WO2022114021A1 - Glass film manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

A glass film manufacturing method comprising a molding step P1 for molding a belt-shaped glass film G, a vertical conveyance step P2 for conveying the belt-shaped glass film G in a vertical direction D1, a direction changing step P3 for causing the belt-shaped glass film G to pass through a catenary 1 and causing the conveyance direction thereof to change from the vertical direction D1 to a horizontal direction D2, a wrinkle removal step P4 for eliminating wrinkles C of the belt-shaped glass film G entering the catenary 1, and a horizontal conveyance step P5 for conveying the belt-shaped glass film G in the horizontal direction D2, said method being such that in the wrinkle removal step P4, tension toward the width direction outer side relative to the conveyance direction of the belt-shaped glass film G is imparted to the belt-shaped glass film G further on the downstream side than the catenary 1.

Description

Glass film manufacturing method

This disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a glass film.

Mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablet PCs, which have rapidly become widespread in recent years, are required to be thin and lightweight. Therefore, the current situation is that there is an increasing demand for thinning glass substrates, which are components of terminals. In order to meet such demands, a glass film has been manufactured as a glass substrate thinned to a film shape (for example, a thickness of 300 μm or less).

The glass film manufacturing process usually includes a process of acquiring a strip-shaped glass film that is the basis of the glass film manufacturing process. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for obtaining a strip-shaped glass film by using a down draw method typified by an overflow down draw method, a redraw method, a slot down draw method, and the like.

In the same method, first, the strip-shaped glass film is molded by the down-draw method, and then the strip-shaped glass film is conveyed in the vertical direction. Next, as shown in FIG. 7, by passing the catenary 100 having an arc-shaped transport trajectory through the strip-shaped glass film G, the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film G is changed from the vertical direction D1 to the horizontal direction D2. In the form shown in the figure, the catenary 100 is a plurality of transport rollers 100a arranged along the transport track. After that, although not shown, the selvages Ga existing at both ends in the width direction are divided and removed while the strip-shaped glass film G is conveyed in the lateral direction D2. Finally, the strip-shaped glass film G from which the selvage portion Ga has been removed is wound into a roll to form a glass roll.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-132531

By the way, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the following problems to be solved have occurred.

In the same method, as shown in FIG. 7, wrinkles C (shown by cross-hatching in the figure) extending vertically may be inevitably formed in the strip-shaped glass film G being conveyed in the vertical direction D1. .. In this case, when the wrinkle C enters the catenary 100 with the transportation of the strip-shaped glass film G, there is no place for the wrinkle C, and the lower end of the wrinkle C has a beak-like shape. When such a state occurs, a stress exceeding an allowable range acts on the strip-shaped glass film G, and the strip-shaped glass film G may be damaged.

The technical problem to be solved in view of the above circumstances is that when the glass film is manufactured, the manufacturing process includes a step of changing the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. It is to prevent the strip-shaped glass film from being damaged due to the execution.

The glass film manufacturing method for solving the above problems includes a molding step of forming a strip-shaped glass film by a down-draw method, a vertical transport step of vertically transporting the strip-shaped glass film, and a strip-shaped glass after the vertical transport step. By passing a catheter having an arc-shaped transport trajectory through the film, a direction changing step of changing the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction and a strip-shaped glass film after the direction-changing step are transported in the horizontal direction. It is a method including a lateral transfer step, further including a wrinkle removing step of eliminating wrinkles of the strip-shaped glass film entering the catenary, and in the wrinkle removing step, on the downstream side of the catenary in the transport path of the strip-shaped glass film. The strip-shaped glass film is characterized in that a tension is applied to the strip-shaped glass film toward the outside in the width direction with respect to the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film.

In this method, since the strip-shaped glass film is pulled in the width direction by executing the wrinkle removing step, the wrinkles of the strip-shaped glass film that enter the catenary can be eliminated. As a result, it is possible to prevent the strip-shaped glass film from being damaged due to the execution of the direction changing step.

In the above method, in the wrinkle removing step, the wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with the band-shaped glass film on the downstream side of the catenary in the transport path of the strip-shaped glass film, and the wrinkle-removing roller is used with respect to the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film. It is preferable to have a feeding direction inclined outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film.

