Seat manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method

Abstract

To easily adjust the positional relationship between an auxiliary support member for assisting in supporting an ultra-thin sheet and an air knife when the member is provided next to the air knife in sheet production in which gas is blown from an air knife onto the ultra-thin sheet being transported.SOLUTION: In a sheet manufacturing apparatus 1 including an air knife unit 5 for blowing gas 4 onto an underside 3 of a glass sheet 2 transported in a flat position, and an upstream conveying device 8 and a downstream conveying device 9 arranged adjacent to the upstream and downstream sides of the air knife unit 5, respectively, the air knife unit 5 has an air knife body 12 having a blowing port 11 for the gas 4 formed therein, and first and second auxiliary support members 13, 15 arranged between the air knife body 12 and the upstream conveying device 8 and between the air knife body 12 and the downstream conveying device 9, respectively, and supporting the glass sheet 2 from below, and. the air knife body 12 and both auxiliary support members 13, 15 are connected to each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sheet manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method that blow gas from an air knife onto an ultrathin sheet during conveyance.

Background Art

[0002] As a manufacturing process of a glass sheet, there are a cleaning process of cleaning the glass sheet with a cleaning liquid, a liquid draining process of removing the cleaning liquid from the cleaned glass sheet, a drying process of drying the glass sheet after liquid draining, and the like. Among these processes, the liquid draining process is carried out using the following equipment as an example.

[0003] The equipment includes an air knife for blowing gas onto the glass sheet on a conveyance path where the glass sheet is conveyed in a flat-laying posture. The air knives are arranged in a vertical pair across the conveyance path so as to blow gas onto both the upper and lower surfaces of the glass sheet during conveyance. Among the vertically paired air knives, an upstream conveyor and a downstream conveyor are adjacently arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side of the lower air knife, respectively.

[0004] In the liquid draining process using the above equipment, while transferring the glass sheet from the upstream conveyor to the downstream conveyor, gas is blown onto the glass sheet from the lower air knife arranged between the two conveyors and the upper air knife paired with the lower air knife to remove the cleaning liquid.

[0005] In recent years, the thinning of glass sheets has been promoted, and ultrathin glass sheets with a thickness of 100 μm or less have been manufactured. When the liquid draining process is carried out on such a glass sheet using the above equipment, due to the fact that the glass sheet is easily bent, there is a problem that the glass sheet easily falls into the gap between the lower air knife and the upstream conveyor and the gap between the lower air knife and the downstream conveyor.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a member for assisting in supporting the glass sheet (hereinafter referred to as an auxiliary support member) may be provided together with the lower air knife. Specifically, the auxiliary support member is installed between the lower air knife and the upstream conveyor or between the lower air knife and the downstream conveyor. By installing the auxiliary support member, when the glass sheet is transferred from the upstream conveyor to the downstream conveyor, the glass sheet is supported from below by the member, making it easier to prevent the glass sheet from falling into the above-mentioned gap.

[0007] Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a member that can be used as an auxiliary support member. The member disclosed in the document is an auxiliary roller unit 20 including a plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the substrate W (see FIG. 1 of the document).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] When an auxiliary support member is provided together with the air knife, it is required to appropriately adjust the positional relationship between the two. This is because if the positional relationship between the air knife and the auxiliary support member is inappropriate, a situation may occur where the glass sheet that flutters due to the gas pressure from the air knife comes into contact with the air knife. Therefore, when it is necessary to change the arrangement or posture of the air knife for reasons such as wanting to change the conditions for blowing gas onto the glass sheet, it is required to readjust the positional relationship between the air knife and the auxiliary support member in accordance with the change. However, there has been a problem that adjusting the positional relationship is time-consuming.

[0010] Note that the above problems do not occur only when an ultra-thin glass sheet is the object of gas spraying. The same problems also occur when an ultra-thin sheet other than a glass sheet, such as a resin sheet, is the object of gas spraying.

[0011] In view of the above circumstances, the problem to be solved is to facilitate the adjustment of the positional relationship between the auxiliary support member and the air knife when the auxiliary support member for assisting the support of the sheet is provided in parallel with the air knife in the manufacture of a sheet in which gas is sprayed from the air knife onto the ultra-thin sheet during conveyance.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0012] (1) A sheet manufacturing apparatus for solving the above problems is arranged on a conveyance path along which the sheet is conveyed in a flat-laying posture, and includes an air knife unit that sprays gas onto the lower surface of the sheet during conveyance, and an upstream conveyance device and a downstream conveyance device that are respectively arranged adjacent to the upstream side and the downstream side of the air knife unit on the conveyance path and convey the sheet while supporting it from below. The air knife unit has an air knife body in which a gas blowing port is formed, and an auxiliary support member that is arranged at least on one of the space between the air knife body and the upstream conveyance device and the space between the air knife body and the downstream conveyance device and supports the sheet from below, and is characterized in that the air knife body and the auxiliary support member are connected.

[0013] In this manufacturing apparatus, the air knife body and the auxiliary support member are connected. With this configuration, when changing the arrangement or posture of the air knife body for reasons such as wanting to change the conditions for spraying gas onto the sheet, it is possible to easily readjust the positional relationship between the air knife body and the auxiliary support member according to the change. This is because as the arrangement or posture of the air knife body changes, the arrangement or posture of the auxiliary support member connected to the air knife body changes while maintaining the positional relationship with the air knife body.

