JP7480887B2 - Transport vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport vehicle for transporting goods.

One example of such a transport vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-64799 (Patent Document 1). In the following description of the background art, the reference numerals in parentheses refer to those in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses an overhead transport vehicle (A) that transports a storage container (4) as a transport vehicle for transporting items. This overhead transport vehicle (A) is equipped with a running section (11) that runs along a travel path (3), a holding section (10) that holds the storage container (4), and a lifting device that raises and lowers the holding section (10) relative to the running section (11).

In Patent Document 1, the storage container (4) is an open cassette with an opening (6) formed on the side for inserting and removing the substrate (5). In order to prevent the substrate (5) from jumping out of the opening (6) of the storage container (4) held by the holding part (10), the ceiling transport vehicle (A) in Patent Document 1 is provided with a jump-out prevention mechanism (9) having a contact body (26) that can move between a contact position that contacts the side of the substrate (5) and a separated position that is separated from the side of the substrate (5).

JP 2012-64799 A

When the transport vehicle is moving, vibrations are easily transmitted to the object held in the holding part, so regardless of the presence or absence of a mechanism such as the anti-jump mechanism of Patent Document 1, it is desirable that the object be held in the holding part in a position that can easily ensure high tolerance to vibrations when the transport vehicle is moving. In this way, when the transport vehicle is moving, it is desirable that the object be held in the holding part in a position suitable for the transport vehicle, but the position of the object suitable for the transport vehicle when it is moving may differ from the position of the object required at the transfer target location (the location where the object is transferred between the holding part and the object). For example, in Patent Document 1, the object is a storage container with an opening formed on the side, and the transfer target location is a load port of a processing device that processes the substrate removed from the storage container. Therefore, the position of the storage container required at the transfer target location is a position that makes it easy to insert and remove the substrate from the storage container (specifically, a horizontal position with the opening facing horizontally), as shown in Figure 5 of Patent Document 1, while the position of the storage container suitable for the transport vehicle when it is moving is a position that makes it difficult for the substrate to move from the opening to the outside of the storage container (for example, an inclined position with the opening facing diagonally upward).

If the posture of the item suitable for when the transport vehicle is traveling differs from the posture of the item required at the target transfer location, simply holding the item in the holding section in a posture suitable for when the transport vehicle is traveling will result in the posture of the item placed at the target transfer location when the item is transferred between the holding section and the target transfer location being suitable for when the transport vehicle is traveling. Therefore, it becomes necessary to provide a mechanism at the target transfer location that changes the posture of the item between the posture suitable for when the transport vehicle is traveling and the posture required at the target transfer location, and to perform a posture change operation for the item at the target transfer location in addition to the transfer operation of the item between the holding section and the target transfer location, which may reduce the efficiency of processing the items.

Therefore, when the posture of the item suitable for when the transport vehicle is moving differs from the posture of the item required at the target transfer location, it is desirable to realize a technology that can hold the item by the holding unit in a posture suitable for when the transport vehicle is moving while the transport vehicle is moving, and can change the posture of the item placed at the target transfer location when the item is transferred between the holding unit and the target transfer location to the posture required at the target transfer location.

The transport vehicle according to the present disclosure is a transport vehicle for transporting an item, and includes a main body that moves along a travel path, a holding part that holds the item, and a lifting device that raises and lowers the holding part in a lifting direction relative to the main body, and the holding part includes a first part connected to the lifting device, a second part that is connected to the lifting device via the first part and contacts the item, and an angle adjustment mechanism that is provided between the first part and the second part and changes the inclination angle of the second part relative to the first part.

According to this configuration, since the holding part has an angle adjustment mechanism, even if a mechanism for changing the attitude of the holding part is not provided in the lifting device, the angle of inclination of the second part relative to the first part can be changed by the angle adjustment mechanism to set the attitude of the item with which the second part comes into contact (i.e., the item held by the holding part) to a desired attitude. Therefore, the attitude of the item when the transport vehicle is traveling can be set to an appropriate attitude for the transport vehicle, while the attitude of the item when the item is transferred between the holding part and the transfer target location can be set to the attitude required at the transfer target location. Therefore, while the item is held by the holding part in an appropriate attitude for the transport vehicle when the transport vehicle is traveling, the attitude of the item placed at the transfer target location when the item is transferred between the holding part and the transfer target location can be set to the attitude required at the transfer target location. In addition, in this configuration, since it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for changing the attitude of the holding part in the lifting device, the transport vehicle of the present disclosure can be realized while suppressing the complication of the lifting device.

Further features and advantages of the transport vehicle will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments, which are illustrated in the drawings.

Perspective view of a transport vehicle Front view of the transport vehicle FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a situation in which an article is transferred between a holding unit and a transfer target location. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the holding portion when the inclination angle is adjusted to a second angle; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a holding portion when the inclination angle is adjusted to a first angle; An explanatory diagram of the removal of goods from the transfer target location An explanatory diagram of the removal of goods from the transfer target location An explanatory diagram of the removal of goods from the transfer target location An explanatory diagram of the operation of carrying items into the transfer location An explanatory diagram of the operation of carrying items into the transfer location An explanatory diagram of the operation of carrying items into the transfer location An explanatory diagram of the operation of carrying items into the transfer location An explanatory diagram of the operation of carrying items into the transfer location Control Block Diagram

An embodiment of the transport vehicle will be described with reference to the drawings.

