US20080022881A1 - Traveling rails for carriage - Google Patents
Traveling rails for carriage Download PDFInfo
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- US20080022881A1 US20080022881A1 US11/826,984 US82698407A US2008022881A1 US 20080022881 A1 US20080022881 A1 US 20080022881A1 US 82698407 A US82698407 A US 82698407A US 2008022881 A1 US2008022881 A1 US 2008022881A1
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- Prior art keywords
- curved
- rail
- linear
- members
- carriage
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- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
- E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
- E01B25/00—Tracks for special kinds of railways
- E01B25/22—Tracks for railways with the vehicle suspended from rigid supporting rails
Definitions
- Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-112563A discloses a transport system in which an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport) carriage is suspended on a rail (carriage traveling rail) suspended on a ceiling and the OHT carriage is movable along the rail (the carriage is movably attached to the carriage traveling rail).
- OHT Overhead Hoist Transport
- new factories may be established in existing buildings or new production facilities may be additionally established in existing factory spaces so as to expand a production capacity and update existing production lines to new production lines corresponding to up-to-date devices.
- the rail is generally installed in a horizontal direction in the vicinity of the ceiling and thus the OHT carriage moves in the horizontal direction. It may be necessary to give a level difference to the rail in stalled on the ceiling at the time of establishing the new factories and facilities.
- the curved rail module can be formed by arranging a plurality of second linear rail members in contact with a curved face and fixing the second linear rail members to a curved member. Accordingly, at the time of forming the portions of the traveling rail of which the level varies, it is not necessary to check the inclination angles for the second linear rail members, thereby reducing the number of processes and making the working error difficult to occur.
- the curved member may be either a convex curved member in which the curved face is convex toward the second linear rail members or a concave curved member in which the curved face is convex toward an opposite side of the second linear rail members.
- FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic perspective views showing curved rail modules in FIG. 2 .
- the carriage 5 is guided and moved to the five second linear rail members 12 beyond the gap (beyond the openings 12 b of the adjacent second linear rail members 12 ).
- the gap does not cause an actual problem.
- a profile of an end face of the second linear rail members 12 is adjusted so as to prevent the gap from being produced.
- the five second linear rail members 5 form a smoothly curved rail along the curved 10 a as a whole. As shown in FIG.
- FIG. 6 is a side view of the linear rail members 8 and 12 , and the OHT carriage 5 as viewed in a transport direction of the OHT carriage 5 .
- the space 8 a (the space 12 a ) in FIG. 6 is drawn larger than that in FIGS. 3 to 5 .
- the OHT carriage 5 includes the primary coil 21 , the primary core 23 , the two secondary coils 24 , the two branch rollers 27 and the two traveling wheels 28 which move within the spaces 8 a and 12 a , and a positioning mechanism 29 , a suspension belt 30 and a hoist 31 which extend downward beyond openings 8 c and 12 c.
- the two secondary coils 24 are formed in the vicinity of two lateral faces of each of the spaces 8 a and 12 a in a direction perpendicular to the elongated direction of each of the linear rail members 8 and 12 . Meanwhile, two primary power feeders 25 extending in the elongated direction of each of the linear rail members 8 and 12 are provided on the two lateral faces of each of the linear rail members 8 and 12 in correspondence with the secondary coils 24 .
- the positioning mechanism 29 performs a positioning operation between the OHT carriage 5 and the port 35 .
- the suspension belt 30 extends downward from a lower face of the positioning mechanism 29 .
- the hoist 31 is mounted on a lower end of the suspension belt 30 .
- the hoist 31 is movable in the vertical direction by rolling up or down the suspension belt 30 .
- a gripper 32 for gripping the FOUP 34 is provided on a lower face of the hoist 31 .
- the FOUP 34 is a box in which a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon wafer internally transported can be put.
- a flange 33 engaging in the gripper 32 is formed on an upper face of the FOUP 34 .
- the gripper 32 grips the FOUP 34 by engagement with the flange 33 and during the FOUP 34 is transported and the gripper 32 places the FOUP 34 on the port 35 and the loading port 39 by disengagement from the flange 33 when the FOUP 34 arrives at the port 35 and the loading port 39 of a transport destination.