[0014] (2) In the configuration of (1) above, it is preferable that the air knife body can change the blowing angle of the gas with respect to the lower surface of the sheet.

[0015] In this way, for example, when removing the cleaning liquid from the sheet by the pressure of the gas from the air knife body, it becomes possible to change the blowing angle of the gas to an angle optimal for removing the cleaning liquid.

[0016] (3) In the configuration of (2) above, it is preferable that the air knife body can change the blowing angle so that the blowing port faces the upstream side of the conveyance path.

[0017] In this way, the pressure of the gas can be suitably applied to the sheet conveyed from the upstream side of the conveyance path, which is advantageous for efficiently removing the cleaning liquid from the sheet.

[0018] (4) In the configuration of (2) or (3) above, it is preferable that the auxiliary support member includes a contact portion that contacts the sheet, a holding portion that holds the contact portion, and a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height position of the contact portion by changing the position of the holding portion in the vertical direction.

[0019] When changing the blowing angle of the gas with respect to the lower surface of the sheet, the posture of the air knife body will change. Therefore, the posture of the auxiliary support member connected to the air knife body will also change along with the change in the posture of the air knife body. At this time, the height position of the contact portion provided on the auxiliary support member will transition to a position different from that before the change in posture. However, if the auxiliary support member is provided with a position adjustment mechanism, the position of the holding portion in the vertical direction can be changed by the mechanism, and accordingly, the height position of the contact portion held by the holding portion can be adjusted. As a result, even if the posture of the auxiliary support member changes, it is possible to adjust the height position of the contact portion to a desired position.

[0020] (5) In the configuration of (4) above, it is preferable that the position adjustment mechanism can be adjusted so that the top of the contact portion is located at the same height as the conveyance surfaces of the upstream conveyance device and the downstream conveyance device.

[0021] In this way, the position adjustment mechanism can align the height position of the top of the contact portion with the height positions of the conveying surfaces of the upstream conveying device and the downstream conveying device. Therefore, it is advantageous for smoothly transferring the sheet from the upstream conveying device to the downstream conveying device while supporting the sheet by the contact portion.

[0022] (6) In the configuration of (4) or (5) above, when the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet in plan view is defined as the width direction, it is preferable that the auxiliary support member is divided into a plurality of member pieces arranged along the width direction, and each of the plurality of member pieces includes a contact portion and a holding portion.

[0023] In this way, since the auxiliary support member is divided into a plurality of member pieces arranged along the width direction, the weight of the air knife unit can be reduced. As a result, when changing the arrangement or posture of the air knife main body, it becomes possible to quickly complete the change in posture.

[0024] (7) In the configuration of (6) above, it is preferable that the position adjustment mechanism has a connecting member that connects a plurality of holding portions corresponding to the plurality of member pieces, and by changing the position of the connecting member in the vertical direction, the height positions of the plurality of contact portions corresponding to the plurality of member pieces can be adjusted collectively.

[0025] In this way, by individually changing the positions of the plurality of holding portions in the vertical direction, it becomes possible to complete the adjustment extremely efficiently as compared with the case where the height positions of the plurality of contact portions are individually adjusted.

[0026] (8) In any of the configurations of (4) to (7) above, it is preferable that the contact portion is an auxiliary roller.

[0027] By doing so, since the contact portion is a roller, it is possible to accurately eliminate the possibility of the contact portion becoming a resistance to smoothly convey the sheet. Further, since the contact portion is a roller, it becomes difficult for the contact portion (the circumferential surface of the roller) and the sheet to move relative to each other, so it is also possible to accurately eliminate the possibility of the sheet being damaged due to rubbing against the contact portion.

[0028] (9) In the configuration of (8) above, it is preferable that the downstream end in the upstream conveyance device and the upstream end in the downstream conveyance device are constituted by conveyance rollers, and the diameter of the auxiliary roller is smaller than the diameter of the conveyance roller.

[0029] In order to avoid the occurrence of a situation where the air knife body and the sheet come into contact, it is advantageous to support the sheet with the auxiliary roller at a position as close as possible to the air knife body. In other words, it is preferable to make the distance along the conveyance path from the top of the auxiliary roller (the portion that actually supports the sheet) to the air knife body as short as possible. And if the diameter of the auxiliary roller is such that it is smaller than the diameter of the conveyance rollers constituting the upstream conveyance device and the downstream conveyance device, it is suitable for shortening the distance along the above-mentioned conveyance path.

[0030] (10) In any of the configurations of (1) to (9) above, it is preferable that the air knife unit has auxiliary support members both between the air knife body and the upstream conveyance device and between the air knife body and the downstream conveyance device.

[0031] By doing so, it is possible to preferably prevent the sheet from falling into both the gap between the air knife body and the upstream conveyance device and the gap between the air knife body and the downstream conveyance device.

[0032] (11) In any of the configurations of (1) to (10) above, it is preferable that the air knife unit further has a flat plate member that supports the sheet from below, and the flat plate member is disposed in at least one of the spaces between the air knife body and the upstream conveyance device and between the air knife body and the downstream conveyance device.

[0033] In this way, since the air knife unit has a flat plate member in addition to the auxiliary support member, it is advantageous in preventing the sheet from falling into the gap between the air knife body and the upstream conveying device and the gap between the air knife body and the downstream conveying device.