The transport vehicle 1 transports an article 90 by traveling along a moving path 2 in an article transport facility 100 as illustrated in FIG. 3. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the transport vehicle 1 includes a main body 10 that moves along the moving path 2, a holding unit 20 that holds the article 90, and a lifting device 50 that raises and lowers the holding unit 20 in a vertical direction V relative to the main body 10. Here, the longitudinal direction of the moving path 2 (the direction in which the moving path 2 extends) is the path longitudinal direction L, and the width direction of the moving path 2 is the path width direction W. The path width direction W is a direction perpendicular to both the path longitudinal direction L and the vertical direction V. In addition, the direction defined with respect to the transport vehicle 1 (i.e., the direction that changes depending on the attitude of the transport vehicle 1) and along the path longitudinal direction L when the transport vehicle 1 is placed on the moving path 2 is the vehicle body front-rear direction X, and the direction defined with respect to the transport vehicle 1 and along the path width direction W when the transport vehicle 1 is placed on the moving path 2 is the vehicle body left-right direction Y. In this embodiment, the vertical direction V corresponds to the "lifting direction".

The moving path 2 may be formed physically or virtually. In this embodiment, the moving path 2 is formed physically using rails 3. Specifically, the article transport equipment 100 includes rails 3 (here, a pair of rails 3 spaced apart in the path width direction W) arranged along the moving path 2, and the main body 10 moves along the rails 3. In this embodiment, the rails 3 are suspended from the ceiling 4, and the moving path 2 is formed along the ceiling 4. That is, in this embodiment, the transport vehicle 1 is a ceiling transport vehicle that travels along the moving path 2 formed along the ceiling 4. Note that the transport vehicle 1 may be a transport vehicle other than a ceiling transport vehicle.

1 and 2, the main body 10 includes a running section 11 having wheels 12 that roll on the running surface of the rail 3 (here, a pair of rails 3), and a cover section 14 connected to the running section 11. The running surface of the rail 3 is a surface facing upward V1 in the vertical direction V, and the wheels 12 rotate around an axis perpendicular to the vertical direction V. The running section 11 includes a running drive section 70 (e.g., an electric motor such as a servo motor, see FIG. 14) that rotates the wheels 12, and the running section 11 runs along the rail 3 as the wheels 12 are driven to rotate by the running drive section 70. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the running section 11 includes guide wheels 13 that roll on the guide surface of the rail 3, and the running section 11 runs along the rail 3 with the guide wheels 13 in contact with and guided by the guide surface of the rail 3. The guide surface of the rail 3 faces inward in the path width direction W (the side toward the center position in the path width direction W between the pair of rails 3), and the guide wheel 13 rotates (in this example, rotates freely) around an axis along the vertical direction V. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the main body 10 has a pair of running parts 11 aligned in the vehicle body fore-and-aft direction X.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the cover section 14 is supported by the running section 11 while being positioned below V2 in the vertical direction V with respect to the running section 11. When the transport vehicle 1 is traveling, the item 90 held by the holding section 20 is placed in the internal space of the cover section 14. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the internal space of the cover section 14 is closed on both sides in the vehicle body's fore-aft direction X, and is open on at least one side in the vehicle body's left-right direction Y. Therefore, the item 90 placed in the internal space of the cover section 14 is covered by the wall of the cover section 14 from at least both sides in the vehicle body's fore-aft direction X.

As shown in FIG. 4, the holding unit 20 includes a support portion 23 that supports a held portion 91 (see FIG. 2) formed on the article 90, and holds the article 90 using the support portion 23. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the holding unit 20 holds the article 90 from above V1. Specifically, the held portion 91 is a flange portion formed on an upper surface portion (e.g., a plate-shaped top plate portion) that constitutes the upper surface 90a of the article 90, and the support portion 23 supports the held portion 91 from below V2 in a state in which a support portion of the support portion 23 is inserted into a space between the held portion 91 and the upper surface portion (hereinafter referred to as a "support space"). The support portion 23 includes a support surface 23a (see FIG. 4) facing the upper side V1, and the support surface 23a is brought into contact with the lower surface of the held portion 91 to support the held portion 91 from below V2. In addition, the held portion 91 is not limited to a flange portion formed on the upper part of the article 90, and can be, for example, a configuration in which the upper surface portion of the article 90 (specifically, the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface portion) is used as the held portion 91, a configuration in which the held portion 91 is formed on a side surface portion that constitutes the side surface 90b of the article 90, or a configuration in which the bottom surface portion (for example, a plate-shaped bottom plate portion) that constitutes the bottom surface 90c of the article 90 is used as the held portion 91.

The holding unit 20 includes a holding drive unit 72 (e.g., a solenoid or an electric motor, see FIG. 14) for holding and releasing the item 90 by the holding unit 20, and the holding drive unit 72 drives the holding unit 20 to hold and release the item 90. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the holding unit 20 includes a pair of support parts 23, and the holding drive unit 72 is configured to move the pair of support parts 23 (specifically, one support part and the other support part of the pair of support parts 23) toward and away from each other. The support parts are the parts on which the support surface 23a is formed.

If the direction in which the pair of support parts 23 approach and move away from each other (in other words, the direction in which the pair of support parts 23 are arranged) is the target direction, when the holding part 20 holds the article 90, the holding drive part 72 brings the pair of support parts 23 closer to each other and switches the posture of the pair of support parts 23 to a holding posture in which the distance between the pair of support parts 23 is smaller than the width of the held part 91 in the target direction. When the holding part 20 releases the article 90, the holding drive part 72 moves the pair of support parts 23 away from each other and switches the posture of the pair of support parts 23 to a holding release posture in which the distance between the pair of support parts 23 is larger than the width of the held part 91 in the target direction. Here, the posture is used as a concept including at least one of the position and the orientation. In the example shown in Figures 4 and 5, the vehicle body fore-and-aft direction X is the target direction.

