JP6946965B2 - Transport system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention mainly relates to a traveling bogie that travels along a track.

Conventionally, in facilities such as semiconductor manufacturing factories, traveling bogies that travel along a track have been used to transport various articles. This type of traveling carriage is disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3.

Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a transport system in which traveling rails (traveling tracks) are arranged in a grid pattern and a ceiling traveling vehicle is traveled along the traveling rails in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. The ceiling traveling vehicles of Patent Documents 1 and 2 are individually provided with wheels for traveling in the vertical direction and wheels for traveling in the horizontal direction. Further, these wheels are configured so that they can be moved up and down. With this configuration, the traveling direction of the ceiling traveling vehicle can be switched by changing the wheels that come into contact with the traveling rail depending on whether the ceiling traveling vehicle travels in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction.

Patent Document 3 discloses a storage facility in which an X-axis traveling rail and a Y-axis traveling rail are arranged so as to intersect each other, and a carriage is traveled along these traveling rails. The bogie of Patent Document 3 has wheels arranged at four corners of the bogie body, and the orientation of the wheels can be changed. With this configuration, the bogie is rotated by 90 ° in the direction of the wheels without rotating the bogie body, so that the bogie travels along the Y-axis traveling rail, for example, from the state of traveling along the X-axis traveling rail. Can be switched.

International Publication No. 2016/039023 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-175506 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-157016

In the configurations of Patent Documents 1 to 3, each time the traveling direction of the traveling carriage (ceiling traveling vehicle, carriage) changes, the surface of the traveling carriage facing the traveling direction changes. Therefore, when moving the traveling carriage in four directions, it is necessary to take measures against collision with obstacles in front of the four surfaces. Therefore, the configuration becomes complicated and the component cost increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main object thereof is to provide a traveling carriage having a simplified configuration for collision countermeasures without increasing the possibility of collision.

Means and effects to solve problems

The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above, and next, the means for solving this problem and its effect will be described.

From the viewpoint of the present invention, the following transfer system is provided. The transport system includes a track suspended from the ceiling and a traveling carriage traveling along the track. It said track includes a plurality of first track arranged along the first direction, and a plurality of second trajectories which are disposed before SL along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The traveling carriage includes a base portion, a support, a traveling portion, and a driving portion. The support is arranged so as to rise upward from the base portion. The traveling unit has at least four traveling wheels, and the traveling wheels are attached to the support, and traveling along the first track and running along the second track. At times, the directions of the four traveling wheels are parallel, and the four traveling wheels come into contact with the first track or the second track. By rotating each of the four traveling wheels with the rotation center in the vertical direction, the driving unit sets the wheel center line, which is a line passing through the centers of the four traveling wheels in a plan view, as a tangent to the turning circle of the spin turn. After making them orthogonal to each other, a spin turn is performed by rotating the four traveling wheels with the wheel center line as the center of rotation. An arc gap, which is a space through which the support is passed when the traveling bogie makes a spin turn, is formed on the track.

As a result, the traveling carriage makes a spin turn, so that basically the same surface faces the traveling direction when the traveling carriage is traveling. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the configuration related to collision countermeasures without increasing the possibility of collision by unifying the surfaces on which collision countermeasures are given priority. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of parts related to collision countermeasures for the traveling carriage.

In the transfer system , the drive unit rotates each of the four traveling wheels around a line parallel to the vertical direction through the contact point between the first track or the second track and the traveling wheel. Therefore, it is preferable that the wheel center lines of the four traveling wheels are orthogonal to the tangent line of the turning circle of the spin turn in a plan view.

As a result, the position of the traveling wheel does not change significantly when the traveling wheel is rotated about the vertical direction as the center of rotation, so that the traveling wheel can be rotated around the vertical direction as the center of rotation in a small space.

The transport system preferably has the following configuration. That is, the distance between the first orbits and the distance between the second orbits are the same. The drive unit makes a spin turn in a state where the four traveling wheels are rotated by 45 ° with the rotation center in the vertical direction.

