JP2012025573A - Conveying system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transfer an article suitably onto a temporary storage rack provided between tracks in a conveying system.SOLUTION: The conveying system includes: tracks (100) having two tracks (100a, 100b) provided in parallel to one another; a temporary storage rack (520) provided between the two tracks; and conveying vehicles (200) that travel along the tracks and each transfers the article (400) onto the temporary storage rack. The temporary storage rack is provided at a position, as viewed in the vertical direction, where the temporary storage rack at least partially overlaps the conveying vehicle for transferring the article, and at a height where the transferred article does not interfere with the conveying vehicles.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of a transport system that transports an object to be transported such as a container in which various substrates for manufacturing semiconductor devices are accommodated by a transport vehicle that travels along a track.

  As this type of transport system, for example, there is a system that transports an object to be transported when a plurality of transport vehicles travel on a track laid on a ceiling. The transport vehicle can deliver (that is, transfer) a transported object to and from a temporary storage shelf (for example, a buffer) provided along the track.

  The transferred object can be transferred not only to the buffer located directly below the track, but also to the buffer positioned laterally as viewed from the track. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique of providing a side buffer between two orbits provided in parallel.

JP 2009-120299 A

  In the transfer system as described above, the object to be transferred is increased in size as the diameter of the semiconductor wafer is increased. For this reason, the enlargement of the conveyance vehicle which conveys a to-be-conveyed object is also calculated | required.

  However, in the configuration like the technique according to Patent Document 1 described above, if the size of the transport vehicle is simply increased, the transport vehicle and the side buffer may collide. On the other hand, if an attempt is made to prevent a collision by widening the interval between the tracks, a huge cost is required. That is, the technique according to Patent Document 1 has a technical problem that it cannot flexibly cope with the increase in size of the transport vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, for example, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a transport system capable of suitably transferring an object to be transported to a side buffer provided between tracks. To do.

  In order to solve the above problems, a transport system according to the present invention includes a track having two track portions provided side by side, a temporary storage shelf provided between the two track portions, and the track. A transport vehicle that travels and is capable of transferring a transported object to the temporary storage shelf, wherein the temporary storage shelf is at least partially viewed from the transport vehicle to which the transported object is to be transferred And a height at which the transferred object does not collide with the transport vehicle.

  According to the transport system of the present invention, during the operation, a transported object such as FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) is transported by a transport vehicle such as OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport) that travels along a track laid on the ceiling. Be transported. A plurality of transport vehicles are provided on the track, and each transport vehicle transports an object to be transported based on a transport command given to each track.

  The track of the present invention has two track portions provided so as to be aligned with each other. For example, the two track portions are arranged in parallel with each other and at a relatively narrow interval. Between these two track portions, a temporary storage shelf capable of transferring an object to be transported is provided. The temporary storage shelf is provided so as to be located on the side of the track, and the transport vehicle transfers the object to be transported to the temporary storage shelf using, for example, a transfer mechanism that can be extended laterally.

  In the present invention, in particular, the temporary storage shelf described above is at least partially overlapped with the transport vehicle to which the transported object is to be transferred in the vertical direction, and the transferred transport object collides with the transport vehicle. It is provided at a height that does not. In other words, the temporary storage shelf is provided on the side of the transport vehicle at a position shifted by a width smaller than the width of the object to be transported, and furthermore, the transport vehicle traveling on the two track portions is moved to the temporary storage shelf. The height on the temporary storage shelf side is adjusted so as not to collide with the transferred object.

  If the temporary storage shelf is provided at the same height as the transport vehicle travels, in order for the transport vehicle and the object to be transported transferred to the temporary storage shelf not to collide, It is required that the two track portions are provided at least apart from the width of the conveyed object. More precisely, the two track portions are required to be separated by a total distance including the distance from the track to the end of the transport vehicle, the width of the object to be transported, the margin at the time of transfer, and the like.

  Even if such a distance between the track portions is a sufficient distance at the beginning of laying (that is, a distance such that the transport vehicle and the transported object loaded on the temporary storage shelf do not collide), for example, transport If you try to enlarge the car, it will not be enough distance. That is, since the transport vehicle approaches the temporary storage shelf as much as the size of the transport vehicle increases, there is a risk that the transport vehicle and the transferred object transferred to the temporary storage shelf collide.

  As described above, the temporary storage shelf according to the present invention is provided at a position that at least partially overlaps with the transport vehicle to which the transported object is to be transferred in the vertical direction. Therefore, if the transport vehicle and the transported object transferred to the temporary storage shelf have the same height, the transport vehicle and the transported object will surely collide.