When the holding unit 20 is disposed at the second position P2 (see Figures 3, 6, and 11) described below, the posture of the pair of support parts 23 is switched from the holding release posture to the holding posture, so that each support part of the pair of support parts 23 is inserted into the support space of the item 90 disposed at the transfer target location 6. When the holding unit 20 is raised in this state, the item 90 rises together with the holding unit 20. Also, when the holding unit 20 is disposed at the second position P2, the posture of the pair of support parts 23 is switched from the holding posture to the holding release posture, so that each support part of the pair of support parts 23 is extracted from the support space of the item 90 held by the holding unit 20. When the holding unit 20 is raised in this state, only the holding unit 20 rises while the item 90 remains at the transfer target location 6.

Although the type of the article 90 is not limited to this, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the article 90 is a container having an opening 92 on a side surface 90b. The opening 92 is provided for inserting and removing contents into and from the article 90, and the contents are inserted and removed from the article 90 through the opening 92. An opening other than the opening 92 (for example, an opening for weight reduction or cleaning, or an opening formed due to the structure of the article 90) may be formed on the side surface 90b of the article 90, but the article 90 is configured so that the contents contained in the article 90 cannot move to the outside of the article 90 unless they pass through the opening 92. In this embodiment, a substrate 93 (an example of a contained object) such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer is contained in the article 90. In addition, in this embodiment, the article 90 is configured to be able to contain multiple substrates 93 arranged in the vertical direction (a direction along the vertical direction V with the bottom surface 90c horizontally arranged).

In this embodiment, the item 90 does not have a lid that closes the opening 92. For example, an open cassette can be used as the item 90. The item 90 can also be configured to have a lid that closes the opening 92. In this case, for example, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) can be used as the item 90.

4 and 5, the holding unit 20 is arranged such that the pair of support parts 23 approach and move away from each other in the vehicle body longitudinal direction X, but the holding unit 20 may be arranged such that the pair of support parts 23 approach and move away from each other in the vehicle body transverse direction Y. Also, in FIGS. 1 to 3, the holding unit 20 holds the article 90 with the opening 92 facing one side in the vehicle body transverse direction Y, but the article 90 may be held with the opening 92 facing one side in the vehicle body transverse direction X. The transport vehicle 1 may be configured to include a mechanism for rotating the holding unit 20 around an axis along the vertical direction V with respect to the main body 10. From the viewpoint of more reliably preventing the substrate 93 contained in the article 90 from moving from the opening 92 to the outside of the article 90 when the transport vehicle 1 is traveling, it is preferable to hold the article 90 in the holding unit 20 with the opening 92 facing the wall of the cover unit 14.

The lifting device 50 is equipped with a lifting drive unit 71 (for example, an electric motor such as a servo motor, see FIG. 14) for lifting and lowering the holding unit 20, and the holding unit 20 is lifted and lowered by driving the lifting drive unit 71. The lifting device 50 lifts and lowers the holding unit 20 between a first position P1 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and a second position P2 (see FIG. 3) that is lower than the first position P1 at V2. The first position P1 is the upper end position in the lifting direction (vertical direction V). The first position P1 is the position of the holding unit 20 in the vertical direction V when the main body 10 moves. In other words, the first position P1 is the position of the holding unit 20 when the transport vehicle 1 is traveling. In this embodiment, the first position P1 is a position of the holding unit 20 such that the item 90 held by the holding unit 20 is placed in the internal space of the cover unit 14. The second position P2 is the position of the holding unit 20 in the vertical direction V when the holding unit 20 holds and releases the item 90. That is, the second position P2 is the position where the holding unit 20 holds and releases the item 90, in other words, the position of the holding unit 20 when the item 90 is transferred between the holding unit 20 and the transfer target location 6. The second position P2 is set according to the height (position in the vertical direction V) of each transfer target location 6. In this embodiment, the second position P2 is set to a height at which the support portions of the pair of support parts 23 can be inserted and removed from the support space for the item 90 placed at the transfer target location 6 by switching the posture of the pair of support parts 23 between a holding posture and a holding release posture.

In FIG. 3, a load port arranged adjacent to a processing device 5 is shown as an example of a transfer target location 6. The processing device 5 is a device that processes an item 90, and in this embodiment, processes a substrate 93 removed from the item 90. As shown in FIG. 3, the item 90 is arranged at the transfer target location 6 so that the opening 92 faces the processing device 5.

As shown in a simplified schematic diagram in FIG. 2, the lifting device 50 includes a rotating body 51 that is driven to rotate, and a transmission member 52 that is wound around the rotating body 51 so as to be freely wound and unwound. The lifting device 50 further includes the above-mentioned lifting drive unit 71 (see FIG. 14) that drives the rotating body 51 to rotate. The rotating body 51 and the lifting drive unit 71 are supported by the main body 10, and in this embodiment, are disposed in the upper V1 portion of the internal space of the cover 14. For example, the transmission member 52 may be a belt, and the rotating body 51 may be a winding pulley that winds up the belt, or the transmission member 52 may be a wire, and the rotating body 51 may be a winding drum that winds up the wire. The transmission member 52 is connected to the holding unit 20. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a connecting portion 52a provided on the tip side of the transmission member 52 that is unwound from the rotating body 51 is connected to the holding unit 20. The lifting device 50 raises or lowers (i.e., lifts) the holding part 20 by rotating the rotating body 51 through the drive of the lifting drive part 71 and winding or unwinding the transmission member 52. In this way, the lifting device 50 raises and lowers the holding part 20 while supporting it in a suspended state.

