JP6586936B2 - Goods transport equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transport facility including an article transport vehicle that moves along a movement path between a plurality of transport target locations to transport an article.

  For example, in the facility disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, the movement route of the article transport vehicle is set in a state of passing through a plurality of transport target locations. And the attitude | position of the said article is changed so that it may become an appropriate attitude | position for an article | item to be transferred in the conveyance object place used as a conveyance destination among several conveyance object places. As described above, the reason why the posture of the article is changed between the conveyance source and the conveyance destination is, for example, that the article is a container having an opening through which contents are taken in and out only on one side, and the place to be conveyed is the content. In the case of a processing unit for processing an object, the opening of the container must be opposed to the processing unit. And in order to change the attitude | position of an article | item, the installation of patent document 1 is equipped with the attitude | position change mechanism provided in the state which connects between movement paths and separately from the article conveyance vehicle. The article transporting vehicle delivers the article to the attitude changing mechanism, and the attitude changing mechanism turns the article, whereby the attitude of the article is changed from the first attitude to the second attitude.

JP 2012-253070 A

  As described above, in the equipment provided with the posture changing mechanism separately from the article transport vehicle, the arrangement space for the posture changing mechanism is required, and the cost of the equipment is increased by the provision of the posture changing mechanism. . Therefore, the inventor of the present application has studied to provide the article change vehicle integrally with the posture changing mechanism. However, the accommodating portion that accommodates the article during conveyance in the article conveying vehicle is covered with the cover portion, and in order to suppress the increase in size of the article conveying vehicle, the gap between the cover portion and the article accommodated in the accommodating portion is It is set to the minimum. In order to change the posture of an article stored in such a storage section, it is necessary to widen the gap between the article and the cover section, and as a result, there is a problem that the article transport vehicle must be enlarged. It was.

  Therefore, it is desired to realize an article transport facility that can suppress an increase in the size of the article transport vehicle while integrally including a posture change mechanism for changing the posture of the article in the article transport vehicle.

  In view of the above, a characteristic configuration of an article conveyance facility including an article conveyance vehicle that moves along a movement path between a plurality of conveyance target locations and conveys an article, and a control device that controls the article conveyance vehicle. The article transport vehicle includes: a storage section that stores the article; a cover section that covers the storage section; and the storage section and one of the plurality of transport target locations that are located outside the storage section. A transfer mechanism that moves the article between the transfer target location and the article transport vehicle, and a posture change mechanism that changes the posture of the article being transferred. The posture changing mechanism is configured to change the posture of the article between a first posture that is a posture for transfer at the transport target location that is a transport source and a transfer at the transport target location that is a transport destination. Can be changed to a second posture which is a posture for the front cover When the article in a state of being accommodated in the accommodating portion is in the first posture and in the second posture, the article does not interfere with the article, and the posture of the article is between the first posture and the second posture. The control device is provided at a position that interferes with the article when the posture is an intermediate posture, which is a posture in the process of changing in step, and the control device moves the transfer in the middle of a conveyance route that is a route from the conveyance source to the conveyance destination. The article is moved by the transfer mechanism after the article is changed from the first attitude to the second attitude by the attitude changing mechanism in a state where the article is moved to the outside by the mechanism. It is in the point which performs attitude | position change control which is control accommodated in a part.

  In this structure, the cover part which covers an accommodating part is provided in the position which does not interfere with the said goods in the state in which the articles | goods of the 1st attitude | position or the 2nd attitude | position were accommodated in the accommodating part. On the other hand, the position where this cover part is provided is a position where the article in a state where it is accommodated in the accommodating part interferes with the article when the article is in an intermediate posture. That is, the gap between the cover portion covering the storage portion and the article is set to be relatively small. Therefore, according to the article transport facility according to this configuration, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the article transport vehicle. Further, in this configuration, the article transport vehicle is moved in the state where the article transport vehicle is moved to the outside by the transfer mechanism in the middle of the transport path that is the path from the transport source to the transport destination. The posture of the article is changed from the first posture to the second posture by the posture changing mechanism provided. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to change the posture of the article by effectively using the time and space for article conveyance. For this reason, compared with the case where an attitude change mechanism is provided separately from the article transport vehicle, it is easy to reduce the size and cost of the equipment.

  Further features and advantages of the technology according to the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments described with reference to the drawings.

The whole top view of article conveyance equipment. The figure which shows the mode of transfer of articles | goods. The figure which looked at the article conveyance vehicle from the conveyance direction. The plane schematic diagram which shows a mode that the attitude | position of an article | item is changed. The block diagram which shows a control structure. The flowchart which shows the procedure at the time of performing attitude | position change control. The flowchart which shows the procedure at the time of performing a specific conveyance process. The plane schematic diagram which shows a mode that the attitude | position of an article | item is changed in 2nd embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure at the time of performing attitude | position change control in 2nd embodiment.

1. 1st embodiment 1st embodiment of an article conveyance equipment is described with reference to drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the article conveyance facility 1 controls an article conveyance vehicle 2 that moves along a movement path R between a plurality of conveyance target locations 6 and conveys an article W, and the article conveyance vehicle 2. And a control device H (see also FIG. 5). Then, the article transport facility 1 changes the posture of the article W while the article W is being transported from the transport target place 6 serving as the transport source to the other transport target place 6 serving as the transport destination among the plurality of transport target places 6. It can be changed.

1-1. Mechanical configuration of the article transport facility The article W is a target to be transported by the article transport vehicle 2. Here, the article W is formed in a non-circular shape in plan view. The article W is formed in, for example, a polygonal shape in a plan view, more specifically, a quadrangular shape (see FIG. 4). Note that the square shape includes a shape that can be regarded as a quadrangle as a whole even if it is not strictly a quadrangle. Moreover, you may have the shape of planar view in which one part side of the polygonal shape was formed with curves, such as a circular arc. For example, the shape of the article W in plan view may be D-shaped. Hereinafter, the description of the shape of an object or the like using the expression “shape” has the same purpose. The three-dimensional shape of the article W is a columnar body here. The article W is, for example, a container that stores contents. In the present embodiment, the article W is a container that stores a semiconductor substrate. Here, the article W is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and can accommodate a plurality of semiconductor substrates in a plurality of stages. In this embodiment, the upper surface and the bottom surface of the article W are always closed. In addition, a flange portion Wa is provided on the upper surface of the article W to be gripped by the article transport vehicle 2 when the article W is transported. Further, one of the four side surfaces of the article W is provided with an opening Wb for taking in and out the semiconductor substrate.

  The conveyance target place 6 is a place that becomes the conveyance source of the article W or a place that becomes the conveyance destination of the article W. The conveyance target locations 6 are provided at a plurality of locations in the article conveyance facility 1. In the conveyance target place 6, for example, the processing of the article W is performed. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the transfer target place 6 includes a transfer unit 6 b for transferring the article W between the processing apparatus 6 a that performs processing on the semiconductor substrate and the article transport vehicle 2. It is. In the present embodiment, the article W in a state where the opening Wb is opposed to the processing device 6a is conveyed to the transfer unit 6b. In addition, the semiconductor substrate stored in the article W is taken out from the opening Wb by an arm or the like provided in the processing apparatus 6a. Then, the semiconductor substrate is processed by the processing device 6a. Since the semiconductor substrate is processed by the processing apparatus 6a in this way, in the present embodiment, the article W is placed in an appropriate posture in which the opening Wb faces the processing apparatus 6a, and then the article transport vehicle 2 is used. Is conveyed to the transfer unit 6b.