By doing so, the wrinkles of the strip-shaped glass film entering the catenary can be erased by executing the wrinkle removing process. More specifically, in the wrinkle removing step, the wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film. The wrinkle removing roller has a feeding direction inclined outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film with respect to the transporting direction of the strip-shaped glass film. Therefore, the strip-shaped glass film is inevitably pulled in the width direction due to the contact with the wrinkle removing roller. Wrinkles are eliminated by the tension at this time. As a result, it is possible to prevent the strip-shaped glass film from being damaged due to the execution of the direction changing step. Here, in this method, since the wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film on the downstream side of the catenary in the transport path of the strip-shaped glass film, the following effects can be obtained as a secondary effect. That is, if the strip-shaped glass film is damaged before entering the catenary (molding process or vertical transport process), the glass pieces and glass powder generated by the breakage will fall onto the catenary from above. However, since the wrinkle removing roller is located on the downstream side of the catenary, that is, at a position laterally displaced from the catenary, the risk of damage to the wrinkle removing roller due to glass fragments or glass powder can be accurately eliminated.

In the above method, in the wrinkle removing step, a pair of wrinkle removing rollers arranged symmetrically with respect to the widthwise center line of the strip-shaped glass film is used on one side end portion and the other side end portion in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film. , It is preferable to bring the wrinkle removing rollers into contact with each other.

By doing so, the strip-shaped glass film can be pulled in a well-balanced manner on one side and the other side in the width direction with the contact with the wrinkle removing roller. Therefore, when the wrinkle removing step is executed, it is possible to eliminate the fear that the strip-shaped glass film is skewed with respect to the transport direction. Further, since the pair of wrinkle removing rollers come into contact with one side end portion and the other side end portion in the width direction of the strip glass film, respectively, the strip glass film can be reliably pulled in the width direction.

In the above method, the wrinkle removing roller can switch between a contact state in which it is in contact with the strip-shaped glass film and a non-contact state in which it is not in contact with the strip-shaped glass film. It is preferable to bring the taking rollers into contact with each other intermittently.

By doing so, since the wrinkle removing roller is intermittently brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film, the tension acting on the strip-shaped glass film also acts intermittently. Therefore, tension acts intermittently on the strip-shaped glass film, and it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the molding of the strip-shaped glass film is adversely affected.

In the above method, in the wrinkle removing step, it is preferable that the time for maintaining the contact state is longer than the time for maintaining the non-contact state.

This is advantageous in preventing damage to the strip-shaped glass film while accurately eliminating the possibility of adversely affecting the molding of the strip-shaped glass film described above.

In the above method, in the wrinkle removing step, it is preferable to use a belt conveyor and sandwich the strip-shaped glass film between the wrinkle removing roller and the belt conveyor in the thickness direction.

By doing so, since the strip-shaped glass film is sandwiched between the wrinkle-removing roller and the belt conveyor in the thickness direction, it is possible to reliably and effectively apply tension to the strip-shaped glass film upon contact with the wrinkle-removing roller. Become.

In the above method, in the wrinkle removing step, the second wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with the band-shaped glass film by a catenary, and the second wrinkle removing roller is outside the width direction of the band-shaped glass film with respect to the transport direction of the band-shaped glass film. It is preferable to have a feed direction inclined to.

By doing so, tension can be applied to the strip-shaped glass film not only by the wrinkle removing roller but also by the second wrinkle removing roller. Therefore, it is further advantageous in eliminating the wrinkles of the strip-shaped glass film.

In the above method, it is preferable to use a free roller as the second wrinkle removing roller and always bring the second wrinkle removing roller into contact with the strip-shaped glass film in the wrinkle removing step.

By doing so, by using a free roller as the second wrinkle removing roller, it is possible to suppress the equipment cost as much as possible. Further, since the second wrinkle removing roller is a free roller, it is possible to prevent an excessive tension from acting on the strip-shaped glass film. Further, by constantly contacting the second wrinkle removing roller with the strip-shaped glass film, it is possible to stably apply tension to the strip-shaped glass film on the catenary where the behavior tends to be unstable.