As a result, the turning circle of the spin turn can be made relatively small with respect to the traveling carriage, so that the spin turn can be performed in a small space.

In the above-mentioned transport system , it is preferable to include a holding device for holding the articles to be transported.

As a result, the traveling carriage can carry the article by holding the article and traveling.

In the transfer system , the holding device preferably holds the article so that the article is located below the first track and the second track.

This makes it possible to prevent the holding device and the article from interfering with the trajectory during the spin turn.

In the transfer system, it is preferable to include a transfer device for feeding the articles held by the holding device.

As a result, the article can be transported regardless of the orientation of the device to which the article is transported.

The plan view which shows roughly the structure of the transport system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the structure of the traveling carriage. The side view which shows the structure of the traveling carriage. A flowchart showing a process of causing a traveling carriage to perform a spin turn. The plan view which shows how the traveling bogie travels straight along the second track. The plan view which shows how the drive wheel of a traveling carriage is rotated around a vertical direction as a center of rotation, and is made to follow a turning circle. The plan view which shows how the drive wheel of a traveling carriage is rotated around a wheel center line to perform a spin turn. The plan view which shows the mode that the drive wheel of a traveling carriage is rotated about a vertical direction as a center of rotation, and is along the first track. The plan view which shows how the traveling bogie travels straight along the first track. The plan view which shows roughly the structure of the transport system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an outline of the transport system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the transport system 1 according to the first embodiment.

The transport system 1 is installed in a facility such as a semiconductor manufacturing factory, and is a system for transporting various articles. The articles transported by the transport system 1 are, for example, a FOUP that houses a semiconductor wafer, a reticle pod that houses a reticle, and the like. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the transport system 1 includes a track 30 and a traveling carriage 5. The traveling carriage 5 may be one or a plurality of traveling carriages 5.

The track 30 is suspended from the ceiling by a mounting member (not shown). The orbit 30 includes a plurality of first orbits 31 and a plurality of second orbits 32. Both the first orbit 31 and the second orbit 32 are linear orbits. The first orbit 31 and the second orbit 32 are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other in a plan view. Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction of the first orbit 31 may be referred to as a first direction, and the longitudinal direction of the second orbit 32 may be referred to as a second direction.

The traveling carriage 5 travels along the track 30 in a state of being suspended from the track 30. Specifically, the traveling bogie 5 travels in the first direction by rotating the drive wheels 13 described later in a state of being supported by two adjacent first first tracks 31. Further, the traveling bogie 5 can also travel in the second direction by rotating the drive wheels 13 while being supported by two adjacent second tracks 32.

A processing device 50, a load port 51, a storage device 52, and the like are arranged below the track 30. The processing device 50 is a device that performs various processing on a semiconductor wafer or the like. The load port 51 is connected to a space in which the processing device 50 performs processing. The semiconductor wafer (specifically, the FOUP in which the semiconductor wafer is housed) conveyed by the traveling carriage 5 is placed in the load port 51. After that, the semiconductor wafer is carried from the FOUP by, for example, a robot arm or the like and processed by the processing apparatus 50. The FOUP containing the processed semiconductor wafer is transported by the same or different traveling carriage 5 to a position where another process is performed. Further, the storage device 52 is a device for temporarily storing the FOUP or the like until the processing device 50 and the load port 51 cannot be used, until they can be used.

Next, the configuration of the traveling carriage 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the traveling carriage 5. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the traveling carriage 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the traveling carriage 5 includes a base portion 11. The base portion 11 is a rectangular plate-shaped member, and various members constituting the traveling carriage 5 are attached to the base portion 11. Supports 12 are arranged at the four corners of the base portion 11 so as to rise upward from the base portion 11. Further, a drive unit 6 and a traveling unit 7 are attached to the base unit 11. The drive unit 6 includes a traveling motor 14, a swivel motor 15, and an elevating motor 19. The traveling unit 7 includes driving wheels (traveling wheels) 13, upper auxiliary wheels 17, and lower auxiliary wheels 18.