[0034] (12) In any of the configurations (1) to (11) above, each of the upstream conveying device and the downstream conveying device includes a plurality of conveying roller units arranged along the conveying direction of the sheet. When the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet in plan view is defined as the width direction, each of the plurality of conveying roller units has a shaft extending in the width direction and a plurality of conveying rollers attached to the shaft in a state of being arranged at intervals in the width direction. Between adjacent conveying roller units, the attachment positions of the conveying rollers in the width direction are different, and the pitch between adjacent conveying roller units is preferably shorter than the diameter of the conveying roller.

[0035] In this configuration, the pitch between adjacent conveying roller units is shorter than the diameter of the conveying roller. That is, the distance along the conveying path from the top of the conveying roller (the part that actually supports the sheet) belonging to one of the two adjacent conveying roller units to the top of the conveying roller belonging to the other (hereinafter referred to as the top-to-top distance) is shorter than the diameter of the conveying roller. Since the top-to-top distance is short in this way, the sheet is supported by the plurality of conveying roller units at an interval as short as possible, which is advantageous for stably conveying the ultra-thin sheet without bending it.

[0036] (13) A sheet manufacturing method for solving the above problems is a sheet manufacturing method including a spraying step of spraying gas from an air knife unit onto the lower surface of a sheet while supporting the sheet from below by an upstream conveying device and a downstream conveying device arranged adjacent to the upstream side and the downstream side of the air knife unit, respectively, and conveying the sheet in a flat posture along a conveying path. The air knife unit is provided with an air knife body having a gas spraying port, and an auxiliary support member arranged on at least one of the spaces between the air knife body and the upstream conveying device and between the air knife body and the downstream conveying device for supporting the sheet from below, and the air knife body and the auxiliary support member are connected.

[0037] According to this manufacturing method, it is possible to obtain the same functions and effects as those described above for the above sheet manufacturing apparatus.

[0038] (14) In the method of (13) above, the sheet may be a glass sheet having a thickness of 100 μm or less.

[0039] If a glass sheet having such a thickness is the object to be handled by the sheet manufacturing method of the present disclosure, the functions and effects of the manufacturing method can be preferably enjoyed.

[0040] (15) In the method of (13) or (14) above, a cleaning step of cleaning the sheet with a cleaning liquid is performed upstream of the conveying path from the spraying step, the cleaning liquid is drained from the cleaned sheet by performing the spraying step, a drying step of drying the sheet is performed downstream of the conveying path from the spraying step, each of the upstream conveying device and the downstream conveying device includes a plurality of conveying roller units arranged along the conveying direction of the sheet, each of the plurality of conveying roller units has a shaft and a conveying roller attached to the shaft, and it is preferable that the pitch between adjacent conveying roller units is shorter in the upstream conveying device than in the downstream conveying device.

[0041] If the cleaning process is performed upstream of the conveyance path from the spraying process, the upstream conveyance device will have cleaning liquid adhering to the sheet being conveyed. Further, the sheet on the upstream conveyance device needs to transfer from the upstream conveyance device to the downstream conveyance device against the pressure of the gas from the air knife body. Therefore, in the upstream conveyance device, it is necessary to increase the force for sending the sheet downstream (hereinafter referred to as the grip force) compared to the downstream conveyance device for simply conveying the sheet to the drying process. Thus, as in this embodiment, the pitch between adjacent conveyance roller units is made shorter in the upstream conveyance device than in the downstream conveyance device. By doing so, the aforementioned top-to-top distance becomes shorter in the upstream conveyance device than in the downstream conveyance device. That is, in the upstream conveyance device, the number of contact points between the sheet and the conveyance rollers increases compared to the downstream conveyance device. As a result, it becomes possible to increase the grip force in the upstream conveyance device as much as possible.

Effect of the Invention

[0042] According to the sheet manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of the present disclosure, in the manufacture of a sheet that takes the form of spraying gas from an air knife onto an ultra-thin sheet during conveyance, when an auxiliary support member for assisting in supporting the sheet is provided in parallel with the air knife, the positional relationship between the member and the air knife can be easily adjusted.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0043]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0044] Hereinafter, embodiments of a sheet manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiments described below, the case of handling a glass sheet as a kind of sheet is exemplified. Note that the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in each drawing referred to in the description of the embodiments are directions orthogonal to each other. First, the sheet manufacturing apparatus will be described.

[0045] <Sheet Manufacturing Apparatus> As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a sheet manufacturing apparatus 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as the manufacturing apparatus 1) includes an air knife unit 5 that blows gas 4 against the lower surface 3 of a glass sheet 2 being conveyed in the A direction, an air knife 7 that is arranged to face the air knife unit 5 vertically and blows gas 4 against the upper surface 6 of the glass sheet 2, and an upstream conveyance device 8 and a downstream conveyance device 9 that are respectively arranged adjacent to the upstream side and the downstream side of the air knife unit 5 and convey the glass sheet 2 while supporting it from below.

[0046] The air knife unit 5, the air knife 7, the upstream conveyance device 8, and the downstream conveyance device 9 are arranged on a conveyance path along which the glass sheet 2 is conveyed in a flat-laying posture. The "flat-laying posture" as referred to here includes not only the case where the glass sheet 2 takes a horizontal posture as in the present embodiment, but also the case where the glass sheet 2 takes a posture inclined at an angle of 45° or less with respect to the horizontal plane along the X direction or the Y direction.

