Murata Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokyo Electron Limited

Advanced Display, Inc.

Takashi Nakao

Isamu Matsui

Tamotsu Shiwaku

Yoichi Nakamura

Isao Fukuda

Shuji Akiyama

Masaharu Kiriake

Yoshiyasu Maeda

Koichiro Oshiumi

Yuji Todo

Kikuo Hori

Ryosuke Tahara

Akihiko Ishiura

Hiroki Hosaka

Toshihiko Iijima

Makoto Tanaka

Takahiko Murayama

Hiroyuki Ishihara

Takao Shimizu

Hidetoshi Takeuchi

Ken Miyano

Kazuro Ueshima

Akihiko Ishura

A lower bufferis placed under a traveling rail for an overhead traveling vehicle, and a side bufferis provided on a side of the traveling rail. The overhead traveling vehiclehas a hoisting frame, and a lateral feeding unitfor laterally feeding the hoisting frame

Overhead traveling vehicle system

In a curve section, a comb tooth markis provided concentrically with a center lineof a running rail. A comb tooth sensoron an overhead running vehiclereads comb teeth. Then, corrections are made using the ratio of the radius of curvature (R) of the center lineand the radius of curvature (r) of the comb tooth mark. An encoder interpolates the areas between the teeth. Then, the position of the overhead running vehiclein the curve section is determined. The present invention thus enables the exact position of the overhead running vehicleto be recognized even when the overhead running vehicleis located in a curve section. This makes it possible to provide a load port in a curve section.

Carriage system

An ID tag describing control data on a stopped position for each stationmovement required for a transfer, and the like is installed in front of the stationAn overhead vehiclereads the control data and uses it for stoppage and transfer. The overhead vehicleneed not store the stoppage or transfer control data for each stationFurther, the control data can be changed without updating the storage in the overhead vehicle

Guide tracksprojecting in a vertical direction are provided in a right and left of a running trackand left and right guide rollersare provided on a track guided vehicle and guided using inner surfaces of the left and right guide tracks. Branching rollerseach comprising elevating and lowering means are provided in the right and left of the track guided vehicle and outside the right and left guide tracks. Thus, branching and rectilinear progression of the track guided vehicle is controlled by switching between a state where the branching rollersare elevated or lowered to guide the track guided vehicle using outer surfaces of the guide tracksand a state where the branching rollersdo not contact with the outer surfaces. Whether the track guided vehicle runs straight or shifts to a branch line can be controlled by contacting one of the branching rollerswith the outer surface of the corresponding guide tracks, which guide the guide rollersin the section (rectilinear progression section) different from the branching portion

Track guided vehicle system

In a branch sectionor a merge section of a rail vehicle system, an auxiliary travel surfaceon the straight lane side includes a deformed portionwhere the height is increased for supporting an auxiliary wheelof a traveling vehicle. The traveling vehicleis supported by the auxiliary wheeland guide rollerssuch that the traveling vehicleis orientated horizontally in the left-right direction, or the branch lane side D of the traveling vehicleis oriented slightly upwardly.

Rail vehicle system and transportation method of using the rail vehicle system

A height sensorand an image recognizing sectionare installed in a teaching unit; the height sensorcontacts a pinon a load portto detect the height position of the pinand the image recognizing sectionrecognizes a pinand thus its horizontal plane position. A platformof an overhead travelling carriagegrips and lowers the teaching unittoward the load port. The height sensorthen detects the height of the load port. Then, the teaching unitis slightly raised. The horizontal plane position of the pinis recognized and averaged over a time equal to at least the vibration period of the platform. As a result, the position of the load port can be accurately taught to the overhead travelling carriagewithout preparations such as the installation of marks on the load port.

Overhead travelling carriage system

A dogis placed in front of each stop positionto notice an overhead running vehiclethat ID tag data is to be read. A bar code readerreads the ID tag data to determine the stop position based on a mark reference. The absolute position of an overhead running vehiclewith respect to the markis determined. The overhead running vehicledecelerates and stops at a target position. According to the present invention, the overhead running vehiclecan stop without creep running.

A platformis supported by four beltsto. Of the beltsto, a pair of beltsis attached to a pivoting armso that the pivoting armis pivotable around a pivoting shaft. Pivoting of the pivoting armabsorbs, for example, the difference in length between the belts. The present invention makes it possible to simplify an elevate and lower driving mechanism of the platformand to easily adjust the lengths of the beltsto. The present invention also makes it possible to prevent vibration during elevation or lowering and to allow the beltstoto stand long use.

