Device and method for manufacturing glass plate

Abstract

This glass plate manufacturing device 1 comprises: a processing unit 3 including a grindstone 3a for processing an end surface Ga of a glass plate G; a holding member 4 that holds the processing unit 3 at one end portion 4a; a shaft portion 8 that rotatably supports the holding member 4; and a traveling base body 7 that supports the shaft portion 8. The processing unit 3 is configured to perform processing of the end surface Ga of the glass plate G after leaving a departure position 12. A weight body 9 attached to the holding member 4 performs an action for suppressing rotation around the shaft portion 8 of the holding member 4 while the processing unit 3 moves with acceleration after leaving the departure position 12 and until arriving at a processing start position 13 of the end surface Ga of the glass plate G.

Description

Glass plate manufacturing apparatus and glass plate manufacturing method

[0001] The present invention relates to a glass sheet manufacturing apparatus and method that are provided with a configuration for processing an edge surface of a glass sheet.

[0002] In the manufacturing process of glass substrates used for panel displays such as liquid crystal displays, one or more glass plates are cut out from a large glass substrate (prepared glass plate). If scratches or other imperfections are present on the edge of the cut glass plate, these scratches may cause cracks or other damage. To prevent this, the edge of the glass plate is subjected to grinding (rough processing) and polishing (finishing processing).

[0003] As a technique for processing the edge of a glass sheet, Patent Document 1 discloses an edge processing device that includes a holding member (called an arm member in the publication) that holds a processing unit including a processing tool at one end, a shaft (called a support shaft member in the publication) that rotatably supports the holding member, and a servo motor that generates a force in the holding member that presses the processing tool against the edge of the glass sheet. In this case, the processing unit includes a processing tool and a motor that drives the processing tool. The glass sheet is placed flat.

[0004] The main operation of this edge processing device is to detect changes in the speed and torque of the servo motor's rotating shaft (motor shaft) and perform feedback control of the speed or torque in response to those changes, thereby adjusting the pressing force of the processing tool against the edge of the glass plate.

[0005] JP 2017-30089 A

[0006] As a result of extensive research, the inventors have discovered that with an edge processing device such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the processing section is moved with acceleration to the processing start position of the edge surface before processing the edge surface of the glass plate, the inertial force acting on the processing section will cause the holding member to rotate around the axis.

[0007] Therefore, if the processing unit is accelerated and moved before processing the edge of the glass sheet in order to shorten the takt time and improve productivity, the processing unit cannot be held stably. This problem then leads to a new problem in that processing of the edge of the glass sheet cannot be properly started when the processing unit reaches the processing start position.

[0008] In this regard, Patent Document 1 (see paragraphs 0053 and 0054) discloses a configuration in which a holding member can be held in a fixed position by a stopper and a servo motor before processing the edge surface of a glass sheet, although not during movement accompanied by acceleration. More specifically, this document describes that, as shown by the solid line in Figure 10, the holding member 4A is pressed against a stopper SA that restricts counterclockwise rotation of the holding member 4A by the torque of the rotation shaft 6Aa of the servo motor 6A, and the pressing force (holding force) holds the holding member 4A in that position.

[0009] This configuration is expected to stably hold the processing portion 3A when moving at a constant speed. However, when moving with acceleration, the inertial force acting on the processing portion 3A may cause the holding member 4A to rotate around the shaft portion 8A against the above-mentioned holding force, as shown by the chain line in the figure, and move away from the stopper SA. If this occurs, at the processing start position 13A, the processing tool 3Aa of the processing portion 3A is separated from the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G, and the processing tool 3Aa cannot process the predetermined area LA from the starting end Gax of the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G, and the above-mentioned problem still remains.

[0010] From the above viewpoint, an object of the present invention is to suppress rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft portion, which may occur when the processing portion moves with acceleration before processing the edge surface of the glass plate.

[0011] As a result of extensive research, the inventors have found that the mass balance of the holding member is important in order to suppress rotational movement around the shaft of the holding member caused by the inertial force acting on the processing portion during acceleration. Based on this, the inventors have found that it is preferable to attach a mass body that can counteract the processing portion to the holding member. The following invention was created based on these findings.

[0012] (1) A first aspect of the present invention, which was invented to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a glass plate manufacturing apparatus comprising: a processing unit including a processing tool that processes the edge surface by moving along the processing direction of the edge surface of a glass plate in a flat position; a holding member that holds the processing unit at one end; a shaft that is positioned at an intermediate position from one end to the other end of the holding member and supports the holding member so that it can rotate in a plane along the main surface of the glass plate; and a traveling base that supports the shaft. The traveling base is configured to move along a direction parallel to the processing direction of the edge surface of the glass plate from the time the processing unit departs from a starting position that is located behind the glass plate in the movement direction of the processing unit until processing of the edge surface of the glass plate is completed, and a weight is attached to the holding member, and the weight acts to suppress rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft while the processing unit moves with acceleration from the time the processing unit departs from the starting position to the processing start position of the edge surface of the glass plate.

