Delivery apparatus and glass plate laminated body production method

Abstract

To provide a technique which reduces a difference in the deformation amount of a pair of rollers.SOLUTION: Disclosed is a delivery apparatus for delivering a long-length sheet, which may comprise: a first delivery roller; a second delivery roller adjacent to the first delivery roller; and a support member supporting the second delivery roller from a side opposite to the first delivery roller.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a sheet delivery device and a method for manufacturing a glass sheet laminate. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a glass plate package. The glass plate package is formed by alternately stacking glass plates and interleaf papers. The interleaf papers are drawn from an interleaf paper base roll by a roller and cut to produce the package. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-164261 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a sheet delivery device that delivers a sheet such as an interleaf by sandwiching it between a pair of rollers arranged adjacent to each other, each of the pair of rollers may be deformed due to bending. If the amount of deformation of the pair of rollers differs from each other, the gap between the pair of rollers may not be stable, causing variation in the amount of sheet delivery by the pair of rollers, and making it impossible to stably deliver the sheet.

[0005] Therefore, this specification provides a technique for reducing the difference in deformation amount between a pair of rollers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first form of the technology disclosed in this specification is a feed device for feeding a long sheet, and may include a first feed roller, a second feed roller adjacent to the first feed roller, and a support member for supporting the second feed roller from the opposite side of the first feed roller at an intermediate position in the rotational axis direction of the second feed roller.

[0007] According to this configuration, by supporting the second feed roller with the support member, it is possible to adjust the deformation of the second feed roller due to bending. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which the gap between the first feed roller and the second feed roller becomes unstable due to a difference in the amount of deformation caused by bending between the first feed roller and the second feed roller. As a result, it is possible to suppress variation in the amount of sheet fed by the first feed roller and the second feed roller.

[0008] A second form of the technology disclosed in this specification is the first form described above, wherein the second feed roller is arranged below the first feed roller, and the support member supports the second feed roller from below.

[0009] When the first feed roller and the second feed roller are disposed adjacent to each other in the vertical direction, the weight of the first feed roller is loaded onto the second feed roller. By supporting the second feed roller from below with the support member, the second feed roller is deformed more than the first feed roller due to the weight of the first feed roller, and it is possible to prevent the first feed roller and the second feed roller from being deformed by different amounts due to bending.

[0010] A third form of the technology disclosed in this specification is the first or second form, wherein the support member may be provided with a support roller that rotates around a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the second feed roller.

[0011] According to this configuration, the support roller can be rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the second feed roller, which makes it possible to prevent wear of the second feed roller at the position of contact with the support roller.

[0012] As a fourth aspect of the technology disclosed in this specification, in the third aspect, the support roller may be arranged to be freely rotatable.

[0013] According to this configuration, the support roller can be rotated following the rotation of the second feed roller, thereby making it possible to reliably prevent wear of the second feed roller at the position of contact with the support roller.

[0014] A fifth aspect of the technology disclosed in this specification is the third or fourth aspect, wherein an outer peripheral portion of the support roller that comes into contact with the second feed roller may be made of a non-metallic material.

[0015] According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the adhesion of dirt on the contact surface of the second feed roller with the support roller due to contact with metal.

[0016] A sixth form of the technology disclosed in this specification is any one of the first to fifth forms above, wherein the contact surface of the second feed roller with the support member is recessed more than the outer circumferential surface of the second feed roller other than the contact surface.

[0017] According to this configuration, the contact surface of the second feed roller with the support member can be prevented from contacting the sheet, and therefore, even if dirt adheres to the contact surface of the second feed roller with the support roller, the dirt can be prevented from adhering to the sheet.

[0018] A seventh form of the technology disclosed in this specification is any one of the first to sixth forms above, wherein the support member further includes an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of the support member relative to the second feed roller in the direction in which the first feed roller and the second feed roller are aligned.

[0019] According to this configuration, the amount of deformation caused by the bending of the second feed-out roller can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the support member.

[0020] An eighth form of the technology disclosed in this specification is a method for manufacturing a glass plate laminate, which may include a cushioning material creation process for creating a cushioning material by cutting a long sheet fed by a first feed roller and a second feed roller of a feed device described in any one of the first to seventh forms, and a lamination process for stacking glass plates and the cushioning material alternately.

