JP2005089049A - Carrier system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently store trays in a layered condition in an automatic warehouse and transfer a desired transferred article to a processing device in a one-by-one fashion. <P>SOLUTION: In this system, the tray is stored in a shelf of the automatic warehouse 102 in the layered condition, and is transferred to a stacking storage device by a stacker crane 104, a desired tray is taken out to a conveyer 4, the transferred article is taken out from the tray at a station 6, and is carried to the processing device by a conveyer 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport system using a tray.

  With the increase in size of liquid crystal substrates and the like, it is becoming impossible to accommodate and transport a plurality of substrates in a cassette. Therefore, the inventor studied to store the substrates one by one in the tray and transport them. However, storing the trays storing the substrates one by one reduces the storage efficiency.

A basic object of the present invention is to provide a transport system that can stack and store trays to increase storage efficiency, transport the trays one by one, and take in and out transported materials from the trays.
An additional problem in the invention of claim 2 is to enable a transported object to be taken in and out from the tray without using a fork or a robot hand.
An additional problem in the invention of claim 3 is to achieve a high degree of cleanness locally when the transport system is installed in a clean room.

  The transport system according to the present invention includes a shelf for storing trays in a stacked state, a stack storage device for stacking and storing the trays, and a stack of trays between the shelf and the stack storage device. And a conveyor for connecting the stack storage device and a station for loading and unloading the transported goods to and from the tray, and the tray is transferred to the stack storage device one by one with the conveyor. At the same time, the trays are stacked and stored at a position higher than the conveying surface of the conveyor. The stacked storage device includes a chuck for holding the stacked trays and a retracting unit for retracting a tray lower than the target tray, and a desired tray in the stacked and stored trays can be taken out to the conveyor. It is preferable to do so.

  Preferably, an opening is provided in the bottom of the tray, and in the station, a conveying force is applied to the bottom surface of the conveyed product through the opening, and the conveyed product is taken in and out of the tray.

  Preferably, at least a part of the conveyor is arranged so as to overlap the shelf in a plan view, and the shelf, the stack storage device, the transport unit, the station, and a portion overlapping the shelf in the conveyor in a plan view are used for a clean room. And a means for locally keeping a conveyance path connecting the station and a processing device outside the automatic warehouse, for example, a conveyor between the station and the processing device.

  In the transport system according to the present invention, the stack storage device and the shelf are transported and stored in a state where a plurality of trays are stacked, thereby improving shelf storage efficiency and transport means efficiency. Further, between the stack storage device and the station, the trays are conveyed one by one by a conveyor, the conveyed items are taken out from the tray at the station, and the conveyed items are supplied to the processing device one by one. The stacked storage device includes a chuck for holding the stacked trays and a retracting means for retracting a tray lower than the target tray so that a desired tray in the stacked and stored trays can be taken out to the conveyor. By doing so, it is possible to stack and support the trays with the chuck of the stacking storage device, and retract the unnecessary trays with the retracting means, and take out only the target tray. For this reason, it is possible to take out only a desired tray from the trays arbitrarily stacked for storage on the shelf, and supply necessary transported items to the processing device or the like by the stacked storage device. Therefore, there is no need to provide a device for changing the stacking order of trays, such as placing the desired tray at the bottom, or to change the stacking order of the trays by the transfer device and place a burden on the transfer device. .

  In the invention of claim 2, in the station, the bottom surface of the conveyed product can be conveyed by a conveyor such as a roller conveyor or can be floated and conveyed by blowing a gas through the opening at the bottom of the tray. For this reason, it is not necessary to transfer a large transported object with a large robot hand or the like.

  In the invention of claim 3, when the transfer system is arranged in the clean room, the shelf, the stack storage device, the transfer means, the station, and the portion overlapping the shelf in plan view in the conveyor are used as an automatic warehouse for the clean room. When the inside of the automatic warehouse is locally cleaned, the cleanliness of other parts may be low. Further, since the conveyance path connecting the station and the processing apparatus is locally cleaned, it is not necessary to keep the other portions highly clean. For this reason, it is not necessary to make the entire clean room highly clean, and it is possible to make only the portions necessary for transporting trays and storing stacked trays highly clean.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

  In the following, an optimum embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be shown.