- An operation of taking the FOUP 34 out of the unloading port 38 and an operation of transporting the FOUP 34 to the loading port 39 are the same as the transporting operation of the FOUP 34 performed by the OHT carriage 5 . Accordingly, a description thereof will be omitted.
- the curved rail module 41 having a rail curved to be convex upward and the curved rail module 42 having a rail curved to be convex downward can be formed by using the concave-curved member 10 and the convex-curved member 11 as the curved member. Accordingly, even when the curved member can be provided only at the upside of the second linear rail member 12 , all the portions of the carriage traveling rail 2 of which the level varies can be connected by the use of the curved rail modules 41 and 42 .
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Architecture (AREA)
- Civil Engineering (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
- Leg Units, Guards, And Driving Tracks Of Cranes (AREA)
- Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)
Abstract
In a carriage traveling rail to which a carriage is movably attached, upper ends of a plurality of suspenders are fixed to a ceiling and the suspenders extend downward. A first linear rail member is elongated in one direction and suspended by the suspenders which are arranged with a prescribed interval. A curved rail module is curved in a vertical plane and elongated in the curved direction. The curved rail module is suspended by the suspenders which are arranged with a prescribed interval and includes a curved member having a curved face which is curved in the vertical plane along the elongated direction, and a plurality of second linear rail members elongated in one direction and fixed to the curved member. The second rail members are shorter than the first linear rail member in length relative to the elongated direction. The second linear rail members are in contact with the curved face while being so arranged that adjacent ones of the second linear members are elongated in directions different from each other and end faces in the elongated direction of the adjacent ones of the second linear members oppose each other, so that the carriage travels while being guided by the second linear rail members.
Description
- The present invention relates to traveling rails on which a carriage is movably mounted.
- Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-112563A discloses a transport system in which an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport) carriage is suspended on a rail (carriage traveling rail) suspended on a ceiling and the OHT carriage is movable along the rail (the carriage is movably attached to the carriage traveling rail).
- Here, when the transport system is used in a clean room for producing a semiconductor or a liquid crystal device, new factories may be established in existing buildings or new production facilities may be additionally established in existing factory spaces so as to expand a production capacity and update existing production lines to new production lines corresponding to up-to-date devices. In the transport system, the rail is generally installed in a horizontal direction in the vicinity of the ceiling and thus the OHT carriage moves in the horizontal direction. It may be necessary to give a level difference to the rail in stalled on the ceiling at the time of establishing the new factories and facilities.
- In the transport system disclosed in the above publication, a plurality of rail members constituting the rail are disposed to be inclined in accordance with the level difference in portions of the rail of which the level varies. At this time, it is necessary to dispose the rail members while checking an inclination angle of the rail members, thereby increasing the number of installation processes and making a working error easily occur. In order to form a smoothly curved rail, it is necessary that the rail members disposed in the varied portions are shorter than rail members disposed in the horizontal direction and inclined portions are formed by the use of a plurality of the short rail members, thereby increasing the number of processes of suspending the rail on the ceiling in the inclined portions.
- It is therefore one advantageous aspect of the invention to provide a traveling rail for a carriage having a level difference but capable of reducing the number of processes and working errors.
- According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a carriage traveling rail, to which a carriage is movably attached, comprising:
- a plurality of suspenders, upper ends of which are fixed to a ceiling, extending downward;
- a first linear rail member, elongated in one direction and suspended by the suspenders which are arranged with a prescribed interval; and
- a curved rail module, being curved in a vertical plane and elongated in the curved direction, the curved rail module suspended by the suspenders which are arranged with a prescribed interval and comprising:
- a curved member, having a curved face which is curved in the vertical plane along the elongated direction; and
- a plurality of second linear rail members, elongated in one direction and fixed to the curved member, the second rail members being shorter than the first linear rail member in length relative to the elongated direction, wherein:
- the second linear rail members are in contact with the curved face while being so arranged that adjacent ones of the second linear members are elongated in directions different from each other and end faces in the elongated direction of the adjacent ones of the second linear members oppose each other, so that the carriage travels while being guided by the second linear rail members.