[0013] According to this configuration, the weight attached to the holding member can suppress rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft, which is caused by the inertial force acting on the processing unit as it moves while accelerating. This makes it possible to stably hold the processing unit even when it moves, with acceleration, from the starting position to the processing start position on the edge of the glass sheet. As a result, takt time can be shortened and productivity can be improved. Furthermore, when the processing unit reaches the processing start position, processing of the edge of the glass sheet can be properly started. In this configuration, even if the weight that performs the above function is attached to the holding member, processing of the edge of the glass sheet is not hindered.

[0014] (2) In the configuration of (1) above, a holding force acts on the holding member to maintain a constant posture of the holding member, and the weight may act to prevent the holding member from rotating around the shaft portion against the holding force.

[0015] Even when the holding force is applied to the holding member, the holding member may rotate around the shaft against the force. This situation becomes more pronounced when the mass of the processed part is large or the acceleration is high. With this configuration, even in such cases, the weight suppresses the rotation of the holding member around the shaft.

[0016] (3) In the configuration of (2) above, a link mechanism may be connected to the other end of the holding member, and a holding force may be applied to the holding member from an actuator supported on the traveling base via the link mechanism.

[0017] Even in such a case, by attaching a weight to the holding member, it is possible to avoid the problem of the holding member rotating about the shaft against the holding force acting on the holding member from the actuator via the link mechanism.

[0018] (4) In any of the above configurations (1) to (3), the distance may be defined as the distance in a direction perpendicular to the processing direction of the end face within a plane along the main surface of the glass plate, and the distance from one end of the holding member to the central axis of the shaft portion may be defined as L1, and the distance from one end of the holding member to the center of gravity of the weight may be defined as L2, so that the relationship L1 < L2 may be satisfied.

[0019] This improves the weight balance between the processed portion and the weight body, making it possible to efficiently suppress rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft portion during movement accompanied by acceleration.

[0020] (5) In any of the above configurations (1) to (3), a weight may be attached to a portion of the holding member that is closer to the other end than the central axis of the shaft portion.

[0021] In this way, the weight body can be attached to the holding member in an appropriate position, and the weight balance between the processed portion and the weight body can be improved.

[0022] (6) In any of the configurations (1) to (5) above, an acceleration zone in which the processing unit moves from a starting position toward the edge of the glass plate while accelerating, and a constant speed zone in which the processing unit processes the edge of the glass plate while moving at a constant speed may be provided.

[0023] In this way, the provision of the acceleration zone ensures a reduction in takt time and an improvement in productivity, while the provision of the constant speed zone allows the edge of the glass sheet to be processed carefully and with high precision.

[0024] (7) In the configuration of (6) above, the acceleration zone may include a zone in which the processing unit moves a predetermined length from the time it reaches the processing start position on the edge surface of the glass sheet to a position forward in the movement direction.

[0025] In this way, the acceleration zone can be extended by the above-mentioned predetermined length, so that the tact time can be further shortened and productivity can be improved.

[0026] (8) In any of the configurations (1) to (7) above, a plurality of processing sections are arranged along the movement direction, and a weight is attached to a holding member that holds the front processing section that is arranged furthest forward in the movement direction among these processing sections, while no weight may be attached to a holding member that holds the rear processing section that is arranged further rearward in the movement direction than the front processing section.

[0027] This allows the following operation to be performed. Specifically, the rear processing unit is set to reach a position closer to the starting position than the processing start position when the front processing unit stops accelerating and starts moving at a constant speed. With this setting, when the rear processing unit reaches the above-mentioned position, the rear processing unit also moves at a constant speed, following the movement of the front processing unit. Therefore, when the rear processing unit starts processing the edge of the glass sheet, no force is generated that tends to rotate the holding member holding the rear processing unit around the shaft. In this case, even if the rear processing unit rotates around the shaft as the rear processing unit moves at an accelerating speed, by configuring the holding member of the rear processing unit to return to its original position (the position when stopped at the starting position) when the rear processing unit starts moving at a constant speed, processing of the edge of the glass sheet is not hindered even if a weight is not attached to the holding member of the rear processing unit.

[0028] (9) In any of the configurations (1) to (8) above, a holding force acts on the holding member to keep the position of the holding member constant, and the holding force is a force that presses the holding member against a stopper that restricts the rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft by the torque of the rotating shaft of the actuator, and the weight acts to suppress the rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft against the holding force, and the torque value of the rotating shaft of the actuator is 0.01 N·m or more and 0.2 N·m or less, and the weight of the weight may be 10% or more and 50% or less of the weight of the processed portion.

[0029] In this way, the weight balance between the processed portion and the weight body is appropriate while taking into consideration the holding force, so that rotational movement around the shaft of the holding member during movement accompanied by acceleration can be suppressed even more efficiently.

[0030] (10) In any of the configurations (1) to (9) above, a holding force acts on the holding member to keep its posture constant, and the holding force is a force that presses the holding member against a stopper that restricts rotational movement of the holding member around the axis by the torque of the rotating shaft of the actuator, and the weight acts to suppress rotational movement of the holding member around the axis against the holding force, and the torque value of the rotating shaft of the actuator is 0.01 N m or more and 0.2 N m or less, and the distance is the distance in a plane along the main surface of the glass plate in a direction perpendicular to the processing direction of the end surface, where W3 is the weight of the weight of the weight and L3 is the distance from the center of gravity of the weight to the central axis of the axis, and W4 is the weight of the processed portion and L4 is the distance from the center of gravity of the processed portion to the central axis of the axis, and (W3 x L3) / (W4 x L4) may be 0.35 or more and 0.75 or less.