  The movement route R is a route along which the article transport vehicle 2 moves in the article transport facility 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the movement route R passes through a plurality of transfer target locations 6. The movement path R is provided, for example, on the floor surface or at a position spaced a distance upward from the floor surface. In the present embodiment, the movement path R is determined by the rail 98 that is supported suspended from the ceiling 99 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the rail 98 is provided in a state of passing through a plurality of transfer units 6b. Moreover, the rail 98 is comprised by a pair of elongate member provided in the state spaced apart to the horizontal direction Y while extending along the movement path | route R (refer FIG.2 and FIG.3). In the present embodiment, the movement path R includes an in-process path Ri and an inter-process path Rc. A plurality of transfer units 6b are connected by an in-process path Ri, and a plurality of in-process paths Ri are connected by an inter-process path Rc.

  The article transport vehicle 2 moves along the movement path R between the plurality of transport target locations 6 and transports the article W. In the present embodiment, the article transport vehicle 2 can move to each of a plurality of intra-process routes Ri connected by the inter-process route Rc by moving the inter-process route Rc. Therefore, the article transport vehicle 2 can move to each of the plurality of transfer units 6b connected to the in-process route Ri by moving each of the plurality of in-process routes Ri. In the present embodiment, the article transport vehicle 2 can move along the movement route R only in one direction and cannot move in the opposite direction. In addition, the article transport vehicle 2 includes a position detection sensor Se6 that detects the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 in the movement route R. In the present embodiment, a plurality of position information storage units (not shown) are arranged on the movement route R in a dispersed state. The position information storage unit is assigned to each of a plurality of areas that divide the movement route R. In addition, each of the plurality of position information storage units stores information of positions where each is disposed in the movement route R. In the present embodiment, the position detection sensor Se6 reads the position information stored in each of the plurality of position information storage units arranged in the movement route R, so that the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 in the movement route R is read. Is configured to be detectable. For example, the position information storage unit may be a plate or the like on which a barcode is displayed, and the position detection sensor Se6 in that case is a barcode reader.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the article transport vehicle 2 includes a traveling unit 21 that can travel on a rail 98 and a main body unit 22 that is supported by being suspended from the traveling unit 21. In the following description, when the article transport vehicle 2 moves along the movement route R, it is synonymous with the article transport vehicle 2 traveling along the movement route R. Further, in FIG. 3, a support member 5 described later is omitted for convenience of explanation. The article transport vehicle 2 includes an accommodation portion 22a that accommodates the article W, and a cover portion 22b that covers the accommodation portion 22a. In the present embodiment, the accommodating portion 22 a and the cover portion 22 b are configured as a part of the main body portion 22.

  The article transport vehicle 2 moves the article W between the housing portion 22a and one of the plurality of transport target locations 6 located outside the housing portion 22a, and the transport target location 6 and the article transport vehicle 2 A transfer mechanism 3 for transferring the article W between the two. In addition, the article transport vehicle 2 includes a posture changing mechanism 4 that changes the posture of the article W being transported.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer mechanism 3 intersects the gripping part 3Ga that grips the article W, the lifting mechanism 3H that lifts and lowers the gripping part 3Ga along the vertical direction Z, and the transport direction X along the transport path Rt. And a lateral movement mechanism 3S that laterally moves the grip portion 3Ga along a lateral direction Y that is a direction along the horizontal direction. In the present embodiment, a slide mechanism 3S that slides the grip portion 3Ga will be described as an example of the lateral movement mechanism 3S that moves the grip portion 3Ga laterally. Here, in this specification, to be along a specific direction means in the specific direction within the range of manufacturing errors such as installation and assembly, in addition to being completely parallel to the specific direction. It is a concept that includes a slightly tilted state. More specifically, it includes a state in which it is tilted within a range of ± 15 ° or less with respect to the specific direction. The slide mechanism 3S can slide the grip portion 3Ga along the lateral direction Y. In the present embodiment, the article W is transferred between the article transport vehicle 2 and the delivery unit 6b by the gripping mechanism 3G, the lifting mechanism 3H, and the slide mechanism 3S. The transfer of the article W means that the article is moved between the article transport vehicle 2 and the transfer unit 6b. That is, a process until the article W in the state accommodated in the accommodating part 22a is placed on the transfer part 6b, or a process until the article W placed in the accepting part 6b is accommodated in the accommodation part 22a. The transfer of the article W. Also, the conveyance of the article W means that the article W is moved from the transfer section 6b serving as the transfer source to the other transfer section 6b serving as the transfer destination among the plurality of transfer sections 6b. That is, the conveyance of the article W is a concept including the transfer of the article W. Further, the transport route Rt is a route from the transport target location 6 serving as the transport source to another transport target location 6 serving as the transport destination in the movement route R. That is, in the movement route R, the transport route Rt is set each time according to the transport source and the transport destination.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the article W placed on the transfer unit 6 b is accommodated in the accommodation unit 22 a as the transfer of the article W, the lifting mechanism 3 </ b> H is held while the article W is grasped by the grasping mechanism 3 </ b> G. The article W is raised by this, and the article W is slid to the accommodating portion 22a by the slide mechanism 3S. As the transfer of the article W, when the article W in the state accommodated in the accommodation unit 22a is placed on the transfer unit 6b, the reverse process is performed. In the following description, in the vertical direction Z, the upper side is described as the vertical direction upper side Z1, and the lower side is described as the vertical direction lower side Z2. Further, in the lateral direction Y, the side (the left side in FIGS. 2 and 3) on which the article W is projected from the accommodating portion 22a to the outside of the accommodating portion 22a is the lateral first side Y1, and the article W is outside the accommodating portion 22a. The side to be retracted from the storage portion 22a to the storage portion 22a will be described as the second lateral side Y2. Hereinafter, the position of the article W in the state of being accommodated in the accommodating portion 22a is referred to as a retraction position P1, and the position of the article W at the limit protruding to the first lateral side Y1 is referred to as a protruding position P2. In the present embodiment, the horizontal direction Y is a direction orthogonal to the transport path Rt.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the article transport vehicle 2 has a traveling unit 21. The traveling unit 21 is driven by a driving unit such as a motor and travels along the movement route R. In the present embodiment, the traveling unit 21 travels on the rail 98. As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the traveling unit 21 is driven by a traveling motor 21 </ b> M and rotates around a horizontal axis, and the traveling wheel 21 a that rolls on the upper surface of the rail 98 along the conveying direction X. And a guide wheel 21b that contacts the vertical surface of the rail 98 and rotates around the vertical axis and guides the traveling portion 21 along the rail 98. The traveling unit 21 includes a speed detection sensor Se1 (see FIG. 5) that detects the traveling speed of the article transport vehicle 2. In the present embodiment, the speed detection sensor Se1 is configured to be able to detect the speed of the article transport vehicle 2 based on the number of rotations of the traveling wheels 21a within a predetermined time, the relative speed with the rail 98, and the like.

  The article transport vehicle 2 has a main body 22. The main body 22 is connected to the traveling unit 21, and moves along the movement route R integrally with the traveling unit 21 by the traveling of the traveling unit 21. In the present embodiment, the main body 22 is suspended and supported by the traveling unit 21 through a gap formed by a pair of long members constituting the rail 98. In the present embodiment, the main body portion 22 includes a housing portion 22a that houses the article W and a cover portion 22b that covers the housing portion 22a. The accommodating part 22a is arrange | positioned inside the cover part 22b. In the present embodiment, the cover portion 22b is formed in a gate shape in which both sides in the horizontal direction Y and the lower side are open. More specifically, the cover portion 22b is formed in an inverted U shape that is square when viewed from the lateral direction Y. Therefore, the accommodating portion 22a communicates with the outside of the accommodating portion 22a on both sides in the lateral direction Y and below. As a result, the article W in the state accommodated in the accommodating portion 22a is slid in the lateral direction Y by the slide mechanism 3S, whereby the article W can be positioned outside the accommodating portion 22a.

