Patent ID: 7364151

Claim:
A plate supplying apparatus for transporting and supplying a stack of plates one by one while reversing faces of each plate, the apparatus comprising: a storage section for storing a stack of plates; a plate suction section for sucking around an end portion of a plate to be transported which is stored in the storage section; a support section for supporting the plate suction section; a linear motion drive mechanism for moving the plate suction section and the support section in a plate transport direction; a rotation drive mechanism for turning the plate sucked by the plate suction section by pivoting the plate suction section and the support section, independently of the movement of the plate suction section and the support section in the plate transport direction; a linear motion drive mechanism control section for controlling an operation of the plate suction section and the linear motion drive mechanism; a rotation drive mechanism control section for controlling the rotation drive mechanism so as to allow the plate suction section and the support section to pivot, in accordance with a predetermined rotation drive pattern table, at a pivot angle in association with a linear motion position of the support section in the plate transport direction; and a supplying section for supplying the plate sucked by the plate suction section and transported toward another equipment device, wherein the rotation drive pattern table, which defines the pivot angle of the plate suction section and the support section in association with the linear motion position of the support section in the plate transport direction, and of which a plurality are prepared, is adapted to the plates expected to be stored in the storage section; and the rotation drive pattern table selected from the plurality of the rotation drive pattern tables is used, based on plate information indicating various information relating to the plate, by the rotation drive mechanism control section.