Gas floated workpiece supporting apparatus and noncontact workpiece support method
AssigneeThe Japan Steel Works, Ltd.
InventorsYuki Suzuki, Sadao Tanigawa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
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.
Claims13
A gas floated workpiece supporting apparatus comprising:
- a gas upward ejector ejecting gas upward;
- a gas downward ejector located at an upper side from the gas upward ejector and ejecting gas downward;
- and
- a gas flow adjusting section that is capable of adjusting at least a gas blowout flow rate and pressure of the gas upward ejector and the gas downward ejector,
- wherein:
- the gas downward ejector and the gas upward ejector are arranged such that, in a state in which a plate-shaped work piece is floated and supported by the gas floated work piece supporting apparatus, the gas downward ejector ejects the gas downward from above the plate-shaped workpiece and applies pressure to the plate-shaped workpiece that is floated and supported by the gas ejected from the gas upward ejector;
- a part of the gas upward ejector is arranged in a region beside and below a working area for the plate-shaped workpiece, blowing out the gas upward;
- the gas downward ejector is arranged in a region which corresponds to a part of the region where the gas upward ejector is arranged, except for in the working area of the plate-shaped workpiece;
- the gas downward ejector and the gas upward ejector are arranged such that, in the state in which the plate-shaped workpiece is floated and supported by the gas floated work piece supporting apparatus, the plate-shaped work piece is sandwiched between the gas downward ejector and the gas upward ejector on both sides of the working area for the plate-shaped workpiece, and excluding the working area;
- and
- the gas flow adjusting section is capable of adjusting at least one of the gas blowout flow rate and pressure individually for each of ejection holes through which gas flows, or for every predetermined number of the ejection holes, in the gas upward ejector and the gas downward ejector, at least in a region beside the working area.
A noncontact workpiece support method comprising ejecting gas to a plate-shaped workpiece from above and below the plate-shaped workpiece respectively, to float and support the plate-shaped workpiece in a noncontact manner while the plate-shaped workpiece is sandwiched by the gas,
- wherein ejecting the gas from below the plate-shaped workpiece comprises ejecting the gas upward from a region including an area below a working area for the plate-shaped workpiece, and
- wherein ejecting the gas from above the plate-shaped workpiece comprises ejecting the gas from an area except for the working area for the plate-shaped workpiece and in correspondence with a part of the region where the gas is ejected upward from below the workpiece.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.