As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, in this embodiment, the lifting device 50 includes a plurality of rotating bodies 51, and a transmission member 52 is wound around each of the plurality of rotating bodies 51. In the example shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the lifting device 50 includes three rotating bodies 51. The connecting portions 52a of the plurality of transmission members 52 (three transmission members 52 in this example) are connected to the holding portion 20. As shown in Fig. 4, the connecting portions 52a are connected to different portions of the holding portion 20. In Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the plurality of rotating bodies 51 are arranged on different axes to show that the lifting device 50 includes a plurality of rotating bodies 51, but the plurality of rotating bodies 51 may be arranged coaxially. In addition, in Figure 3, the connecting portion 52a of the transmission member 52 is arranged directly below the rotating body 51 around which the transmission member 52 is wound, but the portion of the transmission member 52 that is unwound from the rotating body 51 may be wound around a guide rotating body (such as a guide pulley) and the connecting portion 52a of the transmission member 52 may be arranged directly below the guide rotating body.

In this embodiment, the item 90 is a container into which the substrate 93 is inserted and removed through an opening 92 formed in the side surface 90b. Therefore, when the transport vehicle 1 is traveling, as shown in FIG. 2, the posture of the item 90 is set to an inclined posture S1 in which the opening 92 faces diagonally upward, so that the substrate 93 contained in the item 90 is less likely to move from the opening 92 to the outside of the item 90. On the other hand, as shown in the example in FIG. 3, when the substrate 93 is inserted and removed from the item 90 at the transfer target location 6, the posture of the item 90 is set to a horizontal posture S2 in which the opening 92 faces horizontally, so that the substrate 93 can be easily inserted and removed from the item 90 through the opening 92. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the posture of the item 90 required at the transfer target location 6 is the horizontal posture S2. In this embodiment, the holding unit 20 is provided with an angle adjustment mechanism 40 described below, and as a result, while the object 90 is held by the holding unit 20 in the inclined posture S1 during the travel of the transport vehicle 1, the posture of the object 90 placed at the transfer target location 6 can be set to the horizontal posture S2.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5, the holding unit 20 includes a first portion 21 connected to the lifting device 50, a second portion 22 connected to the lifting device 50 via the first portion 21 and in contact with the article 90, and an angle adjustment mechanism 40. The holding unit 20 further includes a swing drive unit 73 (e.g., an electric motor or a solenoid, see Figure 14) that drives the angle adjustment mechanism 40. In this embodiment, the swing drive unit 73 corresponds to the "drive unit."

In this embodiment, the first portion 21 is connected to the transmission member 52. The first portion 21 is connected to each of the multiple transmission members 52 (specifically, to each of the connecting portions 52a of the multiple transmission members 52). Therefore, the posture of the first portion 21 is determined according to the height difference between the multiple connecting portions 52a (here, three connecting portions 52a). In this embodiment, a common lifting drive unit 71 that rotates the multiple rotating bodies 51 is provided, and the first portion 21 is lifted and lowered by the lifting device 50 so that the posture is maintained in a specific posture (here, a posture in which all connecting portions 52a are disposed at the same height). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, in any of the states in which the holding portion 20 is located at the first position P1, the holding portion 20 is located at the second position P2, and the holding portion 20 is located at the third position P3 between the first position P1 and the second position P2, the first portion 21 is disposed in the above-mentioned specific posture.

The second portion 22 is the portion of the holding portion 20 that contacts the item 90. Therefore, the posture of the item 90 held by the holding portion 20 is determined according to the posture of the second portion 22. The second portion 22 has a support portion 23 (in this embodiment, a pair of support portions 23), and the support portions 23 constituting the second portion 22 contact the item 90 (specifically, the held portion 91).

The angle adjustment mechanism 40 is provided between the first part 21 and the second part 22, and changes the inclination angle A (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 5) of the second part 22 relative to the first part 21. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, in this embodiment, the angle adjustment mechanism 40 changes the inclination angle A by swinging the second part 22 around an axis R along the horizontal direction (swinging it relative to the first part 21). Here, the inclination angle A is defined so that the inclination angle A is 0 degrees when the article 90 held by the holding part 20 (specifically, the second part 22) is arranged in a horizontal position S2. FIG. 4 shows the holding part 20 in a state where the inclination angle A is 0 degrees. In addition, the inclination angle A is defined so that the inclination angle A is a positive acute angle when the article 90 held by the holding part 20 is arranged in an inclined position S1 in which the opening 92 faces diagonally upward (see FIG. 2). Here, the orientation of opening 92 is the direction toward the outside of item 90 along the direction of movement of the contained item (in this embodiment, substrate 93) when the contained item is inserted or removed through opening 92, and in this embodiment, the orientation in which bottom surface 90c of item 90 is aligned with the horizontal plane is the horizontal orientation S2 in which opening 92 faces horizontally.

In this embodiment, the axis R is disposed along the vehicle body longitudinal direction X, and as shown in FIG. 5, when the second portion 22 is inclined relative to the first portion 21 (specifically, when the inclination angle A is a positive acute angle), the second portion 22 is higher on one side in the vehicle body transverse direction Y than on the other side. Therefore, in this embodiment, the article 90 is held in the holding portion 20 with the opening 92 facing toward that side in the vehicle body transverse direction Y in a plan view (viewed in a direction along the vertical direction V).

As shown in an example in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, in this embodiment, the angle adjustment mechanism 40 includes a swinging member 41 fixed to the second portion 22 and a support member 42 fixed to the first portion 21, and the support member 42 supports the swinging member 41 so that the swinging member 41 can rotate around the axis R. The swing drive unit 73 is configured to swing the swinging member 41 around the axis R. Since the swinging member 41 is fixed to the second portion 22, swinging the swinging member 41 around the axis R in this manner can swing the second portion 22 around the axis R to change the inclination angle A. The swing drive unit 73 is fixed to the first portion 21.

