JP5776940B2 - Glass plate edge inspection equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for improving a glass plate edge inspection apparatus.

  As is well known, various glass plates such as liquid crystal displays and glass substrates for flat panel displays (FPD) such as organic EL displays have harmful defects that can cause damage at the end of the manufacturing process. It is customary to check for the presence.

  As an edge inspection device for a glass plate used for this type of inspection, the edge of the glass plate is imaged by an imaging means such as a camera, and the presence or absence of defects at the edge of the glass plate is inspected based on the image data. Many are used (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In addition, some types of glass plate edge inspection devices perform edge inspection while conveying a glass plate in a predetermined direction. In this case, an image pickup means is disposed at a fixed position in the conveyance path, and the glass is inspected. It is common to pass the end of the plate.

JP-A-6-258231 JP 2005-156254 A

  By the way, in order to image the edge part of a glass plate on the conveyance path | route, the non-support space for an inspection (henceforth inspection space) which does not support a glass plate may be formed. In recent years, glass plates of various sizes have been manufactured to meet various needs, and it is required to inspect glass plates of different sizes with one end inspection device. And in order to cope with this request | requirement, even if the magnitude | size of a glass plate differs, it is necessary to protrude the edge part of a glass plate in test | inspection space.

  However, if the size of the inspection space of the conveying means is set in accordance with a relatively small glass plate, the widthwise dimension of the protruding portion Ga at the end of the relatively large glass plate G as shown in FIG. Becomes too big. For this reason, the protrusion part Ga hangs down in the inspection space 101, and the problem that an exact edge part inspection cannot be performed arises.

  Further, when the protruding portion Ga of the glass plate G hanging down passes through the inspection space 101 and again approaches the conveying means 100, there is a risk that the protruding portion Ga may come into contact with the side wall of the conveying means 100 that partitions the inspection space 101 and break. There is also.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a glass plate end surface inspection device capable of performing an accurate end inspection without causing damage to the end portion even if the glass plates have different sizes. As an objective.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a conveying means for conveying a glass plate while supporting the glass plate from below, and an imaging means for imaging an end portion of the glass plate in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying means. In the glass plate end inspection apparatus comprising: a main support portion having an inspection space at a position corresponding to the imaging means as an inspection stage, and an auxiliary support of the glass plate in the inspection space And an auxiliary support portion that moves between a support position that is retracted and a retracted position that is retracted from the support position.

  According to such a configuration, in the case of a relatively small glass plate, the auxiliary support portion is moved to the retracted position, and the glass plate is supported only by the main support portion. Can move the auxiliary support portion to the support position and support the glass plate with the main support portion and the auxiliary support portion. For this reason, even if the magnitude | size of a glass plate is changed, it becomes possible to keep appropriately the magnitude | size of the protrusion part formed in the edge part of the glass plate in an inspection space by an auxiliary | assistant support part. Therefore, the problem that the protruding part of the glass plate hangs down in the inspection space can be solved. As a result, it is possible to improve the inspection accuracy of the end portion of the glass plate and reliably reduce the situation where the end portion of the glass plate is in contact with the conveying means and is damaged.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said imaging means is comprised so that it may move to the said width direction according to the said movement operation | movement of the said auxiliary | assistant support part.

  That is, when the size of the glass plate is changed, the position of the end of the glass plate also varies in the width direction. Therefore, it is necessary to move the imaging means in the width direction in accordance with the movement of the auxiliary support portion. It is also preferable for stabilizing.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said main support part and the said auxiliary | assistant support part are comprised so that a fluid may be ejected and a glass plate may be supported. The levitation support includes not only the case where the glass plate and the support portion are completely separated from each other, but also the case where the glass plate and the support portion are partially in contact (hereinafter the same).

  If it does in this way, when moving a glass plate, the resistance between a glass plate and a conveyance means will become small, and it will become possible to move a glass plate smoothly. In addition, even if the glass plate is thinned, there is an advantage that the posture of the glass plate can be stabilized more easily than when the glass plate is conveyed by a roller or the like. For this reason, it can contribute to the high precision of the end surface inspection of a glass plate.

  Said structure WHEREIN: The said conveyance means may be provided with the movement support part which adsorbs and supports the said glass plate supported by floating and moves along the said conveyance direction.

