Glass packaging device and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a glass packaging device and method, and relates to the technical field of glass packaging. The device comprises a sealing cover shell, a conveying mechanism, a vacuumizing mechanism, a welding mechanism and a mechanical arm, a closed environment is formed through the sealing cover shell, the vacuumizing mechanism exhausts internal air, the welding mechanism conducts high-temperature fusion welding on the edge of laminated glass, and the mechanical arm clamps a pressure clamp to maintain the attaching state of the glass after welding. According to the method, the processes of feeding, vacuumizing, welding, pressurizing, annealing and discharging are executed by adopting the device. According to the scheme, oxidation pollution in the welding process is effectively reduced through a fully-closed environment and automatic control, the sealing strength and airtightness are improved, the packaging quality stability is guaranteed, and the method is suitable for the field of manufacturing of high-end photoelectric and vacuum devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of glass encapsulation technology, and particularly relates to a glass encapsulation device and method. Background Technology

[0002] Glass encapsulation technology is widely used in optoelectronic displays, solar cells, and vacuum device manufacturing, and has a decisive impact on the product's hermeticity, structural strength, and optical performance. With the increasing demands for packaging precision in high-end electronic devices, automated packaging processes have become the mainstream development direction in the industry. However, in existing technologies, the glass encapsulation process is susceptible to external environmental interference, leading to oxidation or contamination in the welding area, affecting the stability of the packaging quality. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides a glass encapsulation device and method, which can solve the technical problem of reduced welding quality in multilayer glass due to external environmental influences during the encapsulation process.

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, in one aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a glass encapsulation device for encapsulating at least two layers of stacked glass, comprising: The sealing cover includes a cover body and a sealing door. The cover body has an inlet and an outlet, and a sealing door is installed at both the inlet and outlet positions of the cover body. The sealing door can open or seal the inlet or outlet. The conveying mechanism, installed inside the housing, is used to receive glass entering from the inlet and finally convey it to the outlet. The vacuuming mechanism is connected to the sealing cover and is used to create a vacuum inside the sealing cover. The welding mechanism, located inside a sealed enclosure, is used for high-temperature melting welding of the edges of stacked glass. The robotic arm, housed within a sealed enclosure, is used to clamp the pressure clamp onto the glass after it has been fused and welded at high temperatures, and to remove the pressure clamp after the glass has been annealed.

[0005] In one optional embodiment, the housing body includes a preparation chamber, an operating chamber, an annealing chamber, and a disassembly chamber that are connected in sequence. The feed inlet is located in the preparation chamber, the discharge outlet is located in the disassembly chamber, and the welding mechanism is located in the operating chamber.

[0006] In one alternative embodiment, the vacuuming mechanism is connected to the preparation chamber.

[0007] In one optional embodiment, the operating room is provided with a first operating table, the disassembly room is provided with a second operating table, the conveying mechanism is capable of conveying glass to the first operating table or the second operating table, the welding mechanism is used to weld the glass located on the first operating table, and the robotic arm is used to clamp the pressure clamp on the glass located on the first operating table in the operating room and remove the pressure clamp in the disassembly room.

[0008] In one optional embodiment, the conveying mechanism includes a first conveying section, a second conveying section, and a third conveying section. The first conveying section is located between the feed inlet and the first operating table, the second conveying section is located between the first operating table and the second operating table, and the third conveying section is located between the second operating table and the discharge outlet.

[0009] In one optional embodiment, both the first and second operating tables include a support frame and a plurality of roller assemblies. The roller assembly includes a drive unit and a conveying roller. The drive unit is mounted on the support frame, and the conveying roller is rotatably mounted on the support frame. The drive unit is used to control the rotation of the conveying roller, and the glass support is placed on the roller.

[0010] In one optional embodiment, the robotic arm includes a translation drive assembly and two support arms, which are respectively mounted at both ends of the translation drive assembly. Each support arm is equipped with a pressure clamp, which has a clamping groove. The translation drive assembly can drive the two pressure clamps to move closer or further away from each other, so that the opposite sides of the glass are confined to the clamping groove or disengaged from the clamping groove. The robotic arm can move with the roller assembly and the conveying mechanism.

[0011] In one alternative embodiment, the glass encapsulation device further includes a gas filling mechanism connected to the sealing housing for filling the sealing housing with inert gas.

[0012] In one alternative embodiment, the welding mechanism is a laser welding machine.

[0013] On the other hand, embodiments of the present invention provide a glass encapsulation method, employing the aforementioned glass encapsulation apparatus, comprising the following steps: At least two layers of stacked glass enter the conveying mechanism through the feed inlet; The vacuuming mechanism creates a vacuum inside the sealed housing; The conveying mechanism transports the glass to the first preset position, the welding mechanism performs high-temperature melting welding on the edges of the stacked glass, and then the robotic arm clamps the pressure clamp onto the glass after the high-temperature melting welding. The conveying mechanism transports the glass to the second preset position for annealing; The conveying mechanism transports the glass to the third preset position, the robotic arm removes the pressure clamp, and the glass is then transported out of the discharge port.

[0014] The glass encapsulation device and method provided in this invention have at least the following advantages compared with the prior art: A sealed working environment is formed by the sealing shell, preventing oxidation contamination caused by the intrusion of external air; air is removed from the sealed shell by a vacuum mechanism, significantly reducing the oxygen content in the welding area; high-temperature fusion welding is performed on the edges of the stacked glass using a welding mechanism, achieving fusion connection at the glass molecular level; a robotic arm immediately clamps the pressure clamp after fusion welding, ensuring that the upper and lower glass remain tightly fitted during cooling; finally, the glass is transported to the annealing area by a conveying mechanism to complete stress release. This design effectively suppresses stress cracking and misalignment during the cooling process of the molten area, ensuring the uniformity and airtightness of the welding interface; simultaneously, the sealed environment combined with vacuum treatment significantly reduces the risk of impurity introduction, improving the sealing strength and optical performance consistency; the synergistic effect of the robotic arm and pressure clamp avoids positioning deviations caused by manual operation, ensuring the stability of the encapsulation quality. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a glass encapsulation device provided in one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of a glass encapsulation device provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] The reference numerals in the accompanying drawings are as follows: 100-Glass encapsulation device, 110-Sealing cover, 111-Cover body, 112-Inlet, 113-Outlet, 114-Preparation chamber, 115-Operating chamber, 116-Annealing chamber, 117-Disassembly chamber, 120-Conveying mechanism, 121-First conveying section, 122-Second conveying section, 123-Third conveying section, 130-Welding mechanism, 140-Robotic arm, 150-Pressure clamp, 160-First operating table, 161-Support frame, 162-Roller assembly, 170-Second operating table. Detailed Implementation

[0018] To make the technical problems solved, the technical solutions, and the beneficial effects of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

[0019] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal," "radial," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0020] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0021] like Figures 1 to 2 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a glass encapsulation device 100 for encapsulating at least two layers of stacked glass, including a sealing shell 110, a conveying mechanism 120, a vacuuming mechanism, a welding mechanism 130, and a robotic arm 140.

[0022] The sealing cover 110 includes a cover body 111 and sealing doors. The cover body 111 has an inlet 112 and an outlet 113, and sealing doors are installed at both the inlet 112 and the outlet 113. The sealing doors can open or seal the inlet 112 or the outlet 113. A conveying mechanism 120 is installed inside the cover body 111. The conveying mechanism 120 is used to receive glass entering from the inlet 112 and finally convey it to the outlet 113. A vacuuming mechanism is connected to the sealing cover 110 and is used to evacuate the sealing cover 110. A welding mechanism 130 is located inside the sealing cover 110 and is used to perform high-temperature melting welding on the edges of the stacked glass. A robotic arm 140 is located inside the sealing cover 110 and is used to clamp a pressure clamp 150 onto the glass after high-temperature melting welding and remove the pressure clamp 150 after the glass is annealed.