  However, in the present invention, as described above, the temporary storage shelf is provided at a height at which the transferred object does not collide with the transport vehicle. For example, when viewed from the side, the temporary storage shelf of the present invention is provided on the lower side until the transport vehicle and the object to be transported transferred to the temporary storage shelf do not overlap each other. For this reason, even if the transport vehicle and the temporary storage shelf are provided at positions where they overlap each other, the collision between the transport vehicle and the object to be transported on the temporary storage shelf can be reliably prevented.

  Note that it is considered that the collision between the transport vehicle and the transported object on the temporary storage shelf can be prevented by widening the distance between the two track portions, but it is extremely expensive to change the track laying position. It will take. The present invention also has an effect of preventing such an increase in cost.

  As described above, according to the transport system of the present invention, the transported object is preferably transferred to the temporary storage shelf provided between the tracks while preventing the traveling transport vehicle and the transported object from colliding. It is possible to put.

  In one aspect of the transport system of the present invention, the track is between one transport vehicle that travels on one track portion of the two track portions and another transport vehicle that travels on the other track portion. The distance in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the track is provided to be narrower than the width of the conveyed object.

  According to this aspect, the track between the end on the temporary storage shelf side of one transport vehicle traveling on one track portion and the end on the temporary storage shelf side of another transport vehicle traveling on the other track portion. The distance in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the extending direction is made narrower than the width of the conveyed object. The “distance in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the track” here means the distance at which the transporting vehicles traveling on different track portions are closest to each other.

  Even in such a case, since the temporary storage shelf is provided at such a height that the transport vehicle and the transferred object do not collide with each other, no problem occurs. That is, even when the distance between the track portions is set to be narrow, the collision can be prevented because the height of the temporary storage shelf is adjusted. Accordingly, it is possible to flexibly cope with an increase in the size of the transport vehicle.

  In another aspect of the transport system of the present invention, the distance A between the one track portion and the other track portion is set such that the width of the transport vehicle is B, the width of the transported object is C, and the one track portion is The distance between the end of the transport vehicle traveling on the temporary storage shelf side of the transport vehicle and the object to be transported loaded on the transport vehicle is D, and the temporary storage shelf side of the transport vehicle traveling on the other track portion F is a distance from the end of the transport object to the transported object transferred to the temporary storage shelf, and from the transported object loaded on the transport vehicle to the transported object transferred to the temporary storage shelf. When the distance is G and A = B + C−D + G + F, the temporary storage shelf is provided so as to satisfy the relationship of G <D.

  According to this aspect, the distance to the end of the transport vehicle on the temporary storage shelf side (ie, the distance D) when viewed from the transported object loaded on the transport vehicle is the transported object transferred to the temporary storage shelf. The position of the temporary storage shelf is set to be larger than the distance to the object (that is, the distance G). That is, the object to be transported transferred to the temporary storage shelf is positioned so as to be located inside the end of the transport vehicle. Therefore, the distance between the two track portions is relatively narrow.

  Even in such a case, since the temporary storage shelf is provided at such a height that the transport vehicle and the transferred object do not collide with each other, no problem occurs. That is, even when the distance between the track portions is set to be narrow, the collision can be prevented because the height of the temporary storage shelf is adjusted. Accordingly, it is possible to flexibly cope with an increase in the size of the transport vehicle.

  In another aspect of the transport system of the present invention, the transport system further includes a lower temporary storage shelf provided at a position overlapping the track, and the temporary storage shelf is provided at the same height as the lower temporary storage shelf. .

  According to this aspect, the lower temporary storage shelf located immediately below the transport vehicle is provided, and the transport vehicle transfers the transferred object to the lower temporary storage shelf in the same manner as the temporary storage shelf. I do.

  And especially the temporary storage shelf of this aspect is provided in the same height as the lower temporary storage shelf mentioned above. Therefore, the configuration of each buffer can be simplified as compared with the case where the temporary storage shelf and the lower temporary storage shelf are provided at different heights.

  In addition, “the same height” in this aspect does not indicate only the case where the height of the temporary storage shelf and the height of the lower temporary storage shelf are completely the same, and the effects of this aspect described above can be exhibited. By that, it means that the height of each other is close.

  The effect | action and other gain of this invention are clarified from the form for implementing invention demonstrated below.

It is a top view which shows the whole structure of the conveyance system which concerns on embodiment. It is a side view which shows the structure of a conveyance vehicle. It is a perspective view (the 1) which shows the transfer method of FOUP. It is a perspective view (the 2) which shows the transfer method of FOUP. It is a top view which shows the positional relationship of the track | orbit of the conveyance system which concerns on embodiment, a conveyance vehicle, and a side buffer. It is a side view which shows the positional relationship of the track | orbit of a conveyance system which concerns on embodiment, a conveyance vehicle, and a side buffer. It is a side view which shows the positional relationship of the track | orbit of a conveyance system which concerns on a comparative example, a conveyance vehicle, and a side buffer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the overall configuration of the transport system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of the transport system according to this embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, the transport system according to the present embodiment includes a track 100, a transport vehicle 200, and a controller 300.

