JP4207127B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is driven by a guide rail installed on the ceiling side, travels along a set movement route, and driving power is fed by a feed line provided in a state along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. And a lift position connected to the adjacent guide rail in a state where the lift rail portion is stopped at the lift rail portion. In addition, the present invention relates to a transport device provided with lifting and lowering moving means for moving up and down to a lowering position below the rising position.

In order to perform maintenance work on the article transport vehicle, the transport device lowers the lift rail portion to the lowered position by the lift moving means while the article transport vehicle is stopped on the lift rail portion, and the lift rail The article transport vehicle is lowered from the portion, and the article transport vehicle is placed on the lifting rail portion positioned at the lowered position so that the lowered article transport vehicle can be guided by the guide rail and travel along the set movement path. Then, the elevator rail is raised to the raised position.
Conventionally, when such a transport device lifts and lowers the lift rail portion, the lift rail portion, the article transport vehicle stopped at the lift rail portion, and the feeder line portion corresponding to the lift rail portion do not interfere with each other. The feeder line part is supported by the lifting rail part so that the lifting rail part and the feeder line part are integrally raised and lowered, and the feeder line is lifted and lowered to permit the raising and lowering of the feeder line part. There is a configuration in which an interchangeable portion supported by a cable track is provided between a main line corresponding to a guide rail adjacent to the rail portion (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-8-289413

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the lifting rail portion can be moved up and down between the rising position near the ceiling and the lower position near the floor in order to get on and off the article transport vehicle with respect to the lifting rail portion near the floor surface. As a result, the interchangeable part required for the feeder line becomes longer, and in order to raise and lower the feeder line part integrally with the lifting rail part, the interchangeable part has long accommodation in the normal use state in which the lifting rail part is raised to the raised position. Since the portion hangs down in a U-shape, a large occupied space is required to arrange the flexible portion that drastically hangs down.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport device that can easily save space by eliminating the drooping of a power supply line.

The conveyance device of the present invention is guided by a guide rail installed on the ceiling side, travels along a set movement route, and is driven by a power supply line provided in a state along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. An article transport vehicle having a current collector to which electric power is fed, and a part of the lifting rail part in the guide rail, with the article transporting vehicle being stopped at the lifting rail part, to the adjacent guide rail A conveying device provided with a continuous ascending position and an ascending and descending moving means for moving up and down to a descending position below the ascending position,
In the first characteristic configuration, the power supply line portion corresponding to the lift rail portion in the power feed line can be fed to the current collector, the lift rail portion can be lifted, and the article conveyance can be stopped at the lift rail portion. It is characterized in that position change means for changing the position to a retreat position for retreating laterally to allow the vehicle to move up and down is provided.

That is, by changing the position of the power supply line portion corresponding to the lift rail portion in the power supply line from the power supply position to the retracted position on the lateral side, the lift rail portion moved up and down by the lift moving means and the lift rail portion are stopped. The lifting / lowering path of the article transport vehicle can be withdrawn, and the lifting rail portion and the article transporting vehicle can be allowed to move up and down.
In other words, the position change from the supply position to the retreat position of the power supply line portion may be a change to the extent that the power supply line portion is retracted laterally so as to deviate from the elevating rail portion and the elevating movement path of the article transport vehicle stopped at the elevating rail portion. Therefore, the flexible portion provided between the feeder line portion and the feeder line main line corresponding to the adjacent guide rail can be shortened, and the feeder line portion is retracted laterally. And a flexible portion provided between the main line and the feeder line can be arranged so as not to hang down. Therefore, the length of the interchangeable portion provided between the feeder line portion and the feeder line main line can be shortened so as not to hang down, thereby providing a transport device that eliminates the sag of the feeder line and facilitates space saving. I was able to do it.

The second characteristic configuration is characterized in that the elevating and moving means and the position changing means are provided on the ceiling side.
That is, by providing the lifting / lowering means and the position changing means on the ceiling side, the space below the lifting / lowering means and the position changing means can be used effectively.