  If it does in this way, the glass plate supported by levitating can be conveyed at high speed with the movement of a movement support part. Therefore, the speed of the end surface inspection of the glass plate can be increased.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said auxiliary | assistant support part is divided | segmented into plurality in the said width direction.

  In this way, the support area of the end portion of the glass plate in the inspection space can be finely changed by moving each divided auxiliary support portion between the retracted position and the support position. Therefore, it becomes possible to cope with the end face inspection of glass plates having a larger size.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said main support part is divided | segmented into plurality in the said width direction.

  If it does in this way, it will become possible to respond to end face inspection of a glass plate of still more size by adjusting the interval of the width direction of each divided main support part.

  In the above configuration, the transport unit reverses the transport direction by 90 degrees to at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the inspection stage, and the direction of any one side of the glass plate with respect to the transport direction is 90 degrees. You may provide the direction change part to change.

  If it does in this way, the relative direction of the glass plate with respect to a conveyance means will change 90 degree | times before and behind a direction change part. For this reason, for example, in the case where the direction changing portion is provided on the upstream side of the inspection stage, the end inspection of the entire circumference of the glass plate can be performed by providing another inspection stage on the upstream side of the direction changing portion. It becomes possible.

  In the above configuration, a plurality of the inspection stages may be arranged in parallel in the width direction.

  If it does in this way, end part inspection of a plurality of glass plates can be carried out simultaneously, and it becomes possible to aim at improvement of inspection efficiency.

  As described above, according to the present invention, an appropriate support mode according to the size of the glass plate is realized by the main support portion and the auxiliary support portion. It is possible to perform an accurate end inspection without causing damage to the portion.

It is a perspective view which shows the edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state which has a movement support part in a forward movement start position. It is a perspective view which shows the movement support part of the edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate of this embodiment, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state which has a movement support part in a backward movement start position. (A)-(d) is a figure for demonstrating the conveyance procedure of the glass plate by the edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state in which the auxiliary | assistant support part of the edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate of this embodiment is located in a support position. It is a figure which shows the state in which the auxiliary | assistant support part of the edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate of this embodiment is located in a retracted position. It is a principal part enlarged view of the edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the subject of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a glass plate end inspection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The end inspection apparatus includes a transport unit 1, and the transport unit 1 transports the glass sheet G supplied from the upstream stage S1 toward the downstream stage S3, while both stages S1 and S3. The end of the glass plate G is inspected at the inspection stage S2 between the two. In the drawing, imaging means for inspecting the end of the glass plate G is omitted.

  The plate | board thickness of the glass plate G is 0.7 mm or less, for example, Preferably it is 0.5 mm or less. This is because, when the thickness is reduced to such a plate thickness, the sagging of the glass plate G tends to be a problem, and the advantages of the present embodiment can be exhibited to the maximum extent. Moreover, as for the magnitude | size of the glass plate G, 1 side is about 1m-2m, for example.

  In this embodiment, the transport means 1 includes a main support portion 2, an auxiliary support portion 3, and a movement support portion 4.

  The main support portion 2 jets a gas (for example, air) from below to mainly support the glass plate G so as to float and support the glass plate G in the conveying direction (arrow direction in the figure). An inspection space 5 for imaging both ends of the glass plate G in the orthogonal width direction is provided. In this embodiment, the main support portion 2 is divided into a plurality of portions in the width direction, and the divided main support portions 2 are arranged in parallel at intervals in the width direction. In addition, the main support part 2 may comprise the single plane which supports the back surface of the glass plate G, without being divided | segmented. Moreover, the main support part 2 may inject a liquid (for example, water etc.) or a gas and a liquid.

  Auxiliary support portion 3, in the inspection space 5 provided in the main support portion 2, jets a gas (e.g., air) from the lower side of the glass plate G to support the glass plate G in an auxiliary manner; It is possible to move between the retracted positions retracted downward from the support position. In FIG. 1, a state in which the auxiliary support portion 3 is located at the support position is illustrated. Moreover, the auxiliary | assistant support part 3 may inject a liquid (for example, water etc.) or a gas and a liquid.

