CN114435874A - Transport vehicle - Google Patents

Transport vehicle Download PDF

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Publication number
CN114435874A
CN114435874A CN202111299238.5A CN202111299238A CN114435874A CN 114435874 A CN114435874 A CN 114435874A CN 202111299238 A CN202111299238 A CN 202111299238A CN 114435874 A CN114435874 A CN 114435874A
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CN
China
Prior art keywords
article
support
holding
control
pair
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
CN202111299238.5A
Other languages
Chinese (zh)
Inventor
西川直
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Daifuku Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Daifuku Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Daifuku Co Ltd filed Critical Daifuku Co Ltd
Publication of CN114435874A publication Critical patent/CN114435874A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67703—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
    • H01L21/67733—Overhead conveying
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G35/00—Mechanical conveyors not otherwise provided for
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G1/00—Storing articles, individually or in orderly arrangement, in warehouses or magazines
    • B65G1/02—Storage devices
    • B65G1/04—Storage devices mechanical
    • B65G1/0457—Storage devices mechanical with suspended load carriers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G41/00—Supporting frames or bases for conveyors as a whole, e.g. transportable conveyor frames
    • B65G41/001—Supporting frames or bases for conveyors as a whole, e.g. transportable conveyor frames with the conveyor adjustably mounted on the supporting frame or base
    • B65G41/003—Supporting frames or bases for conveyors as a whole, e.g. transportable conveyor frames with the conveyor adjustably mounted on the supporting frame or base mounted for linear movement only
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G43/00—Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting
    • B65G43/08—Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
    • B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
    • B65G47/24—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/673—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere using specially adapted carriers or holders; Fixing the workpieces on such carriers or holders
    • H01L21/6732—Vertical carrier comprising wall type elements whereby the substrates are horizontally supported, e.g. comprising sidewalls
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67703—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
    • H01L21/6773—Conveying cassettes, containers or carriers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67703—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
    • H01L21/67736—Loading to or unloading from a conveyor
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G2201/00—Indexing codes relating to handling devices, e.g. conveyors, characterised by the type of product or load being conveyed or handled
    • B65G2201/02—Articles
    • B65G2201/0297—Wafer cassette

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)
  • Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention relates to a carrier for carrying an article. In the carrier, the support member (50) is provided with a support part (60) which contacts the bottom (94) of the article (90) in a supported state. The bottom part (94) is kept away from the support part (60) and the article (90) is kept in the keeping part (20), and the support part (60) is formed in such a way that the inclination angle (A) of the article (90) in the keeping state relative to the horizontal plane (H) is different from the inclination angle (A) of the article (90) in the keeping state relative to the horizontal plane (H).

Description

Transport vehicle
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a carrier for carrying an article.
Background
An example of the transport vehicle described above is disclosed in japanese patent laid-open No. 2012-64799 (patent document 1). In the description of the background art, the reference numerals shown in parentheses are those of patent document 1. Patent document 1 discloses a ceiling carrier (a) for carrying a storage container (4) as a carrier for carrying an article. The ceiling transport vehicle (A) is provided with a traveling section (11) that travels along a travel path (3), a holding section (10) that holds a storage container (4), and a lifting device that lifts the holding section (10) relative to the traveling section (11). When the ceiling transport vehicle (A) travels, the storage container (4) is disposed inside a cover (17) provided below the traveling section (11) while being held by the holding section (10).
In patent document 1, the storage container (4) is an open type wafer cassette having an opening (6) formed in a side surface thereof for inserting and removing a substrate (5). In order to prevent the substrate (5) from flying out of the opening (6) of the storage container (4) held by the holding portion (10), the ceiling carrier (a) of patent document 1 is provided with a flying-out prevention mechanism (9) having a contact body (26) that can be moved to a contact position where the contact body contacts the side surface of the substrate (5) and a spaced-apart position where the contact body is spaced apart from the side surface of the substrate (5).
Since the vibration is easily transmitted to the article accommodated in the accommodating portion (inside the cover in patent document 1) during the travel of the transport vehicle, it is desirable that the article is supported in the accommodating portion in a posture that easily ensures a high degree of tolerance against the vibration during the travel of the transport vehicle, regardless of the presence or absence of a mechanism such as the flying-off prevention mechanism in patent document 1. In this way, it is desirable that the article is supported in the housing portion in a posture suitable for the traveling of the transport vehicle during traveling of the transport vehicle, but the posture suitable for the traveling of the transport vehicle may be different from the posture required for the article at the transfer target portion (the portion to which the article is transferred between the holding portion and the article). For example, in patent document 1, the article is a storage container having an opening formed in a side surface thereof, and the transfer target site is a load port of a processing apparatus that processes a substrate taken out of the storage container. Therefore, the posture of the storage container required for the transfer target portion is a posture in which the substrate is hard to move from the opening to the outside of the storage container (for example, a posture in which the opening is inclined obliquely upward), as opposed to a posture in which the substrate is easy to move in and out of the storage container (specifically, a horizontal posture in which the opening is oriented in the horizontal direction) as shown in fig. 5 of patent document 1.
In patent document 1, when the transport vehicle travels, the article is disposed in the housing portion while being held by the holding portion. Therefore, if the posture of the article at the time of travel suitable for the transport vehicle is different from the posture of the article required for the transfer target site, if the article is held in the holding portion in the posture suitable for the travel of the transport vehicle, the article can be supported in the housing portion in the posture suitable for the travel of the transport vehicle at the time of travel of the transport vehicle, but the posture of the article disposed at the transfer target site at the time of transfer of the article between the holding portion and the transfer target site also becomes the posture suitable for the travel of the transport vehicle. Therefore, a mechanism for changing the posture of the article between a posture suitable for the traveling of the carrier and a posture required for the transfer target site needs to be provided in the transfer target site, and in addition to the transfer operation of the article between the holding unit and the transfer target site, the posture changing operation of the article needs to be performed in the transfer target site, which may reduce the processing efficiency of the article.
Disclosure of Invention
Therefore, it is desirable to implement the following techniques: when the posture of the article during the travel of the carrier differs from the posture of the article required at the transfer target site, the posture of the article placed at the transfer target site during the transfer of the article between the holding portion and the transfer target site can be set to the posture required at the transfer target site while the article is supported in the accommodating portion in the posture suitable for the travel of the carrier.
The present invention provides a transport vehicle for transporting an article, comprising a main body that moves along a movement path and includes a housing for housing the article, a holding portion that holds the article, a lifting device that lifts and lowers the holding portion relative to the main body, and a support device that supports the article housed in the housing, wherein the support device comprises a support member that supports the article from below and a support driving portion that drives the support member, and wherein the support driving portion is configured to be in a retracted state in which the support member is retracted from the lifting path of the article when the article held in the holding portion by the lifting device is lifted and lowered moves between the inside and the outside of the housing, and a support member that is configured to be brought into the lifting path to support the article from below via the support member when the article is accommodated in the accommodation portion, wherein the support member includes a support portion that contacts a bottom portion of the article in the support state, and is configured to be held in a state where the bottom portion is separated from the support portion and the article is held in the holding portion, and the support portion is configured such that an inclination angle of the article with respect to a horizontal plane in the support state is different from an inclination angle of the article with respect to the horizontal plane in the holding state.