[0047] This manufacturing apparatus 1 blows gas 4 against the upper and lower surfaces 3 and 6 of the glass sheet 2 from the air knife unit 5 arranged between the two conveyance devices 8 and 9 and the air knife 7 facing the air knife unit 5 while transferring the glass sheet 2 from the upstream conveyance device 8 to the downstream conveyance device 9. Thereby, it is configured to remove (drain the liquid) the cleaning liquid 10 adhering to the upper and lower surfaces 3 and 6 of the glass sheet 2 by the pressure of the gas 4.

[0048] The manufacturing apparatus 1 and the glass sheet 2 handled by the sheet manufacturing method described below are ultra-thin sheets having a thickness of 100 μm or less. Accordingly, the glass sheet 2 has flexibility, and the glass sheet 2 is easily bent and deformed by its own weight or an external force. The thickness of the glass sheet 2 may be 50 μm or less, or may be 40 μm or less. Further, the thickness of the glass sheet 2 is, for example, 30 μm or more. Note that the glass sheet 2 in the present embodiment is formed in a rectangular shape. The outer diameter dimensions of the glass sheet 2 are, for example, 100 mm × 100 mm or more and 600 mm × 600 mm or less.

[0049] The air knife unit 5 includes an air knife body 12 in which a blowing port 11 of the gas 4 is formed, a first auxiliary support member 13 and a first flat plate member 14 that support the glass sheet 2 from below between the air knife body 12 and the upstream conveying device 8, and a second auxiliary support member 15 and a second flat plate member 16 that support the glass sheet 2 from below between the air knife body 12 and the downstream conveying device 9.

[0050] The air knife body 12, the first auxiliary support member 13, and the second auxiliary support member 15 are attached to a common base 17. Accordingly, the air knife body 12 and both auxiliary support members 13 and 15 are connected via the base 17. The air knife unit 5 can integrally change the arrangement and posture of the air knife body 12 and both auxiliary support members 13 and 15 in accordance with a change in the arrangement and posture of the air knife unit 5.

[0051] The air knife unit 5 can change its posture between an upright posture (the posture shown in FIG. 2) in which the air knife body 12 injects the gas 4 upward and an inclined posture (the postures shown in FIGS. 4 and 5) in which the gas 4 is injected in an inclined direction upward. Along with this change in the posture, the air knife body 12 can change the blowing angle of the gas 4 with respect to the lower surface 3 of the glass sheet 2. In the inclined postures illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the blowing port 11 of the air knife body 12 is directed toward the upstream side of the conveyance path of the glass sheet 2.

[0052] Here, for the case where the air knife unit 5 takes an upright posture, the upper limit value of the inclination angle θ in the case of taking an inclined posture is, for example, 45°. From the viewpoint of suitably applying the pressure of the gas 4 to the glass sheet 2 conveyed from the upstream side of the conveyance path, after directing the blowing port 11 of the air knife body 12 to the upstream side of the conveyance path, it is preferable that the angle θ be within the range of 30° to 40°. Further, the distance between the blowing port 11 of the air knife body 12 and the lower surface 3 of the glass sheet 2 is, for example, 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less.

[0053] The blowing port 11 of the air knife body 12 is formed in a slit shape extending in the width direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction (A direction) of the glass sheet 2 when viewed from the direction (Z direction) of viewing the manufacturing apparatus 1 in a plan view. The blowing port 11 can blow the gas 4 over the entire width of the glass sheet 2. As the gas 4, for example, clean dry air can be used. The flow velocity of the gas 4 at the blowing port 11 is, for example, 15 m / s or more and 80 m / s or less.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 3, the first auxiliary support member 13 is divided into a plurality of member pieces 18 arranged along the width direction (Y direction). Among the plurality of member pieces 18, two member pieces 18 arranged at both ends are different in part of the configuration from the other member pieces 18. And, among the plurality of member pieces 18, only the two member pieces 18 arranged at both ends are directly attached to the base 17. In the following description, the two member pieces 18 arranged at both ends may be denoted as "member piece 19" and the other member pieces 18 may be denoted as "member piece 20" for distinction.

[0055] The points where the configurations are common between the member piece 19 and the member piece 20 are that they include an auxiliary roller 21 as a contact portion that contacts the glass sheet 2 and a holding portion 22 that holds the auxiliary roller 21. Among the plurality of member pieces 18, the height positions and the positions on the conveyance path (positions in the X direction) of the auxiliary rollers 21 are aligned.

[0056] The auxiliary roller 21 is an element that directly supports the glass sheet 2 among the components of the first auxiliary support member 13. The auxiliary roller 21 in the present embodiment is a free roller whose peripheral surface is made of resin. However, this is not the only case, and the peripheral surface of the auxiliary roller 21 may be made of a material other than resin, or it may be a driving roller instead of a free roller. When a driving roller is used as the auxiliary roller 21, it is preferable to match the peripheral speed of the roller with the conveyance speed of the glass sheet 2 by the upstream conveyance device 8 and the downstream conveyance device 9.

