阅读说明：本技术 玻璃膜的制造方法 (Method for producing glass film ) 是由 长谷川义德 森弘树 森浩一 秋山修二 植村弥浩 松本直之 于 2018-07-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：玻璃膜(G)的制造方法中搬运工序包括褶皱去除工序,在该褶皱去除工序中,通过配置在比激光照射装置(25)靠上游侧的褶皱去除部(20)来去除玻璃膜(G)的褶皱。玻璃膜(G)的制造方法中的切断工序为,在搬运工序中将玻璃膜(G)的褶皱(Ge)去除后,通过向玻璃膜(G)照射激光(L)而使玻璃膜(G)分离,从所分离的玻璃膜(G)的宽度方向端部产生线状剥离物(Gg)。(The conveying step in the manufacturing method of the glass film (G) comprises a wrinkle removing step, in which wrinkles of the glass film (G) are removed by a wrinkle removing part (20) arranged on the upstream side of a laser irradiation device (25). The cutting step in the method for producing a glass film (G) is a step in which, after the wrinkles (Ge) of the glass film (G) are removed in the conveying step, the glass film (G) is separated by irradiating the glass film (G) with a laser beam (L), and a linear peeling object (Gg) is generated from the end in the width direction of the separated glass film (G).)

1. a method for producing a glass film, comprising:

A conveying step of conveying the long glass film from upstream to downstream in the longitudinal direction thereof; and

A cutting step of separating the glass film by irradiating the glass film with laser light from a laser irradiation device while conveying the glass film by the conveying step,

The conveying step includes a wrinkle removing step of removing wrinkles of the glass film by a wrinkle removing unit disposed upstream of the laser irradiation device,

The cutting step is a step of irradiating the laser beam to the glass film after the wrinkles of the glass film are removed in the conveying step to separate the glass film, and thereby generating linear peeled objects from the width-direction end portions of the separated glass film.

2. The method for manufacturing a glass film according to claim 1,

The wrinkle removing unit includes a rod-shaped member disposed along the lower surface side of the glass film and along the width direction of the glass film.

3. The method for manufacturing a glass film according to claim 2,

The wrinkle removing unit includes a plate-shaped member disposed between the rod-shaped member and the laser irradiation device and on a lower surface side of the glass film.

4. The method for manufacturing a glass film according to claim 3,

The upper surface of the plate-like member is disposed below the upper end of the rod-like member.

5. The method for manufacturing a glass film according to claim 3 or 4,

The width of the plate-like member is set smaller than the length of the rod-like member.

6. The method for manufacturing a glass film according to any one of claims 3 to 5,

The laser irradiation devices are disposed above the glass film and two of the laser irradiation devices are disposed at a predetermined distance in a width direction of the glass film, and a width of the plate-shaped member is set to be larger than the distance of the laser irradiation devices.

7. The method for manufacturing a glass film according to claim 6,

The width of the plate-like member is 1.02 times or more the distance between the laser irradiation devices and 0.95 times or less the length of the rod-like member.

8. The method for manufacturing a glass film according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

In the conveying step, the glass film is conveyed by moving a conveying sheet in contact with the lower surface of the glass film on a platform,

the wrinkle removing unit is provided upstream of an irradiation position of the laser beam by the laser beam irradiation device, and is provided on the upper surface of the deck so as to separate the transport sheet upward from the upper surface of the deck,

The conveyance sheet is in contact with the upper surface of the stage on an upstream side of the irradiation position of the laser beam.

Technical Field

the present invention relates to a method for producing a glass film capable of being wound into a roll shape.

Background

It is known that flat glass for Flat Panel Displays (FPDs) such as liquid crystal displays and organic EL displays, flat glass for organic EL illumination, flat glass for manufacturing reinforced glass as a constituent element of touch panels, and flat glass for use in solar cell panels and the like are being thinned.

For example, patent document 1 discloses a glass film (thin plate glass) having a thickness of several hundred μm or less. Such a glass film is also continuously formed by a forming apparatus using a so-called overflow down-draw method as described in the document.