[0031] By doing this, the weight balance between the processed part and the weight body becomes even more appropriate while taking into account the holding force, and rotational movement around the shaft of the holding member during movement accompanied by acceleration can be more efficiently suppressed.

[0032] (11) In any of the above configurations (1) to (10), the weight may be divided into a plurality of pieces, and attached to the holding member so that the weight can be changed by changing the number of pieces.

[0033] In this way, it is possible to appropriately deal with the case where the acceleration is changed when the processing part is moving while accelerating.

[0034] (12) A second aspect of the present invention, which has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a glass plate manufacturing apparatus comprising: a processing unit including a processing tool that processes an edge surface of a glass plate in a flat position by moving along the processing direction of the edge surface of the glass plate; a holding member that holds the processing unit at one end; a shaft that is arranged at an intermediate position from one end to the other end of the holding member and supports the holding member so that the holding member can rotate within a plane along the main surface of the glass plate; and a traveling base that supports the shaft, wherein the traveling base is configured to move along a direction parallel to the processing direction of the edge surface of the glass plate from the time the processing unit departs from a starting position that is located behind the glass plate in the movement direction of the processing unit until processing of the edge surface of the glass plate is completed, and the holding member has a holding force for maintaining a constant attitude of the holding member and a force for rotating the holding member around the shaft while the processing unit moves with acceleration from the time the processing unit departs from the starting position to a processing start position of the edge surface of the glass plate. a force acting on the holding member to rotate it relative to the axis of the glass sheet, and a torque acting on the actuator's rotational shaft to press the holding member against a stopper that restricts the rotational movement of the holding member around the axis of the glass sheet, the torque value of the actuator's rotational shaft being 0.01 N m or more and 0.2 N m or less; the holding member is characterized in that, with a boundary formed by a line that passes through the central axis of the axis and is parallel to the processing direction of the edge surface of the glass sheet, a portion on one end side of the holding member to which the processing portion is not attached is designated as a first holding portion and a portion on the other end side is designated as a second holding portion, the weight of the first holding portion is designated as W5 and the weight of the second holding portion is designated as W6, and the distance is defined as the distance in a plane along the main surface of the glass sheet in a direction perpendicular to the processing direction of the edge surface, and L5 is the distance from the central axis of the axis to the center of gravity of the first holding portion and L6 is the distance from the central axis of the axis to the center of gravity of the second holding portion, such that the relationship W5×L5≦W6×L6 is satisfied.

[0035] With this configuration, taking into consideration the holding force, the weight balance between the first holding portion and the second holding portion of the holding member when the processing portion is not attached is improved, and rotational movement around the shaft portion of the holding member can be suitably suppressed.

[0036] (13) A third aspect of the present invention, which has been invented to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a method for manufacturing a glass plate, characterized in that the glass plate is manufactured using the glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (12) above.

[0037] According to this manufacturing method, it is possible to enjoy substantially the same effects as those of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus having any one of the configurations (1) to (12) above.

[0038] According to the present invention, before processing the edge surface of the glass sheet, it is possible to suppress rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft portion that may occur when the processing portion moves with acceleration.

[0039] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a glass sheet; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the progress of movement of the edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing, on an enlarged scale, a main part of the edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining a first condition for attaching a cone to a holding member in the edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining a third condition for attaching a cone to a holding member in the edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining a fourth condition for attaching a cone to a holding member in the edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another example of use of the edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a plan view for explaining a fifth condition for attaching a cone to a holding member in the edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a plan view showing another example of attaching a cone to a holding member in the edge surface processing device that is a main part of the glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A glass sheet manufacturing apparatus and a glass sheet manufacturing method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] 1 is a plan view showing a glass sheet G and a main part of an edge processing device 2 provided in a glass sheet manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The glass sheet G is rectangular and set in a fixed position (for example, on a surface plate). The edge processing device 2 processes the edge Ga of the glass sheet G by moving along the longitudinal direction (processing direction) of the edge Ga. In the illustrated example, the edge processing device 2 moves in the direction of arrow A.

[0042] As shown in the figure, the end surface processing device 2 includes a processing unit 3, a holding member 4, a link mechanism 5, an actuator 6, and a traveling base 7.

[0043] The processing unit 3 is held at one end 4a of the holding member 4. The processing unit 3 has a grinding wheel as a processing tool 3a and an electric motor 3b that rotates and drives the grinding wheel 3a. In this embodiment, the grinding wheel 3a is attached to the one end 4a of the holding member 4 via the electric motor 3b. A synchronous motor, an induction motor, a servo motor, or the like is used as the electric motor 3b.

[0044] The holding member 4 is rotatably held by a shaft 8 located at an intermediate position between one end 4a and the other end 4b. In this case, the holding member 4 is configured to rotate within a plane along the main surface Gb of the glass sheet G. In this embodiment, the holding member 4 is inclined so as to move away from the end surface Ga of the glass sheet G as it moves toward the front side in the movement direction (direction A). The shaft 8 is fixed (supported) to the traveling base 7.

