the guide portion 39, the wettability of the molten solder M1 and the guide portion 39, and the molten solder M1 and the glass substrates w3 and w4 is improved, and the gap Gu and Even when Gd is narrow, the molten solder M1 is supplied smoothly. This ultrasonic vibration also acts on the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 via the molten solder M1, and removes foreign matters such as bubbles and oxide films existing at the contact interface between the molten solder M1 and the glass substrates w3 and w4. Therefore, the bondability of the molten solder M1 to the glass substrates w3 and w4 can be enhanced, and it is effective for improving the bonding strength of the glass panel W.

When the supply of the molten solder M1 on one side of the outer peripheral gap k is completed as described above, the casing 38e fitted with the supply cylinder 38 turns 90 degrees horizontally, and then the glass substrates w3 and w4 are on the other side orthogonal to the one side. Move horizontally along In the other side, the molten metal M1 is supplied to the outer peripheral gap k in the same manner as the one side. This operation is sequentially performed on each side, and the molten solder M1 is supplied to all the outer peripheral gaps k of the glass substrates w3 and w4. When the supply operation to the glass substrates w3 and w4 is completed, the table on which the glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed is transferred to the outside. Although the glass substrates w3 and w4 are removed from the table carried out to the outside, the operation of removing the solder from the table is not necessary because the molten solder M1 is not attached on the table.

Subsequently, another table on which the other glass substrates w3 and w4 are placed and prepared for heating is newly placed and melted in the same manner as the above-described supply operation to the outer peripheral gap k between the new glass substrates w3 and w4. Supply work of the solder M1 is performed. Here, the position of the outer peripheral gap k in the vertical direction is different between the new glass substrates w3 and w4 due to the difference in thickness accuracy of the glass substrate w4 and the mounting state of the glass substrates w3 and w4 on the table. there is a possibility. Even in this case, according to the supply device of this example, the supply cylinder 38 is supported by the floating mechanism in the vertical direction, and the chamfering c is applied to the contact portion 39b. It can be inserted at the center position of the outer circumferential gap k, and the molten solder M1 can be filled while maintaining the dimensions of the gaps Gu and Gd.

In addition, when the guide part 39 moves along the outer periphery gap k, the molten solder M1 permeates between the contact part 39b and the main surfaces of the glass substrates w3 and w4 by a capillary phenomenon. The molten solder M1 is drawn from the iron part 39d and supplied to the contact area after the contact part 39b passes through while being in contact with the molten solder M1. However, when the length of the contact portion 39b is long, the molten solder M1 may not be supplied to all portions of the contact region. Therefore, it is preferable that the length of the contact portion 39b is short and the width of the joint portion n is small. It is preferably about 10 to 20%. Note that the upper and lower surfaces of the contact portion 39b are not limited to a flat plane as shown in FIG. 45, and may be a plane in which a groove is formed, or may be a curved surface.

As described above, the supply device of the fifth example is provided with the protrusion 39a constituting the contact portion 39b in the guide portion 39 in order to keep the gaps Gu and Gd between the iron portion 39d and the glass substrates w3 and w4 constant, and the protrusion 39a. In the supply cylinder 38. However, unlike the supply cylinder 45 shown in FIG. 49 (a), the protrusion 39a is not inserted into the supply cylinder 45, and the protrusion 39a is formed only on the part immediately coming out from the end surface of the supply cylinder 45, and the contact part 39b. can do. Further, as shown in the supply cylinder 46 of FIG. 49B, a protrusion 39a can be formed at the tip of the plate-like body 39c to form the contact portion 39b. Further, only a plate-like body 47a having the same thickness and having no protrusions can be used as in the supply cylinder 47 shown in FIG. 49 (c). This is because the variation in the thickness of the glass substrate and the guide deflection of the moving mechanism of the glass substrate are extremely small, such as for a small size glass substrate with a side of several to several tens of centimeters, and the gap fluctuates only to be negligible. It is good to apply to cases. In this case, the supply device may not necessarily support the supply cylinder with the floating mechanism.

