KR100556140B1 - System for inspecting glass substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a glass substrate inspection system for inspecting a defect of a glass substrate. The present invention provides a loading stand for accommodating a container containing a plurality of glass substrates, an unloading stand for accommodating a container for accommodating a glass substrate unloaded from the loading stand via an inspection station, and a loading stand and an unloading stand. A transporter installed between the loading stands and transporting one glass substrate from the container of the loading stand to the inspection station, and transporting one glass substrate from the inspection station to the container of the unloading stand, and one glass substrate from the transporter. It consists of a handler that is installed in the inspection station so that it can multiply exercise by taking. According to the present invention, a container containing a plurality of glass substrates is accommodated in a loading stand, and a glass substrate is supplied from the loading stand to the handler of the inspection station by a transporter, and then the glass substrate is multiplied by the handler. By inspecting while exercising, a large and thin glass substrate can be inspected very simply and efficiently. In addition, the glass substrate can be automatically handled, and accurate and stable chucking can effectively prevent breakage of the glass substrate. And by simply inspecting both sides of the glass substrate there is an effect that can greatly improve the reliability of the inspection.

Description

Inspection system for glass substrates {SYSTEM FOR INSPECTING GLASS SUBSTRATE}

1 is a plan view schematically showing the overall configuration of an inspection system according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view showing a container, loading and unloading stand of the inspection system according to the present invention,

Figure 3 is a front view showing the container, loading and unloading stand of the inspection system according to the present invention,

4 is a plan view showing a container, loading and unloading stand of the inspection system according to the present invention;

Figure 5 is a front view showing a state in which the transporter of the inspection system according to the present invention by chucking the glass substrate,

6 is a side view showing a transporter of the inspection system according to the present invention;

7 is a plan view showing a transporter of the inspection system according to the present invention,

8 is a side view partially shown to explain the operation of chucking the glass substrate by the first chucking unit of the transporter of the present invention;

9 is a plan view partially shown for explaining the operation of chucking the glass substrate by the second chucking unit of the transporter of the present invention;

10 is a front view showing a handler of the inspection system according to the present invention;

11 is a plan view partially showing a rotary column, a motion girder and a holding device of the handler according to the present invention;

12 is a side view showing a handler of the inspection system according to the present invention;

13 is a front view showing a holding device of the handler according to the present invention;

14 is a plan view showing to explain the operation of aligning the glass substrate by the pushing unit of the handler according to the present invention;

15 is a plan view illustrating the operation of chucking the glass substrate by the side chucking unit of the handler according to the present invention;

16A and 16B are side views illustrating an operation of chucking a glass substrate by an upper chucking unit of a handler according to the present invention;

17 is a plan view partially shown for explaining the operation of locking the rim assembly of the holding device by the first locking device of the handler according to the present invention;

18 is a side view partially cut away to explain the operation of locking the rim assembly of the holding device by the second locking device of the handler according to the invention.

♣ Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ♣

1: glass substrate 10: container

20: loading stand 30: unloading stand

40: positioner 42: clamping unit

43: pushing unit 50: alignment device

51: lower pushing unit 56: upper pushing unit

70: transporter 71: rotary column

74: motion head 79: up-down air cylinder

82: mounting plate 90: first chucking unit

100: second chucking unit 113: handle

120: handler 124: rotary column

125: motion girder 128: up-down air cylinder

130: holding device 140: rim assembly

146: rest 150: side chucking unit

160: pushing unit 170: upper chucking unit

180: holder assembly 190: rotary actuator

200: first locking device 210: second locking device

The present invention relates to an inspection system for glass substrates, and more particularly, to an inspection system for glass substrates for easily loading and unloading and automatically handling and inspecting glass substrates.

As is well known, glass substrates used in the manufacture of flat panel displays such as thin film transistor-liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), and electro luminescent (EL) are glass melting. Glass melted in glass melting furnace is manufactured through molding process and cutting process. Many defects occur in such glass substrates due to various factors. Therefore, in order to manufacture high quality flat panel display, the thickness, warpage, flatness, transmittance, bubble, foreign matter, scratch, irregularities, contamination, linearity, and size error of glass substrate are examined and measured. Finding the bad factors and finding out the cause and correcting them.

In general, bubbles, scratches, irregularities, contamination, linearity, and size error of glass substrates are carried out by visual inspection and sampling inspection. In the visual inspection of the glass substrate, the size of the glass substrate that a worker can handle freely is about 550 mm long and 650 mm wide. However, as the size of glass substrates is gradually increased in size and thickness to about 1100 mm in length, 1250 mm in width, and 0.5 to 1 mm in thickness, many difficulties are involved in the handling of workers. Glass substrates are highly susceptible to changes in properties or easily contaminated by physical contact when handling the operator. In this case, since the thin film coated on the surface of the glass substrate, for example, the silica (SiO ₂ ) film as the insulating film and the ITO (Indium tin oxide) film as the conductive film, is inferior, physical contact of the glass substrate is prohibited in principle. It is common to allow a chucking area for handling the glass substrate within 5 to 8 mm from each edge, and this chucking area is cut off and removed in a later step. As such, it is very difficult and difficult for the operator to chuck the edges of the large and thin glass substrates by limited chucking, and the glass substrates are easily broken by the bending deformation, causing a safety accident.