  The moving support unit 4 is configured to adsorb and support the central portion in the width direction of the glass plate G that is levitated and supported by the main support unit 2 and the auxiliary support unit 3 from below and move in the transport direction. Specifically, the moving support portion 4 is a long body extending in the transport direction, and is disposed between two main support portions 2 adjacent to each other in the vicinity of the center portion of the glass plate G. Moreover, the movement support part 4 is longer than two sheets of the conveyance direction dimension of the glass plate G, and the full length in the conveyance direction of the glass plate G is supported. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the movement support unit 4 reciprocates between the upstream stage S1 and the downstream stage S3. In other words, the movement support unit 4 takes a state of being arranged between the upstream stage S1 and the inspection stage S2 as shown in FIG. 1 at the forward movement start position, and at the backward movement start position, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the state is arranged between the inspection stage S2 and the downstream stage S3.

  Next, the operation of the glass plate end inspection apparatus configured as described above will be described.

  First, as shown to Fig.3 (a), the glass plate G is supplied sequentially to the upstream stage S1, and the movement support part 4 adsorbs and supports this glass plate G from the downward direction. In this state, the moving support unit 4 moves in the transport direction, and the glass plate G is supported by being floated by the main support unit 2. In the case of a relatively large glass plate G, as shown in the drawing, the auxiliary support portion 3 is kept at the support position in the inspection space 5 and a part of both end portions in the width direction of the glass plate G is auxiliary supported. While levitationally supporting by the part 3, the both ends in the width direction of the glass plate G are inspected by an imaging means (not shown).

  When the movement support unit 4 moves in the transport direction and the movement support unit 4 moves to the position shown in FIG. 4B, the suction by the movement support unit 4 is once released. At this time, the glass plate G passes through the inspection space 5 and is supported only by the main support portion 2 located on the downstream side of the inspection space 5. In other words, the inspection over the entire length of both end portions of the glass sheet G is completed in the process in which the movement support portion 4 moves from the forward movement start position to the backward movement start position. Thereafter, the moving support unit 4 moves to the position shown in FIG. 3C in the direction opposite to the transport direction, and again sucks and supports the glass plate G that is levitated and supported by the inspection stage S2. And the movement support part 4 moves again to the position shown to the figure (d), and conveys the glass plate G on the test | inspection stage S2 to the downstream stage S3. The glass plate G transported to the downstream stage S3 is transported to a subsequent process outside the figure. Thereafter, the operations shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D are repeated, and the glass plate G is sequentially conveyed from the upstream stage S1, the inspection stage S2, and the downstream stage S3. In addition, you may perform such an operation | movement, carrying out the suction support of the two glass plates G simultaneously by the movement support part 4 before and behind the conveyance direction. In other words, in the state shown in FIG. 3A, the glass plate G is sucked and supported by the upstream stage S1 and the inspection stage S2 by the moving support unit 4, and the two glass plates G are conveyed simultaneously. Also good.

  And in the process conveyed as mentioned above, the width direction both ends of the glass plate G each pass the inspection space 5, and edge part inspection is implemented. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the auxiliary support 3 levitates and supports a part of both ends in the width direction of the glass plate G, and protrudes into the inspection space 5 outside the auxiliary support 3. The protruding portion Ga of G is imaged by the imaging means 6, and the presence or absence of a defect at the end is inspected based on this imaging data.

  Here, in this embodiment, the upper surface of the moving support portion 4 is positioned slightly above the upper surfaces of the main support portion 2 and the auxiliary support portion 3 in consideration of the floating support of the glass plate G. Of course, the upper surface of the moving support part 4 may be located on the same plane as the upper surfaces of the main support part 2 and the auxiliary support part 3, or may be located slightly below. In the illustrated example, the imaging means 6 is arranged above the end of the glass plate G, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an optical arrangement of a known end inspection method can be appropriately employed.

  On the other hand, when the glass plate G is relatively small, as shown in FIG. 5, the auxiliary support portion 3 is lowered to the retracted position in advance, and a part of both end portions in the width direction of the glass plate G is used as the main support portion. 2, and the protruding portion Ga is imaged by the imaging means 6. In this case, the imaging means 6 is moved to the center in the width direction in accordance with the lowering operation of the auxiliary support portion 3 to the retracted position.