In the above method, in the wrinkle removing step, the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film by a catenary, a spiral groove is formed on the peripheral surface of the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller, and the groove is formed by the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller. It is preferable that the strip-shaped glass film is formed so as to deviate outward in the width direction from the center line in the width direction toward the rear side of the rotation.

In this way, in addition to the wrinkle removing roller and the second wrinkle removing roller, the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller can also exert tension on the strip-shaped glass film. Therefore, it is more advantageous in eliminating the wrinkles of the strip-shaped glass film.

Further, the glass film manufacturing method for solving the above problems includes a molding step of forming a strip-shaped glass film by a down-draw method, a vertical transport step of transporting the strip-shaped glass film in the vertical direction, and a method after the vertical transport step. A direction changing step of changing the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction by passing the catenary having an arc-shaped transport trajectory through the strip-shaped glass film, and the strip-shaped glass film after the direction-changing step in the horizontal direction. It is a method including a horizontal transport step of transporting, and further includes a wrinkle removing step of eliminating wrinkles of the strip-shaped glass film entering the catenary. On the other hand, it is characterized in that a tension toward the outside in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film is applied to the strip-shaped glass film.

Also by this method, it is possible to prevent the strip-shaped glass film from being damaged due to the execution of the direction changing step for the same reason as the above-mentioned method for manufacturing the glass film.

According to the method for manufacturing a glass film according to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the strip-shaped glass film from being damaged due to the execution of the direction changing step when the glass film is manufactured.

It is a side view which shows the manufacturing method of the glass film which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the direction change process and the wrinkle removal process in the manufacturing method of the glass film which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the wrinkle removal process in the manufacturing method of the glass film which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the wrinkle removal process in the manufacturing method of the glass film which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the direction change process and the wrinkle removal process in the manufacturing method of the glass film which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the wrinkle removal process in the manufacturing method of the glass film which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a perspective view for demonstrating a conventional problem.

Hereinafter, the method for manufacturing the glass film according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the attached drawings. First, a method for manufacturing a glass film according to the first embodiment will be described.

<First Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 1, the glass film manufacturing method according to the first embodiment includes a molding step P1 for forming a strip-shaped glass film G by an overflow downdraw method and a vertical transport for transporting the strip-shaped glass film G in the vertical direction D1. The direction changing step P3 and the catenary 1 in which the strip-shaped glass film G after the step P2 and the vertical transport step P2 are passed through the catenary 1 having an arc-shaped transport trajectory and the transport direction is changed from the vertical direction D1 to the horizontal direction D2. The wrinkle removing step P4 for erasing the wrinkles C of the strip-shaped glass film G entering the market, the lateral transport step P5 for transporting the strip-shaped glass film G after the direction change step P3 in the lateral direction D2, and the strip-shaped glass in the lateral transport step P5. The dividing / removing step P6 for dividing / removing the ineffective portion G1 from the film G and the strip-shaped glass film G from which the ineffective portion G1 is removed and consisting only of the effective portion G2 are wound around the winding core 2 to form a glass roll. It is provided with a winding process P7 as GR.

[Molding process]
In the molding step P1, the strip-shaped glass film G is mainly molded by using the wedge-shaped molded body 3 and a plurality of rollers 4 capable of sandwiching the strip-shaped glass SG flowing down from the molded body 3 from both the front and back sides. ..

The molded body 3 has a groove 3a for flowing the molten glass MG, a pair of side surface portions 3b and 3b for flowing down the molten glass MG overflowing from the groove 3a on both sides, and both side surface portions 3b and 3b. It has a lower end portion 3c for fusing the molten glass MG flowing down along the line. The molded body 3 can continuously generate a strip-shaped glass SG from the molten glass MG fused and integrated at the lower end portion 3c.

The plurality of rollers 4 are arranged in a plurality of upper and lower stages. The plurality of rollers 4 include an edge roller 4a, an annealer roller 4b, and a support roller 4c in order from the upper stage side. Each of the plurality of rollers 4 sandwiches a portion to be an ineffective portion G1 of the strip-shaped glass film G on one side and the other side in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass SG (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1). Is possible.