On the other hand, looking at the inspection stage for the liquid crystal panel of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 11-14956 and 11-14957, both ends of the liquid crystal panel are held by the holder at the loading position and loaded into the inspection position for the lighting test of the liquid crystal panel. Then, a technique for unloading the liquid crystal panel from which the inspection is completed from the inspection position to the loading position is disclosed. In addition, the liquid crystal panel gripper of Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1999-65369 chucks both ends of the liquid crystal panel to be sucked by the suction means of the worktable, and the liquid crystal panel is moved by the worktable while the X-axis and the Y-axis movement are rotated. An inspection technique is disclosed. However, these technologies are not applicable to the inspection of large and thin glass substrates, as well as the problem of not being able to inspect both sides of the glass substrate, because the liquid crystal panel must be held in the holder by the operator's manual operation. The glass substrate loading / exporting device of Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-58165 discloses a technique in which a glass substrate stored in a cassette is sucked and loaded by vacuum, and the movement of the fork is controlled by a servomotor. However, due to vacuum adsorption of glass substrates, it is difficult to support the weight of glass substrates during loading and unloading of large and thin glass substrates, and there is a high possibility of causing serious safety accidents when glass substrates are separated from forks. Have

The present invention has been made to solve the various problems of the prior art as described above, the object of the present invention is to carry out a series of inspection processes such as loading and unloading, handling of glass substrates very easily and efficiently To provide an inspection system for glass substrates.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inspection system for glass substrates that can efficiently inspect large and thin glass substrates.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an inspection system for a glass substrate that can effectively prevent rupture of the glass substrate by chucking the glass substrate accurately and stably.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an inspection system for a glass substrate that can greatly inspect both sides of the glass substrate to greatly improve the reliability of the inspection.

A feature of the present invention for achieving the above object is a loading stand for receiving a container containing a plurality of glass substrates; An unloading stand for receiving a container capable of receiving a glass substrate which is unloaded from the loading stand via the inspection station; A transporter which is installed between the loading stand and the unloading stand, transfers one glass substrate from the container of the loading stand to the inspection station, and transfers one glass substrate from the inspection station to the container of the unloading stand; It is in the inspection system of a glass substrate which consists of a handling means installed in an inspection station so that a glass substrate can be acquired from a transporter and multi-degree of freedom movement is carried out.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the inspection system of the glass substrate according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the inspection system of the present invention includes a loading station S1 for supplying a glass substrate 1 and an unloading station S2 for discharging the glass substrate 1. ) And an inspection station (S3) for inspecting the glass substrate 1 by the naked eye of the operator are provided. The loading station S1, the unloading station S2 and the inspection station S3 are arranged so that the inspection station S3 forms a triangle between the loading station S1 and the unloading station S2. Meanwhile, the inspection station S3 includes, for example, an illumination device for illuminating the glass substrate 1 for inspection of the glass substrate 1, and a CCD camera for inspecting bubbles, etc. contained in the glass substrate 1 ( Inspection equipment such as a charge coupled device camera is provided.

As shown in Figure 2 and 4, the glass substrate 1 is stored in several containers at regular intervals in the container (10) is open at the top is stored and transported, the inner surface of the container (10) A plurality of slots 11 are formed to vertically align the edges of the glass substrate 1. In the present embodiment, the container 10 accommodates about 12 to 15 glass substrates 1 having a length of about 1100 mm, a width of 1250 mm, and a thickness of about 0.5 to 1 mm. In addition, the glass substrate 1 has a long horizontal direction in the width direction of the container 10. 2 shows an open container in which both sides of the container 10 are formed with openings 13 by the connection of the ribs 12.

1 to 4, the inspection system of the present invention is a loading stand (Loading stand: 20) installed for loading and unloading the container 10 in each of the loading station (S1) and the unloading station (S2) ) And an unloading stand 30, and the loading and unloading stands 20 and 30 are configured in the same way. Each of the loading and unloading stands 20, 30 has a box-shaped frame 22, 32 having a compartment 21, 31 which is open at one side to accommodate the container 10, and the frames 22, 32. It is composed of roller conveyors (23, 33) that is installed to transport the container 10 to the lower side of the). The roller conveyors 23 and 33 are configured in a pair so as to support both lower surfaces of the container 10, and the conveying direction of the container 10 is transferred to the conveyor bodies 24 and 34 of the roller conveyors 23 and 33. A plurality of rollers 25, 35 are arranged to rotate freely

In addition, each of the loading and unloading stands 20 and 30 is provided with a positioner 40 for determining the position of the container 10 accommodated in the storage rooms 21 and 31. The positioner 40 may constrain the plurality of stoppers 41 mounted inside the frames 22 and 32 and the rear end of the container 10 in order to restrain the front end of the container 10. It consists of a plurality of clamping units 42 which are mounted in front of the bottom of the frame (22, 32). The clamping unit 42 is comprised by the pusher 42a which can push the back direction of the container 10 with respect to the stopper 41, and the actuator 42b which rotates and linearly moves this pusher 42a. If the pushers 42a of the clamping unit 42 are located at a lower level than the rollers 25 and 35 of the roller conveyors 23 and 33, the compartments 21 and 31 of the loading and unloading stands 20 and 30 respectively. Can be loaded and unloaded. When the pusher 42a is rotated to a position capable of supporting the rear end of the container 10 in the transport direction by the operation of the actuator 42b, the pusher 42a moves in the container 10. ), The rear end of the conveying direction is pushed against the stopper 41. Thus, the container 10 is aligned by the cooperation of the stopper 41 and the pusher 42a and is firmly clamped at the same time.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the positioner 40 includes a plurality of pushing units 43 for aligning the container 10 with the centers of the compartments 21 and 31. 43 is attached to both sides of the frames 22 and 32 so that the center of both sides of the container 10 may be pushed. The pushing unit 42 includes an air cylinder 44 having a cylinder rod 44a and a pushing bar 45 mounted on the cylinder rod 44a of the air cylinder 44 so as to push both sides of the container 10. Consists of The pushing bar 45 is formed long so that the entire side surface of the container 10 can be pushed. The air cylinder 44 is mounted to the bracket 46 fixed to the frames 22 and 32, and guide bars 47 for guiding linear movement through the bracket 45 on both sides of the pushing bar 44. Is connected.

2 and 3, the alignment device for aligning the glass substrate 1 accommodated in the container 10 to the frames 22, 32 of the loading and unloading stands 20, 30. 50 is provided. The alignment device 50 includes a plurality of lower pushing units 51 mounted on both lower sides of the frame 20 so that the lower ends of both sides of the glass substrate 1 housed in the open container 10 can be aligned in the center. ). The lower pushing unit 51 has an air cylinder 52 having a cylinder rod 52a and a glass substrate 1 through an opening 13 of the container 10 to the cylinder rod 52a of the air cylinder 52. It consists of a pushing bar 53, which is mounted to push the lower ends of both sides. The pushing bar 53 is elongated to push the entire glass substrate 1 accommodated in the container 10. The air cylinder 52 is mounted to the bracket 54 fixed to the frames 22 and 32, and guide bars 55 for guiding linear movement through the bracket 54 on both sides of the pushing bar 53. Is connected.

