JP-2026075762-A - Overhead transport vehicle and overhead transport vehicle system

JP2026075762AJP 2026075762 AJP2026075762 AJP 2026075762AJP-2026075762-A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an overhead transport vehicle and overhead transport vehicle system that can easily perform operations related to the transfer of goods using external forces with the use of jigs. [Solution] The overhead transport vehicle 1 comprises a traveling section 1A that travels on a track 20, and a main body section 1B provided below the traveling section 1A and having an article holding section 7 for holding articles 200 and a lifting drive section 6 for raising and lowering the article holding section 7. The main body section 1B has a rotating shaft 63X that is supported so as to be rotatable around the axial direction with the traveling direction as the axial direction and rotates to perform operations related to the transfer of articles 200, a cover 68 that covers the rotating shaft 63X, and a front frame 17F positioned in front of the cover 68. The cover 68 has a first through hole H1 through which a jig J1 can be inserted, and the front frame 17F has a second through hole H2 through which the jig J1 can be inserted into the first through hole H1. [Selection Diagram] Figure 2

Inventors

小林誠
佐々木歩夢
石川亮

Assignees

村田機械株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20241023

Claims (7)

A running section that travels on a track laid on or near the ceiling, The device comprises a main body provided below the aforementioned traveling section, having an article holding section for holding articles and a lifting drive section for raising and lowering the article holding section, The main body is, A rotating shaft is supported so as to be rotatable around a predetermined axial direction, with the axial direction being the axial direction, and rotates to perform the operation related to the transfer of the article, A first cover covering the aforementioned rotating shaft, The first cover comprises a first frame positioned on the opposite side of the rotation axis, The first cover has a first through-hole through which a jig attached to the rotating shaft and used to rotate the rotating shaft by an external force can be inserted. An overhead transport vehicle, wherein the first frame has a second through-hole formed therein, through which the jig can be inserted into the first through-hole.
The lifting drive unit includes a suspension member connected to the article holding unit, and a winding drum for winding and unwinding the suspension member. The rotating shaft is the shaft of the winding drum, with its axial direction being aligned with the direction of travel. The first cover is the cover of the lifting drive unit, The first frame is a front frame provided on the front side in the direction of travel of the main body, or a rear frame provided on the rear side in the direction of travel. The main body is, A lateral extension mechanism moves the lifting drive unit between a first position between the front frame and the rear frame and a second position that protrudes laterally from the front frame or the rear frame than the first position, It has a second cover provided on the outside of the first frame, The second cover has a third through-hole through which the jig can be inserted into the second through-hole. The overhead transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, when the lifting drive unit is in the first position, the first through hole, the second through hole, and the third through hole are arranged to overlap with the position on the rotation axis when viewed from the direction of travel.
The aforementioned first frame is a front frame, The overhead transport vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the second cover is a front cover.
Obstacle sensors are provided on the front frame or the rear frame. The overhead transport vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the third through-hole constitutes an opening for passing the detection wave of the obstacle sensor.
The overhead transport vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the second through-hole has an elongated shape in the left-right direction when viewed from the direction of travel.
The article holding unit includes a pair of gripping parts for gripping the article, a drive motor having an output shaft, and a link mechanism that opens and closes the pair of gripping parts by rotating the output shaft of the drive motor. The aforementioned rotating shaft is the output shaft, and its axial direction is the direction intersecting the travel direction. The first cover is a cover for the article holding part, The first frame is the frame of the lifting drive unit, The main body has a cover for the lifting drive unit as a third cover. The third cover has a third through-hole through which the jig can be inserted into the second through-hole. The overhead transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, when the article holding section is raised to the origin position by the lifting drive unit, the first through hole, the second through hole, and the third through hole are arranged to overlap with the position on the rotation axis when viewed from a direction intersecting the travel direction.
Tracks laid on or near the ceiling, A buffer provided on the side of the aforementioned track, An overhead transport system comprising the overhead transport vehicle described in claim 1.

