US 6,673,195 B2Granted

Apparatus and method for etching glass panels

AssigneeIndustrial Technologies Research Institute

InventorsTai-Hon Chen, Yuan-Chung Huang

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Abstract

An apparatus and a method for etching a plurality of glass panels are disclosed. The apparatus is constructed by mounting a panel holder in an etch tank equipped with a rotating means for rotating the panel holder during the etching process. The panel holder is adapted for receiving a plurality of glass panels and mounting the panels in a vertical position with at least two edges of the panels mounted in a plurality of tracks for protecting conductive elements formed on the edges of the panels and also for holding the panels securely during the rotation of the panel holder. The method for etching the panels can be carried about at a rotational speed between about 5 rpm and about 60 rpm in an etchant solution of a diluted acid such as HF having a concentration of at least 5 vol. %. A suitable immersing time for the plurality of glass panels in the diluted etchant for producing panels of smaller thicknesses is at least 3 min.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An apparatus for etching a plurality of glass panels comprising:

a panel holder of cubical shape formed of two side walls, a bottom wall and a back wall for holding a plurality of glass panels vertically therein, said holder having an open top and an open front each engaged by a frictional bar for frictionally engaging a first and a second adjacent edge of each of said plurality of panels, said back wall and said bottom wall each being further provided with a plurality of tracks for frictionally engaging a third and a fourth adjacent edges of each of said plurality of panels, said two side walls being provided with connecting means for connecting to a rotating means provided on a tank into which the holder is positioned;
and
a tank having a cavity for holding a volume of an etchant solution and said panel holder immersed in said volume of etchant solution, said tank being further equipped with support means and rotating means for supporting and rotating said panel holder in a plane of said plurality of panels at a predetermined rotational speed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.