Moreover, the guide part 39 should just be attached to the supply pipe | tube across the discharge port 38h, and is not limited to what is attached to the substantially central part of an up-down direction, It is attached in the position shifted | deviated to the upper direction or the downward direction suitably. May be. For example, if it is shifted downward, the amount of molten solder flowing in the direction of gravity from the gap between the discharge surface of the supply tube and the glass substrate can be reduced, and the molten solder from the discharge port can be reduced from the lower side of the guide portion. It can also be installed in a position that does not leak. In this case, the guide portion may be provided with appropriate through holes and through grooves so that the molten solder flows from the upper surface side to the lower surface side.

2, 8, 11: Molten

solder supply device

2a, 11d: Yarn solder supply means 3, 9: Heat melting means 3a, 9a, 10, 14, 17, 24, 23, 26a, 26c, 26e, 27, 32,

32b

33, 34, 35, 38:

Supply cylinders

4, 4a, 4d, 4f, 10i: Oxide removal section
2e, 8a: Moving means 8d: Holding means 11a: Mounting means 12: Molten solder supply means 13, 22: Molten solder supply part 15:

Support parts

16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22a, 22e, 22h, 22j 25, 28, 39: Guide portions M1, n1, n2: Molten solder W: Glass panels w1, w2, w3, w4: Glass substrate S, S1, S2: Main surface k of glass substrate k: Peripheral gap k
n, m: junction

