JP2007008644A - Plate workpiece transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

When a workpiece is transferred and transferred by a plurality of transfer devices, the transfer is preferably performed, and stable floating transfer is realized.
In a transport device, a plurality of circular recesses 15 having a circular shape in a plan view are formed on an upper surface of a floating table 12, and a plurality of porous plates having a disk shape are formed in the circular recesses. Each 19 is fixed. A conveyance rail 21 is provided on the side of the floating table 12 along the workpiece conveyance direction. In this case, the workpiece support position by the transport rail 21 is set higher than the upper surface of the floating table 12 by a predetermined dimension, and the workpiece W is formed in a substantially bow shape that protrudes downward when the gas is ejected by the porous plate 19, and the connecting portion is floated. In the table 12, the gas pressure of the porous body 19 is set higher than the others.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a plate-like workpiece transfer device for transferring a flat thin plate-like workpiece such as a liquid crystal glass or a thin large substrate in a non-contact state.

  In the manufacturing process of liquid crystal glass and thin large substrate, a non-contact type conveying device is used to convey the work such as liquid crystal glass and thin large substrate. This non-contact type conveying device is configured by using a plurality of porous bodies having a large number of micropores, and workpieces can be obtained by jetting pressurized gas from the surface of each porous body at the same time. The workpiece was lifted and the workpiece was transported in the floating state. As such a transport device, for example, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 are known.

  A schematic configuration of such a conveying apparatus is shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the conveying device 30. The workpiece W is conveyed with one side facing upward. The transport device 30 includes a floating table 31 having a flat upper surface, and a plurality of porous plates 32 are installed on the floating table 31. Pressurized gas is supplied to each porous plate 32 through a gas passage (not shown) provided in the floating table 31, and the workpiece W is floated by the pressurized gas ejected from the surface. As a means for conveying the workpiece W in a predetermined conveying direction, for example, a conveyor is provided on both sides of the floating table 31, and a conveying roller is installed on the conveyor, and the workpiece is placed on the conveying roller in a horizontal state. I was trying to move it in the direction.

  By the way, in a manufacturing factory for liquid crystal glass or the like, the workpieces W are transported in the factory in a predetermined order, and the workpieces W are transported while transiting a plurality of transporting devices 30 at that time. In this case, if there are gaps between the plurality of transfer apparatuses 30, the workpiece W is transferred so as to get over the gaps between the transfer apparatuses.

When the workpiece W is transferred between the transfer devices in this way, the lift force due to the pressurized gas temporarily does not act at the time of the transfer, and as shown in FIG. Do (hang down). For this reason, there is a concern that the tip of the workpiece W may come into contact with the transfer device at the transfer destination. The above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not focus on such a problem related to the connection between devices, and a countermeasure is desired.
JP 2001-85496 A JP 2004-244186 A

  The present invention has a main object to provide a plate-like workpiece transfer device capable of suitably performing transfer when a workpiece is transferred by a plurality of transfer devices, and thus realizing stable floating transfer. To do.

  Hereinafter, effective means for solving the above-described problems will be described while showing effects and the like as necessary. In the following, in order to facilitate understanding, a corresponding configuration example in the embodiment of the invention is appropriately shown in parentheses, etc., but is not limited to the specific configuration shown in parentheses.

Means 1. In a plate-shaped workpiece transfer device that transfers a plane thin plate-shaped workpiece (work W) in a levitated state,
A floating table (floating table 12) which has a horizontal surface facing the workpiece;
A plurality of porous bodies (porous plate 19) that are provided on the upper surface of the floating table and eject gas from the surface;
A conveyance rail member (conveyance rail 21) provided along the workpiece conveyance direction on the side of the floating table,
In the floating table, the support position of the workpiece by the transport rail member is set higher than the upper surface of the floating table by a predetermined dimension so that the workpiece protrudes downward when gas is ejected by the porous body. It is configured to increase the gas ejection amount of the porous body at the start or end of the workpiece conveyance more than the other, or to increase the gas pressure of the porous body at the same position than the others. Plate workpiece transfer device.

