JP5549757B2 - Transport system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport system, and more particularly to a transport system that supplies and unloads articles without waiting for a processing apparatus.

  Without waiting for processing equipment such as semiconductor processing equipment and semiconductor inspection equipment, articles such as FOUP (sealed cassette for transporting semiconductor wafers) need to be supplied and unloaded to the load ports of these equipment . For this reason, it has been proposed to provide a buffer in the vicinity of the processing device and to provide a second transport device for transporting between the buffer and the processing device. For example, in Patent Document 1 (JP2006-224944A), a plurality of tracks of an overhead traveling vehicle are arranged in parallel to a ceiling space, and one is for long-distance conveyance and the other is for short-distance conveyance. Then, a buffer is arranged directly under the long-distance conveyance track, and a processing apparatus load port is arranged directly under the short-distance conveyance track. The overhead traveling vehicle for long-distance conveyance delivers articles between the buffers, and the overhead traveling vehicle for short-distance conveyance delivers articles between the buffers and the load port. Therefore, if the articles required by the processing apparatus are transported to the buffer in advance, the articles can be supplied to the processing apparatus at a high speed. Further, the article is carried out from the load port of the processing apparatus at a high speed by an overhead traveling vehicle for short distance conveyance. However, in this case, since the tracks are provided in parallel at the same height position, the floor area occupied by the transfer system in plan view increases.

  In Patent Document 2 (JP2005-150129A), a buffer having a transport device is provided on the front surface of the processing device, the overhead traveling vehicle delivers articles to and from the buffer, and the transport device in the buffer is between the load port and the vehicle. Deliver goods. However, on the front surface of the processing apparatus, a display showing the operating status, an operation panel for manual operation, and the like are provided, and it is not preferable to block these with a buffer. In addition, the load port is not used only by the automatic conveyance device, and may manually supply and carry out articles. If the front surface of the processing device is covered with a buffer, it is difficult to access the load port manually.

JP2006-224944A JP2005-150129A

  An object of the present invention is to quickly supply and unload articles to a processing apparatus without blocking the front surface of the processing apparatus and reducing the floor area occupied by the transfer system in plan view.

A common technical feature of the special transport system of the present invention is that the article is transported between a plurality of processing apparatuses,
A first trajectory passing over the top of the processing device load port;
An overhead traveling vehicle that travels along the first track and includes a hoist;
A second track below the first track and passing over the load port and disposed parallel to the first track;
A buffer for placing an article, wherein the article is provided vertically above the load port at a position higher than the load port below the second track;
A local carriage that includes a hoist that delivers articles between the buffer and the load port and that travels along a second track,
The buffer, the upper portion of the buffer is placed article, at a height that can pass the local carriage carrying the article in a position except an upper portion of the load port, that are arranged in plurality continuously It is in .

  In this invention, the space where the overhead traveling vehicle travels and the space where the local cart travels can be overlapped in the vertical direction. Therefore, the floor area occupied by the transfer system in plan view can be reduced. Further, the front surface of the processing apparatus is not blocked with a buffer. Both the overhead traveling vehicle and the local cart deliver goods to and from both the buffer and the load port. Therefore, it is possible to quickly convey an article from the processing apparatus without causing the processing apparatus to wait. The buffer may be provided only at a position off the upper part of the load port, or the buffer frame may be arranged on the upper part of the load port.

  In the transport system according to the present invention, the buffer is arranged at a height that allows the local carriage that transports the article to pass through the upper part of the buffer on which the article is placed. In this way, the overhead traveling vehicle and the local carriage can unload the article to an arbitrary empty position on the buffer and carry the article from the arbitrary position. Further, since the buffer is disposed at a position excluding the upper portion of the load port, it does not hinder the delivery of articles to and from the load port. Since a plurality of buffers are continuously arranged, a plurality of articles can be buffered.