  The slide mechanism 3S is extendable and contractible along the horizontal direction Y. For example, the slide mechanism 3S is configured to be accommodated inside the cover portion 22b in a contracted state, and partially protrude to the outside of the cover portion 22b in an expanded state. In the present embodiment, the slide mechanism 3S is attached to the accommodating portion 22a. In this embodiment, the slide mechanism 3S includes a pair of slide pulleys 3Sc driven or driven by a slide motor 3SM, a slide belt 3Sb wound around each of the pair of slide pulleys 3Sc, and a slide A sliding portion 3Sa that is coupled to the belt 3Sb and is slidable in the lateral direction Y. The slide portion 3Sa can move to the outside of the housing portion 22a by sliding to the lateral first side Y1, and can move to the housing portion 22a by sliding to the lateral second side Y2. The slide mechanism 3S includes a slide amount detection sensor Se2 that detects the slide amount of the slide portion 3Sa (see also FIG. 5). In the present embodiment, the slide amount detection sensor Se2 is configured to be able to detect the slide amount of the slide portion 3Sa based on the number of rotations of the slide pulley 3Sc when the slide portion 3Sa slides.

  The posture changing mechanism 4 changes the posture of the article W being conveyed. For example, the posture changing mechanism 4 changes the posture of the article W by turning the article W around a specific axis. More specifically, the posture changing mechanism 4 changes the posture of the article W by turning the article W around the vertical axis. In the present embodiment, the posture changing mechanism 4 is connected to the slide portion 3Sa of the slide mechanism 3S. Therefore, the posture changing mechanism 4 moves along the lateral direction Y integrally with the slide portion 3Sa of the slide mechanism 3S. In the present embodiment, the posture changing mechanism 4 includes a turning portion 4a that turns the grip portion 3Ga around the turning axis 4b along the vertical direction Z. Here, inside the turning part 4a, the upper part of the turning shaft 4b is connected to the turning motor 4M. Then, the turning shaft 4b is driven by the turning motor 4M. The posture changing mechanism 4 includes a turning amount detection sensor Se5 that detects the turning amount of the grip portion 3Ga (see also FIG. 5). In the present embodiment, the turning amount detection sensor Se5 is configured to be able to detect the turning amount of the grip portion 3Ga based on the rotation angle of the turning shaft 4b, the time for which the turning shaft 4b rotates, and the like.

  The lifting mechanism 3H moves the article W up and down. In the present embodiment, the elevating mechanism 3H raises and lowers the article W from the height at which the cover portion 22b is arranged to at least the height at which the transfer portion 6b is arranged. In the present embodiment, the lifting mechanism 3H includes a lifting pulley 3Hc driven by a lifting motor 3HM, a lifting drum 3Hd, a lifting belt 3Hb wound around the lifting pulley 3Hc and the lifting drum 3Hd, There is a lifting motor 3HM, a lifting pulley 3Hc, a lifting drum 3Hd, and a lifting unit 3Ha that holds a lifting belt 3Hb inside. And the raising / lowering mechanism 3H drives the raising / lowering pulley 3Hc by the raising / lowering motor 3HM, winds up or pays out the raising / lowering belt 3Hb, and raises / lowers the holding part 3Ga so that it may mention later. Moreover, in this embodiment, the raising / lowering part 3Ha is connected with the turning axis | shaft 4b which the attitude | position change mechanism 4 has. Therefore, the lifting mechanism 3H turns around the vertical axis by the rotation of the turning shaft 4b. Since the elevating mechanism 3H is connected to the slide mechanism 3S via the posture changing mechanism 4, the elevating mechanism 3H moves along the lateral direction Y integrally with the slide mechanism 3S. The lifting mechanism 3H includes a lift amount detection sensor Se3 that detects the lift amount of the grip portion 3Ga. In the present embodiment, the lifting / lowering amount detection sensor Se3 is configured to be able to detect the lifting / lowering amount of the gripping portion 3Ga based on the number of rotations of the lifting / lowering pulley 3Hc when the gripping portion 3Ga is lifted / lowered, the time for which the lifting / lowering pulley 3Hc rotates, and the like. Has been.

  The gripping mechanism 3G can grip the article W. For example, the gripping mechanism 3G grips the article W from above. More specifically, the gripping mechanism 3G grips the article W from above in a state where it completely overlaps with the article W in plan view. In the present embodiment, the gripping mechanism 3G is driven by a gripping portion 3Ga connected to the lifting belt 3Hb, a gripping motor 3GM (see FIG. 5) held inside the gripping portion 3Ga, and a gripping motor 3GM. And a pair of gripping claws 3Gb that can be switched between a gripping posture and a releasing posture. The pair of gripping claws 3Gb are in a gripping posture by moving in a direction approaching each other, and are in a releasing posture by moving in a direction away from each other. In the present embodiment, the pair of gripping claws 3Gb grips the flange portion Wa of the article W in the gripping posture. Then, the pair of gripping claws 3Gb release the grip of the flange portion Wa by changing from the state of gripping the flange portion Wa to the release posture. The gripping mechanism 3G includes a grip detection sensor Se4 that detects the gripping posture and the releasing posture of the pair of gripping claws 3Gb (see FIG. 5). In the present embodiment, the grip detection sensor Se4 is configured to be able to detect whether the pair of grip claws 3Gb is in the grip posture or the release posture based on whether or not the optical axis is blocked by the pair of grip claws 3Gb. Yes. Since the grip portion 3Ga is connected to the lifting mechanism 3H via the lifting belt 3Hb, the gripping mechanism 3G rotates integrally with the lifting mechanism 3H that rotates by the rotation of the swing shaft 4b. Further, since the gripping mechanism 3G is connected to the slide mechanism 3S via the lifting mechanism 3H and the posture changing mechanism 4, it is integrated with the lifting mechanism 3H, the posture changing mechanism 4 and the slide mechanism 3S along the lateral direction Y. Moving. Therefore, the lifting / lowering, turning and sliding operations of the article W held by the gripping mechanism 3G are performed by the lifting / lowering mechanism 3H, the posture changing mechanism 4 and the slide mechanism 3S.

  The posture changing mechanism 4 transfers the posture of the article W at the first posture A1 that is a posture for transfer at the transfer target location 6 that is the transfer source and at the transfer target location 6 that is the transfer destination. Can be changed to the second posture A2. As described above, in the article transport facility 1, since the semiconductor substrate stored in the article W is processed by the plurality of processing apparatuses 6a arranged at different places, the article W is transferred to the transfer unit 6b of the processing apparatus 6a. When transported, the opening Wb of the article W must face the processing apparatus 6a so that the processing apparatus 6a can take out the semiconductor substrate from the article W. That is, the second posture A2 refers to a posture in a state where the opening Wb of the article W is opposed to the processing device 6a at the conveyance target place 6 that is the conveyance destination. Therefore, the second posture A2 changes depending on the direction of the processing device 6a corresponding to the transport destination. The first posture A1 refers to the posture of the article W at the conveyance source. For example, when the article W to be transported is an article W that has finished a certain processing step by one processing apparatus 6a among the plurality of processing apparatuses 6a, the first posture A1 is the one processing apparatus 6a. The posture is such that the opening Wb faces the surface. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the first posture A1 may be a posture at the time when the article W is carried into the article transport facility 1. In any case, the posture of the article W at the time when the conveyance of the article W is started becomes the first attitude A1.