The edge roller 4a has a function of suppressing shrinkage of the strip-shaped glass SG in the width direction by sandwiching the strip-shaped glass SG directly under the molded body 3. The annealing roller 4b has a function of guiding the strip-shaped glass SG that is slowly cooled to a temperature below the strain point in the slow cooling furnace 5 downward. The Annealer roller 4b may sandwich the strip-shaped glass SG, or may simply regulate the swing of the strip-shaped glass SG along the thickness direction without sandwiching the strip-shaped glass SG. The support roller 4c has a function of supporting the strip-shaped glass SG whose temperature has dropped to near room temperature in a cooling chamber (not shown) arranged below the slow cooling furnace 5, and a speed of pulling the strip-shaped glass SG downward (plate pulling speed). ) Has the function of determining.

The strip-shaped glass SG that has passed through these plurality of rollers 4 is formed as the strip-shaped glass film G. Here, the strip-shaped glass film G is molded so as to have a thickness sufficient to impart flexibility, for example, to have a thickness of 300 μm or less. The strip-shaped glass film G has an effective portion G2 (a portion including a portion that will later become a product) existing in the center in the width direction and an ineffective portion G1 (later divided / removed) existing outside the effective portion G2 in the width direction. The boundary between the two parts G1 and G2 is shown by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). Further, in the non-effective portion G1, the selvage portion Ga having a thickness larger than that of other portions is formed on the widthwise edge of the strip-shaped glass film G.

In the present embodiment, the strip-shaped glass film G is formed by the overflow downdraw method, but as a modification of the present embodiment, the strip-shaped glass film G may be formed by the slot downdraw method, the redraw method, or the like. ..

[Vertical transfer process]
In the vertical transfer step P2, the strip-shaped glass film G that has passed through the support roller 4c is conveyed in the vertical direction D1 (downward) to just above the catenary 1.

[Direction change process]
In the direction changing step P3, the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film G is changed from the vertical direction D1 to the horizontal direction D2 by using the catenary 1 composed of a plurality of transport rollers 6 arranged in parallel. Here, in the present embodiment, a free roller is used as each of the plurality of transport rollers 6, but a drive roller may be used as a modification of the present embodiment.

Each of the plurality of transport rollers 6 transports the strip-shaped glass film G from the back surface Gb side along the arc-shaped transport trajectory, so that the surface Gc of the strip-shaped glass film G after passing through the transport track is upward. Change the transport direction so that it faces. Here, the surface Gc is a guaranteed surface that is a surface on the side where a transparent electrode film or the like is formed in a glass film finally manufactured as a product.

[Wrinkle removal process]
As shown in FIG. 2, in the wrinkle removing step P4, the wrinkle removing roller 7 and the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8 are used to erase the wrinkles C of the strip-shaped glass film G.

The wrinkle removing roller 7 is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film G from the surface Gc side (upper surface side) on the downstream side of the catenary 1 in the transport path of the strip-shaped glass film G. More specifically, the wrinkle removing roller 7 is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film G transferred onto the belt conveyor 9 after passing through the catenary 1 from the surface Gc side. When the wrinkle removing roller 7 is brought into contact with the band-shaped glass film G, the band-shaped glass film G can be sandwiched between the wrinkle removing roller 7 and the belt conveyor 9 in the thickness direction. The wrinkle removing roller 7 is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film G so that a pressure that does not cause local deformation is applied to the strip-shaped glass film G.

A pair of wrinkle removing rollers 7 are arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to the widthwise center line Gt of the strip-shaped glass film G. The pair of wrinkle removing rollers 7 and 7 are brought into contact with one side end portion and the other side end portion in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film G, respectively. Specifically, the wrinkle removing roller 7 is brought into contact with the non-effective portion G1 located inside the selvage portion Ga in the width direction at each of the one side end portion and the other side end portion. In this way, the wrinkle removing roller 7 is prevented from coming into contact with the effective portion G2 of the strip-shaped glass film G. As a modification of the present embodiment, a plurality of pairs of wrinkle removing rollers 7 arranged along the transport path of the strip-shaped glass film G may be used.