The third characteristic configuration is characterized in that the ascending / descending movement means and the position changing means are configured to operate in accordance with a command from an operation means for remote operation.
That is, in the second feature configuration, the lifting / lowering means and the position changing means provided on the ceiling side can be remotely operated from the floor side by the operating means, and the commands of the lifting / lowering means and the position changing means can be controlled. Can be easily performed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveying device is provided so that the guide rail 2 is combined with an annular set movement path so as to pass through the plurality of article processing units 1, and is guided and set by the traveling rail 2. An article transporting vehicle 3 that travels along the moving route is provided.
Then, the article transporting vehicle 3 stores the semiconductor substrate from the article carry-in location not shown in the figure to the article processing unit 1, from the article processing unit 1 to the other article processing unit 1, and from the article processing unit 1 to the article carry-out location outside the figure. The article 4 is configured to be transported, and the article processing unit 1 is configured to perform a predetermined process on a semi-finished product or the like in the middle of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate.
Incidentally, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of a set movement route of the article transport vehicle 3, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the guide rail 2 and the article transport vehicle 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the guide rail 2 is composed of a pair of left and right rails arranged in a state of being fixedly attached to the ceiling portion by a bracket 8, and is installed on the ceiling side. Is provided with a pair of left and right power supply lines 15 along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2, and the article transport vehicle 3 is provided with a current collecting portion 16 to which driving power is supplied by the power supply line 15. It has been.

The article transport vehicle 3 includes a traveling unit 5 that travels on the guide rail 2 and a gripping unit 6 that is supported by being suspended from the traveling unit 5 and grips the container 4 in a suspended state. Has been.
Then, in the state where the article transporting vehicle 3 is stopped at the target stop position corresponding to the article processing unit 1, the gripping unit 6 that grips the container 4 is lifted and lowered by winding or unwinding the wire 7. The container 4 is pulled up from the mounting table 1a of the article processing unit 1 and the holding unit 6 that holds the container 4 is lowered to place the container 4 on the mounting table 1a of the article processing unit 1. ing.
3 is a longitudinal side view of the article transport vehicle 3, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal front view of the article transport vehicle 3. As shown in FIG.

  The traveling unit 5 includes a pair of rotatable left and right driven wheels and a pair of left and right drive wheels driven by a pair of left and right drive motors 17 and rolls on the traveling surface 12 of the guide rail 2. 11 and a guide wheel 13 that is in contact with the opposing guide surface 14 of the guide rail 2 from the side. Accordingly, the pair of left and right traveling wheels 11 on the rear side are driven by the drive motor 17, and the guide wheel 13 is guided to contact with the guide surface 14, whereby the article transport vehicle 3 is guided to the guide rail 2. The vehicle is configured to travel along the set movement route.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the gripping portion 6 includes a frame body 18 connected to the traveling portion 5 by a connecting rod 9, and a lifting operation portion 19 supported by being suspended from the frame body 18. Has been. The lifting / lowering operation unit 19 includes a lifting / lowering body 21 including a gripping action unit 20 that can be switched between an operation state for gripping the flange 4a of the container 4 and a release state for releasing the gripping, and an operation for lifting the lifting body 21 in the vertical direction. It is comprised with the raising / lowering operation mechanism 22 supported freely.

The elevating operation mechanism 22 is configured so that the four wires 7 can be simultaneously wound and unwound by the rotating drum 23 that is rotated about the vertical axis by the drum driving motor M1. By moving forward / reversely, the lifting / lowering body 21 suspended and supported by the four wires 7 is configured to be lifted / lowered while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture.
The gripping action part 20 is provided with a pair of gripping tools 24 for gripping the flange 4a of the container 2, and the pair of gripping tools 24 swings in a direction approaching each other via a link mechanism 25 by a gripping operation motor M2. The gripping posture of gripping the flange 4a and the release posture of releasing the gripping by swinging in a direction in which the pair of gripping tools 24 separate from each other are configured.
The gripping action portion 20 is attached to the elevating body 21 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis, and is configured to be capable of turning around the vertical axis by a turning motor M3.