  In the present embodiment, the posture change of the article W between the first posture A1 and the second posture A2 is performed by turning the article W around the turning shaft 4b. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the article W is viewed from the extending direction of the turning shaft 4b (in this example, the vertical direction Z), the angle Wc of the article W draws an arc centered on the turning shaft 4b. The posture of the article W is changed by turning the article W. In the present embodiment, the article W in the first posture A1 is swung around the swivel axis 4b by the posture changing mechanism 4 so that the opening Wb faces the processing device 6a corresponding to the transport destination. Let Thereby, the posture of the article W is changed from the first posture A1 to the second posture A2.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cover 22b does not interfere with the article W when the article W in the container 22a is in the first attitude A1 or in the second attitude A2, and the cover 22b It is provided at a position that interferes with the article W when the posture is an intermediate posture Am that is a posture in the process of changing between the first posture A1 and the second posture A2. In the present embodiment, the cover portion 22b has a pair of inner side surfaces 22f that face each other in the transport direction X. Moreover, the area | region in the conveyance direction X of the accommodating part 22a is divided by a pair of inner surface 22f. In the present embodiment, when the posture of the article W accommodated in the accommodating portion 22a is the intermediate posture Am, at a position where the article W interferes with at least one inner side surface 22f of the pair of inner side surfaces 22f. A cover portion 22b is provided. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a turning locus drawn by a portion (the angle Wc of the article W in this example) farthest from the rotation center (the turning axis 4 b in this example) of the article W when the article W is turning. The size of the cover portion 22b is set so that TR is larger than the accommodating portion 22a. As described above, since the article W has a quadrangular shape in plan view, the diameter of the turning trajectory TR is determined by a diagonal line connecting the diagonals of the article W in plan view. More specifically, the distance between the pair of inner side surfaces 22f in the transport direction X is set to be shorter than the length of the diagonal line of the article W in plan view.

1-2. Next, the control configuration of the article transport facility 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The control device H includes a host control device Hu that controls the entire article transport facility 1 and a lower control device Hd that controls the article transport vehicle 2. The host control device Hu is arranged in a fixed state in any region of the article transporting facility 1. The lower control device Hd is arranged on the article transport vehicle 2 and moves on the movement route R together with the article transport vehicle 2. In the present embodiment, the lower control device Hd is arranged on each of the plurality of article transport vehicles 2 and moves on the movement route R together with each of the article transport vehicles 2. The control device H includes a processor such as a microcomputer and peripheral circuits such as a memory. And each function of the control apparatus H is implement | achieved by cooperation with these hardwares and the program run on processors, such as a computer.

  The control device H stores the proper posture of the article W for each of the plurality of conveyance target locations 6 as the proper posture information Ja. The proper posture information Ja may be stored in the host control device Hu, or may be stored separately by each of the plurality of lower control devices Hd. In the present embodiment, the host control device Hu includes a storage unit, and stores an appropriate posture of the article W for each of the plurality of conveyance target locations 6 as appropriate posture information Ja in the storage unit. That is, the host control device Hu stores the second posture A2 of the article W at each of the plurality of conveyance target locations 6 in the storage unit. The host control device Hu accompanies a simple transport command or a posture change that is a command for transporting the article W from the transport target location 6 that is the transport source to another transport target location 6 that is the transport destination without the posture change. Then, a specific transport command that is a command for transporting the article W from the transport target location 6 that is the transport source to another transport target location 6 that is the transport destination is instructed to the lower control device Hd.

  The lower-level control device Hd executes a simple transport process by receiving a simple transport command, and executes a specific transport process by receiving a specific transport command. The subordinate control device Hd controls the operation of various motors in order to execute these processes. In the present embodiment, the low order control device Hd detects the travel speed information of the article transport vehicle 2 detected by the speed detection sensor Se1, the slide amount information of the slide part 3Sa detected by the slide amount detection sensor Se2, and the lift amount detection. Information on the lifting amount of the gripping part 3Ga detected by the sensor Se3, information on the posture of the pair of gripping claws 3Gb detected by the gripping detection sensor Se4, and information on the turning amount of the gripping part 3Ga detected by the turning amount detection sensor Se5 And information on the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 detected by the position detection sensor Se6. Then, the low order control device Hd controls the operation of the traveling motor 21M, the sliding motor 3SM, the lifting motor 3HM, the gripping motor 3GM, and the turning motor 4M based on the information detected by each sensor.

  The control device H moves the article W by the posture changing mechanism 4 while moving the article W to the outside with respect to the storage unit 22a by the transfer mechanism 3 in the middle of the conveyance path Rt that is a path from the conveyance source to the conveyance destination. Is changed from the first posture A1 to the second posture A2, and then posture change control, which is control for housing the article W in the housing portion 22a by the transfer mechanism 3, is executed. In the present embodiment, the lower control device Hd that has received a specific transport command from the host control device Hu is in the process of transporting the article W from the transport target location 6 that is the transport source to another transport target location 6 that is the transport destination. Perform change control. In this example, the posture change control is performed by turning the article W around the turning axis 4b in a state in which the gripping part 3Ga is slid by the slide mechanism 3S so that the article W is positioned on the outer side with respect to the housing part 22a. Do. Specifically, the slide portion 3Sa is protruded to the first lateral side Y1 by the slide mechanism 3S, so that the posture change mechanism 4, the lifting mechanism 3H, the gripping mechanism 3G, and the gripping portion 3Ga disposed in the housing portion 22a are gripped. The finished article W is placed at the protruding position P2. And the attitude | position of the articles | goods W is changed from 1st attitude | position A1 to 2nd attitude | position A2 by turning the articles | goods W arrange | positioned in the protrusion position P2 with the holding mechanism 3G and the raising / lowering mechanism 3H by the attitude | position change mechanism 4. Thereafter, the slide part 3Sa is retracted to the second lateral side Y2 by the slide mechanism 3S, whereby the article W in the second posture A2 is retracted together with the gripping mechanism 3G, the lifting mechanism 3H, and the posture changing mechanism 4 at the retraction position P1 ( It arrange | positions in the accommodating part 22a). In this way, posture change control is executed. In the present embodiment, the state in which the article W is located outside the housing portion 22a includes a state in which the article W is completely located outside the housing portion 22a, The state where the part is located on the outside with respect to the accommodating part 22a is also included. Furthermore, in addition to a state in which the article W does not overlap with the housing part 22a in a plan view, a state in which only a part of the article W does not overlap with the housing part 22a in a plan view is included.

  In the present embodiment, the lower-level control device Hd performs posture change control while the article transport vehicle 2 is stopped in the middle of the transport route Rt. A plurality of article transport vehicles 2 are present in the transport route Rt, and each of the article transport vehicles 2 causes the processing apparatus 6a to process the semiconductor substrate, so that the article W is transported to the place 6 to be transported. Is transferred to the transfer unit 6b. Therefore, when the article transport vehicle 2 stops in the transport path Rt for transferring the article W to the transfer unit 6b, the other subsequent article transport vehicles 2 also stop. That is, the article transport vehicle 2 may stop due to a traffic jam while traveling on the transport route Rt. Therefore, for example, the lower control apparatus Hd executes posture change control while the congestion of the article transport vehicle 2 is stopped in the middle of the transport route Rt. Thereby, posture change control can be performed using the time when the article transport vehicle 2 stopped unintentionally. That is, since it is not necessary to stop the article transport vehicle 2 in order to execute the posture change control, the transport time can be shortened as compared with the case where the article transport vehicle 2 is stopped each time the posture change control is executed.

  In the present embodiment, the transfer mechanism 3 and the article W are transported so as not to interfere with other members existing around the transport path Rt in a state where the article W is slid to the outside by the transfer mechanism 3 with respect to the accommodating portion 22a. The region of the route Rt is set as the posture change permission region Tp (see FIG. 1). More specifically, an area in the transport path Rt having a sufficient space for sliding the article W to the protruding position P2 by the slide mechanism 3S is set as the posture change permission area Tp. The lower control device Hd executes posture change control when the article transport vehicle 2 is in the posture change permission region Tp. In the present embodiment, the posture change permission area Tp has a sufficient space for sliding the article W to the protruding position P2, and thus the posture change control is executed in the posture change permission area Tp. It is possible to suppress the transfer mechanism 3 and the article W from interfering with other members existing in the transport path Rt during the execution of the control. The other members present around the transport route Rt are, for example, a storage shelf and a storage (not shown) for temporarily storing the processing device 6a and the article W.