4 and 5, the rocking member 41 is an axial member disposed on the axis R, and is fixed to the second part 22 via the fixing member 43. In this example, the rocking member 41 is fixed to the second part 22 (specifically, the main body of the second part 22) via the fixing member 43 at two points in the direction along the axis R (here, the vehicle body front-rear direction X). The pair of support parts 23 are guided in the movement in the direction approaching and separating from each other (here, the direction along the axis R) by the guide mechanism 46. In this example, the guide mechanism 46 is a linear motion mechanism including a guide rail extending in the direction along the axis R and a guide block that engages with the guide rail, and the guide rail is fixed to the main body of the second part 22, and the guide block is fixed to each of the pair of support parts 23.

The holding drive unit 72 that drives the pair of support parts 23 is fixed to the main body part of the second part 22. In this example, the holding drive unit 72 drives the pair of support parts 23 via the motion conversion mechanism 45. Here, the motion conversion mechanism 45 is a ball screw mechanism, and the rotational motion of a rotating shaft that is rotated and driven by an electric motor as the holding drive unit 72 is converted into linear motion of each of the pair of support parts 23. Note that the pair of support parts 23 may be configured to approach and move away from each other in a direction perpendicular to the axis R in a plan view (in this example, the left-right direction Y of the vehicle body), rather than being configured to approach and move away from each other in a direction along the axis R.

4 and 5, the oscillating member 41 is supported by the support members 42 at two points along the axis R so as to be rotatable around the axis R. Specifically, a support member 42 is provided on each of the pair of fixed members 43 on both sides in the direction along the axis R, and each of the support members 42 supports the oscillating member 41 so as to be rotatable relative to the first part 21. In this example, the oscillating drive unit 73 fixed to the first part 21 is connected to the oscillating member 41 via a gear mechanism 44 (e.g., a reduction mechanism), and the rotation of the electric motor as the oscillating drive unit 73 is transmitted to the oscillating member 41 via the gear mechanism 44 to oscillate the oscillating member 41. Note that the dimensions and shapes of each part in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are conceptual, and the actual dimensions and shapes are not limited thereto.

As shown in Fig. 14, the article conveying equipment 100 includes a control unit 80 that controls the operation of the conveying vehicle 1. The control unit 80 includes a processor such as a CPU and peripheral circuits such as a memory, and each function of the control unit 80 is realized by cooperation between these pieces of hardware and a program executed on the processor or other hardware. The control unit 80 may be provided in the conveying vehicle 1 or may be provided independently of the conveying vehicle 1. In addition, when the control unit 80 includes multiple pieces of hardware separated so as to be able to communicate with each other, some of the hardware may be provided in the conveying vehicle 1 and the remaining hardware may be provided independently of the conveying vehicle 1.

The control unit 80 controls the driving of the travel drive unit 70 to cause the main body unit 10 to perform a moving operation to move along the moving path 2. Specifically, the control unit 80 controls the driving of the travel drive unit 70 to cause the travel unit 11 to perform a running operation to run along the rail 3. In this embodiment, the moving operation of the main body unit 10 is realized by the running operation of the running unit 11. When transporting the item 90 held by the holding unit 20 to the transfer target location 6, the control unit 80 causes the running unit 11 to perform a running operation with the holding unit 20 holding the item 90. In addition, the control unit 80 controls the driving of the lifting drive unit 71 to cause the lifting device 50 to perform a lifting operation to lift the holding unit 20. In addition, the control unit 80 controls the driving of the holding drive unit 72 to cause the holding unit 20 to perform a holding operation to hold the item 90 and a holding release operation to release the holding of the item 90. In this embodiment, the holding operation of the article 90 is an operation of moving the pair of support parts 23 closer to each other (in other words, an operation of switching the posture of the pair of support parts 23 to the holding posture), and the holding release operation of the article 90 is an operation of moving the pair of support parts 23 away from each other (in other words, an operation of switching the posture of the pair of support parts 23 to the holding release posture). In addition, the control unit 80 controls the driving of the swing drive unit 73 to cause the holding unit 20 to perform an inclination angle change operation that changes the inclination angle A of the second part 22 relative to the first part 21.

When transferring the item 90 from the transfer target location 6 to the holding unit 20 (i.e., when transporting the item 90 from the transfer target location 6), the control unit 80 causes the running unit 11 to perform a running operation to run the transport vehicle 1 to a position corresponding to the transfer target location 6 (here, a position V1 above the transfer target location 6 and overlapping with the transfer target location 6 in a plan view), and then causes the lifting device 50 to perform a lifting operation to lower the holding unit 20 not holding the item 90 from the first position P1 to the second position P2 (see FIG. 6). In this embodiment, the swing drive unit 73 sets the inclination angle A to a second angle described later while the holding unit 20 not holding the item 90 is lowering toward the second position P2. Specifically, the holding unit 20 not holding the item 90 is disposed at the first position P1 with the inclination angle A set to the second angle, and while the holding unit 20 is lowering from the first position P1 to the second position P2, the inclination angle A is maintained at the second angle. When the holding unit 20 reaches the second position P2, the control unit 80 causes the holding unit 20 to hold the item 90, and then causes the lifting device 50 to perform a lifting operation to lift the holding unit 20 from the second position P2 to the first position P1 (see Figures 7 and 8). As a result, the holding unit 20 holding the item 90 is lifted to the first position P1.

On the other hand, when transferring the item 90 from the holding unit 20 to the transfer target location 6 (i.e., when carrying the item 90 into the transfer target location 6), the control unit 80 causes the running unit 11 to perform a running operation to run the transport vehicle 1 to a position corresponding to the transfer target location 6, and then causes the lifting device 50 to perform a lifting operation to lower the holding unit 20 holding the item 90 from the first position P1 to the second position P2 (see Figures 9 to 11). When the holding unit 20 reaches the second position P2, the control unit 80 causes the holding unit 20 to perform a release operation of the item 90, and then causes the lifting device 50 to perform a lifting operation to raise the holding unit 20 from the second position P2 to the first position P1 (see Figure 11). As a result, the holding unit 20 not holding the item 90 rises to the first position P1 while leaving the item 90 at the transfer target location 6. In this embodiment, the swing drive unit 73 sets the inclination angle A to the second angle while the holder 20, which is not holding the item 90, is rising from the second position P2.

