JP2001171970A - Work turning method for overhead traveling carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a turning space for a work supported by a holding mechanism of an overhead traveling carrier, and turn the work without interfering with a transfer machine. SOLUTION: The work is held by a hand unit 12 in a state that the turning center of a rotation unit 11 is slipped out of the center position of the work, after the rotation unit is shifted from one side to the other side in the right and left direction of a carrier, a hand unit is turned out roughly by 90 deg. by means of the rotation unit, and the work is turned out roughly by 180 deg. so as to be changed in direction by letting the hand unit be furthermore turned out roughly by 90 deg. by means of the rotation unit after the rotation unit is shifted from the other side to one side so that the turning center of the rotation unit is located to one side from the center line of a running path.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing plant,
The present invention relates to a method for turning a work held by an overhead traveling conveyance vehicle that conveys a work in a clean room such as an electronic device manufacturing factory or a food factory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a factory for manufacturing semiconductors and electronic equipment, a transfer container (work) containing a work, for example, a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal panel, etc., is suspended and held along a monorail in a clean room. Traveling overhead traveling vehicles are widely used. As such overhead traveling vehicles, there are known overhead traveling vehicles provided with a work holding mechanism provided with a work lateral movement mechanism and a turning mechanism. 9-77474). When the workpiece (wafer transfer container) W is transferred along the track by the overhead traveling transfer vehicle and transferred to the transfer machine T at a predetermined position, the installation conditions of the track of the overhead travel transfer vehicle, the transfer machine, and the like. Depending on the orientation of the work provided with the lid, the work may be turned inside the overhead traveling carrier to change its direction or approach the transfer machine located on the left or right side of the traveling path. Need to be In this case, the transfer is performed by moving the work W close to the transfer machine side, and when loading and unloading a wafer from the work (wafer transfer container) mounted on the transfer machine, the lid is opened and closed. In such a case, the orientation of the side of the work with the lid is changed.

[0003]

Conventionally, when turning a work W held by a work holding mechanism, the work W is turned around the center of a top handle W1 provided substantially at the center of the work W. However, as shown in FIG.
Although the rotation radius is not so large, when the work W held by the work holding mechanism is moved closer to the transfer machine side on the left and right sides in the traveling direction of the transport vehicle so as to facilitate the transfer, FIG. As shown in (B), since a long distance (for example, 80 mm) is moved to the transfer machine T side, a large eccentric load is applied due to the weight of the elevating unit, the rotating unit, the hand unit, the work, and the like. There is a risk that the traveling carrier may be inclined, and it is necessary to shorten the moving distance as much as possible. For this reason, the rotation center (rotation center) of the rotation unit
However, the work is held at a position away from the side of the work W with the lid, that is, at a position shifted from the center position of the top handle of the work W. However,
In such a case, since the turning center is not located at the center of the work, if the turning is performed while the turning center is deviated, the turning radius becomes large, and as a result, the turning space becomes large. In addition, when the turning radius is large, the side cover of the overhead traveling vehicle becomes wide, and there is a problem that it interferes with the transfer machine.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems,
When the work supported by the holding mechanism of the overhead traveling carrier is turned, the turning space can be reduced, the turning can be performed so as not to interfere with the side cover of the overhead traveling carrier, and the ceiling can be moved even when the work is transferred. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of turning a work in an overhead traveling carrier that can prevent a large uneven load from being applied to the traveling carrier.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the object, the present invention relates to a lateral moving unit for moving an elevating unit in a direction orthogonal to a traveling direction of an overhead traveling carrier, and an elevating unit. A work holding mechanism including a rotation unit suspended from the work unit and a hand unit supported by the rotation unit is rotated by the hand unit of the work holding mechanism in the work turning method of the overhead traveling carrier provided on the bogie main body. The center of rotation of the unit is shifted from the center position of the workpiece (30 mm in the embodiment)
The work is held at, and the rotating unit is shifted from one side on the left and right sides of the traveling direction of the overhead traveling carrier to the other side so that the turning center is moved to the other side from the center line of the traveling path, and then rotated. The hand unit is turned by approximately 90 ° by the unit, and then the rotating unit is shifted from the other side to one side so that the turning center of the rotating unit is moved to one side from the center line of the traveling road, Further, by rotating the hand unit by approximately 90 ° by the rotating unit, the work is rotated by approximately 180 ° to change the direction of the work.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic overall image of an overhead traveling carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention. A self-propelled overhead traveling carrier 1 traveling on a monorail R is mounted on a bogie section 4 having traveling drive wheels 2, guide wheels 3, and a bogie section 7 having traveling driven wheels 5 and guide wheels 6. The main body 8 is provided.