  In the present embodiment, the posture change permission area Tp is set to a connection area Tc in the movement route R between the intra-process route Ri and the inter-process route Rc. In the present embodiment, the connection area Tc is an area corresponding to a circulation path for the article transport vehicle 2 to circulate the in-process path Ri in the vicinity of the area where the in-process path Ri and the inter-process path Rc are connected. (Refer to FIG. 1). In the article transport facility 1, a relatively large number of article transport vehicles 2 travel on each of the intra-process route Ri and the inter-process route Rc in order to transport the semiconductor substrate to be processed by each processing apparatus 6a. . On the other hand, the number of the article transport vehicles 2 that travel in the connection region Tc between the intra-process route Ri and the inter-process route Rc is relatively small. Therefore, when the connection region Tc is set as the posture change permission region Tp and the article conveyance vehicle 2 is in the connection region Tc, the article conveyance vehicle 2 is stopped for the posture change control. Can be prevented from affecting the traveling of the other article transport vehicle 2. That is, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of traffic congestion in the transport route Rt and suppress the decrease in the transport efficiency of the entire article transport facility 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the transfer mechanism 3 further includes a support member 5 that is supported by the rail 98 or the ceiling 99 and that is disposed at a position adjacent to the movement path R. In the illustrated example, the support member 5 is supported by both the rail 98 and the ceiling 99. The support member 5 is provided so as to support the slide mechanism 3S in the vertical direction Z in a state where the grip portion 3Ga is slid so that the article W is positioned outside the housing portion 22a. The support member 5 is connected to the ceiling connecting portion 5a connected to the ceiling on the first lateral side Y1 from the rail 98, and to the rail connecting to the rail 98 from the first lateral side Y1 while connecting to the lower end of the ceiling connecting portion 5a. It has the connection part 5b, the support part 5d which supports the slide mechanism 3S from the vertical direction lower side Z2, and the frame part 5c which connects the rail connection part 5b and the support part 5d. In a state where the gripping portion 3Ga is slid to the protruding position P2 so that the article W is positioned outside the housing portion 22a, the support portion 5d moves the posture changing mechanism 4 connected to the slide mechanism 3S downward in the vertical direction. Support from Z2. That is, the support portion 5 d indirectly supports the slide mechanism 3 </ b> S via the posture changing mechanism 4. Thereby, the support portion 5d can support the grip portion 3Ga and the article W gripped by the grip portion 3Ga. As a result, it is possible to reduce the load applied to the article transport vehicle 2, the rail 98, and the like by the moment centering on the article transport vehicle 2 with the portion supporting the article W in the slide mechanism 3S as a power point. Further, since the support member 5 is supported by both the rail 98 and the ceiling 99, the load of the article W received by the support member 5 can be distributed to both the rail 98 and the ceiling 99, and the load applied to the support member 5 itself. Can also be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the support portion 5d is configured in a state in which a pair of plate-like members extending along the lateral direction Y are spaced apart from each other in the transport direction X. And the support part 5d supports the attitude | position change mechanism 4 from the downward direction by a pair of plate-shaped member. More specifically, the turning portion 4a of the attitude changing mechanism 4 is provided with a slide guide wheel 4c guided by the support portion 5d. The support portion 5d moves the slide guide wheel 4c downward in the vertical direction. Support from side Z2. In addition, when the slide portion 3Sa slides toward the support member 5 to the first lateral side Y1, the end of the support portion 5d on the second lateral side Y2 so that the slide portion 3Sa is easily guided by the support member 5. The part is formed with an inclined part 5e that is inclined downwardly in the vertical direction Z2 toward the second lateral side Y2. In the process in which the slide portion 3Sa slides to the first lateral side Y1 and the slide guide wheel 4c is supported by the support portion 5d, the slide guide wheel 4c rolls on the inclined portion 5e. In the present embodiment, such a support member 5 is provided in the posture change permission region Tp. That is, in this embodiment, the slide mechanism 3S is supported by the support member 5 in the process of executing the posture change control. Thereby, during execution of posture change control, the burden placed on the article transport vehicle 2, the rail 98, etc. by the moment can be reduced.

Next, a procedure for executing the posture change control will be described with reference to FIG.
The lower level control device Hd executes posture change control according to the following procedure. That is, the sliding motor 3SM is controlled to start the sliding of the article W toward the lateral first side Y1 (step # 10). Thereafter, information detected by the slide amount detection sensor Se2 is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the article W has reached the protruding position P2 (step # 11). When it is determined that the article W has not reached the protruding position P2 within the specified time (step # 11: No, step # 19: Yes), control of various motors is stopped (step # 20), and an error notification is issued. (Step # 21), and the posture change control is terminated. If it is determined that the article W has reached the protruding position P2 (step # 11: Yes), the sliding motor 3SM is controlled to stop the sliding of the article W (step # 12). Thereafter, the turning motor 4M is controlled to start turning the article W (step # 13). Thereafter, information detected by the turning amount detection sensor Se5 is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the article W is in the second posture A2 (step # 14). When it is determined that the article W is not in the second posture A2 within the specified time (step # 14: No, step # 22: Yes), control of various motors is stopped (step # 20), and an error notification is issued. (Step # 21), and the posture change control is terminated. When it is determined that the article W is in the second posture A2 (step # 14: Yes), the turning motor 4M is controlled to stop the turning of the article W (step # 15). Thereafter, the sliding motor 3SM is controlled to start the sliding of the article W toward the second lateral side Y2 (step # 16). Thereafter, information detected by the slide amount detection sensor Se2 is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the article W has reached the retraction position P1 (step # 17). If it is determined that the article W has not reached the retirement position P1 within the specified time (step # 17: No, step # 23: Yes), control of various motors is stopped (step # 20), and an error notification is issued. (Step # 21), and the posture change control is terminated. When it is determined that the article W has reached the retreat position P1 (step # 17: Yes), the sliding motor 3SM is controlled to stop the sliding of the article W (step # 18). By performing the above procedure, the lower-level control device Hd executes posture change control.

  When the low order control device Hd receives a specific transfer command from the high order control device Hu (see FIG. 5), the low order control device Hd executes a specific transfer process as a transfer process of the article W accompanied by the posture change control. The posture change control is executed in the process of conveying the article W. Hereinafter, the procedure in which the specific transport process is executed will be described with reference to FIG.

  The lower level control device Hd executes the specific transport process according to the following procedure. That is, after receiving the specific transport command, the traveling motor 21M is controlled to cause the article transport vehicle 2 to travel to the transport target location 6 as the transport source (step # 30). Thereafter, the slide motor 3SM, the elevating motor 3HM, and the gripping motor 3GM are controlled to transfer the article W placed on the transfer unit 6b in the transfer target place 6. That is, the placed article W is accommodated in the accommodating portion 22a (step # 31). Thereafter, the article transport vehicle 2 is caused to travel toward the conveyance target place 6 as the conveyance destination by controlling the traveling motor 21M (step # 32). Thereafter, information detected by the speed detection sensor Se1 is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the article transport vehicle 2 has stopped due to traffic jams or the like (step # 33). When it is determined that the article transport vehicle 2 has stopped (step # 33: Yes), information detected by the position detection sensor Se6 is obtained, and whether or not the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 is the posture change permission region Tp. Is determined (step # 34). If it is determined that the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 is not the posture change permission region Tp (step # 34: No), the processing of step # 33 is performed on the article transport vehicle 2 in which the congestion is resolved and the traveling is started again. When it is determined that the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 is the posture change permission region Tp (step # 34: Yes), posture change control is executed (step # 35). After executing the posture change control, the article transport vehicle 2 is caused to travel again toward the conveyance target place 6 as the conveyance destination by controlling the traveling motor 21M (step # 36).