The traveling motor 14 is arranged on the upper side of the base portion 11 and in the vicinity of the four supports 12. Further, the drive wheels 13 are arranged on the upper portions of the four supports 12. The driving force generated by each traveling motor 14 is transmitted to the drive wheels 13 via the drive transmission mechanism (not shown) provided in the support body 12. As a result, the drive wheel 13 can be rotated with the wheel center line L1 as the center of rotation. The wheel center line L1 is a line passing through the center of the disc-shaped drive wheel 13 (that is, a line passing through the center of the cylindrical axle). Further, as will be described in detail later, the drive wheels 13 are configured to come into contact with the upper surface (specifically, the drive wheel guide member 41) of the first track 31 or the second track 32. As a result, the traveling carriage 5 can be driven by rotating the drive wheel 13 with the wheel center line L1 as the center of rotation.

The swivel motor 15 is arranged below each of the four supports 12. The swivel motor 15 can rotate the support 12 with the vertical direction as the center of rotation. As a result, the drive wheels 13 and the traveling motor 14 attached to the support 12 rotate with the vertical direction as the center of rotation. The swivel motor 15 can rotate the direction of the drive wheels 13 by at least 90 °. By rotating the direction of the drive wheels 13 by 90 °, it is possible to switch between a state in which the traveling carriage 5 can travel along the first track 31 and a state in which the traveling carriage 5 can travel along the second track 32. Further, as will be described in detail later, the traveling carriage 5 can be made to perform a spin turn by rotating the direction of the drive wheels 13 by 45 °.

Further, the center of rotation when the swivel motor 15 rotates the drive wheels 13 is a line parallel to the vertical direction through the contact points between the first track 31 or the second track 32 and the drive wheels 13. As a result, the position of the center of the drive wheels 13 does not change during rotation, so that the drive wheels 13 can be rotated in a small space. The drive wheels 13 can be rotated around different lines as long as they are parallel to the vertical direction.

Further, in addition to the drive wheels 13, the traveling bogie 5 includes upper auxiliary wheels 17 and lower auxiliary wheels 18 as auxiliary wheels for smoothly traveling along the track 30. The upper auxiliary wheel 17 and the lower auxiliary wheel 18 are not driven by a motor or the like, and rotate by receiving frictional force from the first track 31 or the second track 32 as the traveling carriage 5 travels. The upper auxiliary wheel 17 can rotate about the horizontal direction as a rotation axis. Further, the upper auxiliary wheels 17 are arranged so as to be aligned with the drive wheels 13 in the wheel width direction and so that the position of the lower end of the upper auxiliary wheels 17 is higher than the lower end of the drive wheels 13.

Two lower training wheels 18 are arranged above each of the four ends of the base portion 11 for each of the ends. Further, the lower auxiliary wheels 18 are arranged so that the position of the upper end of the lower auxiliary wheels 18 is lower than the lower end of the drive wheels 13. Further, below each of the four end sides of the base portion 11, one elevating motor 19 is arranged for each of the end sides. The elevating motor 19 can integrally move (elevate) the two lower auxiliary wheels 18 along the vertical direction.

The traveling carriage 5 includes a transfer device 21, a holding device 22, and a storage container 23 below the base portion 11. The transfer device 21 includes a mechanism for moving the storage container 23 in the vertical direction (hoist or the like) and a mechanism for moving the storage container 23 in the horizontal direction (arm mechanism or the like which can be expanded and contracted in the horizontal direction). Be prepared. Further, the holding device 22 is configured to be able to hold the upper portion of the storage container 23. The storage container 23 is a container for storing a semiconductor wafer or the like. In this way, the traveling carriage 5 is configured to suspend and transport the storage container 23, which is the object to be transported. The transfer device 21 to the storage container 23 are located below the track 30.