Tray and stack storage device, station FIGS. 1 to 10 show the transfer system of the embodiment except for the part corresponding to the automatic warehouse. Although these drawings also show modifications of the tray and the stack storage device, the modifications are the same as those of the embodiments except for the points specifically pointed out. In these drawings, 2 is a transport system using trays, 4 and 4 are a pair of left and right conveyors, which may be roller conveyors or belt conveyors, but here are roller conveyors, and both the pair of left and right conveyors in the transport direction are both Both of them are conveyors using driving rollers, but driving rollers may be arranged only on one side and driven rollers on the other side. In the conveyance path of the conveyor 4, there are stations 6 and 6 and a stack storage device 12, and there is a branching stand 20 for branching the tray to a branching conveyor 24.

  The type of article to be conveyed is arbitrary, but here, a liquid crystal substrate having a side of about 1 to 3 m square is assumed, the thickness is about several mm, and the mass is about 10 kg, for example. It is important that a large, fragile and fragile liquid crystal substrate is used as a transport object and transported while preventing dust from adhering.

  The station 6 has a pair of left and right conveyors 7 and 7 similar to the conveyor 4, and a lifter 8 with a roller conveyor is provided between the left and right conveyors 7 and 7. Then, the lifter 8 is raised, and the conveyed product is carried in and out through the bottom surface of the tray by the roller conveyor, so that articles can be taken in and out from the tray. 10 is a conveyor for supporting the bottom surface of a sheet taken out from the tray and transporting it, for example, a roller conveyor, and a conveyor for carrying in and out the conveyed material taken out from the tray to the processing apparatus. is there. Note that the processing device includes an inspection device and the like.

  The stacked storage device 12 is provided with a pair of left and right conveyors 14 and 14, and the conveyors 14 and 14 are moved in the width direction (a direction perpendicular to the transport direction) by a cylinder 15 or the like so that they can be retracted. Reference numeral 16 denotes a chuck for chucking the stacking support portion of, for example, the lowermost tray of the stacked and stored trays, and reference numeral 18 denotes a lifter that waits at a position lower than the conveyor 14 to raise and lower the tray. The chuck 16 may be a vertically movable chuck whose height position is variable, or a chuck whose height position is fixed.

  In addition to the conveyors 4, 4, branching conveyors 22, 22 are provided on the branching table 20, and branching conveyors 24, 24 are provided outside the branching table 20.

Tray Structure Turning to FIGS. 2 and 3, the structure of the tray 30 will be described. The tray 30 does not have a lid or the like on the top surface, and the top surface is open, the conveyed product placed on the placement unit 31 is exposed, and a plurality of openings 32 are provided on the bottom surface of the placement unit 31. The outer periphery of the placement portion 31 is divided from the placement portion by a wall 36, a drop prevention wall 39, and the like, and a pair of transport support portions 34 and a stacking support portion 35 are provided outside the placement portion 31. is there. The conveyance support part 34 and the lamination | stacking support part 35 are the flange-shaped members protruded to the outer 4 circumference | surroundings of the mounting part 31, The bottom face is flat, for example. Moreover, although the conveyance support part 34 and the lamination | stacking support part 35 are arrange | positioned at the same height in the Example, these heights may differ and support part 34,35 may provide a cut | interruption etc. suitably. . Protrusions 37 and the like are provided on the wall 36 and are fitted into fitting holes (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the wall 36 so that the trays 30 can be stacked. Reference numeral 38 denotes a fork insertion port which lowers the upper end of the tray at this portion from the drop prevention wall 39 so that a fork or a SCARA arm for transferring a transfer object can be inserted. However, the fork insertion port 38 may not be provided, and this portion may be arranged at the same height as the drop prevention wall 39. Reference numeral 40 denotes a protrusion provided on the mounting portion 31, and supports a transported object such as a glass substrate 42 on its upper surface.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which a plurality of trays 30 are stacked and stored, and the conveyance support unit 34 is outside the placement unit 31 in a plan view, so that dust attached to the bottom surface of the conveyance support unit 34 from the conveyor or the like It is difficult to fall into the mounting portion 31. Further, on the stacked support part 35 side, the wall 36 and the lower wall 41 separate the mounting part 31, so that dust from the stacked support part 35 does not enter the mounting part 31. Furthermore, since the fork insertion port 38 is provided, it is possible to select an arbitrary tray from the stacked and stored state as shown in FIG. 3 and take out the stored glass substrate or place the glass substrate in the tray. Can do.