  If it is determined in step # 33 that the article transport vehicle 2 has not stopped (step # 33: No), the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 is in the posture change permission area while the article transport vehicle 2 is traveling. It is determined whether or not the position information indicating that the position is Tp has been read by the position detection sensor Se6 (step # 37). As described above, the transport route Rt is divided into a plurality of regions by a plurality of position information storage units. Among the plurality of position information storage units, the position information storage unit disposed in the posture change permission region Tp stores position information indicating that the position of the position information storage unit is the posture change permission region Tp. . Therefore, when the article transport vehicle 2 is in the posture change permission region Tp, the position detection sensor Se6 provided in the article transport vehicle 2 reads the position information in the position information storage unit arranged in the posture change permission region Tp, The lower control device Hd can determine that the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 is in the posture change permission region Tp. When the lower control device Hd determines that the position detection sensor Se6 has not read position information indicating that the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 is the posture change permission area Tp while the article transport vehicle 2 is traveling ( Step # 37: No), the process of step # 33 is performed. When it is determined that the position detection sensor Se6 has read the information that the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 is the posture change permission area Tp (step # 37: Yes), the posture change that is the current position of the article transport vehicle 2 is changed. It is determined whether or not the permission area Tp is the last attitude change permission area Tp among the plurality of attitude change permission areas Tp existing up to the transfer target place 6 as the transfer destination (step # 38). When it is determined that the posture change permission region Tp, which is the current position of the article transport vehicle 2, is not the last posture change permission region Tp (step # 38: No), the process of step # 33 is performed. When it is determined that the posture change permission region Tp, which is the current position of the article transport vehicle 2, is the last posture change permission region Tp (step # 38: Yes), the traveling motor 21M is controlled to change the article transport vehicle 2 Stop (step # 39). Thereafter, posture change control is executed (step # 35). After executing the posture change control, the article transport vehicle 2 is caused to travel again toward the conveyance target place 6 as the conveyance destination by controlling the traveling motor 21M (step # 36).

  After traveling the article transport vehicle 2 again, the information detected by the position detection sensor Se6 is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the article transport vehicle 2 has reached the transport target location 6 as the transport destination (step #). 40). When it is determined that the article transport vehicle 2 has not reached the transport target place 6 as the transport destination (step # 40: No), the process of step # 30 is repeated. If it is determined that the article transport vehicle 2 has reached the transport target location 6 as the transport destination (step # 40: Yes), the travel of the article transport vehicle 2 is stopped by controlling the travel motor 21M (step # 41). ). After that, the article W accommodated in the accommodating portion 22a is transferred by controlling the slide motor 3SM, the elevating motor 3HM, and the gripping motor 3GM. That is, the stored article W is placed on the transfer unit 6b of the conveyance target place 6 (step # 42). By performing the above procedure, the lower control apparatus Hd executes the specific transport process.

  The case has been described above where the lower control device Hd receives the specific transport command from the upper control device Hu and executes the specific transport process. However, when the low order control device Hd receives a simple transfer command from the high order control device Hu (see FIG. 5), the low order control device Hd executes a simple transfer process as a transfer process that does not involve posture change control. When executing the simple conveyance process, the lower control apparatus Hd executes the processes from step # 30 to step # 32 in the flowchart of FIG. 7, and then executes the processes from step # 40 to step # 42. Thereby, the low order control apparatus Hd performs a simple conveyance process.

2. Second Embodiment Next, an article conveying facility 1 according to a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, only the procedure of attitude change control is different from the first embodiment. Below, it demonstrates centering on a different point from 1st embodiment. Points that are not particularly described are the same as in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the lower-level control device Hd performs posture change control within a range where the article W does not interfere with the cover portion 22b outside the accommodating portion 22a and the article W is moving by the transfer mechanism 3. To run. In the second embodiment, the low order control device Hd is a range in which the article W does not interfere with the inner side surface 22f of the cover part 22b outside the accommodating part 22a, and the article W moves by the slide mechanism 3S along the lateral direction Y. During this, posture change control is executed. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, from the state in which the article W is accommodated in the accommodating portion 22a, the article W is slid to the first lateral side Y1 by the slide mechanism 3S, and the article W is moved to the protruding position P2. Before being placed, the posture changing mechanism 4 starts to turn the article W within a range in which the corner Wc of the article W does not interfere with the inner side surface 22f. Then, the article W placed at the protruding position P2 is slid to the second lateral side Y2 by the slide mechanism 3S while the turning of the article W by the posture changing mechanism 4 is continued, and the article W is moved to the retracted position P1 (accommodating portion). 22a). At least the posture change of the article W to the second attitude A2 is completed while the article W is being slid to the second lateral side Y2 by the slide mechanism 3S. Thereby, the time required for posture change control can be shortened. Here, it is preferable that the posture change control time is shorter. In the second embodiment, the lower-level control device Hd uses the attitude changing mechanism 4 to turn the article W in order to change the article W from the first attitude A1 to the second attitude A2, and the slide mechanism 3S to move the article W. The posture changing mechanism 4 (turning motor 4M) and the slide mechanism 3S (sliding motor 3SM) are controlled so that the difference between the time from projecting from the housing portion 22a to housing in the housing portion 22a is shortened. Specifically, in the process of sliding the article W to the first lateral side Y1, the article W cannot be turned until the article W is located at a non-interference position where it does not interfere with the cover portion 22b. The lower control device Hd has a posture so that the time during which the article W is in a range where it does not interfere with the cover portion 22b until it protrudes from the container and is again accommodated in the accommodating portion 22a is approximately the same as the time for turning the article W. The change mechanism 4 (swing motor 4M) and the slide mechanism 3S (slide motor 3SM) are controlled. Thereby, the time required for posture change control can be further shortened.

  Next, the procedure of posture change control according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, after the article W is slid from the state accommodated in the accommodating portion 22a to the first lateral side Y1, the article W is slid to the second lateral direction Y2 to accommodate the article W. A series of operations until it is accommodated in the portion 22a is referred to as a reciprocating slide. In the posture change control according to the second embodiment, the posture of the article W is changed from the first posture A1 to the second posture during the period from the start to the end of the reciprocating slide and within the range that does not interfere with the cover portion 22b. Change to A2.

  The low order control device Hd executes the posture change control according to the second embodiment by the following procedure. That is, the information of the slide amount detection sensor Se2 is obtained, and the reciprocating slide of the article W is started by controlling the slide motor 3SM while grasping the position of the article W in the lateral direction Y (step # 50). Thereafter, information detected by the slide amount detection sensor Se2 is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the article W in the intermediate posture Am is located at the non-interference position (step # 51). Here, the non-interference position varies depending on the combination of the size and shape of the article W, the turning amount of the article W, and the sliding amount of the article W. In the second embodiment, the lower control apparatus Hd stores information on a plurality of non-interference positions in various patterns in advance. In the second embodiment, the low-order control device Hd determines whether or not the article W is located at the non-interference position using this prestored information. When it is determined that the article W is not in the non-interference position within the specified time, that is, when it is determined that the article W in the intermediate posture Am interferes with the cover portion 22b (step # 51: No, step # 56). : Yes), the control of the various motors is stopped (step # 57), an error is notified (step # 58), and the posture change control is terminated. If it is determined that the article W is in the non-interference position (step # 51: Yes), the turning motor 4M is controlled to start turning the article W (step # 42). Thereafter, the information detected by the turning amount detection sensor Se5 is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the article W is in the second posture A2 (step # 53). When it is determined that the article W is not in the second posture A2 within the specified time (step # 53: No, step # 59: Yes), control of various motors is stopped (step # 57), and an error notification is issued. (Step # 58), and the posture change control is terminated. When it is determined that the article W is in the second posture A2 (step # 53: Yes), the turning motor 4M is controlled to stop the turning of the article W (step # 54). Thereafter, the reciprocating slide of the article W is terminated (step # 55). Through the above procedure, the lower control apparatus Hd executes the posture change control according to the second embodiment.