  According to the conveying device of the means 1, a plurality of porous bodies are provided on the upper surface of the floating table, and gas is ejected upward from the porous bodies. As a result, the planar thin plate-like workpiece is held in a floating state on the floating table. Further, the work is transported in a predetermined direction by the transport rail member. In such a transport apparatus, assuming that a work is transported by a plurality of transport apparatuses so as to get over the gaps between the apparatuses, the tip of the work hangs down due to its own weight, which hinders connection transfer between the transport apparatuses.

  As a countermeasure, in this transport device, the work support position by the transport rail member is set higher than the upper surface of the floating table by a predetermined dimension, and the work is made to have a substantially bow shape that protrudes downward when gas is ejected from the porous body. The gas ejection amount of the porous body is made larger than the others or the gas pressure is made larger than the others at the start or end of the workpiece conveyance on the table. In this case, since the workpiece is bent and deformed (bow-like deformation) in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, the deformation in the workpiece conveyance direction (sag of the tip of the workpiece) is suppressed by the shape effect. In addition, since the floating amount of the workpiece is larger than the others at the start end portion or the end portion of the floating table, the drooping of the workpiece is suppressed. As described above, when the workpiece is transferred by a plurality of transfer devices, the transfer is suitably performed, and thus stable floating transfer can be realized.

  At this time, it is preferable to change the gas ejection amount or the gas pressure of the porous body at the site that is the start or end of the workpiece conveyance in the floating table in accordance with the gap size (transfer distance) between the conveyance devices. For example, when the gap size (transfer distance) between the transfer devices is large, the gas ejection amount may be increased or the gas pressure may be increased as compared with the case where the gap is small.

  Mean 2. Means 1 is characterized in that in a state where the work is levitated by gas ejection from the porous body, the work is formed with a raised portion at an intermediate portion in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The plate-shaped workpiece conveyance apparatus as described.

  According to the means 2, in a state where the work is levitated by the gas ejection from the porous body, the work is formed with a raised portion at an intermediate portion in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. That is, in the case where both ends of the work are lifted and supported by the transport rail member, if gas is blown out and supplied to the lower part of the work, the gas is collected and a part of the work is raised. For example, when the workpiece basically has a substantially arcuate shape that protrudes downward and rises at an intermediate portion, the workpiece becomes W-shaped in a direction orthogonal to the workpiece conveyance direction. In this case, the bending deformation in the workpiece conveyance direction is more reliably suppressed, and the workpiece transfer between the plurality of conveyance devices is more preferable.

  At this time, in order to form a raised portion in the intermediate portion of the work, it is necessary to consider the work size and the support height by the transport rail members at both ends of the work.

  Means 3. 3. The means 1 or 2, wherein the work is brought into contact with the floating table when the gas is not ejected from the porous body, and the work is floated from the floating table as the gas is ejected. Plate-shaped workpiece transfer device.

  According to the means 3, the work which has been in contact with the floating table until then rises by ejecting the gas from the porous plate and applying the gas to the lower surface of the work. At this time, sagging of the tip of the work is suppressed as described above, because the work has a substantially bow shape that protrudes downward.

  Means 4. The levitation table is composed of a levitation table for other than the part that is the start or end of workpiece conveyance (standard levitation table 12A) and a levitation table for the part that is the beginning or end of workpiece conveyance (floating table 12B for connection). The plate workpiece transfer device according to any one of means 1 to 3, wherein the gas ejection conditions are different for each of the floating tables.

  According to the means 4, the specifications and the like of the floating table are different between the part (transfer part) that is the start or end of the workpiece conveyance and the other part (conveyance part). The ejection conditions are different. In this case, since the gas ejection conditions are changed in units of the floating table, when the gas ejection conditions are individually set, the setting can be easily performed.

  Means 5. Among the plurality of porous bodies, a porous body at a part that is a start end or a terminal end of work conveyance in the floating table is characterized in that a porosity or a pore diameter is larger than a porous body at another part. The plate-shaped workpiece conveyance apparatus according to any one of means 1 to 4.

  According to the means 5, the porosity or the pore diameter of the porous body is different between the part (transfer part) serving as the start or end of the workpiece conveyance and the other part (conveyance part). The rate or pore diameter is large. Thereby, the gas ejection amount of the porous body can be increased more than the others at the connecting portion, and the connecting can be suitably performed.