Further, a laser sensor 16 is arranged in the vicinity of one end side of the base portion 11. The laser sensor 16 irradiates the laser beam and receives the reflected light of the laser beam. As a result, the distance to the front member (an obstacle such as another traveling carriage 5) is measured based on the time until the reflected light arrives. Further, control such as reducing the speed of the traveling carriage 5 is performed based on the distance to the member in front. By providing the laser sensor 16 in this way, it is possible to avoid collisions between the traveling carriages 5. In addition to or in place of the laser sensor 16, other collision countermeasures such as providing a shock absorber at the end of the traveling carriage 5 may be provided. Further, in the present embodiment, collision countermeasures are provided only on one of the four side surfaces of the traveling carriage 5. Instead of this configuration, a configuration such as arranging the laser sensor 16 on only one surface while providing shock absorbers on all four sides (that is, the degree of collision countermeasures on one of the four sides is compared with the other surfaces. It may be a structure that is strong.

Next, the track 30 on which the traveling carriage 5 travels will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing how the traveling carriage 5 travels in a straight line along the second track 32.

As described above, the orbit 30 includes a plurality of first orbits 31 and a plurality of second orbits 32. The first track 31 and the second track 32 are configured by combining the rail portion 40 and the crossing member 45. Specifically, the first track 31 is configured by alternately arranging the rail portion 40 and the crossing member 45 in a straight line along the first direction. The second track 32 is configured by alternately arranging the rail portion 40 and the crossing member 45 in a straight line along the second direction. Further, the rail portion 40 and the crossing member 45 are connected above via another member. In the present embodiment, the rail portion 40 and the crossing member 45 constituting the first track 31 and the rail portion 40 and the crossing member 45 forming the second track 32 have the same shape.

A straight line gap 48, which is a space for passing the support 12 when the traveling carriage 5 is driven in a straight line, is formed between the rail portion 40 and the crossing member 45. Further, the rail portion 40 is formed with an arc gap 49, which is a space for passing the support 12 when the traveling carriage 5 is spin-turned. That is, the rail portion 40 is configured as a rectangular plate material having two arc gaps 49 by arranging one inverted crown-shaped plate material and two D-shaped plate materials in a plane. Each of these three plate materials may be individually hung from the ceiling, or a unit of three plates may be hung from the ceiling.

The rail portion 40 includes a drive wheel guide member 41, an upper auxiliary wheel guide member 42, and a lower auxiliary wheel guide member 43.

The drive wheel guide member 41 is a plate-shaped member arranged so that the thickness direction is the same as the vertical direction. The drive wheel guide member 41 has a guide surface for contacting the drive wheels 13 (specifically, the lower end of the drive wheels 13). Further, the arrangement intervals of the rail portions 40 (drive wheel guide members 41) arranged so as to face each other in the first direction or the second direction are arranged so as to be the same as the arrangement intervals of the drive wheels 13. With this configuration, the traveling bogie 5 is supported on the track 30 by the four drive wheels 13 and the four supports 12 included in the traveling bogie 5.

The upper auxiliary wheel guide member 42 is formed so as to extend upward from the upper surface of the drive wheel guide member 41. The upper auxiliary wheel guide member 42 has a guide surface for contacting the upper auxiliary wheel 17 (specifically, the lower end of the upper auxiliary wheel 17). By guiding the upper auxiliary wheels 17 in addition to the drive wheels 13, the traveling carriage 5 can be guided more stably.

The lower auxiliary wheel guide member 43 is formed so as to extend downward from the lower surface of the drive wheel guide member 41. The lower auxiliary wheel guide member 43 has a contact surface for contacting the lower auxiliary wheel 18 (specifically, the radial end of the lower auxiliary wheel 18). By guiding the lower auxiliary wheels 18 in addition to the drive wheels 13, the traveling bogie 5 can be smoothly traveled along the track 30.