[0057] The auxiliary roller 21 has a smaller diameter compared to the conveyance roller 23 (described later) provided in the upstream conveyance device 8 and the downstream conveyance device 9 (see FIG. 2). On the other hand, the auxiliary roller 21 has a wider width dimension (dimension along the Y direction) of the peripheral surface compared to the conveyance roller 23 (see FIG. 1). This is from the viewpoints of suitably preventing the glass sheet 2 from falling into the gap between the air knife main body 12 and the upstream conveyance device 8, and increasing the contact area between the auxiliary roller 21 and the glass sheet 2 as much as possible to reduce the load applied to the glass sheet 2.

[0058] The holding portion 22 has a bearing device (not shown) built in its upper end portion. The holding portion 22 can rotatably hold the shaft of the auxiliary roller 21 in a state of cantilever support.

[0059] The difference in configuration between the member piece 19 and the member piece 20 is that two long holes 24 that do not exist in the holding portion 22 of the member piece 20 are formed in the holding portion 22 of the member piece 19. The long holes 24 are elements for directly attaching the member piece 19 to the base 17.

[0060] The long holes 24 are formed in the flat plate portion 25 that constitutes the lower end portion of the holding portion 22. The number of the long holes 24 is not particularly limited, and the number of the long holes 24 may be changed from two. The major axis direction of each long hole 24 coincides with the direction in which the air knife main body 12 injects the gas 4, and the minor axis direction of each long hole 24 coincides with the width direction (Y direction).

[0061] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in addition to the aforementioned auxiliary rollers 21 and holding portions 22, the first auxiliary support member 13 includes a position adjustment mechanism 26 capable of collectively adjusting the height positions of the plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 corresponding to the plurality of member pieces 18. The position adjustment mechanism 26 in the present embodiment includes the aforementioned long holes 24 formed in the holding portion 22 of the member piece 19, bolts 27 inserted through the long holes 24, bolt holes 29 formed in the flat side surface 28 of the base 17, and a connecting member 30 that connects the plurality of holding portions 22 corresponding to the plurality of member pieces 18.

[0062] The bolt 27 has a head 31 that is wider than the minor axis of the long hole 24. The bolt 27 is tightened into the bolt hole 29 while sandwiching the flat plate portion 25 of the member piece 19 between the head 31 and the side surface 28 of the base 17. Thereby, it is possible to fix the holding portion 22 of the member piece 19 to the base 17. On the other hand, if the bolt 27 tightened in the bolt hole 29 is loosened, the fixing of the holding portion 22 of the member piece 19 to the base 17 is released, and the holding portion 22 of the member piece 19 can be slid along the major axis direction of the long hole 24 (see the arrow in FIG. 3).

[0063] When the holding portion 22 of the member piece 19 is slid with respect to the base 17, the position of the connecting member 30 in the vertical direction is changed accordingly. Further, the position of the holding portion 22 of the member piece 20 connected by the connecting member 30 in the vertical direction is also changed. By this change, the height positions of the plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 are collectively adjusted. The connecting member 30 in the present embodiment is a bar that extends in the width direction (Y direction) and penetrates the plurality of holding portions 22, and is respectively fitted with the plurality of holding portions 22. Of course, this is not the only limit, and the connecting member 30 may be other than a bar as long as it can connect the plurality of holding portions 22.

[0064] Due to the function of the aforementioned position adjustment mechanism 26, regardless of whether the air knife unit 5 takes an upright posture or an inclined posture, it is possible to adjust the top 32 of each of the plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 to be at the same height as the conveying surfaces of the upstream conveying device 8 and the downstream conveying device 9. Hereinafter, this adjustment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2, 4, and 5. In these figures, the height position of the conveying surface is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 2, when the air knife unit 5 is in an upright posture, the top 32 of each auxiliary roller 21 is located at the same height as the conveying surface. When the air knife unit 5 changes its posture from an upright posture to an inclined posture in which the blowing port 11 faces the upstream side of the conveying path of the glass sheet 2, as shown in FIG. 4, the top 32 of each auxiliary roller 21 of the first auxiliary support member 13 is temporarily in a position lower than the conveying surface. From this state, by using the function of the position adjustment mechanism 26 to raise each auxiliary roller 21, as shown in FIG. 5, the height positions of the top 32 of each auxiliary roller 21 and the conveying surface are aligned.

[0066] The holding portion 22 of the member piece 19 is composed of a flat plate portion 25 extending in the blowing direction of the gas 4, an intermediate portion 41 extending substantially perpendicularly from the upper end of the flat plate portion 25 in the direction of the air knife main body 12, and an upper end portion 42 extending in the blowing direction of the gas 4 from the end portion of the intermediate portion 41 on the air knife main body 12 side. That is, the holding portion 22 of the member piece 19 is configured in a crank shape composed of the flat plate portion 25, the intermediate portion 41, and the upper end portion 42. Thereby, even when the side surface 28 of the base 17 is separated from the air knife main body 12, since the intermediate portion 41 extends in a direction approaching the air knife main body 12, the position of the auxiliary roller 21 can be brought as close as possible to the air knife main body 12.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 1, the second auxiliary support member 15 has the same configuration as the first auxiliary support member 13, except that the arrangement of the first auxiliary support member 13 and the auxiliary rollers 21 is different. When viewed from the direction (Z direction) of the manufacturing apparatus 1 in plan view, the plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 belonging to the first auxiliary support member 13 and the plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 belonging to the second auxiliary support member 15 are arranged in a staggered pattern along the width direction (Y direction).

