A gas floated workpiece supporting apparatus includes a gas upward ejector ejecting gas upward, and a gas downward ejector located at an upper side from the gas upward ejector and ejecting gas downward. The gas downward ejector is installed at a position where the gas downward ejector ejects the gas downward from above a plate-shaped workpiece to apply pressure to the plate-shaped workpiece that is floated and supported by the gas ejected from the gas upward ejector, whereby a uniform floating amount supports the plate-shaped workpiece with high flatness at a time of floating and supporting the plate-shaped workpiece.

Methods are provided for laser processing arbitrary shapes of molded 3D thin transparent brittle parts from substrates with particular interest in substrates formed from strengthened or non-strengthened Corning Gorilla glass (all codes). The developed laser methods can be tailored for manual separation of the parts from the panel or full laser separation by thermal stressing the desired profile. Methods can be used to form 3D surfaces with small radii of curvature. The method involves the utilization of an ultra-short pulse laser that may be optionally followed by a CO.sub.2 laser for fully automated separation.

There is provided a suction device including a suction portion for gripping a suction target by using a sucking force in a direction, and a pressing unit for pressing the suction target gripped by the suction portion in a direction opposite to the sucking force, and for terminating a gripped state, where the pressing unit includes a pressing member, for pressing the suction target, provided in a manner capable of advancing and retracting along the direction of the sucking force, and a drive unit for advancing and retracting the pressing member.

Process for removing peripheral portions such as bead regions of a glass sheet including a step of pushing the glass sheet in the peripheral portion using a pushing mechanism such as a pushing bar, and corresponding apparatus. As a result of the use of the pushing mechanism, the engagement completion time for suction cups, if used, are reduced significantly. A process without using suction cups is enabled with enhanced yield. The increased process stability and enlarged process window are particularly advantageous for processing glass sheets having high flexibility.

A carrier device and a placement machine, where the carrier device includes a body and a positioner. A positioning sucker mechanism is disposed on the body, and a sliding sucker mechanism is slidably disposed on the body, where the sliding sucker mechanism includes a sucker group, a positioning block connected to one end of the sucker group, and a first suction piece provided on the positioning block. The positioner is arranged on one side of the body and adjacent to the positioning block, and includes a driver and a clamping assembly connected to the driver, where the clamping assembly is provided with a second suction piece mutually attracted to the first suction piece.

A cell electrode plate feeding device includes a conveying device and a vacuum suction device. The conveying device is configured to convey an electrode plate to be wound and comprises a support base and a conveying body, the support base comprising an accommodating cavity, the conveying body being mounted on the support base, and the conveying body being provided with a communicating portion, by means of which a space of the conveying body on a side away from the accommodating cavity is in communication with the accommodating cavity. The vacuum suction device is in communication with the accommodating cavity, and the vacuum suction device is configured to suck air between a conveying surface of the conveying body and the electrode plate, so as to enable the electrode plate to be attached to the conveying surface of the conveying body.

Equipment for the logistics of slab-shaped articles comprises supply line(s) of slab-shaped article(s) and outlet line(s) of the slab-shaped article(s); robotic gripping assembly(s) of the slab-shaped article(s) provided with at least three degrees of freedom and positioned between the supply line(s) and the outlet line(s); first movement device/unit/component/etc. of the gripping assembly(s) along a direction(s) of movement; where the supply line(s) and said outlet line(s) are substantially aligned to each other along the direction(s) of movement. Equipment also comprises temporary storage stations of the slab-shaped article(s) arranged laterally to the gripping assembly and substantially aligned to each other to define at least one row substantially parallel to the direction of movement, wherein the gripping assembly(s) picks the slab-shaped article(s) coining from the supply line(s); positions the slab-shaped article(s) on the storage station(s); and picks the slab-shaped article(s) from the storage station(s) and bring it to the outlet line(s).

Non-contact, liquid-ejecting bearings (3) are provided for conveying flexible glass sheets (13), such as LCD substrates, at high conveyance speeds, e.g., speeds of 15 meters/minute and above. The operating parameters and physical properties of the bearings satisfy at least one of the following conditions: (a) the average flow rate from the bearing's orifices (22) is in the range of 100-800 milliliters/minute/orifice; (b) the orifices' average horizontal pitch (P) is in the range of 20-55 millimeters; and/or (c) the orifices' average size (e.g., D.sub.0) is in the range of 1.0-4.5 millimeters. The bearings (3) can reduce the time-averaged, peak-to-peak variation in the spacing between a LCD substrate (13) traveling at 15 meters/minute and the face (20) of the bearing (3) to less than 100 microns, thus reducing the chances that the bearing (3) will lose control of the substrate (13) or that the substrate (13) will hit the bearing (3).

A glass tube cleaning and cutting device includes a glass tube cutting device configured to cut an end portion of a glass tube while the glass tube cutting device rotates the glass tube having a predetermined length about a tube axis of the glass tube and conveys the glass tube in a direction orthogonal to the tube axis, at least one blower configured to blow air into an opening located on a first end portion side of the glass tube, and at least one cutting blade provided at a position opposite to the at least one blower interposing the glass tube therebetween, the at least one cutting blade being configured to impose thermal shock and scratches on an outer circumference surface of a second end portion side of the glass tube to cut the second end portion side of the glass tube.

A support structure (21) supports a glazing panel in a laid down attitude at a support zone. The structure provides access permitting a technician to move bodily into and/or out of the support zone and/or one or more support elements having a respective locating formation for locating the glazing panel with respect to the support structure such that the glazing panel can be tilted or pivotally moved with respect to the support structure. The structure provides for improved handling of glazing panels.