Further, one rail portion 40 is used both when traveling on one side of the rail portion 40 (one side in the lateral direction) and when traveling on the other side of the rail portion 40 (the other side in the lateral direction). Used. Therefore, one rail portion 40 includes two upper auxiliary wheel guide members 42 and two lower auxiliary wheel guide members 43.

Next, a process of causing the traveling carriage 5 to perform a spin turn will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of causing the traveling carriage 5 to perform a spin turn. 5 to 9 are plan views showing a flow in which the traveling bogie makes a spin turn. In FIGS. 5 to 9, only a part of the members of the traveling carriage 5 is shown in order to prevent the drawings from becoming complicated. In the present embodiment, the control device (not shown) included in the traveling carriage 5 performs processing related to the spin turn. The management device that manages the transfer system 1 may perform at least a part of the processes related to the spin turn.

In the present embodiment, the spin turn can be performed when the traveling carriage 5 is located in the square area surrounded by the first track 31 and the second track 32. Specifically, the spin turn can be performed when the four drive wheels 13 included in the traveling carriage 5 are located at the four corners of the square. In the following, a case where the traveling carriage 5 traveling along the second track 32 makes a spin turn and travels along the first track 31 will be described as an example. Further, as shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the traveling carriage 5 travels in the direction in which the laser sensor 16 is located on the surface on the traveling direction side. At this time, the directions of the four drive wheels 13 of the traveling carriage 5 are all parallel, and all of the four drive wheels 13 are in contact with the second track 32 (specifically, the drive wheel guide member 41).

While moving along the second track 32 as shown in FIG. 5, the traveling carriage 5 determines whether or not it has reached a position where a spin turn is to be performed (S101). In FIG. 5, the traveling carriage 5 heading for the position where the spin turn is performed is shown by a chain line, and the traveling carriage 5 arriving at the position where the spin turn is performed is shown by a solid line. As shown in FIG. 5, when the traveling carriage 5 travels straight on the crossing member 45, the support 12 passes through the straight gap 48. Further, when the traveling carriage 5 travels on the rail portion 40, the support 12 passes through the space inside the drive wheel guide member 41.

In the present embodiment, when the traveling carriage 5 is located in the above-mentioned square area, the reading device of the traveling carriage 5 can read a predetermined identifier (bar code, RFID, etc.) arranged on the track 30. It is configured as follows. With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the traveling carriage 5 has arrived at a position where a spin turn is performed. It is also possible that the traveling carriage 5 reads the identifier at another position and determines whether or not the traveling carriage 5 has arrived at the position where the spin turn is performed based on the number of rotations of the drive wheels 13 from this reading position. can.

When it is determined that the traveling carriage 5 has arrived at the position where the spin turn is performed, the swivel motor 15 is operated to rotate the drive wheels 13 by 45 ° around the vertical direction as the center of rotation, and the tangent line of the swivel circle and the wheel center line. Make it orthogonal to L1 (S102). In FIG. 6, the position of the drive wheel 13 before the rotation is shown by a chain line, and the position of the drive wheel 13 after the rotation is shown by a solid line. Further, the turning circle is a circular path when the traveling carriage 5 is spin-turned, as shown by a thick arrow in FIG. 7. In the present embodiment, the four drive wheels 13 are arranged in a square shape, and since the drive wheels 13 are rotated by 45 °, the circle connecting the four drive wheels 13 becomes a turning circle. Further, the tangent line means the tangent line of the turning circle in the vicinity of the corresponding drive wheel 13. Of the four drive wheels 13, one set of drive wheels 13 facing each other diagonally has the same rotation direction (the rotation direction is different from that of another set of drive wheels 13).

Further, the traveling bogie 5 controls the elevating motor 19 after arriving at the position where the spin turn is performed and before starting the process of the next step S103, and controls the lower auxiliary wheel guide of the second track 32. Two sets of lower auxiliary wheels 18 in contact with the member 43 are lowered. As a result, it is possible to prevent the lower auxiliary wheel 18 from interfering with the lower auxiliary wheel guide member 43 during the spin turn.