  In addition, by increasing the area of the gas ejection surface of the porous body, it is also possible to increase the amount of gas ejection of the porous body at the connecting portion.

  Means 6. Among the plurality of porous bodies, a relatively high pressure gas is supplied by a compressor device to a porous body at a part that is a start end or a terminal end of work conveyance in the floating table, and a blower is used for other porous bodies. 6. The plate-like workpiece transfer apparatus according to any one of means 1 to 5, wherein a relatively low-pressure gas is supplied.

  According to the means 6, the low pressure gas from the blower is supplied to the transfer portion of the floating table, and the work is transferred. Moreover, the high-pressure gas by the compressor device is supplied only to the connecting portion. In this case, energy efficient conveyance can be realized.

  Mean 7 7. The plate-like workpiece conveyance device according to any one of means 1 to 6, further comprising a height adjustment mechanism that enables adjustment of a height position of the conveyance rail member.

  According to the means 7, since the height position of the conveyance rail member can be adjusted, the workpiece can be conveyed in an optimum state each time. At this time, even when the type or size of the work that is the transferred object is changed, it can be suitably dealt with.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The conveyance device of the present embodiment supports a flat thin plate-like workpiece such as a liquid crystal glass or a thin large substrate with its one side facing upward (supported in a non-contact manner) from the base surface, and a predetermined conveyance. It is an apparatus for conveying in the direction. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of a transfer apparatus 10 in the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. The horizontal direction in FIG. 1 is the conveyance direction of the workpiece W, and the workpiece W is conveyed from the left to the right in the drawing (the left side is the starting end of the workpiece conveyance and the right side is the conveyance device 10). End).

  In a manufacturing plant for liquid crystal glass and the like, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of transfer devices 10 are installed along the work transfer path, and the work W is sequentially transferred so as to be connected to each transfer device 10. The The transport device 10 can transport, for example, a workpiece W having a so-called G6 size (width 1500 mm × length 1800 mm). Each transport device 10 is installed at a predetermined interval, and a gap dimension D1 between the devices is, for example, about 200 mm.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transfer device 10 includes a device body 11 that faces the workpiece W. The apparatus main body 11 includes a floating table 12 divided into a plurality of parts and a base 13 on which the plurality of floating tables 12 are mounted in a state where they are joined on the same horizontal plane. In the configuration shown in the drawing, five floating tables 12 are provided in parallel along the conveyance direction of the workpiece W, and the right end portion (the transfer end portion, which is the conveyance end portion) in the drawing has a direction 1 perpendicular to the conveyance direction. Two floating tables 12 are provided. In the following description, for convenience, the five floating tables 12 provided in the direction along the conveying direction are referred to as “standard floating table 12A”, and the floating table 12 provided in the connecting portion is also referred to as “transfer floating table 12B”. To do.

  In the configuration of FIG. 1, the connection floating table 12 </ b> B is provided only at the right end of the apparatus main body 11, but the connection floating table 12 </ b> B may be provided at both the left and right ends.

  Each floating table 12 is made of a long aluminum member, and a plurality of circular recesses 15 having a circular shape in a plan view are formed on an upper surface which is a flat horizontal surface. Each circular recess 15 has the same diameter and the same depth. In each floating table 12, a passage 16 is formed on the back side of the circular recess 15, and a groove recess 17 is formed on the bottom surface side of the floating table 12 over almost the entire area. The groove recess 17 forms a gas chamber 18 for taking in pressurized gas from a gas supply source (not shown). When the pressurized gas is supplied to the gas chamber 18, the pressurized gas is distributed and supplied to each passage 16.

  A plurality of porous plates 19 each having a disk shape are fixed to the circular recess 15 of the floating table 12. The thickness dimension of the porous plate 19 is the same as the depth dimension of the circular recess 15. Therefore, in a state where the porous plate 19 is fixed to the circular recess 15, the upper surface of the floating table 12 and the upper surface of the porous plate 19 are Is the same. The porous plate 19 can be made of a metal material such as sintered aluminum, sintered copper, or sintered stainless steel, but other than that, a sintered trifluoride resin, a sintered tetrafluoride resin, It can also be composed of synthetic resin materials such as sintered nylon resin and sintered polyacetal resin, sintered carbon, sintered ceramics and the like.