- With this configuration, when the carriage traveling rail has a level difference, portions of which the level varies can be connected by the use of a curved rail module. Here, the curved rail module can be formed by arranging a plurality of second linear rail members in contact with a curved face and fixing the second linear rail members to a curved member. Accordingly, at the time of forming the portions of the traveling rail of which the level varies, it is not necessary to check the inclination angles for the second linear rail members, thereby reducing the number of processes and making the working error difficult to occur. In the curved rail module, since the plurality of second linear rail members are fixed to the curved member, the curved rail module can be suspended on a ceiling by supporting the curved rail module by the use of a suspender at prescribed intervals and it is not necessary to individually support the plurality of second linear rail members by the use of the suspenders. Accordingly, the number of suspenders is small and the number of processes of suspending the curved rail module is decreased.
- The curved member may be either a convex curved member in which the curved face is convex toward the second linear rail members or a concave curved member in which the curved face is convex toward an opposite side of the second linear rail members.
- With this configuration, even when the curved member can be placed only at any one of an upside and a lower side of the second linear rail member, both a curved rail module curved to be upwardly convex and a curved rail module curved to be downward concave can be manufactured by the use of a convex curved member and a concave curved member as the curved members, thereby connecting all the portions of the carriage traveling rail of which the level varies by the use of the curved rail modules.
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FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a transport system 1 according to one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a carriage traveling rail inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a first linear rail member inFIG. 2 . -
FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic perspective views showing curved rail modules inFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 5 is a section view showing a connecting part between a second linear rail and a concave-curved member and a connecting part between the second linear rail and a convex-curved member inFIG. 4 . -
FIG. 6 is a side view showing the linear rail member and an OHT carriage viewed from a direction that the OHT carriage is transported. - Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a transport system according to an embodiment of the invention. A transport system 1 is installed in a clean room for manufacturing a semiconductor. As shown inFIG. 1 , the transport system 1 includes acarriage traveling rail 2 and anOHT carriage 5. The OHTcarriage 5 moves along thecarriage traveling rail 2, and thus workpieces are transported in each manufacturing process and between manufacturing processes. - The
carriage traveling rail 2 includes aninterprocess rail 6, a plurality ofbranch rails 7, and a plurality ofintraprocess rails 4. Theinterprocess rail 6 is an annular rail extending in a vertical direction ofFIG. 1 on the left side of a plurality ofbays 9 arranged in the vertical direction ofFIG. 1 to perform processes at the time of manufacturing a semiconductor. Thecarriage 5 moves between thebays 9 along theinterprocess rails 6. A plurality of thebranch rails 7 are rails branched from theinterprocess rail 6 in correspondence with the plurality ofbays 9. Thecarriage 5 moves from theinterprocess rail 6 to thebranch rail 7 corresponding to thebay 9 of a transport destination and then, moves up to the upside of eachbay 9 along thebranch rail 7. A plurality of theintraprocess rails 4 are connected to the plurality ofbranch rails 7 and extend on eachbay 9 in an annular pattern. Asemiconductor manufacturing equipment 36 for manufacturing a semiconductor and astocker 37 for stocking a FOUP (Front-Opening Unified Pod) 34 (seeFIG. 6 ) transported by the OHTcarriage 5 are provided in eachbay 9. Aport 35 for loading and unloading the FOUP 34 (seeFIG. 6 ) is provided in thesemiconductor manufacturing equipment 36. An unloading port 38 and a loading port 39 for loading and unloading the FOUP 34 to and from thestocker 37 are provided in thestocker 37. The OHTcarriage 5 moves to the upsides of theport 35, the unloading port 38, and the loading port 39 along theintraprocess rail 4. Accordingly, as described below, parts manufactured in onebay 9 for performing a process can be loaded on the FOUP 34 (seeFIG. 6 ) and transported to anotherbay 9 for performing another process. - Next, a structure of the