Next, the traveling carriage 5 makes a spin turn by rotating the driving wheels 13 with the wheel center line L1 as the center of rotation by operating the traveling motor 14 (S103). The spin turn is to change the direction of the traveling carriage 5 without changing the position of the traveling carriage 5 (specifically, the position of the center of rotation). That is, in the present embodiment, not only the orientation of the drive wheels 13 but also the orientations of the base portion 11, the storage container 23, and the like are changed. Further, in FIG. 7, the position of the laser sensor 16 before the spin turn is shown by a chain line, and the position of the laser sensor 16 after the spin turn is shown by a solid line. Since another drive wheel 13 is located at the position of the drive wheel 13 before the spin turn, the chain line is not shown for the drive wheel 13. The four drive wheels 13 are rotated in the direction along the turning circle.

Here, the arc gap 49 is formed along the swirling circle and at a position corresponding to the support 12. Therefore, when the traveling carriage 5 makes a spin turn, the support 12 passes through the arc gap 49. Further, in the drive wheel guide member 41, the portion through which the drive wheel 13 passes during the spin turn is not provided with a hole or a wall portion through which the drive wheel 13 cannot pass. Therefore, when the traveling carriage 5 makes a spin turn, the driving wheels 13 travel on the driving wheel guide member 41.

In the above, the process of performing a 90 ° spin turn has been described, but a 180 ° spin turn can also be performed. Further, the traveling carriage 5 can be rotated by 90 ° in the direction opposite to the rotation direction shown in FIG.

Next, the traveling carriage 5 operates the swivel motor 15 to rotate the drive wheels 13 by 45 ° in the same direction as step S102 with the vertical direction as the center of rotation (S104). In FIG. 8, the position of the drive wheel 13 before the rotation is shown by a chain line, and the position of the drive wheel 13 after the rotation is shown by a solid line. As a result, the direction of the drive wheels 13 can be adjusted so as to be along the first track 31 which is the next traveling direction.

Further, after the end of step S103 and before the completion of step S104 and the start of traveling of the traveling carriage 5, the traveling carriage 5 controls the elevating motor 19 to control the lower auxiliary wheels of the first track 31. Two sets of lower auxiliary wheels 18 that can come into contact with the guide member 43 are raised.

As described above, by causing the traveling carriage 5 to perform a spin turn, the traveling direction of the traveling carriage 5 is maintained while maintaining a state in which a predetermined side surface (the surface on which the laser sensor 16 is arranged) of the traveling carriage 5 faces the traveling direction. Can be changed. In FIG. 9, the traveling carriage 5 after the change of the traveling direction is shown by a chain line, and the traveling carriage 5 is shown by a solid line after starting traveling along the first track 31. Therefore, since it is not necessary to arrange the laser sensors 16 on all four surfaces of the traveling carriage 5, the cost of the traveling carriage 5 can be reduced while simplifying the configuration of the traveling carriage 5.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the traveling carriage 5 is configured to spin-turn, the orientation of the storage container 23 can be changed each time the spin-turn is performed. Therefore, the storage container 23 can be placed in the load port 51, the storage device 52, or the like in any orientation. In particular, the transfer device 21 of the traveling carriage 5 of the present embodiment has a mechanism for moving the storage container 23 in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the storage container 23 can be placed not only in the load port 51 or the like directly below the traveling carriage 5 but also in the road port 51 or the like diagonally below the traveling carriage 5.

Further, in the present embodiment, four sets of three rail members 40 form one grid, and the grids are arranged continuously in the vertical and horizontal directions. Therefore, the orientation of the traveling carriage 5 is provided in all the grids. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, a grid composed of four rail members (one-way grid), which is a rectangular plate with no arc gap 49, and a grid composed of four sets of three rail members 40 (rotating grid). However, it is also possible to adopt a coexisting orbital layout. In this case, there is a demerit that the direction of the traveling bogie cannot be changed on all grids, but there is a merit that the work man-hours can be reduced when the rail member is suspended and installed on the ceiling.