The wrinkle removing roller 7 has a feeding direction inclined outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film G with respect to the transporting direction of the strip-shaped glass film G. In other words, the axis of the wrinkle removing roller 7 is tilted with respect to the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film G. As a result, the tension T acts on the strip-shaped glass film G along the width direction with the contact with the wrinkle removing roller 7. Due to this tension T, the wrinkles C of the strip-shaped glass film G entering the catenary 1 are stretched and erased. As a result, it is possible to prevent the strip-shaped glass film G from being damaged due to the execution of the direction changing step P3. A drive roller is used as the wrinkle removing roller 7. The wrinkle removing roller 7 is driven with a torque that does not pull the strip-shaped glass film G in the longitudinal direction. As a modification of the present embodiment, the wrinkle removing roller 7 may be a free roller.

Here, as the material of the wrinkle removing roller 7, for example, stainless steel or aluminum can be adopted. However, this is not limited to this, and as the material of the wrinkle removing roller 7, another metal may be adopted, or a material other than the metal may be adopted. Further, in order to adjust the magnitude of the tension T, for example, a tape or the like may be wound around the peripheral surface of the wrinkle removing roller 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, the angle θ formed by the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film G and the feed direction of the wrinkle removing roller 7 is preferably in the range of 10 ° to 45 °, preferably 15 ° to 40 °. It is more preferably within the range, and most preferably within the range of 20 ° to 35 °. This is to eliminate the possibility that the smooth transfer of the strip-shaped glass film G is hindered by the contact with the wrinkle removing roller 7. Further, for the purpose of effectively eliminating the wrinkles C of the strip-shaped glass film G entering the catenary 1, the wrinkle removing roller 7 and the transport roller 6 arranged on the most downstream side of the plurality of transport rollers 6 The mutual distance L is preferably 1000 mm or less.

As shown in FIG. 4, the wrinkle removing roller 7 is in a contact state (state shown by a solid line) in a state of being in contact with the strip-shaped glass film G and a non-contact state (state shown by a two-dot chain line) in a state of not being in contact with the strip-shaped glass film G. It is possible to switch between. In the present embodiment, the contact state and the non-contact state are switched as the wrinkle removing roller 7 moves up and down. By switching between these two states, the wrinkle removing roller 7 can be intermittently brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film G. Switching between the two states may be periodic or aperiodic. In this embodiment, both states are periodically switched. At this time, the time for maintaining the contact state is made longer than the time for maintaining the non-contact state. Here, as an example of the time t1 for continuing the contact state and the time t2 for continuing the non-contact state, t1 is 1s to 3s and t2 is 0.5s to 2s, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8 is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film G from the back surface Gb side (bottom surface side) by the catenary 1. The auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8 in the present embodiment is one of a plurality of transport rollers 6 constituting the catenary 1. In the present embodiment, among the plurality of transport rollers 6, the transport roller 6 located in the center is the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8. Of course, this is not limited, and any of the plurality of transport rollers 6 may be the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8. As a modification of this embodiment, the number of auxiliary wrinkle removing rollers 8 may be a plurality.

A spiral groove 8a is formed on the peripheral surface of the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8. The groove 8a is formed so as to move outward from the widthwise center line Gt of the strip-shaped glass film G so as to move to the rearward side of rotation of the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8. The grooves 8a are formed on both one side and the other side with the width direction center line Gt interposed therebetween, and the spiral winding directions of the groove 8a on one side and the groove 8a on the other side are opposite to each other. ing. As a result, the magnitude of the tension T acting on the strip-shaped glass film G is amplified with the contact with the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8. The length of the range in which the groove 8a is formed (the length along the axial direction) in the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8 is longer than the total width of the strip-shaped glass film G. However, this is not limited, and the length of the range in which the groove 8a is formed may be shorter than the total width of the strip-shaped glass film G.