According to this configuration, when the article is accommodated in the accommodating portion, the transport vehicle can be advanced in a supported state in which the bottom of the article is supported in contact with the support portion, and therefore the article can be appropriately prevented from falling out of the accommodating portion during the advance of the transport vehicle. Further, according to this configuration, since the support portion is formed so that the inclination angle of the article in the supported state with respect to the horizontal plane (hereinafter simply referred to as "inclination angle") is different from the inclination angle in the held state, the inclination angle in the supported state can be made to be an inclination angle corresponding to the posture of the article suitable for the travel of the transport vehicle, and the inclination angle in the held state can be made to be an inclination angle corresponding to the posture of the article required at the transfer target site. In this way, the article can be supported in the housing portion in a posture suitable for the traveling of the transport vehicle during traveling of the transport vehicle, and the posture of the article placed in the transfer target portion can be set to the posture required for the transfer target portion during transfer of the article between the holding portion and the transfer target portion. In addition, when the technology of the present application is applied to a transport vehicle provided with a regulating body (a drop preventing body or the like) for regulating an article from dropping out of an accommodating portion, the use of the regulating body as a support member can realize the transport vehicle of the present application while suppressing the complication of the device structure.
Further features and advantages of the transport vehicle will be apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a carrier according to embodiment 1.
Fig. 2 is a front view of the truck of embodiment 1.
Fig. 3 is a front view of the transport vehicle and the transfer target portion according to embodiment 1.
Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the ascending control at the time of housing the truck according to embodiment 1.
Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of entry control and storage lowering control of the truck according to embodiment 1.
Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the ascending control at the time of discharging the transport vehicle of embodiment 1.
Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the evacuation control and the discharge lowering control of the vehicle according to embodiment 1.
Fig. 8 is a control flowchart of a case where the article is accommodated in the accommodating portion.
Fig. 9 is a control flowchart of a case where the article is moved to the outside of the storage unit.
Fig. 10 is a control block diagram.
Fig. 11 is a side view of the truck of embodiment 2.
Detailed Description
[ 1 st embodiment ]
The following describes an embodiment 1 of a carrier with reference to the drawings (fig. 1 to 10).
The carrier 1 travels along the travel path 2 in an article transport facility 100 such as illustrated in fig. 3 and transports an article 90. As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the carrier 1 includes a main body 10, a holding portion 20, a lifting device 30, and a support device 40, the main body 10 moves along a movement path 2 and includes an accommodating portion 15 accommodating an article 90, the holding portion 20 holds the article 90, the lifting device 30 lifts and lowers the holding portion 20 with respect to the main body 10, and the support device 40 supports the article 90 accommodated in the accommodating portion 15. Here, the longitudinal direction of the movement path 2 (the direction in which the movement path 2 extends) is referred to as a path longitudinal direction L, and the width direction of the movement path 2 is referred to as a path width direction W. The path width direction W is a direction orthogonal to both the path longitudinal direction L and the vertical direction V. Further, a direction defined with reference to the transport vehicle 1 (i.e., a direction that changes in accordance with the posture of the transport vehicle 1) and a direction along the path longitudinal direction L in a state of being disposed on the movement path 2 is referred to as a vehicle body longitudinal direction X, and a direction defined with reference to the transport vehicle 1 and a direction along the path width direction W in a state of being disposed on the movement path 2 is referred to as a vehicle body lateral direction Y.
The movement path 2 may be physically formed or virtually set. In the present embodiment, the moving path 2 is physically formed by the track 3. Specifically, the article transport facility 100 includes rails 3 (here, a pair of rails 3 disposed at intervals in the path width direction W) disposed along the travel path 2, and the main body 10 moves along the rails 3. In the present embodiment, the rail 3 is suspended from the ceiling 4, and the moving path 2 is formed along the ceiling 4. That is, in the present embodiment, the truck 1 is a ceiling truck that travels along the travel path 2 formed along the ceiling 4. The truck 1 may be a truck other than a ceiling truck.
As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the main body 10 includes a traveling unit 11 and a cover 14, the traveling unit 11 includes wheels 12 that roll on a traveling surface of a rail 3 (here, a pair of rails 3), and the cover 14 is connected to the traveling unit 11. The travel surface of the track 3 is directed upward V1 in the vertical direction V, and the wheel 12 rotates around an axis perpendicular to the vertical direction V. The traveling unit 11 includes a traveling drive unit 70 (for example, an electric motor such as a servo motor, see fig. 10) that rotates the wheel 12, and the traveling unit 11 travels along the track 3 when the wheel 12 is rotationally driven by the traveling drive unit 70. As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the travel unit 11 includes the guide wheels 13 that roll on the guide surfaces of the rails 3, and the travel unit 11 travels along the rails 3 while the guide wheels 13 are guided by the guide surfaces of the rails 3 in contact therewith. The guide surface of the rail 3 is directed inward in the path width direction W (toward the center of the path width direction W between the pair of rails 3), and the guide wheel 13 rotates (idles in this example) about an axial center in the vertical direction V. In the example shown in fig. 1, the main body portion 10 includes a pair of traveling portions 11 arranged in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X.
As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the cover portion 14 is supported by the traveling portion 11 in a state of being disposed below V2 in the vertical direction V with respect to the traveling portion 11. In the present embodiment, the housing portion 15 is formed by the internal space of the cover portion 14. As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the interior space of the cover portion 14 is closed on both sides in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X and is open on at least one side in the vehicle body lateral direction Y. Thus, the article 90 accommodated in the accommodation portion 15 is covered by the wall portion of the cover portion 14 at least from both sides in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X.
As shown in fig. 2, the holding portion 20 includes a support portion 21 that supports a held portion 91 formed on the article 90, and the article 90 is held by the support portion 21. In the example shown in fig. 2, the holding portion 20 holds the article 90 from above V1. Specifically, the held portion 91 is a flange portion formed on an upper surface portion (for example, a plate-like ceiling portion) constituting the upper surface 90a of the article 90, and the supporting portion 21 supports the held portion 91 from below V2 in a state where the supporting portion of the supporting portion 21 is inserted into a space (hereinafter, referred to as "supporting space") between the held portion 91 and the upper surface portion. The held portion 91 is not limited to the flange portion formed at the upper portion of the article 90, and may be configured such that, for example, the upper surface portion of the article 90 (specifically, the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface portion) is used as the held portion 91, the side surface portion constituting the side surface 90b of the article 90 is formed with the held portion 91, or the bottom surface portion constituting the bottom surface 90c of the article 90 (for example, a plate-shaped bottom plate portion) is used as the held portion 91.
The holding unit 20 includes a holding drive unit 72 (e.g., a solenoid or an electric motor, see fig. 10) for holding and releasing the holding of the article 90 by the holding unit 20, and the holding and releasing of the holding of the article 90 by the holding unit 20 are performed by driving the holding drive unit 72. In the example shown in fig. 2, the holding portion 20 includes a pair of support portions 21, and the holding drive portion 72 is configured to move the pair of support portions 21 (specifically, one support portion and the other support portion of the pair of support portions 21) toward and away from each other.