Operation at the Station With reference to FIG. 4, the loading and unloading of the glass substrate 42 at the station 6 will be described. When the tray 30 arrives at the station 6, the lifter with a roller conveyor in the station rises, and the roller 44 contacts the bottom surface of the glass substrate 42 through the opening 32. When the roller 44 is driven in a state where the glass substrate is lifted higher than the drop prevention wall 39, the glass substrate can be transferred to the roller 45 on the conveyor 10 side. Further, when the glass substrate is transferred from the conveyor 10 side into the tray 30, the lifter with roller conveyor is raised, for example, the height of the conveying surface of the roller 44 and the roller 45 is made equal, A glass substrate is carried into 6. Also at this time, the conveying surface is made higher than the drop prevention wall 39. In addition, although the lifter with a roller conveyor in a station was used for taking out the glass substrate 42 from the tray 30 in the station 6, instead of using the roller conveyor, for example, an air jetting unit is used to generate the glass substrate 42 by the force of air. May be lifted and moved in the target direction.

Operation of Laminated Storage Device FIGS. 5 and 6 show the operation of the laminated storage device 12. Reference numeral 50 denotes a support, and the chuck driving unit 52 may be movable up and down along the support 50, or the height position may be fixed. When the height position of the chuck driving unit 52 is fixed, the thickness in the height direction of the tray is made larger than the thickness in the height direction of the conveyor 14, and the conveyor 14 is placed between the upper and lower conveyance support portions of the stacked trays. Be able to fit the roller. The chuck 16 can be switched between a state in which the bottom surface of the stacked support portion 35 is supported and a state in which it is not supported by rotating or moving back and forth in the horizontal plane by the chuck driving portion 52. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, a tray group 60 including a plurality of trays is stacked and stored on the chuck 16, and one or a plurality of tray groups 61 are also placed on the lifter 18. As described above, the conveyors 14 and 14 can move between a state in which the bottom surface of the conveyance support unit 34 is supported and a state in which the tray 30 does not interfere with the advancing / retreating means such as the cylinder 15. The tray to be stacked and stored may be a state where a transported object such as a glass substrate is placed or an empty state, but storage in a state where the transported object is placed is particularly significant.

  The description will be made assuming that the chuck driving unit 52 does not move up and down. It is assumed that one newly arrived tray is to be stacked below the tray group 60 in FIG. In this case, the lifter 18 is raised, the bottom surface of the tray on the conveyors 14, 14 is supported by the upper surface of the tray group 61, and then the conveyors 14, 14 are retracted by the cylinder 15. The lifter 18 is further raised, and the bottom surface of the lowermost tray of the tray group 60 is supported by the upper surface of the uppermost tray of the tray group being raised by the lifter 18. When the tray group 60 is supported by the lifter 18, the chuck 16 is retracted, the lifter 18 is raised by one stage of the tray, and the stack support portion of the target tray is supported by the chuck 16. Next, when the lifter 18 is lowered, one tray can be newly stacked.

  When the tray group 61 is lifted by the lifter 18 until the desired tray can be chucked by the chuck 16, the tray at the desired position in the tray group 61 can be chucked by the chuck 16. When a tray at an arbitrary position is taken out from the tray group 60, the conveyors 14 and 14 are retracted, the lifter 18 is raised, the tray group 60 and the tray group 61 are combined, and then the lifter 18 is operated to A tray 16 is supported by a chuck 16 on the first level. Thereafter, the lifter 18 is lowered, the lowering is stopped at a position where the bottom surface of the conveyance support portion of the target tray is slightly higher than the conveyance surface of the conveyor 14, and the conveyor 14 is advanced by the cylinder 15. Next, the lifter 18 is lowered again, and only the target tray is placed on the conveyors 14 and 14. Thus, in order to fix the height of the chuck 16, it is necessary to make the thickness in the height direction of the conveyor 14 smaller than the interval between the conveyance support portions 34, 34 when the trays 30 are stacked.

