Murata Machinery, Ltd.

Mitsuya Tokumoto

Masanao Murata

Takashi Yamaji

Naruto Adachi

Yoshiaki Fujiwara

Koichi Sano

A rail-guided vehicle system connecting between vertically-spaced floors includes a descending rail to enable a travel vehicle to move downward. The descending rail has a helical structure and includes a rail in a first section where energy is generated when a brake included in the travel vehicle works and a rail in a second section where energy that has been generated when a travel vehicle traveled in the first section is consumed.

Track-guided cart system

A purge stocker has a plurality of shelf zones each including a plurality of purge shelves each configured to purge inside of a storage container placed thereon with purge gas. The purge stocker includes: a flow-rate adjusting unit configured to adjust the flow rate of purge gas supplied to the purge shelves for each shelf zone; a conveying device configured to convey the storage container; and a control unit configured to control conveyance of the storage container by the conveying device. When the number of scattered empty shelves is equal to or larger than a predetermined shelf count that is the number of the purge shelves included in each shelf zone, the control unit performs shelf-changing control of causing the conveying device to transfer the storage container such that an empty shelf zone in which all of the purge shelves included therein are empty is newly formed.

Purge stocker

A purge device includes an internal space defined by a chassis, and performs a purge process where an inside of a storage container in the internal space with an article being accommodated is purged with a purge gas. The purge device includes an air blower that is located outside the chassis, and sends air to an area where a gas including the purge gas in the internal space leaks through an opening in the chassis so as to diffuse the gas including the purge gas leaking from the opening.

Purge device and method of diffusing gas including purge gas

The safety of a worker is ensured, and the area in which purging is halted is limited to the minimum. The inner space of a device is divided into a working area and a non-working area, and purging of articles in the working area is halted and the purging of the articles in the non-working area is continued. The oxygen concentration in the working area is measured, and if the oxygen concentration of the working area decreases to a predetermined value or less, the purging of the articles in the non-working area is halted.

Purging device and purging method

An automated warehouse is attachable and detachable to a processing equipment without requiring an operation to change wiring of a first controller when attaching and detaching the automated warehouse. The automated warehouse is attachable and detachable in front of the apparatus including a first loading port and a first controller, the automated warehouse including a second loading port to transfer an article between a transfer vehicle and a second controller. A communication terminal disposed within a range allowing communication with the transfer vehicle for an article, and a communication apparatus connected with the communication terminal are provided. The communication apparatus includes a switch that switches a connection destination of the first controller between the second controller and the communication terminal.

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Inuyama, Japan

Mitsuya Tokumoto