In one aspect of the present invention , a plurality of buffers are continuously arranged upstream of the load port . The overhead traveling vehicle can then unload the article to the buffer at any time and can load the article from the load port. Then, the local cart may carry the article from the buffer to the load port. During this time, the traveling direction of the overhead traveling vehicle is constant, and when the carrying out of the article from the load port is delayed, the local carriage can be carried out to the buffer.

In another aspect of the present invention , two buffers are arranged for each load port . Then, it is less likely that the overhead vehicle cannot be unloaded because the buffer is full.

In another aspect of the present invention, in the transport system , the second track includes at least a pair of rails, and a gap through which the article can pass in the vertical direction is provided between the pair of rails. In this aspect, the article can pass through the second track in the vertical direction by setting a gap between the pair of rails supporting the local carriage on the second track to be larger than the depth of the article. Therefore, the first track, the second track, and the load port can be arranged so as to overlap in the vertical direction, and the delivery of the articles becomes easy. In addition, the local carriage can be supported by a pair of rails.

  In a more preferable transfer system, the first track, the second track, and the buffer are arranged in front of the processing apparatus so as to overlap in parallel in a plan view. In the upper part of the load port, the buffer has a buffer gap through which the overhead traveling vehicle and the local carriage can exchange articles with the load port. In this way, both the overhead traveling vehicle and the local vehicle can access the load port.

In another aspect of the present invention, the transport system is configured such that the overhead traveling vehicle and the local carriage both deliver articles between the buffer and the load port. Then, the processing apparatus is not kept waiting, and the article from the processing apparatus can be quickly conveyed.

  Preferably, there is provided a local controller that can communicate with the overhead traveling vehicle, the local cart, and the processing device, and that controls the local cart, so that the overhead traveling vehicle can be used both when delivering the buffer and the article and when delivering the load port and the article. The local carriage establishes a delivery interlock via communication with the local controller. In this way, interference between the overhead traveling vehicle and the local carriage can be prevented.

  For example, a means for controlling the overhead traveling vehicle and the local carriage is provided, the overhead traveling vehicle carries the article into the buffer and the article from the load port, and the local carriage removes the load from the buffer. Control to carry goods into the port. In this way, from the overhead traveling vehicle side, the buffer serves as a load port dedicated to carrying in articles, and the load port of the processing device serves as a load port dedicated to carrying out articles, thereby reducing troubles that articles cannot be carried into the load port. Can do. Further, from the processing device side, articles to be processed can be stored in the buffer.

  Preferably, the local controller communicates with the overhead traveling vehicle by light or wireless, and communicates with the local carriage and the processing device by light, wireless or wired. Particularly preferably, the local controller communicates with the local cart optically or wirelessly. If it does in this way, carrying in / out of the goods to a buffer and a load port can be controlled by the controller of a local cart.

In another aspect of the present invention, the overhead traveling vehicle carries in the article into the buffer and carries out the article from the load port,
The local cart carries items from the buffer to the load port,
In addition, when there is an article to be carried out to the load port, the overhead traveling vehicle carrying the article to be loaded into the load port unloads the article to the buffer upstream of the load port, and then the same overhead traveling vehicle is removed from the load port. Unload the item.

  If it does in this way, goods can be conveyed efficiently.

In another aspect of the invention, the local carriage waits at a position on the buffer and next to the article to be unloaded to the load port. Then, if there is a request from the processing device, the article can be immediately unloaded to the load port.

In another aspect of the present invention , the local cart grabs the article to be carried into the load port in parallel with the overhead traveling vehicle carrying the article from the load port. Then, when the overhead traveling vehicle carries the article out of the load port, the next article can be immediately unloaded to the load port.

Side view of main parts of transport system of reference example Side view of the main part of the transport system of the embodiment in which the height level of the buffer is changed from FIG. The principal part top view of the conveyance system of an Example The principal part top view of the conveyance system of a modification Side view of local trolley Plan view of the main part of a reference example in which a local cart runs on a monorail Side view of the main part of the transport system of the optimum embodiment

  In the following, an optimum embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be shown. The scope of the present invention should be determined according to the understanding of those skilled in the art based on the description of the scope of the claims, taking into account the description of the specification and well-known techniques in this field.