3. Other Embodiments Next, other embodiments of the article transport facility will be described.

(1) In the above embodiment, the example in which the posture change permission area Tp is set in the connection area Tc between the intra-process path Ri and the inter-process path Rc in the movement path R has been described. However, the article conveyance facility 1 according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a retreat route Re for retreating the article transport vehicle 2 may be separately provided in the movement route R, and the posture change permission region Tp may be set to the retreat route Re. According to this, when the article transport vehicle 2 executes the posture change control, the traveling of the other article transport vehicle 2 traveling on a route other than the retreat route Re in the movement route R is greatly suppressed. it can.

(2) In the above embodiment, the support member 5 is provided in the posture change permission region Tp, and the slide mechanism 3S is supported by the support member 5 in the process in which the lower control device Hd executes the posture change control. Explained. However, the article conveyance facility 1 according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the support member 5 may not be provided in the posture change permission region Tp, and the lower control device Hd may execute posture change control in a region where the support member 5 is not provided.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the low-order control device Hd has been described with respect to the example in which the posture change control is executed while the congestion of the article transport vehicle 2 is stopped along the transport route Rt. However, the article conveyance facility 1 according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, when the host control device Hu or the lower control device Hd is configured to be able to recognize the traffic jam on the transport route Rt and determines that the transport route Rt is congested, the article transport vehicle 2 is moved to the nearest posture change permission region Tp. The attitude change control may be executed after the movement.

(4) In the above embodiment, the example in which the lower control apparatus Hd executes the posture change control while the article transport vehicle 2 is stopped in the middle of the transport route Rt. However, the article conveyance facility 1 according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the low order control device Hd may execute the posture change control while the article transport vehicle 2 is traveling in the posture change permission region Tp. In this case, in order to execute posture change control safely, the article transport vehicle 2 may be driven at a low speed.

(5) In the above embodiment, the example in which the posture of the article W is changed from the first posture A1 to the second posture A2 by the rotation of the turning shaft 4b along the vertical direction Z has been described. That is, in the above embodiment, the posture of the article W is changed two-dimensionally in the horizontal plane. However, the article conveyance facility 1 according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the posture of the article W may be changed three-dimensionally according to the mode of the transport destination. For example, the opening Wb of the article W is in the horizontal direction at the transport source, whereas the opening Wb of the article W must be in the vertical direction Z or the vertical diagonal direction at the transport destination. When it is necessary, the posture of the article W may be changed by turning the article W around the vertical axis and the horizontal axis.

(6) In the above embodiment, the slide mechanism 3S that slides the grip portion 3Ga has been described as an example of the lateral movement mechanism that moves the grip portion 3Ga laterally. However, the article conveyance facility 1 according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the lateral movement mechanism 3S may be a link mechanism or the like having an arm, and the grip portion 3Ga may be laterally moved by the arm.

(7) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the gripping mechanism 3G that grips the flange portion Wa of the article W is configured as a part of the transfer mechanism 3 has been described. However, the article conveyance facility 1 according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the fork mechanism that supports the article W from below may be configured as a part of the transfer mechanism. In this case, it is preferable that the fork mechanism is turned by the posture changing mechanism while the fork mechanism supports the article W from below.

(8) In the above embodiment, in order to change the posture of the article W from the first posture A1 to the second posture A2, the slide mechanism 3S moves the article W to the outside of the housing portion 22a in the process of executing the posture change control. The example of moving to has been described. However, the article conveyance facility 1 according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the article W may be moved to the outside of the accommodating portion 22a by lowering the article W by the lifting mechanism 3H. In this state, the posture of the article W is changed by turning the article W by the posture changing mechanism 4. In this case, the slide mechanism 3S may not be provided, and the support member 5 that supports the slide mechanism 3S may not be provided. That is, the transfer mechanism 3 includes a grip portion 3Ga that grips the article W, and an elevating mechanism 3H that lifts and lowers the grip portion 3Ga along the vertical direction Z. The posture change mechanism 4 turns along the vertical direction Z. A turning part 4a for turning the gripping part 3Ga around the axis is provided, and the attitude change between the first attitude A1 and the second attitude A2 is performed by turning the article W around the rotation axis, and the attitude change control is It may be performed by turning the article W around the turning axis in a state where the gripping part 3Ga is lowered so that the article W is positioned outside the housing part 22a by the lifting mechanism 3H.

(9) It should be noted that the configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in the other embodiments as long as no contradiction arises. Regarding other configurations, the embodiments disclosed herein are merely examples in all respects. Accordingly, various modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

4). Outline of the above-described embodiment Hereinafter, an outline of the article transport facility described above will be described.

  The article conveyance facility includes an article conveyance vehicle that moves along a movement path between a plurality of conveyance target locations and conveys an article, and a control device that controls the article conveyance vehicle. The article is moved between a housing section that houses the article, a cover section that covers the housing section, and the housing section and one of the plurality of transport target locations that are located outside the housing section. A transfer mechanism that transfers the article between the transfer target place and the article transport vehicle; and an attitude change mechanism that changes the attitude of the article being transferred, the attitude change mechanism, The posture of the article is a first posture that is a posture for transfer at the transport target location that is a transport source, and a second posture that is a posture for transfer at the transport target location that is a transport destination. The cover portion is accommodated in the accommodating portion. When the article is in the first attitude and in the second attitude, the article does not interfere with the article and the attitude of the article is changed between the first attitude and the second attitude. The control device is provided at a position that interferes with the article when in an intermediate posture, and the control device moves the transfer mechanism to the storage unit in the middle of a transfer path that is a path from the transfer source to the transfer destination. In this state, after the article is changed from the first attitude to the second attitude by the attitude changing mechanism while the article is moved outward, the article is accommodated in the accommodating portion by the transfer mechanism. Execute posture change control.

  In this structure, the cover part which covers an accommodating part is provided in the position which does not interfere with the said goods in the state in which the articles | goods of the 1st attitude | position or the 2nd attitude | position were accommodated in the accommodating part. On the other hand, the position where this cover part is provided is a position where the article in a state where it is accommodated in the accommodating part interferes with the article when the article is in an intermediate posture. That is, the gap between the cover portion covering the storage portion and the article is set to be relatively small. Therefore, according to the article transport facility according to this configuration, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the article transport vehicle. Further, in this configuration, the article transport vehicle is moved in the state where the article transport vehicle is moved to the outside by the transfer mechanism in the middle of the transport path that is the path from the transport source to the transport destination. The posture of the article is changed from the first posture to the second posture by the posture changing mechanism provided. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to change the posture of the article by effectively using the time and space for article conveyance. For this reason, compared with the case where an attitude change mechanism is provided separately from the article transport vehicle, it is easy to reduce the size and cost of the equipment.

  The transfer mechanism includes a gripping part that grips the article, a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the gripping part along a vertical direction, and a lateral direction that intersects the transport path and is along the horizontal direction. A lateral movement mechanism for laterally moving the grip portion, and the posture changing mechanism includes a turning portion for turning the grip portion around a turning axis along the vertical direction, and the first posture and the second posture The posture change between the postures is performed by turning the article around the turning axis, and the posture change control is performed by the lateral movement mechanism so that the article is positioned on the outer side with respect to the storage unit. It is preferable to carry out by turning the article around the turning axis in a state where the grip portion is moved laterally.

