JP4427240B2 - Sheet material cassette equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cassette apparatus for storing plate materials such as glass substrates.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The color filters constituting the screen of the liquid crystal display are manufactured by, for example, 16-sided multi-sided mounting on a thin glass substrate with a size of about 1100 mm × 1300 mm, for example, and finally divided for each display. A color filter is formed on a glass substrate through various processes such as a film forming process and a coloring process, but it is necessary to temporarily store, transport, and inspect many glass substrates between each process. A cassette device is used for storage and the like.
[0003]
The cassette apparatus is such that shelves are formed in multiple stages in a housing and a glass substrate is horizontally hung on each shelf. For example, a cassette apparatus as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used. In this case, a plurality of wire rods are stretched over the side walls of the housing so as to be arranged on a plane, and shelves with the wire rods are provided in multiple stages at a constant pitch. In general, a robot is used for loading and unloading the glass substrate with respect to each shelf.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-213490 A
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the former cassette apparatus has the following problems.
(1) The robot used for putting in and out the glass substrate is expensive.
(2) A large space is required for installing the robot.
(3) It is necessary to provide a lift pin or the like for temporarily floating the glass substrate on the shelf when the glass substrate is put in and out of the shelf by the robot hand, which complicates the apparatus structure.
(4) The amount of bending of the glass substrate increases with the increase in size of the glass substrate, so that a suction error of the robot hand is likely to occur and the operation efficiency is lowered.
(5) Since it is necessary to secure an entry space for the robot hand between the shelves when inserting and removing the glass substrate, the pitch of the shelves increases and the accommodation efficiency decreases.
[0006]
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plate material storage cassette device that can solve the above problems.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is formed by spanning a plurality of rod-like or linear support members (9) arranged on one plane between the left and right side surfaces of the housing (7). are, shelves for supporting the plate (8) in a plane are arranged in multiple stages in the housing (7) in, and a deflection preventing rollers (3), between the said casing (7) the relative vertical movement by passed through between the rod-like or linear support member (9) in the vertical direction in the empty shelves of the above multistage shelf, allowed reaching an empty shelf of a desired stage, the plate material (8) in an empty shelf after having stopped at a position capable of floating from the rod-shaped or linear supporting member, a plate member (8) coming from the outside of the housing to the empty shelves direction perpendicular to the rod-like or linear support member carry allowed, or by the deflection preventing rollers, the relative vertical movement between the said housing The position where the plate-like or linear support member in the empty shelf among the multi-stage shelves penetrates vertically between the rod-like or linear support members to reach the shelf on which the plate material rides, and the plate material floats from the rod-like or linear support member on the shelf Then, a plate material storage cassette device provided with a transport unit (1) for carrying the plate material out of the shelf in a direction perpendicular to the rod-like or linear support member (9) is employed.
[0008]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the housing (7) and the transport unit (1) perform a relative lifting operation, and the transport unit (1) penetrates the shelf in the vertical direction and reaches the shelf at a desired stage. Then, since the board | plate material (8) is carried in or carried out with respect to the said shelf, the robot for carrying in or carrying out the board | plate material (8) conventionally required becomes unnecessary. Therefore, space saving, simplification of the apparatus structure, and improvement of the conveyance efficiency of the glass substrate can be achieved, and the accommodation efficiency of the plate material (8) such as the glass substrate can be increased by reducing the shelf pitch.
[0009]
Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the plate material storage cassette device according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit (1) is provided with a number of rollers (3) on the plane in contact with the plate material (8). Adopt cassette equipment.
[0010]
According to the second aspect of the invention, the plate material (8) is conveyed while being in contact with the plate material (8) in a state where a large number of rollers (3) are arranged on a plane, so that the plate material (8) bends. It goes in and out of the shelf smoothly.
[0011]
Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the plate material storage cassette device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising lifting means (12) for raising and lowering the housing, and loading or unloading the plate material (8) to and from the shelf. The sheet storage cassette apparatus in which the transfer conveyor (14) for performing the above is provided at a predetermined height position is employed.
[0012]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the casing (7) is moved up and down by the elevating means (12) and the predetermined shelf is opposed to the transport conveyor (14) at the predetermined height position. ) Can be taken in and out of the cassette device. Therefore, the delivery of the plate material (8) can be easily performed in the processing line for the plate material (8).
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plate material storage cassette apparatus includes a rectangular parallelepiped casing 7.
[0015]
The front and rear side surfaces of the housing 7 are opened for taking in and out the glass substrate 8 which is a plate material, and a plurality of vertical frames 7a are provided at regular intervals on the other opposite left and right side surfaces.
[0016]
Between the left and right side surfaces of the housing 7, a plurality of round bars 9 having the same diameter, which are supporting members of the glass substrate 8, are spanned so as to be arranged on a plane, and the plurality of round bars 9 are formed on the housing 7. It is arranged in multiple stages between the sides. That is, one shelf is formed by a group of round bars 9 having the same diameter arranged on one plane, and a plurality of shelves are formed in the vertical direction. Thus, since one shelf is formed by many support members, the glass substrate 8 put on each shelf is held horizontally without causing a large deflection.