In this embodiment, the swing drive unit 73 is configured to execute the tilt angle adjustment control when the holding unit 20 holds the article 90. The swing drive unit 73 executes the tilt angle adjustment control under the control of the control unit 80. The region including the second position P2 in the vertical direction V is defined as a specified region ΔV2 (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 11), and the tilt angle adjustment control is a control in which the tilt angle A is a first angle when the holding unit 20 is disposed outside the specified region ΔV2, and the tilt angle A is a second angle when the holding unit 20 is disposed at the second position P2. Here, the first angle is an angle at which the posture of the article 90 (the article 90 held by the holding unit 20, the same below) becomes a tilt posture S1 (the posture of the article 90 with the opening 92 facing diagonally upward), and is set to, for example, 5 degrees. The second angle is an angle at which the posture of the article 90 becomes a horizontal posture S2 (the posture of the article 90 with the opening 92 facing horizontally), and is set to 0 degrees in this embodiment. 6 to 13, the area outside the specified area ΔV2 in the vertical direction V is defined as an outer area ΔV1.

The specified area ΔV2 is set so as not to include the first position P1. That is, the first position P1 is located above the upper limit V1 of the specified area ΔV2 and is included in the external area ΔV1. Therefore, by the swing drive unit 73 executing the tilt angle adjustment control, when the transport vehicle 1 is traveling with the holding unit 20 located at the first position P1, or when the holding unit 20 is raised and lowered while it is located in the external area ΔV1, the posture of the item 90 can be set to the tilt posture S1 in which the contents contained in the item 90 (in this embodiment, the substrate 93) are unlikely to move from the opening 92 to the outside of the item 90. In addition, when the holding unit 20 is transferred to the second position P2, the posture of the item 90 can be set to the horizontal posture S2 required at the transfer target location 6.

When the holding unit 20 holds the item 90, the swing drive unit 73 executes the tilt angle adjustment control. Therefore, when the item 90 is transferred from the transfer target location 6 to the holding unit 20, in the state where the holding unit 20 is disposed at the second position P2 after the holding operation of the item 90, the tilt angle A is set to the second angle, as shown in FIG. 6, so that the posture of the item 90 is set to the horizontal posture S2. After that, when the lifting operation for raising the holding unit 20 from the second position P2 to the first position P1 is started, a tilt angle changing operation is performed to change the tilt angle A from the second angle to the first angle before the holding unit 20 enters the external area ΔV1. As a result, while the holding unit 20 is rising in the external area ΔV1, the tilt angle A is set to the first angle, as shown in FIG. 8, so that the posture of the item 90 is set to the tilt posture S1.

7 and 8 show an example in which the tilt angle change operation is performed in accordance with the holding unit 20 reaching the upper limit of the specified area ΔV2 (the boundary between the external area ΔV1 above the specified area ΔV2 and the specified area ΔV2) and the posture of the article 90 is changed from the horizontal posture S2 shown in FIG. 7 to the tilted posture S1 shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 8. In this case, the lifting speed of the holding unit 20 may be reduced from the previous speed to zero or a value greater than zero at the upper limit of the specified area ΔV2. When the posture change operation is performed while the holding unit 20 is being lifted, for example, the tilt angle change operation is started before the holding unit 20 reaches the upper limit of the specified area ΔV2, and the tilt angle change operation is terminated when the holding unit 20 reaches the upper limit of the specified area ΔV2. In order to ensure that the lifting range in which the item 90 is lifted and lowered in the inclined position S1 is as large as possible, it is preferable to set the upper limit of the specified area ΔV2 as close as possible to the second position P2 within a range in which the item 90 does not come into contact with the target transfer location 6 due to the change in the position of the item 90 accompanying the tilt angle change operation.

When transferring the item 90 from the holding unit 20 to the transfer target location 6, when the lifting operation of lowering the holding unit 20 from the first position P1 to the second position P2 is started, while the holding unit 20 is descending in the external area ΔV1, the inclination angle A is set to the first angle, as shown in FIG. 9, so that the posture of the item 90 is set to the inclined posture S1. When the holding unit 20 enters the specified area ΔV2, a tilt angle changing operation is performed to change the inclination angle A from the first angle to the second angle before the holding unit 20 reaches the second position P2. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the posture of the holding unit 20 is changed from the inclined posture S1 to the horizontal posture S2, and then the holding unit 20 reaches the second position P2.

9 and 10 show an example in which the tilt angle change operation is performed as the holding unit 20 reaches the upper limit of the specified area ΔV2, and the posture of the article 90 is changed from the tilted posture S1 shown by the solid line in FIG. 9 to the horizontal posture S2 shown in FIG. 10. In this case, the descent speed of the holding unit 20 may be reduced from the previous speed to zero or a value greater than zero at the upper limit of the specified area ΔV2. When the posture change operation is performed while the holding unit 20 is being lowered, for example, the tilt angle change operation is started when the holding unit 20 reaches the upper limit of the specified area ΔV2, and the tilt angle change operation is performed so that it ends before the holding unit 20 reaches the second position P2.

As shown in an example in Figures 12 and 13, the transfer target locations 6 may be arranged at multiple heights. In this case, the second positions P2 are set according to the multiple heights at which the transfer target locations 6 are arranged, and the second positions P2 include multiple positions V2 below the first position P1. In the example shown in Figures 12 and 13, the second positions P2 include the second positions P2 corresponding to the transfer target locations 6 shown in solid lines and the second positions P2 corresponding to the transfer target locations 6 shown in dashed double-dashed lines (not shown in Figures 12 and 13).