  1 to 7 show a transport system of an embodiment and its modification. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, reference numeral 2 denotes an overhead traveling vehicle that performs inter-process transfer and intra-process transfer in a semiconductor factory, for example. Reference numeral 4 denotes a local cart that supplies and unloads articles 24 such as FOUP to and from each processing apparatus 12 or supplies and unloads articles to several adjacent processing apparatuses 12. Reference numeral 6 denotes a track of the overhead traveling vehicle, which includes a traveling rail and a power supply rail. Reference numeral 8 denotes a track of the local carriage 4 and includes a pair of rails 9 and 9 shown in FIG. 3 and the like, and an article 24 can pass vertically through a gap between the rails 9 and 9. The local carriage 4 travels above the track 8, but may travel below the track 8. The processing device 12 includes one to a plurality of load ports 14, and the tracks 6 and 8 and the buffer 10 extend parallel to the front surface of the processing device 12. Reference numeral 16 denotes a ceiling of a clean room or the like, and the tracks 6 and 8 and the buffer 10 are supported by the columns 17 to 19.

  Reference numeral 10 denotes a buffer of a reference example, in which an article 24 is temporarily placed, and is arranged below the track 8 and in parallel with the tracks 6 and 8. The local carriage 4 traveling on the track 8 can pass through the upper part of the buffer 10 on which the article 24 is temporarily placed when the article 24 is not conveyed, but cannot pass when the article 24 is conveyed. For this reason, when a large number of articles are temporarily placed in the buffer 10, when the local carriage 4 transports the article 24 in the buffer 10, the order of conveyance occurs. On the other hand, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the height level of the buffer 10 is lowered to form the buffer 11, and the local carriage 4 carrying the article 24 passes through the upper part of the buffer 11 where the article 24 is temporarily placed. It can be so. For example, an interval of at least twice the height of the article 24 is provided between the bottom of the track 8 and the top of the buffer 11. In this way, the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the local cart 4 can unload the article 24 to an arbitrary empty position on the buffer 11 and carry the article 24 from the arbitrary position. The buffer 11 is the same as the buffer 10 except that the height level is low, and the buffer 11 is used in the embodiment.

  The track 6 of the overhead traveling vehicle is at the highest position, for example, the track 8 of the local carriage is directly below, and the tracks 6 and 8 are parallel and overlap vertically. There are buffers 11 directly below the tracks 6 and 8, and the load port 14 is directly below the tracks 6 and 8. When the buffer 11 and the load port 14 are arranged so as to overlap in plan view as in the embodiment, a gap 30 for allowing the article 24 to pass in the vertical direction is provided in the buffer 11 immediately above the load port. Alternatively, the buffer 11 may be provided so as to avoid a position overlapping the load port 14 in plan view. On the track 8 of the local carriage, for example, the charging device 20 is at a position where one end thereof does not overlap the load port 14 and the buffer 11 in plan view, and the battery of the local carriage 4 is charged. The charging device 20 may be provided at a position overlapping the article 24 of the buffer 11 in the vertical direction. However, when this is done, charging of the local carriage 4 and delivery of articles between the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the buffer 11 interfere with each other. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the charging device 20 at a position where the end of the track 8 does not overlap the load port 14 and the buffer 11 in the vertical direction.

  Reference numeral 22 denotes a local controller which controls the local carriage 4 and is provided near the charging device 20 in the embodiment, and communicates with the local carriage 4 by optical communication or the like. The local controller 22 may be provided on the ground side. Further, the power supply to the charging device 20 is performed by a power supply line (not shown) provided along the support column 18, for example.