When the holding portion 20 holds the article 90 with the direction in which the pair of support portions 21 approach and separate from each other being the target direction, the holding drive portion 72 causes the pair of support portions 21 to approach each other, and switches the posture of the pair of support portions 21 to a holding posture in which the distance between the pair of support portions 21 is smaller than the width of the held portion 91 in the target direction. When releasing the holding of the article 90 by the holding portion 20, the holding drive portion 72 separates the pair of support portions 21 from each other, and switches the posture of the pair of support portions 21 to a holding release posture in which the distance between the pair of support portions 21 is larger than the width of the held portion 91 in the target direction. Here, the posture is used as a concept including at least one of the position and the orientation, and the same applies to the posture of the support member 50 described later.
When the posture of the pair of support portions 21 is switched from the release posture to the holding posture in a state where the holding portion 20 is disposed at the 2 nd position P2 (see fig. 3) described later, the support portions of the pair of support portions 21 are inserted into the space for supporting the article 90 disposed in the transfer target site 6. In this state, the holding portion 20 is raised, and thereby the article 90 is raised together with the holding portion 20. In addition, when the posture of the pair of support portions 21 is switched from the holding posture to the holding release posture in the state where the holding portion 20 is arranged at the 2 nd position P2, the support portions of the pair of support portions 21 are pulled out from the support space for the article 90 held by the holding portion 20. By raising the holding unit 20 in this state, only the holding unit 20 is raised while the article 90 remains on the transfer target site 6.
The type of the article 90 is not limited to this, and as shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the article 90 is a container having an opening 92 on a side surface 90 b. The opening 92 is provided for allowing the contents to enter and exit the article 90, and the contents to enter and exit the article 90 through the opening 92. An opening other than the opening 92 (for example, an opening for weight reduction or washing, or an opening formed in the structure of the article 90) may be formed in the side surface 90b of the article 90, but the article 90 is configured such that the contents contained in the article 90 cannot move to the outside of the article 90 without passing through the opening 92. In the present embodiment, a substrate 93 (an example of a container) such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer is accommodated in the article 90. In the present embodiment, the article 90 is configured to be able to accommodate a plurality of substrates 93 in an up-down direction (a direction along the vertical direction V in a state where the bottom surface portion 90c is arranged horizontally).
In the present embodiment, the article 90 does not include a lid that closes the opening 92. For example, an open wafer cassette can be used as the article 90. The article 90 may be configured to have a lid that closes the opening 92. In this case, for example, a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) can be used as the article 90.
In fig. 2, the case where the holding portion 20 is disposed in such an orientation that the pair of support portions 21 approach and separate from each other in the vehicle body left-right direction Y is illustrated, but the holding portion 20 may be disposed in such an orientation that the pair of support portions 21 approach and separate from each other in the vehicle body front-rear direction X (see fig. 1). In fig. 1 to 3, the case where the article 90 is held by the holding portion 20 with the opening portion 92 directed toward one side in the vehicle body left-right direction Y is illustrated, but as shown in an example shown in fig. 11 to be referred to later, the article 90 may be held by the holding portion 20 with the opening portion 92 directed toward one side in the vehicle body front-rear direction X. The truck 1 may be configured to include a mechanism for rotating the holding portion 20 about an axis along the vertical direction V with respect to the main body portion 10. From the viewpoint of more reliably preventing the substrate 93 accommodated in the article 90 from moving from the opening 92 to the outside of the article 90 during the travel of the transport vehicle 1, the article 90 is preferably held in the holding portion 20 in a direction in which the opening 92 faces the wall portion of the cover portion 14.
The lifting device 30 includes a lifting drive unit 71 (e.g., an electric motor such as a servo motor, see fig. 10) for lifting the holding unit 20. The lifting device 30 lifts and lowers the holding portion 20 between a 4 th position P4 (see fig. 4 and 6) and a 2 nd position P2 (see fig. 3) of the V2 lower than the 4 th position P4. The 4 th position P4 is a position at the upper end in the elevation direction (vertical direction V). The 4 th position P4 is a position where the article 90 held by the holding portion 20 is placed in the holding portion 20 such as the storage portion 15. When the main body 10 moves (i.e., when the truck 1 travels), the holding portion 20 is disposed at the 1 st position P1 (see fig. 2, 3, and 5) between the 4 th position P4 and the 2 nd position P2. The 2 nd position P2 is a position in the vertical direction V of the holding portion 20 when the holding portion 20 holds and releases the article 90. That is, the 2 nd position P2 is a position where the holding unit 20 holds and releases the article 90, in other words, a position of the holding unit 20 when the article 90 is transferred between the holding unit 20 and the transfer target site 6. The 2 nd position P2 is set in accordance with the height (position in the vertical direction V) of each transfer target site 6. In the present embodiment, the 2 nd position P2 is set to a height at which the supporting portions of the pair of supporting portions 21 can be inserted into and removed from the supporting space for the article 90 placed at the transfer target site 6 by switching the postures of the pair of supporting portions 21 between the holding posture and the holding release posture.
Fig. 3 shows a load port disposed adjacent to the processing apparatus 5 as an example of the transfer target site 6. The processing apparatus 5 is an apparatus that subjects the article 90 to processing, and in the present embodiment, processes the substrate 93 taken out of the article 90. As shown in fig. 3, the article 90 is disposed on the transfer target site 6 such that the opening 92 faces the processing apparatus 5 side. In the present embodiment, the article 90 is disposed on the transfer target site 6 in the horizontal posture S2 in which the bottom surface portion 90c is along the horizontal plane H. Since the horizontal posture S2 is a posture in which the opening 92 is oriented in the horizontal direction, when the article 90 is placed on the transfer target site 6 in the horizontal posture S2, the substrate 93 can be easily moved in and out of the article 90 through the opening 92 in the transfer target site 6.
As schematically shown in fig. 2 in a simplified manner, the lifting device 30 includes a rotating body 31 that is rotationally driven, and a transmission member 32 that is wound around the rotating body 31 in a windable and dischargeable manner and is coupled to the holding portion 20. The lifting device 30 further includes the above-described lifting drive unit 71 (see fig. 10) for rotationally driving the rotating body 31. The rotating body 31 and the elevation driving unit 71 are supported by the main body 10, and in the present embodiment, are disposed at a portion V1 above the accommodating unit 15. For example, the transmission member 32 is a belt and the rotating body 31 is a winding pulley around which the belt is wound, or the transmission member 32 is a wire and the rotating body 31 is a winding drum around which the wire is wound. As shown in fig. 3, the holding portion 20 is coupled to a coupling portion 32a provided on the distal end side of the transmission member 32, which is released from the rotating body 31. The lifting device 30 rotates the rotating body 31 by driving of the lifting driving portion 71, and lifts or lowers (i.e., lifts) the holding portion 20 by winding or unwinding the transmission member 32. In this way, the lifting device 30 lifts and lowers the holding portion 20 while suspending and supporting the holding portion 20.