In this way, when the second position P2 includes a plurality of positions, the second position P2 that is the start or end point of the lifting operation of the holding unit 20 among the plurality of second positions P2 is set as the target second position P2a (see FIG. 13), and in this embodiment, the swing drive unit 73 is configured to set an area including the target second position P2a as the specified area ΔV2 to execute the tilt angle adjustment control. Note that the specified area ΔV2 is basically set to include only the target second position P2a, but there are also cases where another second position P2 that exists at a height close to the target second position P2a is included in the specified area ΔV2. In the example shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, it is assumed that the item 90 is delivered to the transfer target location 6 shown by the solid line, and the second position P2 corresponding to the transfer target location 6 shown by the solid line is set as the target second position P2a. In this example, the specified area ΔV2 is set to include only the target second position P2a (i.e., not to include the second position P2 corresponding to the target location 6 shown by the two-dot chain line), and the second position P2 corresponding to the target location 6 shown by the two-dot chain line is included in the external area ΔV1. This makes it possible to hold the item 90 in the inclined position S1 in a relatively large lifting range that includes the second position P2 corresponding to the target location 6 shown by the two-dot chain line.

Other embodiments
Next, other embodiments of the transport vehicle will be described.

(1) In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the drive unit (oscillating drive unit 73) that drives the angle adjustment mechanism 40 changes the inclination angle A of the second part 22 relative to the first part 21 by oscillating the oscillating member 41 fixed to the second part 22 around the axis R. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, the second part 22 can be connected to the first part 21 via a link mechanism, and the drive unit that drives the angle adjustment mechanism 40 can drive the link mechanism to change the inclination angle A. In addition, in the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the drive unit that drives the angle adjustment mechanism 40 is fixed to the first part 21, but depending on the configuration of the angle adjustment mechanism 40, the drive unit that drives the angle adjustment mechanism 40 may be fixed to the second part 22.

(2) In the above embodiment, a configuration in which the axis R is arranged along the vehicle body's fore-and-aft direction X has been described as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the axis R may be arranged along the vehicle body's left-right direction Y. In this case, when the second portion 22 is inclined relative to the first portion 21 (specifically, when the inclination angle A is a positive acute angle), one side of the second portion 22 in the vehicle body's fore-and-aft direction X is higher than the other side, and the item 90 is held in the holding portion 20 with the opening 92 facing the one side in the vehicle body's fore-and-aft direction X in a plan view.

(3) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which, when the second position P2 includes multiple positions, the swing drive unit 73 sets an area including the target second position P2a as the specified area ΔV2 and executes tilt angle adjustment control. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and may be configured such that, for example, when the difference in elevation between the multiple positions included in the second position P2 is small, the area including all of the second positions P2 is set as the specified area ΔV2.

(4) In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the second angle is an angle at which the attitude of the article 90 becomes a horizontal attitude S2. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the second angle can also be an angle at which the attitude of the article 90 becomes an inclined attitude S1 and that is different from the first angle (e.g., an angle smaller than the first angle).

(5) Note that the configurations disclosed in each of the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments (including combinations of the embodiments described as other embodiments) as long as no contradictions arise. With regard to other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate within the scope of the spirit of this disclosure.

[Summary of the above embodiment]
The above-described transport vehicle will now be outlined.

A transport vehicle for transporting an item, comprising a main body moving along a travel path, a holding part for holding the item, and a lifting device for raising and lowering the holding part in a lifting direction relative to the main body, the holding part comprising a first part connected to the lifting device, a second part connected to the lifting device via the first part and in contact with the item, and an angle adjustment mechanism provided between the first part and the second part for changing the inclination angle of the second part relative to the first part.

According to this configuration, since the holding part has an angle adjustment mechanism, even if a mechanism for changing the attitude of the holding part is not provided in the lifting device, the angle of inclination of the second part relative to the first part can be changed by the angle adjustment mechanism to set the attitude of the item with which the second part comes into contact (i.e., the item held by the holding part) to a desired attitude. Therefore, the attitude of the item when the transport vehicle is traveling can be set to an appropriate attitude for the transport vehicle, while the attitude of the item when the item is transferred between the holding part and the transfer target location can be set to the attitude required at the transfer target location. Therefore, while the item is held by the holding part in an appropriate attitude for the transport vehicle when the transport vehicle is traveling, the attitude of the item placed at the transfer target location when the item is transferred between the holding part and the transfer target location can be set to the attitude required at the transfer target location. In addition, in this configuration, since it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for changing the attitude of the holding part in the lifting device, the transport vehicle of the present disclosure can be realized while suppressing the complication of the lifting device.

Here, the lifting device preferably includes a plurality of rotating bodies that are driven to rotate, and a transmission member that is wound around each of the plurality of rotating bodies so as to be freely wound up and unwound, and the first portion is preferably connected to the transmission member.

According to this configuration, the holding part can be raised and lowered while being supported in a suspended state by rotating the multiple rotating bodies and winding or unwinding the transmission member. In the transport vehicle disclosed herein, as described above, there is no need to provide the lifting device with a mechanism for changing the attitude of the holding part. Therefore, when the lifting device is configured as in this configuration, there is no need to configure each part (rotating bodies, transmission members, drive part that rotates the rotating bodies, etc.) so that the attitude of the holding part supported in a suspended state can be changed, and the lifting device can be simplified.

