US20070090065A1

US20070090065A1 - Cassette

Info

Publication number: US20070090065A1
Application number: US11/163,515
Authority: US
Inventors: Yi-Wei Lin; Ching-Lien Chen
Original assignee: Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd
Current assignee: Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd
Priority date: 2005-10-21
Filing date: 2005-10-21
Publication date: 2007-04-26

Abstract

A cassette for placing a glass substrate, which includes an upper frame, a lower frame the same as the upper frame, and four pillars standing between the upper and lower frames to form asapce. The cassette fabricated structure further includes a plurality of rib racks set up on lateral sides of the upper and lower frames, a plurality of ribs set up on the rib rack, and grooves formed by adjacent ribs for placing the glass substrate.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cassette, and more particularly, to a glass substrate cassette, which can be assembled or disassembled quickly and easily.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The glass substrate plays an important role in the LCD and the PDP panel monitor industry, and has a role similar to the wafer of the semiconductor industry. The glass substrate is delivered several times between different tools during each process in manufacturing.
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a front view diagram of a cassette 100 according to the prior art. The cassette 100 comprises a frame 102, rib 104 and a slot 106. The frame 102 is a complete cube frame sapce, which is made using twelve metal sticks for assembling the twelve edges of the cube. The left and right opposite lateral sides of the frame 102 further comprise a plurality of ribs 104. Each set of ribs 104 are disposed at the same height, are create a panel. A slot is created between each panel and the panel above it, and the slot is able to contain a glass substrate. The prior art cassette 100, frame 102, and ribs 104 are welded together, and cannot be disassembled easily. In the 6th generation, the glass substrate cassette has had a width of 1633 millimeters, a depth of 1960 millimeters, and a height of 2200 millimeters. Even, if the cassette 100 does not carry any glass substrates, the weight of it is 247 kilograms. That restricts the prior art cassette to being moved only by a stocker, a rail guided vehicle (RGV), or an automatic guiding vehicle (AGV).
Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is an overlook diagram of the cassette according to the prior art. Each glass substrate 108 is supported ribs 104 on the left and right sides of the frame 102. When the glass substrate 108 is held by the ribs 104, a rail guided vehicle can move whole frame 102, and the glass substrates 108 in the frame 102 can move to an appropriate position. Then, a robot 200 will line up each glass substrate 108 to move it to the appropriate position for manufacturing.
If the stocker, the rail guided vehicle (RGV), or the automatic guiding vehicle (AGV) are broken, people can still move the 4th or 5th generation vacant cassettes by hand. However, as above mentioned, the weight of the 6th generation vacant cassette is 247 kilograms. It only can be moved by machine vehicles, and people are not able to move the cassette by hand. This causes process delays and the quality of products is influenced. So, how to design a mobile glass substrate cassette for solving this problem is an important topic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cassette, and more particularly, to a glass substrate cassette, which can be assembled or disassembled quickly and easily.
The present invention provides a cassette, which comprises an upper frame, a lower frame the same as the upper frame, and four pillars standing between the upper and lower frames to form asapce. The cassette fabricated structure further comprises a plurality of rib racks set up on lateral sides of the upper and lower frames, a plurality of ribs set up on the rib rack, and grooves formed by adjacent ribs for placing the glass substrate.
The weight of the cassette according to the present invention is only a little more than 30 kilograms. Comparing with the 247 kilograms of the 6th generation cassette according to the prior art, the present invention is lighter. The present invention can be assembled or be disassembled quickly and easily, so the mobility increases. When the machine vehicle is broken, the present invention cassette can be moved by people or can be disassembled. So, the present invention can achieve the prior art effect, but has lighter weight and higher mobility.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view diagram of a cassette according to the prior art.
FIG. 2 is an overlook diagram of the cassette according to the prior art.
FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional diagram of a cassette according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the triangular rib rack combined with the lower frame according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a three dimensional schematic diagram of the skid-proof cover and the orientation cover fixed on the rib.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional diagram of a cassette according to the present invention. The cassette 300 comprises a plane upper frame 302, a plane lower frame 304, four vertical pillars 306, a plurality of rib fixed racks 308, a plurality of ribs 310, a plurality of triangular rib racks 314, and a plurality of triangular pillar racks 316. Furthermore, the upper frame 302 and lower frame 304 are identical rectangular frames, the upper frame 302 disposed on top of the cassette 300, the lower frame 304 is disposed on bottom. Four square metal pillars are pillars 306 of a cube, and all of them combine to form the cube frame sapce. The upper frame 302, the lower frame 304 and each pillar 306 are combined with the triangular pillar rack 316. The triangular pillar rack 316 helps each pillar 306 to be assembled or disassembled with the upper frame 302 and the lower frame 304. In the other embodiment of the present invention, the pillar rack 316 is not necessary. The upper frame 302, the lower frame 304, and each pillar 306 are able to combine together, without the pillar rack 316. Moreover, the left and opposite right lateral sides of the upper frame 302 and the lower frame 304 further combine with rib fixed racks 308. The rib fixed rack 308 is assembled or disassembled with the triangular rib rack 314 using a screw or a tenon. The triangular rack 314 is also assembled with the upper frame 302 or the lower frame 304 using a screw or a tenon. In addition, the rib fixed rack 308 is assembled with the stainless steel rib 310 using a screw or a tenon. The ribs 310 are each the same height, create a panel, and form slots 312 between each panel and the panel above it. The slot 312 can contain a glass substrate 318. Each glass substrate 318 can be supported by eight ribs 310 of left and opposite right lateral sides. The cassette 300 can carry the glass substrate.
As FIG. 3 shows, in the embodiment of the present invention, the size of the upper frame 302 and lower frame 304 of the cassette 300 can be rectangular in shape, and have a width of 1633 millimeters and a depth of 1960 millimeters. The pillar 306 has a height of 2124 millimeters. The distance between adjacent rib racks is 500 millimeters. So, one lateral side of the upper frame 302 can have four rib fixed racks 308, and the opposite lateral side can have the other four rib fixed racks 308. The height of the rib fixed rack 308 is 237 millimeters, and the rib fixed rack 308 is assembled with the rib 310 with a screw or a tenon. The distance between adjacent ribs is 68 millimeters, and one rib fixed rack 308 can be used to assemble three ribs 310. The slot 312 can contain the glass substrate 318. The lower frame 304 has the same rib fixed rack 308 and the rib 310 in positions corresponding to those of the upper frame 3025. The construction of the cube frame can contain the glass substrate 318 safely, and the glass substrate 318 can be transported easily.
Please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the triangular rib rack combined with the lower frame 304 according to the present invention. The rib fixed rack 308 is assembled with the triangular rib rack 314 with a screw or a tenon, and the triangular rib rack 314 and the rib fixed rack 308 are assembled with the lower frame 304 with a screw or a tenon to fix the triangular rib rack 314 on the lower frame 304. As FIG. 4 shows, the rib 310 is embedded into the rib fixed rack 308, and a screw (not shown) is inserted into a screw aperture 402 to fix the rib 310 on the fixed rib rack 308. Of course, that is able to use the tenon (not shown) to achieve the same goal. This kind of combination allows the present invention to be assembled and disassembled easily and quickly.
Please refer to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a three dimensional schematic diagram of the skid-proof cover 502 and the orientation cover 506 fixed on the rib 310. As FIG. 5 shows, each rib 310 has an orientation cover fillister 508 and two skid-proof cover fillisters 504. The orientation cover 506 is embedded into the orientation cover fillister 508, and the skid-proof cover is embedded into the skid-proof cover fillister 504. The skid-proof cover 502 is made out of PVC or rubber. This material can increase the friction between the glass substrate (not shown) and the rib 310, and prevent the glass substrate (not shown) from being scraped. Otherwise, the orientation cover 506 can also be made from plastic or rubber. The orientation cover 506 further comprises a vertical block 510, which is perpendicular to the rib 310. When the glass substrate (not shown) is placed on the rib 310, the vertical block 510 can prevent the glass substrate (not shown) from falling. In this embodiment, the rib 310 is assembled with the pillar 306, a screw is inserted into a screw aperture 402 to fix the rib 310, and the pillar 306 is assembled with the lower frame 304 by the triangular rib rack 314.
The weight of the cassette according to the present invention is only a little more than 30 kilograms. Comparing with the 247 kilograms of the 6th generation cassette according to the prior art, the present invention cassette is lighter. The present invention cassette can be assembled or be disassembled quickly and easily, so the mobility increases. When the machines vehicle is broken, the present invention can be moved by people or can be disassembled. So, the present invention can achieve the prior art effect, but has lighter weight, higher mobility, easier enlargement, easier disassembly, and easier combination.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Claims