In addition, the aligning device 50 includes a plurality of uppers mounted on both sides of the frames 22 and 32 so that the upper ends of both sides of the glass substrate 1 protruding upward from the container 10 can be aligned to the center. The pushing unit 56 is provided. The upper pushing unit 56 has a side plate 58 which is installed to move up and down along the guide posts 57 fixed to the frames 22 and 32, and a nut fixed to the side plate 58. Lead screw 59 which is fastened to the screw movement by the operation of the adjusting handle 59b to 59a), and both ends of the glass substrate 1 can be pushed to the tip of the lead screw 59. It consists of the pushing bar 60 attached. The pushing bar 60 is elongated to push the entire glass substrate 1 accommodated in the container 10. Guide bars 61 for guiding linear movement through side plates 58 are connected to both sides of the pushing bar 60. In addition, the frames 22 and 32 of each of the loading and unloading stands 20 and 30 control the actuator 42b of the positioner 40, the air cylinder 44, and the air cylinder 52 of the alignment device 50. A control board 61 having a plurality of on / off switches 61a is configured. In the present embodiment, the lower and the upper pushing units 51 and 56 of the alignment device 50 configured in the loading stand 30 may be excluded.

1 and 5 to 7, the inspection system of the present invention transfers a glass substrate 1 housed in the container 10 from the loading station S1 to the inspection station S3 and A transporter 70 for transporting one glass substrate 1 to the unloading position P2 from S3 is provided. The transporter 70 has a hollow rotary column 71 that stands vertically, and a slot 71a is formed along the longitudinal direction on the outer surface of the rotary column 71. The rotary column 71 is provided so that the upper and lower ends thereof are supported by the upper bearing 72a and the lower bearing 72b so as to rotate in the Z axis, and the upper and lower bearings 72a and 72b are formed on the upper beam ( It is attached to the upper and lower shafts 72e and 72f which are fixed to 72c) and lower base 72d, respectively. As shown in detail in FIG. 6, the rotational position of the rotary column 71 is determined by the positioning device 73. The positioning device 73 is mounted in the hole 73b of the positioning block 73a so that the stopper 73d, which is elastically received by the spring 73c, can be projected. The stopper 73d of the positioning device 73 is fitted to the hole 73f of the ring 73e fixed to the lower end of the outer surface of the rotary column 71 to restrain the rotational position of the rotary column 71. FIG. 6 shows that one hole 73f is formed on the outer surface of the rotary column 71, but the hole 73f corresponds to the positions of the loading, unloading and inspection stations S1 to S3, respectively. Dogs are formed. In addition, the rotary column 71 of the transporter 70 may be rotated by a well-known servo motor.

The rotary column 71 of the transporter 70 is provided with a motion head 74 to move up and down, that is, Z-axis translation along the rotary column 71, and the motion head 74 moves up and down. The motion is guided by a Z-axis linear motion guide (75). The Z-axis linear motion guide 75 has a pair of guide rails 75a mounted in parallel in the longitudinal direction on the outer surface of the rotary column 71 and along the guide rails 75a at the rear end of the motion head 74. It is composed of a pair of slide blocks (75b) that are mounted to slide. The upward and downward positions of the motion head 74 are limited by the upper stopper 76a mounted on the upper end of the rotary column 71 and the lower stopper 76b mounted in the center of the rotary column 71. . The maximum lowering position of the motion head 74 is mounted on the stop post 77 standing upright on the top surface of the base 71b and on the bottom surface of the motion head 74 so as to be in contact with the stop post 77. It is limited by the shock absorber 78. A stopper block 77c is mounted in the slot 77a of the stop post 77 by the fastening of the bolt 77b, and the shock absorber 78 is in contact with the stopper block 77c to maximize the motion head 74. Restrain the falling position.

In addition, the transporter 70 includes an up-down air cylinder 79 as driving means for lifting and lowering the motion head 74 along the rotary column 71. The up-down air cylinder 79 is mounted vertically inside the rotary column 71, and the cylinder rod 79a of the up-down air cylinder 79 passes through the slot 71a of the rotary column 71 Connecting bar: 79b) is connected to the rear end of the motion head 74. In this embodiment, the up-down air cylinder 79 is constituted by a balance cylinder for smooth movement of the motion head 74. As shown in FIG. The driving means of the motion head 74 includes a ball screw that rotates by driving the servomotor, a nut that moves the motion head 74 by screwing along the ball screw, and a motion of the motion head 74. It is also possible to apply a linear motion actuator consisting of a linear motion guide to guide the motion. In addition, the linear motion actuator includes a guide rail, a slide block sliding the motion head 74 by sliding along the guide rail, and a linear motor built into the slide block to slide the slide block along the guide rail. It can also be replaced by a linear motor guide consisting of).

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the motion head 74 of the transporter 70 is provided with an X-axis linear motion guide 80 as expansion and contraction means that can be expanded and contracted with respect to the motion head 74. . The X-axis linear motion guide 80 has a pair of long slide rails 80a that can be extended by the linear motion in the X-axis direction from the tip of the motion head 74, and the linear motion of the slide rails 80a. It consists of a pair of guide blocks (80b) mounted on the lower surface of the motion head 74 to guide the. The stroke of the slide rail 80a is restrained by the position regulating mechanism 81. Positioning mechanism 81 is fixed to the rear end of the slide rail (80a) and the left stopper (81a) and the right stripper (81b), which are mounted at predetermined intervals on both sides of the lower surface of the motion head (74). It consists of the dog 81c which hangs on the left and right stopper 81a, 81b, and restrains the linear motion of the slide rail 80a. The mounting plate 82 is attached to the tip of the slide rail 80a.