Here, as the material of the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8, for example, silicon rubber, nitrile rubber, chloroprene rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, butyl rubber, styrene rubber, hyperon rubber, fluororubber, and urethane can be adopted. As a modification of the present embodiment, instead of forming the groove 8a on the peripheral surface of the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8, a narrow tape is spirally wound around the peripheral surface, and the adjacent tapes are connected to each other with the groove 8a. It may be.

[Horizontal transport process]
As shown in FIG. 1, in the lateral transfer step P5, the belt-shaped glass film G is conveyed in the lateral direction D2 (horizontal direction) by the belt conveyor 9, the belt conveyor 10, and the belt conveyor 11. In the present embodiment, the strip-shaped glass film G is transported in the horizontal direction in the horizontal transport step P5, but as a modification of the present embodiment, the strip-shaped glass film G is transported in a direction inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. In some cases.

[Division / removal process]
In the dividing / removing step P6, the ineffective portion G1 is divided / removed from the strip-shaped glass film G by the laser cutting method.

A laser irradiator 12 and a refrigerant injector 13 installed above the belt conveyor 10 are used to execute the dividing / removing step P6. The laser irradiator 12 continuously irradiates the laser 12a along the boundary between the effective portion G2 and the ineffective portion G1 of the strip-shaped glass film G that passes below the laser irradiator 12. The refrigerant injector 13 continuously injects the refrigerant 13a (for example, mist-like water) to the portion of the strip-shaped glass film G irradiated with the laser 12a.

As a result, thermal stress is generated in the strip-shaped glass film G by utilizing the temperature difference between the portion heated by the laser 12a and the portion cooled by the refrigerant 13a. Then, the split portion (the portion where the effective portion G2 and the ineffective portion G1 are separated) is continuously formed along the boundary between the effective portion G2 and the ineffective portion G1 due to the thermal stress. In this way, the strip-shaped glass film G is continuously cut along the longitudinal direction.

The strip-shaped glass film G (the strip-shaped glass film G consisting of only the effective portion G2) from which the ineffective portion G1 is divided and removed is transferred from the belt conveyor 10 to the belt conveyor 11. On the other hand, the ineffective portion G1 removed from the strip-shaped glass film G is not transferred to the belt conveyor 11, but is separated downward from the transport path of the strip-shaped glass film G and then discarded.

[Winding process]
In the winding step P7, the strip-shaped glass film G is wound mainly by using the winding core 2 and the sheet roll 14. More specifically, the strip-shaped glass film G carried out from the belt conveyor 11 is superposed on the protective sheet 14a continuously unwound from the sheet roll 14, and then wound into a roll around the winding core 2 to form a glass roll. Let it be GR.

After that, a product-sized glass film is cut out from the strip-shaped glass film G unwound from the glass roll GR, and the cut glass film is cleaned and inspected to finally produce a glass film to be a product. Will be done. As described above, all the steps of the glass film manufacturing method according to the present embodiment are completed.

<Second embodiment>
Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a glass film according to the second embodiment will be described. In the description of the second embodiment, for the elements already explained in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the drawings referred to in the description of the second embodiment, so that the duplicate description is omitted. Only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the method for producing the glass film according to the second embodiment is different from the above-mentioned first embodiment in the wrinkle removing step P4 in the catenary 1 with respect to the strip-shaped glass film G. This is a point where the second wrinkle removing roller 15 is brought into contact with the surface Gc side. The second wrinkle removing roller 15 cooperates with the transport roller 6 to maintain a state in which the strip-shaped glass film G is sandwiched in the thickness direction. Like the wrinkle-removing roller 7, the second wrinkle-removing roller 15 has a feeding direction inclined outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film G with respect to the transporting direction of the strip-shaped glass film G. As a result, the magnitude of the tension T acting on the strip-shaped glass film G is amplified with the contact with the second wrinkle removing roller 15.

The second wrinkle removing roller 15 is arranged closer to the downstream side in the catenary 1. Of course, this is not limited to this, and the second wrinkle removing roller 15 may be arranged closer to the upstream side in the catenary 1 or may be arranged in the center. The second wrinkle-removing roller 15 has substantially the same configuration as the wrinkle-removing roller 7, but (1) it is a free roller instead of a drive roller, and (2) it is always in contact with the strip-shaped glass film G rather than intermittently. It is different from the wrinkle removal roller 7 in two points. However, this is not limited to this, and a drive roller may be used as the second wrinkle removing roller 15, or the second wrinkle removing roller 15 may be intermittently brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film G.

