Sheet glass, method for manufacturing sheet glass, and device for manufacturing sheet glass

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a glass sheet involves forming a scribe in one surface of a glass sheet having a rectangular shape on a periphery of an edge portion of the glass sheet in parallel to the edge portion, and cutting the glass sheet along the scribe as a boundary. The method includes forming the scribe in a region other than both end portions of the glass sheet in a direction along the edge portion; and cutting the glass sheet along a bending portion in which the glass sheet is locally bent, the bending portion being continuously formed in a state of being connected to the scribe and gradually protruding from an edge portion side to an inner side as being shifted away from the scribe.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a glass sheet, which involves forming a scribe in one surface of a mother glass sheet having a rectangular shape on a periphery of an edge portion of the mother glass sheet in parallel to the edge portion, and cutting the mother glass sheet along the scribe as a boundary in order to cut out the glass sheet from the mother glass sheet, the method comprising: forming the scribe in a region other than both end portions of the mother glass sheet in a direction along the edge portion; and cutting the mother glass sheet along a bending portion in which the mother glass sheet is bent at a portion thereof, the bending portion being continuously formed in a state of being connected to the scribe and being formed so as to separate from the edge portion as being shifted away from the scribe along the direction along the edge portion.

2. The method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to claim 1, wherein a cutting member for cutting the mother glass sheet comprises a pressing portion extending in the direction along the edge portion and being configured to press the one surface of the mother glass sheet, the pressing portion comprising protruding portions, each of the protruding portions protruding from an edge portion of the cutting member to one of distal end sides of the cutting member as being shifted toward the one of the distal end sides of the cutting member and being formed at one of distal end portions of the pressing portion in the direction along the edge portion, and wherein the method further comprises pressing a region on an edge portion side of the mother glass sheet with respect to the scribe by the pressing portion of the cutting member.

3. The method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to claim 1, further comprising: covering the scribe with a covering member over an entire length of the scribe so as to form a flow space of water vapor; causing the water vapor to flow into the flow space from one end side of the flow space in a direction along the scribe; and collecting glass chippings, which are generated through the cutting, by the water vapor flowing out of the flow space from another end side of the flow space in the direction along the scribe.

4. The method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to claim 3, wherein a cutting member for cutting the mother glass sheet comprises a pressing portion extending in the direction along the edge portion and being configured to press the one surface of the mother glass sheet, wherein the pressing portion of the cutting member comprises an inclined portion spaced away from the one surface of the mother glass sheet as being shifted from one end side of the pressing portion to another end side of the pressing portion in the direction along the edge portion, and wherein the method further comprises sequentially pressing, in a direction from the one end side of the pressing portion to the other end side of the pressing portion, a region on an edge portion side of the mother glass sheet with respect to the scribe by the pressing portion of the cutting member.

5. The method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to claim 3, wherein the mother glass sheet is set in a vertical posture, and wherein the one end side of the flow space is set to an upper side, and the other end side of the flow space is set to a lower side.

6. The method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to claim 5, further comprising causing the water vapor to pass through a tubular member having a bellows structure, in which large diameter portions and small diameter portions are alternately connected to each other, to thereby cause the water vapor to flow into the flow space from the upper side of the flow space.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a covering member provided in the apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet.

(3) FIG. 3a is a front view illustrating a cutting bar provided in the apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet.

(4) FIG. 3b is a side view illustrating the cutting bar provided in the apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet.

(5) FIG. 4a is a front view illustrating a practical situation of a method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(6) FIG. 4b is a front view illustrating the practical situation of the method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(7) FIG. 4c is a front view illustrating the practical situation of the method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(8) FIG. 4d is a front view illustrating the practical situation of the method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(9) FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating another cutting bar provided in the apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet.