[0021] By using the above-described delivery device, the variation in the amount of sheets delivered can be reduced, and thus the variation in the dimensions of the cushioning material can be reduced. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing apparatus for a glass sheet laminate according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a front view of the delivery device of the embodiment. [Diagram 3] 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of region III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the delivery roller of the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 1 shows a flowchart of a method for producing a glass sheet laminate of an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] (Configuration of glass sheet laminate) With reference to Fig. 1, a glass sheet laminate GL manufactured by a manufacturing apparatus 2 of this embodiment will be described. The glass sheet laminate GL is configured by alternately stacking flat glass sheets G and sheet-like cushioning materials IP. The number of glass sheets G and cushioning materials IP stacked in the glass sheet laminate GL is not particularly limited. It is sufficient that the glass sheets G and the cushioning materials IP are alternately stacked multiple times. The glass sheet laminate GL is manufactured in order to transport the glass sheets G to another location.

[0024] The shape and dimensions of the glass plate G are not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a rectangular shape with a thickness of 0.1 to 1.0 mm. When viewed from above, the area of ​​the buffer material IP is larger than the area of ​​the glass plate G. The buffer material IP protrudes outside the glass plate G over the entire periphery of the glass plate G. This prevents the glass plates G from contacting each other in the glass plate laminate GL. The shape, dimensions, and material of the buffer material IP are not particularly limited, and may be, for example, thinner than the glass plate G, rectangular with a thickness of 50 μm to 100 μm, and may be pulp, synthetic fiber, inorganic fiber, or the like. The sheet-like buffer material IP is a thin buffer material IP made of a flexible material.

[0025] (Configuration of the manufacturing apparatus for glass sheet laminate) FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of the manufacturing apparatus 2 as seen from above. The manufacturing apparatus 2 is equipped with a transport device 4 that transports the glass sheets G. The transport device 4 transports the glass sheets G one by one. The transport device 4 includes a conveyor. The conveyor includes a floating conveyor that transports the glass sheets G in a floating state using air, a roller conveyor that transports the glass sheets G by rotating a plurality of rollers, and other various conveyors. On the conveyor of the transport device 4, the glass sheets G are placed on a supply station 5.

[0026] The manufacturing apparatus 2 further includes a transfer device 8, a cushioning material supply device 10, and a loading device 12. The transfer device 8 transfers the glass sheet G on the supply station 5 of the conveying device 4 to the cushioning material supply device 10. The transfer device 8 includes an arm 8b having a holding portion 8a that holds the glass sheet G. The arm 8b carries the holding portion 8a above the glass sheet G on the supply station 5 and causes the holding portion 8a to hold the glass sheet G. The arm 8b rotates in the direction of the arrow AR1 to move the glass sheet G held by the holding portion 8a to the cushioning material supply device 10 and place it on the cushioning material supply device 10. The arm 8b has a multi-joint structure. The holding portion 8a holds the glass sheet G by suction with a plurality of suction pads.

[0027] The cushioning material supplying device 10 supplies a cushioning material IP in advance to a position where the glass sheet G is to be placed by the transfer device 8. The glass sheet G transferred from the transfer device 8 is placed on top of the cushioning material IP.

[0028] The loading device 12 takes out the cushioning material IP and the glass sheet G from the cushioning material supplying device 10 in a state where the cushioning material IP and the glass sheet G are overlapped, and loads them on a pallet 14. The loading device 12 includes an arm 12b having a holding portion (not shown) that holds the cushioning material IP and the glass sheet G. The arm 12b carries the holding portion 12a above the glass sheet G on the cushioning material supplying device 10, and makes the holding portion 12a hold the cushioning material IP and the glass sheet G. The arm 12b rotates in the direction of the arrow AR2 to move the cushioning material IP and the glass sheet G held by the holding portion 12a to the pallet 14 and place them on the pallet 14. As a result, a glass sheet laminate in which the cushioning material IP and the glass sheets G are alternately laminated on the pallet 14 is produced. The surface of the pallet 14 on which the glass sheet laminate GL is placed extends horizontally. The glass sheet G and the cushioning material IP can be arranged parallel to a horizontal plane, i.e., arranged horizontally. This makes it possible to stably support the glass sheet laminate GL placed on the pallet 14. The arm 12b has an articulated structure. The holding portion 12a includes a plurality of suction pads that adsorb the glass sheet G and a clamp that holds the cushioning material IP.

[0029] (Configuration of the cushioning material supply device) The cushioning material supplying device 10 prepares a cushioning material IP by unwinding a long cushioning material strip IV from a roll R on which the cushioning material strip IV is wound and cutting the cushioning material strip IV to a predetermined size. The prepared cushioning material IP is supplied to a position where the glass sheet G is to be placed, so that the glass sheet G and the cushioning material IP are overlapped with each other.