  Here, regardless of the size of the glass plate G, the front and rear positions in the conveyance direction of the protruding portion Ga of the glass plate G are respectively determined by the main support portions 2 arranged at the end portions in the width direction during the end inspection. Supported.

  If it carries out as mentioned above, in the case of the small glass plate G, the auxiliary | assistant support part 3 can be moved to a retracted position, and the glass plate G can be supported by the main support part 2, Can move the auxiliary support part 3 to the support position, and can support the glass plate G with the main support part 2 and the auxiliary support part 3. For this reason, even if the magnitude | size of the glass plate G is changed, it becomes possible by the auxiliary | assistant support part 3 to keep the magnitude | size of the protrusion part Ga of the glass plate G in the test | inspection space 5 appropriately. Therefore, the problem that the protruding portion Ga of the glass plate G hangs down in the inspection space 5 can be solved. As a result, it is possible to improve the inspection accuracy of the end portion of the glass plate G and reliably reduce the situation where the end portion of the glass plate G is in contact with the conveying means 1 and is damaged.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of a glass plate end inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The edge inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment is different from the edge inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment in that the auxiliary support part 3 is divided into a plurality of parts in the width direction.

  Specifically, the divided auxiliary support portions 3 can be moved up and down independently between the respective support positions and the respective retracted positions. The imaging means 6 is moved stepwise in the width direction in accordance with the raising / lowering operation of each auxiliary support portion 3.

  In this way, since the support area of the end of the glass plate G in the inspection space 5 can be finely changed, each of the various types of glass plates G having different sizes can be inspected. The width direction dimension of the protrusion part Ga of the glass plate G can be adjusted appropriately.

<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a glass plate end inspection apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The first difference between the edge inspection apparatus according to the third embodiment and the edge inspection apparatus according to the first and second embodiments is that the upstream stage S1 located on the upstream side of the inspection stage S2 and the downstream side. In the side stage S3, the direction changing parts 7 and 8 for changing the conveying direction of the glass plate G by 90 degrees are provided. In addition, since the 1st direction change part 7 of upstream stage S1 and the 2nd direction change part 8 of downstream stage S3 have each common structure, below, the structure of the 1st direction change part 7 is demonstrated. .

  In this embodiment, the first direction changing unit 7 is configured to convey the glass sheet G in the direction of arrow A in the figure, and in the direction of arrow B in the figure orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the first roller group 9. And a second roller group 10 for conveying the glass plate G, and each of the roller groups 9 and 10 can be moved up and down. And it operates as follows.

  First, in a state where the second roller group 10 is lowered, the glass plate G supplied from the upstream side is conveyed to the predetermined position while being fed in the direction of arrow A in the drawing by the first roller group 9. After conveying the glass plate G to a predetermined position, the second roller group 10 is raised, the first roller group 9 is lowered, and the glass plate G is transferred from the first roller group 9 to the second roller group 10. The glass plate G delivered to the second roller group 10 is adsorbed and supported by the movement support unit 4 and is fed in the direction of arrow B in the drawing by the second roller group 10, while the movement support unit 4 moves. It is conveyed onto the inspection stage S2. In addition, since the conveyance procedure of the glass plate G by the subsequent movement support part 4 is as having demonstrated in 1st Embodiment, it abbreviate | omits.

  The second difference is that a further inspection stage S0 is provided on the upstream side of the first direction changing section 7. Here, for convenience, S0 is referred to as a first inspection stage, and S2 is referred to as a second inspection stage. The configuration of the second inspection stage S2 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the first inspection stage S0 includes a main support portion 11 that floats and supports the glass plate G, and a roller group 12 that supports the glass plate G in contact and applies feed in the transport direction (arrow A direction). ing. The main support portion 11 is divided into a plurality of width directions (arrow B direction) orthogonal to the transport direction, and the interval in the width direction between adjacent main support portions 11 can be adjusted. The roller group 12 is positioned at both ends in the width direction and is movable in the width direction. In addition, each roller of the roller group 12 is not disposed at a position corresponding to the imaging unit 13, and this space is used as an inspection space.

