Glass-plate working method and glass-plate working apparatus

Abstract

A glass-plate working apparatus includes a glass-plate supporting portion 20 a of a feed conveyor 7 , a glass-plate supporting portion 20 b of a cutting section 2 , a glass-plate supporting portion 20 c of a bend-breaking section 4 , a glass-plate supporting portion 20 d of a grinding section 3 , and a glass-plate supporting portion 20 e of a discharge conveyor 8 ; a cutting head 9 , a bend-breaking device 66 , and a grinding head 10 for processing glass plates 5 which are respectively supported by the supporting portions 20 b, 20 c , and 20 d ; and a transporting device 89 for transporting the glass plate 5 on the supporting portion 20 a onto the supporting portion 20 b , the glass plate 5 on the supporting portion 20 b onto the supporting portion 20 c , the glass plate 5 on the supporting portion 20 c onto the supporting portion 20 d , and the glass plate 5 on the supporting portion 20 d onto the supporting portion 20 e , respectively. The transporting device 89 is adapted to repeat reciprocating movement so as to sequentially transfer the glass plate 5 onto each of the supporting portions 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, 20 d , and 20 e each time the processing operation by processing means is completed.

1 . A glass-plate working apparatus in which processing positions equipped with glass-plate supporting portions for supporting glass plates are arranged at intervals, and which has a transporting device for transferring the glass plates each from said glass-plate supporting portion at one processing position to said glass-plate supporting portion at another processing position, said transporting device including a moving base which reciprocates between a position above said glass-plate supporting portion at one of the processing positions and a position above said glass-plate supporting portion at another one of the processing positions and suction pads respectively mounted on said moving base in correspondence with said glass-plate supporting portion at each of the processing positions by means of a lifting device, each of the glass plates being adapted to be transported from one of the processing positions to another one of the processing positions by the reciprocating movement of said moving base, the raising or lowering of said suction pad by said lifting device, and the suction or releasing of the glass plate by said suction pad,
 wherein said lifting device has a rack-and-pinion device consisting of a meshing combination of a rack and a pinion gear coupled to a servo motor, and said rack-and-pinion device on a side of a coupler coupling said servo motor and said pinion gear is mounted on said moving base while said suction pad is mounted on a side of said rack, or said rack-and-pinion device on the side of said rack is mounted on said moving base while said suction pad is mounted on the side of said coupler coupling said servo motor and said pinion gear, and   wherein each of said suction pads is liftably held by a slide unit mounted on said moving base, and said lifting device causes said suction pad to undergo raising or lowering movement under numerical control by linear movement produced by the meshing between said rack and said pinion gear which rotates by being coupled to said servo motor.   
     
     
         2 . A glass-plate working method comprising a method of transporting a glass plate in which reciprocating movement is effected between a processing position and another processing position for processing a glass plate, a suction pad is lowered and raised at the one processing position to suck and lift the glass plate, advance movement to the other processing position is effected, the suction pad is lowered at the other processing position to deliver the glass plate, and the suction pad is raised in a non-carrying state, returns in the non-carrying state, and is set on standby,
 at the one processing position, the suction pad is set on standby at a height of a slight distance above a glass-plate supporting portion, at a start of transport the suction pad is lowered through the slight distance, sucks the glass plate, and is raised again through the slight distance to lift the glass plate, whereupon movement of an advance stroke toward the other processing position is started, and the suction pad is concurrently raised gradually and the lifting height of the glass plate is set to an intermediate position of lift, and as a next processing position approaches, the heightwise position of the suction pad is gradually lowered, whereupon as a position above the supporting portion at the next processing position has been reached, the heightwise position of the suction pad and the lifted glass plate is positioned at a position of the height of a slight distance from an upper surface of the supporting portion, at which processing position the suction pad is lowered through the slight distance of height, releases and delivers the glass plate to the supporting portion, whereupon the suction pad is raised again to the height of the slight distance in the non-carrying state, and a return stroke is simultaneously started in the non-carrying state, the non-carrying suction pad being gradually raised at the start of the return stroke, the suction pad being gradually lowered after passing an intermediate position and as an original processing position approaches, whereupon when the suction pad returns to the position above the supporting portion at the original processing position, the suction pad is positioned at the position of the height of a slight distance from the upper surface of the supporting portion, at which heightwise position the operation is set on standby until the start of transport of an ensuing glass plate.   
     
     
         3 . The glass-plate working apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the one processing position is that of a glass-plate feed conveyor, and the other processing position is that of a glass-plate cutting section for forming a cut line on a surface of the glass plate. 
     
     
         4 . The glass-plate working apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the one processing position is that of a glass-plate cutting section for forming a cut line on a surface of the glass plate, and the other processing position is that of a bend-breaking section for bend-breaking the glass plate in accordance with the cut line formed on the surface of the glass plate. 
     
     
         5 . The glass-plate working apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the one processing position is that of a cutting and bend-breaking section for forming a cut line on a surface of the glass plate and bend-breaking the glass plate in accordance with the cut line, and the other processing position is that of a grinding section for grinding a peripheral edge of the glass plate. 
     
     
         6 . The glass-plate working apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the one processing position is that of a bend-breaking section for bend-breaking the glass plate in accordance with a cut line formed on a surface of the glass plate, and the other processing position is that of a grinding section for grinding a peripheral edge of the glass plate. 
     
     
         7 . The glass-plate working apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the one processing position is that of a grinding section for grinding a peripheral edge of the glass plate, and the other processing position is that of a discharge conveyor for discharging a worked glassed plate. 
     
     
         8 . The glass-plate working apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the raising and lowering of the suction pad is effected under numerical control. 
     
     
         9 . The glass-plate working method according to  claim 2 , wherein the one processing position is that of a glass-plate feed conveyor, and the other processing position is that of a glass-plate cutting section for forming a cut line on a surface of the glass plate. 
     
     
         10 . The glass-plate working method according to  claim 2 , wherein the one processing position is that of a glass-plate cutting section for forming a cut line on a surface of the glass plate, and the other processing position is that of a bend-breaking section for bend-breaking the glass plate in accordance with the cut line formed on the surface of the glass plate. 
     
     
         11 . The glass-plate working method according to  claim 2 , wherein the one processing position is that of a cutting and bend-breaking section for forming a cut line on a surface of the glass plate and bend-breaking the glass plate in accordance with the cut line, and the other processing position is that of a grinding section for grinding a peripheral edge of the glass plate. 
     
     
         12 . The glass-plate working method according to  claim 2 , wherein the one processing position is that of a bend-breaking section for bend-breaking the glass plate in accordance with a cut line formed on a surface of the glass plate, and the other processing position is that of a grinding section for grinding a peripheral edge of the glass plate. 
     
     
         13 . The glass-plate working method according to  claim 2 , wherein the one processing position is that of a grinding section for grinding a peripheral edge of the glass plate, and the other processing position is that of a discharge conveyor for discharging a worked glassed plate.