  The overhead traveling vehicle 2 includes, for example, front and rear drop prevention covers 25, 25, and the elevator 26 is moved up and down by a hoist (not shown) to transfer the article 24 along the vertical direction. In addition to this, the overhead traveling vehicle 2 may be provided with a lateral feed mechanism or the like for laterally feeding the article 24. The overhead traveling vehicle 2 includes an optical communication unit 31, and the light traveling between the optical communication unit 31 ′ provided on the load port 14 side and the optical axis of the local vehicle 4 passing through the traveling path of the local carriage 4. Interlock before delivery of goods by optical communication. Here, when the local carriage 4 exists between the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the load port 14, the optical communication units 31 and 31 'are arranged so that the optical axis between the optical communication units 31 and 31' is blocked. Accordingly, it can be confirmed that there is no local carriage between the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the load port 14 without an extra device for detecting the local carriage 4. Furthermore, the overhead traveling vehicle 2 is provided with a communication means (not shown) with the local controller 22, and communicates with the local controller 22 when delivering the article to and from the buffer 11.

  Here, the processing device 12 includes an inspection device in addition to the processing device. A load port 14 is provided on the front surface of the processing device 12, and the overhead traveling vehicle 2, the local cart 4, and a person moving on the ground deliver the article 24 to and from the load port 14. In addition to the load port 14, a display 28, an operation panel 29, and the like are provided on the front surface of the processing device 12 so that the operating status of the processing device 12 can be monitored and the processing device 12 can be controlled manually.

  The track 8 of the local carriage is composed of a pair of rails 9, the width D (FIG. 3) between the rails 9, 9 is larger than the depth of the article 24, and the article 24 together with the elevator 26 has a gap between the rails 9, 9. Can pass vertically. Further, in the buffer 11, a gap 30 is provided above the load ports 14 and 14 so that the article 24 can pass through the buffer 11 in the vertical direction. Alternatively, the buffer 11 is arranged so as to remove the upper portion of the load port 14. Therefore, the overhead traveling vehicle 2 can deliver articles to the load port 14 and the buffer 11 even if the tracks 6 and 8 and the load port 14 are arranged so as to overlap in the vertical direction. Similarly, the local carriage 4 can deliver goods to the buffer 11 and the load port 14. Therefore, the floor area occupied by the transport system in a plan view can be minimized.

  If the buffer capacity is insufficient with only the buffer 11 directly below the track 8 of the local carriage, an additional buffer 32 may be provided and supported from the ceiling or the like by the support 34 as shown in FIG. In this case, the additional buffer 32 is arranged, for example, in the same height position as the buffer 11, and a mechanism for laterally feeding a hoist to the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the local cart 4 is provided.

  FIG. 5 shows the structure of the local carriage 4. Reference numeral 40 denotes a traveling motor that travels on the rails 9 and 9 by traveling wheels 41 and the like. Reference numeral 42 denotes a hoist that lifts or lowers the article 24 supported by the lifting platform 27 by winding or unwinding the suspension member 43. 45 is a battery, 46 is a connector, and the battery 45 is charged by the charging device 20. An optical communication unit 47 performs communication for interlocking with the optical communication unit 31 ′ of the load port 14 in the same manner as the optical communication unit 31 of the overhead traveling vehicle 2. The optical communication unit 47 may not be provided, and the interlock with the load port 14 may be performed via the local controller 22. The local cart 4 has a short traveling distance, does not include a mechanism such as a lateral feed of articles, and does not include an information processing mechanism such as selection of a travel route and avoidance of interference with other carts. For example, one local cart 4 is caused to travel along the track 8 and is reciprocated between the front surface of the processing device 12 and a position slightly away from the front surface by the control of the local controller 22. And since the local trolley | bogie 4 drive | works the track 8 directly under the track | orbit 6 of an overhead traveling vehicle, an additional floor area is not required. Further, since the gap D between the rails 9 and 9 in the track 8 is larger than the depth of the article 24, the article 24 can be delivered so as to pass through the track 8 in the vertical direction.