5 to 9, a pair of first chucking units 90 are mounted on both sides of the mounting plate 82 to chuck both sides of the upper end of the glass substrate 1. The fixed gripper 91 of the first chucking unit 90 is fixed to the mounting plate 82 by the bracket 92, and the movable gripper 93 cooperates with the fixed gripper 91 to form the glass substrate 1. Chuck the top end. The movable gripper 93 is connected to the cylinder rod 94a of the chucking air cylinder 94, and the chucking air cylinder 94 is mounted to the mounting plate 82. The inner surface of the fixed gripper 91 is attached with a flexible pad 91a for protection of the glass substrate 1, and the movable gripper 93 penetrates the bracket 92 to linearly move the movable gripper 93. A pair of guide bars 95 for guiding are connected.

In addition, a pair of second chucking units 100 are mounted at both ends of the mounting plate 82 to chuck both ends of the glass substrate 1. The second chucking unit 100 is a rotary plate 103 mounted on both ends of the mounting plate 82 so as to rotate about the pivot 102, and a rotary plate. The air cylinder 104 which rotates 103 is comprised. The cylinder rod 104a of the air cylinder 104 is connected to one side of the rotary plate 103 by the pivot 105a, and the rear end of the air cylinder 104 is mounted to the mounting plate 82 by the pivot 105b. It is connected. The first up-down plate 106 is disposed below the rotary plate 103 to move up and down, and the first up-down plate 106 penetrates the rotary plate 103 to move up and down the first up-down plate 106. A pair of first guide bars 107 for guiding the movement are connected. The cylinder rod 108a of the first up-down air cylinder 108 mounted on the upper surface of the rotary plate 103 is connected to the first up-down plate 106 through the rotary plate 103.

A second up-down plate 109 is disposed to move up and down below the first up-down plate 106, and the second up-down plate 109 penetrates through the first up-down plate 108 and the second up-down plate 108. A pair of second guide bars 110 for guiding the lifting movement of 109 is connected. The cylinder rod 111a of the second up-down air cylinder 111 mounted on the upper surface of the first up-down plate 109 penetrates through the first up-down plate 109 and is connected to the second up-down plate 109. At the tip of the second up-down plate 109, an air chuck 112 having a pair of grippers 112a and 112b for chucking both ends of the glass substrate 1 is mounted. And the handle 113 which can be grabbed by the operator for the Z-axis rotational movement of the rotary column 71 and the expansion and contraction of the X-axis linear motion guide 80 extends downwards at the tip of the motion head 74. The handle 113 has an up-down air cylinder 79, a chucking air cylinder 94, an air cylinder 104, first and second up-down air cylinders 108, 111, and an air chuck 112 of the transporter 70. Control board 114 having a plurality of on-off switch 114a for controlling the configuration is configured. The upper ends of both sides of the handle 113 are fixed to the rear surface of the mounting plate 82 by a pair of support bars 115.

1 and 10, the inspection system of the present invention is a handler (120) installed in the inspection station (S3) to take over the glass substrate (1) from the transporter 70 to perform a multi-freedom movement. It is provided. The handler 120 includes a hollow rotary column 124 vertically installed to allow Z-axis rotational motion by the support of the bearing 123 mounted on the shaft 122 of the base 121, and a rotary column ( 124) is composed of a motion girder (125) installed to move up and down along the rotary column 124, that is, Z-axis translation. And the outer surface of the hollow rotary column 124 is formed with a slot 124a along the longitudinal direction.

10 to 12, the lifting motion of the motion girder 125 is guided by the Z-axis linear motion guide 126. The Z-axis linear motion guide 126 is mounted on the outer surface of the rotary column 124 so as to slide along a guide rail 126a and a guide rail 126a. It consists of a pair of slide block 126b and the carriage 126c attached to the slide block 126b and to which one side of the motion girder 125 is attached. The rising and lowering positions of the motion girder 125 are limited by the upper stopper 127a mounted at the upper end of the rotary column 124 and the lower stopper 127b mounted at approximately the center of the rotary column 124. . The side stopper 127c is mounted at the left end of the carriage 126c of the Z-axis linear motion guide 126, and the rear side of the motion girder 125 is caught by the side stopper 127c and the X of the motion girder 125 is mounted. A dog 127d for restraining the axial translation is mounted.

The handler 120 of the present invention includes an up-down air cylinder 128 as a driving means for lifting and lowering the motion girder 125 along the rotary column 124. The up-down air cylinder 128 is mounted inside the rotary column 124, and the cylinder rod 128a of the up-down air cylinder 128 passes through the slot 124a of the rotary column 124. By the motion girder 125 is connected to the carriage 126c of the Z-axis linear motion guide 126 is fixed. In this embodiment, the up-down air cylinder 128 is configured as a balance cylinder for smooth lifting and lowering of the motion girder 125. The driving means of the motion girder 125 may be replaced by a linear motion actuator or a linear motor guide, similarly to the driving means of the motion head 74. And the motion girder 125 is the X-axis translational motion is guided by the X-axis linear motion guide 129. A guide block 129a mounted on the front of the carriage 126c of the X-axis linear motion guide 129 and a slide mounted on the rear surface of the motion girder 125 to slide along the guide block 129a. It is comprised by the rail 129b.

10 and 13, a holding device 130 for holding the glass substrate 1 is provided at the tip of the motion girder 125. The rectangular rim assembly 140 of the holding device 130 is disposed on the left and right sides of the first and second support bars 141 and 142 which are arranged in parallel with each other so as to be spaced apart from each side of the glass substrate 1. The third and fourth support bars (143, 144) of the, each of the first to fourth support bars (141 to 144) are connected by an elbow (145). The second support bar 142 of the rim assembly 140 is equipped with a plurality of rests 146 supporting the lower end of the glass substrate 1.

