JP-2026075818-A - Method and apparatus for manufacturing glass plates

JP2026075818AJP 2026075818 AJP2026075818 AJP 2026075818AJP-2026075818-A

Abstract

[Problem] To reliably detect damage to almost the entire surface of a glass plate. [Solution] The method for manufacturing a glass plate includes a detection step S5 for detecting damage to a glass plate G being transported in the transport direction X, using a sensor group 13 that includes a plurality of sensors 12 capable of detecting the presence or absence of a glass plate G. The sensor group 13 comprises a sensor row 15 arranged along a direction perpendicular to the transport direction X. In the detection step S5, if some of the sensors 12 included in the sensor row 15 located within the passage range P of the glass plate G being transported in the transport direction X fail to detect the glass plate G, it is determined that the glass plate G is damaged. [Selection Diagram] Figure 2

Inventors

星野愛信
松永大生
北川翔
森岡康介

Assignees

日本電気硝子株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20241023

Claims (13)

A method for manufacturing a glass plate, comprising a transport step of transporting a glass plate in a predetermined transport direction, and a detection step of detecting damage to the glass plate being transported in the transport direction using a group of sensors including a plurality of sensors capable of detecting the presence or absence of the glass plate, The sensor group comprises a row of sensors arranged along a direction intersecting the transport direction, A method for manufacturing a glass plate, characterized in that, in the detection step, if a portion of the sensors included in the sensor array located within the passage range of the glass plate being transported in the transport direction fails to detect the glass plate, it is determined that the glass plate is damaged.
The glass plate is rectangular in shape and has four corners. The sensor array includes a first corner sensor positioned at a location corresponding to the two corners of the glass plate, The sensor group includes, separately from the sensor row, second corner sensors positioned at locations corresponding to the remaining two corners of the glass plate. The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1, wherein the detection step includes a corner detection step in which the first corner sensor and the second corner sensor detect damage to the corner of the glass plate.
The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 2, wherein the corner detection step is performed while the transport of the glass plate is stopped.
The transport process includes a posture changing process in which the transport of the glass plate is stopped and the posture of the glass plate is changed from a horizontal posture to an inclined posture. The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 3, wherein the corner detection step is performed in the orientation change step.
The sensor array is arranged along the front edge of the glass plate located on the forward side in the transport direction of the glass plate whose transport was stopped in the corner detection step. The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the detection step includes a front edge detection step in which, with the transport of the glass plate stopped, the sensor array detects damage to the front edge of the glass plate.
The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection step is performed on the glass plate in an inclined position.
In the aforementioned transport process, the glass plate is transported in the transport direction using a plurality of transport belts arranged with gaps between them. The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor group is arranged to detect the glass plate located in the gap.
The detection step includes an end-face processing step in which the end face of the glass plate is processed, A method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a cleaning step of cleaning the glass plate after the detection step.
The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor is an ultrasonic sensor.
The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection step involves detecting damage to the glass plate while spraying gas to cover the sensor surface of the sensor.
The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor comprises a cover surrounding the sensor surface.
The method for manufacturing a glass plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor group is arranged above the glass plate.
A glass plate manufacturing apparatus comprising a conveying device for conveying glass plates in a predetermined conveying direction, and a detection device for detecting damage to the glass plates being conveyed in the conveying direction, The detection device comprises a group of sensors including a plurality of sensors capable of detecting the presence or absence of the glass plate, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the glass plate is damaged based on the detection results of the group of sensors. The sensor group comprises a row of sensors arranged along a direction intersecting the transport direction, The glass plate manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that the determination unit determines that the glass plate is damaged when a portion of the sensors included in the sensor array located within the passage range of the glass plate being transported in the transport direction fails to detect the glass plate.

Description

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing glass plates. The manufacturing process for glass plates includes, for example, a molding process, a cutting process, an edge finishing process, and a cleaning process (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In the molding process, a long glass ribbon is formed from molten glass. In the cutting process, the long glass ribbon is cut to obtain a glass plate of a predetermined size. In the edge finishing process, edge finishing such as grinding is performed on the edges of the glass plate. In the cleaning process, the glass plate is cleaned. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-188276Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-006641 This is a schematic plan view showing a glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a plan view showing an enlarged view of the area surrounding the second conveying device included in the glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment.This is a magnified side view showing the area around the second conveying device included in the glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment.Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view along line A-A, illustrating the state of the glass plate in a horizontal position.Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A, showing the state of the glass plate in an inclined position.This is a magnified side view showing the area around the sensor of a detection device included in the glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment.This is a plan view showing an example of a case where damage occurs to the glass plate during the detection step included in the manufacturing method of the glass plate according to this embodiment. The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment includes a conveying device 1 that performs a conveying process for conveying a glass plate G in a predetermined conveying direction X. The conveying device 1 comprises, in order from the upstream side in the conveying direction X, a first conveying device 2, a second conveying device 3, a third conveying device 4, and a fourth conveying device 5. The glass plate G is a rectangular flat plate with four corners Gx. The glass plate G is transported by the first transport device 2, the second transport device 3, the third transport device 4, and the fourth transport device 5 in that order, with its edges (e.g., the longer edges) aligned with the transport direction X. The edge located on the front side of the transport direction X is called the front edge Ga, the edge located on the rear side of the transport direction X is called the rear edge Gb, and the edge aligned with the transport direction X is called the side edge Gc. Furthermore, the portion of the glass plate G located between the front edge Ga and the rear edge Gb is called the central flat portion Gd. Each conveying device 2 to 5 is equipped with multiple conveyor belts 6 for conveying the glass plate G in the conveying direction X while the glass plate G is placed on it. The multiple conveyor belts 6 are spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X. That is, a gap C is formed between adjacent conveyor belts 6 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X. The conveyor belts 6 are constructed in an endless manner from rubber or other elastic material. Note that each conveying device 2 to 5 is not limited to belt conveyors equipped with conveyor belts 6; for example, roller conveyors or levitation conveyors may also be used. Along the transport path of the first transport device 2, an end-face processing step S1 is performed, in which the end face of the horizontally positioned glass plate G is ground (chamfered) using a grinding wheel 7 while grinding fluid is supplied. The grinding fluid is supplied to the contact area (grinding area) between the grinding wheel 7 and the end face of the glass plate G for purposes such as cooling and reducing friction. Along the transport path of the first transport device 2, the glass plate G is transported in a horizontal position. The second conveying device 3 receives the glass plate G in a horizontal position from the first conveying device 2. Along the conveying path of the second conveying device 3, a posture change process S2 is performed to change the posture of the glass plate G from a horizontal position to an inclined position while the conveying of the glass plate G is stopped. The second conveying device 3 is capable of switching between a horizontal state where the conveying surface of the conveying belt 6 is aligned with the horizontal plane (see Figure 4) and an inclined state where the conveying surface of the conveying belt 6 is inclined relative to the horizontal plane (see Figure 5). In other words, after receivi