Next, the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the transport system 1 according to the second embodiment. In the description of the second embodiment, the same or similar members as those of the first embodiment may be designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description may be omitted.

In the first embodiment, since the traveling carriage 5 is suspended from the track 30 suspended from the ceiling, the storage container 23 is located below the track 30. On the other hand, the traveling carriage 60 of the second embodiment is provided with a base portion 61, driving wheels (traveling wheels) 62, and a storage container 63, and the traveling carriage 60 is mounted on the track 30 arranged on the floor surface. Therefore, the storage container 63 is located above the track 30. The base portion 61 is provided with a holding device for holding the storage container 63, a transfer device for moving the storage container 63 in the horizontal direction, and the like.

In the method of the second embodiment, since the support 12 is unnecessary, the linear gap 48 and the arc gap 49 of the first embodiment are unnecessary. However, a groove-shaped rail for guiding the drive wheels 62 of the traveling carriage 60 along the first track 31 or the second track 32 is required. In the second embodiment, a straight guide rail 71 that guides the drive wheels 62 when the traveling carriage 60 travels in a straight line, and a circular guide rail 72 that guides the driving wheels 62 when the traveling carriage 60 makes a spin turn are arranged. Has been done. With such a configuration, the present invention can also be applied to the transport system 1 in which the traveling carriage 60 is mounted on the track 30 arranged on the floor surface.

As described above, in the above embodiment, the plurality of first orbitals 31 arranged along the first direction and the plurality of second orbitals arranged along the second direction orthogonal to the first direction. In the traveling carriages 5 and 60 capable of traveling along both of 32, a configuration including a traveling unit 7 and a driving unit 6 is provided. The traveling unit 7 has at least four drive wheels 13, 62, and the four drive wheels 13 The directions of 62 are parallel, and the four drive wheels 13, 62 come into contact with the first track 31 or the second track 32. The drive unit 6 rotates the four drive wheels 13 and 62 with the rotation center in the vertical direction, respectively, so that the drive unit 6 turns the wheel center line, which is a line passing through the centers of the four drive wheels 13 and 62 in a plan view, in a spin turn. After making it orthogonal to the tangent line of the circle, a spin turn is performed by rotating the four drive wheels 13 and 62 with the wheel center line as the center of rotation.

As a result, the traveling carriages 5 and 60 perform a spin turn, so that basically the same surface faces the traveling direction when the traveling carriages 5 and 60 are traveling. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the configuration related to collision countermeasures without increasing the possibility of collision by unifying the surfaces on which collision countermeasures are given priority. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of parts related to collision countermeasures for the traveling carriages 5, 60.

Further, in the traveling carriages 5 and 60 of the above-described embodiment, the drive unit 6 has a line parallel to the vertical direction as a rotation center through the contact point between the first track 31 or the second track 32 and the drive wheels 13 and 62. By rotating the four drive wheels 13 and 62, respectively, the wheel center lines of the four drive wheels 13 and 62 are made orthogonal to the tangent line of the turning circle of the spin turn in a plan view.

As a result, the positions of the drive wheels 13 and 62 do not change significantly when the drive wheels 13 and 62 are rotated with the vertical direction as the center of rotation. Therefore, the drive wheels 13 and 62 can be rotated with the vertical direction as the center of rotation in a small space. Can be done.

Further, in the traveling carriages 5 and 60 of the above-described embodiment, the distance between the first tracks 31 and the distance between the second tracks 32 are the same. The drive unit 6 makes a spin turn in a state where the four drive wheels 13 and 62 are rotated by 45 ° with the rotation center in the vertical direction.

As a result, the turning circle of the spin turn can be made relatively small with respect to the traveling carriages 5 and 60, so that the spin turn can be performed in a small space.