Claims

A molten metal supply tube that melts and supplies a low-melting-point metal material in a solid phase, the molten-metal portion in which the low-melting-point metal material directly or indirectly abuts to generate a molten metal; and The first opening formed at one end and the second opening at the other end, and a substantially tubular flow passage through which the molten metal generated in the melting portion flows, and when the low melting point metal material is melted A molten metal supply tube, wherein the low melting point metal material from which the surface oxide has been previously removed in the oxide removing section is melted in the melting section.
The said oxide removal part is provided integrally with the said fusion | melting part, and when the said low melting metal material fuse | melts, it is comprised so that the oxide of the surface layer of the said low melting metal material may be removed. Molten metal supply cylinder.
3. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 2, wherein the first opening is opened to the oxide removing portion, and an area of the first opening is less than an area where the low melting point metal material contacts the melting portion.
4. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 2, wherein an oxide trap is provided around the first opening.
The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising an oxide discharge portion for discharging oxide from the periphery of the first opening.
2. The molten metal supply according to claim 1, wherein the oxide removing unit is provided as a separate body and configured to remove oxide on a surface layer of the low melting point metal material before melting the low melting point metal material. Tube.
The molten metal supply tube according to claim 6, wherein the oxide removing portion includes a blade portion for removing a surface layer of the low melting point metal material.
The molten metal supply tube according to claim 6, wherein the oxide removing unit includes a plasma irradiation means.
The molten metal supply tube according to claim 6, wherein the oxide removing unit includes shot blasting means.
The molten metal supply tube according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the flow passage is subjected to a treatment for improving wettability with the molten metal.
The molten metal supply tube according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the flow passage is subjected to an anti-corrosion treatment for the molten metal.
The molten metal supply tube according to claim 1, further comprising a guide portion that guides the molten metal generated in the melting portion and discharged from the second opening.
The molten metal supply tube according to claim 12, wherein the guide portion has a substantially flat plate shape.
The molten metal supply tube according to claim 12, wherein the guide portion has a substantially columnar shape or a substantially cylindrical shape.
The molten metal supply tube according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the guide portion has a tapered shape.
The molten metal supply tube according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein a guide groove for molten metal is formed in the guide portion.
The molten metal supply tube according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the guide portion is formed with an abutting surface that abuts on a surface to be supplied with molten metal.
13. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 12, wherein the molten metal is supplied to an outer peripheral gap between a pair of plate-like bodies whose main surfaces are arranged with a gap therebetween, wherein the guide portion is one plate-like body. And a second plane opposing the main surface of the other plate-like body via a second gap and an outer periphery of the pair of plate-like bodies. A iron part configured to be insertable into the gap, a first contact part that protrudes from a first flat surface of the iron part and can contact a main surface of one plate-like body and / or a second part of the iron part A molten metal supply cylinder having a second contact portion that protrudes from a flat surface and can contact the main surface of the other plate-like body.
When the guide portion is inserted into the outer circumferential gap, the first contact portion contacts the main surface of one plate-like body, and the second contact portion contacts the main surface of the other plate-like body. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 18 configured as described above.
19. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 18, wherein the contact surface of the contact portion with the main surface of the plate-like body is subjected to a treatment for improving slidability with the plate-like body.
19. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 18, wherein a concave portion is formed in the contact portion along an insertion direction into an outer peripheral gap of the guide portion.
19. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 18, wherein the contact portion is disposed on a rear end side in an insertion direction of the guide portion into an outer peripheral gap.
19. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 18, wherein the contact portion is disposed on a distal end side in an insertion direction of the guide portion into an outer circumferential gap.
19. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 18, wherein the contact portion has elasticity capable of bending in a thickness direction of the outer peripheral gap.
13. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 12, wherein the molten metal is supplied to an outer peripheral gap between a pair of plate-like bodies whose main surfaces are arranged with a gap therebetween, and the guide portion crosses the second opening. The amount of molten metal discharged from the lower discharge port is discharged from the upper discharge port in the second opening divided into the upper discharge port and the lower discharge port by the guide portion. A molten metal supply tube characterized by being less than the amount of molten metal.
The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 25, wherein an area of the lower discharge port is smaller than an area of the upper discharge port.
The guide portion is inserted into the flow channel at a predetermined depth from the second opening, and in the flow channel divided into the upper flow channel and the lower flow channel by the guide portion, the volume of the lower flow channel is the upper flow channel. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 25, which is smaller than the volume of the molten metal.
26. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 25, wherein the guide portion is inserted into the flow passage while being offset downward from the center of the second opening.
The guide portion is inserted into the flow passage across the vicinity of the center of the second opening, and the area of the lower discharge port is set to the upper discharge port on the discharge port forming surface below the guide portion of the flow passage. 26. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 25, wherein a dam plate is provided so as to be smaller than the area of the molten metal.