[0023] This embodiment provides a fully enclosed glass encapsulation device 100, the core of which lies in constructing an integrated encapsulation platform integrating "airtight isolation, automatic transmission, vacuum / atmosphere control, and precise pressure application." This solution physically isolates the external environment through a sealed casing 110, combined with vacuuming, fundamentally eliminating oxidation and contamination sources. The conveying mechanism 120 enables precise positioning and continuous flow of the glass between various workstations; the welding mechanism 130 completes controllable fusion connection of edge areas; and the robotic arm 140 undertakes the dynamic clamping and unloading tasks of the pressure clamp 150, ensuring the mechanical constraint stability throughout the entire process of molten to solid transformation. Overall, this device breaks through the strong dependence of traditional glass encapsulation on cleanroom levels, manual intervention, and single-operation cycle time, providing an engineering-feasible technical path for high-reliability micro-nano-level glass encapsulation.

[0024] The sealing housing 110 serves as the environmental control carrier for the entire machine. The housing body 111 is made of stainless steel or nickel-based alloy, with its inner surface electrochemically polished to reduce adsorption and outgassing rates. The sealing door employs a double-ring fluororubber vacuum flange structure, driven by a pneumatic actuator to ensure sealing. The inlet 112 and outlet 113 are located at opposite ends of the housing body 111, forming rectangular openings suitable for the glass to be sealed. The opening and closing logic of the sealing door is strictly interlocked with the movement of the conveying mechanism 120—the vacuuming process can only be initiated after the glass is fully inside the housing and the inlet 112 sealing door is closed. Alternatively, the sealing door can also employ a magnetically coupled rotary gate valve structure, or be equipped with an infrared position sensor and PLC closed-loop control to achieve millisecond-level response sealing.

[0025] The conveying mechanism 120 is a built-in modular conveying system, consisting of a high-temperature resistant ceramic guide rail, a servo motor-driven synchronous belt module, and a heat-resistant polyimide (PI) tray. The tray surface has a micro-groove array (0.1–0.3 mm deep) to limit the four corners of the glass, preventing interlayer shifting due to conveying vibration. The conveying path runs horizontally through the housing body 111, providing high repeatability. Its power unit and control system are located on the outside of the housing body 111, transmitting power and signals only through magnetic coupling or a bellows-sealed interface, avoiding internal heat generation and contamination. As a variation, the conveying mechanism 120 can also employ a linear motor-driven magnetic levitation platform, or consist of multiple independently controlled roller sections, with adjustable speeds for each section to adapt to different process cycles.

[0026] The vacuum pumping mechanism comprises a three-stage vacuum system: a rotary vane mechanical pump in the front stage, a molecular pump in the middle stage, and a cold trap at the end to capture water vapor and volatile organic compounds; the vacuum lines are connected via all-metal quick-release flanges with nickel-plated passivated inner walls; the pressure sensor is a capacitive thin-film gauge, providing real-time feedback of the absolute pressure inside the housing; the target vacuum level is ≤5×10⁻³ Pa. Alternatively, the vacuum pumping mechanism can integrate a turbomolecular pump and a cryogenic pump composite system, or a diffusion pump + titanium sublimation pump combination, to achieve higher vacuum levels (≤1×10⁻³ Pa). 4 Pa) demand.

[0027] The welding mechanism 130 is a non-contact energy input unit. Its core is a fiber-coupled semiconductor laser (wavelength 915nm or 976nm) with a focused spot diameter ≤50μm and continuously adjustable output power (0.5–3kW). It is equipped with a high-speed galvanometer scanning system and a coaxial CCD vision positioning module. The laser beam is focused on the intersection line of the glass edges by a ZnSe lens group, achieving a local instantaneous temperature rise to 1200–1300℃, causing the soda-lime glass or borosilicate glass to viscously flow and fuse together. The welding trajectory is generated by preset path planning software, supporting straight line, broken line, and conformal scanning modes. The welding speed is 5–20mm / s, the penetration depth is 0.1–0.5mm, and the heat-affected zone width is <0.3mm. As a variant, the welding mechanism 130 can also be replaced with a CO2 laser (wavelength 10.6μm), an excimer laser (KrF, 248nm), or a high-frequency induction heating head to adapt to different glass compositions and thickness combinations.

[0028] The robotic arm 140 features a dual-station quick-change interface at its end effector, compatible with various sizes of pressure clamps 150. Its motion logic is strictly programmed according to the process sequence: the pressure clamp 150 is installed within 3–5 seconds after welding (response delay ≤100ms), and unclamping is performed after annealing and when the glass temperature drops to ≤100℃. The robotic arm 140 body employs a fully enclosed protective cover and positive pressure purging design to prevent glass dust from entering the joint bearings. Alternatively, the robotic arm 140 can also utilize a SCARA structure four-axis robot (emphasizing high-precision, rapid response in the horizontal plane), or consist of two independent three-axis gantry cranes working together, one responsible for clamping and the other for unloading, thus enhancing parallel processing capabilities.

[0029] The aforementioned components do not exist in isolation, but rather constitute a closed-loop collaborative system: the sealed enclosure 110 provides a unified environmental benchmark for all internal operations; the conveying mechanism 120 precisely delivers the glass to the working area of ​​the welding mechanism 130, and transfers it to the effective working area of ​​the robotic arm 140 after welding; the vacuuming mechanism starts immediately after the glass is in place, ensuring that the welding mechanism 130 operates in a clean, low-oxygen atmosphere; the action triggering of the robotic arm 140 strictly depends on the arrival signal of the conveying mechanism 120 and the welding completion feedback signal, and its clamping timing and pressure value setting are directly related to the viscosity evolution curve of the molten glass—applying pressure too early can easily lead to molten material loss, while applying it too late cannot suppress shrinkage stress. Each stage achieves millisecond-level data synchronization via industrial Ethernet (EtherCAT protocol), and is uniformly scheduled by a central PLC.

[0030] Through the above technical solutions, this application achieves the following: In the glass encapsulation process, firstly, the sealing shell 110 and the sealing door form a physical barrier to block the intrusion of external air and pollutants; then, a low-oxygen environment is quickly established through a vacuuming mechanism to significantly suppress the oxidation reaction and bubble generation during the high-temperature melting of the glass; the conveying mechanism 120 ensures high-precision and undisturbed flow of the glass in each functional area; the welding mechanism 130 uses laser energy to achieve controllable melting and atomic-level diffusion bonding at the glass edge; and the robotic arm 140 is used during the critical window period of the molten state to solid-state phase transition (i.e., the glass viscosity decreases from 10²dPa·s to 10). 7 Applying mechanical constraints in a timely manner (within the dPa·s range) effectively suppresses interface separation, warping, and microcrack propagation caused by uneven thermal stress and shrinkage. This solves the common problems in the prior art, such as low sealing strength, poor airtightness, and large fluctuations in yield caused by environmental interference, human intervention, and lag in pressure control, achieving a highly consistent, highly reliable, and mass-producible glass vacuum sealing effect.

[0031] Based on the above embodiments, this embodiment further provides, such as Figures 1 to 2 As shown, the housing body 111 includes a preparation chamber 114, an operation chamber 115, an annealing chamber 116, and a disassembly chamber 117 connected in sequence. A feed inlet 112 is located in the preparation chamber 114, and a discharge outlet 113 is located in the disassembly chamber 117. A welding mechanism 130 is located within the operation chamber 115. A first operating table 160 is provided in the operation chamber 115, and a second operating table 170 is provided in the disassembly chamber 117. The glass encapsulation device 100 also includes a gas filling mechanism, which is connected to the sealing housing 110 and used to fill the sealing housing 110 with inert gas.

[0032] This technical solution divides the sealed enclosure 110 into four functionally distinct, sequentially connected, and physically interconnected process chambers in a spatial dimension, constructing a unidirectional flow, gradient transition, and zone-controllable glass encapsulation process path. Specifically, the preparation chamber 114 handles environmental pretreatment before glass feeding; the operation chamber 115 serves as the core process execution area, centrally performing high-cleanliness, high-energy-density welding operations; the annealing chamber 116 provides a stable temperature control field to achieve stress relaxation in the molten region; and the disassembly chamber 117 is dedicated to post-processing operations, ensuring that the front-end vacuum environment remains undisturbed.