As shown in fig. 2 and 3, in the present embodiment, the lifting device 30 includes a plurality of rotating bodies 31, and the transmission member 32 is wound around each of the plurality of rotating bodies 31. In the example shown in fig. 2 and 3, the lifting device 30 includes three rotating bodies 31. The coupling portions 32a of the plurality of power transmission members 32 (three power transmission members 32 in this example) are coupled to the holding portion 20. The plurality of coupling portions 32a are coupled to different portions of the holding portion 20. In fig. 2 and 3, the lifting device 30 includes the plurality of rotating bodies 31, and the plurality of rotating bodies 31 are disposed on separate axes, but the plurality of rotating bodies 31 may be disposed coaxially. In fig. 3, the coupling portion 32a of the power transmission member 32 is disposed directly below the rotary body 31 around which the power transmission member 32 is wound, but a portion of the power transmission member 32 that is unwound from the rotary body 31 may be wound around a guide rotary body (a guide pulley or the like) and the coupling portion 32a of the power transmission member 32 may be disposed directly below the guide rotary body.
The supporting device 40 that supports the article 90 accommodated in the accommodating portion 15 includes a supporting member 50 (see fig. 1 and 2) that supports the article 90 from below V2, and a support driving portion 73 (e.g., a solenoid, an electric motor, see fig. 10) that drives the supporting member 50. As shown in fig. 4 and 7, the support driving unit 73 is in a retracted state in which the support member 50 is retracted from the lifting path 7 of the article 90 when the holding unit 20 is lifted and lowered by the lifting device 30 and the article 90 held by the holding unit 20 moves between the inside and the outside of the housing unit 15. The lifting path 7 is a space in which the article 90 held by the holding portion 20 is lifted and lowered when the holding portion 20 is lifted and lowered. In the retracted state, the support member 50 is also retracted from the ascending/descending path of the holding portion 20 (the space in which the holding portion 20 ascends/descends). As shown in fig. 5, when the article 90 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 15, the support driving portion 73 is in a support state in which the support member 50 is advanced into the vertical path 7 and the article 90 is supported from the lower side V2 by the support member 50. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the support driving unit 73 moves the support member 50 into the elevation path 7, and then the elevation driving unit 71 moves the article 90 downward, thereby achieving the support state.
As shown in fig. 1, 2, and 5, the support member 50 includes a support portion 60 that contacts the bottom portion 94 of the article 90 (specifically, the planar bottom surface portion 90c of the bottom portion 94) in a supported state. That is, the bottom 94 of the article 90 includes a planar bottom surface portion 90c that contacts the support portion 60 (specifically, the upper surface of the support portion 60) in a supported state. In the present embodiment, the support portion 60 is formed of a plate-like member. When the article 90 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 15 in the supported state, the transport vehicle 1 can be moved while the bottom 94 of the article 90 is supported by the support portion 60 in contact therewith.
The support driving unit 73 switches the posture of the support member 50 between the avoidance posture (the posture of the support member 50 shown in fig. 4 and 7) for achieving the avoidance state and the support posture (the posture of the support member 50 shown in fig. 5 and 6) for achieving the support state by changing at least one of the position and the orientation of the support member 50. As shown in fig. 4 to 7, the support member 50 is supported by the main body 10 (specifically, the cover portion 14) via the posture changing mechanism 41, and the support driving portion 73 drives the posture changing mechanism 41 to switch the posture of the support member 50. The posture changing mechanism 41 is, for example, a link mechanism or a sliding mechanism (linear motion mechanism) including an arm.
As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the support device 40 includes a pair of support members 50 that approach and separate from each other by the support driving unit 73. One of the pair of support members 50 is a 1 st support member 51, and the other is a 2 nd support member 52. The pair of support members 50 are driven so as to approach and separate from each other in the arrangement direction thereof (in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X in the present embodiment). In the present embodiment, the vehicle body longitudinal direction X corresponds to the "1 st direction".
In the present embodiment, the support driving unit 73 moves the pair of support members 50 away from each other in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X to assume a retracted state. That is, the support driving unit 73 moves the pair of support members 50 away from each other in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X to bring the respective postures of the pair of support members 50 into the retracted postures, thereby achieving the retracted state. The support driving unit 73 causes the pair of support members 50 to approach each other in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X, and the support portions 60 of the pair of support members 50 are disposed below V2 of the bottom surface portion 90c (specifically, at a position below V2 of the bottom surface portion 90c that faces the bottom surface portion 90c in the vertical direction V). That is, the support driving unit 73 brings the pair of support members 50 closer to each other in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X, thereby bringing the posture of each of the pair of support members 50 into a support posture in which the support portion 60 is disposed below the bottom surface portion 90c at V2. The posture of the support member 50 is switched to the supporting posture in a state where the bottom 94 of the article 90 held by the holding portion 20 is disposed at the upper side V1 of the support portion 60 (the state shown in fig. 4), and after the posture of the support member 50 is switched to the supporting posture, the holding portion 20 is lowered so that the bottom 94 contacts the support portion 60, thereby achieving the supporting state (see fig. 5).
Here, the bottom portion 94 is separated from the support portion 60, and the article 90 is held in the holding portion 20. Here, the holding portion 20 holding the article 90 is in the holding state in a state of being located at the 4 th position P4 (see fig. 4 and 6). In the present embodiment, the bottom surface portion 90c is arranged along the horizontal plane H in the holding state. That is, the inclination angle a (hereinafter, simply referred to as "inclination angle a" and see fig. 3) of the article 90 (specifically, the bottom surface portion 90c) in the held state with respect to the horizontal plane H is 0 degree, and the posture of the article 90 in the held state is the horizontal posture S2 in which the bottom surface portion 90c is along the horizontal plane H. In the present embodiment, a common elevation driving unit 71 for rotationally driving the plurality of rotating bodies 31 is provided, and the holding unit 20 is elevated and lowered by the elevation device 30 so that the posture in the holding state (here, the horizontal posture S2) is maintained. Therefore, as shown in fig. 3, in a state where the holding portion 20 is located at the 2 nd position P2 and in a state where the holding portion 20 is located at the 3 rd position P3 between the 1 st position P1 and the 2 nd position P2, the posture of the article 90 held by the holding portion 20 is the horizontal posture S2.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the support portion 60 is formed to support the article 90 in a posture in which the opening portion 92 is directed obliquely upward in the supported state. That is, the support portion 60 is formed so that the inclination angle a in the support state is different from the inclination angle a in the holding state, and in the present embodiment, the inclination angle a in the support state is set to an angle larger than 0 degree (for example, 5 degrees). Here, the inclination angle a is defined such that the inclination angle a is 0 degrees when the opening 92 is oriented in the horizontal direction, the inclination angle a is a positive acute angle when the opening 92 is oriented obliquely upward, and the inclination angle a is 90 degrees when the opening 92 is oriented directly upward.
As shown in fig. 1 to 3, in the present embodiment, the support portion 60 of each of the pair of support members 50 includes an inclined surface 60a inclined in a direction toward the lower V2 as it goes toward the 1 st Y1, with one side in the vehicle body lateral direction Y being the 1 st Y1 and the other side in the vehicle body lateral direction Y being the 2 nd Y2. The inclined surface 60a is formed on the upper surface of the support portion 60. Here, the inclined surface 60a is formed in a planar shape. In the supporting state, the inclined surface 60a of the supporting portion 60 contacts the bottom surface 90c of the article 90. Thus, the posture of the article 90 in the supported state takes the inclined posture S1 in which the bottom surface portion 90c of the article 90 is inclined, in accordance with the inclination direction of the inclined surface 60 a. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the article 90 is supported by the support member 50 in a direction toward the 2 nd side Y2 in a plan view of the opening 92. Therefore, in the supported state, the article 90 is supported by the support member 50 in the inclined posture S1 in which the opening 92 is directed obliquely upward. In the present embodiment, the vehicle body left-right direction Y corresponds to the "2 nd direction (the direction orthogonal to the 1 st direction in plan view)", and the 1 st side Y1 corresponds to the "2 nd direction 1 st side".