The long glass film continuously formed by the overflow downdraw method is, for example, transferred in a horizontal direction from a vertical direction, and then continuously transferred to the downstream side by a lateral transfer unit (horizontal transfer unit) of the transfer device. During the conveyance, both ends in the width direction of the glass film are cut and removed. Then, the glass film is wound into a roll shape by a winding roll to form a glass roll.

As a technique for cutting both ends of a glass film in the width direction, patent document 1 discloses laser dicing. In laser cutting, after an initial crack is formed in a glass film by a crack forming means such as a diamond cutter, the portion is irradiated with laser light and heated. Then, the heated portion is cooled by the cooling mechanism, and the glass film is cut by propagating the initial crack by the thermal stress generated in the glass film.

As another cutting method, patent document 2 discloses a glass film cutting technique utilizing a so-called peeling phenomenon. In this technique, a glass film (glass substrate) is partially fused by irradiating the glass film with a laser beam while being conveyed, and the fused portion is cooled by being separated from the laser beam irradiation region.

In this case, the fused portion is cooled to generate substantially linear peeled objects (precipitates) (see, for example, paragraph 0044 and fig. 3 of patent document 2). The phenomenon in which the linear peeling member peels off from the end of the glass film is generally referred to as peeling. The generation of linear peeled objects forms a uniform cut surface on the glass film.

Prior art documents

Patent document

patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2012-240883

Patent document 2: international publication No. 2014/002685

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Since the glass film has flexibility, the glass film is wrinkled during the conveyance in the lateral direction by the lateral conveyance unit. If a wrinkle occurs, a bending stress is generated in the wrinkle and its vicinity. Therefore, when the glass film is irradiated with the laser beam while the wrinkles are kept generated, unexpected bending stress due to the wrinkles is applied to the fusion portion. This may cause a problem that it is difficult to cut the glass film with high precision.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to appropriately remove wrinkles that may occur in a glass film and to cut the glass film with high accuracy when the glass film is cut by peeling.

Means for solving the problems

The present invention is directed to solving the above problems, and is characterized by comprising: a conveying step of conveying the long glass film from upstream to downstream in the longitudinal direction thereof; and a cutting step of separating the glass film by irradiating the glass film with a laser beam from a laser irradiation device while conveying the glass film by the conveying step, wherein the conveying step includes a wrinkle removing step of removing wrinkles of the glass film by a wrinkle removing unit disposed upstream of the laser irradiation device, and the cutting step is configured to remove the wrinkles of the glass film in the conveying step, and thereafter, to irradiate the glass film with the laser beam to separate the glass film, thereby generating linear debonds from widthwise ends of the separated glass film.

According to the above configuration, after the wrinkles of the glass film are removed by the wrinkle removing unit in the conveying step, the glass film is cut (fused) by peeling in the cutting step, whereby uniform linear peeled objects can be generated from the widthwise ends of the glass film. This makes it possible to form the end portions of the glass film in the width direction into a uniform cross section, and to cut the glass film with high accuracy.

In the above-described method for producing a glass film, it is preferable that the wrinkle removing unit includes a rod-shaped member arranged along the lower surface side of the glass film and along the width direction of the glass film. In this way, the glass film passes through the rod-shaped member in the wrinkle removal step of the conveyance step, and wrinkles of the glass film can be appropriately removed.

The wrinkle removing unit may include a plate-shaped member disposed between the rod-shaped member and the laser irradiation device and on a lower surface side of the glass film. In the wrinkle removing step, the glass film is passed through the rod-shaped member and the plate-shaped member, whereby wrinkles in the glass film can be more appropriately removed.

In this case, the upper surface of the plate-like member is preferably located below the upper end of the rod-like member. This makes it possible to eliminate wrinkles in the glass film in stages by the rod-shaped member and the plate-shaped member.

preferably, the width of the plate-like member is set to be smaller than the length of the rod-like member.

In the above-described method for producing a glass film, it is preferable that the laser irradiation device is disposed above the glass film, and two of the laser irradiation devices are disposed at a predetermined distance in a width direction of the glass film, and a width of the plate-like member is set to be larger than the distance of the laser irradiation device. The width of the plate-like member means the dimension of the plate-like member in the width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the glass film to be conveyed.