On the upper surface of the frame 18, there is provided a current collector 16 to which driving power such as a travel drive motor 17, a drum drive motor M <b> 1, and a gripping operation motor M <b> 2 is fed by a pair of left and right feed lines 15. ing. The current collector 16 is composed of a pickup coil and is formed in an E shape when viewed from the front.
And it is comprised so that a magnetic field may be generated in the feeder line 15 by energization of an alternating current, and the necessary power on the article transport vehicle 3 side may be generated in the current collector 16 by this magnetic field, and power may be supplied in a contactless state. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an article transport vehicle entry / exit location 31 is defined on a branch path branched from an annular set movement path that passes through the article processing unit 1. In this article transport vehicle entry / exit location 31, a part of the lift rail portion 2 a in the guide rail 2 is connected to the main rail line 2 b as an adjacent guide rail in a state in which the lift rail portion 2 a stops the article transport vehicle 3. Elevating / lowering means 32 for moving up and down to a series of ascending positions and a descending position near the floor surface below the ascending position and a feeding line portion 15a corresponding to the lifting rail portion 2a in the feeding line 15 are fed to the current collector 16 Position changing means 41 for changing the position to a possible power feeding position and a retreating position for retracting sideways so as to allow the lifting and lowering of the lifting and lowering rail part 2a and the lifting and lowering of the article transporting vehicle 3 stopped on the lifting rail part 2a It has been.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the up-and-down moving means 32 is supported by a plate-like portion 33 a of a support member 33 that is fixed to the ceiling, and the up-and-down motor 34 and the up-and-down motor 34 are connected to each other. And a drive pulley 35 that can be driven to rotate and take up and take up the belt 36, an idle pulley 37 that supports an intermediate portion of the belt 36, and a tension pulley 38 that applies tension to the belt 36.
The lifting / lowering moving means 32 connects and supports the lifting / lowering rail portion 2a at the end of the belt 36 that is fed, and the driving pulley 35 is rotated forward and backward by the lifting / lowering motor 34 so that the belt 36 is fed and wound. As shown in FIG. 10 (a), the elevating rail portion 2a is connected to the main rail 2b while the elevating rail portion 2a connected and supported at the end of the belt 36 maintains a horizontal posture. It is configured to move up and down to a position and to a lowered position near the floor surface below the raised position as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the position changing means 41 is provided on one side in the horizontal width direction intersecting the set movement path, and is slidable in the horizontal width direction on the slide support portion 33 b of the support member 33. The slide plate 43 is supported, the pinion gear 45 meshes with the rack of the rack portion 33c of the support member 33, and the slide motor 46 that rotationally drives the pinion gear 45. The direction change means 41 is provided on one side where the direction change means 41 is provided, and both are supported by the slide plate 43.
Accordingly, the position changing means 41 is applied to the current collecting section 16 as shown in FIG. 8 (a) by the pinion gear 45 being rotated forward and reverse by the slide motor 46 and the slide plate 43 slidingly moving in the horizontal width direction. A feeding position where power can be fed, and a retreat position where the lifting / lowering rail portion 2a is lifted and the article transporting vehicle 3 stopped on the lifting rail portion 2a is retracted sideways to allow lifting / lowering as shown in FIG. And the position is changed.

That is, in the rail main line 2b, as shown in FIG. 4, the pair of left and right feeding lines 15 are divided into a pair of rails, and the feeding lines 15 are provided on both sides of the set movement path. In the elevating rail portion 2a, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of left and right feeder lines 15 are provided together on one side of the set movement path. Thereby, when traveling by being guided by the rail main line 2b, the article transport vehicle 3 is supplied with driving power from both the left and right sides of the current collector 16 by both of the pair of power supply lines 15, When traveling while being guided by the main rail line 2 b, the article transport vehicle 3 is positioned on the set movement path side of the pair of power supply lines 15, and driving power is supplied from the left and right sides of the current collector 16.
Therefore, in the rail main line 2b, by providing a pair of power supply lines 15 on both sides of the set movement path, sufficient power for driving is supplied to the article transport vehicle 3 by the pair of power supply lines 15 so that the container can be quickly used. 4, and in the elevating rail portion 2 a, the pair of feeder lines 15 are collectively provided on one side of the set movement path, thereby changing the position of the pair of feeder lines on one side of the set movement path. Since it can be performed integrally, the configuration of the position changing means can be simplified. Note that at the article transport vehicle entry / exit point 31, the article transport vehicle 3 does not need to travel at high speed, and power supply by one power supply line is sufficient.

The routing of the feeder line 15 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, a pair of power supply lines 15 are provided along the guide rail 2, and a pair of power supply line parts 15a corresponding to the lifting rail part 2a are provided together on one side of the set movement path. The pair of feeder main lines 15b corresponding to the rail main line 2b is provided on both sides of the set movement path. And the feed line main line 15b disposed on the other side of the pair of feed line main lines 15b where the feed line part 15a of the set movement path is not provided is provided above the rail main line 2b and provided with the feed line part 15a. Is extended on one side.
The feeder line portion 15a and the feeder line main line 15b are connected via an interchangeable portion 15c whose position is freely changeable, and the feeder line portion 15a is configured to be changeable between a feeding position and a retracted position. In addition, the accommodation part 15c in the feeder 15 is accommodated in the cable track in order to prevent interference with other devices.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the transfer device includes a wireless operation device for remote operation (corresponding to an operation means) for instructing a moving operation of the guide rail portion 2 a and a position changing operation of the feeder line portion 15 a by radio signals. ) 48, and in this wireless operation device 48, a lowering command for lowering the lifting rail portion 2 a from the rising position to the lowering position after changing the position of the feeder line portion 15 a from the supply position to the retracted position, Further, an ascending command for changing the position of the feeder line portion 15a from the retracted position to the supplying position after the elevating rail portion 2a is moved up from the lowered position to the raised position can be commanded by human operation. The lowering command and the rising command are received by the receiver 49 and input to the control device H, and the lifting motor 34 and the sliding motor 46 are operated based on this input information.