As above,
-Add trays on conveyors 14 and 14 to the bottom of tray group 60.
-Combine tray groups 60 and 61,
-Arbitrary trays in the tray group 60 can be placed on the conveyors 14 and 14. Further, when an arbitrary tray is sent from the tray group 61 onto the conveyor 4, the lifter 18 is raised, the tray groups 60 and 61 are united, and the upper tray of the target tray is chucked by the chuck 16, and then the lifter is moved. The target tray may be moved from the uppermost stage of the chuck group 61 to the conveyor 14 by lowering 18.

  When the chuck driving unit 52 can be moved up and down, the operation becomes simpler, and the gap in the height direction between the conveyance support unit and the conveyance support unit when the trays are stacked is larger than the thickness of the conveyor 14 in the height direction. And no restrictions are needed. When adding one tray to the bottom of the tray group 60, the target tray is placed on the conveyor 14, the chuck 16 is lowered, and the tray group 60 is stacked on top of the target tray. Next, the chuck 16 is retracted, the stack support portion of the target tray is supported by the chuck 16, and the chuck 16 is raised. When an arbitrary tray is taken out from the tray group 60 or the tray group 61, the conveyors 14 and 14 are retracted, the lifter 18 is raised, and the tray groups 60 and 61 are combined. Next, the chuck 16 is gripped, the target tray is chucked, and the tray group below the target tray is lowered by the lifter 18. Thereafter, the conveyor 14 is advanced to a position where the tray can be supported, the chuck 16 is lowered, and the target tray is transferred onto the conveyor 14. Thereafter, the chuck 16 may be raised and the tray above the target tray may be chucked and raised.

  A stacked storage device that can take out an arbitrary tray without using the chuck 16 is also possible. In this case, for example, the interval between the conveyance support portions of the trays is larger than the thickness of the conveyor 14 in the height direction, and the tray group 61 is the only tray group to be stacked and stored. When a desired tray is taken out from the tray group 61, the tray above the target tray is transferred to the conveyor 14 and carried out to one side of the stack storage device 12. Next, the target tray is transferred to the conveyor 14 and carried out to the other side of the stacked storage device 12. The tray above the target tray is moved back onto the conveyor 14, the lifter 18 is raised, and transferred to the lifter 18. However, if this is done, the conveyors on both sides of the stack storage device 12 must be used in order to take out the target tray. Not efficient.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lower side of the conveying surface of the conveyor 14 is used as a buffer for the tray, so that the lifter 18 is necessary. A modification in which the lifter 18 is not provided is shown in FIG. In this case, the chuck driving unit 72 can be moved up and down along the column 70. 7 and 8 uses the left and right conveyors 4 as tray buffers, and is otherwise the same as the stack storage device 12 of FIGS.

  When a desired tray is cut out from the tray group 60 chucked by the chuck 16, the chuck 16 is lowered and the tray group 60 is transferred onto the conveyor 14. Then, the target tray is re-chucked by the chuck 16, and the lower tray group 61 is carried out onto either the left or right conveyor 4 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the chuck 16 is lowered, the tray group is transferred to the conveyor 14, and the tray above the target tray is chucked by the chuck 16 and raised. In this manner, the target tray is cut out and carried out to the other conveyor (for example, the right side in FIG. 8). For example, at the same time, the left tray group 61 in FIG. 8 is carried onto the conveyor 14 and the chuck 16 is moved up and down to be integrated with the tray group 60. When adding a new tray to the tray group 60, the new tray is loaded onto the conveyor 14, the chuck 16 is lowered, the new tray and the tray group 60 are stacked, and the new tray is loaded with the chuck 16. It is good to support.

  9 and 10 show a variation 90 of the tray. In this modification, the stacking support portion 95 is disposed, for example, on the upper side of the transport support portion 34, and is otherwise the same as the tray 30 of FIG. In the embodiment, the conveyance of a large glass substrate for liquid crystal is taken as an example, but the conveyed product is not limited to this.