(10) FIG. 6a is a front view illustrating a corner portion of the glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(11) FIG. 6b is a front view illustrating another corner portion of the glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(12) FIG. 6c is a front view illustrating another corner portion of the glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(13) FIG. 6d is a front view illustrating another corner portion of the glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(14) FIG. 6e is a front view illustrating another corner portion of the glass sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(15) FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating another cutting bar provided in the apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet.

(16) FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating another cutting bar provided in the apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet.

(17) FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(18) Now, embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that, in the following embodiments, description is given by taking as an example a case where both edge portions of a glass sheet in a vertical posture, which are parallel to an up-and-down direction, are to be cut along a scribe as a boundary.

(19) FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, an apparatus 1 for manufacturing a glass sheet comprises, as main components thereof, covering members 2 for covering scribes S formed in a surface of a glass sheet G serving as a mother glass sheet in a vertical posture so as to form flow spaces F of water vapor M, supply hoses 4 each serving as a tubular member for causing the water vapor M to flow into the flow space F, discharge hoses 5 for causing the water vapor M to flow out of the flow space F, and cutting bars 3 each serving as a cutting member for pressing a region on the periphery of an edge portion Ga of the glass sheet G so as to apply a bending moment to the region in the vicinity of the scribe S. Note that, the glass sheet G to be cut is suspended by a gripping member (for example, a chuck) (not shown).

(20) There are arranged two sets of the covering members 2, each of which is constituted by a pair of the covering members 2 that sandwiches the glass sheet G in its thickness direction. The two sets of the covering members 2 are configured to cover the two scribes S formed in parallel to the edge portions Ga of the glass sheet G, which are parallel to the up-and-down direction, from a front surface side and a back surface side of the glass sheet G over the entire length of each of the scribes S. Further, each of the covering members 2 has a C shape in horizontal cross section as illustrated in FIG. 2, and forms the flow space F of the water vapor M, which is surrounded by the covering member 2 and corresponding one of the front surface and the back surface of the glass sheet G. Still further, out of two abutment portions of the covering member 2, which abut against corresponding one of the front surface and the back surface of the glass sheet G, at the abutment portion on the edge portion Ga side, the covering member 2 comprises a rubber 2a. When the glass sheet G is to be pressed in the direction P of FIG. 2 through use of the cutting bar 3 described later, the rubber 2a is elastically deformed in conformity with deformation of the glass sheet G, to thereby seal the flow space F constantly. In addition, openings are formed at both end portions of the covering member 2 in the up-and-down direction, respectively. The upper opening serves as an inflow port for causing the water vapor M to flow into the flow space F, and the lower opening serves as an outflow port for causing the water vapor M to flow out of the flow space F.

(21) Each of the supply hose 4 connected to the inflow port formed in the covering member 2 and the discharge hose 5 connected to the outflow port formed in the covering member 2 has a so-called bellows structure, in which large diameter portions larger in inner diameter and small diameter portions smaller in inner diameter are alternately connected to each other. The supply hose 4 is connected to a supply device for water vapor (for example, a humidifier) (not shown). The water vapor M generated by the supply device passes through the supply hose 4 and flows into the flow space F. The discharge hose 5 is connected to a suction device (for example, a vacuum pump) (not shown). Through suction carried out by the suction device, a negative pressure is applied into the discharge hose 5, and thus the water vapor M flows out of the flow space F.

(22) With the above-mentioned configuration, the water vapor M generated by the supply device for water vapor passes through the supply hose 4 and flows into the flow space F through the inflow port. Then, the water vapor M flows from the upper side to the lower side along the scribe S formed in the glass sheet G. After that, the water vapor M is discharged out of the flow space F through the outflow port, and passes through the discharge hose 5 to reach the suction device.

