Murata Machinery, Ltd.

Masataka Hayashi

Masayoshi Torazawa

Kenji Kadoguchi

Kazuhiro Ishikawa

Isao Fukuda

Minoru Mizutani

Masafumi Hayakawa

Hiroyasu Tomita

An overhead transport vehicle temporarily places a FOUP at a ceiling suspended shelf while transporting the FOUP to a target position by traveling along a rail on a ceiling of a building from which the ceiling suspended is suspended. The ceiling suspended shelf includes an upper shelf including an upper support surface that supports the FOUP. A level of the upper support surface is the same or substantially the same as a level of the rail.

Ceiling suspended shelf

An overhead transport vehicle travels along a rail on a ceiling of a building to transport a FOUP. The overhead transport vehicle includes a holding base and an upper shelf transfer device. The holding base holds at least one of a side surface and a bottom surface of the FOUP. The upper shelf transfer device moves the holding base at least upwardly while holding the FOUP. The upper shelf transfer device moves the holding base from the holding position in which the holding base holds and transfers the FOUP to the upper transfer position to transfer the FOUP, which is a different position from the holding position in a plan view and higher than the holding position.

Overhead transport vehicle

A storage apparatus that stores objects includes a housing; a fixed part disposed in the housing and fixed in a position against the housing; a rotating part connected to the fixed part through a rotating shaft extending in the vertical direction and rotates relative to the fixed part as a center of the rotating shaft; and a rotating shaft driving part that rotates the rotating shaft; wherein the fixed part includes a power-transmission unit that transmits electric power in noncontact state; and the rotating part includes a rotating shelf on which objects are disposed; a power drive device disposed to rotate integrally with the rotating shelf and driven by electric power; and a power-receiving unit that supplies the electric power transmitted from the power-transmission unit to the power drive device.

Storage apparatus

An article transferring device that transfers articles includes: a traveling rail; primary-side stators; a power source; a first transporting carriage and a second transporting carriage each of which includes a secondary-side movable element and transports an article by the secondary-side movable element receiving a magnetic action from the primary-side stators. Each of the first transporting carriage and the second transporting carriage is caused to travel so as to be stopped or change a traveling speed individually by a ground primary-side linear motor system including the primary-side stators and the secondary-side movable element, and further includes a transferring unit that transfers the article in an intersecting direction intersecting with the predetermined path by receiving force from the power source.

Article transferring device

An article conveyance apparatus includes a carriage which travels along a predetermined travel path, and an on-ground facility including a pair of traveling rails which define the travel path. The carriage includes a first slider which operates according to magnetic action to drive a transfer mechanism, and a drive transmission mechanism which supports the first slider and transmits a driving force from the first slider to the transfer mechanism. The on-ground facility includes a first stator which applies magnetic action to the first slider in the carriage to operate the first slider. The first stator includes an opening through which the drive transmission mechanism of the carriage passes. The opening is disposed in a position such that the inside of the first stator is not seen from the opening in top view of the first stator.

Growing community of inventors

Inuyama, Japan

Masataka Hayashi