  In addition, it is also possible to provide the porous plate in a state of protruding upward from the upper surface of the floating table 12. In this case, when a sealing layer is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the porous plate and pressurized gas (pressurized air) is supplied to the porous plate, the pressurized gas does not leak from the outer peripheral surface of the porous plate. It is good to make it. The seal layer is formed by applying or injecting synthetic resin to the outer peripheral surface.

  The porous plate 19 and its accommodating portion are not limited to a circular shape (perfect circle shape) in a plan view, and any shape such as an elliptical shape or a polygonal shape such as a quadrangle can be selected. it can. However, it is preferable that both shapes are common to each other. In addition, the porous plate 19 is not directly fixed to the floating table 12, but the porous plate is mounted on a porous support (porous plate holder) to form a porous unit, and the porous unit is attached to the floating table. The structure which adheres to 12 may be sufficient.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the gas ejection conditions of the standard levitation table 12A and the transit levitation table 12B are different. That is, in the connection floating table 12B, the workpiece floating amount accompanying the gas ejection is larger than that of the standard floating table 12A. As a configuration for that purpose, a gas supply system is provided separately for the standard levitation table 12A and the connection levitation table 12B, and a relatively high pressure gas is supplied to the gas chamber 18 of the connection levitation table 12B. As a result, the gas pressure ejected from the porous plate 19 on the connection floating table 12B side is larger than the gas pressure ejected from the porous plate 19 on the standard floating table 12A side. In this case, blower air (low pressure air) is supplied from the blower to the standard levitation table 12A, and pressurized air (high pressure air) is supplied from the compressor device to the connection levitation table 12B.

  The pressure of the jet gas at the connecting floating table 12B may be set as appropriate in accordance with the gap size (transfer distance) between the transfer devices 10. For example, when the gap size (transfer distance) between the transfer apparatuses 10 is large, the gas pressure may be increased as compared with the case where the gap is small.

  As a configuration for increasing the workpiece flying height, in addition to or in place of increasing the pressure of the jet gas at the connecting floating table 12B, the gas jetting surface of the porous plate 19 in the connecting floating table 12B is also used. The area may be increased, the installation density of the porous plate 19 may be increased, the porosity or the pore diameter of the porous plate 19 may be increased (reducing the porous resistance), etc.

  Moreover, the conveyance rail 21 is provided in the both sides of the apparatus main body 11 (floating table 12) along the conveyance direction of the workpiece | work W. As shown in FIG. The transport rail 21 is provided with a number of rollers (not shown), and the work W is transferred along with the rotation of the rollers while both ends of the work W are placed on the rollers. ing. In this case, as shown in the explanatory view of FIG. 4, the work support point by the transport rail 21 is set to a position higher than the upper surface (gas ejection surface) of the floating table 12 by a predetermined dimension D2, and from the porous plate 19 In a state where the pressurized gas is not ejected, both ends of the work W are supported in a state of being placed on the transport rail 21, and most other parts including the central part of the work W are on the upper surface (gas ejection surface) of the floating table 12. Contact. That is, the workpiece W is bent in a bow shape that is convex downward.

  In the present embodiment, the workpiece size is 1500 mm wide × 1000 mm long × 1.0 mm thick. In the case of such a workpiece size, the dimension D2 is, for example, about 15 to 20 mm. However, the dimension D2 differs depending on the size (area) of the workpiece W.

  In the transfer device 10 having the above-described configuration, pressurized gas is supplied to the gas chamber 18 of the floating table 12 when the workpiece W is floated and conveyed. As a result, pressurized gas is ejected from the surface of the porous plate 19 and the workpiece W rises. And the workpiece | work W is conveyed in the floating state. At this time, in a direction orthogonal to the workpiece conveyance direction, the workpiece W floats in a substantially bow shape that protrudes downward. Specifically, on the lower surface side of the workpiece W, since the pressurized gas can be accumulated near the center portion, the vicinity of the center portion of the workpiece W rises as shown in FIG. It becomes a shape. In this case, since the workpiece W is bent and deformed (bow-like deformation) in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, the deformation of the workpiece W in the workpiece conveyance direction (sag at the tip of the workpiece) is suppressed by the shape effect.