[0030] The cushioning material supplying device 10 includes a frame 18, a support section 20, a sending device 30, a cutting section 40, a conveying section 42, and a placing section 44. The frame 18 supports the support section 20, the sending device 30, the cutting section 40, the conveying section 42, and the placing section 44. The frame 18 is made of, for example, metal. In FIG. 1, the frame 18 is omitted in consideration of the ease of viewing the support section 20, the sending device 30, the cutting section 40, the conveying section 42, and the placing section 44. As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 18 has a skeleton for supporting the support section 20, the sending device 30, the cutting section 40, the conveying section 42, and the placing section 44. In the flow direction of the cushioning material IP, that is, in the direction from right to left in FIG. 1, the support section 20, the sending device 30, the cutting section 40, the conveying section 42, and the placing section 44 are arranged in this order from upstream to downstream. The support section 20 has a bearing for rotatably supporting the roll R. The delivery device 30 delivers the sheet-like cushioning material strip IV to the cutting section 40.

[0031] (Configuration of the transmission device) The delivery device 30 includes a plurality of feed rollers 31, a pair of nip rollers 32, 34, and support members 50, 50. Each of the plurality of feed rollers 31 has a cylindrical shape that rotates about a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the roll R supported by the support unit 20. The plurality of feed rollers 31 are arranged parallel to each other and at different heights in the vertical direction. The buffer material strip IV is pulled out from the roll R and passed over the plurality of feed rollers 31 in order from the upstream side to the downstream side, and is extended to the pair of nip rollers 32, 34. In the plurality of feed rollers 31, the distance between at least one feed roller 31 and the other feed rollers 31 can be adjusted by moving at least one feed roller 31.

[0032] A pair of nip rollers 32, 34 are disposed on the opposite side of the support portion 20 of the multiple feed rollers 31. As shown in Fig. 2, the pair of nip rollers 32, 34 are disposed parallel to each other and adjacent to each other in the vertical direction. The nip rollers 32, 34 are rotatably supported by the frame 18. The nip rollers 32, 34 have a cylindrical shape. The nip rollers 32, 34 are made of, for example, resin, although there is no particular limitation thereon.

[0033] The nip roller 32 is rotated around a rotation axis X1 extending vertically by a motor (not shown). The nip roller 34 is rotated around a rotation axis X2 extending vertically by a motor (not shown). The pair of nip rollers 32, 34 sandwich a long buffer material strip IV extending from the multiple feed rollers 31 between the nip rollers 32, 34. The pair of nip rollers 32, 34 are rotated by their respective motors. As a result, the buffer material strip IV is sent out downstream (i.e., from the right side to the left side in FIG. 1).

[0034] The nip roller 34 is supported from below by a plurality of support members 50 (two in this embodiment). The plurality of support members 50 have the same configuration. As shown in FIG. 3, the support member 50 includes a base 54, an adjustment mechanism 56, and a support roller 58. The base 54 is fixed to the frame 18. The base 54 extends upward from the frame 18 located below the nip roller 34. The base 54 is made of, for example, metal. The support roller 58 is rotatably attached to the upper end of the base 54 via the adjustment mechanism 56.

[0035] The support roller 58 has a cylindrical shape. The support roller 58 is in contact with the nip roller 34. The support roller 58 rotates around a rotation axis X3. The rotation axis X3 is parallel to the rotation axes X1 and X2 of the nip rollers 32 and 34. The support roller 58 is rotated following the rotation of the nip roller 34. The diameter of the support roller 58 is smaller than the diameter of the nip roller 34. The support roller 58 is made of a nonmetallic material, for example, MC nylon (short for monomer cast nylon). The support roller 58 is also made of an elastic material having higher elasticity than the nip roller. In a modified example, the outer peripheral portion of the support roller 58 that contacts the nip roller 34 may be made of a nonmetallic material and / or an elastic material, and the inner portion of the outer peripheral portion may be made of a metallic material and / or a material having lower elasticity than the nip roller 34.

[0036] The height of the support roller 58 can be adjusted by an adjustment mechanism 56. The adjustment mechanism 56 includes a holding plate 56a and an adjustment screw 56b. The holding plate 56a holds the support roller 58 rotatably. The holding plate 56a has a flat plate shape extending in the vertical direction. The holding plate 56a is made of the same material as the base 54. The holding plate 56a is attached to the base 54 via an adjustment screw 56b. The adjustment screw 56b has an axial direction arranged in the vertical direction. The adjustment screw 56b is screwed into a screw hole of the base 54 extending in the vertical direction. An operator can move the holding plate 56a in the vertical direction by rotating the adjustment screw 56b and moving the adjustment screw 56b in the vertical direction relative to the screw hole. This allows the upward position of the support roller 58 to be adjusted. As a result, an operator can adjust the amount of deformation due to bending between the nip rollers 34 by adjusting the vertical position of the support roller 58.