[0045] The link mechanism 5 includes a first link member 5a and a second link member 5b, and one end of each of the link members 5a and 5b is connected by an intermediate pin member 5x. The other end of the first link member 5a is connected to the other end 4b of the holding member 4 by a first pin member 5y. The other end of the second link member 5b is fixed to the rotation shaft 6a of the actuator 6. In this embodiment, the first pin member 5y, the shaft portion 8, and the rotation shaft 3ba of the electric motor 3b are arranged on a straight line.

[0046] In this embodiment, a servo motor is used as the actuator 6. The servo motor 6 is fixed (supported) on a traveling base 7.

[0047] The servo motor 6 has a control unit. This control unit monitors the speed, torque, and position of the rotation shaft 6 a of the servo motor 6 while the edge surface processing device 2 processes the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G. The control unit then controls the position and pressing force of the grinding wheel 3 a by, for example, rotating the rotation shaft 6 a of the servo motor 6 in the forward or reverse direction in accordance with the speed, torque, and position.

[0048] The traveling base 7 is a component of the traveling carriage and moves integrally with the traveling carriage in the direction of arrow A. After the traveling base 7 moves in the direction of arrow A to complete processing of the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G, the traveling base 7 moves in the opposite direction to the direction of arrow A to return to the starting position (details will be described later).

[0049] As shown in the figure, when the edge surface processing device 2 is processing the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G, a force acts to rotate the rotation shaft 6a of the servo motor 6 counterclockwise (in the direction of arrow B), which in turn acts via the link mechanism 5 to rotate the holding member 4 about the shaft portion 8 counterclockwise (in the direction of arrow B). In this case, the pressing force acting from the grinding wheel 3a on the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G increases. Conversely, when a force acts to rotate the rotation shaft 6a of the servo motor 6 clockwise, the pressing force acting from the grinding wheel 3a on the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G decreases.

[0050] A feature of the edge surface processing device 2 in this embodiment is that a weight 9 is attached to the holding member 4. The weight 9 is attached to a portion of the holding member 4 closer to the other end 4b than the shaft portion 8. In this case, the boundary line between the portion of the holding member 4 closer to the other end 4b than the shaft portion 8 and the portion of the holding member 4 closer to the one end 4a than the shaft portion 8 is a straight line Lz that passes through the central axis 8z of the shaft portion 8 and is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G. The weight 9 plays an important role before the edge surface processing device 2 processes the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G. This will be described in detail below.

[0051] As shown in Figure 2, the edge surface processing device 2 moves in the direction of arrow A through an acceleration zone 10 and a constant velocity zone 11. The acceleration zone 10 is a zone in which the processing unit 3 moves from a starting position 12 toward the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G while accelerating. In this embodiment, the edge surface processing device 2 moves while constantly accelerating in the acceleration zone 10. The figure shows the progress of one edge surface processing device 2 moving in the direction of arrow A. The edge surface processing device 2 indicated by symbol C in the figure shows a state in which the processing unit 3 is at the starting position 12. The starting position 12 is located behind the glass sheet G in the movement direction. The edge surface processing device 2 indicated by symbol D in the figure shows a state in which the processing unit 3 is in the middle of moving through the acceleration zone 10.

[0052] The constant speed zone 11 is a zone in which the processing unit 3 moves at a constant speed while processing the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G. The edge surface processing devices 2 indicated by the symbols E and F in the figure both show states in which the processing unit 3 is in the middle of processing the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G.

[0053] In this embodiment, the acceleration zone 10 includes a zone in which the processing unit 3 moves a predetermined length Lx from when it reaches the processing start position 13 on the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G to a position forward in the movement direction. This predetermined length Lx is 10 to 500 mm.

[0054] Then, from the time the processing unit 3 leaves the starting position 12 (starts moving in the acceleration zone 10) until it reaches the processing start position 13, a holding force acts on the holding member 4 to hold the holding member 4 in a fixed position. More specifically, the torque of the rotating shaft 6a of the servo motor 6 presses the holding member 4 against a stopper S that restricts counterclockwise rotation of the holding member 4, and this pressing force (holding force) holds the holding member 4 in place. This holding force acts on the holding member 4 from the rotating shaft 6a of the servo motor 6 via the link mechanism 5. The torque value of the rotating shaft 6a of the servo motor 6 while this holding force is acting is maintained at 0.01 N m or more and 0.2 N m or less.

[0055] In this case, if the weight 9 is not attached to the holding member 4, as already mentioned, the inertial force acting on the processing portion 3 will cause the holding member 4 to rotate around the shaft portion 8 against the above-mentioned holding force and move away from the stopper S, resulting in a malfunction.

