Container transport device and container transport facility

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10081494-B2
Application number	US-201615151696-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 11, 2016
Priority date	May 14, 2015
Publication date	Sep 25, 2018
Grant date	Sep 25, 2018

Abstract

A support member includes a first positioning portion for properly positioning a small container, and a second positioning portion for properly positioning a large container. The first positioning portion includes one or more first support members for supporting the small container, and first engaging members for engaging first engaged portions. The second positioning portion includes one or more second support members for supporting the large container at a height at which the bottom surface of the large container is located at a higher position than the upper ends of the first engaging members, a second engaging member provided outside the first supporting area for engaging a second engaged portion, and one or more contact members provided outside the first supporting area for contacting the large container from one or more sides.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A container transport device comprising:
a support member for supporting from below a container for holding one or more semiconductor substrates;
a moving mechanism for moving the support member;
wherein the container is one of at least two kinds of containers that include a small container and a large container which is larger in size than the small container as seen along a vertical direction,
wherein the small container includes three first engaged portions provided in a bottom surface of the small container with each first engaged portion having a shape of a groove, and wherein the large container includes three second engaged portions provided in a bottom surface of the large container with each second engaged portion having a shape of a groove,
wherein each of the three first engaged portions is formed in the bottom surface of the small container such that a longitudinal direction thereof extends radially away from a first reference position on the bottom surface of the small container,
wherein each of the three second engaged portions is formed in the bottom surface of the large container such that a longitudinal direction thereof extends radially away from a second reference position on the bottom surface of the large container,
wherein each of separation distances between each of the three second engaged portions and the second reference position is greater than a greatest of separation distances between each of the three first engaged portions and the first reference position,
wherein the support member includes a first positioning portion for positioning the small container supported by the support member in a first supporting area as seen along the vertical direction, and a second positioning portion for positioning the large container supported by the support member in a second supporting area as seen along the vertical direction,
wherein the first positioning portion includes one or more first support members for supporting the small container from below, and first engaging members for engaging from below at least two of the three first engaged portions,
wherein the one or more first support members and the first engaging members are located within a perimeter of the first supporting area,
wherein the second positioning portion includes one or more second support members for supporting the large container at a height at which the bottom surface of the large container is located at a higher position than upper ends of the first engaging members, and a second engaging member located outside the perimeter of the first supporting area as seen along the vertical direction for engaging one of the three second engaged portions, and one or more contact members located outside the perimeter of the first supporting area as seen along the vertical direction for contacting the large container located in the second supporting area from one or more directions that cross the vertical direction, and
wherein the one or more second support members and the second engaging member are located within a perimeter of the second supporting area.

2. A container transport facility comprising:
the container transport device as defined in claim 1 ;
a first receiving member fixedly provided to support the container from below;
a second receiving member fixedly provided to support the container from below;
wherein the container transport device is configured to transport the container from the first receiving member to the second receiving member, or to transport the container from the second receiving member to the first receiving member.

3. The article transport facility as defined in claim 2 , wherein the moving mechanism includes a first moving mechanism for moving the support member along a first moving direction along a horizontal direction, and a second moving mechanism for moving the support member along a second moving direction along the vertical direction,
wherein the first moving mechanism is configured to move the support member to a first position at which the support member is located as seen along the vertical direction when transferring the container between the support member and the first receiving member by moving the support member along the second moving direction, and to a second position at which the support member is located as seen along the vertical direction when transferring the container between the support member and the second receiving member by moving the support member along the second moving direction,
wherein a positional relationship between the first supporting area and the second supporting area is set to be such that the first reference position of the small container located in the first supporting area is displaced in a first direction with respect to the second reference position of the large container located in the second supporting area where the first direction is along the first moving direction and is a direction in which the second receiving member is located with respect to the first receiving member, and a second direction is an opposite direction of the first direction,
wherein, defined as the first position is a position for small containers which is a position of the support member when transferring the small container between the support member and the first receiving member, and a position for large containers which is a position of the support member when transferring the large container between the support member and the first receiving member, and
wherein the position for small containers is set to be displaced in the second direction with respect to the position for large containers.

4. The article transport facility as defined in claim 2 , wherein an opening for taking one or more semiconductor substrates in and out of the container is formed in the container,
wherein, with a portion of the container in which the opening is formed being defined as a front portion of the container; a portion of the container that is on an opposite side from the front portion being defined as a back portion of the container; a direction along which the front portion and the back portion are spaced apart from each other being defined as a fore and aft direction; and a direction that is perpendicular to the fore and aft direction as seen along the vertical direction being defined to be a right and left direction;
the small container includes, as the three first engaged portions, a pair of right and left front side first engaged portions located forward of the first reference position, and one back side first engaged portion located rearward of the first reference position and in a central portion along the right and left direction,
wherein the large container includes, as the three second engaged portions, a pair of right and left front side second engaged portions located forward of the second reference position, and one back side second engaged portion located rearward of the second reference position and in a central portion along the right and left direction,
wherein the second engaging member engages the back side second engaged portion when the support member supports the large container from below,
wherein the moving mechanism includes a first moving mechanism for moving the support member along a first moving direction along a horizontal direction, and a second moving mechanism for moving the support member along a second moving direction along the vertical direction,
wherein the second receiving member includes a third positioning portion for positioning the small container supported by the second receiving member in a third supporting area as seen along the vertical direction, and a fourth positioning portion for positioning the large container supported by the second receiving member in a fourth supporting area as seen along the vertical direction,
wherein the

Assignees

• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• Yoshioka Hideo
• Yamazaki Takafumi

Classifications

• H10P72/3408

  Docking arrangements · CPC title

• H10P72/3222

  Loading to or unloading from a conveyor · CPC title

• H10P72/3218 Primary

  Conveying cassettes, containers or carriers · CPC title

• H10P72/3216

  using a general scheme of a conveying path within a factory · CPC title

• H10P72/1918 Primary

  characterised by coupling elements, kinematic members, handles or elements to be externally gripped · CPC title