By setting the width of the plate-like member to be larger than the distance between the two laser irradiation devices as described above, wrinkles can be reliably removed before the glass film reaches the position to be irradiated with the laser light.

in this case, the width of the plate-like member is preferably 1.02 times or more the distance between the laser irradiation devices and 0.95 times or less the length of the rod-like member.

Preferably, in the conveying step, the glass film is conveyed by moving a conveying sheet in contact with a lower surface of the glass film on a stage, the wrinkle removing unit is provided upstream of an irradiation position of the laser beam by the laser beam irradiation device, and is provided on an upper surface of the stage so as to be separated upward from the upper surface of the stage, and the conveying sheet is in contact with the upper surface of the stage upstream of the irradiation position of the laser beam.

According to the above configuration, the glass film from which wrinkles have been removed by the wrinkle removing section is stably supported by the upper surface of the stage at the laser irradiation position. This enables the glass film to be cut at the laser irradiation position with high accuracy.

Effects of the invention

according to the present invention, when the glass film is cut by peeling, wrinkles that may occur in the glass film can be removed appropriately, and the glass film can be cut with high accuracy.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side view showing an apparatus for manufacturing a glass film according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the glass film manufacturing apparatus.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of a main part of the glass film manufacturing apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of fig. 2.

Fig. 6A is a cross-sectional view of the glass film for explaining the cutting process.

Fig. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the glass film for explaining the cutting process.

Fig. 6C is a cross-sectional view of the glass film for explaining the cutting process.

Fig. 7 is a side view showing an apparatus for manufacturing a glass film according to a second embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the glass film manufacturing apparatus.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged side view of a main part of the glass film manufacturing apparatus.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a side view showing an apparatus for manufacturing a glass film according to a third embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the glass film manufacturing apparatus.

Fig. 13 is a side view showing an apparatus for manufacturing a glass film according to a fourth embodiment.

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the glass film manufacturing apparatus.

Detailed Description

The mode for carrying out the present invention is explained below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus for implementing a method for manufacturing a glass film according to the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view schematically showing the overall structure of a glass film manufacturing apparatus. As shown in fig. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 1 includes: a forming section 2 for forming a glass film G; a direction converting section 3 that converts the traveling direction of the glass film G from the longitudinal direction downward to the lateral direction; a transverse conveying part 4 for conveying the glass film G along the transverse direction after the direction is switched; a cutting unit 5 that cuts the widthwise ends Ga and Gb of the glass film G into non-product portions Gc while being conveyed in the transverse direction by the transverse conveying unit 4; and a winding section 6 that winds the product section Gd obtained by cutting and removing the non-product section Gc by the cutting section 5 into a roll shape to form the glass roll R.

In the following description, "upstream" (side) means a position close to the forming section 2 or the glass roll material Ra, and "downstream" (side) means a position close to the winding section 6. The thickness of the product portion Gd in the present embodiment is 300 μm or less, preferably 10 μm or more and 200 μm or less, and more preferably 50 μm or more and 100 μm or less, but is not limited thereto.

The forming section 2 includes: a forming body 7 having a substantially wedge shape in cross-sectional view, an overflow groove 7a being formed at an upper end portion thereof; edge rolls 8 disposed directly below the molded body 7 and sandwiching the molten glass overflowing from the molded body 7 from both front and back sides; and an annealing furnace 9 disposed directly below the edge roll 8.

the forming section 2 causes the molten glass overflowing from the upper side of the overflow vessel 7a of the forming body 7 to flow down along both side surfaces, and merges at the lower end to form a film-like molten glass. The edge roll 8 regulates the widthwise shrinkage of the molten glass, and produces a glass film G having a predetermined width. The annealing furnace 9 is used to perform strain relief treatment on the glass film G. The annealing furnace 9 has annealing rolls 10 arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction.

Support rollers 11 for holding the glass film G from both front and back sides are disposed below the annealing furnace 9. A tension that contributes to thinning of the glass film G is applied between the backup roll 11 and the edge roll 8 or between the backup roll 11 and any annealing roll 10.