As shown in fig. 10, the article transport facility 100 includes a control unit 80 that controls the operation of the transport vehicle 1. The control unit 80 includes an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU and a peripheral circuit such as a memory, and realizes each function of the control unit 80 by cooperation of these hardware and a program executed by hardware such as the arithmetic processing device. The control unit 80 may be provided in the transportation vehicle 1, or may be provided separately from the transportation vehicle 1. In addition, when the control unit 80 includes a plurality of pieces of hardware that can be separated so as to communicate with each other, a part of the hardware may be provided in the transportation vehicle 1, and the rest of the hardware may be provided independently of the transportation vehicle 1.
The control unit 80 controls the driving of the travel driving unit 70 to cause the main body 10 to perform a movement operation along the movement path 2. Specifically, the control unit 80 controls the driving of the travel driving unit 70 to cause the travel unit 11 to perform a travel operation for traveling along the track 3. In the present embodiment, the movement operation of the main body 10 is realized by the movement operation of the traveling unit 11. When the article 90 accommodated in the accommodating unit 15 is conveyed to the transfer target site 6, the control unit 80 causes the traveling unit 11 to perform the traveling operation in a state where the article 90 is supported by the support member 50 from below V2. The control unit 80 controls the driving of the elevation driving unit 71 to cause the elevation device 30 to perform an elevation operation for raising and lowering the holding unit 20. The control unit 80 controls the drive of the holding drive unit 72 to cause the holding unit 20 to perform a holding operation for holding the article 90 and a holding release operation for releasing the holding of the article 90. In the present embodiment, the holding operation of the article 90 is an operation of bringing the pair of support portions 21 closer to each other (in other words, an operation of switching the posture of the pair of support portions 21 to the holding posture), and the holding release operation of the article 90 is an operation of separating the pair of support portions 21 from each other (in other words, an operation of switching the posture of the pair of support portions 21 to the holding release posture). The control unit 80 controls the drive of the support drive unit 73 to cause the support device 40 to perform a posture switching operation for switching the posture of the support member 50 between the avoidance posture and the support posture.
When the article 90 disposed below V2 from the storage unit 15 is stored in the storage unit 15, the control unit 80 executes storage-time ascending control (step # 01), entering control (step # 02), and storage-time descending control (step # 03) in this order as shown in fig. 8. That is, the control of the control unit 80 causes the elevation driving unit 71 to perform the storage-time elevation control, and then the support driving unit 73 performs the entry control, and thereafter the elevation driving unit 71 performs the storage-time elevation control.
When the article 90 is carried out from the transfer target site 6, the control unit 80 causes the traveling unit 11 to perform a traveling operation of traveling the carrier 1 to a position corresponding to the transfer target site 6 (here, a position located above the transfer target site 6 by V1 and overlapping the transfer target site 6 in a plan view), and then causes the lifting device 30 to perform a lifting operation of lowering the holding unit 20 that does not hold the article 90 from the current position (in the present embodiment, the 4 th position P4) to the 2 nd position P2. Then, the control unit 80 causes the holding unit 20 to perform the holding operation of the article 90, and then executes the respective controls shown in fig. 8. In addition, when the holder 20 not holding the article 90 is lowered from the inside of the storage 15 to the target position (here, the 2 nd position P2), in the present embodiment, the elevation driving unit 71 lowers the holder 20 in one direction from the current position of the holder 20 (here, the 4 th position P4) to the target position.
The storage-time raising control is control for raising the holding portion 20 holding the article 90 in the retracted state so that the bottom portion 94 is disposed above the support portion 60 at V1. Here, the fact that bottom portion 94 is disposed above support portion 60 at V1 means that bottom portion 94 is disposed above support portion 60 at V1 at each position in the vehicle body lateral direction Y. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, during the storage-time raising control, the holding portion 20 holding the article 90 is raised from the current position (here, the 2 nd position P2) to the 4 th position P4 where the bottom portion 94 is arranged above the support portion 60 at V1.
The entry control is control for causing the support member 50 to enter the elevation path 7 so that the support portion 60 is disposed below the bottom portion 94 at V2 (specifically, at a position below V2 of the bottom portion 94, which is opposite to the bottom portion 94 in the vertical direction V). In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, during the entry control, the pair of support members 50 are brought close to each other in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X, and the support portions 60 of the pair of support members 50 are disposed below the bottom surface portion 90c at V2.
The lowering control at the time of housing is a control of lowering the holding portion 20 so that the bottom portion 94 contacts the support portion 60. By performing the accommodation-time descent control, the support state is achieved. In the storage-time lowering control, the holding portion 20 is lowered so that a part or all of the load of the article 90 is received by the support members 50 (the pair of support members 50 in the present embodiment). In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, during the storage-time lowering control, the holding portion 20 is lowered to the 1 st position P1 so that the bottom surface portion 90c contacts the inclined surface 60a of the support portion 60 on both sides in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X. In the present embodiment, in the supported state, the support portion 60 (here, the inclined surface 60a) is in contact with the bottom surface portion 90c over the entire region in the vehicle body lateral direction Y. In the present embodiment, in the supporting state, the posture of the pair of supporting portions 21 provided in the holding portion 20 is maintained as the holding posture.
When the article 90 supported by the support member 50 is moved to the outside of the housing section 15, the control section 80 executes the discharge-time ascending control (step # 10), the evacuation control (step # 11), and the discharge-time descending control (step # 12) in this order as shown in fig. 9. That is, the control of the control unit 80 causes the elevation driving unit 71 to perform the elevation control at the time of discharge, and then causes the support driving unit 73 to perform the retreat control, and thereafter causes the elevation driving unit 71 to perform the lowering control at the time of discharge. When the article 90 is carried into the transfer target site 6, the control unit 80 causes the traveling unit 11 to perform a traveling operation for traveling the carrier 1 to a position corresponding to the transfer target site 6, and then executes the respective controls shown in fig. 9.
The discharge-time raising control is control for raising the holding portion 20 so that the bottom portion 94 is separated upward from the support portion 60 by the upper V1. In the discharge-time raising control, the holding portion 20 is raised with the posture of the pair of support portions 21 switched to the holding posture, and thereby the article 90 is raised as the holding portion 20 is raised, and the bottom portion 94 is separated upward from the support portion 60 by the upper V1. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, in the discharge-time raising control, the holder 20 is raised from the 1 st position P1 (see fig. 5) to the 4 th position P4.
The evacuation control is control for evacuating the support member 50 from the lifting path 7 to bring it into an evacuated state. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, in the avoidance control, the pair of support members 50 are separated from each other in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X to be in the avoidance state. The ejection-time lowering control is control for lowering the holding portion 20 holding the article 90 so that the article 90 is disposed outside the storage portion 15. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, in the discharge-time lowering control, the holding portion 20 holding the article 90 is lowered from the 4 th position P4 to the target position (here, the 2 nd position P2).