Description

One aspect of this invention relates to an overhead transport vehicle and an overhead transport vehicle system. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an overhead transport vehicle comprising a traveling section that runs on a track laid on or near the ceiling, and a main body section provided below the traveling section. In the overhead transport vehicle described in Patent Document 1, the main body section includes an article holding section for holding articles and a lifting drive section for raising and lowering the article holding section. International Publication No. 2022/113529 Figure 1 is a side view showing an overhead transport vehicle system according to an embodiment.Figure 2 is a front view showing the overhead transport system of Figure 1.Figure 3 is a front view showing the configuration of the lifting drive unit in Figure 1.Figure 4 is a side view showing the configuration of the article holding section in Figure 1.Figure 5(a) is a front view showing a part of the main body of Figure 1. Figure 5(b) is a front view showing the main body of Figure 5(a) with the front cover removed from the front frame unit.Figure 6(a) is a front view of the main body shown in Figure 5(b), with the front frame unit omitted. Figure 6(b) is a front view of the main body shown in Figure 6(a), with the cover removed from the lifting drive unit.Figure 7(a) is a perspective view illustrating the case where the winding drum is manually rotated using a jig while the lifting drive unit of Figure 1 is in the stowed position. Figure 7(b) is another perspective view illustrating the case where the winding drum is manually rotated using a jig while the lifting drive unit of Figure 1 is in the stowed position.Figure 8 is a side view showing the lifting drive unit and the article holding unit located at the origin position.Figure 9(a) is a side view of the lifting drive unit and article holding unit in Figure 8, with the cover removed from the lifting drive unit. Figure 9(b) is a side view of the article holding unit in Figure 9(a). The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the overhead transport vehicle system 100 according to the first embodiment is a system for transporting articles 200 using an overhead transport vehicle 1 that can move along a track 20. The articles 200 are, for example, a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) containing multiple semiconductor wafers. The articles 200 may also be a container for storing multiple semiconductor wafers, a container for storing glass substrates, a reticle pod, general components, etc. Hereinafter, the terms "up" and "down" correspond to the vertical direction, the terms "front" and "rear" correspond to the front-rear direction of the overhead transport vehicle 1's travel direction, and the terms "left" and "right" correspond to the left-right direction of the overhead transport vehicle 1. The overhead transport vehicle system 100 comprises a track 20, buffers 30 provided on the sides of the track 20, and an overhead transport vehicle 1 that travels along the track 20. The track 20 is laid on or near the ceiling of a cleanroom where semiconductor devices are manufactured. The track 20 is suspended and supported, for example, by support columns 21. The track 20 forms the travel path for the overhead transport vehicle 1. The buffer 30 is a mounting section for placing the article 200, and is capable of temporarily storing the article 200. The buffer 30 is suspended, for example, directly or indirectly from the ceiling, and constitutes a so-called overhead buffer (OHB). Here, the buffer 30 is positioned on one side of the track 20 in a horizontal direction intersecting the extending direction of the track 20, and constitutes a so-called side track buffer (STB). The overhead transport vehicle 1 transports articles 200 and transfers the articles 200 to load ports and buffers 30 provided in processing equipment that performs various processes on semiconductor wafers, etc. The overhead transport vehicle 1 comprises a traveling section 1A and a main body section 1B. The traveling section 1A travels along the track 20. The traveling section 1A is located above the central frame unit 15, which will be described later. The traveling section 1A travels along the track 20 by receiving power non-contactually from, for example, high-frequency current lines laid along the track 20. The main body 1B is located below the travel section 1A. The main body 1B comprises a frame unit 2, a side-extension mechanism 4, a swivel section 5, a lifting drive section 6, an item holding section 7, and a transport vehicle controller (control unit) 8. The frame unit 2 includes a central frame unit 15, a rear frame unit 16, and a front frame unit 17. The rear frame unit 16 extends downward from the rear end of the central frame un