It is also preferable that the angle adjustment mechanism includes a swinging member fixed to the second portion and a support member fixed to the first portion and supporting the swinging member rotatably around an axis along the horizontal direction, and that a drive unit that drives the angle adjustment mechanism is configured to swing the swinging member around the axis.

According to this configuration, the tilt angle of the second part relative to the first part can be increased or decreased by using the drive unit to oscillate the oscillating member around the axis, and an angle adjustment mechanism for changing the tilt angle can be appropriately provided.

The article is a container having an opening on the side, and the lifting device lifts and lowers the holding part between a first position and a second position, which is a position where the holding part holds and releases the article and is lower than the first position, and a region including the second position in the lifting direction is defined as a specified region, a posture of the article in which the opening faces diagonally upward is defined as an inclined posture, and a posture of the article in which the opening faces horizontally is defined as a horizontal posture, and a drive part that drives the angle adjustment mechanism executes an inclination angle adjustment control when the holding part holds the article, and the inclination angle adjustment control is preferably a control that sets the inclination angle to a first angle at which the posture of the article becomes the inclined posture when the holding part is located outside the specified region, and sets the inclination angle to a second angle at which the posture of the article becomes the horizontal posture when the holding part is located at the second position.

In the case where the item is a container having an opening on the side as in this configuration, by setting the attitude of the item to an inclined attitude, it is possible to make it more difficult for the contents contained in the item to move out of the item through the opening compared to when the attitude of the item is horizontal. Also, by setting the attitude of the item to a horizontal attitude, it is easier to insert and remove the contents from the item through the opening. According to this configuration, since the inclination angle adjustment control is executed when the holding unit is holding an item, by setting the position of the holding unit to a position outside the specified area (e.g., the first position) when the transport vehicle is traveling, the attitude of the item can be set to an inclined attitude when the transport vehicle is traveling or when the holding unit is raised and lowered outside the specified area, and the attitude of the item can be set to a horizontal attitude when the item is transferred to hold or release the item from the holding unit.

In the configuration in which the drive unit executes the tilt angle adjustment control as described above, the second position includes a plurality of positions lower than the first position, and among the plurality of second positions, the second position that is the start point or end point of the lifting and lowering operation of the holding unit is set as a target second position, and the drive unit preferably executes the tilt angle adjustment control by setting an area including the target second position as the specified area.

According to this configuration, when the second position includes multiple positions, the boundary between the area above the specified area and the specified area can be set to a proximity position that is relatively close to the target second position that is the start or end point of the lifting/lowering operation at that time. Therefore, while the holding part is positioned within a relatively large lifting range between the first position and the proximity position, the article can be held in an inclined position, making it easier to appropriately lift and lower the article held by the holding part.

It is also preferable that the drive unit sets the inclination angle to the second angle while the holding unit, which is not holding the item, is descending toward the second position.

According to this configuration, when a holding portion not holding an item is lowered toward the second position, just as when a holding portion holding an item is lowered toward the second position, it is possible to simplify control and speed up processing, since there is no need to control the change in inclination angle from the first angle to the second angle after the holding portion enters the specified area, compared to when the inclination angle is set to the first angle when the holding portion is positioned outside the specified area.

The transport vehicle according to the present disclosure may achieve at least one of the above-mentioned effects.

1: Transport vehicle 2: Travel path 10: Main body 20: Holding part 21: First part 22: Second part 40: Angle adjustment mechanism 41: Swing member 42: Support member 50: Lifting device 51: Rotating body 52: Transmission member 73: Swing drive part (drive part)
90: Article 90b: Side surface 92: Opening A: Tilt angle P1: First position P2: Second position P2a: Target second position R: Axis center S1: Tilt position S2: Horizontal position V: Vertical direction (lift direction)
V2: Downward ΔV2: Specified area

Claims (6)

A transport vehicle for transporting an item,
The present invention includes a main body portion that moves along a moving path, a holding portion that holds the article, and a lifting device that lifts and lowers the holding portion in a lifting direction relative to the main body portion,
The holding portion of the transport vehicle comprises a first part connected to the lifting device, a second part connected to the lifting device via the first part and contacting the item, and an angle adjustment mechanism provided between the first part and the second part for changing the inclination angle of the second part relative to the first part. The article is a container having an opening on a side,
the lifting device lifts and lowers the holding unit between a first position and a second position, the second position being a position where the holding unit holds and releases the article, the second position being lower than the first position;
A region including the second position in the lifting direction is defined as a specified region, a posture of the article in which the opening faces diagonally upward is defined as an inclined posture, and a posture of the article in which the opening faces horizontally is defined as a horizontal posture,
a drive unit that drives the angle adjustment mechanism executes tilt angle adjustment control when the holding unit holds the article,
The transport vehicle of claim 1, wherein the inclination angle adjustment control is a control that sets the inclination angle to a first angle, which is an angle at which the article assumes the inclined posture, when the holding portion is positioned outside the specified area, and sets the inclination angle to a second angle, which is an angle at which the article assumes the horizontal posture, when the holding portion is positioned at the second position. The transport vehicle of claim 2, wherein after the lifting device starts a lifting operation to raise the holding part holding the item from the second position to the first position, the drive part drives the angle adjustment mechanism so that an inclination angle change operation to change the inclination angle from the second angle to the first angle is completed before the holding part leaves the specified area. The transport vehicle of claim 2, wherein after the lifting device starts a lifting operation to lower the holding part holding the item from the first position to the second position, the drive part drives the angle adjustment mechanism so as to complete an inclination angle change operation to change the inclination angle from the first angle to the second angle after the holding part enters the specified area and before it reaches the second position. The article is a container having an opening on a side,
The transport vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein a drive unit that drives the angle adjustment mechanism performs an inclination angle changing operation to change the inclination angle when the holding unit is holding the article. The transport vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the article is a container for housing a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer.

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