When the article 90 is carried into the transfer target site 6, after the discharge-time lowering control is executed, the control unit 80 causes the holding unit 20 to perform the holding releasing operation of the article 90, and thereafter causes the lifting device 30 to perform the lifting operation of raising the holding unit 20 into the accommodating unit 15. When the holding unit 20 not holding the article 90 is raised from the outside to the inside of the housing unit 15 in this way, in the present embodiment, the elevation driving unit 71 raises the holding unit 20 in one direction from the current position (here, the 2 nd position P2) of the holding unit 20 to the reference position (here, the 4 th position P4) inside the housing unit 15, and then maintains the holding unit 20 at the reference position.
[ 2 nd embodiment ]
Embodiment 2 of the carrier will be described with reference to the drawings (fig. 11). Hereinafter, the truck of the present embodiment will be mainly described with respect to differences from embodiment 1. In the same manner as in embodiment 1, the same reference numerals are used for those not specifically described, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
In the present embodiment, unlike embodiment 1, the upper surface of support portion 60 (the surface that contacts bottom surface portion 90c of article 90 in the supported state) is formed so as to be uniform in the vehicle body left-right direction Y, and the upper surface of support portion 60 is formed so as not to be inclined in the direction toward lower V2 as it goes toward 1 st side Y1 and in the direction toward upper V1 as it goes toward 1 st side Y1. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, one support portion 60 and the other support portion 60 of the pair of support members 50 are disposed at different heights from each other. As a result, the posture of the article 90 in the supported state is, as shown in fig. 11, an inclined posture S1 in which the bottom surface portion 90c of the article 90 is inclined in accordance with the difference in level between the one support portion 60 and the other support portion 60 of the pair of support members 50.
In the present embodiment, the supporting portion 60 of the 1 st supporting member 51 is disposed above the supporting portion 60 of the 2 nd supporting member 52 at V1. The article 90 is supported by the support member 50 in such a manner that the opening 92 faces one side in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X in plan view (specifically, the side in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X where the 1 st support member 51 is disposed with respect to the 2 nd support member 52, the left side in fig. 11). Therefore, in the supported state, the article 90 is supported by the support member 50 in the inclined posture S1 in which the opening 92 is directed obliquely upward.
In the present embodiment, each of the support portions 60 of the pair of support members 50 includes the inclined surface 60a along the bottom surface portion 90c in the supported state. Here, the inclined surface 60a is formed in a planar shape. Unlike the inclined surface 60a in embodiment 1, the inclined surface 60a is inclined in a direction toward the upper side V1 as it goes toward the one side in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X. In the support state, the inclined surface 60a of the support portion 60 contacts the bottom surface portion 90c of the article 90.
[ other embodiments ]
Next, another embodiment of the transport vehicle will be described.
(1) In embodiment 1 described above, the bottom surface portion 90c of the article 90 is inclined in accordance with the inclination direction of the inclined surface 60a by forming the inclined surface 60a in the portion of the support portion 60 that contacts the bottom surface portion 90c of the article 90. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, a plurality of members (for example, block-shaped members or columnar members) may be provided in a portion of the support portion 60 that contacts the bottom surface portion 90c so that the height thereof becomes lower toward the 1 st side Y1, and the bottom surface portion 90c of the article 90 may be inclined in accordance with the inclination direction of an imaginary plane including the upper end of each of the plurality of members.
(2) In embodiment 2 described above, a configuration in which the support portion 60 of each of the pair of support members 50 includes the inclined surface 60a along the bottom surface portion 90c in a supported state has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, the upper surface of the support portion 60 of one or both of the pair of support members 50 may be formed in a planar shape along the horizontal plane H.
(3) In each of the above embodiments, the description has been given taking as an example a configuration in which the support state is realized by performing the accommodation-time ascent control after the execution of the accommodation-time ascent control and the entrance control when the article 90 disposed below V2 from the accommodation portion 15 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 15. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the support member 50 may be configured to be able to be raised and lowered, and the support state may be realized by performing control to raise the support member 50 so that the support portion 60 contacts the bottom portion 94 and a part or all of the load of the article 90 is received by the support member 50 after the execution of the raising control and the entry control at the time of storage. In this case, when the article 90 supported by the support member 50 is moved to the outside of the storage section 15, instead of executing the avoidance control and the discharge-time lowering control after the execution of the discharge-time raising control, the avoidance control and the discharge-time lowering control may be executed after the execution of the control for lowering the support member 50 so that the support portion 60 is separated downward from the bottom portion 94 to the V2.
(4) In each of the above embodiments, the description has been given of the structure in which the support member 50 is inserted into the lifting path 7 of the article 90 in a state where the bottom 94 of the article 90 is disposed above the support portion 60 at V1 when the supported state is achieved. However, the present application is not limited to such a structure, and may be a structure as follows: an inclined surface inclined in a direction toward the lower V2 as it goes toward the side of the lifting path 7 is formed on the upper surface (for example, at least a part of the inclined surface 60a) of the support portion 60, and the support member 50 is advanced into the lifting path 7 of the article 90 in a state where the bottom 94 of the article 90 is disposed at the same height as the inclined surface. In this case, as the support member 50 enters the vertical movement path 7, the force directed upward at V1 acts on the bottom 94 of the article 90 due to the contact between the inclined surface and the bottom 94, and the posture of the article 90 changes from the posture in the holding state to the posture in the support state, thereby achieving the support state.
(5) In the above-described embodiments, the description has been given taking as an example a configuration in which the pair of support members 50 are arranged in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and a configuration may be adopted in which the pair of support members 50 are arranged in line in the vehicle body left-right direction Y, and the pair of support members 50 are driven so as to approach and separate from each other in the vehicle body left-right direction Y. In this case, the vehicle body left-right direction Y corresponds to the "1 st direction", and the vehicle body front-rear direction X corresponds to the "2 nd direction".
(6) In the above-described embodiments, the description has been given taking as an example a configuration in which the support device 40 includes the pair of support members 50. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, the support device 40 may be configured to include only one support member 50.
(7) In the above-described embodiments, the configuration in which the bottom surface portion 90c is arranged along the horizontal plane H in the holding state, that is, the configuration in which the inclination angle a of the article 90 in the holding state with respect to the horizontal plane H is 0 degree, has been described as an example. However, the present application is not limited to such a configuration, and may be configured such that the tilt angle a in the holding state is larger than 0 degrees (but is different from the tilt angle a in the supporting state).
(8) The configurations disclosed in the above embodiments can be combined with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments (including combinations of the embodiments described as other embodiments) without any contradiction. The embodiments disclosed in the present specification are merely examples in all aspects, regarding other configurations. Therefore, various changes can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.
[ brief summary of the embodiments ] described above
The following describes an outline of the transport vehicle described above.
A transport vehicle for transporting an article, comprising a main body that moves along a travel path and includes a housing portion that houses the article, a holding portion that holds the article, a lifting device that lifts and lowers the holding portion relative to the main body, and a support device that supports the article housed in the housing portion, wherein the support device comprises a support member that supports the article from below and a support driving portion that drives the support member, wherein the support driving portion is configured to be in an escape state in which the support member is retracted from the travel path of the article when the holding portion is lifted and lowered by the lifting device and the article held in the holding portion moves between the inside and the outside of the housing portion, and wherein when the article is housed in the housing portion, and a support member that is provided with a support portion that contacts a bottom portion of the article in the support state, wherein the support member is in a support state in which the support member is advanced into the elevation path to support the article from below via the support member, and wherein a state in which the bottom portion is separated from the support portion and the article is held by the holding portion is set as a holding state, and wherein the support portion is formed such that an inclination angle of the article in the support state with respect to a horizontal plane is different from an inclination angle of the article in the holding state with respect to the horizontal plane.