The direction changing portion 3 is provided at a position below the support roller 11. A plurality of guide rollers 12 for guiding the glass film G are arranged in a curved shape in the direction changing section 3. These guide rollers 12 guide the glass film G conveyed in the vertical direction in the lateral direction.

The lateral conveying unit 4 is disposed forward (downstream) in the traveling direction of the direction changing unit 3. The lateral transfer unit 4 includes a first transfer device 13, a second transfer device 14, and a third transfer device 15 in this order from the upstream side.

The first conveying device 13 has an endless belt-shaped conveyor 16 and a drive device 17 for the conveyor 16. The first conveying device 13 brings the upper surface of the conveyor 16 into contact with the glass film G, and continuously conveys the glass film G having passed through the direction changing section 3 to the downstream side. The driving device 17 includes a driving body 17a such as a roller or a sprocket for driving the conveyor belt 16, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the driving body 17 a.

The second conveyance device 14 has a stage 18 for supporting the glass film G and a sheet 19 for conveying the glass film G.

The stage 18 has a wrinkle removing unit 20 for removing wrinkles Ge generated in the glass film G during conveyance. In the present embodiment, the wrinkle removing unit 20 includes a rod-shaped member 20 a. The rod-shaped member 20a is formed of a member having a cylindrical surface, but is not limited to this shape. The rod-like member 20a may have a curved surface protruding upward in order to remove the wrinkles Ge of the glass film G, and may be configured to have a semicircular or elliptical shape in cross-sectional view.

As shown in fig. 3, the rod-like member 20a is fixed to the upper surface 18a of the table 18, but is not limited to this embodiment. The rod-shaped member 20a may be configured to be rotatable at a position separated upward from the upper surface 18a of the platform 18. In this case, the rod-shaped member 20a may be idle or may be rotationally driven by a driving mechanism. The diameter D of the rod-shaped member 20a is set to 2mm or more and 100mm or less, but is not limited to this range, and may be appropriately set according to the size of the glass film G or the product portion Gd, or the like. When the rod-like member 20a is other than a cylindrical shape (e.g., a triangular prism or a semi-cylindrical shape), the height of the rod-like member 20a is preferably 10mm or more and 100mm or less, and the curvature radius of a portion in contact with the glass through the conveying sheet 19 is preferably R1mm or more and R100mm or less.

The rod-like member 20a is disposed along the width direction W of the glass film G. That is, the rod-like member 20a is disposed on the upper surface 18a of the stage 18 so as to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the glass film G.

As shown in fig. 2 and 4, the length LR of the rod-like member 20a is set shorter than the width WG of the glass film G.

Portions Gf having a thickness larger than the central portion (hereinafter referred to as "ear portions") are formed at the end portions Ga, Gb in the width direction of the glass film G. The length LR of the rod-shaped member 20a is set so that the rod-shaped member 20a does not overlap the ear part Gf when the rod-shaped member 20a is disposed on the lower surface side of the glass film G. That is, the length LR of the rod-shaped member 20a is preferably set to be shorter than the width WC of the width-direction center side portion of the glass film G not including the ear portion Gf. Thus, the rod-like member 20a supporting the glass film G supports the portion on the width direction center side of the ear portion Gf of the glass film G without supporting the ear portion Gf of the glass film G. The length LR of the rod-like member 20a is preferably 1.1 times or more the spacing distance DL of the laser irradiation device 25 and 0.98 times or less the width WC of the central portion of the glass film G.

The conveying sheet 19 is made of, for example, a foamed resin sheet, but is not limited to this material. The conveyance sheet 19 is pulled out from a sheet roller 21 disposed below the surface plate 18, and moves from the upstream side to the downstream side above the surface plate 18 (see fig. 1). The conveying sheet 19 is in contact with the lower surface of the glass film G above the stage 18, and conveys the glass film G to the downstream side by its movement. The conveyance sheet 19 passes over the upper surface 18a of the surface plate 18, and is then collected by a winding device, not shown, at a position below the surface plate 18.

The width WS of the conveying sheet 19 is set to be larger than the length LR of the rod-like member 20 a. The width WS of the conveying sheet 19 is set to be smaller than the width WG of the glass film G. More specifically, the width WS of the conveying sheet 19 is preferably set smaller than the width WC of the width-direction center portion of the glass film G excluding the ear portions Gf (see fig. 4).