[0033] The housing body 111 adopts an integrated rigid shell structure, which is divided into four chamber units that are connected end to end in space and continuously connected in the flow channel by detachable or fixed partitions. Each chamber is provided with a transition channel with a sealed door or a shared conveyor track to ensure that the glass substrate can enter the next station step by step without interrupting the conveying. As an optional implementation, the four chambers can also adopt a modular assembly structure. Each module has an independent flange interface, vacuum gauge interface and gas pipeline quick connector, which facilitates on-site assembly, maintenance or process upgrade.

[0034] The feed inlet 112 is a rectangular opening located on the side wall of the preparation chamber 114. Its size is adapted to the largest glass to be packaged. A sealing door is installed at the opening. This sealing door can be a pneumatic lifting gate, a rotary butterfly valve, or a magnetic sliding door. The sealing surface of the door is equipped with a fluororubber or perfluoroether rubber (FFKM) sealing ring to ensure a helium leak detection rate of ≤1×10⁻³Pa·m³ / s in the preparation chamber 114 when closed. The feed inlet 112 is located on the side of the preparation chamber 114 away from the operating chamber 115 to extend the residence path of the glass in the preparation chamber 114 and facilitate sufficient pre-vacuuming. As a variation, the feed inlet 112 can also integrate an automatic alignment guide groove and a photoelectric sensor positioning device to assist the glass in accurately entering the starting section of the conveying mechanism 120.

[0035] The discharge port 113 is a rectangular outlet located on the side wall of the disassembly chamber 117. Its position matches the end of the conveying mechanism 120, ensuring that the glass can be directly output to the external buffer platform or packaging station after the pressure clamp 150 is removed. The discharge port 113 is also equipped with a sealing door, which forms a flexible air curtain or a slightly positive pressure nitrogen curtain with the external environment when opened, preventing external dust and moisture from flowing back in. A buffer tray or a sloping chute can be configured below the discharge port 113 to facilitate manual or robotic receiving. As an optional implementation, the discharge port 113 can also be equipped with a visual inspection window and an infrared temperature probe for real-time monitoring of the surface temperature of the discharged glass and the integrity of the edge welds.

[0036] The welding mechanism 130 is a high-precision heat source device fixedly installed on a load-bearing bracket or foundation inside the operating room 115, and its working area covers the first operating table 160 inside the operating room 115. The welding mechanism 130 must be able to stably output focused energy under inert atmosphere (such as high-purity nitrogen or argon, purity ≥99.999%) and vacuum degree ≤10Pa. Its installation position avoids the movement trajectory of the conveyor rollers and reserves space for maintenance and optical path calibration. As an alternative, the welding mechanism 130 can also adopt an adjustable installation structure, for example, by combining linear slide rails and servo motors to achieve XYZ three-axis fine adjustment to adapt to the weld trajectory planning of glass of different sizes. In addition, the protective shell of the welding mechanism 130 meets the laser safety level sealing requirements and integrates a fume extraction interface to connect to an external central dust removal system.

[0037] The spatial layout and functional allocation of the four chambers mentioned above are not isolated, but constitute an organically coordinated whole: the pre-vacuuming of the preparation chamber 114 lays the foundation for the rapid establishment of a high-cleanliness welding environment in the operation chamber 115, avoiding time delays and pressure surges caused by the one-time evacuation of the main chamber; the sealed welding operation in the operation chamber 115 prevents high-temperature radiation and metal vapor from diffusing to other chambers, ensuring the temperature field stability of the annealing chamber 116 and the operational safety of the disassembly chamber 117; the slow cooling process of the annealing chamber 116 relies on the thermal isolation design between it and the operation chamber 115 (such as setting heat insulation partitions or air gaps) to prevent the continuous input of welding residual heat from affecting the accuracy of the annealing curve; and the independent setting of the disassembly chamber 117 completely removes the mechanical disassembly action of the pressure clamp 150 from the vacuum and high-temperature sensitive areas, reducing the risk of equipment failure and improving the convenience of human-machine interaction. The four chambers are physically connected by a conveying mechanism 120, and are logically linked with the control system through gas lines, vacuum lines, and other means, together supporting the closed-loop operation of the glass from feeding → pretreatment → welding → pressurization → annealing → disassembly → discharge.

[0038] Through the above technical solution, this application achieves spatial decoupling and orderly integration of multi-stage glass encapsulation processes. When two pieces of glass to be encapsulated enter the preparation chamber 114 through the inlet 112, a preliminary vacuum is first performed in the chamber (pressure is reduced to the level of 10²–10³ Pa) to eliminate adsorbed water vapor and residual gas. Subsequently, the glass is sent into the operation chamber 115 by the conveying mechanism 120. In an environment filled with high-purity inert gas (such as nitrogen), the welding mechanism 130 located in the chamber performs high-temperature melting welding on the glass edges. After welding, the glass continues to move into the annealing chamber 116, where stress release is completed under a controlled heating-holding-slow cooling curve. Finally, it arrives at the disassembly chamber 117, where the pressure clamp 150 is removed by the robotic arm 140 under normal pressure or slightly positive pressure and output through the outlet 113.

[0039] Because the preparation chamber 114, operation chamber 115, annealing chamber 116 and disassembly chamber 117 are structurally connected in sequence and have strictly separate functions, the process crossover that is prone to occur in the original single closed cavity (such as high temperature disturbance of the annealing temperature field during welding, vibration of disassembly affecting vacuum sealing, and airflow impacting weld formation) can be effectively avoided. This solves the fundamental problems of poor process stability, difficult control of environmental parameters, and weak process continuity caused by the mixed functions of the cavity in the prior art, and significantly improves the glass encapsulation yield, edge weld density and long-term vacuum maintenance performance.

[0040] In this embodiment, the vacuuming mechanism is connected to the preparation chamber 114. For example... Figures 1 to 2 As shown, the conveying mechanism 120 can convey glass to the first operating table 160 or the second operating table 170, the welding mechanism 130 is used to weld the glass located on the first operating table 160, and the robotic arm 140 is used to clamp the pressure clamp 150 on the glass located on the first operating table 160 in the operating chamber 115 and remove the pressure clamp 150 in the disassembly chamber 117.

[0041] This embodiment constructs a modular support and positioning platform for key processes by setting up dedicated operating tables in the operating chamber 115 and the disassembly chamber 117: the first operating table 160 is dedicated to high-precision welding operations, and the second operating table 170 is dedicated to unloading operations of the pressure clamp 150; the conveying mechanism 120 serves as a cross-chamber linkage carrier to realize the orderly flow of glass workpieces between different functional areas; the welding mechanism 130 and the robotic arm 140 rely on their respective operating tables to complete the process actions that are spatially decoupled and temporally connected. This structural design achieves a synergistic improvement in the uniformity of welding positioning reference, the controllability of pressure clamping actions, and the repeatability of unclamping operations without increasing the overall equipment volume.

[0042] The operating room 115 includes a first operating platform 160, which is an independent load-bearing unit rigidly installed on the internal base plate or support frame of the operating room 115. Its top surface flatness is better than ±0.05mm, its horizontal adjustment range is ±2°, and it has a fine-tuning locking mechanism to accommodate the thickness tolerances of different batches of glass. The tabletop material of the first operating platform 160 can be selected as high-temperature resistant alumina ceramic with a thermal expansion coefficient of less than 1.5×10⁻. 6 / K ensures deformation stability under the instantaneous high temperature (1200–1300℃) of laser welding; its planar dimensions are adapted to typical packaging glass specifications, and the edge of the table is equipped with an array of positioning pin holes and visual recognition marks for cooperation with the end positioning stop of the conveying mechanism 120 and the path planning system of the robotic arm 140 to achieve ±0.1mm repeatability positioning. As an optional implementation, the first operating table 160 can also adopt an air-floating structure, which forms a non-contact support layer by spraying clean inert gas through evenly distributed microholes, avoiding mechanical contact that introduces micro-vibrations that interfere with the stability of the weld pool.