System Configuration FIG. 11 shows an overall configuration of a transport system in which an automatic warehouse or the like is combined with the tray, stack storage device, and station shown in FIGS. The same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 10 denote the same components. In FIG. 11, the stacked storage device 12 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is used, but the stacked storage device 74 shown in FIGS. Also good.

  Reference numeral 100 denotes a long-distance conveyor which transports a plurality of trays stacked and connected to the conveyor 4. An automatic warehouse 102 is provided with a shelf 106 above the conveyor 4, the stack storage device 12, the station 6, and the like, and stores a plurality of trays stacked. Reference numeral 104 denotes a stacker crane, which is an example of a transport means, and stacks and transports trays between the shelf 106 and the stack storage device 12, and the stack storage device 12 is also a station of the automatic warehouse 102. The automatic warehouse 102 includes a stack storage device 12, a station 6, a shelf 106, a lower part of the shelf 106 of the conveyor 4, and a stacker crane 104. When a station other than the stack storage device 12 is provided in the automatic warehouse 102, trays are stacked on the station and carried in and out. The transport means is not limited to a stacker crane, and any means may be used as long as trays can be stacked and transported between the stack storage device 12 and the shelf 106.

  In the station 6, as described above, a transported object such as a glass substrate is taken out from the tray using the roller conveyor, and is carried into and out of the processing apparatuses EQ1 to EQ8 by the conveyor 10 or the like. The carry-in / out destination is not limited to the processing apparatus, and may be an inspection apparatus or the like. Further, if necessary, a long-distance conveyor 108 or the like that conveys a conveyed product in one tray unit without taking it out of the tray may be provided. And the conveyance unit of the tray in the conveyor 4 has two types, the state which laminated | stacked the tray, and the tray 1 sheet unit. Further, if necessary, a spreading device 109 or a stacking device 110 may be provided between the long distance conveyor 100 and the conveyor 4. Although these devices 109 and 110 are also a kind of stacked storage device, they differ from the stacked storage device 12 in that an arbitrary tray cannot be taken out from the stacked and stored trays.

  The entire transport system is accommodated in a clean room for liquid crystal display manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, and the like, and only the necessary part, not the entire clean room, is made highly clean locally. For example, the automatic warehouse 102 is surrounded by a ceiling and a wall to be separated from the surroundings, and an FFU (filter fan unit) (not shown) is provided in the automatic warehouse 102 to supply clean air to the ceiling and the shelf 106 of the automatic warehouse 102. 106, the part in the automatic warehouse 102 in the conveyor 4, the station 6, the stacking storage device 12, and the stacker crane 104 are kept in a highly clean environment. Further, the conveyor 10 that connects the station 6 to the loading / unloading destinations such as the processing devices EQ1 to EQ8, the portion outside the automatic warehouse 102 in the conveyor 4, and the long-distance conveyors 100 and 108 are locally kept clean. For this reason, for example, the upper portions of these conveyors are covered with a hood 112 or a wall to block or reduce the flow of ambient air, and the FFU 114 is provided on the hood 112 or the like, and clean air is supplied downward to the conveyor. In this embodiment, conveyors such as the long-distance conveyors 100 and 108 are used as means for transporting the transported goods to / from the automatic warehouse 102 together with the trays. Means for maintaining the environment, for example, a transport vehicle equipped with FFU may be used.

  The operation of the embodiment will be described. The trays stacked and transported by the long-distance conveyor 100 enter, for example, the conveyor 4 and are stacked and stored on the shelf 106 from the stack storage device 12 via the stacker crane 104. When the order of processing comes, the product is delivered from the shelf 106 to the stack storage device 12, and only the desired tray is taken out by the stack storage device 12 and supplied to the station 6, and only the transported object such as a glass substrate is taken out and processed from the conveyor 10. Supply to the device. The stack storage device 12 serves as a station for carrying trays stacked on the shelf 106 of the automatic warehouse via the stacker crane 104. Is used to take out a desired tray from the arbitrarily stacked trays and supply it to the station 6. When the work amount of the stack storage device 12 is large, a stacking device 109 is provided, and the trays stacked and supplied from the long-distance conveyor 100 are divided into trays one by one and the stacking is released. When the glass substrate in the tray is supplied to the processing apparatuses EQ1 to EQ8, an empty tray is generated. Such empty trays may be stacked by the stack storage device 12 and stocked on the shelf 106. Alternatively, they may be stacked by the stack storage device 12 or the stacking device 110 and carried out to the long distance conveyor 100.