<Third embodiment>
Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a glass film according to a third embodiment will be described. In the description of the third embodiment, for the elements already explained in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the drawings referred to in the description of the third embodiment, so that the duplicate description is omitted. Only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, the method of manufacturing the glass film according to the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above in that two transport rollers are used between the catenary 1 and the belt conveyor 9. It is a point where 16 is arranged. Each of the two transport rollers 16 comes into contact with the strip-shaped glass film G from the back surface Gb side (bottom surface side). Each transport roller 16 includes three small rollers 16a, 16b, 16c arranged along the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film G. In this embodiment, two transport rollers 16 are arranged, but the number of transport rollers 16 may be only one or three or more. Further, the transport roller 16 may be a free roller or a drive roller.

Of the three small rollers 16a, 16b, 16c, the two small rollers 16a, 16c arranged at both ends are fed so as to be inclined outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film G with respect to the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film G, respectively. Has a direction. As a result, the magnitude of the tension T acting on the strip-shaped glass film G is amplified by the contact with both the small rollers 16a and 16c. That is, both small rollers 16a and 16c function as wrinkle removing rollers. Both small rollers 16a and 16c are arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to the widthwise center line Gt of the strip-shaped glass film G. On the other hand, the feeding direction of the small roller 16b arranged in the center coincides with the transporting direction of the strip-shaped glass film G. The small roller 16b is not essential and may be omitted.

Here, the angle α at which the feed directions of the two small rollers 16a and 16c are inclined with respect to the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film G is preferably in the range of 1 ° to 30 °, and is preferably 5 ° to 20 °. It is more preferably within the range, and most preferably within the range of 10 ° to 15 °. This is to eliminate the possibility that the smooth transfer of the strip-shaped glass film G is hindered by the contact with both the small rollers 16a and 16c. If the tilt angles of both the small rollers 16a and 16c are made too large, there is a possibility that the space between the small rollers 16b and the catenary 1 or the space between the belt conveyor 9 and the catenary 1 is too large. In the present embodiment, the size of the angle α is the same between the two transport rollers 16, but the size of the angle α may be different as a modification.

The two transport rollers 16 are both arranged in the arc-shaped transport track formed by the catenary 1. The transport surface of each transport roller 16 is located higher than the transport surface of the belt conveyor 9. Of course, this is not limited, and as an example, the transport surface of the transport roller 16 on the downstream side (most downstream side) of the two may be located at the same height as the transport surface of the belt conveyor 9.

In the present embodiment, the two transport rollers 16 are both separate from the catenary 1 and have a structure independent of the catenary 1. Thereby, for example, when the catenary 1 is retracted (when the catenary 1 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow of D2 shown in FIG. 1) during maintenance / inspection of the catenary 1, the catenary 1 is configured. While the plurality of transport rollers 6 are retracted, the two transport rollers 16 are left at positions adjacent to the belt conveyor 9. Of course, this is not limited to this, and the two transport rollers 16 may be configured to retract integrally with the catenary 1. That is, the configuration may be such that the two transport rollers 16 are a part of the catenary 1.

Here, it is also possible to apply the following modification to the method for manufacturing a glass film according to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the wrinkle removing roller 7 and the second wrinkle removing roller 15 are brought into contact with the band-shaped glass film G from the front surface Gc side, and the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8 is brought into contact with the band-shaped glass film G on the back surface Gb. It is in contact from the side, but this is not the case. The wrinkle removing roller 7 and the second wrinkle removing roller 15 may be brought into contact with the band-shaped glass film G from the back surface Gb side, and the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8 may be brought into contact with the band-shaped glass film G from the front surface Gc side.