[0068] The second auxiliary support member 15 is provided with a position adjustment mechanism 26 in the same manner as the first auxiliary support member 13. Therefore, regardless of whether the air knife unit 5 takes an upright posture or an inclined posture, it is possible to adjust the top 32 of each of the plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 to be at the same height as the conveying surfaces of the upstream conveying device 8 and the downstream conveying device 9 (see FIGS. 2 and 5).

[0069] The first flat plate member 14 and the second flat plate member 16 have flat surfaces that support the glass sheet 2. The flat surfaces of both flat plate members 14 and 16 in the present embodiment are made of resin. Both flat plate members 14 and 16 are arranged adjacent to the upstream side and the downstream side of the air knife body 12, respectively, and are arranged at positions where the corner portions of the glass sheet 2 pass through. Note that both flat plate members 14 and 16 may be arranged at positions other than where the corner portions of the glass sheet 2 pass through. In this case, it is preferable to arrange both flat plate members 14 and 16 at positions where the cleaning liquid 10 is likely to accumulate on the glass sheet 2.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 2, the air knife 7 has the same configuration as the air knife main body 12, except that the top and bottom are reversed. The postures of the air knife 7 and the air knife main body 12 are adjusted so that the two 7, 12 take symmetrical postures with the conveyance path of the glass sheet 2 therebetween (see also FIG. 6). That is, the blowing angle of the gas 4 against the upper surface 6 of the glass sheet 2 by the air knife 7 and the blowing angle of the gas 4 against the lower surface 3 of the glass sheet 2 by the air knife main body 12 are the same angle. Further, the distance between the blowing port 11 of the air knife 7 and the upper surface 6 of the glass sheet 2 is the same as the distance between the blowing port 11 of the air knife main body 12 and the lower surface 3 of the glass sheet 2.

[0071] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upstream conveyance device 8 and the downstream conveyance device 9 have a configuration that is mostly common. The point where the configurations are common between the upstream conveyance device 8 and the downstream conveyance device 9 is that they include a plurality of conveyance roller units 33 arranged along the conveyance direction (A direction) of the glass sheet 2. Among the plurality of conveyance roller units 33, at least some of the conveyance roller units 33 are connected to a drive source such as a motor.

[0072] Each conveyance roller unit 33 has a shaft 34 extending in the width direction and a plurality of conveyance rollers 23 attached to the shaft 34 in a state of being arranged at intervals in the width direction. Between adjacent conveyance roller units 33, 33, the attachment positions of the conveyance rollers 23 in the width direction are different. When viewed from the direction (Z direction) of a plan view of the manufacturing apparatus 1, the conveyance rollers 23 belonging to one of the adjacent conveyance roller units 33, 33 and the conveyance rollers 23 belonging to the other are arranged in a staggered manner along the width direction (Y direction). The pitches P1, P2 between adjacent conveyance roller units 33, 33 are shorter than the diameter of the conveyance roller 23.

[0073] Here, although illustration is omitted, in some of the plurality of conveying roller units 33, nozzles for blowing gas against the lower surface 3 of the glass sheet 2 are arranged between the adjacent conveying rollers 23, 23 in the width direction, separately from the air knife unit 5. Thereby, before removing the cleaning liquid 10 from the glass sheet 2 by the air knife unit 5 and the air knife 7, the cleaning liquid 10 can be preliminarily removed, and the cleaning liquid 10 adhering to the glass sheet 2 can be removed more reliably. In addition, when the cleaning liquid 10 can be sufficiently removed only by the air knife unit 5 and the air knife 7, the nozzles may not be provided.

[0074] The difference in configuration between the upstream conveying device 8 and the downstream conveying device 9 lies in that the lengths of the pitches P1, P2 are different between the adjacent conveying roller units 33, 33, and the configuration of the conveying roller 23 is different.

[0075] The pitch P1 in the upstream conveying device 8 is shorter than the pitch P2 in the downstream conveying device 9. Thereby, the glass sheet 2 being conveyed by the upstream conveying device 8 is in a state of contacting a larger number of conveying rollers 23 compared to the glass sheet 2 being conveyed by the downstream conveying device 9.

[0076] The conveying roller 23 belonging to the upstream conveying device 8 has a peripheral portion 35 made of rubber. This is from the viewpoint of increasing the force for sending the glass sheet 2 downstream in order to transfer the glass sheet 2 from the upstream conveying device 8 to the downstream conveying device 9 against the pressure of the gas 4 from the air knife unit 5 and the air knife 7.

[0077] The conveying roller 23 belonging to the downstream conveying device 9 is made of a material excellent in heat resistance (for example, engineering plastics such as PEEK). This is from the viewpoint of enabling the conveying roller 23 to withstand the high temperature during drying because high-temperature gas or the like is blown against the glass sheet 2 after passing through the air knife unit 5 and the air knife 7 for drying.

[0078] The following describes a sheet manufacturing method.