(23) As illustrated in FIG. 3a, the cutting bar 3 is arranged in parallel to the edge portion Ga of the glass sheet G. At both distal end portions of the cutting bar 3 in the up-and-down direction, the cutting bar 3 comprises protruding portions 3a, which gradually protrude from the edge portion Ga side of the glass sheet G to the inner side thereof as being shifted toward the distal end side. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3b, which is a side view of the cutting bar 3 as seen in the direction A of FIG. 3a, in a pressing portion 3b for pressing the surface of the glass sheet G, the entire region in the up-and-down direction is inclined gradually away from the surface of the glass sheet G as being shifted from the upper side toward the lower side. Thus, when the cutting bar 3 presses the glass sheet G, the pressing portion 3b is configured to sequentially abut against the surface of the glass sheet G in a region from the upper side to the lower side, to thereby press the glass sheet G. In this case, it is preferred that the inclination angle of the pressing portion 3b with respect to the vertical line be 0.1 to 5.

(24) Now, referring to the accompanying drawings, description is given of a method of manufacturing a glass sheet using the above-mentioned apparatus 1 for manufacturing a glass sheet. Note that, in the drawings for illustrating the method of manufacturing a glass sheet, the illustrations of the covering member 2, the supply hose 4, the discharge hose 5, and the flow space F are omitted.

(25) Firstly, as illustrated in FIG. 4a, the scribe S is formed in the surface of the glass sheet G from the starting point B of FIG. 4a through pressing with a wheel cutter, irradiation with a laser, or the like. The scribe S is formed in parallel to the edge portion Ga in a region other than both end portions of the glass sheet G in the up-and-down direction. Note that, it is preferred that the separation distance of the point B from the edge portion Ga be about 3 mm to 50 mm. When the separation distance is less than 3 mm, as described later, it becomes difficult to form a corner portion Gb into a convexly curved shape. Further, at the time of conveying the glass sheet G, due to vibrations or the like, the glass sheet G is liable to be broken along the scribe S as a boundary before the glass sheet G is cut by the cutting bar 3. When the separation distance is more than 50 mm, on the other hand, it is not practical to form the corner portion into the convexly curved shape.

(26) When the formation of the scribe S is completed, the scribe S is then covered with the covering member 2 (not shown) over the entire length of the scribe S. After that, as illustrated in FIG. 4b, the cutting bar 3 is used to sequentially press the surface of the glass sheet G in the region from the upper side to the lower side (the direction of application of a pressing force is a direction from the near side to the far side of the drawing sheet of FIG. 4b). In the cutting bar 3 illustrated in FIG. 4b, the cross-hatching region herein indicates that the glass sheet G is pressed in this region (the same applies to the figures to be referred to later).

(27) When the glass sheet G starts to be pressed by the cutting bar 3, the water vapor M is caused to flow into the flow space F through the supply hose 4. In this case, the supply hose 4 has the bellows structure, and hence, even when water droplets are generated inside the supply hose 4 due to condensation of the water vapor M, the water droplets are retained by the large diameter portions of the bellows structure. Thus, the water droplets are prevented from flowing into the flow space F. As a result, it is possible to minimize a risk in that the water droplets soil the surface of the glass sheet G.

(28) When a region in the vicinity of the upper end portion of the glass sheet G is pressed by the cutting bar 3, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4b, a bending portion L, in which the glass sheet G is bent locally, is formed in the glass sheet G by the bending moment generated due to the pressing force. The bending portion L conforms to the shape of the protruding portion 3a formed on the cutting bar 3, and gradually protrudes from the edge portion Ga side to the inner side as being shifted toward the upper distal end of the glass sheet Gin the up-and-down direction. Further, the bending portion L is continuously formed in a state of being connected to the scribe S at the point B. At this time, a tensile stress higher than that in a region on the periphery of the bending portion L is applied to the bending portion L, and the maximum stress is generated in this bending portion L. Therefore, in this region, the glass sheet G is not cut along the scribe S, but is cut along the bending portion L connected to the scribe S, and hence a cleaved portion C is sequentially formed in the direction V of FIG. 4b. Further, glass chippings K including small glass pieces and glass powders are generated at the cleaved portion C. The glass chippings K are borne in a direction from the upper side to the lower side by the water vapor M flowing in the flow space F.