[0056] A weight 9 is attached to the holding member 4 to prevent such rotational movement of the holding member 4 around the shaft 8. Therefore, from the time the processing unit 3 starts moving in the acceleration zone 10 until it reaches the processing start position 13, rotational movement of the holding member 4 around the shaft 8 due to inertial force is suppressed. When the processing unit 3 reaches the processing start position 13, the grinding wheel 3a contacts the starting end Gax of the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G, and the stopper S moves away from the holding member 4 and retreats to the retreat position. At this time, the control unit controls the rotation shaft 6a of the servo motor 6 to rotate the holding member 4 in the forward and reverse directions via the link mechanism 5. This allows the control unit to adjust the pressing force with which the grinding wheel 3a presses the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G. Therefore, after this, the grinding or polishing of the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G is performed while adjusting the pressing force of the grinding wheel 3a on the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G.

[0057] In this case, the grinding wheel 3a accelerates while moving a predetermined length Lx from the starting end Gax of the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G, but moves at a constant speed after the predetermined length Lx is exceeded. This constant speed movement continues until the grinding wheel 3a reaches the end end Gay of the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G. After the grinding wheel 3a reaches the end end Gay of the edge surface Ga, i.e., after the processing unit 3 reaches the processing end position 14, the processing unit 3 moves while decelerating in the deceleration zone 15, then stops at the end position 16, and returns to the starting position 12. In this embodiment, the edge surface processing device 2 moves while constantly decelerating in the deceleration zone 15. The edge surface processing device 2 indicated by the symbol H in the figure shows a state in which the processing unit 3 is in the middle of moving through the deceleration zone 15.

[0058] Here, the specific configuration of the weight 9 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 , the weight 9 is divided into a plurality of plate-shaped weights 9x (five in the illustrated example), and is attached to the holding member 4 so that the weight can be changed by changing the number of plate-shaped weights 9x. More specifically, a plurality of shaft members 17 (two in the illustrated example) are fixed to the holding member 4, and a male thread portion 17a is formed on the outer circumferential surface of each shaft member 17. A plurality of through holes 9xa corresponding to the shaft members 17 are formed in each plate-shaped weight 9x, and the shaft members 17 are inserted into each through hole 9xa. Nut members 18, each having a female thread portion 18a formed on the inner circumferential surface, are screwed onto the upward protrusions of each shaft member 17 extending from the weight 9, thereby fastening each plate-shaped weight 9x to the holding member 4. With this configuration, the number of plate-shaped weights 9x can be easily changed.

[0059] The conditions for attaching the weight 9 to the holding member 4 will be described below.

[0060] 4 shows a first condition for attaching the weight 9 to the holding member 4. As shown in the figure, this first condition is that, when the distance from one end 4a of the holding member 4 to the central axis 8z of the shaft portion 8 is L1 and the distance from one end 4a of the holding member 4 to the center of gravity 9z of the weight 9 is L2, the relationship L1 < L2 is satisfied. Note that the distance here is the distance in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the end face Ga in a plane along the main surface Gb of the glass sheet G (the same applies hereinafter).

[0061] The second condition for attaching the weight 9 to the holding member 4 is that the weight of the weight 9 must be 10% or more and 50% or less of the weight of the processed portion 3, while satisfying the first condition.

[0062] 5 shows a third condition for attaching the weight 9 to the holding member 4. As shown in the figure, this third condition is that, after satisfying the first condition, when the weight of the weight 9 is W3 and the distance from the center of gravity 9z of the weight 9 to the central axis 8z of the shaft portion 8 is L3, the weight of the processed portion 3 is W4 and the distance from the center of gravity 3z of the processed portion 3 to the central axis 8z of the shaft portion 8 is L4, (W3×L3) / (W4×L4) is 0.35 or more and 0.75 or less.

[0063] 6 shows a fourth condition for attaching the weight 9 to the holding member 4. As shown in the figure, this fourth condition is to satisfy the relationship W5×L5≦W6×L6, where a region on one end 4a of the holding member 4, to which the weight 9 is attached and to which the processed portion 3 is not attached, is defined as a first holding portion 4c and a region on the other end 4b of the holding member 4, with a boundary defined by a line Lz passing through the central axis 8z of the stem 8 and parallel to the longitudinal direction of the end face Ga of the glass sheet G, the weight of the first holding portion 4c is defined as W5, the weight of the second holding portion 4d (including the weight of the weight 9) is defined as W6, the distance from the central axis 8z of the stem 8 to the center of gravity 4cz of the first holding portion 4c is defined as L5, and the distance from the central axis 8z of the stem 8 to the center of gravity 4dz of the second holding portion 4d is defined as L6.

[0064] According to the end face processing device 2 of this embodiment having the above-described configuration, the following operational effects can be obtained.

[0065] According to the edge processing device 2, the weight 9 attached to the holding member 4 can suppress rotational movement of the holding member 4 around its shaft, which is caused by inertial forces acting on the processing unit 3 as it moves while accelerating. Specifically, if the weight 9 is not attached to the holding member 4, the holding member 4 would rotate around the shaft 8 against the holding force. However, attaching the weight 9 to the holding member 4 avoids this problem. This allows the processing unit 3 to be stably held even when the processing unit 3 accelerates from the starting position 12 to the processing start position 13 of the edge Ga of the glass sheet G. This shortens the takt time and improves productivity. When the processing unit 3 reaches the processing start position 13, the grinding wheel 3a can properly start processing the edge Ga of the glass sheet G from the starting point Gax.