[0079] <Sheet manufacturing method> As shown in FIG. 6, the sheet manufacturing method (hereinafter simply referred to as the manufacturing method) includes, in order from the upstream process, a cleaning process S1, a spraying process S2 (liquid draining process), and a drying process S3. Processes S1 to S3 are all executed while conveying the glass sheet 2 by a plurality of conveying rollers 23. The conveying speed of the glass sheet 2 by the plurality of conveying rollers 23 (the upstream conveying device 8 and the downstream conveying device 9) is, for example, 2 m / min to 3 m / min.

[0080] In the cleaning process S1, first, the cleaning liquid 10 is supplied from a pair of upper and lower supply devices 36, 36 to the upper and lower surfaces 3, 6 of the glass sheet 2, respectively. As the cleaning liquid 10, for example, pure water can be used, and a detergent (acidic detergent, alkaline detergent), a surfactant, alkaline ion water, etc. may be added as necessary.

[0081] Next, the upper and lower surfaces 3, 6 of the glass sheet 2 are rubbed by a pair of upper and lower cleaning rollers 37, 37 to remove dirt such as foreign matter adhering to the upper and lower surfaces 3, 6. In this way, the upper and lower surfaces 3, 6 of the glass sheet 2 are cleaned. As the cleaning roller 37, one having a contact portion with the glass sheet 2 made of an elastic material such as a sponge may be adopted, or one made of a brush may be adopted.

[0082] Finally, the cleaning liquid 10 (rinsing liquid) is supplied from a pair of upper and lower supply devices 38, 38 to the upper and lower surfaces 3, 6 of the glass sheet 2 that has passed through the cleaning roller 37, respectively. In the illustrated example, two pairs of upper and lower supply devices 38, 38 are used. As the cleaning liquid 10, a known rinsing liquid such as pure water can be used.

[0083] In the spraying step S2 (liquid draining step), by using the above-described manufacturing apparatus 1, gas 4 is sprayed onto the upper and lower surfaces 3 and 6 of the washed glass sheet 2 from the air knife unit 5 (air knife body 12), the air knife 7, and a nozzle (not shown). Thereby, the cleaning liquid 10 adhering to the upper and lower surfaces 3 and 6 of the glass sheet 2 is removed (liquid drained) by the pressure of the gas 4.

[0084] Both the air knife unit 5 (air knife body 12) and the air knife 7 are arranged in a symmetrical posture with the conveyance path of the glass sheet 2 therebetween. Both the air knife unit 5 and the air knife 7 inject gas 4 toward the same point (the same position in the X direction) on the conveyance path of the glass sheet 2. In the illustrated example, both the air knife unit 5 and the air knife 7 are directed toward the upstream side of the conveyance path.

[0085] The glass sheet 2 passing over the air knife unit 5 passes through without contacting the air knife body 12 by means of the upstream conveyance device 8, the downstream conveyance device 9, and a plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 whose conveyance surfaces and the height positions of the tops 32 are aligned.

[0086] In the drying step S3, high-temperature gas 40 (for example, clean dry air) is sprayed onto the upper and lower surfaces 3 and 6 of the glass sheet 2 after liquid draining from a pair of upper and lower drying devices 39, 39, respectively. Thereby, the glass sheet 2 is dried.

[0087] The glass sheet 2 after the execution of the drying step S3 becomes a product glass sheet through various known steps. The product glass sheet may be, for example, superposed with a resin sheet to form a glass resin laminate.

[0088] Here, the following modification examples can also be applied to the above-described embodiment.

[0089] In the above-described embodiment, the position adjustment mechanism 26 includes the long hole 24, the bolt 27, the bolt hole 29, and the connecting member 30. As the position of the connecting member 30 in the vertical direction is changed, the height positions of the plurality of auxiliary rollers 21 are adjusted collectively. However, this is not the only case. Instead of the long hole 24, the bolt 27, and the bolt hole 29, a lifting device or the like for changing the position of the connecting member 30 in the vertical direction may be incorporated into the position adjustment mechanism 26.

[0090] In the above-described embodiment, the air knife unit 5 has both the first auxiliary support member 13 and the second auxiliary support member 15, but it may be configured to have only one of them 13, 15. Similarly, for the first flat plate member 14 and the second flat plate member 16, it may be configured to have only one of them.

[0091] In the above-described embodiment, the first auxiliary support member 13 and the second auxiliary support member 15 are divided into a plurality of member pieces 18, but they do not necessarily have to be divided. In this case, as a contact portion that contacts the glass sheet 2, instead of the plurality of auxiliary rollers 21, a single roller having an axis extending in the width direction and a wide peripheral surface, or a long round bar or pipe in the width direction may be used.

[0092] In the above-described embodiment, the glass sheet 2 was rectangular, but it may be circular or polygonal. Further, the glass sheet 2 may be a long glass ribbon that continuously extends in the conveying direction (A direction).

[0093] In the above-described embodiment, the air knife main body 12 and the air knife 7's blowing port 11 are slit-shaped extending in the width direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the conveying direction (A direction) of the glass sheet 2 in a plan view, but it is not limited to this. The blowing port 11 may be slit-shaped extending in a direction inclined with respect to the width direction (Y direction) in a plan view.