(29) After that, as illustrated in FIG. 4c, the pressing of the glass sheet G by the cutting bar 3 is further advanced toward the lower side. Then, the bending moment is sequentially generated in the region in the vicinity of the scribe S formed in the surface of the glass sheet Gin a direction from the upper side to the lower side. Thus, the glass sheet G is sequentially cut along the scribe S as a boundary in a direction from the upper side to the lower side. Also at this time, similarly to the above-mentioned case, the glass chippings K are generated at the cleaved portion C.

(30) When the cutting of the glass sheet G is advanced, due to the water vapor M flowing in the flow space F, the region on the periphery of the scribe S is brought into a humidified state as compared to a case where air is caused to flow simply. In addition, it is found that, under the humidified state, the pressing force necessary to cut the glass sheet G may be smaller. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of the glass chippings K that may be generated at the cleaved portion C at the time of cutting the glass sheet G.

(31) Further, the advancing direction of the cutting and the direction of the water vapor M flowing in the flow space F are both the direction from the upper side to the lower side. Therefore, there is no need to cause a larger amount of the water vapor M to flow into the flow space F than necessary so as to collect the glass chippings K. Further, the water vapor M and the glass chippings K are borne in the direction from the upper side to the lower side without resisting the gravity. Accordingly, the glass chippings K can securely be collected without any failure.

(32) In addition, the glass sheet G is set in the vertical posture, and hence it is also possible to avoid such a situation that the glass chippings K fall by gravity and adhere onto the surface of the glass sheet G. Further, the inside of the flow space F is humidified, and hence static electricity is not liable to charge the glass chippings K. As a result, the effect of preventing the adhesion of the glass chippings K onto the glass sheet G can further be enhanced.

(33) When the cutting of the glass sheet G is further advanced and a region in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the glass sheet G is pressed by the cutting bar 3, the glass sheet G is then cut in a similar manner to that at the time when the above-mentioned region in the vicinity of the upper end portion is pressed. Thus, the edge portion Ga of the glass sheet G is completely cleaved as illustrated in FIG. 4d. Further, the glass chippings K borne by the water vapor M in the direction from the upper side to the lower side are further borne out of the flow space F through the discharge hose 5 together with the water vapor M. In this manner, the glass chippings K are collected. When those operations are completed, the inflow of the water vapor M into the flow space F is stopped.

(34) The glass sheet G thus manufactured has its corner portion Gb formed into the convexly curved shape, and the end surface of the corner portion Gb is an untrimmed mirror-smooth surface, which is already finished into a mirror-smooth surface at the time of cutting the glass sheet G without polishing or the like. Note that, in a region other than the corner portion Gb, the end surface extending in the up-and-down direction in FIG. 4d has a scribe mark present on one side in the thickness direction (surface side in which the scribe S is formed), and an untrimmed mirror-smooth surface present on another side in the thickness direction.

(35) To obtain such a mirror-smooth surface in the related art, it is necessary to grind and polish the corner portion of the glass sheet through use of a grinding wheel or the like, resulting in a drawback in that the manufacturing efficiency is liable to deteriorate. With the method of manufacturing a glass sheet according to this embodiment, however, as compared to the above-mentioned processes, it is only necessary to carry out the cutting, which is greatly advantageous from the viewpoint of the manufacturing efficiency. Along with the cutting, the corner portion Gb having a mirror-smooth surface can be obtained. Therefore, the glass sheet G can be manufactured rapidly and easily. Further, the corner portion Gb is cut without forming the scribe, and hence the generation of glass powders is minimized. As a result, any problem with the glass sheet G due to the glass powders can be reduced, and the yield can be enhanced. In addition, the corner portion Gb, in which defects are liable to be generated to cause cracking during the manufacturing, has the mirror-smooth surface with no defects such as chippings due to the scribe. Thus, damage originating from the corner portion Gb of the glass sheet G can also be suppressed effectively in the steps subsequent to the cutting.