[0066] The acceleration zone 10 in which the processing unit 3 moves while accelerating ensures a reduction in takt time and an improvement in productivity. In addition, the constant speed zone 11 in which the processing unit 3 moves at a constant speed and processes the edge surface Ga with the grindstone 3a ensures that the edge surface Ga of the glass sheet G can be processed carefully and with high precision.

[0067] Furthermore, since the acceleration zone 10 includes a zone in which the grinding wheel 3a processes the end surface Ga for a predetermined length Lx after the processing section 3 reaches the processing start position 13, the acceleration zone 10 can be extended by the predetermined length Lx, further shortening the takt time and improving productivity.

[0068] By meeting the above-mentioned first condition for attaching the weight body 9 to the holding member 4, the weight balance between the processed portion 3 and the weight body 9 is improved, and therefore, rotational movement of the holding member 4 around the shaft portion 8 during movement accompanied by acceleration can be efficiently suppressed.

[0069] By meeting the above-mentioned second condition for attaching the weight body 9 to the holding member 4, the weight balance between the processed portion 3 and the weight body 9 is appropriate, taking into account the holding force acting on the holding member 4, so that the rotational movement of the holding member 4 around the shaft portion 8 during movement accompanied by acceleration can be suppressed even more efficiently.

[0070] By meeting the above-mentioned third condition for attaching the weight body 9 to the holding member 4, the weight balance between the processed portion 3 and the weight body 9 becomes more appropriate, taking into account the holding force acting on the holding member 4, and therefore the rotational movement of the holding member 4 around the shaft portion 8 during movement accompanied by acceleration can be more efficiently suppressed.

[0071] By meeting the above-mentioned fourth condition for attaching the weight body 9 to the holding member 4, the weight balance between the first holding portion 4c and the second holding portion 4d of the holding member 4 when the weight body 9 is attached but the processing portion 3 is not attached is improved, so that the rotational movement of the holding member 4 around the shaft portion 8 during movement accompanied by acceleration can be efficiently suppressed.

[0072] The weight 9 is divided into multiple pieces and is attached to the holding member 4 so that the number of pieces can be changed to change the weight, making it possible to appropriately deal with changes in acceleration in the acceleration zone 10.

[0073] Since the weight body 9 is attached to a portion of the holding member 4 closer to the other end 4b than the central axis 8z of the shaft portion 8, the weight balance between the processed portion 3 and the weight body 9 can be improved by positioning the weight body 9 in an appropriate position on the holding member 4.

[0074] FIG. 7 shows another example of use of the edge surface processing device 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, this example is configured such that a leading front edge surface processing device 2 and a following rear edge surface processing device 2x move together in the direction of arrow A. In this case, the shafts 8, 8x and servo motors 6, 6x of the two edge surface processing devices 2, 2x may be supported by a single traveling base 7, or may be supported by separate traveling bases 7. The front edge surface processing device 2 is the edge surface processing device 2 according to this embodiment described above, and a weight 9 is attached to the holding member 4. The processing unit 3 of the front edge surface processing device 2 performs grinding (rough processing). On the other hand, the rear edge surface processing device 2x does not have a weight 9 attached to the holding member 4. The processing unit 3x of the rear edge surface processing device 2x performs polishing (finish processing). The other configurations are the same as those of the front end surface processing device 2, so the components common to both 2, 2x are given the same reference numerals as those of the rear end surface processing device 2x shown in Figure 7, and their description will be omitted.

[0075] Under this configuration, when the processing unit 3 of the front edge processing device 2 transitions from the acceleration zone 10 to the constant-speed zone 11 as shown in the figure, the processing unit 3x of the rear edge processing device 2x is set to arrive at a position closer to the starting position 12 than the processing start position 13. Therefore, when the processing unit 3 of the rear edge processing device 2 reaches the above-mentioned position, the processing unit 3x of the rear edge processing device 2x also transitions from accelerated movement to constant-speed movement, following the processing unit 3 of the front edge processing device 2. As a result, the holding member 4 of the rear edge processing device 2x returns from the state shown by the dotted line in the figure, i.e., the state in which it was rotating counterclockwise around the shaft 8 due to the inertial force acting on the processing unit 3x, to the initial state shown by the solid line, i.e., the state when it was stopped at the starting position 12. Therefore, the processing unit 3x of the rear edge processing device 2x can properly start processing the edge Ga of the glass sheet G. In this example, only one rear end surface processing device 2x is provided, but a plurality of rear end surface processing devices 2x having the same configuration may be provided.

[0076] The glass plate manufacturing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes, in addition to the edge processing device 2 described above, a melting furnace, a feeder, a forming device, a cutting device, a cleaning device, and the like, all of which are not shown.

[0077] The melting furnace heats glass raw materials to produce molten glass. The feeder transports the glass raw materials from the melting furnace to the forming device. The forming device forms a glass raw sheet (forming raw sheet) from the molten glass. The cutting device cuts the glass raw sheet to cut out the above-mentioned glass sheet G. The cleaning device cleans the glass sheet after processing the edge face Ga using the above-mentioned edge face processing device 2.

[0078] Next, a method for manufacturing a glass plate according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0079] This manufacturing method includes a melting step, a transporting step, a molding step, a cutting step, an end surface processing step, and a cleaning step.