  According to this configuration, the vertical and lateral positions of the article and the angle around the pivot axis can be adjusted and transferred to the transport destination. Further, using the mechanism for such adjustment, the posture of the article is changed to the first posture in the state where the article is moved outward with respect to the housing portion so as not to interfere with the cover portion in the middle of the conveyance path. Can be changed to the second posture.

  Further, in addition to the above configuration, the moving path is determined by a rail supported by being suspended from a ceiling, and the transfer mechanism is supported by the rail or the ceiling and disposed at a position adjacent to the moving path. The support member further supports the lateral movement mechanism in the vertical direction in a state in which the grip part is laterally moved so that the article is positioned outside the storage part. It is preferable that it is provided.

  When the gripping part is moved laterally by the transfer mechanism so that the gripping part in the state where the article is gripped is positioned outside the storage part, the article transporting vehicle is centered in proportion to the distance the gripping part is laterally moved. May increase the load on the article transport vehicle or rail. In this configuration, the support member supports the lateral movement mechanism in the vertical direction in a state in which the gripping part is laterally moved so that the article is positioned on the outer side with respect to the housing part. That is, the support member can indirectly support the grip portion and the article gripped by the support portion via the lateral movement mechanism, and as a result, the burden on the article transport vehicle, the rail, and the like can be reduced.

  Further, it is preferable that the control device performs the posture change control while the article transport vehicle is stopped in the middle of the transport path.

  According to this configuration, the posture change control can be executed in a stable state where the article transport vehicle is stopped. In addition, since the article is not moved to the outside with respect to the storage unit during the movement of the article transport vehicle, the article on the outside of the storage unit interferes with other members existing around the movement path. This can be suppressed.

  Further, it is preferable that the control device executes the posture change control while the article is in a range where the article does not interfere with the cover part outside the housing part and the article is moved by the transfer mechanism. is there.

  According to this configuration, since the posture change control can be executed during the movement of the article between the inside and the outside of the container by the transfer mechanism, the movement and the posture change of the article by the transfer mechanism are performed separately. Compared to the above, the time required for posture change control can be shortened. Further, since such posture change control is performed within a range where the article does not interfere with the cover portion outside the housing portion, it is possible to suppress the interference between the article and the cover portion.

  In addition, the transfer path in which the transfer mechanism and the article do not interfere with other members existing around the transfer path in a state where the article is moved laterally outward with respect to the housing portion by the transfer mechanism. Is set as a posture change permission region, and the control device preferably executes the posture change control when the article transport vehicle is in the posture change permission region.

  According to this configuration, the attitude change control is executed when the article transport vehicle is in the attitude change permission area, which is an area where the transfer mechanism and the article do not interfere with other members existing around the conveyance path. It is possible to suppress the transfer mechanism and the article from interfering with other members existing around the conveyance path during the execution of the change control.

  In addition, the article is a container in which a semiconductor substrate is stored, and the transfer target place receives and transfers the article between the processing apparatus for processing the semiconductor substrate and the article transport vehicle. A plurality of transfer units are connected by an in-process path, and a plurality of in-process paths are connected by an inter-process path, and the posture change permission region is the process in the movement path. It is preferable that it is set in the connection region between the inner path and the inter-process path.

  In such an in-process path and an inter-process path, in each of the in-process path and the inter-process path, a relatively large number of article transport vehicles are used to transport a semiconductor substrate to be processed by each processing apparatus. Is running. On the other hand, the number of article transport vehicles is relatively small in the connection area between the intra-process path and the inter-process path. In this configuration, since this connection region is set as the posture change permission region, it is possible to suppress the posture change control of a specific article transport vehicle from affecting the travel of other article transport vehicles. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the overall conveyance efficiency of the article conveyance facility.

  The technology according to the present disclosure can be used for an article conveyance facility including an article conveyance vehicle that moves along a movement path between a plurality of conveyance target locations and conveys an article.

1: article conveyance equipment 2: article conveyance vehicle 3: transfer mechanism 3G: gripping mechanism 3Ga: gripping part 3H: lifting mechanism 3S: lateral movement mechanism (sliding mechanism)
4: posture changing mechanism 4a: turning portion 4b: turning shaft 5: support member 6: transfer target place 6a: processing device 6b: delivery unit 22a: accommodating portion 22b: cover portion 98: rail 99: ceiling A1: first posture A2 : Second posture Am: Intermediate posture H: Control device Hd: Lower control device Hu: Higher control device R: Moving route Rc: Inter-process route Re: Retraction route Ri: In-process route Rt: Transfer route Tc: Connection region Tp: Posture change permission area W: Article Y: Horizontal direction Z: Vertical direction

Claims (7)

An article conveyance facility comprising an article conveyance vehicle that moves along a movement path between a plurality of conveyance target locations and conveys an article, and a control device that controls the article conveyance vehicle,
The article transport vehicle includes a housing section that houses the article, a cover section that covers the housing section, and the housing section and one of the plurality of transport target locations that are located outside the housing section. A transfer mechanism that moves the article to transfer the article between the transfer target location and the article transport vehicle; and an attitude change mechanism that changes the attitude of the article being transferred,
The posture changing mechanism is configured to change the posture of the article to a first posture that is a posture for transfer at the transfer target location that is a transfer source, and for transfer at the transfer target location that is a transfer destination. Can be changed to the second posture,
The cover part does not interfere with the article when the article in a state of being accommodated in the accommodation part is in the first attitude and the second attitude, and the attitude of the article is the first attitude. Provided in a position that interferes with the article when it is an intermediate posture that is a posture in the process of changing between the second posture,
The control device moves the article outwardly with respect to the storage unit by the transfer mechanism in the middle of a conveyance path that is a path from the conveyance source to the conveyance destination. An article conveying facility that performs attitude change control, which is control for accommodating the article in the accommodating portion by the transfer mechanism after the article is changed from the first attitude to the second attitude. The transfer mechanism includes a gripping part that grips the article, a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the gripping part along a vertical direction, and a transverse direction that intersects the transport path and is in a horizontal direction. A lateral movement mechanism for laterally moving the gripping part,
The posture changing mechanism includes a turning portion that turns the gripping portion around a turning axis along the vertical direction, and the posture change between the first posture and the second posture is performed around the turning axis. Done by turning the goods,
The posture change control is performed by turning the article around the turning axis in a state where the gripping part is laterally moved by the lateral movement mechanism so that the article is positioned outside the storage part. The article conveyance facility according to claim 1. The moving path is determined by a rail supported suspended from the ceiling,
The transfer mechanism further includes a support member that is supported by the rail or the ceiling and disposed at a position adjacent to the movement path,
The support member is provided so as to support the lateral movement mechanism in the vertical direction in a state in which the grip part is laterally moved so that the article is located on the outer side with respect to the storage part. Item conveying equipment of 2.   The said control apparatus is an article conveyance installation as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3 which performs the said attitude | position change control during the stop of the said article conveyance vehicle in the middle of the said conveyance path | route.   The control device performs the posture change control while the article is in a range where the article does not interfere with the cover part on the outside of the housing part and the article is moved by the transfer mechanism. The article conveyance facility according to any one of 4. The region of the transport path where the transfer mechanism and the article do not interfere with other members existing around the transport path in a state where the article is moved laterally outward with respect to the storage unit by the transfer mechanism. Is set as the posture change permission area,
The said control apparatus is an article conveyance installation of Claim 2 or 3 which performs the said attitude | position change control, when the said article conveyance vehicle exists in the said attitude | position change permission area | region. The article is a container for storing a semiconductor substrate,
The transfer target location includes a transfer unit for transferring the article between the processing apparatus for processing the semiconductor substrate and the article transport vehicle,
A plurality of the delivery parts are connected by an in-process route, and a plurality of in-process routes are connected by an inter-process route,
The article transfer facility according to claim 6, wherein the posture change permission area is set in a connection area between the intra-process path and the inter-process path in the movement path.

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