carriage traveling rail 2 is described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.FIG. 2 is a side view of thecarriage traveling rail 2 ofFIG. 1 .FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a firstlinear rail member 8 ofFIG. 2 .FIG. 4A is a schematic perspective view of acurved rail module 41 ofFIG. 2 andFIG. 4B is a schematic perspective view of acurved rail module 42 ofFIG. 2 .FIG. 5 is a section view of a connecting part between a concave-curved member 10 and a secondlinear rail member 12 ofFIG. 4A and a connecting part between a convex-curved member 11 and the secondlinear rail member 12 ofFIG. 4B . - As shown in
FIG. 2 , thecarriage traveling rail 2 includes a firstlinear rail member 8, the two kinds ofcurved rail modules suspender 14. As shown inFIG. 3 , the firstlinear rail member 8 has a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape and hasopenings 8 b on two end faces in an elongated direction thereof. There is formed aspace 8 a extending in the elongated direction of the firstlinear rail member 8 and having aslit 8 c both ends of which are connected to the twoopenings 8 b on the lower face of the firstlinear rail member 8. As described below, aprimary coil 21, aprimary core 23,secondary coils 24,branch rollers 27, and traveling wheels 28 (seeFIG. 6 ) of the OHTcarriage 5 move within thespace 8 a. - As shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4 A, thecurved rail module 41 includes five secondlinear rail members 12 and a concave-curved member 10. Thecurved rail module 41 is curved within a vertical face and elongates in a curved direction. The secondlinear rail member 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape having a length in the elongated direction smaller than that of the firstlinear rail member 8. The secondlinear rail members 12 haveopenings 12 b formed on two end faces in the elongated direction thereof. There is formed aspace 12 a extending in the elongated direction of the secondlinear rail member 12 and having aslit 12 c both end of which is connected to the twoopenings 12 b on the lower face of the secondlinear rail member 12. As described below, theprimary coil 21, theprimary core 23, thesecondary coils 24, thebranch rollers 27, and the traveling wheels 28 (seeFIG. 6 ) of theOHT carriage 5 move within thespace 12 a. - The concave-
curved member 10 has a flat upper face and a lowercurved face 10 a smoothly curved within the vertical face to be convex upward along the elongated direction (convex in a direction away from the second linear rail members 12). The five secondlinear rail members 12 are fixed to the concave-curved member 10 in contact with thecurved face 10 a so that elongated directions of adjacent secondlinear rail members 12 are different from each other. Theopenings 12 b (end faces in the elongated direction) of the adjacent secondlinear rail members 12 are connected to be opposed to each other. Here, a gap is provided between theopenings 12 b of the adjacent secondlinear rail members 12. However, since the gap is small, thecarriage 5 is guided and moved to the five secondlinear rail members 12 beyond the gap (beyond theopenings 12 b of the adjacent second linear rail members 12). The gap does not cause an actual problem. A profile of an end face of the secondlinear rail members 12 is adjusted so as to prevent the gap from being produced. The five secondlinear rail members 5 form a smoothly curved rail along the curved 10 a as a whole. As shown inFIG. 5 , the secondlinear rail member 12 and the concave-curved member 10 are fixed to each other by mounting, from a side of the concave-curved member 10, anut 16 on abolt 15 extending through the secondlinear rail member 12 and the concave-curved member 10 from a ceiling face of thespace 12 a of the secondlinear rail member 12. Here, the secondlinear rail member 12 and the concave-curved member 10 are fitted into each other by the use of thebolt 15 and thenut 16 with awasher 19 disposed below the ceiling face, and awasher 17 and aspring washer 18 disposed on the concave-curved member 10 interposed therebetween. - As shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4 B, thecurved rail module 42 includes five secondlinear rail members 12 and a convex-curved rail member 11. Thecurved rail module 42 is curved within the vertical face and elongates in the curved direction. The secondlinear rail members 12 of thecurved rail module 42 are the same as those of thecurved rail module 41. The convex-curved rail member 11 has a flat upper face and a lowercurved face 11 a smoothly curved within the vertical face to be convex downward along the elongated direction (convex toward the second linear rail members 12). The five secondlinear rail members 12 are fixed to the convex-curved member 11 in contact with thecurved face 11 a so that elongated directions of adjacent secondlinear rail members 12 are different from each other. Theopenings 12 b (end faces in the elongated direction) of the adjacent secondlinear rail members 12 are connected to be opposed to each other. Here, the gap is provided between theopenings 12 b of the adjacent secondlinear rail members 12, but the gap is small and thecarriage 5 is guided and moved to the five secondlinear rail members 12 beyond the gap. The profile of the end face of the secondlinear rail members 12 is adjusted so as to prevent the gap from being produced. The five secondlinear rail members 12 form the smoothly curved rail along the curved 11 a as a whole. As shown inFIG. 5 , the secondlinear rail member 12 and the convex-curved member 11 are fixed to each other by the use of thebolt 15, thenut 16, thewashers spring washer 18 in the same manner as the secondlinear rail member 12 and the concave-curved member 10. - Upper ends of a plurality of