10 and 13 to 15, a plurality of side chucking units 150 for chucking both ends of the glass substrate 1 on the outer surface of each of the third and fourth support bars 143 and 144. ) Are mounted to face each other. The side chucking unit 150 is fixed to the third and fourth support bars 143 and 144 by the fixed gripper 151 and the fixed gripper 151 about the pivot 152 by rotating the glass substrate ( It comprises a movable gripper 153 mounted to chuck both ends of 1) and a chucking air cylinder 154 for rotating the movable gripper 153 about the pivot 152. The cylinder rod 154a of the chucking air cylinder 154 is connected to one end of the movable gripper 153 by the pivot 155a, and the rear end of the chucking air cylinder 154 is the clamp 156 by the pivot 155b. Is connected to. The clamp 156 is fixed to the third and fourth support bars 143 and 144.

As shown in FIGS. 10, 13, and 14, the third support bar 143 of the rim assembly 140 pushes the glass substrate 1 toward the fourth support bar 144 to align the glass substrate 1. A plurality of pushing unit 160 is mounted. The pushing unit 160 is provided with an air cylinder 162 attached to the clamp 161 fixed to the third support bar 143 and a pusher mounted at the tip of the cylinder rod 162a of the air cylinder 162. It consists of 163. The pusher 163 is linearly moved by the guide of the guide bar 164 penetrating the clamp 161. The pushing unit 160 may be mounted on the fourth support bar 144 to push the glass substrate 1 toward the third support bar 143 from the fourth support bar 144.

As shown in FIGS. 10, 13, 16A, and 16, an upper chucking unit 170 that chucks an upper end of the glass substrate 1 supported by the rest 146 on the upper portion of the rim assembly 140. ). The upper chucking unit 170 is fixed to the first support bar 141 of the rim assembly 140 and rotates by a plurality of clamps 171 having a bearing 171a and a bearing 171a of the clamp 171. It consists of the shaft 172 supported so that it may be supported, and the air cylinder 173a to which the cylinder rod 173a is connected so that the shaft 172 may rotate. The cylinder rod 173a of the air cylinder 173 is connected to one end of the shaft 172 by a coupler 174a, and the air cylinder 173 is supported by the coupler 174b of the third support of the rim assembly 140. It is connected to the bar 143. The upper chucking unit 170 includes a plurality of fixed grippers 175 and fixed grippers fixed to the first support bar 143 of the rim assembly 140 to support the upper end of the glass substrate 1. It has a plurality of movable grippers 176 mounted to the shaft 172 so as to chuck the upper end of the glass substrate 1 in cooperation with 175. Each of the fixed and movable grippers 175 and 176 has pads 175a and 176a having flexibility to protect the glass substrate 1.

Referring back to FIGS. 10 and 13, the rim assembly 140 is mounted to rotate on the holder assembly 180. The holder assembly 180 includes a first support bar 181 disposed in parallel with the third support bar 143 of the rim assembly 140, and first and second support rims 141 of the rim assembly 140. 142 and a second support bar 182 and a third support bar 183 are connected to the upper and lower ends of the first support bar 181 in parallel with each other. The second and third support bars 182 and 183 of the holder assembly 180 are connected to the upper and lower ends of the first support bar 181 by elbows 184 so as to form a "c" shape. First and second support bars 141 and 142 of the rim assembly 140 around the pivot 185a of the clamp 185 at the ends of the second and third support bars 182 and 183 of the holder assembly 180. ) Is connected to the center of rotation. The center of the first support bar 181 of the holder assembly 180 is connected by a rotor 190a and a coupler 191 of the rotary actuator 190, and the rotary actuator 190 is a motion girder (1). It is fixed to the tip of 125). As shown in detail in FIG. 13, the initial rotational position of the rotary actuator 190 is determined by the positioning device 192. The positioning device 192 is mounted to the hole 192b of the positioning block 192a so that the stopper 192d receiving the elasticity of the spring 192c can protrude. The stopper 192d of the positioning device 192 fits into the groove 192e formed on the outer surface of the rotor 190a to constrain the initial rotational position of the rotor 190a, and the initial rotational position of the rotary actuator 190. The rim may take over the glass substrate 1 from the transporter 70 to the rim assembly 140 of the holding device 130 or to take over from the rim assembly 140 of the holding device 130 to the transporter 70. It is set equal to the initial position of the assembly 140.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 17, the motion of the rim assembly 140 is constrained by the first locking device 200 mounted on the top surface of the base 121 to approach the rotary column 124. The first locking device 200 has a guide rail 201 mounted on the upper surface of the base 121, the slide block 202 sliding sliding along the guide rail 201 is set screw It is fixed by 202a. The setting block 203 is mounted by the fastening of the bolt 204 so that the height can be adjusted along the slot 202a of the slide block 202, and the cylinder block 203a is provided on the top of the setting block 203. A pair of locking air cylinders 205 are mounted to face each other. A locking block 206 is attached to the elbow 145 connecting the second support bar 142 and the third support bar 143 of the rim assembly 140, and the locking air cylinder 205 is attached to the locking block 206. A locking hole 207 is formed in which the cylinder rod 205a of the " Although the locking air cylinder 205 has been described as being configured in pairs, only one may be used and may be replaced by a solenoid.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 18, the handler 120 of the present invention includes a second locking device 210 that constrains the motion of the rim assembly 140. The second locking device 210 has a guide rail 211 mounted on an upper surface of the base 121 to approach the fourth support bar 144 of the rim assembly 140, and the guide rail 211 has a guide rail 211. A slide block 212 sliding along 211 is fixed by the setting screw 213. The setting block 213 is mounted by fastening the bolt 214 to adjust the height along the slot 212a of the slide block 212, and the locking air cylinder 215 is provided on the side of the setting block 213. It is mounted to face each other. The cylinder rod 215a of the locking air cylinder 215 is connected to the lower end of the lever 217 that rotates about the pivot 216 fixed to the setting block 213, and the other end of the lever 217 The locking roller 218 is mounted to rotate freely. The conical setting pin 219 is mounted on an upper surface of the setting block 213. The locking block 220 is attached to the elbow 145 connecting the second support bar 142 and the fourth support bar 144 of the rim assembly 140. The front surface of the locking block 220 is formed with a locking hole 221 to which the locking roller 218 is fitted, and a setting hole 222 to which the setting pin 219 is fitted. The initial position of the handler 120 is constrained by the movement of the rim assembly 140 by the first and second locking devices 200 and 210 to take over the glass substrate 1 from the transporter 70 and to transport the transporter 70. It is set to take over again.