[0017]
The round bars 9 as the support members are arranged in a straight line in the vertical direction of the housing 7 in the illustrated example, but may be arranged in a staggered pattern. In addition, the support member is a round bar 9 in the illustrated example, but it may be formed of a square bar or the like, or may be formed of a wire such as a wire. Further, the round bar 9 is, for example, one having a metal shaft covered with a rubber material, and preferably PEEK (polyether ether ketone) having a hard surface and a large friction coefficient is used as the coating material.
[0018]
As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the housing | casing 7 is mounted on the elevator which is a raising / lowering means.
[0019]
The elevator includes a screw rod 10 provided perpendicularly to locations corresponding to the four corners of the housing 7, and a lifting platform 12 supported by the screw rod 10 via a nut 11. A ball screw is preferably used for screwing the screw rod 10 and the nut 11 together. One screw rod 10 is driven by a motor 13 controlled by a control device (not shown), and the other screw rods 10 are rotated synchronously by a timing belt or the like. By driving the motor 13, the lifting platform 12 moves up and down at every shelf pitch constituted by the round bar 9 and stops when a desired shelf matches the transport conveyor 14.
[0020]
The conveyor 14 is installed at a certain height so as to face the front side surface of the housing 7, and stores the glass substrate 8 in the housing 7 or discharges it from the housing 7 every time the lifting platform 12 stops. It is like that.
[0021]
As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the conveyance part 1 for conveying the glass substrate 8 is provided under the elevator.
[0022]
The transport unit 1 includes a bracket 2 that is installed on a floor on which an elevator is disposed and extends in the up-down direction, and a roller 3 that is rotatably supported on the upper end of the bracket 2. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of brackets 2 are arranged on the left and right sides of the housing 7, and as shown in FIG. 1, a large number of pairs of brackets 2 are arranged between the round bars 9 in the front-rear direction of the housing 7. Is done. The roller 3 is fixed to the rotating shaft 4 spanned between the pair of brackets 2 and 2 at a predetermined interval. All the rollers 3 are arranged on one plane, and all or a part thereof is driven by a driving device (not shown). The elevator platform 12 of the elevator is lowered, and the desired shelf of the casing 7 is moved from the position shown in FIGS. 3A and 4A to the position shown in FIGS. 3B and 4B. When it is lowered to the height and stopped, the glass substrate 8 on the shelf is slightly lifted from the round bar 9. Therefore, when the roller 3 is driven and rotated, the glass substrate 8 is discharged from the shelf as shown in FIG. The glass substrate 8 is unloaded onto the transfer conveyor 14 and sent to a predetermined processing step by the transfer conveyor 14. When the glass substrate 8 is introduced onto the shelf, the roller 3 rotates in the reverse direction to convey the glass substrate 8 into the shelf, and then the lifting platform 12 is raised to move the glass substrate 8 on the roller 3 to the round bar 9. Receive on. The roller 3 is formed in a roller shape like a wheel in the illustrated example, but may be formed in a cylindrical shape.
[0023]
Next, the operation of the cassette apparatus having the above configuration will be described.
[0024]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the glass substrate 8 is stored in all the shelves of the cassette apparatus, and the glass substrate 8 is discharged from the lowest shelf.
[0025]
First, the lifting platform 12 is lowered, and the roller 3 reaches the lowest shelf by the relative lifting operation with the casing 7. As shown in FIGS. 3 (B) and 4 (B), the elevator 12 stops when the roller 3 lifts the glass substrate 8 on the shelf slightly from the round bar 9.
[0026]
Therefore, the roller 3 is driven and rotated, and the glass substrate 8 is discharged from the shelf as shown in FIG. This glass substrate 8 is carried out on the conveyance conveyor 14, and the conveyance conveyor 14 sends this glass substrate 8 to a predetermined color filter processing step.
[0027]
Subsequently, the elevator platform 12 of the elevator is lowered by one pitch of the shelf, and the glass substrate 8 on the shelf on the upper level is floated on the round bar 9. It rotates and discharge | emits to the conveyance conveyor 14, and the conveyance conveyor 14 sends the glass substrate 8 to a color filter process process.
[0028]
Thereafter, the above operation is repeated up to the glass substrate 8 on the uppermost shelf, and all the glass substrates 8 in the cassette apparatus are discharged.
[0029]
In order to store the glass substrate 8 in an empty cassette device, the elevator 12 is lowered by driving the elevator until the uppermost shelf faces the conveyor 14. Further, the bracket 2 of the transport unit 1 penetrates the shelf in the vertical direction, and the upper edge of the roller 3 protrudes slightly above the round bar 9 of the uppermost shelf.
[0030]
A glass substrate 8 discharged from a predetermined color filter processing step is placed on the transport conveyor 14, and the glass substrate 8 is sent onto a roller 9. The roller 9 carries the glass substrate 8 onto the shelf as shown in FIG. 3C while rotating.