According to this configuration, when the article is accommodated in the accommodating portion, the transport vehicle can be advanced in a supported state in which the bottom of the article is supported in contact with the support portion, and therefore the article can be appropriately prevented from falling out of the accommodating portion during the advance of the transport vehicle. Further, according to this configuration, since the support portion is formed so that the inclination angle of the article in the supported state (hereinafter simply referred to as "inclination angle") with respect to the horizontal plane is different from the inclination angle in the held state, the inclination angle in the supported state can be made to be an inclination angle corresponding to the posture of the article suitable for the travel of the carrier, and the inclination angle in the held state can be made to be an inclination angle corresponding to the posture of the article required at the transfer target portion. In this way, the article can be supported in the housing portion in a posture suitable for the traveling of the transport vehicle during traveling of the transport vehicle, and the posture of the article placed in the transfer target portion can be set to the posture required for the transfer target portion during transfer of the article between the holding portion and the transfer target portion. In addition, when the technology of the present application is applied to a transport vehicle provided with a regulating body (a drop preventing body or the like) for regulating an article from dropping out of an accommodating portion, the use of the regulating body as a support member can realize the transport vehicle of the present application while suppressing the complication of the device structure.
Here, it is preferable that the lifting device includes a lifting drive unit that lifts and lowers the holding unit, and when the article placed below the storage unit is stored in the storage unit, the lifting drive unit performs storage-time lifting control, and then the support drive unit performs entry control, and then the lifting drive unit performs storage-time lowering control, the storage-time lifting control is control in which the holding unit holding the article is lifted in the retracted state so that the bottom portion is placed above the support portion, the entry control is control in which the support member is entered into the lifting path so that the support portion is placed below the bottom portion, and the storage-time lowering control is control in which the holding unit is lowered so that the bottom portion contacts the support portion.
According to this configuration, when the article disposed below the storage unit is stored in the storage unit, the storage-time ascending control, the entry control, and the storage-time descending control are executed in this order, and thus the support state can be realized by descending the article after the article is ascended into the storage unit while avoiding interference with the support member. In the entry control, the bottom portion is disposed above the support portion, so that the support member can be inserted into the path for lifting and lowering the article to achieve the supported state while avoiding vibration and dust caused by friction between the bottom portion and the support portion.
In the above-described configuration, in a case where the article arranged below the storage section is stored in the storage section, the support driving section performs entry control after the elevation driving section performs the storage-time elevation control, and then the elevation driving section performs the storage-time elevation control, it is preferable that the elevation driving section raises the holding section, which does not hold the article, in one direction from a current position of the holding section to a reference position inside the storage section, and then maintains the holding section at the reference position.
According to this configuration, the control of raising and lowering the holding portion when the holding portion not holding the article is raised from the outside to the inside of the housing portion can be simplified.
In the above-described carrier vehicle, the lifting device includes a lifting drive unit that lifts the holding unit, and when the article supported by the support member is moved to the outside of the storage unit, the lifting drive unit performs a discharge-time lifting control, and then the support drive unit performs a retreat control, and then the lifting drive unit performs a discharge-time lowering control, the discharge-time lifting control is a control of lifting the holding unit so that the bottom portion is separated from the support portion from above, the retreat control is a control of retreating the support member from the lifting path so as to assume the retreat state, and the discharge-time lowering control is a control of lowering the holding unit that holds the article so that the article is disposed outside the storage unit.
According to this configuration, when the article supported by the support member is moved to the outside of the storage portion, the ejection-time ascending control, the evacuation control, and the ejection-time descending control are executed in this order, whereby the article can be descended to the outside of the storage portion while avoiding interference with the support member after the article is ascended and the bottom portion is separated from the support portion. In the evacuation control, since the bottom portion is disposed so as to be spaced upward from the support portion, the support member can be evacuated from the article lifting path in order to achieve the evacuation state while avoiding vibration and dust caused by friction between the bottom portion and the support portion.
In the above-described configuration, in a case where the article supported by the support member is moved to the outside of the housing section, the lifting/lowering driving section performs the ejection-time lifting control, then the support driving section performs the evacuation control, and then the lifting/lowering driving section performs the ejection-time lowering control, it is preferable that the lifting/lowering driving section lowers the holding section, which does not hold the article, from the current position of the holding section to the target position in one direction when the holding section is lowered from the inside of the housing section to the target position outside.
According to this configuration, the control of raising and lowering the holding portion when the holding portion not holding the article is lowered from the inside to the outside of the housing portion can be simplified.
In the above-described transport vehicle having each configuration, it is preferable that the bottom portion includes a planar bottom surface portion that contacts the support portion in the supported state, and in the held state, the bottom surface portion is arranged along a horizontal plane, the support device includes a pair of support members that are moved toward and away from each other in a 1 st direction by the support driving portion, the support driving portion moves the pair of support members away from each other in the 1 st direction to be in the retracted state, the pair of support members are moved toward each other in the 1 st direction, the support portion of each of the pair of support members is arranged below the bottom surface portion, a direction orthogonal to the 1 st direction in a plan view is defined as a 2 nd direction, one side of the 2 nd direction is defined as a 2 nd direction 1 st side, and the support portion of each of the pair of support members includes an inclined surface that is inclined in a direction that is inclined downward as it goes toward the 1 st side in the 2 nd direction.
According to this configuration, the posture of the article in the holding state can be made horizontal along the horizontal plane, and the posture of the article in the supporting state can be made inclined with the bottom surface portion of the article inclined in accordance with the inclination direction of the inclined surface. Thus, by applying the present configuration to the case where the posture of the article required at the transfer target site is the horizontal posture and the posture of the article suitable for the traveling of the transport vehicle is the inclined posture, the article can be supported in the housing portion in the posture suitable for the traveling of the transport vehicle when the transport vehicle travels, and the posture of the article placed at the transfer target site can be set to the posture required at the transfer target site when the article is transferred between the holding portion and the transfer target site.
Further, it is preferable that the bottom portion includes a planar bottom surface portion which contacts the support portion in the supported state, the bottom surface portion is arranged along a horizontal plane in the held state, the support device includes a pair of support members which are moved toward and away from each other in the 1 st direction by the support driving portion, the support driving portion moves the pair of support members away from each other in the 1 st direction to be in the retracted state, the pair of support members are moved toward each other in the 1 st direction, the support portion of each of the pair of support members is arranged below the bottom surface portion, and the support portion of one of the pair of support members and the support portion of the other of the pair of support members are arranged at different heights from each other.