  That is, the first inspection stage S0 adjusts the width-direction interval of the main support portion 11 and the width-direction interval between the roller group 12 and the main support portion 11 according to the size of the glass plate G. The dimension of the protrusion part formed in the edge part of the glass plate G is adjusted.

  In this embodiment, the end inspection of two sides facing the arrow B direction of the glass plate G is performed at the first inspection stage S0, and the remaining portion facing the arrow A direction of the glass plate G at the second inspection stage S2. The edge inspection of the two sides is performed. Note that the first inspection stage S0 is disposed upstream of the upstream stage S1, but may be disposed downstream of the downstream stage S3.

<Fourth embodiment>
FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a glass plate end inspection apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The edge inspection apparatus according to the fourth embodiment differs from the edge inspection apparatuses according to the first to third embodiments in that there are a plurality of inspection stages S2 in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction (three in the figure). ) The point is that they are arranged in parallel.

  Specifically, a plurality of glass plates G supplied from the upstream side are sorted while being reversed by 90 degrees as indicated by arrows C1 to C3 in each upstream stage S1, and transferred to each inspection stage S2. Supply. And in each test | inspection stage S2, an edge part test | inspection is implemented, conveying each glass plate G to the arrow D1-D3 direction in a figure. Thereafter, each glass plate G that has been inspected is placed in one place while the conveyance direction is reversed by 90 degrees as indicated by arrows E1 to E3 in the drawing by each downstream stage S3 arranged on the downstream side of each inspection stage S2. Collected and transported downstream. In this case, in each inspection stage S2, the end inspection of the two opposite sides of the glass plate G is performed, but the remaining two end inspections of the opposite sides are performed upstream or downstream of the upstream stage S1. You may implement in the downstream of the side stage S3.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, It can implement with a various form. For example, the divided main support portion 2 and one or the divided auxiliary support portion 3 may be movable in the width direction, and the respective width direction intervals may be adjustable. If it does in this way, it can respond to a change of the size of glass plate G more precisely.

  Moreover, although the case where one movement support part 4 was provided was demonstrated, when the glass plate G is large, you may provide two or more movement support parts 4. FIG. Furthermore, instead of the movement support part 4, the glass plate G may be fed by a roller.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance means 2 Main support part 3 Auxiliary support part 4 Movement support part 5 Inspection space 6 Imaging means G Glass plate Ga Projection part S1 Upstream stage S2 Inspection stage S3 Downstream stage

Claims (8)

In the edge inspection apparatus for a glass plate, comprising: a conveying unit that conveys the glass plate while supporting the glass plate from below; and an imaging unit that images an end of the glass plate in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying unit.
The transport means as an inspection stage has a main support portion having an inspection space at a position corresponding to the imaging means, a support position for supporting the end of the glass plate in the width direction in the inspection space, and the support. An auxiliary support that moves between retracted positions retracted from the position ,
The main support portion has a plurality of holes for ejecting the first fluid, and has a main support plane for levitating and supporting the glass plate through the first fluid,
The auxiliary support portion has a plurality of holes for ejecting a second fluid, and has an auxiliary support plane that supports the glass plate to float through the second fluid at the support position.
When the glass plate is larger than a predetermined size, the glass plate is configured to inspect an end portion of the glass plate in a state where the glass plate is supported by the main support plane and the auxiliary support plane. Board edge inspection device.   The glass plate end inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is configured to move in the width direction in accordance with the movement operation of the auxiliary support portion. The said conveyance means is provided with the movement support part which adsorbs and supports the said glass plate currently supported by floating, and moves along the said conveyance direction, The glass plate of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Edge inspection device. The said auxiliary | assistant support part is divided | segmented into plurality in the said width direction, The edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate of any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The glass plate end inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the main support portion is divided into a plurality of portions in the width direction. A direction changing unit that reverses the conveyance direction by 90 degrees on at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the inspection stage, and changes the direction of any one side of the glass plate with respect to the conveyance direction by 90 degrees. provided that has an end portion inspection apparatus for a glass plate according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein. The said inspection stage is arranged in multiple numbers in parallel in the said width direction, The edge part inspection apparatus of the glass plate of any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The plate | board thickness inspection of the glass plate of any one of Claims 1-7 characterized by the plate | board thickness of a glass plate being 0.5 mm or less.

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