Further, the traveling carriages 5 and 60 of the above-described embodiment include a holding device 22 for holding the storage containers 23 and 63 to be transported.

As a result, the traveling carriages 5, 60 can carry the storage containers 23, 63 by holding the storage containers 23, 63 and traveling.

Further, in the traveling carriage 5 of the above embodiment, the holding device 22 holds the storage containers 23 and 63 so that the storage containers 23 are located below the first track 31 and the second track 32.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the holding device 22 and the storage container 23 from interfering with the orbit during the spin turn.

Further, in the traveling carriage 60 of the above embodiment, the holding device holds the storage containers 23 and 63 so that the storage containers 63 are located above the first track 31 and the second track 32.

As a result, it is not necessary to form a gap for passing the support for supporting the traveling carriage 60 on the track, so that the traveling carriage 60 capable of spin-turning can be realized with a simple configuration.

Further, the traveling carriages 5 and 60 of the above-described embodiment include a transfer device 21 for feeding the storage containers 23 and 63 held by the holding device 22.

As a result, the storage containers 23 and 63 can be transported regardless of the orientation of the equipment to which the storage containers 23 and 63 are transported.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above configuration can be changed as follows, for example.

In the above embodiment, the distance between the drive wheels 13 in the first direction and the distance between the drive wheels 13 in the second direction of the traveling carriage 5 are the same. Therefore, the figure in which the four drive wheels 13 are connected becomes a square. Therefore, the rotation angle of the drive wheels 13 in step S102 is 45 °. Instead of this, the figure connecting the four drive wheels 13 may be rectangular. In this case, the rotation angle of the drive wheels 13 in step S102 is smaller than 45 ° or larger than 45 °.

In the above embodiment, the transfer system arranged in the semiconductor manufacturing factory has been described, but the transfer system of the present invention can also be arranged in different facilities.

1 Conveyance system 5,60 Traveling trolley 6 Driving unit 7 Traveling unit 13,62 Driving wheels (traveling wheels)
30 orbit 31 1st orbit 32 2nd orbit

Claims (6)

In a transport system including a track suspended from the ceiling and a traveling carriage traveling along the track.
The orbit is
A plurality of first orbits arranged along the first direction ,
A plurality of second trajectories which are arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the previous SL first direction,
With
The traveling vehicle,
With the base
A support arranged so as to rise upward from the base portion, and
It has at least four traveling wheels, and the traveling wheels are attached to the support, and the traveling wheels are mounted on the support in both the traveling along the first track and the traveling along the second track. A traveling portion in which the directions of the traveling wheels are parallel to each other and the four traveling wheels are in contact with the first track or the second track.
By rotating each of the four traveling wheels with the vertical direction as the center of rotation, the wheel center line, which is a line passing through the centers of the four traveling wheels in a plan view, is made orthogonal to the tangent line of the turning circle of the spin turn. A drive unit that makes a spin turn by rotating the four traveling wheels with the wheel center line as the center of rotation.
Equipped with a,
A transport system characterized in that an arc gap, which is a space through which the support is passed when the traveling bogie makes a spin turn, is formed on the track . The transport system according to claim 1.
The drive unit rotates each of the four traveling wheels around a line parallel to the vertical direction through the contact point between the first or second track and the traveling wheel, whereby 4 in a plan view. A transport system characterized in that the wheel center line of the traveling wheel is orthogonal to the tangent line of the turning circle of the spin turn. The transport system according to claim 1 or 2.
The distance between the first orbits and the distance between the second orbits are the same.
The drive unit is a transport system characterized in that a spin turn is performed in a state where the four traveling wheels are rotated by 45 ° with the rotation center in the vertical direction. The transport system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A transport system including a holding device for holding an article to be transported . The transport system according to claim 4.
The holding device is a transport system characterized in that the article is held so that the article is located below the first track and the second track. The transport system according to claim 4 or 5 .
A transport system including a transfer device for feeding an article held by the holding device.

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