[0043] The disassembly chamber 117 is equipped with a second operating platform 170. This second operating platform 170 is an independently arranged load-bearing platform inside the disassembly chamber 117, which is functionally separate from the first operating platform 160 but structurally similar. Its platform surface also has high flatness (±0.05mm), low thermal deformation characteristics, and adjustable leveling capability. The difference is that the surface of the second operating platform 170 integrates a pressure clamp 150 identification sensor array (such as a capacitive array or optical encoding tape) for real-time feedback on the clamping status and position offset of the pressure clamp 150, and communicates and links with the end effector of the robotic arm 140. The platform surface is reserved with working space on both sides of the robotic arm 140, with a clear width of ≥800mm on both sides to meet the requirements of synchronous opening and closing of the two support arms. Its material can be stainless steel with mirror polishing treatment, taking into account both corrosion resistance and cleanliness requirements.

[0044] The conveying mechanism 120 is capable of conveying glass to the first operating table 160 or the second operating table 170. This means that the conveying mechanism 120 has a multi-segment path selection capability, and its control logic automatically switches the target position according to the preset process stage. Specifically, the conveying mechanism 120 includes a first conveying section 121, a second conveying section 122, and a third conveying section 123. The first conveying section 121 is located between the feed inlet 112 and the first operating table 160, the second conveying section 122 is located between the first operating table 160 and the second operating table 170, and the third conveying section 123 is located between the second operating table 170 and the discharge outlet 113.

[0045] After the glass completes the pre-vacuuming in the preparation chamber 114 and enters the operating chamber 115, the control system triggers the first conveying section 121 to decelerate and brake, so that the front end of the glass precisely stops at the positioning block on the feeding side of the first operating table 160, with a repeatability accuracy of ≤±0.2mm. After annealing, the conveying mechanism 120 drives the glass along the second conveying section 122 directly to the feeding side of the second operating table 170, with the same stopping accuracy of ≤±0.2mm. This function can be achieved through closed-loop control of a servo motor and a high-resolution encoder, or it can be achieved by using a magnetic navigation track combined with RFID station identification. As an optional implementation, the conveying mechanism 120 is provided with a flexible sealed transition section at the crossing of the chamber partition, consisting of a silicone lip seal strip and an adaptive tensioning wheel, which allows ±3mm axial expansion and contraction compensation while ensuring airtightness, avoiding conveying jams due to thermal expansion and contraction.

[0046] The welding mechanism 130 is used to weld glass located on the first operating table 160. This means that the spatial installation position, movement trajectory, and energy parameters of the welding mechanism 130 are calibrated and set using the first operating table 160 as the reference coordinate system. During operation, the laser head scans the glass edge area along a preset path. The starting point of the scanning path is strictly correlated with a physical reference point (such as a positioning pin) on the first operating table 160 to ensure consistency in the starting position of each weld. Parameters such as welding power, defocusing amount, and scanning speed can dynamically call pre-stored process packages based on the glass material (soda-lime glass / borosilicate glass), thickness (0.5–2.0 mm), and gap status (whether a glass sheet is inserted). As an optional implementation, the welding mechanism 130 can be equipped with a dual-beam time-division switching module, sequentially applying a preheating beam (30% power) and a main melting beam (100% power) to the same weld area to improve thermal stress distribution.

[0047] The robotic arm 140 is used to clamp the pressure clamp 150 onto the glass located on the first operating table 160 within the operating chamber 115, and to remove the pressure clamp 150 within the disassembly chamber 117. This means that the robotic arm 140's base is fixed to the top plate or side wall support of the operating chamber 115, and its working radius covers the entire area of ​​the first operating table 160 and the entire area of ​​the second operating table 170. Its end effector is a customized dual-jaw structure, with each jaw having a built-in pressure feedback unit and a micro-displacement sensor. The clamping action is performed in two stages: the first stage guides the pressure clamp 150 into the long-side groove positioning area of ​​the glass in a low-speed mode; the second stage applies closed-loop pressure at a set pressure value (0.2–3 MPa) and maintains it. The unclamping action is performed in reverse: first, the pressure is released, then it is slightly lifted 1–2 mm to confirm no adhesion, and finally, it is moved horizontally to release the clamp. As an optional implementation, the robotic arm 140 can be configured with a quick-change interface, supporting replacement with a single-sided clamping module or a three-finger adaptive clamp to adapt to the installation requirements of the pressure clamp 150 for glass of different widths.

[0048] The aforementioned technical features constitute a clear functional division and spatial mapping relationship: the first operating table 160 provides a rigid and stable physical reference for welding and initial clamping; the second operating table 170 provides an independent and clean operating environment for unclamping; the conveying mechanism 120 acts as a "moving bridge," ensuring precise transfer of the workpiece between the two; the welding mechanism 130 and the robotic arm 140 each complete their respective processes based on their corresponding operating tables, avoiding cross-interference of actions. This partitioned layout effectively isolates the welding heat field, mechanical clamping force field, and annealing temperature field in space, significantly reducing the risk of mutual interference.

[0049] Through the above technical solutions, this application achieves the following: Because a first operating table 160 with high-precision positioning capability is set in the operating chamber 115, the welding mechanism 130 can perform high-temperature melting on the edges of the laminated glass under a stable reference, solving the problems of welding position drift and uneven melting depth caused by the lack of a dedicated support platform in the prior art; Because a second operating table 170 with sensing feedback capability is set in the disassembly chamber 117, the robotic arm 140 can reliably identify and release the constraint of the pressure clamp 150 within a defined spatial coordinate, solving the problems of clamp damage or glass scratches caused by uncertain unclamping position in the prior art; Because the conveying mechanism 120 is configured to selectively convey glass to the two operating tables, the entire encapsulation process can be strictly segmented according to the sequence of "welding → pressurization → annealing → unclamping," solving the problems of high automation failure rate and large fluctuation in yield rate caused by mixed processes and coupled actions in the prior art. Therefore, this embodiment significantly improves the repeatability accuracy and overall reliability of the glass encapsulation device 100 under high cleanliness, high vacuum, and high temperature process conditions.

[0050] In this embodiment, as Figure 2 As shown, both the first operating table 160 and the second operating table 170 include a support frame 161 and multiple roller assemblies 162. Each roller assembly 162 includes a drive unit and a conveying roller. The drive unit is mounted on the support frame 161, and the conveying roller is rotatably mounted on the support frame 161. The drive unit is used to control the rotation of the conveying roller, and the glass support is placed on the roller.

[0051] The technical means adopted in this embodiment is as follows: by integrating roller assembly 162 with active driving capability on the first operating table 160 and the second operating table 170, the operating table has both static bearing and dynamic transmission functions. The technical effect is that while ensuring the stable positioning of the glass, it supports the controllable displacement, fine-tuning alignment and inter-process force transmission of the glass on the operating table, significantly reducing the need for manual intervention, avoiding the risk of glass edge chipping, surface scratches and interlayer misalignment caused by rigid support or sliding friction, and improving the repeatability and automation continuity of the packaging process.

[0052] The support frame 161 is a rigid load-bearing structure made of stainless steel or aluminum alloy. It has a rectangular frame layout and multiple sets of mounting slots arranged parallel to the glass conveying direction on its top surface for modularly fixing each roller assembly 162. The bottom of the support frame 161 is equipped with adjustable feet to achieve precise adjustment of the level and ensure that the coplanar error of multiple sets of rollers is ≤0.05mm. The support frame 161 not only bears the static load of the glass, but also has to resist the eccentric bending moment generated when the robotic arm 140 clamps and the pressure clamp 150 loads. Therefore, reinforcing ribs are added at key connection points to improve torsional rigidity.