  When the processed goods are unloaded from the processing apparatuses EQ5 to EQ8, etc., they are transferred to a tray at the station 6 and transported to the station of the next processing apparatus. To the shelf 106 or to the long-distance conveyor 100.

In this embodiment, by providing the shelf 106 and storing the trays in a stacked state, the trays can be efficiently stored. Then, by transporting the trays in a stacked state between the stack storage device 12 and the shelf 106, the number of transports of the stacker crane can be reduced as compared with the case where the trays are transported one by one. Moreover, since the stacker crane 104 that can be conveyed at a higher speed than the conveyor 4 conveys between the shelf 106 and the stack storage device 12, the conveyance efficiency is good. In addition, by enabling only the desired tray to be taken out from the stacked storage device 12, the desired tray can be taken out from the arbitrarily stacked trays, and the desired tray can be supplied to the processing device. A device is provided to change the stacking order of the trays, such as placing the desired tray at the bottom of the tray or stacking from the bottom so that the processing order is the same, or changing the stacking order of the trays with a stacker crane By doing so, no load is applied to the stacker crane.

The top view which shows the layout which excluded the automatic warehouse from the conveyance system of an Example Top view of the tray of the embodiment The side view which shows the state which laminated | stacked the tray up and down in the Example The top view which shows typically the insertion / extraction of the glass substrate from the tray in a station in an Example. Plan view of tray stacking storage device and surrounding conveyor in the embodiment Side view of tray stacking storage device and surrounding conveyor in embodiment Plan view of tray stacking storage device and surrounding conveyor in a modified example Side view of tray stack storage device and surrounding conveyor Plan view of a modified tray Side view of a modified tray The top view which shows the layout of the conveyance system of an Example

Explanation of symbols

4 Conveyor 6 Station 7 Conveyor 8 Lifter 10 with Roller Conveyor 12, 74 Laminate Storage Device 14 Conveyor 15 Cylinder 16 Chuck 18 Lifter 20 Conversion Table 22, 24 Conveyor 30, 90 Tray 31 Placement Section 32 Opening 34 Conveyance Support Section 35, 95 Lamination Support 36 Wall 37 Protrusion 38 Fork Insertion Port 39 Fall-off Prevention Wall 40 Protrusion 41 Lower Wall 42 Glass Substrate 44, 45 Roller 50, 70 Post 52, 72 Chuck Drive 60, 61 Tray Group 100 Long Distance Conveyor 102 Automatic Warehouse 104 Stacker crane 106 Shelf 108 Long-distance conveyor 109 Stacking device 110 Stacking device 112 Hood 114 FFU

Claims (3)

A shelf for storing trays in a stacked state, a stack storage device for stacking and storing the trays, and a transport means for transporting the trays in a stacked state between the shelves and the stack storage device, A conveyor for connecting the stack storage device and a station for loading and unloading the transported goods to and from the tray, and transferring the tray to the stack storage device one by one with the conveyor, and a transport surface of the conveyor A transport system that stacks and stores trays at a higher position. 2. The tray according to claim 1, wherein an opening is provided at the bottom of the tray, and in the station, a conveying force is applied to the bottom surface of the object to be conveyed through the opening so that the object is taken in and out of the tray. Conveying system. At least a part of the conveyor is arranged so as to overlap with the shelf in plan view, and the shelf, the stack storage device, the transport means, the station, and the part overlapping the shelf in plan view in the conveyor are used as an automatic warehouse for a clean room. 3. A transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising means for locally keeping a transfer path connecting the station and a processing apparatus outside the automatic warehouse.

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