Now, the operation of the inspection system of the glass substrate according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, first, an operator accommodates a container 10 in which a plurality of glass substrates 1 are required to be inspected in an enclosure 21 of a loading stand 20, and an unloading stand. The containment chamber 31 of 30 receives the empty container 10 so that the glass substrate 1 which completed the test | inspection may be collect | recovered. The tip of the conveyance direction of the container 10, which has been conveyed by the rollers 25 and 35 of the roller conveyors 23 and 33, is restrained by the stopper 41 of the positioner 40 and stopped. When the air cylinder 44 of the pushing unit 43 is operated to advance the cylinder rod 44a, the pushing bar 45 pushes both sides of the container 10 toward the center to align it. The cylinder rod 44a of the air cylinder 44 is retracted to return the pushing bar 45, and the actuator 42b of the clamping unit 42 is operated so that the back end of the container 10 is moved by the pusher 42a. When pushed in, the container 10 is firmly clamped while being aligned by the cooperation of the stopper 141 and the pusher 42a.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the openings 13 are formed on both sides of the container 10 accommodated in the compartment 21 of the loading stand 20, the lower pushing unit 51 is formed. When the air cylinder 52 is operated to advance the cylinder rod 52a, the pushing bar 53 pushes both ends of the glass substrate 1 housed in the container 10 to the center to align it. When the alignment of the glass substrate 1 is completed, the cylinder rod 52a of the air cylinder 52 is retracted and the pushing bar 53 is returned. In the case of a closed container in which both sides of the container 10 are closed, the operator pushes the lead screw 59 along the nut 59a by manipulating the adjusting handle 59c of the upper pushing unit 56, thereby pushing. Both ends of the glass substrate 1 accommodated in the container 10 by the bar 60 are pushed to the center and aligned.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5 to 7, when the operator prepares the container 10 in the storage rooms 21 and 31 of each of the loading and unloading stands 20 and 30, the transporter 70 may be moved. The glass substrate 1 is transferred from the container 10 of the loading stand 20 to the handler 120 of the inspection station S3. After the cylinder rod 94a of the chucking air cylinder 94 is retracted so that the fixed gripper 91 and the movable gripper 93 of the first chucking unit 90 are opened, the cylinder rod 79a of the up-down air cylinder 79 is retracted. ) Is retracted to lower the motion head 74 below the rotary column 71. The lowering position of the motion head 74 is limited by the lower stopper 76b. If the shock absorber 78 of the motion head 74 is caught on the top of the post 77 due to a malfunction of the up-down air cylinder 79, the maximum downward position of the motion head 74 is limited. Therefore, it is possible to prevent breakage and safety accident of the glass substrate 1 due to excessive falling of the motion head 74.

On the other hand, the operator grasps the handle 113 in parallel with the lowering motion of the motion head 74, and moves the rotary column 71 of the transporter 70 in the Z-axis rotation, along the X-axis linear motion along the motion head 74 The slide rail 80a of the guide 80 is linearly moved so that the upper side of the first glass substrate 1, which is stored between the stationary gripper 91 and the movable gripper 93, for example, at the rear end of the container 10 in the conveying direction. Allow the stage to intervene. When the cylinder rod 94a of the chucking air cylinder 94 is advanced, the movable gripper 93 which is advanced cooperates with the fixed gripper 91 to chuck the upper end of the glass substrate 1. As such, when the glass substrate 1 is chucked by the fixed and movable grippers 91 and 93 of the first chucking unit 90, the air chuck 112 of the second chucking unit 100 is illustrated in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 9, the gripper 112a and 112b of the air chuck 109 are raised so as not to interfere with the upper end of the glass substrate 1. In addition, the rotary plate 103 of the second chucking unit 100 has a cylinder of the air cylinder 104 such that the grippers 112a and 112b of the air chuck 112 do not interfere with both ends of the glass substrate 1 and move outward. As the rod 104a is retracted, the rod 104a is rotated about the pivot 102.

5, 8 and 9, when the cylinder rod 79a of the up-down air cylinder 79 is advanced to raise the motion head 74 above the rotary column 71, the first chucking unit 90 The glass substrate 1 chucked by) is also raised. Before the lower end of the glass substrate 1 is taken out of the container 10, the cylinder rod 108a of the first up-down air cylinder 108 of the second chucking unit 100 is advanced to the first up-down plate 106. By lowering, the air chuck 112 is first lowered. And the cylinder rod 111a of the 2nd up-down air cylinder 111 is advanced, and the 2nd up-down plate 109 is lowered, and the air chuck 112 is lowered secondary. When the cylinder rod 104a of the air cylinder 104 is advanced to rotate the rotary plate 103 about the pivot 102, the glass substrate 1 is held between the grippers 112a and 112b of the air chuck 112. Both ends are interposed. The grippers 112a and 112b of the air chuck 112 are operated to chuck both ends of the glass substrate 1. At this time, the grippers 112a and 112b of the air chuck 112 chuck a position close to the lower end of the glass substrate 1, for example, both side ends between 100 and 200 mm from the lower end. As described above, by chucking both ends of the glass substrate 1 by the second chucking unit 100 before the lower end of the glass substrate 1 is removed from the container 10, the shaking of the glass substrate 1 can be effectively prevented. By preventing it, the glass substrate 1 can be stably transferred by the transporter 70.

10, 17, and 18, the rim assembly 140 of the handler 120 allows the first and second locking devices 200, 210 to take over the glass substrate 1 of the transporter 70. It is set at the initial position constrained by the cooperation of). As shown in FIG. 17, if the cylinder rod 205a of the locking air cylinder 205 of the first locking device 200 is locked in the locking hole 207 of the locking block 206, the rim assembly 140 ) Is constrained. As shown in FIG. 18, the locking roller 218 of the second locking device 210 is locked in the locking hole 221 of the locking block 220, and the setting pin 219 of the locking block 220. When locked in the setting hole 221, the movement of the rim assembly 140 is restrained. As shown in FIG. 14, the movable gripper 153 of the side chucking unit 150 to take over the glass substrate 70 transferred by the transporter 70 to the rim assembly 140 of the handler 120. Is separated from the fixed gripper 151, and the pusher 163 of the pushing unit 160 is retracted. As shown in FIG. 16A, the movable gripper 176 of the upper chucking unit 170 is separated from the fixed gripper 175.