[0053] Roller assembly 162 is an independent, replaceable functional unit, each containing one drive unit and at least one conveyor roller; the drive unit is a stepper motor or servo motor, equipped with a built-in encoder to achieve closed-loop feedback of rotation angle and speed; the motor output shaft drives the conveyor roller via synchronous belt drive or direct drive; the conveyor roller is a cylindrical roller with an outer diameter of Φ40–Φ60mm and a width of 20–30mm, and its surface is covered with a polyurethane elastic layer with a Shore hardness of 70A–90A, ensuring sufficient frictional traction (static friction coefficient). ≥0.45), while avoiding hard contact that could damage the glass coating surface; the rollers are rotatably mounted in the bearing seats of the support frame 161 through deep groove ball bearings at both ends, with the axial preload controlled at 0.02–0.05kN to ensure uniform rotational resistance torque and start / stop response time ≤80ms; each operating table is equipped with no less than 5 sets of roller assemblies 162, which are equidistantly arranged along the long side of the glass, with the center distance between adjacent rollers being 120–180mm, to accommodate glass substrates with a minimum size of 300×300mm to be encapsulated.

[0054] There is a defined transmission relationship between the drive unit and the conveying rollers: the output power of the drive unit is transmitted to the roller shaft through the reduction mechanism (reduction ratio 3:1 to 10:1), so that the roller linear speed can be infinitely adjusted within the range of 0.5–300 mm / s. This speed range covers different working conditions such as glass loading and positioning (low speed ≤5 mm / s), fine adjustment before welding (medium speed 20–50 mm / s), and pre-unclamping and conveying after annealing (high speed 100–300 mm / s). All roller assemblies 162 are uniformly coordinated by the same motion controller, supporting multiple operating modes such as synchronous and unidirectional, segmented differential speed, and reverse differential. For example, before welding the long side of the glass, the three sets of rollers in the middle can be rotated at low speed in the forward direction while the two sets on both sides remain stationary, thereby realizing the adjustment of the micro-protrusion posture in the middle of the glass and optimizing the consistency between the laser incident light path and the molten pool.

[0055] The glass support is placed on the rollers, meaning that the lower surface of the glass forms a multi-point line contact support with the top generatrix of multiple conveying rollers. The total length of the contact line accounts for no less than 60% of the length of the bottom edge of the glass, ensuring that the gravity load is evenly distributed. The glass placement posture allows for an initial tilt angle within ±0.3°. After the roller assembly 162 is started, it automatically corrects the deviation by means of differential speed compensation. When the glass enters the first operating table 160 and completes positioning, the drive unit stops rotating, and the rollers switch to a passive support state. At this time, they still maintain elastic contact with the bottom surface of the glass and do not have a tendency to slip. After the welding process is completed and the pressure clamp 150 is loaded, the drive unit starts again, driving the glass to move smoothly out of the operating table and into the next station. This "dynamic / static dual-mode" switching mechanism is automatically determined and executed by the PLC program based on sensor signals (such as photoelectric switch trigger, pressure clamp 150 arrival signal, welding completion signal).

[0056] The structural relationships between each roller assembly 162 and the support frame 161, the drive unit and the rollers, and the rollers and the glass work synergistically as follows: The support frame 161 provides a rigid reference platform to ensure the accuracy and long-term stability of the roller installation position; the drive unit gives the rollers active movement capability, enabling them to break through the limitations of traditional operating tables that only serve as static tooling; the elastic coating layer of the conveying rollers and the precise linear speed control together form a flexible contact interface, which avoids surface damage while meeting reliable traction; the glass, as the supported object, has a mass distribution and stiffness characteristics that match the roller support array—for example, for ultra-thin glass with a thickness of 0.5mm, a higher density roller arrangement (center distance shortened to 100mm) and a lower linear speed (≤2mm / s) are used; for thick glass with a thickness of 3.2mm, a larger torque drive unit and a higher linear speed (up to 250mm / s) can be used, demonstrating the adaptability of this structure to the process of different glass specifications.

[0057] Through the above technical solution, this application achieves the following: when the laminated glass is transported to the first operating table 160 for laser welding, or to the second operating table 170 to await the removal of the pressure clamp 150, the glass is always positioned on a flexible support array composed of multiple elastic rollers; under the control of the drive unit, the rollers can be activated as needed to push the glass to translate, fine-tune, or relay along a predetermined trajectory, without rigid sliding friction or impact load throughout the process; due to the rigid constraint of the support frame 161 and the coplanar precision control of the rollers, the positioning repeatability of the glass on the operating table reaches ±0.1mm; due to the closed-loop speed regulation of the drive unit and the coordination of multiple rollers... With the same control, the acceleration fluctuation of the glass during the movement of the table is ≤0.05m / s², effectively suppressing the relative slippage between layers; due to the elastic deformation and low friction characteristics of the polyurethane roller surface, the scratch rate of the bottom surface of the glass is reduced compared with traditional metal blocks; finally, this structure solves the problem that the operating table in the existing technology cannot meet the triple requirements of precise positioning, dynamic transmission and surface protection at the same time. That is, the traditional fixed operating table is not conducive to the automatic entry and exit of glass and dynamic support, and is prone to scratches or uneven force, thereby improving the engineering applicability and process robustness of the glass encapsulation device 100 in high-cleanliness, high-precision, fully automated production lines.

[0058] In this embodiment, the robotic arm 140 includes a translation drive assembly and two support arms. The two support arms are respectively installed at both ends of the translation drive assembly. Each support arm is equipped with a pressure clamp 150. The pressure clamp 150 has a clamping groove. The translation drive assembly can drive the two pressure clamps 150 to move closer or further away from each other, so that the opposite sides of the glass are confined to the clamping groove or disengaged from the clamping groove. The robotic arm 140 can move with the roller assembly 162 and the conveying mechanism 120.

[0059] The core components of the robotic arm 140 include a translation drive assembly, two support arms, and a corresponding pressure clamp 150. The translation drive assembly is a linear motion unit with bidirectional precision positioning capability. It can be implemented using a servo motor with a synchronous belt / ball screw transmission pair, or it can be replaced with a dual-output shaft cylinder with a linear guide rail structure. This assembly provides reciprocating driving force perpendicular to the glass conveying direction (i.e., the Y-axis) in the horizontal plane, with a stroke range of 200–600 mm and a repeatability better than ±0.02 mm. It is used to adjust the center distance between the two support arms, thereby adapting to glass substrates with a width of 300–150 mm. The support arms are lightweight, high-rigidity cantilever structures, which can be made of aluminum alloy or carbon fiber reinforced polymer. The cross-section is "L" shaped or box-shaped. One end is rigidly connected to the moving end of the translation drive assembly through a flange, and the other end is equipped with a quick-change interface for assembling the pressure clamp 150. The two support arms are arranged in a mirror symmetrical manner to ensure that the normal forces applied to both sides of the long side of the glass are equal in magnitude and coplanar in action, avoiding the generation of torque components.

[0060] The pressure clamp 150 is a functional component with a grooved clamping surface. The opening of its clamping groove faces the side of the glass, and the groove width is slightly larger than the total thickness of the glass to be clamped (for example, for two 1.1mm thick glass laminates, the groove width is set to 2.4–2.6mm). An elastic buffer layer (such as a silicone rubber pad with a Shore hardness of 60A or a polyurethane coating) is provided at the bottom of the groove to absorb transient impacts caused by thermal expansion differences. The main body of the pressure clamp 150 can be integrally formed as a single-piece structure (1400×45×30mm), or it can be modularly designed as multiple independent units (such as five 80×40×30mm sub-clamps arranged in an array along the length direction). Each sub-clamp has a built-in miniature pressure sensor connected in parallel to the control system to achieve zoned pressure closed-loop adjustment. The pressure clamp 150 can be detachably installed at the end of the support arm by bolts, magnetic attraction, or snap-fit, which facilitates the replacement of clamp specifications according to different glass sizes.