[0094] In the above-described embodiment, only the two member pieces 19 arranged at both ends in the width direction (Y direction) are directly attached to the base 17, and the other member pieces 20 are indirectly attached to the base 17 via the two member pieces 19 arranged at both ends, but it is not limited thereto. The other member pieces 20 also have the same configuration as the two member pieces 19 arranged at both ends, and each of the two member pieces 19 arranged at both ends and the other member pieces 20 may be directly attached to the base 17. According to such an embodiment, even when a load or impact acts on the other member pieces 20, the positions of the other member pieces 20 do not change, and the glass sheet 2 can be supported more reliably.

Explanation of Signs

[0095] 1 Sheet manufacturing apparatus 2 Glass sheet 3 Lower surface of the glass sheet 4 Gas 5 Air knife unit 8 Upstream conveying device 9 Downstream conveying device 10 Cleaning liquid 11 Gas blowing port 12 Air knife body 13 First auxiliary support member 14 First flat plate member 15 Second auxiliary support member 16 Second flat plate member 18 - 20 Member pieces 21 Auxiliary roller (contact part) 22 Holding part 23 Conveying roller 26 Position adjusting mechanism 30 Connecting member 32 Top of the auxiliary roller 33 Conveying roller unit 34 Shaft P1, P2 Pitch S1 Cleaning process S2 Blowing process (liquid draining process) S3 Drying process

Claims

1. An air knife unit disposed on a conveyance path along which a sheet is conveyed in a flat-laid posture, and blowing gas against the lower surface of the sheet being conveyed; An upstream conveyance device and a downstream conveyance device disposed adjacent to the upstream side and the downstream side of the air knife unit on the conveyance path, respectively, and conveying the sheet while supporting the sheet from below; A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising: The air knife unit includes: An air knife body in which a gas blowing port is formed; An auxiliary support member disposed on at least one of between the air knife body and the upstream conveyance device and between the air knife body and the downstream conveyance device, and supporting the sheet from below; And having: A sheet manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the air knife body and the auxiliary support member are connected.

2. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air knife body is capable of changing the blowing angle of the gas against the lower surface of the sheet.

3. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the air knife body is capable of changing the blowing angle such that the blowing port faces the upstream side of the conveyance path.

4. The auxiliary support member includes: A contact portion that contacts the sheet; A holding portion that holds the contact portion; A position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height position of the contact portion by changing the position of the holding portion in the vertical direction; The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, comprising:

5. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the position adjustment mechanism is capable of adjusting the top of the contact portion to be at the same height as the conveyance surfaces of the upstream conveyance device and the downstream conveyance device.

6. When the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet in plan view is defined as the width direction, the auxiliary support member is divided into a plurality of member pieces arranged along the width direction, The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of member pieces includes the contact portion and the holding portion.

7. The position adjustment mechanism has a connecting member that connects the plurality of holding portions corresponding to the plurality of member pieces, The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the height positions of the plurality of contact portions corresponding to the plurality of member pieces can be collectively adjusted by changing the position of the connecting member in the vertical direction.

8. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the contact portion is an auxiliary roller.

9. The downstream end of the upstream conveying device and the upstream end of the downstream conveying device are constituted by conveying rollers. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the diameter of the auxiliary roller is smaller than the diameter of the conveying roller.

10. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the air knife unit has the auxiliary support members both between the air knife body and the upstream conveying device and between the air knife body and the downstream conveying device.

11. The air knife unit further has a flat plate member that supports the sheet from below. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flat plate member is disposed at least one of between the air knife body and the upstream conveying device and between the air knife body and the downstream conveying device.

12. Each of the upstream conveying device and the downstream conveying device includes a plurality of conveying roller units arranged along the conveying direction of the sheet. When the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet in plan view is defined as the width direction, each of the plurality of conveying roller units has a shaft extending in the width direction and a plurality of conveying rollers attached to the shaft in a state of being arranged at intervals in the width direction. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein between adjacent conveying roller units, the attachment positions of the conveying rollers in the width direction are different, and the pitch between adjacent conveying roller units is shorter than the diameter of the conveying roller.

13. A sheet manufacturing method including a spraying step of spraying gas from an air knife unit onto the lower surface of a sheet while supporting the sheet from below by an upstream conveying device and a downstream conveying device arranged adjacent to the upstream side and the downstream side of the air knife unit respectively and conveying the sheet in a flat posture along a conveying path, wherein the air knife unit is provided with an air knife body having a gas spraying port formed therein, and an auxiliary support member disposed at least one of between the air knife body and the upstream conveying device and between the air knife body and the downstream conveying device and supporting the sheet from below, and characterized in that the air knife body and the auxiliary support member are connected. A sheet manufacturing method characterized by connecting the air knife body and the auxiliary support member.

14. The sheet manufacturing method according to claim 13, wherein the sheet is a glass sheet having a thickness of 100 μm or less.

15. Execute a cleaning process of cleaning the sheet with a cleaning liquid on the upstream side of the conveyance path from the spraying process, Drain the cleaning liquid from the cleaned sheet by executing the spraying process, Execute a drying process of drying the sheet on the downstream side of the conveyance path from the spraying process, Each of the upstream-side conveyance device and the downstream-side conveyance device includes a plurality of conveyance roller units arranged along the conveyance direction of the sheet, Each of the plurality of conveyance roller units has a shaft and a conveyance roller attached to the shaft, The sheet manufacturing method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the pitch between adjacent conveyance roller units is shorter in the upstream-side conveyance device than in the downstream-side conveyance device.

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