  FIG. 6 shows a transport system of a reference example. The same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 5 denote the same components. FIG. 6 shows the overhead traveling vehicle 2 with the fall prevention cover 25 removed. In this variant, the track 8 'of the local carriage consists of a monorail. The cross-sectional shape is L-shaped here, but the shape is arbitrary. The local carriage 4 ′ includes, for example, three types of guide rollers 51 to 53, and these are guided by the track 8 ′, thereby maintaining the posture of the local carriage 4 ′. The guide roller 53 may not be provided. Reference numeral 10 'denotes a new buffer having a gap 30 and the article 24 passes through the gap 30 in the vertical direction. In the modification of FIG. 6, since the local carriage 4 'is supported by the monorail, the posture of the local carriage 4' tends to become unstable.

  The control of the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the local carriage 4 in the embodiment will be described. The overhead traveling vehicle 2 is controlled by a host controller (not shown), and the local controller 20 communicates with the host controller and the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the local cart 4. When the overhead traveling vehicle 14 and the local cart 4 deliver the article 24 to and from the load port 14, the optical communication units 31, 31 ′, and 47 are used for interlocking. If the local carriage 4 is present immediately above the load port 14, the overhead traveling vehicle 2 is unable to perform optical communication and the interlock is not established, so that delivery of the article is delayed until the local carriage 4 moves to another position. The delivery of the article 24 between the buffer 11 and the overhead traveling vehicle 2 establishes an interlock by communication between the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the local controller 22. Further, the local cart 4 delivers the buffer 11 and the article 24 according to an instruction from the local controller 22, and does not perform the interlock before delivery.

  Through the above communication, inventory data indicating which article is located at which position in the buffer 11 is obtained and stored in the local controller 22. The article 24 in the buffer 11 is managed by the local controller 22. The interlock with the load port 14 is established by direct communication with the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the local carriage, or communication via the local controller 22.

Optimum Embodiment FIG. 7 shows an optimum embodiment. The same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 6 denote the same components, and are the same as those of the modification of FIG. Reference numeral 60 denotes a look-down sensor that irradiates a laser beam and detects it by a light receiving element when reflected by an interference such as a person. Then, scanning is performed by changing the direction of the laser light, and an interference within the monitoring range indicated by a chain line near the load port 14 is detected by using a phase difference between the reflected light and the laser light. The signal of the look-down sensor 60 is transmitted from the controller 22 to the local carriage 4 and the overhead traveling vehicle 2, and when there is an interference, unloading and loading to the load port 14 are prohibited. In addition, the kind of sensor for detecting an interference object is arbitrary.

  The charging device 20 is provided for each stop position of the local carriage 4 along the track 8, for example. When the local carriage 4 stops, the battery can be charged at an arbitrary position. However, since the portion directly above the load port 14 is not preferable as the standby position of the local carriage 4, the charging device 20 may not be provided directly above the load port 14. In addition, a battery such as an electric double layer capacitor may be used instead of a battery such as a lithium ion battery.

  The local controller 22 communicates with the overhead traveling vehicle 2 by light or wireless, and communicates with the local carriage 4 and the processing device 12 by light, wireless, or wired. Accordingly, the interlock when the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the local cart 4 transfer the buffer 11, the load port 14, and the article 24 can be established via the local controller 22.

The transport system of FIG. 7 is operated as follows, for example.
1) The overhead traveling vehicle 2 unloads the article 24 to the buffer 11 and carries it out from the load port 14. Since the buffer 11 is provided, trouble that the overhead traveling vehicle 2 cannot unload the article 24 can be reduced, and the processing apparatus 12 can stock the article 24 to be processed next in the buffer 11.
2) The local cart 4 carries in from the buffer 11 to the load port 14.
3) However, if there is a possibility that the load port 14 overflows with the article 24, the article 24 is carried out to the buffer 11 by the local carriage 4.
4) As for the express product, the overhead traveling vehicle 2 may unload directly to the load port 14.
5) The standby position of the local carriage 4 is a position excluding the portion directly above the load port 14 and the upper portion of the article to be unloaded to the load port 14 next. As a result, the loading into the load port 14 can be performed quickly.
6) The local cart 4 is charged at an arbitrary position while it is stopped. As a result, the local cart 4 can be driven with a battery having a small capacity.
7) In parallel with the overhead traveling vehicle 2 carrying out the article from the load port 14, the local carriage 4 grabs the article to be carried into the load port 14. Accordingly, the next article can be quickly carried into the load port 14.
8) When there is an article to be carried out to the load port 14, the overhead traveling vehicle 2 carrying the article to be loaded into the load port 14 unloads the article to the buffer 11 on the upstream side of the load port 14, and then the same ceiling. The traveling vehicle 2 carries the article out of the load port 14. Then, articles can be efficiently conveyed.