suspenders 14 are fixed to the ceiling. Thesuspenders 14 extend downward from the upper end. Lower ends of thesuspenders 14 are fixed to both ends of the firstlinear rail member 8 in the elongated direction and fixed to the secondlinear rail member 12 located at both ends of thecurved rail modules linear rail member 8, and thecurved rail modules suspenders 14. - As shown in
FIG. 2 , thecarriage traveling rail 2 is formed of a rail having the level difference. The plurality of firstlinear rail members 8 are disposed and theopenings 8 b of the adjacent firstlinear rail members 8 are connected to each other in portions of thecarriage traveling rail 2 having a constant level, which extends in the horizontal direction. In the portions of the travelingrail 2 of which the level varies, thecurved rail module 41 is disposed adjacent to the firstlinear rail member 8 located in a higher position, and theopening 8 b and theopening 12 b are connected to each other, and thecurved rail module 42 is disposed adjacent to thefirst rail member 8 located in a lower position, and theopening 8 b and theopening 12 b are connected to each other. Thecurved rail modules linear rail member 8 interposed therebetween. - Here, the
curved rail modules linear rail members 12 on thecurved face 10 a and thecurved face 11 a and fixing the five secondlinear rail members 12 to the concave-curved member 10 and the convex-curved member 11. The portions of thecarriage traveling rail 2 of which the level varies can be connected by the use of thecurved rail modules linear rail members 12 while checking the inclination angles of the secondlinear rail members 12 in the portions of the travelingrail 2 of which the level varies. Accordingly, the number of processes of suspending the curved rail module is decreased and a working error is difficult to occur. In thecurved rail modules second rail members 12 are fixed to each of the concave-curved member 10 and the convex-curved member 11, it is possible to suspend thecurved rail modules linear rail members 12 located at both ends of each of thecurved rail modules curved rail modules suspenders 14 at the prescribed intervals). Accordingly, it is not necessary to individually suspend the five secondlinear rail members 12 by the use of thesuspenders 14, and thus the number of thesuspenders 14 may be small and the number of the working processes of suspending thecurved rail modules - Next, the
OHT carriage 5 is described with reference toFIG. 6 .FIG. 6 is a side view of thelinear rail members OHT carriage 5 as viewed in a transport direction of theOHT carriage 5. In order to easily understandFIG. 6 , thespace 8 a (thespace 12 a) inFIG. 6 is drawn larger than that in FIGS. 3 to 5. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , theOHT carriage 5 includes theprimary coil 21, theprimary core 23, the twosecondary coils 24, the twobranch rollers 27 and the two travelingwheels 28 which move within thespaces positioning mechanism 29, asuspension belt 30 and a hoist 31 which extend downward beyondopenings - The
primary coil 21 and theprimary core 23 are provided in a substantially center of theOHT carriage 5 in a plan view. Meanwhile, in thelinear rail members permanent magnet 22 extending in the elongated direction is placed in a substantially center of the ceiling faces of thespaces primary coil 21 and theprimary core 23. - The two
secondary coils 24 are formed in the vicinity of two lateral faces of each of thespaces linear rail members primary power feeders 25 extending in the elongated direction of each of thelinear rail members linear rail members secondary coils 24. - A power supplied to the
primary power feeders 25 is supplied to theOHT carriage 5 as a conductive power conducted to thesecondary coil 24 in a non-contact manner. A linear motor including theprimary coil 21, theprimary core 23 and the secondarypermanent magnet 22 generates a traveling thrust of theOHT carriage 5. - The two
branch rollers 27 are placed below each of thesecondary coils 24. Meanwhile, branch guides 26 are formed adjacent to a branch point (seeFIG. 2 ) between theinterprocess rail 6 and thebranch rail 7, which protrude in the horizontal direction from the same lateral face as a face on which theprimary power feeder 25 is provided below theprimary power feeder 25 in correspondence with thebranch roller 27, have a profile of an end face curved downward at an end and extend in the elongated direction of thelinear rail members branch rollers 27 are integrally movable in the horizontal direction shown inFIG. 6 . Only one of the twobranch rollers 27 selectively engages with thecorresponding branch guide 26. According to this configuration, it is possible to choose whether or not to move theOHT carriage 5 to thebranch rail 7 from theinterprocess rail 6. - The two traveling