1 and 10, when the glass substrate 1 is completely taken out of the container 10 by the lifting of the motion head 74, the operator first and second chucking of the transporter 70. The glass substrate 1 chucked to the units 90 and 100 is positioned inside the rim assembly 140 in parallel with the rotational movement of the rotary column 71 and the stretching movement of the X-axis linear motion guide 80. The lower end of the glass substrate 1 is supported by the rest 146, and both ends thereof are supported by the fixed gripper 151 of the side chucking unit 150, and the upper end thereof is the fixed gripper of the upper chucking unit 170. Support at 175.

Referring to FIG. 10, after the worker releases the chucking of the glass substrate 1 by the first and second chucking units 90 and 100 of the transporter 70, the transporter 70 returns to the initial position. Let's do it. When the air cylinder 162 of the pushing unit 160 is operated to advance the cylinder rod 162a, the pusher 163 moves the fourth support bar 144 from the third support bar 143 of the rim assembly 140. One side end of the glass substrate 1 is pushed toward the center. Therefore, the vertical center axis of the glass substrate 1 is aligned with the vertical center axis of the rim assembly 140. After the alignment of the glass substrate 1, when the air cylinder 162 is operated to retract the cylinder rod 162a, the pusher 163 is returned to the initial position.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the chucking air cylinder 154 of the side chucking unit 150 is operated to advance the cylinder rod 154a, the movable gripper 153 is rotated about the pivot 152. The rotatable movable gripper 153 cooperates with the fixed gripper 151 to chuck both ends of the glass substrate 1. As shown in FIG. 16B, when the air cylinder 173 of the upper chucking unit 170 is operated to advance the cylinder rod 173a, the shaft 172 is centered around the bearing 171a of the clamp 171. The rotating gripper 176 rotates with respect to the fixed gripper 175, and the movable gripper 176 cooperates with the fixed gripper 175 to chuck the upper end of the glass substrate 1.

On the other hand, after the glass substrate 1 is held on the rim assembly 140 of the handler 120, the locking air cylinder 205 of the first locking device 200 is operated to retract the cylinder rod 205a. The rod 205a is released from the locking hole 207 of the locking block 206 to release the restraint assembly 140. When the locking air cylinder 216 of the second locking device 210 is operated to retract the cylinder rod 216a, the lever 217 is rotated about the pivot 216, and the locking roller 218 is the locking block. The restraint of the rim assembly 140 is released from the locking hole 221 of 220. When the cylinder rod 129a is advanced by the operation of the up-down air cylinder 129, the entire holding device 130 is raised along with the rotary column 124 together with the motion girder 125 to set the hole of the locking block 220. 222 is separated from the setting pin 219.

Referring to FIG. 10, a worker may freely move the glass substrate 1 held on the rim assembly 140 of the holding device 130 while illuminating the glass substrate 1 by an illumination device. Visual inspection for defects in 1) is to be carried out. The rim assembly 140 rotates about the pivot 185 of the holder assembly 180, and the holder assembly 180 may rotate in the X axis by the operation of the rotary actuator 190. When the cylinder rod 129a is advanced or retracted by the operation of the up-down air cylinder 129, the motion girder 125 and the holding device 130 are moved up or down along the rotary column 124, that is, Z-axis translation. Can be. When the rotary column 124 is rotated about the shaft 122 of the base 121, the entire motion girder 125 and the holding device 140 may be rotated in the Z axis. When the guide rail 129b of the motion girder 125 linearly moves along the guide block 129a of the X-axis linear motion guide 139 in the X-axis direction, the entire holding device 130 is moved by the motion girder 125. X-axis translation can be done. The operator can easily and safely inspect the defects of the glass substrate 1 while freely handling the glass substrate 1 held by the rim assembly 140 of the holding device 130 by the multiple degree of freedom motion of the handler 120. have.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 10 again, when the operator completes the inspection of the glass substrate 1 at the inspection station S3, the rim assembly 140 of the handler 120 may include the first and second locking devices 200. (210). At this time, when the setting pin 219 of the second locking device 210 is fitted to the setting hole 222 of the locking block 220, the rim assembly 140 is correctly aligned at the initial position. As a result, the cylinder rod 205a of the locking air cylinder 205 is also aligned with the locking hole 207 of the locking block 206. Accordingly, the locking operation of the rim assembly 140 by the first and second locking devices 200 and 210 can be accurately performed.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 16A, after the rim assembly 140 of the handler 120 is restrained, the up-down air cylinder 173 of the upper chucking unit 170 is operated to retract the cylinder rod 173a. In this case, the movable gripper 176 is released from the fixed gripper 175 by the rotation of the shaft 172 to release the chucking of the glass substrate 1. 5, 6 and 14, after the upper end of the glass substrate 1 is chucked by the first chucking unit 90 of the transporter 70, the chucking air cylinder of the side chucking unit 150 When the 154 is operated to retract the cylinder rod 154a, the movable gripper 153 is spaced apart from both ends of the glass substrate 1 to release the chucking. The operator contracts the slide rail 80a of the X-axis linear motion guide 80 with respect to the motion head 74 of the transporter 70 to separate the glass substrate 1 from the rim assembly 140, and then the second Both sides of the glass substrate 1 are chucked by the chucking unit 100.