(36) Further, when the glass sheet G in the course of manufacturing is to be moved in the same step or between the steps, in order to prevent a flaw and a crack from being generated in the glass sheet G, the glass sheet G may be placed on a protective sheet. In this case, in the glass sheet manufactured by the related-art manufacturing method, the corner portion of the glass sheet is formed into an angulated sharp shape, and hence the corner portion may stick into or snag on the protective sheet, resulting in such a problem that the protective sheet is damaged. In the glass sheet G manufactured by the above-mentioned method of manufacturing a glass sheet, however, such a problem can be minimized. Note that, in this embodiment, both the upper and lower corner portions Gb of the glass sheet G are formed into the convexly curved shape. In a case where the glass sheet G is to be conveyed after the edge portions Ga on both sides are cleaved, however, only one of the upper and lower corner portions Gb, which is on a forward side in a conveyance direction of the glass sheet G after the cleaving, may be formed into the convexly curved shape.

(37) The configuration of the apparatus for manufacturing a glass sheet according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, in the configuration described in the above-mentioned embodiment, the water vapor is caused to flow in the direction from the upper side to the lower side, but may be caused to flow in a direction from the lower side to the upper side. In this case, it is preferred that the inclination direction of the pressing portion of the cutting bar be reversed from that of the above-mentioned embodiment between the upper side and the lower side, and that the advancing direction of the cutting be set to the direction from the lower side to the upper side. In addition, the water vapor may be caused to flow in a horizontal direction or an oblique direction.

(38) Further, there is no need to form the cutting bar into the same shape as that of the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the shape of the protruding portion formed on the cutting bar may be a curved shape as illustrated in FIG. 5. Through the appropriate change of the shape of the protruding portion as described above, the corner portion Gb of the glass sheet G can be formed into various shapes as illustrated in FIGS. 6a to 6e. Note that, even in the case of the glass sheet G having any one of the corner portions Gb as illustrated in FIGS. 6a to 6e, the effects already described in the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained similarly. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the pressing portion of the cutting bar has such a shape that the entire region in the up-and-down direction is inclined, but as illustrated in FIG. 7, the pressing portion may have such a shape that a part of the pressing portion in the up-and-down direction is inclined. Still further, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the pressing portion 3b may have such a shape that the gradient is set at two levels. In this case, the ratio of a first gradient portion 3ba of the pressing portion 3b is set to 10% or less of the length of the cutting bar 3, and the inclination angle of the first gradient portion 3ba with respect to the vertical line is set to 3 to 10, whereas the inclination angle of a second gradient portion 3bb connected to the first gradient portion 3ba is set to 0.1 to 5. With those settings, the cutting can be carried out more easily.

(39) Further, the timing to cause the water vapor to flow into the flow space is not limited to that of the above-mentioned embodiment. The water vapor may be caused to flow into the flow space before the cutting bar presses the glass sheet, or alternatively, the water vapor may be caused to flow into the flow space constantly irrespective of the status of advance of the cutting.

(40) In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the description is given by taking as an example the case where both the edge portions of the glass sheet in the vertical posture, which are parallel to the up-and-down direction, are to be cut along the scribe as a boundary, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, edge portions of a glass sheet in a horizontal posture may be cut, or alternatively, edge portions of a glass sheet in a posture inclined with respect to a horizontal plane may be cut.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(41) 1 apparatus for manufacturing glass sheet 2 covering member 2a rubber 3 cutting bar 3a protruding portion 3b pressing portion 3ba first gradient portion 3bb second gradient portion 4 supply hose 5 discharge hose G glass sheet Ga edge portion of glass sheet Gb corner portion of glass sheet S scribe B starting point of scribe L bending portion M water vapor F flow space of water vapor C cleaved portion K glass chipping