wheels 28 are respectively provided below the twobranch rollers 27. A diameter of each of the two traveling wheels has a size exceeding the gap produced between theopenings 12 b of the adjacent secondlinear rail members 12 in the above-mentionedcurved rail modules wheels 28 are supported on bottom faces of thespaces wheels 28 move within thespaces primary coil 21, theprimary core 23, thesecondary coils 24 and thebranch roller 27 by rotation of the travelingwheels 28. According to this configuration, theOHT carriage 5 moves along thelinear rail members - The
positioning mechanism 29 performs a positioning operation between theOHT carriage 5 and theport 35. Thesuspension belt 30 extends downward from a lower face of thepositioning mechanism 29. The hoist 31 is mounted on a lower end of thesuspension belt 30. The hoist 31 is movable in the vertical direction by rolling up or down thesuspension belt 30. - A
gripper 32 for gripping theFOUP 34 is provided on a lower face of the hoist 31. TheFOUP 34 is a box in which a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon wafer internally transported can be put. Aflange 33 engaging in thegripper 32 is formed on an upper face of theFOUP 34. Thegripper 32 grips theFOUP 34 by engagement with theflange 33 and during theFOUP 34 is transported and thegripper 32 places theFOUP 34 on theport 35 and the loading port 39 by disengagement from theflange 33 when theFOUP 34 arrives at theport 35 and the loading port 39 of a transport destination. - Here, a transporting operation of the
FOUP 34 performed by theOHT carriage 5 is described. At the time of transporting theFOUP 34, theOHT carriage 5 first moves to the upside of theport 35 at which theFOUP 34 to be transported is placed along thecarriage traveling rail 2. TheOHT carriage 5 is positioned by thepositioning mechanism 29 at the upside of theport 35 of the transport destination. When the positioning operation is completed, thesuspension belt 30 is released and the hoist 31 moves downward until thegripper 32 is brought contact with theflange 33 of theFOUP 34. Thegripper 32 engages with theflange 33, and then thesuspension belt 30 is rolled up. - Next, the
OHT carriage 5 moves to the upside of theport 35 of the transport destination along thecarriage traveling rail 2. TheOHT carriage 5 is positioned by thepositioning mechanism 29 at the upside of theport 35 of the transport destination. When the positioning operation is completed, thesuspension belt 30 is released and the hoist 31 moves downward to theport 35 with theFOUP 34. At the time when the lower face of theFOUP 34 reaches theport 35, theFOUP 34 is placed on theport 35 by disengagement of thegripper 32 from theflange 33. After then, theOHT carriage 5 rolls up thesuspension belt 30 and moves along thecarriage traveling rail 2 in accordance with a subsequent command. An operation of taking theFOUP 34 out of the unloading port 38 and an operation of transporting theFOUP 34 to the loading port 39 are the same as the transporting operation of theFOUP 34 performed by theOHT carriage 5. Accordingly, a description thereof will be omitted. - According to the embodiment described above, when the
carriage traveling rail 2 is disposed with the level difference, the portions of thecarriage traveling rail 2 of which the level varies can be connected by the use of thecurved rail modules curved rail modules curved members linear rail member 12, and thus the number of working processes is decreased and the working error is difficult to occur at the time of forming the portions of the traveling rail of which the level varies. - In the
curved rail modules linear rail members 12 are fixed to each of the concave-curved member 10 and the convex-curved member 11, it is possible to suspend thecurved rail modules linear rail members 12 located at both ends of each of thecurved rail modules suspenders 14. Accordingly, it is not necessary to suspend the five secondlinear rail members 12 by the use of thesuspenders 14 separately, and thus the number of thesuspenders 14 may be small and the number of the processes for suspending thecurved rail modules - The
curved rail module 41 having a rail curved to be convex upward and thecurved rail module 42 having a rail curved to be convex downward can be formed by using the concave-curved member 10 and the convex-curved member 11 as the curved member. Accordingly, even when the curved member can be provided only at the upside of the secondlinear rail member 12, all the portions of thecarriage traveling rail 2 of which the level varies can be connected by the use of thecurved rail modules - In the above-mentioned description, the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, but the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. Various changes and modifications may be made within the scope without departing from the claims. For example, in the embodiment, the five second