[0061] The clamping groove is used to confine the opposite sides of the glass within the groove—here, "opposite sides" specifically refers to the left and right long sides of the stacked glass assembly in the conveying direction (i.e., the sides that coincide with the welding area), not the upper and lower surfaces; "limiting" refers to the physical constraint formed on the side of the glass by the groove wall, so that it does not undergo lateral displacement or torsion during annealing, while allowing the glass to have micron-level free thermal expansion and contraction space along the thickness direction (Z direction); the translation drive assembly drives the two pressure clamps 150 to move closer to each other, which is triggered after the glass is laser welded and conveyed to the designated position of the first operating table 160. At this time, the support arm drives the pressure clamps 150 to move synchronously towards the centerline until the edge of the clamping groove contacts the side of the glass and applies a controllable pre-tightening force of 0.2–3MPa; the reverse moving away action is performed after annealing and when the glass is conveyed to the second operating table 170 (i.e., the second operating table 170 in the disassembly chamber 117), so that the opening of the clamping groove is expanded to the groove width ≥ the total thickness of the glass + 0.3mm, ensuring that the pressure clamps 150 do not interfere with the detachment.

[0062] The phrase "the robotic arm 140 can move with the roller assembly 162 and the conveying mechanism 120" refers to the fact that the robotic arm 140 is mounted on a movable support platform. This platform forms a motion coupling relationship with the support frame 161 of the first operating table 160 or the frame of the conveying mechanism 120 through a slide rail-slider pair or magnetic levitation guide mechanism. When the drive unit in the roller assembly 162 starts and the conveying roller rotates, driving the glass to translate along the X direction, the support platform moves synchronously, so that the robotic arm 140 remains relatively stationary with the glass while in the clamping state. This follow-up function does not rely on the joint movement of the robotic arm 140 itself, but achieves the synchronous displacement of the whole machine through an external guide mechanism. The displacement speed is consistent with the linear speed of the conveying mechanism 120 (typical value is 0.1–0.5m / min), and the synchronization error is ≤±0.5mm. As an alternative, a universal floating joint can be added between the support arm and the translation drive assembly. While ensuring the clamping stiffness in the Y direction, it allows passive following displacement within the range of ±2mm in the X direction, reducing the stringent requirements for guiding accuracy.

[0063] The aforementioned components work in concert: the translation drive assembly provides the power source for the clamping action; the support arm serves as an intermediate structure for force transmission and spatial positioning; the pressure clamp 150 and its clamping groove directly achieve physical constraint on the glass side; and the follow-up function ensures the continuous effectiveness of the clamping state during dynamic conveying. The symmetrical layout of the support arm and the bidirectional controllability of the translation drive assembly together determine the uniformity of the spatial distribution of the clamping force; the structural parameters of the clamping groove (groove width, buffer layer hardness, groove depth) are matched with the glass thickness and thermal deformation, determining the rationality of the interface stress; the existence of the follow-up mechanism removes the process constraint that clamping operations must be stopped, allowing the pressurization process to be seamlessly integrated into the continuous conveying flow.

[0064] Through the above technical solution, synchronous, adaptive, and dynamic clamping of both sides of the long side of the laminated glass is achieved: when two pieces of borosilicate glass with dimensions of 1350mm×900mm×1.1mm are laser-welded and then conveyed to the first operating table 160, the translation drive assembly drives the two support arms carrying the pressure clamp 150 to approach the centerline at a speed of 0.3m / min. After the clamping groove contacts the side of the glass, it continues to apply a constant pressure of 1.5MPa. At this time, the robotic arm 140 carrying platform moves synchronously with the conveyor rollers, maintaining the clamping position unchanged. The glass enters the annealing chamber 116 under this clamping state to complete the 300–500℃ heat preservation annealing. After annealing, the glass is transported to the second operating table 170 in the disassembly chamber 117. The translation drive component moves in the opposite direction, and the two pressure clamps 150 move outward synchronously to disengage from the clamping groove. The entire process does not require interruption of the transport, and the single-piece packaging cycle is shortened. Because the clamping forces on both sides are symmetrical and the clamping groove has elastic buffer, no warping or interface peeling occurs when the molten area at the edge of the glass cools and shrinks. The actual measured sealing strength reaches more than 85MPa, which meets the requirements of vacuum cavity packaging.

[0065] In this embodiment, the welding mechanism 130 is a laser welding machine.

[0066] The technical solution involved in this embodiment focuses on the selection and functional implementation of the core heat source device in the edge melting and joining stage of glass encapsulation. The technical problem stems from the common bottlenecks faced by traditional welding methods (such as flame heating, resistance thermoforming, and infrared radiation heating) in the encapsulation of brittle, high-transmittance, and low-thermal-conductivity glass materials: a wide heat-affected zone, easily leading to localized stress concentration and microcracks; difficulty in precisely controlling the temperature field, resulting in uneven melting depth and poor interface fusion; weak non-contact control capabilities, unable to adapt to high-precision positioning and complex trajectory welding requirements; and difficulty in stable and clean operation within an inert atmosphere-sealed chamber. These problems are particularly prominent in the narrow-edge sealing of laminated glass (especially for applications with stringent requirements for airtightness, flatness, and optical consistency, such as display panels, vacuum insulation panels, and MEMS sensor window covers), directly restricting encapsulation yield, long-term reliability, and the potential for product miniaturization.

[0067] A laser welding machine is a specialized device that generates a highly directional, highly monochromatic, and high-energy-density coherent laser beam based on the principle of stimulated emission. This beam is precisely projected onto the surface of the workpiece through an optical system (including collimating lenses, focusing lenses, scanning galvanometers, or motion platforms). Utilizing the selective absorption or bulk absorption effect of glass on specific wavelengths (such as 1064nm near-infrared or 355nm modified with frequency doubling / ultraviolet light), the laser achieves a localized, instantaneous temperature rise above the softening point (1200–1300℃) and completes fusion. A laser welding machine includes at least a laser generator (optionally a fiber laser, Nd:YAG solid-state laser, or semiconductor direct-output laser), a beam transmission and shaping module, a position feedback and motion control system, and a protective housing and inert gas purging interface installed within a sealed enclosure 110.

[0068] Its core lies in the fact that laser energy is not uniformly diffused for heating, but rather presents as a micrometer-scale spot (typical diameter 20–200 μm), a millisecond to second-scale action time, and a peak power density of up to 10. 4 -10 6 By employing a W / cm² method, a tiny molten pool is formed at the glass edge. Under the combined influence of surface tension and gravity, the molten pool rapidly spreads, wets, and solidifies, ultimately forming a continuous, dense, and low-residual-stress glass-glass metallurgical interface. This structure avoids the risk of scratches from mechanical contact and achieves self-fusion bonding of homogeneous materials without the need for solder. It is particularly suitable for encapsulation in vacuum or special gas environments where extremely high cleanliness and chemical inertness are required.

[0069] The laser welding machine offers highly adjustable parameters: the laser power can be continuously adjusted from 100W to 3000W to match glass combinations of different thicknesses (0.1–5mm) and compositions (soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, aluminosilicate glass); the scanning speed can be dynamically set between 1–500mm / s to control the melt depth (typically 0.1–1.5mm) and total heat input; the focal point position can be precisely adjusted ±2mm along the Z-axis to ensure the spot is always located at the geometric center of the glass edge or at a preset offset position (e.g., offset towards the bottom glass side by 0.05–0.2mm), thereby optimizing the morphology and intensity of the molten interface; the beam mode can be selected using the fundamental mode (TEM). 00 To achieve the smallest spot size and highest power density, or to select a multimode to improve molten pool stability, laser welding machines can integrate real-time infrared temperature measurement and high-speed visual monitoring modules. This allows for millisecond-level sampling of the molten pool temperature (800–1400℃ closed-loop feedback) and morphology, with the output signal fed back to the laser power and scanning path controller, enabling adaptive closed-loop control of the welding process. Alternatively, laser welding machines can employ a pulsed operating mode (pulse width 10ns–1ms, repetition frequency 1–100kHz). By controlling the single-pulse energy and peak power, heat diffusion can be more precisely suppressed. This is suitable for edge encapsulation of ultra-thin glass (≤0.3mm) or composite glass substrates containing metal traces, preventing thermal damage from extending to functional areas.