[0031]
Subsequently, the elevator platform 12 of the elevator is raised by one pitch of the shelf, and the shelf at the next lower stage is opposed to the conveyor 14. Further, as the elevating platform 12 is raised, the carried glass substrate 8 is placed on the round bar 9 of the uppermost shelf.
[0032]
Thereafter, the above operation is repeated up to the lowest shelf, and the glass substrate 8 is placed on all the shelves in the cassette apparatus.
[0033]
In the above-described embodiment, the casing 7 can be moved up and down by an elevator. However, the casing 7 may be set at a fixed position, and the conveyor 14 and the transport unit 1 may be moved up and down by an elevator. Moreover, although the glass substrate 8 was used as what is accommodated in a shelf, it is also possible to accommodate other board | plate materials.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
According to the invention of claim 1, a shelf for supporting a plurality of rod-like or linear support member aligned on one plane is formed by being stretched between the left and right sides of the housing, the plate material in a plane but the housing to be arranged in multiple stages, and the deflection preventing rollers, between the rod-shaped or linear support member in an empty shelf of the multi-stage shelf by relative vertical movement between the said housing is vertically penetrating, allowed reaching an empty shelf of the desired stage, the plate material after having stopped at a position capable of floating from the rod-shaped or linear support member in the empty shelf, the plate member coming from the outside of the housing Carry it into the empty shelf in a direction perpendicular to the rod-like or linear support member , or use the anti-deflection roller and move up and down from the multi-stage shelf by the relative lifting operation with the housing. Vertically penetrates between the rod-like or linear support members on the shelf The board is made to reach the shelf on which the board is placed, and the board is stopped at a position where it floats from the rod-like or linear support member on the shelf, and then the board is taken in a direction perpendicular to the rod-like or linear support member. A plate storage cassette device with a transport unit that can be carried out of the shelf . The housing and transport unit move up and down relative to each other, and the transport unit penetrates the shelf vertically and reaches the shelf at the desired level. Then, since the board | plate material is carried in or carried out with respect to the said shelf, the robot conventionally required becomes unnecessary. Therefore, space saving, simplification of the apparatus structure, and improvement of the efficiency of transporting the glass substrate can be achieved, and the shelf pitch can be reduced to increase the housing efficiency of the plate material such as the glass substrate.
[0035]
According to the invention according to claim 2, in the plate material storage cassette device according to claim 1, since the transport unit is a plate material storage cassette device provided on a plane with a large number of rollers in contact with the plate material, The plate material is conveyed while contacting the plate material in a state where the rollers are arranged on a plane, and the plate material smoothly enters and exits the shelf without bending.
[0036]
According to the invention according to claim 3, in the plate material storage cassette device according to claim 1 or 2, the lifting means for moving the casing up and down is provided, and a conveyor for carrying in or carrying out the plate material with respect to the shelf is predetermined. The plate storage cassette device is installed at the height position of the plate, and the casing is moved up and down by the lifting and lowering means so that the predetermined shelf faces the transfer conveyor at the predetermined height position. can do. Therefore, it is convenient for delivery of the plate material in the plate material processing line.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a cassette storage cassette device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the plate material storage cassette device shown in FIG. 1;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are side views showing a part extracted from FIG. 1, in which FIG. 3A shows a state where the transport unit is waiting below the shelf, and FIG. 3B is a view where the transport unit contacts the glass substrate on the shelf; (C) shows the state which discharges | emits a glass substrate from a shelf.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing a part extracted from FIG. 2, in which (A) shows a state where the transport unit is waiting below the shelf, and (B) is a state where the transport unit contacts the glass substrate on the shelf. Shows the state.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveyance part 3 ... Roller 7 ... Housing 8 ... Glass substrate 12 ... Elevating stand 14 ... Conveyor

Claims (3)

A plurality of rod-like or linear support member aligned on one plane is formed by being stretched between the left and right sides of the housing, shelves for supporting the plate in a planar shape, they are arranged in multiple stages in the housing , and the deflection prevention rollers, the relative vertical movement between the said housing is penetrated between the rod-shaped or linear support member in an empty shelf of the above multistage shelf in the vertical direction, the desired stage After reaching the empty shelf and stopping the plate material at a position where it can float from the rod-like or linear support member on the empty shelf , the plate material coming from outside the casing is perpendicular to the rod-like or linear support member. It allowed carried into the empty shelf in the direction, or by the deflection preventing rollers, between the rod-like or linear support member in an empty shelf of the multi-stage shelf by relative vertical movement between the said housing To reach the shelf on which the board was placed. Tighten, the plate material after having stopped at a position to be floated from the rod-like or wire-like support member in the shelf, the transport unit which allowed to discharge to the outside of the shelf provided the plate material in a direction perpendicular to the rod-like or linear support member A cassette device for storing plate material, characterized in that   2. The plate material storage cassette device according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit includes a plurality of rollers on a flat surface in contact with the plate material.   3. The plate material storage cassette device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a raising / lowering means for raising and lowering the casing is provided, and a conveyor for carrying in or carrying out the plate material with respect to the shelf is provided at a predetermined height position. A cassette device for storing plate materials.

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