Further, as a modification of the second embodiment described above, of the wrinkle removing roller 7 and the second wrinkle removing roller 15, only the second wrinkle removing roller 15 is used to wrinkle the band-shaped glass film G that enters the catenary 1. C may be erased. Further, in the first to third embodiments described above, the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller 8 is not essential and may be omitted.

1 Catenary 7 Wrinkle removal roller 8 Auxiliary wrinkle removal roller 8a Groove 9 Belt conveyor 15 Second wrinkle removal roller 16a Small roller 16c Small roller C Wrinkle D1 Vertical direction D2 Horizontal direction G Band-shaped glass film Gt Width direction center line P1 Vertical direction P2 Conveyor process P3 Direction change process P4 Wrinkle removal process P5 Horizontal transfer process

Claims (10)

The molding process of molding a strip-shaped glass film by the down draw method,
The vertical transport process for transporting the strip-shaped glass film in the vertical direction and
A direction changing step of changing the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction by passing a catenary having an arc-shaped transport trajectory through the strip-shaped glass film after the vertical transport step.
A lateral transfer step of laterally conveying the strip-shaped glass film after the direction change step, and a lateral transfer step.
It is a manufacturing method of a glass film equipped with
Further provided with a wrinkle removing step for erasing the wrinkles of the strip-shaped glass film entering the catenary.
In the wrinkle removing step, the tension toward the outside in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film with respect to the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film is applied to the strip-shaped glass film on the downstream side of the catenary in the transport path of the strip-shaped glass film. A method for producing a glass film, which comprises applying. In the wrinkle removing step, the wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film on the downstream side of the catenary in the transport path of the strip-shaped glass film.
The method for producing a glass film according to claim 1, wherein the wrinkle removing roller has a feeding direction inclined outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film with respect to the transporting direction of the strip-shaped glass film. In the wrinkle removing step, a pair of the wrinkle removing rollers arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film is used.
The method for producing a glass film according to claim 2, wherein the wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with one side end portion and the other side end portion in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film, respectively. The wrinkle removing roller can switch between a contact state in which it is in contact with the strip-shaped glass film and a non-contact state in which it is not in contact with the strip-shaped glass film.
The method for producing a glass film according to claim 2 or 3, wherein in the wrinkle removing step, the wrinkle removing roller is intermittently brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film. The method for producing a glass film according to claim 4, wherein in the wrinkle removing step, the time for maintaining the contact state is made longer than the time for maintaining the non-contact state. In the wrinkle removal process, a belt conveyor is used.
The method for producing a glass film according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the strip-shaped glass film is sandwiched between the wrinkle removing roller and the belt conveyor in the thickness direction. In the wrinkle removing step, the second wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film by the catenary.
The second wrinkle removing roller according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the second wrinkle removing roller has a feeding direction inclined outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film with respect to the transporting direction of the strip-shaped glass film. How to make a glass film. A free roller is used as the second wrinkle removing roller.
The method for producing a glass film according to claim 7, wherein in the wrinkle removing step, the second wrinkle removing roller is always in contact with the strip-shaped glass film. In the wrinkle removing step, the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller is brought into contact with the strip-shaped glass film by the catenary.
A spiral groove is formed on the peripheral surface of the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller.
Claims 2 to 8 are characterized in that the groove is formed so as to deviate outward in the width direction from the center line in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film so as to move to the rearward side of rotation of the auxiliary wrinkle removing roller. The method for producing a glass film according to any one of the above. The molding process of molding a strip-shaped glass film by the down draw method,
The vertical transport process for transporting the strip-shaped glass film in the vertical direction and
A direction changing step of changing the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction by passing a catenary having an arc-shaped transport trajectory through the strip-shaped glass film after the vertical transport step.
A lateral transfer step of laterally conveying the strip-shaped glass film after the direction change step, and a lateral transfer step.
It is a manufacturing method of a glass film equipped with
Further provided with a wrinkle removing step for erasing the wrinkles of the strip-shaped glass film entering the catenary.
In the wrinkle removing step, the glass film is manufactured by applying a tension to the strip-shaped glass film toward the outside in the width direction of the strip-shaped glass film with respect to the transport direction of the strip-shaped glass film in the category. Method.

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