The thickness TS of the sheet 19 for conveyance is set to 0.05mm to 2mm, but is not limited to this range, and can be set appropriately so as to avoid the ear portions Gf of the glass film G from coming into contact with the upper surface 18a of the stage 18.

The third conveyance device 15 has a stage 22 for supporting the glass film G and a sheet 23 for conveying the glass film G. The third conveying device 15 moves the conveying sheet 23 pulled out from the sheet roller 24 disposed on the upstream side and the lower side of the deck 22 toward the downstream side in the direction of the deck 22, thereby conveying the non-product portion Gc and the product portion Gd of the glass film G cut by the cutting section 5 toward the downstream side.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the cutting unit 5 is disposed between the second conveying device 14 and the third conveying device 15 in the lateral conveying unit 4. The cutting section 5 includes a laser irradiation device 25, a stage 26 for supporting the glass film, and a recovery device 27 for recovering a linear peeled article Gg generated by irradiating the glass film G with the laser light L from the laser irradiation device 25.

The laser irradiation device 25 is disposed above the stage 26 and on the downstream side of the wrinkle removing unit 20. The laser irradiation device 25 irradiates, for example, CO downward₂Laser light L such as laser light and YAG laser light. In the present embodiment, two laser irradiation devices 25 are arranged to cut both ends Ga and Gb in the width direction of the glass film G (see fig. 2).

The laser beam L is irradiated to a predetermined position (irradiation position) O with respect to the glass film G. The distance D1 between the irradiation position O and the rod-shaped member 20a of the wrinkle removal section 20 is 200mm to 2000mm, but is not limited to this range and can be set appropriately according to the size of the glass film G and the size of the rod-shaped member 20 a.

The platform 26 has an opening 26a penetrating in the vertical direction. The irradiation position O of the laser light L in the laser irradiation device 25 is set within the range of the opening 26 a.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the recovery device 27 is disposed below the surface plate 26. The recovery device 27 is constituted by a belt conveyor 27 a. In the present embodiment, two belt conveyors 27a are disposed corresponding to the respective end portions Ga, Gb of the glass film G. Each belt conveyor 27a conveys the linear stripped object Gg along a direction (width direction) orthogonal to the conveying direction (length direction) of the glass film G, i.e. from the inner side to the outer side in the width direction of the glass film G.

The winding section 6 is provided downstream of the third conveyance device 15. The winding unit 6 includes a winding roller 28, a motor (not shown) for rotationally driving the winding roller 28, and a protective sheet supply unit 29 for supplying a protective sheet 29a to the winding roller 28. The winding unit 6 winds the product portion Gd into a roll shape by rotating the winding roller 28 by a motor while overlapping the product portion Gd with the protective sheet 29a fed from the protective sheet supply unit 29. The wound product portion Gd is configured as a glass roll R.

A method for manufacturing the glass roll R by using the manufacturing apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described below. The method for manufacturing the glass roll R includes: a forming step of forming a band-shaped glass film G by the forming section 2; a conveying step of conveying the glass film G by the direction changing unit 3 and the lateral conveying unit 4; a cutting step of cutting the widthwise ends Ga and Gb of the glass film G by the cutting section 5; and a winding step of winding the product portion Gd by the winding portion 6 after the cutting step.

In the forming step, the molten glass overflowing from the upper side of the overflow groove 7a of the formed body 7 in the forming section 2 is made to flow down along both side surfaces, and joined at the lower end to form a film-like molten glass. At this time, the edge roll 8 regulates the shrinkage of the molten glass in the width direction, and a glass film G having a predetermined width is formed. Then, the glass film G is subjected to a strain relief treatment (annealing step) by the annealing furnace 9. The glass film G is formed to a predetermined thickness by the tension of the backup roller 11.

In the conveying step, the conveying direction of the glass film G is changed to the horizontal direction by the direction changing section 3, and the glass film G is conveyed to the winding section 6 on the downstream side by the conveying devices 13 to 15.