Accordingly, when a lowering command is issued by the wireless operation device 48 in a state where the feeding line portion 15a is located at the feeding position and the lifting rail portion 2a is located at the rising position as shown in FIG. The position changing means 41 changes the position of the feeder line portion 15a to the retracted position as shown in FIG. 9 (b) in order to allow the lifting / lowering of the article transport vehicle 3 stopped on the portion 2a and the lifting rail portion 2a. The lift rail portion 2a is lowered to the lowered position by the lift moving means 32 as shown in FIG.
In this way, when lowering the lifting rail portion 2a, if the article transport vehicle 3 is stopped at the lifting rail portion 2a, the article transport vehicle 3 is also lowered together with the lifting rail portion 2a, and the lifting is lowered to the lowered position. Maintenance work is performed by lowering the article transport vehicle 3 from the rail portion 2a.

Further, when a command for raising is given by the wireless operation device 48 in a state where the feeder line portion 15a as shown in FIG. 9C is located at the retracted position and the lifting rail portion 2a is located at the lowered position, FIG. As shown in FIG. 9 (b), after the lifting / lowering rail means 2a is lifted to the raised position by the lifting / lowering moving means 32, the driving power is supplied to the current collecting section 16 of the article conveying section 3 by the feeder line portion 15a. As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the position changing means 41 changes the position of the feeder line portion 15a to the feeding position to obtain a state.
When the lifting rail portion 2a is lifted in this way, the article transporting vehicle 3 travels along the set movement path by inserting the finished article transporting vehicle 3 into the lifting rail portion 2a at the lowered position. Can be deployed as follows.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, the lifting / lowering means 32 is provided on the ceiling side. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the lifting / lowering motor 34 and the drive pulley 35 in the lifting / lowering means are provided on or near the floor. May be.

(2) In the above embodiment, the operating means is configured wirelessly. However, it may be configured as a wired system in which the operating means and the control device are connected by a cable. Operation means may be provided at a position close to 41.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the pair of feeder lines 15a are arranged together on one side of the set movement path, but may be distributed and arranged on both sides of the set movement path similarly to the main line 15b. Alternatively, the pair of feeder lines 15b may be arranged together on one side of the set movement path like the feeder line portion 2a. Moreover, although the shape of the current collector in front view is an E shape, it may be an E shape.

(4) In the above embodiment, the branch path that is branched from the travel path and is provided with the article transport vehicle entry / exit location 31 is formed in an annular shape like the travel path, and the main rail 2b is adjacent to both sides of the lift rail portion 2a. In addition, the article transport vehicle entrance / exit 31 may be provided on the travel route.

Schematic showing the travel route of the article transport vehicle Perspective view showing article transport vehicle and article processing unit Longitudinal side view of goods transport vehicle Longitudinal front view of goods transport vehicle Side view of rail lifting device Front view of rail lifting device Plan view of rail lifting device The figure which shows the position change means of a rail raising / lowering apparatus Front action diagram of rail lifting device Side action diagram of rail lifting device Control block diagram of transfer device The figure which shows the rail raising / lowering apparatus in another embodiment

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Guide rail 2a Lifting rail part 3 Goods conveyance vehicle 15 Feeding line 15a Feeding line part 16 Current collecting part 32 Lifting / moving means 41 Position changing means 48 Operating means

Claims (3)

A current collector that is guided by a guide rail installed on the ceiling side, travels along a set movement route, and is supplied with driving power by a power supply line provided in a state along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. An article transport vehicle having a section;
A part of the lifting rail part of the guide rail is moved up and down to an ascending position connected to the adjacent guiding rail and a descending position below the ascending position with the article transport vehicle stopped at the raising and lowering rail part. A transport device provided with lifting and lowering moving means,
The feed line portion corresponding to the lift rail portion in the feed line is allowed to feed power to the current collector, the lift rail portion is lifted and the article transport vehicle stopped at the lift rail portion is allowed to rise and fall. A transfer device provided with position changing means for changing the position to the retracted position retracted sideways as much as possible.   The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elevating / lowering means and the position changing means are provided on a ceiling side.   The conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the elevating / lowering means and the position changing means are configured to operate in response to a command from an operating means for remote operation.

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