Aligning apparatus and method for glass substrate

An aligning apparatus for aligning glass substrate, comprising

• a roller conveyer configured with a plurality of rollers mounted on shafts for transferring the glass substrate;
• at least a pair of directional beams arranged in parallel to the rollers, and in close contact with the rollers;
• at least a pair of positioning devices moveably assembled onto the directional beams, wherein each of the positioning devices is moveable along the corresponding beams, and wherein at least a portion of the positioning device extends to an upper surface of the rollers;
• each of the positioning devices being interconnected with a piston so as to maneuver the positioning device to move along the beams;
• a detecting device used to detect whether the glass substrate is offset from its intended route, wherein the detecting device includes a plurality of optoelectronic transmitters and receivers arranged along sides of a transferring surface, wherein the transmitters are arranged above or below the transferring surface, and the receiver is disposed on the opposite side;
• wherein once the moving glass substrate is detected with an offset, the positioning device will be triggered so as to move along the beams so as to correct the offset bringing the glass substrate back to its correct position;
• wherein the positioning device comprises a pair of pushers each has at least a portion which extends to the upper surface of the roller;
• each of the pushers is defined with an opening enveloping onto a transaxle;
• a linkage having a crossbar interconnected to the pushers, and a rod interconnected to the piston of a cylinder such that the movement of the piston can move the pushers to move along the beams;
• and
• wherein the directional beams are arranged with limiter, setting the maximum displacement of the pusher along the beams, wherein the limiter abuts against an upper surface of the rollers.

A method for aligning glass substrate, comprising the steps of:

• a) detecting whether there is an offset of a glass substrate transferred along a plurality of rollers by means of a detecting device;
• and
• b) maneuvering a piston to displace a positioning device bringing the glass substrate back to its intended and correct position;
• wherein the step of detecting whether there is an offset of a glass substrate transferred along a plurality of rollers is conducted with the following step:
• c) detecting signals from a plurality of optoelectronic transmitters and receivers arranged along a transferring surface of the rollers, if a signal from one side is blocked, the determining there is an offset of the glass substrate;
• and
• wherein the step of maneuvering a piston to displace a positioning device bringing the glass substrate back to its intended and correct position includes the following steps:
• d) displacing the piston located on the side in which the offset is detected to drive the positioning device toward a center of the rollers, wherein a portion of the positioning device extends over the surface of the rollers and moves the glass substrate toward the center;
• and
• e) wherein the positioning device will be stopped when it is in contact with a limiter so as to correctly move the glass substrate to the correct position.