A large number of wrinkles Ge are irregularly generated in the glass film G during conveyance using the lateral conveyance section 4. These wrinkles Ge are eliminated by passing the glass film G through the wrinkle removing unit 20 of the second conveying device 14 (wrinkle removing step). That is, when the glass film G passes through the rod-shaped member 20a of the wrinkle removing unit 20, the rod-shaped member 20a located on the lower surface side thereof is pushed up to the upper surface 18a of the stage 18 together with the conveying sheet 19. At this time, the wrinkles Ge of the glass film G disappear as the glass film G is stretched by the rod-like member 20 a.

The sheet 19 for conveyance is pushed up by the rod member 20a when passing through the rod member 20 a. Thus, the conveying sheet 19 is separated from the upper surface 18a of the deck 18 by a portion on the upstream side of the rod member 20a and a portion on the downstream side of the rod member 20 a. As shown in fig. 3, the vertical distance between the conveying sheet 19 and the upper surface 18a of the table 18 decreases as the conveying sheet 19 moves downstream from the rod-like member 20 a. The sheet 19 for conveyance contacts the upper surface 18a of the surface plate 18 at a position upstream of the irradiation position O of the laser beam L in the laser irradiation device 25.

The glass film G is supported on the stage 18 via the conveyance sheet 19 by the conveyance sheet 19 contacting the upper surface 18a of the stage 18. The sheet 19 for conveyance moves the glass film G to the irradiation position O of the laser light L while maintaining contact with the upper surface 18a of the stage 18.

In the cutting step, the glass film G conveyed by the second conveying device 14 is irradiated with the laser light L from the laser irradiation device 25 of the cutting unit 5, and both ends Ga and Gb in the width direction of the glass film G are cut. Thereby, the glass film G is separated into a non-product portion Gc and a product portion Gd.

Specifically, when the glass film G is irradiated with the laser light L (see fig. 6A), a part of the glass film G is fused by heating with the laser light L (see fig. 6B). Since the glass film G is conveyed by the second conveying device 14, the fused portion is separated from the laser light L.

Thereby, the fused portion of the glass film G is cooled. The fusion portion is cooled to generate a thermal strain, and a stress caused by the thermal strain acts on the non-fusion portion as a tensile force. By this action, the linear debonding object Gg is separated from the widthwise end of the non-product portion Gc and the widthwise end of the product portion Gd. The separated linear exfoliated material Gg moves downward by its own weight (see fig. 6C). The linear exfoliated material Gg is separated from the non-product part Gc or the product part Gd and then deformed into a spiral shape. In the cutting step, the linear exfoliated material Gg generated from the non-product portion Gc and the product portion Gd is collected by the collection device 27 (collection step).

the non-product portion Gc is conveyed downstream by the third conveying device 15 and collected upstream of the winding portion 6 by another collecting device not shown.

In the winding step, the protective sheet 29a is supplied from the protective sheet supply portion 29 to the product portion Gd, and the product portion Gd conveyed by the third conveying device 15 is wound in a roll shape by the winding roller 28 of the winding portion 6. The glass roll R is produced by winding a product portion Gd of a predetermined length around a winding roll 28.

According to the method for manufacturing the glass film G of the present embodiment described above, the product portion Gd can be cut out from the glass film G with high accuracy by removing the wrinkle Ge of the glass film G by the wrinkle removing portion 20 (rod-shaped member 20a) and then fusing the glass film G in the cutting step. At the irradiation position O where the laser irradiation device 25 irradiates the laser light L, the glass film G is stably supported on the upper surface 18a of the stage 18 via the sheet for conveyance 19. This can produce a uniform linear exfoliated product Gg from the product portion Gd, and can produce a high-quality glass film G (glass roll R) by making the cut surface of the product portion Gd uniform.

Fig. 7 to 10 show a second embodiment of the glass film manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method. In the present embodiment, the second conveying device 14, the third conveying device 15, and the cutting unit 5 of the lateral conveying unit 4 are different from those of the first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 7 to 9, the wrinkle removing unit 20 of the second conveying device 14 includes a plate-like member 20b disposed downstream of the rod-like member 20a in addition to the rod-like member 20a in the first embodiment.