Overhead travelling carriage

An overhead bufferis provided on a side of a running railfor an overhead travelling carriage. The height level of an article on the overhead bufferis slightly lower than that on the running overhead travelling carriage. This height is at least such that the overhead bufferdoes not interfere with an operator. According to the present invention, the overhead buffer can be installed even if load ports are consecutively provided.

A side bufferis provided on a side of a traveling railof an overhead traveling vehicle. Multiple levels of racksare provided. The overhead traveling meanshas elevating and lowering means including components such as a linear guideand a ball screwfor elevating and lowering a lateral movement unit

A centering memberis pressed downward using an elastic member; the centering memberis provided at the bottom of a platform. A platereceiving an upper end of the elastic memberis positioned high while the platformis elevating. The plateis positioned low after the platformhas been completely elevated. While the platformis elevating or lowering, a pressing force on the centering memberis reduced. After the platformhas been completely elevated, the pressing force is weakened. The present invention suppresses vibration of the platform having been completely elevated. The present invention also prevents the article from exerting a strong upward force on the platform via a pressing member when the article is loaded or unloaded.

There is a jump in the number of devices formed on a single wafer, and it takes a lot of time to inspect a single wafer. In addition, if wafers are inspected every lot, detected wafers remain in staying in a prober until the inspection of all of the wafers is completed. Therefore, the time required to transfer the wafers of each lot to the subsequent step is delayed. As a result, it is difficult to shorten TAT (Turn-Around-Time), and it is difficult to flexibly operate the prober. A transfer system E according to the present invention includes: a host computer; a plurality of probersunder the control of the host computer; a plurality of RGVsfor delivering a wafer W to each of the probers, one by one, at its request; and a transfer operating unit, associated with the host computer, for operating the RGVs. The transfer operating unithas a schedulerA and a dispatcherB, for preparing an operating schedule for each of the RGVson the basis of the relationship in position between each of the probersand each of the RGVs, and for determining optimum transfer paths for the RGVs, to assign a corresponding one of the RGVsto a corresponding one of the optimum transfer paths.

Work convey system, unmanned convey vehicle system, unmanned convey vehicle, and work convey method

In an automated guided vehicle including a transfer equipment which transfers a wafer, a buffer cassette which temporarily stores the wafer, and a pressing member which is provided at an opening of the buffer cassette, when traveling the automated guided vehicle, if the pressing member is slid to a center position from an end position of the opening of the buffer cassette to contact and press against the edge of the wafer, the pressing member was easily damaged by being rubbed against a periphery of the wafer, and there was a problem in durability of the pressing member. The pressing membercan transfer between a 'pressing' position which contacts against the edge of the waferto press the wafer, and a 'receding' position which is located away from the edge of the wafer. A transferring direction A of the pressing memberof a moment in which the pressing membercontacts against the edge of the waferwhen the pressing membertransfers from the &#x201c;receding&#x201d; position to the &#x201c;pressing&#x201d; position, is approximately perpendicular to an outline of the part of the wafercontacted against the pressing member

Automated guided vehicle

According to the present invention, in a carrying system comprising a carrying vehicle and a manufacturing apparatus the interior of which is kept cleaner than a surrounding environment, manufactured articles to be transferred are prevented from being contaminated by foreign matter or the like attached to transfer ports. A carrying vehicle includes a running unitthat runs along a predetermined carrying path, a cleaning unitthat supplies cleaned air, a housing sectionto which the cleaned air is supplied and in which manufactured articles are housed, a transfer portwhich is formed in a side of a housing and through which a manufactured article is loaded into or unloaded from the housing section, and an air injecting sectionA that blows out air toward the transfer port

Carrying vehicle, manufacturing apparatus, and carrying system

The present invention enables a member to be accurately fixed to a floor. With tapped holes in a member mounting section accurately aligned with marks formed in a grating so as to correspond to through-holes a bolt is screwed in an internal thread cylinder (fixed in a vent hole in the grating ) through a through-hole in a presser plate that can have its position changed relative to the member mounting plate and the presser plate is used to fix the member mounting plate to the grating

Growing community of inventors

Neyagawa, Japan

Takashi Nakao