[0037] The two support members 50, 50 are disposed at positions where the length of the nip roller 34 in the direction of the rotation axis X2 is divided into approximately three equal parts. Although the arrangement of the multiple support members 50, 50 is not particularly limited, it is preferable to dispose them at a middle position in the direction of the rotation axis of the nip roller 34 (a position where the nip roller 34 and the buffer material strip come into contact with each other).

[0038] By supporting the nip roller 34 from below with a plurality of support members 50, 50, it is possible to adjust the deformation of the nip roller 34 due to bending. This makes it possible to prevent the gap between the nip rollers 32, 34 in the direction of the rotation axis X2 from changing significantly due to the difference in the amount of deformation caused by the bending of the nip rollers 32, 34. As a result, the buffer material strip IV can be evenly sandwiched by the nip rollers 32, 34, and the amount of the buffer material strip IV sent out can be prevented from varying. When the size of the glass sheet G becomes large, the size of the buffer material strip IV also becomes large, and the nip rollers 32, 34 become longer. As a result, the nip rollers 32, 34 are easily bent by their own weight. In particular, the nip roller 34 arranged below is subjected to the weight of the nip roller 32, and therefore the amount of deformation caused by bending becomes larger than that of the nip roller 32. As a result, the gap between the nip roller 32 and the nip roller 32 in the direction of the rotation axis X2 is not stable. Even in such a case, by supporting the nip roller 34 from below with multiple support members 50, 50, the deformation due to bending of the nip roller 34 can be adjusted, and the gap between the nip rollers 32, 34 can be made uniform in the direction of the rotation axis X2.

[0039] FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the upper end of the nip roller 34 at the position where the support roller 58 contacts. The nip roller 34 has a groove 34a at the position where the support roller 58 contacts. At the groove 34a, the outer peripheral surface of the nip roller 34 is recessed compared to the portion where the groove 34a is not formed. In the direction of the rotation axis X2, the groove 34a has approximately the same length as the support roller 58. The depth of the groove 34a, i.e., the length in the vertical direction, is longer than the thickness of the buffer material band IV. Both ends of the groove 34a in the direction of the rotation axis X2 are formed with tapered portions 34b. The tapered portions 34b are chamfered to smoothly connect the groove 34a and the portion where the groove 34a is not formed.

[0040] The nip roller 34 and the support roller 58 rotate while being in contact with each other. Therefore, the surface of the nip roller 34 may become dirty due to contact between the nip roller 34 and the support roller 58. In the nip roller 34, the contact portion between the nip roller 34 and the support roller 58 is recessed from other portions of the nip roller 34 by the groove 34a. This prevents the contact portion of the nip roller 34 with the support roller 58, i.e., the bottom portion of the groove 34a, from coming into contact with the cushioning material strip IV that is sandwiched between the nip rollers 32 and 34 and fed out. As a result, even if the nip roller 34 comes into contact with the support roller 58 and becomes dirty, it is possible to prevent the adhesion of dirt to the cushioning material strip IV.

[0041] Furthermore, by making the support roller 58 from a non-metallic material, it is possible to prevent the adhesion of dirt due to contact with metal to the contact surface of the nip roller 34 with the support roller 58. By making the support roller 58 from an elastic material, it is possible to make the support roller 58 elastically deform as the support roller 58 comes into contact with the nip roller 34. This increases the contact area between the support roller 58 and the nip roller 34, and makes it possible to suppress wear of the nip roller 34.

[0042] 1, a cutting unit 40 is disposed downstream of the nip rollers 32, 34. The cutting unit 40 has a pair of cutting blades disposed in the vertical direction. The cutting unit 40 can cut the cushioning material strip IV sent out from the nip rollers 32, 34 with the pair of cutting blades.

[0043] A conveying section 42 is disposed downstream of the cutting section 40. The conveying section 42 conveys the cushioning material IP cut by the cutting section 40 to the placement section 44. The conveying section 42 includes a plurality of clamps that reciprocate in the upstream and downstream directions. Each of the plurality of clamps holds the cushioning material IP by clamping it. The plurality of clamps convey the cushioning material IP to the placement section 44 while clamping it.