The plate-like member 20b is disposed between the rod-like member 20a and the laser irradiation device 25 in the conveying direction of the glass film G. The plate-like member 20b is fixed to the upper surface 18a of the platform 18. The width WP of the plate-like member 20b (the length of the plate-like member 20b in the width direction W of the glass film G) is set smaller than the length LR of the rod-like member 20 a. The width WP of the plate-like member 20b is preferably 1.02 times or more the spacing distance DL of the laser irradiation device 25 and 0.95 times or less the length LR of the rod-like member 20 a. The length LP of the plate-like member 20b in the glass film G conveyance direction is preferably 10mm or more and 500mm or less, but is not limited to this range and can be appropriately set according to the sizes of the glass film G and the product portion Gd.

The thickness TP of the plate-like member 20b is set smaller than the diameter D of the rod-like member 20 a. Therefore, the upper surface 20c of the plate-like member is located below the upper end 20d of the rod-like member 20 a. The thickness TP of the plate-like member 20b is 1mm or more and 95mm or less, but is not limited to this range, and can be appropriately set in accordance with the diameter D of the rod-like member 20 a. The height difference between the upper surface 20c of the plate-like member 20b and the upper end 20d of the rod-like member 20a is preferably 3mm or more and 50mm or less.

The distance D2 between the irradiation position O where the laser beam L is irradiated by the laser irradiation device 25 and the plate-like member 20b in the glass film G conveyance direction is 50mm or more and 1950mm or less, but is not limited to this range and can be set appropriately according to the sizes of the glass film G and the product portion Gd. The distance D3 between the plate-like member 20b and the rod-like member 20a in the direction of conveyance of the glass film G is preferably 50mm to 1500 mm.

The third conveying device 15 includes a plurality of (three in this example) conveyors 30a to 30c for conveying the glass film G and a driving device 31 for driving the conveyors 30a to 30 c. As shown in fig. 8, the conveyors 30a to 30c are configured in an endless belt shape, and include a first conveyor 30a that contacts a portion on the side of one end Ga in the width direction of the glass film G, a second conveyor 30b that contacts a portion on the side of the other end Gb in the width direction of the glass film G, and a third conveyor 30c that contacts the central portion in the width direction of the glass film G. The driving device 31 includes a driving body 31a such as a roller or a sprocket for driving the respective conveyor belts 30a to 30c, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the driving body 31 a.

As shown in fig. 8, the conveyors 30a to 30c are separated in the width direction of the glass film G. Thereby, a gap is formed between the first belt 30a and the third belt 30c and between the second belt 30b and the third belt 30 c.

The laser irradiation device 25 of the cutting unit 5 is disposed above the third conveyance device 15. The irradiation position O at which the laser irradiation device 25 irradiates the laser light L is set so as to correspond to the gap between the conveyors 30a to 30 c. The cutting unit 5 in the present embodiment does not have the platform 26 in the first embodiment, but may have a platform that can be disposed in the gap between the conveyors 30a to 30 c. The recovery device 27 is disposed inside the respective conveyors 30a, 30b so as to cross the first conveyor 30a and the second conveyor 30 b.

When the glass film G (glass roll R) is manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the forming step, the conveying step, the cutting step, and the winding step are performed as in the first embodiment, but the mode of the wrinkle removing step in the conveying step is different from that of the first embodiment.

In the wrinkle removing step, first, the glass film G passes through the rod-like member 20a provided on the stage 18 of the second conveying device 14. At this time, the glass film G is pushed together with the conveying sheet 19 to a position above the upper surface 18a of the stage 18 by the rod-shaped member 20a located on the lower surface side. At this time, most of the wrinkles Ge generated on the glass film G disappear as the glass film G is stretched by the rod-like member 20 a.

When the wrinkles Ge remain on the glass film G after passing through the rod-shaped member 20a, the wrinkles Ge disappear when the glass film G passes through the plate-shaped member 20 b. The plate-like member 20b is in so-called planar contact with the rod-like member 20a in line contact with the glass film G via the conveying sheet 19, via the conveying sheet 19. Thus, the wrinkles Ge not removed by the rod-like members 20a are reliably eliminated by the glass film G passing through the plate-like members 20 b.