linear rail members 12 are used to form each of thecurved rail modules linear rail members 12 is not limited to five. An optimum design value selected in accordance with the degree of the rail level difference, and lengths of thecurved face 10 a and the secondlinear rail members 12 in the elongated direction may be applied to the number of the secondlinear rail members 12. - In the embodiment, in the portions of the
carriage traveling rail 2 of which the level varies, thecurved rail module 41 is connected to the firstlinear rail member 8 located at the higher position, thecurved rail module 42 is connected to the firstlinear rail member 8 located at the lower position and the firstlinear rail member 8 is connected between thecurved rail modules curved rail module 41 may be directly connected to thecurved rail module 42 in portions ofcarriage traveling rail 2 having a small level difference. On the contrary, the plurality ofcurved rail modules 41 and the plurality ofcurved rail modules 42 each may be continuously connected in portions of thecarriage traveling rail 2 having a large level difference. - In the embodiment, the
carriage traveling rail 2 for transporting theOHT carriage 5 is described, but the invention may be applied to carriage traveling rails for transporting other kinds of carriages such as an OHS (Over Head Shuttle). - In the above-mentioned description, the printer according to the embodiment has been described, but the invention is not limited to all the above-mentioned embodiments. Various changes and modifications may be made within the scope without departing from the claims.
- The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-187670 filed Jul. 6, 2006 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Claims (2)
1. A carriage traveling rail, to which a carriage is movably attached, comprising:
a plurality of suspenders, each of which is extended downward from a ceiling;
a first linear rail member, having a first longitudinal dimension and suspended by the suspenders; and
a curved rail module, comprising:
a curved member, suspended by the suspenders and having a curved face which is curved in a vertical plane along an elongated direction thereof; and
a plurality of second linear rail members, each of which is fixed to the curved member and has a second longitudinal dimension shorter than the first longitudinal dimension, wherein:
the second linear rail members are arranged along the curved face such that adjacent ones of the second linear members are elongated in directions different from each other and longitudinal end faces of the adjacent ones of the second linear members oppose each other.
2. The carriage traveling rail as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the curved member is either a convex curved member in which the curved face is convex toward the second linear rail members or a concave curved member in which the curved face is convex concaved from the second linear rail members.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2006-187670 | 2006-07-07 | ||
JP2006187670A JP4848862B2 (en) | 2006-07-07 | 2006-07-07 | Conveyor truck trajectory |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20080022881A1 true US20080022881A1 (en) | 2008-01-31 |
Family
ID=38984831
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US11/826,984 Abandoned US20080022881A1 (en) | 2006-07-07 | 2007-07-19 | Traveling rails for carriage |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20080022881A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP4848862B2 (en) |
CN (1) | CN101100266A (en) |
TW (1) | TW200904738A (en) |
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US20210039684A1 (en) * | 2018-02-01 | 2021-02-11 | Carl Anthony Salmon | Multifunctional Track System With Independently Movable Vehicles |
TWI762735B (en) * | 2017-11-02 | 2022-05-01 | 日商村田機械股份有限公司 | Overhead transport vehicle system and temporary storage method for items in the overhead transport vehicle system |
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TWI473194B (en) * | 2011-09-08 | 2015-02-11 | Inotera Memories Inc | Overhead hoist transmission system |
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US9120023B1 (en) * | 2014-05-08 | 2015-09-01 | Elizabeth Wales Burroughs | Human flying apparatus |
US9393496B2 (en) * | 2014-05-08 | 2016-07-19 | Elizabeth Wales Burroughs | Human flying apparatus |
US20170194181A1 (en) * | 2016-01-04 | 2017-07-06 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Overhead traveling vehicle, transportation system with the same, and method of operating the same |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
TW200904738A (en) | 2009-02-01 |
JP4848862B2 (en) | 2011-12-28 |
CN101100266A (en) | 2008-01-09 |
JP2008013330A (en) | 2008-01-24 |
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