  Further, in the connecting floating table 12B, the pressure of the jet gas is larger than that of the standard floating table 12A, and the workpiece floating amount is increased accordingly. Therefore, the workpiece tip is lifted as shown in FIG. Is suppressed. Therefore, when the workpiece W is transferred between the transfer devices 10, the conventional inconvenience (see FIG. 8) that the tip of the workpiece hangs down due to its own weight and the workpiece tip comes into contact with the transfer device at the transfer destination is eliminated. The

  According to the present embodiment described in detail above, when the workpiece W is transferred and transferred by the plurality of transfer apparatuses 10, the transfer is preferably performed, and stable floating transfer can be realized.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the content of description of the said embodiment, For example, you may implement as follows.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vicinity of the central portion of the workpiece W is raised when the workpiece is conveyed, and the entire workpiece is configured to have a gentle W (double) shape (see FIG. 5), but this is changed. For example, a configuration that eliminates the rising of the center portion of the workpiece may be used. Also in this case, the above-described effect can be obtained by forming the workpiece W as a whole in a downwardly convex bow shape. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which provides the work W with two or more rising parts. Each of these forms can be adjusted by the work support position (support height) of the conveyance rail 21 with respect to the upper surface of the floating table 12 and the flow rate (or pressure) of the gas ejected from the porous plate 19.

  It is good also as a structure which provides the height adjustment mechanism in which the height position of the conveyance rail 21 is adjustable. As the height adjusting mechanism, a manual type, an electric type or the like can be considered. In this case, by adjusting the height position of the transport rail 21, the work can be transported in an optimum state each time. Even when the type or size of the workpiece W that is the object to be conveyed is changed, it is possible to cope with it appropriately.

It is a top view which shows the outline of the conveying apparatus in embodiment of invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the installation layout of a some conveying apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state before floating of a workpiece | work. It is explanatory drawing which shows the floating conveyance state of a workpiece | work. It is explanatory drawing which shows the floating conveyance state of a workpiece | work. It is a top view which shows the conveying apparatus in a prior art. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Conveying device, 12 ... Floating table, 12A ... Standard floating table, 12B ... Floating table for transfer, 19 ... Porous board, 21 ... Conveying rail, W ... Workpiece.

Claims (7)

In a plate-shaped workpiece transfer device that transfers a planar thin plate-shaped workpiece in a levitated state,
A floating table whose upper surface is a horizontal surface and faces the workpiece;
A plurality of porous bodies provided on the upper surface of the levitation table to eject gas from the surface;
A conveyance rail member provided along a workpiece conveyance direction at a side of the floating table, and
In the floating table, the support position of the workpiece by the transport rail member is set higher than the upper surface of the floating table by a predetermined dimension so that the workpiece protrudes downward when gas is ejected by the porous body. It is configured to increase the gas ejection amount of the porous body at the start or end of the workpiece conveyance more than the other, or to increase the gas pressure of the porous body at the same position than the others. Plate workpiece transfer device.   2. A raised portion is formed at an intermediate portion in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the workpiece in a state where the workpiece is floated by gas ejection from the porous body. The plate-shaped workpiece conveyance device described in 1.   The structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the workpiece is brought into contact with the floating table when the gas is not ejected from the porous body, and the workpiece is floated from the floating table as the gas is ejected. The plate-shaped workpiece conveyance apparatus as described.   The levitation table is composed of a levitation table for a portion other than the part that is the start or end of the workpiece conveyance, and a levitation table for the part that is the beginning or the end of the workpiece conveyance, and the gas ejection conditions are different in each of the levitation tables The plate-shaped workpiece conveyance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conveyance device is a plate-like workpiece.   Among the plurality of porous bodies, a porous body at a part that is a start end or a terminal end of work conveyance in the floating table is characterized in that a porosity or a pore diameter is larger than a porous body at another part. The plate-shaped workpiece conveyance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   Among the plurality of porous bodies, a relatively high pressure gas is supplied by a compressor device to a porous body at a part that is a start end or a terminal end of work conveyance in the floating table, and a blower is used for other porous bodies. 6. The plate-like workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a relatively low-pressure gas is supplied.   7. A plate-shaped workpiece conveyance device according to claim 1, further comprising a height adjustment mechanism that enables adjustment of a height position of the conveyance rail member.

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