In the embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The buffer 11 can be provided without blocking the front surface of the processing device 12.
(2) Since the tracks 6 and 8 are arranged so as to overlap in the vertical direction, and the article 24 passes through the gap provided in the track 8, neither the overhead traveling vehicle 2 nor the local carriage 4 needs a lateral feed mechanism.
(3) By making the track 8 longer, a buffer 11 having a sufficient capacity can be prepared for the processing device 12.
(4) Both the overhead traveling vehicle 2 and the local cart 4 can deliver articles to both the load port 14 and the buffer 11. For this reason, it is possible to efficiently supply and carry out the article 24 with respect to the load port 14 and the buffer 11.

  In addition, it is not necessary to provide a system including the buffer, the track 8 of the local carriage 4 and the local carriage 4 for all the processing apparatuses 12. It may be provided. The type of the transported article is arbitrary, and may be, for example, a cassette containing a semiconductor exposure reticle, a flat panel display substrate, or the like.

2 Overhead vehicle 4 Local cart 6 Overhead vehicle track 8 Local cart track 9 Rail 10, 11 Buffer 12 Processing device 14 Load port 16 Ceiling 17-19 Post 20 Charging device 22 Local controller 24 Article 25 Fall prevention cover 26, 27 Elevator 28 Display 29 Operation Panel 30 Gap 31 Optical Communication Unit 32 Buffer 34 Strut 40 Travel Motor 41 Traveling Wheels 42 and 50 Hoist 43 Suspension Material 45 Battery 46 Connector 47 Optical Communication Units 51-53 Guide Roller

Claims (10)