[0080] The melting process is a process of producing molten glass using a melting furnace. The transporting process is a process of transporting the molten glass produced in the melting furnace to a shaping device using a feeder. The shaping process is a process of shaping a glass raw plate (shaping raw plate) from the molten glass transported by the feeder. The cutting process is a process of bending and cutting the shaped glass raw plate using, for example, a scribing device to obtain the above-mentioned glass plate G. This glass plate G preferably has a thickness of, for example, 0.05 mm to 10 mm, and preferably 0.2 mm to 0.7 mm. Furthermore, this glass plate G is used, for example, as a glass substrate for a panel display, typified by a liquid crystal display. The edge processing process is a process of processing the edge Ga of the glass plate G using the above-mentioned edge processing device 2. The cleaning process is a process of cleaning the glass plate whose edge Ga has been processed by the above-mentioned edge processing device 2.

[0081] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to these, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0082] For example, in the above embodiment, the first pin member 5y, the shaft portion 8, and the rotating shaft 3ba of the electric motor 3b are arranged in a straight line, but these 5y, 8, and 3b do not have to be arranged in a straight line. Therefore, the holding member 4 does not have to extend in a straight line at an angle as in the above embodiment, and may be bent or curved at an intermediate position from one end 4a to the other end 4b of the holding member 4. Furthermore, the widthwise length of the holding member 4 (the length in the direction perpendicular to the direction from one end 4a to the other end 4b) does not have to be uniform.

[0083] In the above embodiment, the shape of the cone 9 is rectangular, but it may be circular, polygonal, or have other shapes. Also, the cone 9 does not have to be divided.

[0084] In the above embodiment, the servo motor 6 and the stopper S are used to apply the aforementioned holding force to the holding member 4, but the servo motor 6 may be stopped to prevent the aforementioned holding force from being applied to the holding member 4. In this case, the stopper S may be provided, but is not required. In this case, as shown in Figure 8, when the boundary is a straight line Lz that passes through the central axis 8z of the shaft portion 8 and is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the end face Ga of the glass plate G, the portion on one end 4a side of the holding member 4 to which the processing portion 3 and the weight 9 are attached is designated as one end side holding portion 4e and the portion on the other end 4b side is designated as the other end side holding portion 4f, the weight of the one end side holding portion 4e (including the weight of the processing portion 3) is designated as W7, the weight of the other end side holding portion 4f (including the weight of the weight 9) is designated as W8, the distance from the central axis 8z of the shaft portion 8 to the center of gravity 4ez of the one end side holding portion 4e is designated as L7, and the distance from the central axis 8z of the shaft portion 8 to the center of gravity 4fz of the other end side holding portion 4f is designated as L8, it is preferable that (W7 x L7) / (W8 x L8) be 0.8 or more and 1.2 or less.

[0085] In the above embodiment, the weight 9 is attached to the holding member 4 at a position closer to the other end 4b than the central axis 8z of the shaft 8, but as shown in Fig. 9, the weight 9 may be attached to the holding member 4 at a position closer to the one end 4a than the central axis 8z of the shaft 8. In this case, as shown in the figure, when the distance from the one end 4a of the holding member 4 to the central axis 8z of the shaft 8 is L1 and the distance from the one end 4a of the holding member 4 to the center of gravity 9z of the weight 9 is L2, the relationship L1 < L2 must be satisfied.

[0086] In the above embodiment, a holding force is applied from the servo motor 6 to the holding member 4 via the link mechanism 5, but it is also possible to fix the rotation shaft 6a of the servo motor 6 to the other end 4b of the holding member 4 without using the link mechanism 5, and to movably arrange the servo motor 6 on the traveling base 7 and control its movement.

[0087] In the above embodiment, a servo motor 6 is used as the actuator, but other actuators including other motors may be used as long as they can apply the aforementioned holding force to the holding member 4.

[0088] 6, the weight of the second retaining portion 4d (including the weight of the weight body 9) is W6, but the weight of the first retaining portion 4c may be W5 and the weight of the second retaining portion 4d may be W6 by using a material for the second retaining portion 4d that has a higher density than the material for the first retaining portion 4c without attaching the weight body 9. In this case, the relationship W5×L5≦W6×L6 is also satisfied.

[0089] In the above embodiment, an example is given of an edge processing device 2 moving about one edge face Ga of a glass sheet G, but an edge processing device 2 of a similar configuration may also move simultaneously at the same speed about the edge face opposite to this edge face Ga.

[0090] In the above embodiment, the end face processing device 2 is configured to move while constantly accelerating in the acceleration zone 10, but the end face processing device 2 may also be configured to move at a constant speed in a portion of the zone after leaving the starting position 12. In this case, it is sufficient to move while accelerating at least in the zone from just before the processing start position 13 to the processing start position 13.