1 to 4, the operator moves the Z-axis rotational movement of the glass column 1 chucked by the first and second chucking units 90 and 100 of the transporter 70. The parallel movement of the Z-axis translational motion of the motion head 74 and the stretching motion of the X-axis linear motion guide 80 is transferred to the container 10 accommodated in the storage compartment 31 of the unloading stand 30. Lastly, for example, the lower end of the first glass substrate 1, which is transported by the operation of the transporter 70, is fitted to the slot 11 formed at the leading end of the container 10 in the transport direction, and the glass substrate 1 ) Is completely received in the slot 11 of the container 10 to release the chucking of the glass substrate (1) by the first and second chucking units (90, 100). Then, the glass substrate 1 is sequentially inspected by loading the second glass substrate 1 from the container 10 of the loading stand 20 to the handler 120 of the inspection station S3 by the operation of the transporter 70. do.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Modifications, variations, or substitutions may be made, and such embodiments are to be understood as being within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the inspection system of the glass substrate according to the present invention, a container containing a plurality of glass substrates is accommodated in the loading stand, and one glass substrate from the loading stand is transferred to the handler of the inspection station by the transporter. After supplying, the glass substrate can be inspected by the handler with multiple degrees of freedom movement, whereby the large and thin glass substrates can be inspected very simply and efficiently. In addition, the glass substrate can be automatically handled, and accurate and stable chucking can effectively prevent breakage of the glass substrate. And by simply inspecting both sides of the glass substrate there is an effect that can greatly improve the reliability of the inspection.

Claims (15)

A loading stand for receiving a container in which a plurality of glass substrates are stored; An unloading stand for receiving a container for receiving the glass substrate, which is unloaded from the loading stand via an inspection station; It is installed between the loading stand and the unloading stand, and transfers one glass substrate from the container of the loading stand to the inspection station, and transfers the glass substrate from the inspection station to the container of the unloading stand. A transporter to make; And a handling means provided in the inspection station so as to receive the single glass substrate from the transporter so as to move freely. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the loading and unloading stands, A frame having a storage compartment in which one side is opened to accommodate the container; A roller conveyor installed at the lower side of the frame to transport the container; And a positioning means for determining a position of the container accommodated in the storage compartment of the frame. The method of claim 2, wherein the positioning means, A plurality of stoppers mounted on the inner side of the frame to constrain the front end of the container in the transport direction; A plurality of clamping means mounted to the bottom of the frame to restrain the trailing direction of the container relative to the stopper; And a pushing unit mounted on both sides of the frame so as to slide both sides of the container toward the center. 3. The inspection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the loading and unloading stands further includes alignment means for aligning both ends of the glass substrate housed in the container to the center. The method of claim 1, wherein the transporter, A rotary column installed to allow the Z-axis rotational movement; A motion head installed to perform Z-axis translation along the rotary column; Drive means for Z-axis translation of the motion head along the rotary column; Expansion means installed to expand and contract with respect to the motion head; And a pair of first chucking means mounted on the front end of the expansion means to chuck both sides of the upper end of the glass substrate. 6. The stretching means according to claim 5, wherein the expansion means includes a pair of long slide rails that can be extended by a linear motion in the X-axis direction from the tip of the motion head, and the motion to guide the linear motion of the slide rail. Inspection system for glass substrates consisting of a pair of guide rails mounted on the bottom of the head. 6. The inspection system according to claim 5, wherein the transporter further comprises a pair of second chucking means mounted on the front end of the expansion means so as to chuck an upper end of both sides of the glass substrate. The method of claim 7, wherein the second chucking means, Arms mounted at both ends of the mounting plate; A rotary plate mounted to the tip of the arm to rotate; An air cylinder for rotating the rotary plate; A first up-down plate disposed to move up and down under the rotary plate; A first up-down air cylinder for lifting and lowering the first up-down plate; And an air chuck provided in the first up-down plate and having an air chuck having a pair of grippers for chucking both ends of the glass substrate. The method of claim 8, wherein the second chucking means is arranged to move up and down the first up-down plate and a second up-down plate on which the air chuck is mounted, mounted on the first up-down plate and the second And a second up-down air cylinder for lifting and lowering the up-down plate. The method of claim 1, wherein the handling means, A rotary column installed at an upper portion of the base to allow Z-axis rotational movement; A motion girder installed to allow Z-axis translation and X-axis translation with respect to the rotary column; Drive means for Z-axis translation of the motion girder along the rotary column; Holding means installed close to the motion girder and holding the glass substrate; And a rotary actuator for rotating the holding means in the X axis with respect to the motion girder. The method of claim 10, wherein the holding means, A rim assembly for accommodating the glass substrate and having upper and lower first and second support bars arranged in parallel with each other so as to be spaced apart from each side of the glass substrate and third and fourth support bars on the left and right sides; A plurality of rests mounted on the second support bar of the rim assembly to support the lower end of the glass substrate; A plurality of side chucking units mounted on the third and fourth support bars of the rim assembly to chuck both side ends of the glass substrate; The rim assembly is mounted so as to be rotatable, the inspection system of the glass substrate consisting of a holder assembly connected to the rotary actuator. The method of claim 11, wherein the side chucking unit, A fixed gripper fixed to the third and fourth support bars of the rim assembly to support both ends of the glass substrate; A movable gripper mounted to rotate the pivot about the fixed gripper and to chuck both ends of the glass substrate; And a chucking air cylinder for rotating the movable gripper about the pivot. According to claim 11 or 12, wherein the holding means is further mounted to the pushing unit to align the glass substrate toward the other one of the third and fourth support bar of the rim assembly, The pushing unit includes an air cylinder mounted to one of the third and fourth support bars, and a pusher for pushing the glass substrate by the operation of the air cylinder. The method of claim 11 or 12, further comprising an upper chucking unit for chucking the upper end of the glass substrate on the upper portion of the rim assembly, the upper chucking unit is fixed to the first support bar of the rim assembly and bearing A plurality of clamps, a shaft supported to rotate by the bearing of the clamp, an air cylinder for rotating the shaft, and fixed to support the upper end of the glass substrate on the first support bar of the rim assembly. And a plurality of fixed grippers, and a plurality of movable grippers mounted on the shaft so as to chuck the upper end of the glass substrate in cooperation with the fixed grippers. 12. The inspection system according to claim 11, further comprising locking means for constraining the position of the rim assembly to take over the glass substrate from the transporter to the rim assembly of the holding means.

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