The guide portion is inserted into the flow passage across the vicinity of the center of the second opening, and a weir member that makes the volume of the lower flow path smaller than the volume of the upper flow path is provided below the flow passage. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 25, wherein the molten metal supply tube is formed in the flow path.
13. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 12, wherein the molten metal is supplied to an outer peripheral gap of a pair of plate-like bodies whose main surfaces are arranged via a gap, wherein the guide portion is a lower part of the second opening. Alternatively, the molten metal supply tube is attached below the second opening, and the molten metal discharged from the second opening flows out from the upper surface of the guide portion.
32. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 31, wherein a penetrating portion for guiding the molten metal from the upper surface to the lower surface side is formed at a tip portion of the guide portion.
32. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 31, wherein the guide portion has an inclined portion that is continuous with the distal end portion, and the distal end portion and the inclined portion are bent at an obtuse angle or a right angle.
32. The guide portion has an inclined portion connected to the distal end portion and a proximal end portion connected to the inclined portion, and the distal end portion and the proximal end portion have a parallel or obtuse angle, and have a stepped shape in which two portions are bent. A molten metal supply cylinder as described in 1.
The lower portion including the flow passage has a notch surface that is notched in the axial direction by a predetermined length from the second opening side, and the guide portion is attached with the upper surface in contact with the notch surface. 32. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 31, wherein a member for sealing the gap is attached when the flow passage is exposed on the lower surface side of the guide portion.
32. A flat surface portion where the flow passage is not exposed in a lower portion within a predetermined length in the axial direction from the second opening side, and the guide portion is attached with an upper surface in contact with the flat surface portion. A molten metal supply cylinder as described in 1.
32. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 31, wherein the pair of plate-like bodies are arranged up and down such that an edge of a lower plate member protrudes beyond an edge of an upper plate member.
13. The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 12, wherein the molten metal is supplied to an outer peripheral gap of a pair of plate-like bodies whose main surfaces are arranged with a gap therebetween, wherein the guide portion includes the guide portion. A molten metal supply tube, wherein a cutout portion is formed at a distal end portion of a side portion facing the moving direction.
39. The molten metal supply tube according to claim 38, wherein the notch has an inclined surface directed rearward with respect to the moving direction of the guide.
The notch has an inclined surface facing backward with respect to the moving direction of the guide portion, and a surface substantially parallel to the moving direction of the guide portion smoothly connected to the inclined surface. Item 39. A molten metal supply tube according to Item 38.
The notch has an inclined surface facing rearward with respect to the moving direction of the guide portion, and a surface substantially orthogonal to the moving direction of the guide portion smoothly connected to the inclined surface. Item 39. A molten metal supply tube according to Item 38.
The molten metal supply cylinder according to claim 38, wherein the notch is formed by a straight line, a curved line, or a combination thereof.
The molten metal supply tube according to any one of claims 12 to 42, wherein a surface of the guide portion in contact with the molten metal is subjected to a treatment for increasing wettability with the molten metal.
A molten metal supply apparatus comprising the molten metal supply tube according to any one of claims 1 to 43.
45. The molten metal supply apparatus according to claim 44, wherein the supply cylinder is supported indirectly or directly by a floating mechanism.
A molten metal supply apparatus in which the molten metal supply cylinder according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is incorporated, wherein a pair of plate-like bodies are arranged in a state where a predetermined gap is formed. And a supply cylinder positioning means for positioning the supply cylinder in a state where the second opening is substantially connected to the gap.
44. A molten metal supply apparatus in which the molten metal supply cylinder according to any one of claims 12 to 43 is incorporated, wherein a pair of plate-like bodies are arranged in a state where a predetermined gap is formed. And a supply cylinder positioning means for inserting the guide portion into a gap formed between the pair of plate-like bodies.
48. The molten metal supply device according to claim 46, wherein the second opening has a diameter exceeding a thickness of the outer peripheral gap.
48. The molten metal supply apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the second opening has a diameter equal to or less than a thickness of the outer peripheral gap.
48. The molten metal supply apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the guide portion is indirectly or directly supported by a floating mechanism.
51. The molten metal supply device according to claim 50, wherein the floating mechanism restrains the movement of the guide portion in a plane parallel to the gap formed by the pair of plate-like bodies.
48. The molten metal supply device according to claim 46, further comprising an ultrasonic wave application unit that applies ultrasonic waves to an interface between the molten metal and the plate-like body.
A method for supplying molten metal by a molten metal supply cylinder according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein a pair of plate-like bodies are arranged in a state where a predetermined gap is formed, And a molten metal supply step of positioning the supply tube in a state in which the second opening is substantially connected to the gap, and a molten metal supply step of supplying molten metal to the gap through the second opening. Supply method.
A method for supplying molten metal by a molten metal supply cylinder according to any one of claims 12 to 43, wherein a pair of plate-like bodies are arranged in a state in which a predetermined gap is formed; And a supply cylinder positioning step for inserting the guide portion into a gap formed between the pair of plate-like bodies, and a molten metal supply step for supplying molten metal to the gap through the second opening. Method for supplying molten metal.
55. The molten metal supply method according to claim 53 or 54, wherein in the molten metal supply step, an ultrasonic wave is applied to an interface between the molten metal and the plate-like body.