  The track 100 is laid on the ceiling, for example, and is made of a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel.

  A plurality of transport vehicles 200 are arranged on the track 100, and can travel a FOUP that is a transported object by traveling on the track 100. Here, in order to clarify the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 200, the front portion of the transport vehicle 200 is conceptually illustrated as an acute angle.

  The transport vehicle 200 further includes an on-board controller 205. The on-vehicle controller 205 receives a conveyance command from the controller 300 and controls the traveling of the conveyance vehicle 200. The on-board controller 205 not only controls the travel of the transport vehicle 200 but also has a function of comprehensively controlling each device provided in the transport vehicle 200.

  The controller 300 includes, for example, an arithmetic circuit, a memory, and the like, and is configured to be able to give a conveyance command to the conveyance vehicle 200 via the on-vehicle controller 205.

  Although illustration is omitted here, a plurality of buffers for temporarily storing the FOUP are provided at positions along the track 100. The configuration of this buffer will be described in detail later.

  Next, a more specific configuration of the transport vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the transport vehicle.

  In FIG. 2, the transport vehicle 200 includes a traveling unit 210, a main body unit 220, a moving unit 230, an elevating control unit 235, an elevating belt 240, and a gripping unit 250.

  The transport vehicle 200 travels along the track 100 while the traveling roller 215 rolls as the traveling unit 210 applies a propulsive force by, for example, a linear motor. A main body 220 is attached to the lower surface of the traveling unit 210 so as to hang.

  A moving part 230 is attached to the main body part 220. The moving unit 230 can move to the side of the track 100 (that is, the horizontal direction in the drawing). A lifting control unit 235 is attached to the lower surface of the moving unit 230.

  A gripping part 250 that grips the FOUP is attached to the lower surface of the lift control part 235 by a lift belt 240. The gripping part 250 can be raised and lowered with respect to the main body part 220 by unwinding or winding up the lifting belt 240.

  Next, a method for transferring FOUP using a transport vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing a FOUP transfer method.

  In FIG. 3, when the transport vehicle 200 transfers the FOUP 400 on the port 510 located directly below the track 100, first, the transport vehicle 200 travels on the track 100 and the FOUP 400 installed on the port 510 is moved. Stop upward.

  Subsequently, as shown in the drawing, the lifting / lowering belt 240 is unwound by the lifting / lowering control unit 235 so that the gripping unit 250 is lowered to the position of the FOUP 400. And the fine adjustment of the position of the holding part 250 and the FOUP 400 is performed, and the FOUP 400 is held.

  When the FOUP 400 is gripped, the elevating belt 240 is wound up, and the grip portion 250 and the gripped FOUP 400 are raised to the position of the main body portion 220. Then, the transport vehicle 200 travels again on the track 100, and the FOUP 400 is transported.

  In FIG. 4, when the FOUP 400 is installed in the side buffer 520 at a position shifted to the side of the track 100, the lifting control unit 235 moves the lifting belt after the moving unit 230 moves to the side of the track 100. 240 is unwound and the gripping part 250 is lowered to the position of the FOUP 400. By operating in this way, the FOUP 400 can be laterally transferred from the track unit 100.

  Next, the configuration of the buffer of the transport system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a top view showing the positional relationship between the track, the transport vehicle, and the side buffer of the transport system according to this embodiment, and FIG. 6 is the track, the transport vehicle, and the side buffer of the transport system according to the present embodiment. It is a side view which shows these positional relationships. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the positional relationship between the track, the transport vehicle, and the side buffer of the transport system according to the comparative example.

  In FIG. 5, the side buffer 520 according to the present embodiment is an example of the “temporary storage shelf” of the present invention, and is provided between the first track portion 100 a and the second track portion 100 b provided side by side. . The FOUP 400 can be transferred to the side buffer 520 by a transport vehicle 200a traveling on the first track portion 100a. As can be seen from the drawing, the side buffer 520 is provided so as to at least partially overlap the carrier vehicle 200a to which the FOUP 400 can be transferred as viewed in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the transport vehicle 200b traveling on the track portion 100b opposite to the transport vehicle 200a is provided so as not to overlap (that is, to be separated).

  In FIG. 6, the side buffer 520 according to the present embodiment is provided at the same height as the under buffer 530 which is an example of the “lower temporary storage shelf” of the present invention. For this reason, the FOUP 400 transferred to the side buffer 520 has a height that does not collide with the transport vehicle 200.

  In FIG. 7, if the side buffer 520 is provided at a higher position, the FOUP 400 and the transport vehicle 200 transferred to the side buffer 520 are present at positions overlapping each other when viewed in the horizontal direction. . Therefore, in order to prevent the FOUP 400 and the transport vehicle 200 from colliding with each other, the distance between the first track portion 100a and the second track portion 100b is required to be relatively large.