1. The cassette for placing a glass substrate comprising:

an upper frame;

a lower frame;

a plurality of pillars between the upper frame and the lower frame for fabricating a sapce;

a plurality of rib fixed racks individually disposed on two lateral sides of the upper frame and the lower frame; and

a plurality of ribs disposed on the rib fixed racks to extend into the sapce for placing the glass substrate.

2. The cassette of claim 1, wherein the upper frame and the lower frame are identical frames.

3. The cassette of claim 1, wherein the identical frame is a rectangular quadrangle.

4. The cassette of claim 1, wherein the pillars are capable of being assembled and disassembled with the upper frame and the lower frame.

5. The cassette of claim 3, wherein the cassette further comprises a plurality of triangular pillar racks for assembling the pillars with the upper frame and the lower frame.

6. The cassette of claim 4, wherein the triangular pillar rack is assembled with the pillar, the upper frame and the lower frame with a plurality of screws and a plurality of tenons.

7. The cassette of claim 1, wherein the rib fixed rack is capable of being assembled and disassembled with the upper frame and the lower frame.

8. The cassette of claim 6, wherein the cassette further comprises a plurality of triangular rib racks for assembling the rib fixed racks with the upper frame and the lower frame.

9. The cassette of claim 7, wherein the triangular rib rack is assembled with the rib fixed rack, the upper frame and the lower frame with a plurality of screws and a plurality of tenons.

10. The cassette of claim 1, wherein each rib is assembled with the rib fixed rack with a screw and a tenon.

11. The cassette of claim 9, wherein the ribs are made from stainless steel.

12. The cassette of claim 1, wherein the cassette further comprises a plurality of skid-proof covers and a plurality of orientation covers, which are capable of being assembled and disassembled with the ribs.

13. The cassette of claim 11, wherein each of the ribs has an orientation cover fillister and a plurality of skid-proof cover fillisters.

14. The cassette of claim 11, wherein the skid-proof cover is a plastic cover or a rubber cover.

15. The cassette of claim 11, wherein the orientation covers are plastic covers or rubber covers, and each of the orientation covers further comprises a vertical block.

16. The cassette of claim 1, wherein the cassette is able to carry at least one glass substrate.

17. The cassette of claim 15, wherein the upper frame and the lower frame are rectangular frames, which have a width of 1633 millimeters, a depth of 1960 millimeters.

18. The cassette of claim 16, wherein the lateral sides of the upper frame and the lower frame have four rib fixed racks, and adjacent rib fixed racks are spaced 500 millimeters apart from each other.

19. The cassette of claim 16, wherein each of the rib fixed racks has three ribs, and adjacent ribs are spaced 68 millimeters apart from each other.

20. The cassette of claim 18, wherein two adjacent ribs form a slot to contain the glass substrate.