A transport system for transporting articles between a plurality of processing devices,
A first trajectory passing over the top of the processing device load port;
An overhead traveling vehicle that travels along the first track and includes a hoist;
A second track below the first track and passing over the load port and disposed parallel to the first track;
A buffer for placing an article, wherein the article is provided vertically above the load port at a position higher than the load port below the second track;
A local carriage that includes a hoist that delivers articles between the buffer and the load port and that travels along a second track,
A plurality of the buffers are continuous at a position above the load port and at a position excluding the upper portion of the load port at a height that allows the local carriage carrying the article to pass through the upper portion of the buffer where the article is placed. The transport system is arranged as A transport system for transporting articles between a plurality of processing devices,
A first trajectory passing over the top of the processing device load port;
An overhead traveling vehicle that travels along the first track and includes a hoist;
A second track below the first track and passing over the load port and disposed parallel to the first track;
A buffer for placing an article, wherein the article is provided vertically above the load port at a position higher than the load port below the second track;
A local carriage that includes a hoist that delivers articles between the buffer and the load port and that travels along a second track,
The buffer has a height that allows the local carriage carrying the article to pass through the upper part of the buffer where the article is placed, and continuously at two positions for each load port , except for the upper part of the load port. Arranged, transport system. A transport system for transporting articles between a plurality of processing devices,
A first trajectory passing over the top of the processing device load port;
An overhead traveling vehicle that travels along the first track and includes a hoist;
A second track below the first track and passing over the load port and disposed parallel to the first track;
A buffer for placing an article, wherein the article is provided vertically above the load port at a position higher than the load port below the second track;
A local carriage that includes a hoist that delivers articles between the buffer and the load port and that travels along a second track,
A plurality of the buffers are continuously arranged at a position excluding the upper part of the load port at a height that allows the local carriage carrying the articles to pass through the upper part of the buffer where the articles are placed .
Furthermore, the second track has at least a pair of rails, and a clearance is provided between the pair of rails so that the article can pass in the vertical direction . A transport system for transporting articles between a plurality of processing devices,
A first trajectory passing over the top of the processing device load port;
An overhead traveling vehicle that travels along the first track and includes a hoist;
A second track below the first track and passing over the load port and disposed parallel to the first track;
A buffer for placing an article, wherein the article is provided vertically above the load port at a position higher than the load port below the second track;
A local carriage that includes a hoist that delivers articles between the buffer and the load port and that travels along a second track,
A plurality of the buffers are continuously arranged at a position excluding the upper part of the load port at a height that allows the local carriage carrying the articles to pass through the upper part of the buffer where the articles are placed .
In addition, the transport system is configured such that both the overhead traveling vehicle and the local carriage deliver articles between the buffer and the load port . The overhead traveling vehicle is capable of communicating with the local cart and the processing device, and is provided with a local controller for controlling the local cart, so that the overhead traveling vehicle can be used both when the buffer and the article are delivered and when the load port and the article are delivered. The transfer system according to claim 4 , wherein the local carriage is configured to establish a delivery interlock through communication with the local controller. 6. The transport system according to claim 5 , wherein the local controller communicates with the overhead traveling vehicle by light or wireless, and communicates with the local carriage and the processing device by light, wireless or wired. The transport system according to claim 6 , wherein the local controller is configured to communicate with a local cart by light or wirelessly. A transport system for transporting articles between a plurality of processing devices,
A first trajectory passing over the top of the processing device load port;
An overhead traveling vehicle that travels along the first track and includes a hoist;
A second track below the first track and passing over the load port and disposed parallel to the first track;
A buffer for placing an article, wherein the article is provided vertically above the load port at a position higher than the load port below the second track;
A local carriage that includes a hoist that delivers articles between the buffer and the load port and that travels along a second track,
A plurality of the buffers are continuously arranged at a position excluding the upper part of the load port at a height that allows the local carriage carrying the articles to pass through the upper part of the buffer where the articles are placed .
The overhead traveling vehicle carries in articles into the buffer and carries out articles from the load port,
The local cart carries items from the buffer to the load port,
In addition, when there is an article to be carried out to the load port, the overhead traveling vehicle carrying the article to be loaded into the load port unloads the article to the buffer upstream of the load port, and then the same overhead traveling vehicle is removed from the load port. A transport system configured to carry out articles . A transport system for transporting articles between a plurality of processing devices,
A first trajectory passing over the top of the processing device load port;
An overhead traveling vehicle that travels along the first track and includes a hoist;
A second track below the first track and passing over the load port and disposed parallel to the first track;
A buffer for placing an article, wherein the article is provided vertically above the load port at a position higher than the load port below the second track;
A local carriage that includes a hoist that delivers articles between the buffer and the load port and that travels along a second track,
A plurality of the buffers are continuously arranged at a position excluding the upper part of the load port at a height that allows the local carriage carrying the articles to pass through the upper part of the buffer where the articles are placed .
Further, the local carriage is configured to wait at a position on the buffer and above the article to be subsequently unloaded to the load port . A transport system for transporting articles between a plurality of processing devices,
A first trajectory passing over the top of the processing device load port;
An overhead traveling vehicle that travels along the first track and includes a hoist;
A second track below the first track and passing over the load port and disposed parallel to the first track;
A buffer for placing an article, wherein the article is provided vertically above the load port at a position higher than the load port below the second track;
A local carriage that includes a hoist that delivers articles between the buffer and the load port and that travels along a second track,
A plurality of the buffers are continuously arranged at a position excluding the upper part of the load port at a height that allows the local carriage carrying the articles to pass through the upper part of the buffer where the articles are placed .
Furthermore, in parallel with the overhead traveling vehicle carrying out the article from the load port, the local carriage is configured to grab the article carried into the load port .

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