[0070] The arrangement of the laser welding machine within the sealed housing 110 must meet the requirements of process flow coordination: its optical head is fixedly mounted on the top or side wall support of the operating chamber 115, and the optical path is vertically or obliquely (tilt angle 5°–30°) incident on the edge of the stacked glass on the first operating table 160; it works in coordination with the vacuuming mechanism and the gas filling mechanism—after the vacuuming is completed, the gas filling mechanism injects high-purity argon or nitrogen (purity ≥99.999%) into the operating chamber 115, so that the oxygen content is ≤10ppm, providing a stable atmosphere with no oxidation and low plasma interference for laser welding; its triggering timing is strictly synchronized with the conveying mechanism 120 to accurately position the glass at the preset welding start position on the first operating table 160 (positioning repeatability ±0.05mm), and the robotic arm 140 immediately starts after the pressure clamp 150 is initially installed, ensuring that the molten interface under pressure completes fusion and initial solidification under constant stress.

[0071] A clear functional link is formed between the components: the sealed housing 110 provides a sealed and controllable atmosphere, creating the necessary environmental conditions for laser welding; the conveying mechanism 120 and the first operating table 160 together constitute a high-precision workpiece bearing and positioning platform, ensuring the stability of the spatial relationship between the laser focus and the glass edge; the pressure clamp 150 applies a surface pressure of 0.2–3 MPa, which keeps the two layers of glass in close molecular-level contact in the molten state, significantly reducing the probability of interface gaps and non-fusion defects; and the laser welding machine, as the energy input terminal, together with the aforementioned structure, constitutes a three-in-one glass edge melting and sealing mechanism of "precise energy supply - stable constraint - clean environment".

[0072] Through the above technical solution, this application achieves the following: In the edge sealing process of laminated glass, a laser welding machine replaces the general heat source. Leveraging its inherent characteristics such as non-contact operation, high energy density, adjustable spot size, and programmable parameters, melting occurs only within a very narrow area at the glass edge (width ≤ 0.5 mm), and the heat-affected zone depth is controlled within 50 μm, significantly suppressing glass deformation and microcrack initiation. Simultaneously, the laser beam is stably transmitted in an inert atmosphere, avoiding carbon contamination, oxide inclusions, and plasma shielding effects that may be introduced by traditional heat sources such as electric arcs and flames, ensuring a pure, uniform, and airtight molten interface. Furthermore, its synergistic effect with the pressure clamp 150 allows the molten glass to complete interface diffusion and recrystallization under controllable stress, ultimately achieving a tensile strength ≥ 80 MPa and a helium leak detection rate ≤ 1 × 10⁻¹. 0 High-performance glass encapsulation at Pa·m³ / s. This solution fundamentally overcomes the technical problems of low glass encapsulation precision, poor yield, and insufficient reliability caused by coarse heat sources in existing technologies, providing reliable technical support for the mass production, automation, and high consistency encapsulation of high-value-added glass devices.

[0073] This application also provides a glass encapsulation method, using the glass encapsulation apparatus 100 provided in the above embodiments, including the following steps: S10: At least two layers of stacked glass enter the conveying mechanism 120 from the feed inlet 112.

[0074] The phrase "at least two layers of stacked glass" refers to two or more flat glass sheets that have been precisely cleaned and aligned. Their stacking state is maintained with parallelism better than ±5μm by edge positioning pins or vacuum adsorption arrays, and the interlayer gap is 0.05mm to 0.5mm. The stacked structure can be homogeneous glass (such as two pieces of borosilicate glass BSL70) or heterogeneous combination (such as one piece of quartz glass and one piece of soda-lime glass). It can also include an insert glass strip. When the measured gap is >0.2mm, a high-purity fused quartz sheet with dimensions of 1350mm×225mm×0.2mm is embedded in the gap as a molten filler. The glass sheet is prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, with a hydroxyl content of <1ppm and a softening point of ≥1600℃, to ensure that it does not undergo excessive flow or vaporization during the subsequent melting process at 1200–1300℃. The feed inlet 112 is located on the side wall of the preparation chamber 114. It is a rectangular opening (typically 1500mm × 300mm) and its edges are equipped with double-lip fluororubber sealing rings. After closing with the sealing door, the leakage rate is ≤1×10⁻ 7 Pa·m³ / s; The “conveying mechanism 120” adopts a modular chain conveyor belt with a high-temperature resistant polyimide (PI) coating on its bearing surface and a surface roughness Ra=0.2μm to prevent glass slippage; the conveying speed is infinitely adjustable in the range of 0.1–1.5m / min and the positioning repeatability is ±0.1mm, ensuring that the glass enters the sealing cover 110 smoothly with a constant posture.

[0075] S20: The vacuum pumping mechanism evacuates the sealed housing 110.

[0076] The "vacuum pumping mechanism" comprises a three-stage vacuum system: the initial stage is a rotary vane mechanical pump (ultimate vacuum 1×10⁻²Pa), the intermediate stage is a Roots booster pump (pumping speed 800L / s), and the final stage is a cryogenic condenser pump (operating temperature 10K, pumping speed for water vapor 10). 4 The system is connected to the preparation chamber 114 via a flange interface. The evacuation path is through an annular manifold located at the top of the preparation chamber 114, ensuring uniform airflow coverage of the glass surface. The vacuuming process is performed in stages: the first stage (0–120s) rapidly evacuates to 100Pa, removing most of the air; the second stage (120–300s) slowly evacuates to 1×10⁻³Pa, removing adsorbed water molecules; the final stage (300–600s) maintains a stable state of 1×10⁻³Pa, and simultaneously activates the gas filling mechanism to inject high-purity argon (99.999%), ultimately forming a 10⁻³Pa vacuum within the chamber. 5 An argon protective atmosphere with an oxygen content of <1 ppm (Pa) is used. This step not only creates an oxygen-free environment for welding but also achieves active compression of the glass lamination gap through pressure gradient control—when the cavity pressure increases from 10 Pa to <1 ppm... 5 When Pa decreases to 1×10⁻³ Pa, the volume of the residual gas in the interlayer expands by approximately 10. 8While the glass is rigid, the actual improvement is due to the increased alignment accuracy and micro-contact area, providing a better physical contact basis for subsequent fusion welding.

[0077] S30: The conveying mechanism 120 conveys the glass to the first preset position, the welding mechanism 130 performs high-temperature melting welding on the edges of the stacked glass, and then the robotic arm 140 clamps the pressure clamp 150 on the glass after high-temperature melting welding.

[0078] The “first preset position” is the center reference point of the first operating platform 160 in the operating room 115. Its coordinates are calibrated in real time by a laser interferometer, with a positioning error of < ±0.05mm. The “welding mechanism 130” is a fiber-coupled semiconductor laser (wavelength 915nm, maximum output power 6kW). The beam is focused by a two-dimensional galvanometer (scanning frequency 10kHz) and an F-θ lens (focal length 300mm) to form a ring-shaped spot with a diameter of 80–150μm. The welding path scans back and forth in a “zigzag” shape along the long edge of the glass. The single-track scanning speed is 2–5m / min, and the melting depth is controlled within 0.1–0.3mm. The melting temperature is adjusted by a closed-loop feedback of an infrared thermometer (response time 10μs, temperature range 800–1500℃) to maintain a constant temperature range of 1200–1300℃. When an edge gap > 0.2mm is detected, the system automatically triggers the glass strip insertion module (including a vacuum adsorption pickup head and a servo positioning arm) to accurately embed the preset glass strip into the gap and start welding. "Robotic Arm 140" is a six-axis collaborative robot (repeatability ±0.02mm). Its end effector integrates a pressure sensor (range 0–5MPa, resolution 0.01MPa) and a servo electric cylinder. "Pressure Clamp 150" is groove-shaped, with a groove width slightly larger than the total glass thickness (0.1–0.3mm margin). A micropore array (50μm diameter, 200μm spacing) is located at the bottom of the groove, connected to a negative pressure source, enabling auxiliary adsorption during clamping. The clamping force is monitored in real-time by the pressure sensor and controlled in a closed-loop manner within the range of 0.2–3MPa. Pressurization is strictly limited to within 3–8 seconds after melting (at this point, the molten zone is still in a viscous state, with a yield strength <10MPa, effectively suppressing thermal stress-induced interface separation). This step achieves millisecond-level coordination between welding and pressurization—pressurization is applied immediately after melting, allowing the liquid glass to fully fill microscopic defects under pressure, while simultaneously suppressing lattice distortion in the early cooling stage.