The carriage body 8 includes a lateral moving unit 9 for moving the hoist unit 10 in a direction perpendicular to the monorail R, and a hoisting belt 10E of the hoist unit 10.
Rotating unit 11 suspended on the
A work holding mechanism 13 including a hand unit 12 rotatably supported by 1 is provided. The work W is turned by the rotation unit 11 provided in the work holding mechanism 13. Further, structures 14, 14 in which electric system members, a control mechanism (not shown), and the like are disposed in front and rear of the work holding mechanism 13, that is, before and after in the traveling direction of the transport vehicle, are provided on the carriage body 8. , Each structure 14, 14
A clean air supply mechanism 15 for supplying clean air to the work is provided below the space. In FIG. 1, 8A is a frame of the bogie main body 8, 8B is a side plate of the structure 14, M1
Is a drive motor of the traveling drive wheel 2, and W1 is a top handle (holding plate) of the work.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the lateral moving unit 9 has a shift base 9A provided on the bogie main body 8 and a pinion 9B provided on the surface side thereof and driven by a servomotor M2. And a guide rail 9C attached to the back side thereof, and shifts the elevating unit 10 in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the overhead traveling carrier.

The elevating unit 10 includes the guide rail 9
The rotating unit 11 is constituted by a hoist support plate 10A to which a rack 10C engaged with the pin block 9B and the pinion 9B that is inserted and moved in C is mounted, and a winding drum 10D driven by a motor (not shown). It is raised and lowered by the lifting belt 10E. And
The elevating unit 10 is rotated by a pinion 9B provided in the lateral moving unit 9, and the rack 10C engaged with the pinion 9B.
At the same time, the hoist support plate 10A is shifted in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the overhead traveling transport vehicle 1.

The hand unit 12 holding the work W
As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating unit 11 for rotating the rotating unit 11 includes a rotating unit supporting plate 17 supported by a lifting belt 10E of the lifting unit 10, a supporting shaft 18 provided on the rotating unit supporting plate 17, and a supporting shaft. Rotating member 2 rotatably held at 18 via a cross roller bearing 19
0, a worm wheel 21 attached to the rotating member 20, and a worm 22 meshing with the worm wheel 21
And formed. The worm 22 is supported by a bracket 23 attached to the rotating unit support plate 17,
The motor (not shown) rotates the worm wheel 21 and the rotating member 20 around the support shaft 18 so that the rotating plate 26 of the hand unit 12 described later is rotated. That is, the support shaft 18 becomes the turning center 18 '.

The hand unit 12 includes a rotating unit 11
A rotating plate 26 attached to the rotating member 20 via a supporting member 25, and a gripping piece 28 having a support shaft 27 provided on the rotating plate 26. This support shaft 27 has a gear 29
The gear 29 is driven by a drive motor (not shown).
The rotation of the gear 29 meshes with a rotating gear (not shown), and the rotation of the gear 29 causes the gripping piece 28 to turn and engage with a top handle W1 provided on the work W to hold the work W. In this case, the center of the top handle W1 provided at the center of the work W, that is, the position of the work W away from the lid W2 (30 mm in FIG. 1
8 'comes. Then, the work W is turned around the turning center 18 ′ at the eccentric position by the rotation of the rotating plate 26.

In the above, the structure of the overhead traveling vehicle 1 has been described. In the following, regarding the method of rotating the work W inside the overhead traveling vehicle 1, the turning center 18 'is shifted by approximately 30 mm from the center of the top handle W1 of the work. That
The case where the shift amount of the lateral movement is approximately 50 mm will be described, but these dimensions are arbitrarily adopted depending on the size of the work, the distance between the work and the transfer machine, and the like. FIG.
To FIG. 8 show the traveling path center line C of the overhead traveling conveyance vehicle 1.
The work W is received from a transfer machine T (not shown) on the right side of L (the right side in the traveling direction, the upper side in FIG. 5), and travels.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation state when a workpiece W is transferred to a transfer machine T on the left side (lower side in FIG. 8) after moving a predetermined distance. SL in the figure is an outer line (side line) of the side cover of the overhead traveling vehicle 1.