  Specifically, the distance A1 between the first track portion 100a and the second track portion 100b according to the comparative example is such that the width of the transport vehicle 200 is B, the width of the FOUP 400 is C, the end of the transport vehicle 200 and the transport vehicle 200. The distance from the end of the transport vehicle 200a to the FOUP transferred to the side buffer 520 is E, and the distance from the end of the transport vehicle 200b to the FOUP transferred to the side buffer 520 is D. If the distance is F, it can be expressed by the following mathematical formula (1).

    A1 = B + C + E + F (1)

  The distances D, E, and F are determined according to the configuration of the transport vehicle 200 and the like.

  Returning to FIG. 6, compared with the comparative example described above, the distance A2 between the first track portion 100a and the second track portion 100b according to this embodiment is transferred from the FOUP 400 loaded on the transport vehicle 200a to the side buffer 520. When the distance to the FOUP is G, it is expressed by the following formula (2).

    A2 = B + C-D + G + F (2)

  Substituting the formula (1) into the formula (2), the following formula (3) is established.

    A2 = A1-ED + G (3)

  Here, as can be seen from the figure, since G <D, the relationship of A2 <A1 is established. That is, according to the transport system according to the present embodiment, the distance between the first track portion 100a and the second track portion 100b can be reduced by shifting the position of the side buffer 520 downward.

  Even if such a distance between the track portions is a sufficient distance at the beginning of laying, for example, if the size of the transport vehicle 200 is increased, it cannot be said to be a sufficient distance. That is, since the transport vehicle 200 is closer to the side buffer 520 as the size of the transport vehicle 200 is increased, the transport vehicle 200 and the FOUP 400 transferred to the side buffer 520 may collide.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, the side buffer 520 is provided at such a height that the transferred FOUP 400 does not collide with the transport vehicle 200. For this reason, even when the distance between the first track portion 100a and the second track portion 100b is relatively small, the collision between the transport vehicle 200 and the FOUP 400 of the side buffer 520 can be reliably prevented.

  It is considered that the collision between the transport vehicle 200 and the FOUP 400 of the side buffer 520 can also be prevented by increasing the distance between the first track portion 100a and the second track portion 100b. The change in cost is extremely expensive. The transport system according to the present embodiment also has an effect of preventing such an increase in cost.

  In the present embodiment, the side buffer 520 is further provided at the same height as the under buffer 530. Therefore, the configuration of each buffer can be simplified as compared with the case where the side buffer 520 and the under buffer 530 are provided at different heights (see FIG. 7).

  As described above, according to the transport system of the present invention, the FOUP 400 is suitably transferred to the side buffer 520 provided between the tracks 100 while preventing a collision between the traveling transport vehicle 200 and the FOUP 400. It is possible.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. Moreover, it is included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Track, 100a ... 1st track part, 100b ... 2nd track part, 200 ... Conveyance vehicle, 210 ... Traveling part, 215 ... Traveling roller, 220 ... Main part, 230 ... Moving part, 240 ... Lifting belt, 250 ... Gripping unit, 300 ... controller, 400 ... FOUP, 510 ... port, 520 ... side buffer, 530 ... under buffer

Claims (4)

A track having two track portions arranged side by side;
A temporary storage shelf provided between the two track portions;
A transport vehicle that travels on the track and is capable of transferring a transported object to the temporary storage shelf,
The temporary storage shelf is positioned at least partially overlapping with the transport vehicle to which the transported object is to be transferred in a vertical direction, and the height at which the transferred transported object does not collide with the transport vehicle. A conveyance system characterized by being provided in   The track is a horizontal plane orthogonal to the extending direction of the track between one transport vehicle traveling on one track portion of the two track portions and another transport vehicle traveling on the other track portion. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein a distance in a direction is provided to be narrower than a width of the object to be transported. The distance A between the one track portion and the other track portion is such that the width of the transport vehicle is B, the width of the object to be transported is C, and the temporary storage shelf of the transport vehicle traveling on the one track portion. The distance between the side end and the object loaded on the transport vehicle is D, and the transport vehicle traveling on the other track portion is transferred from the end on the temporary storage shelf side to the temporary storage shelf. F is a distance to the conveyed object, and G is a distance from the conveyed object loaded on the conveyance vehicle to the conveyed object transferred to the temporary storage shelf.
A = B + C-D + G + F
Can be expressed as
The temporary storage shelf is:
G <D
The conveyance system according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance system is provided so as to satisfy the relationship. Further comprising a lower temporary storage shelf provided at a position overlapping the track,
The said temporary storage shelf is provided in the same height as the said lower temporary storage shelf. The conveyance system as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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