[0079] S40: The conveying mechanism 120 conveys the glass to the second preset position for annealing. The "second preset position" is the center of the constant temperature zone of the heating platform inside the annealing chamber 116. This platform consists of multiple independently temperature-controlled silicon molybdenum rod (MoSi2) heating elements, with a temperature uniformity of ±2℃. The annealing process adopts a three-stage thermal curve: heating stage (room temperature → 300℃, rate 2℃ / min), holding stage (300–500℃, duration 30–60min, optional 45min), and cooling stage (500℃ → room temperature, rate 1.5℃ / min). The holding temperature is dynamically set according to the glass type: for borosilicate glass (Tg≈525℃), the holding temperature is set to 420℃; for quartz glass (Tg≈1200℃), the holding temperature is set to 480℃. High-purity nitrogen (O2<0.1ppm) is continuously introduced into the annealing atmosphere at a flow rate of 20L / min to ensure that the internal stress in the molten zone is slowly released without causing secondary oxidation. This step, through precise thermal control, rearranges the atoms inside the glass to the lowest energy configuration, eliminating tensile residual stress of up to 150 MPa in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ), and reducing the standard deviation of the flexural strength of the encapsulated glass from ±45 MPa in the traditional process to ±8 MPa.

[0080] S50: The conveying mechanism 120 conveys the glass to the third preset position, the robotic arm 140 removes the pressure clamp 150, and conveys the glass out of the discharge port 113.

[0081] The "third preset position" is the unloading station of the second operating table 170 in the disassembly chamber 117. Its table surface is embedded with an electrostatic eliminator (ion balance voltage ±1V) to prevent particles from adsorbing onto the glass surface. The action of "robotic arm 140 removing pressure clamp 150" includes two sub-processes: First, the servo electric cylinder reverses the drive to open the clamping groove to a width greater than 0.5mm of the total glass thickness, releasing the mechanical constraint; Second, the end effector switches to vacuum suction cup mode (suction cup diameter Φ20mm, vacuum degree -80kPa), adsorbs the central area of ​​the upper surface of the glass, and lifts it vertically by 10mm at a uniform speed of 0.3m / min before moving it to the discharge port 113. The "discharge port 113" is located on the side wall of the disassembly chamber 117 and is equipped with a double-layer pneumatic gate valve. The inner valve closes before the outer valve opens to block the pressure exchange between the cavity and the outside. The pressure fluctuation of the cavity during the entire discharge process is <10Pa. This step ensures the undamaged output of the packaged product, avoiding edge chipping (occurrence rate <0.05%) and surface scratches (occurrence rate <0.1%) caused by traditional manual unpacking.

[0082] Through the above-described steps, this application achieves automation, environmental control, and precise parameter coordination throughout the entire glass encapsulation process within a single sealed cavity: the feeding step utilizes modular conveying and a sealed 112 inlet design to prevent the introduction of external contaminants; the vacuuming step, combined with staged pressure control and inert gas replacement, creates an ultra-clean welding atmosphere and optimizes the layer contact state; the welding and pressurization steps rely on high-precision positioning, closed-loop temperature control, and millisecond-level pressure response to ensure dense formation of the molten zone and initial stress suppression; the annealing step achieves gradient release of internal stress through multi-segment thermal profiles and atmosphere protection; and the unloading step utilizes electrostatic protection and dual-valve isolation to ensure the integrity of the finished product. Each step is interconnected, eliminating environmental abrupt changes and human error caused by inter-process transfers due to the fully enclosed cavity operation, and ensuring process stability through closed-loop feedback of equipment parameters across the entire domain, ultimately achieving an airtightness of 1×10⁻¹ for the glass encapsulation product. 0 With a Pa·m³ / s range, a surface accuracy PV value stable within 0.3μm, and a batch-to-batch performance dispersion of <3%, it fully meets the manufacturing requirements of cutting-edge applications such as vacuum insulation panels (VIP), high-energy laser windows, and space optical payloads.

[0083] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should all be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A glass encapsulation device for encapsulating at least two layers of stacked glass, characterized in that, include: A sealing cover includes a cover body and a sealing door. The cover body has an inlet and an outlet, and the sealing door is installed at both the inlet and the outlet. The sealing door can open or seal the inlet or the outlet. A conveying mechanism is installed inside the housing body. The conveying mechanism is used to receive the glass entering from the feed port and finally convey it to the discharge port. A vacuuming mechanism, connected to the sealing cover, is used to evacuate the inside of the sealing cover. A welding mechanism, located inside the sealed housing, is used for high-temperature melting welding of the edges of the stacked glass; A robotic arm, located inside the sealed housing, is used to clamp the pressure clamp onto the glass after it has been fused and welded at high temperature, and to remove the pressure clamp after the glass has been annealed.

2. The glass encapsulation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The casing body includes a preparation chamber, an operating chamber, an annealing chamber, and a disassembly chamber connected in sequence. The feed inlet is located in the preparation chamber, the discharge outlet is located in the disassembly chamber, and the welding mechanism is located in the operating chamber.

3. The glass encapsulation device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The vacuum pumping mechanism is connected to the preparation chamber.

4. The glass encapsulation device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The operating room is equipped with a first operating table, and the disassembly room is equipped with a second operating table. The conveying mechanism can convey the glass to the first operating table or the second operating table. The welding mechanism is used to weld the glass located on the first operating table. The robotic arm is used to clamp the pressure clamp on the glass located on the first operating table in the operating room and remove the pressure clamp in the disassembly room.

5. The glass encapsulation device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The conveying mechanism includes a first conveying section, a second conveying section, and a third conveying section. The first conveying section is located between the feed inlet and the first operating table, the second conveying section is located between the first operating table and the second operating table, and the third conveying section is located between the second operating table and the discharge outlet.

6. The glass encapsulation device according to claim 5, characterized in that, Both the first and second operating tables include a support frame and multiple roller assemblies. Each roller assembly includes a drive unit and a conveying roller. The drive unit is mounted on the support frame, and the conveying roller is rotatably mounted on the support frame. The drive unit is used to control the rotation of the conveying roller, and the glass support is placed on the roller.

7. The glass encapsulation device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The robotic arm includes a translation drive assembly and two support arms. The two support arms are respectively installed at both ends of the translation drive assembly. Each support arm is equipped with a pressure clamp. The pressure clamp has a clamping groove. The translation drive assembly can drive the two pressure clamps to move closer or further apart from each other, so that the opposite sides of the glass are confined to the clamping groove or disengaged from the clamping groove. The robotic arm can move with the roller assembly and the conveying mechanism.

8. The glass encapsulation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The glass encapsulation device further includes a gas filling mechanism, which is connected to the sealing shell and is used to fill the sealing shell with inert gas.

9. The glass encapsulation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The welding mechanism is a laser welding machine.

10. A glass encapsulation method, characterized in that, The glass encapsulation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 comprises the following steps: At least two layers of the glass, stacked together, enter the conveying mechanism through the feed inlet; The vacuuming mechanism evacuates the inside of the sealed cover. The conveying mechanism transports the glass to a first preset position, the welding mechanism performs high-temperature melting welding on the edges of the stacked glass, and then the robotic arm clamps the pressure clamp onto the glass after the high-temperature melting welding. The conveying mechanism transports the glass to a second preset position for annealing; The conveying mechanism transports the glass to a third preset position, the robotic arm removes the pressure clamp, and the glass is then transported out of the discharge port.

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