[0044] The mounting portion 44 is disposed on the upper surface of the frame 18. The mounting portion 44 has a flat surface.

[0045] (Method of manufacturing glass sheet laminate) As shown in FIG. 5, in the manufacturing method of the glass sheet laminate GL, in S12, a conveying step is performed in which the conveying device 4 conveys the glass sheet to a position where it is held by the holding part 8a. In S14, a cushioning material preparation step is performed in which the cushioning material supplying device 10 cuts the cushioning material strip IV sent from the roll R by the nip rollers 32 and 34 by the cutting part 40 to prepare a cushioning material IP. In S16, a glass sheet arrangement step is performed in which the transfer device 8 arranges the glass sheet G on the conveying device 4 on the cushioning material IP prepared in S14 and placed on the placement part 44 of the cushioning material supplying device 10. In S18, a stacking step is performed in which the loading device 12 arranges the glass sheet G and the cushioning material IP that have been overlapped in S16 on the pallet 14, thereby stacking the glass sheet G and the cushioning material IP alternately. By repeatedly executing S12 to S18 a predetermined number of times, a glass sheet laminate GL in which the glass sheet G and the cushioning material IP are stacked multiple times is produced.

[0046] In the cushioning material production process, the nip rollers 32 and 34 are rotated by a motor. As a result, the support roller 58 is rotated following the nip roller 34. This makes it possible to suppress the nip roller 34 from rubbing against the support roller 58. As a result, wear of the nip roller 34 can be reduced.

[0047] The support roller 58 is supported so as to be freely rotatable. Therefore, the support roller 58 can rotate following the nip roller 34 without providing a drive source for rotating the support roller 58 together with the nip roller 34. In a modified example, a drive source for rotating the support roller 58 together with the nip roller 34 may be provided.

[0048] Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples exemplified above.

[0049] In the above embodiment, the nip rollers 32, 34 are disposed adjacent to each other in the vertical direction. However, for example, the arrangement of the nip rollers 32, 34 is not limited to this. For example, when the cushioning material IP is sent out parallel to the vertical direction, the nip rollers 32, 34 may be disposed with the rotation axes X1, X2 parallel to the vertical direction. In this case, the nip rollers 32, 34 may be disposed adjacent to each other in a direction parallel to the vertical direction. The support member 50 may support the nip roller 34 from the side opposite the nip roller 32 in the direction parallel to the vertical direction.

[0050] The technical elements described in this specification or drawings have technical utility either alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technologies illustrated in this specification or drawings can achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of these objectives is itself technically useful. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 2: manufacturing device, 4: conveying device, 5: supply station, 8: transfer device, 8a: holding section, 8b: arm, 10: cushioning material supplying device, 12: loading device, 12a: holding section, 12b: arm, 14: pallet, 18: frame, 20: support section, 30: delivery device, 31: feed roller, 32, 34: nip roller, 34a: groove, 34b: tapered section, 40: cutting section, 42: conveying section, 44: placement section, 50: support member, 54: base, 56: adjustment mechanism, 56a: holding plate, 56b: adjustment screw, 58: support roller, G: glass plate, GL: glass plate stack, IP: cushioning material

Claims

1. A delivery device for delivering a long sheet, comprising: A first delivery roller; a second delivery roller adjacent to the first delivery roller; a support member that supports the second feed roller from the opposite side to the first feed roller.

2. The second feed roller is disposed below the first feed roller, The delivery device according to claim 1 , wherein the support member supports the second delivery roller from below.

3. The delivery apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the support member comprises a support roller that rotates about an axis of rotation parallel to the axis of rotation of the second delivery roller.

4. The delivery device of claim 3 , wherein the support roller is arranged to be freely rotatable.

5. The delivery device according to claim 3 , wherein an outer peripheral portion of the support roller that contacts the second delivery roller is made of a non-metallic material.

6. The delivery device according to claim 1 , wherein a contact surface of the second delivery roller with the support member is recessed from an outer circumferential surface of the second delivery roller other than the contact surface.

7. The feed device according to claim 1 , further comprising an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a position of the support member relative to the second feed roller in a direction in which the first feed roller and the second feed roller are aligned.

8. A method for producing a glass sheet laminate, comprising: a cushioning material preparation step of preparing a cushioning material by cutting the long sheet delivered by the first delivery roller and the second delivery roller of the delivery device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; A lamination step of alternately stacking glass plates and the buffer material.

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