The conveying sheet 19 is separated upward from the upper surface 18a of the platform 18 when passing through the rod-shaped member 20a and the plate-shaped member 20b, but contacts the upper surface 18a at a position upstream of the irradiation position O of the laser light L after passing through the plate-shaped member 20 b. Thereby, the glass film G is supported on the upper surface 18a of the stage 18 at a position upstream of the irradiation position O of the laser light L. Therefore, the glass film G is cut by the laser irradiation device 25 in a state of being stably supported by the upper surface 18a of the stage 18. This enables the uniform linear exfoliated material Gg to be continuously generated from the width direction end of the product portion Gd, and the glass film G to be cut with high accuracy.

In the cutting step of the present embodiment, the glass film G is conveyed by the third conveying device 15, and the laser L is irradiated from the laser irradiation device 25 disposed above. Then, the linear separator Gg is collected by the collection device 27 (see fig. 10), the non-product portion Gc of the glass film G is conveyed by the first conveyor 30a and the second conveyor 30b of the third conveying device 15, and the product portion Gd is conveyed by the third conveyor 30 c. The steps of the present embodiment, such as the forming step and the winding step, are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Fig. 11 and 12 show a third embodiment of the glass film manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method. In the first and second embodiments described above, the example of producing the glass film G by the overflow downdraw method is described, but in the present embodiment, a method of producing the glass film G (glass Roll R) by a Roll-to-Roll process (Roll) is described.

As shown in fig. 11 and 12, the manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a glass roll material Ra having a glass film G to be processed formed into a roll shape on the most upstream side, in place of the forming section 2 and the direction changing section 3 in the first embodiment. The glass roll raw material Ra is wound around the supply roll 32. Similarly to the first embodiment, the lateral conveying section 4, the cutting section 5, and the winding section 6 are disposed in this order on the downstream side of the glass roll material Ra. The above elements 4 to 6 have the same structure as the first embodiment.

The method for manufacturing the glass film G (glass roll R) in the present embodiment includes a glass film supply step of drawing out a glass film G for processing from a glass roll material Ra and supplying the glass film G to the downstream side, a conveyance step, a cutting step, and a winding step. In the glass film supply step, the manufacturing apparatus 1 pulls out the glass film G for processing from the glass roll material Ra and moves it to the downstream side by rotating the supply roll 32. The subsequent conveying step, cutting step, and winding step are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, in the cutting step, the glass film G for processing can be separated into a plurality of glass films G, and a part or all of the glass films G can be produced as a product. In this case, a plurality of winding rollers 28 are arranged in the winding section 6 according to the number of manufactured products.

Fig. 13 and 14 show a fourth embodiment of a glass film manufacturing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a glass film using the manufacturing apparatus.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, the manufacturing apparatus includes a glass roll material Ra having a glass film G to be processed formed into a roll shape on the most upstream side, instead of the forming section 2 and the direction changing section 3 in the second embodiment. The glass roll raw material Ra is wound around the supply roll 32. Similarly to the second embodiment, the lateral conveying section 4, the cutting section 5, and the winding section 6 are disposed in this order on the downstream side of the glass roll material Ra. The above-described configurations of the elements 4 to 6 are the same as those of the second embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above embodiments, and is not limited to the above-described operational effects. The present invention can be variously modified within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

In the second embodiment described above, the wrinkle removing unit 20 including one rod-shaped member 20a and one plate-shaped member 20b is exemplified, but the wrinkle removing unit is not limited to this, and a plurality of rod-shaped members and a plurality of plate-shaped members may be arranged on the stage 18.

Description of reference numerals:

18 platform

18a upper surface of the platform

19 sheet for conveyance

20 wrinkle removal part

20a rod-shaped member

20b plate-like member

20c upper surface of plate-like member

20d upper end of rod-shaped member

25 laser irradiation device

Distance between DL laser beam irradiation devices

G glass film

Wrinkling of Ge glass films

Gg-line-shaped release material

L laser

Irradiation position of O laser

Width direction of W glass film

width of WP plate-like member

Length of LR rod-like member.