[0091] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Glass sheet manufacturing device 2 Edge surface processing device 3a Processing tool (grindstone) 3z Center of gravity of processing part 4 Holding member 4a One end of holding member 4b Other end of holding member 4c First holding part 4cz Center of gravity of first holding part 4d Second holding part 4dz Center of gravity of second holding part 5 Link mechanism 5a First link member 5b Second link member 6 Servo motor (actuator) 7 Traveling base 8 Shaft part 8z Central axis of shaft part 9 Plumb 9z Center of gravity of plumb part 10 Acceleration zone 11 Constant speed zone 12 Starting position 13 Processing start position 15 Deceleration zone G Glass sheet Ga End surface Gb Main surface of glass sheet

Claims

1. A glass plate manufacturing device comprising: a processing unit including a processing tool that processes an edge surface of a glass plate in a flat position by moving along the processing direction of the edge surface; a holding member that holds the processing unit at one end; a shaft that is positioned at an intermediate position between the one end and the other end of the holding member and supports the holding member so that the holding member can rotate within a plane along the main surface of the glass plate; and a traveling base that supports the shaft, wherein the traveling base is configured to move in a direction parallel to the processing direction of the edge surface of the glass plate during the period from when the processing unit departs from a starting position that is located behind the glass plate in the movement direction of the processing unit to when processing of the edge surface of the glass plate is completed; and a weight is attached to the holding member, and the weight acts to suppress the rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft while the processing unit moves with acceleration from when it departs from the starting position to a processing start position of the edge surface of the glass plate.

2. A glass plate manufacturing apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that a holding force acts on the holding member to maintain a constant posture of the holding member, and the weight acts to suppress the holding member from rotating around the axis portion against the holding force.

3. A glass plate manufacturing apparatus as described in claim 2, characterized in that a link mechanism is connected to the other end of the holding member, and the holding force is applied to the holding member from an actuator supported on the traveling base via the link mechanism.

4. A glass plate manufacturing apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the distance satisfies the relationship L1 < L2 when the distance is in a plane along the main surface of the glass plate and perpendicular to the processing direction of the end face, the distance from the one end of the holding member to the central axis of the shaft portion being L1 and the distance from the one end of the holding member to the center of gravity of the weight being L2.

5. The glass sheet manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the weight is attached to a portion of the holding member closer to the other end than the central axis of the shaft portion.

6. A glass plate manufacturing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises an acceleration zone in which the processing part moves from the starting position toward the edge face of the glass plate while accelerating, and a constant speed zone in which the processing part moves at a constant speed to process the edge face of the glass plate.

7. The glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the acceleration zone includes a zone in which the processing section moves a predetermined length from the time it reaches the processing start position on the edge surface of the glass plate to a position forward in the direction of movement.

8. A glass plate manufacturing apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a plurality of the processing sections are arranged along the direction of movement, the weight is attached to a holding member that holds a front processing section that is arranged furthest forward in the direction of movement among these processing sections, and no weight is attached to a holding member that holds a rear processing section that is arranged rearward in the direction of movement than the front processing section.

9. A glass plate manufacturing apparatus as described in claim 4, characterized in that a holding force acts on the holding member to keep its posture constant, the holding force being a force that presses the holding member against a stopper that regulates the rotational movement of the holding member around the axis by the torque of a rotating shaft of an actuator, the weight of ...

10. The glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that a holding force acts on the holding member to keep its posture constant, the holding force being a force that presses the holding member against a stopper that regulates the rotational movement of the holding member about the shaft by the torque of an actuator, the weight of ...

11. The glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the weight of the weight-bearing body is changed by dividing the weight-bearing body into a plurality of parts and attached to the holding member so that the number of parts can be changed.

12. A glass processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit including a processing tool which processes an edge surface of a glass plate in a flat position by moving along the processing direction of the edge surface; a holding member which holds the processing unit at one end; a shaft which is disposed at an intermediate position between the one end and the other end of the holding member and which supports the holding member so as to be rotatable within a plane along the main surface of the glass plate; and a traveling base which supports the shaft, wherein the traveling base is configured to move along a direction parallel to the processing direction of the edge surface of the glass plate from the time when the processing unit departs from a starting position which is located behind the glass plate in the movement direction of the processing unit until the processing of the edge surface of the glass plate is completed; While the processing portion moves with acceleration from the starting position to the processing start position of the edge face of the glass sheet, the holding member is subjected to a holding force for maintaining a constant posture of the holding member and a force for rotating the holding member around the shaft, the holding force being a force for pressing the holding member against a stopper that regulates the rotational movement of the holding member around the shaft by the torque of a rotating shaft of an actuator, the torque value of the rotating shaft of the actuator being 0.01 N·m or more and 0.2 N·m or less, a portion on the one end side of the holding member in a state where the processing portion is not attached is defined as a first holding portion and a portion on the other end side is defined as a second holding portion, the weight of the first holding portion is defined as W5 and the weight of the second holding portion is defined as W6, and the distance is defined as a distance in a plane along the main surface of the glass sheet, in a direction perpendicular to the processing direction of the edge face, A glass plate manufacturing apparatus characterized in that, when the distance from the central axis of the shaft portion to the center of gravity of the first holding portion is L5 and the distance from the central axis of the shaft portion to the center of gravity of the second holding portion is L6, the relationship W5×L5≦W6×L6 is satisfied.

13. A method for producing a glass plate, comprising the steps of: producing a glass plate by using the glass plate producing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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