According to this configuration, the posture of the article in the held state can be made to be a horizontal posture with the bottom surface portion along the horizontal plane, and the posture of the article in the supported state can be made to be an inclined posture with the bottom surface portion of the article inclined in accordance with the difference in level between the one support portion and the other support portion of the pair of support members. In this way, by applying the present configuration to a case where the posture of the article required at the transfer target site is a horizontal posture and the posture of the article suitable for the traveling of the transport vehicle is an inclined posture, the article can be supported in the housing portion in a posture suitable for the traveling of the transport vehicle when the transport vehicle is traveling, and the posture of the article placed at the transfer target site can be set to the posture required at the transfer target site when the article is transferred between the holding portion and the transfer target site.
As described above, in the configuration in which the one of the pair of support members and the other of the pair of support members are disposed at different heights from each other, it is preferable that the support portion of each of the pair of support members has an inclined surface along the bottom surface portion in the supported state.
According to this configuration, in the supported state, the contact area between the support portion and the bottom surface portion can be secured to be larger, and the article can be stably supported.
In the above-described transport vehicle having each configuration, it is preferable that the article is a container having an opening on a side surface thereof, and the support portion is formed so as to support the article in a posture in which the opening faces obliquely upward in the supported state.
According to this configuration, when the article is a container having an opening on a side surface thereof, the article can be supported in a supported state in a posture in which the contents accommodated in the article are unlikely to move from the opening to the outside of the article.
The carrier of the present application can exhibit at least one of the above-described effects.
Description of the reference numerals
1: transport vehicle
2: moving path
7: lifting path
10: main body part
15: accommodating part
20: holding part
30: lifting device
40: supporting device
50: support member
60: support part
60 a: inclined plane
71: lifting driving part
73: support drive unit
90: article with a cover
90 b: side surface
90 c: bottom surface part
92: opening part
94: bottom part
A: inclination angle
H: horizontal plane
P2: position 2 (target position)
P4: position 4 (reference position)
V1: upper side of
V2: lower side
X: front-back direction of vehicle body (No. 1 direction)
Y: left and right direction of vehicle body (2 nd direction)
Y1: side 1 (side 1 in the 2 nd direction).

Claims (9)

1. A transporting vehicle for transporting an article, characterized in that,
comprises a main body, a holding part, a lifting device and a supporting device,
the main body moves along a moving path and includes an accommodating portion for accommodating the article,
the holding part holds the article,
the lifting device lifts the holding part relative to the main body part,
the supporting device supports the article accommodated in the accommodating portion,
the support device comprises a support member for supporting the article from below, a support driving unit for driving the support member,
the support driving unit is configured to be in a retracted state in which the support member is retracted from a lifting path of the article when the holding unit is lifted by the lifting device and the article held by the holding unit is moved between the inside and the outside of the housing unit, and to be in a supported state in which the support member is inserted into the lifting path and the article is supported from below by the support member when the article is housed in the housing unit,
the support member includes a support portion that contacts the bottom of the article in the supported state,
the bottom part is separated from the support part and the article is kept in the keeping part,
the support portion is formed such that an inclination angle of the article in the supported state with respect to a horizontal plane is different from an inclination angle of the article in the held state with respect to the horizontal plane.
2. The cart of claim 1,
the lifting device is provided with a lifting driving part for lifting the holding part,
when the article disposed below the storage section is stored in the storage section, the support drive section executes entry control after the elevation drive section executes storage-time elevation control, and then the elevation drive section executes storage-time elevation control,
the storage-time raising control is a control of raising the holding portion holding the article in the retracted state such that the bottom portion is disposed above the support portion,
the entry control is a control of causing the support member to enter the lifting path so that the support portion is disposed below the bottom portion,
the storage lowering control is control for lowering the holding portion so that the bottom portion contacts the support portion.
3. The cart of claim 2,
when the holding portion that does not hold the article is raised from the outside to the inside of the housing portion, the elevation driving portion raises the holding portion in one direction from the current position of the holding portion to a reference position inside the housing portion, and then maintains the holding portion at the reference position.
4. The cart according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the lifting device is provided with a lifting driving part for lifting the holding part,
when the article supported by the support member is moved to the outside of the storage section, the support drive section executes avoidance control after the elevation drive section executes elevation control at the time of discharge, and then the elevation drive section executes elevation control at the time of discharge,
the discharge-time raising control is a control of raising the holding portion so that the bottom portion is separated from the support portion from above,
the avoidance control is control for causing the support member to avoid from the lifting path to assume the avoidance state,
the discharge-time lowering control is control for lowering the holding portion holding the article so that the article is disposed outside the storage portion.
5. The cart of claim 4,
when the holding portion that does not hold the article is lowered from the inside of the housing portion to the target position outside, the elevation driving portion lowers the holding portion in one direction from the current position of the holding portion to the target position.
6. The cart according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
the bottom portion has a planar bottom surface portion which contacts the support portion in the supported state,
in the holding state, the bottom surface portion is arranged along a horizontal plane,
the support device includes a pair of support members that are moved toward and away from each other in a 1 st direction by the support driving unit,
the support driving unit moves the pair of support members away from each other in the 1 st direction to be in the retracted state, moves the pair of support members toward each other in the 1 st direction, and disposes the support portion of each of the pair of support members below the bottom surface portion,
the direction orthogonal to the 1 st direction in a plan view is set as a 2 nd direction, one side of the 2 nd direction is set as a 2 nd direction 1 st side,
the support portion of each of the pair of support members has an inclined surface inclined in a direction that is downward as it goes to the 1 st side in the 2 nd direction.
7. The cart according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
the bottom portion has a planar bottom surface portion which contacts the support portion in the supported state,
in the holding state, the bottom surface portion is arranged along a horizontal plane,
the support device includes a pair of support members that are moved toward and away from each other in a 1 st direction by the support driving unit,
the support driving unit moves the pair of support members away from each other in the 1 st direction to be in the retracted state, moves the pair of support members toward each other in the 1 st direction, and disposes the support portion of each of the pair of support members below the bottom surface portion,
the support portion of one of the pair of support members and the support portion of the other of the pair of support members are disposed at different heights from each other.
8. The cart according to claim 7,
the support portion of each of the pair of support members has an inclined surface along the bottom surface portion in the supported state.
9. The cart according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
the article is a container having an opening on a side surface thereof,
the support portion is formed to support the article in a posture in which the opening portion is directed obliquely upward in the supported state.
CN202111299238.5A 2020-11-04 2021-11-04 Transport vehicle Pending CN114435874A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2020-184558 2020-11-04
JP2020184558A JP7268667B2 (en) 2020-11-04 2020-11-04 carrier

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN114435874A true CN114435874A (en) 2022-05-06

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CN202111299238.5A Pending CN114435874A (en) 2020-11-04 2021-11-04 Transport vehicle

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JP (1) JP7268667B2 (en)
KR (1) KR20220060485A (en)
CN (1) CN114435874A (en)
TW (1) TW202225075A (en)

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP4538729B2 (en) 2005-02-04 2010-09-08 株式会社ダイフク Transport vehicle
JP6304084B2 (en) 2015-03-16 2018-04-04 株式会社ダイフク Article conveying equipment and inspection jig
JP6641926B2 (en) * 2015-11-26 2020-02-05 株式会社ダイフク Goods transport equipment
JP2017154840A (en) 2016-02-29 2017-09-07 株式会社ダイフク Article conveyance facility

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TW202225075A (en) 2022-07-01
JP7268667B2 (en) 2023-05-08
KR20220060485A (en) 2022-05-11

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