FIG. 5 shows the hand unit 1 so that the turning center 18 'comes to a position approximately 30 mm away from the center of the top handle W1 of the work on the opposite side of the lid W2.
2 shows a state in which the center of rotation 18 ′ coincides with the center line CL of the traveling path of the overhead traveling carrier 1, and the overhead traveling carrier 1 travels in this state. As shown in FIG. 8, the overhead traveling transport vehicle 1 travels, and the transfer machine T
When the workpiece W is transferred to the overhead traveling carrier 1 in the state shown in FIG. 5, the overhead traveling transport vehicle 1 is stopped, and is moved upward by 50 mm by the lateral moving unit 9 in FIG. Then, the lifting / lowering belt 10E is fed out by the lifting / lowering unit 10, and the work W is lowered to the vicinity of the transfer machine T. In the state of FIG.
In order to obtain the state shown in FIG. 8, first, the rotation unit 11 and the work W are moved downward by approximately 30 mm by the horizontal movement unit 9 as shown in FIG. 18 'is shifted to the transfer machine T side from the center line CL, where the rotating unit 11 rotates the work W substantially 90 °. Next, the rotation unit 11 and the workpiece W are moved upward by approximately 60 mm by the lateral movement unit 9 as shown in FIG.
As a result, the work W is further rotated substantially 90 °. Here, when the work W is transferred to the transfer machine T, as shown in FIG.
The workpiece 1 and the workpiece W are moved downward by approximately 50 mm, and then lowered and placed on the workpiece receiving portion of the transfer machine T. Transfer machine T
, The hand unit 12 is detached from the work W, and the lifting belt 10E is wound up. In this way, the horizontal movement shift amount of the lifting / lowering unit 10, the rotation unit 11, the hand unit 12, the work W, and the like at the time of transfer is 80 mm, which is as small as 50 mm. Time, overhead traveling carrier 1
Eccentric load is not applied, the work turning space can be reduced, the width of the overhead traveling carrier 1 can be reduced, and the work W can be turned without contacting or interfering with the transfer machine T. Can be.

Although the embodiment has been described above, the gripping mechanism constituting the hand unit 11 is a mechanism provided with two left and right hooks for holding the workpiece W or the top handle W1 on the rotary plate of the rotary unit. Is also good.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the work is held by the hand unit of the work holding mechanism in a state where the rotation center of the rotation unit is deviated from the work center position, and the rotation unit is moved in the right and left directions in the traveling direction of the overhead traveling conveyance vehicle. After shifting from one side to the other side so that the turning center is located on the other side from the center line of the traveling road, the hand unit is turned by approximately 90 ° by the rotating unit, and then the rotating unit is moved to the other side. Is shifted from one side to one side to move the rotating unit so that the center of rotation of the rotating unit is located on one side from the center line of the traveling road, and then the hand unit is further rotated by approximately 90 ° by the rotating unit, so that the workpiece can be moved. Since the direction of the work is changed by turning about 180 °, the work held by the holding mechanism of the overhead traveling carrier is moved. The movement distance when placed on the machine can be shortened, it is possible to not to apply turn unbalanced load to the overhead traveling transport vehicle. In addition, the turning space when turning the work can be reduced, and the outer dimensions of the overhead traveling carrier can be reduced, so that it does not interfere with the transfer machines installed on the left and right of the traveling path of the overhead traveling carrier. Can turn.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an overhead traveling carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shift base.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a hoist support plate.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of a rotating unit and a hand unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a state of a work when the overhead traveling conveyance vehicle travels.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a first turning operation of the work.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the next turning operation of the work.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a shift operation after the final turning of the work.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams of a conventional work turning and shifting operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 overhead traveling carrier 2 traveling driving wheel 3, 6 guide wheel 4, 7 bogie section 5 traveling driven wheel 8 bogie main body 8B side plate of structure 9 lateral moving unit 10 lifting unit 11 rotating unit 12 hand unit 13 work holding mechanism 14 structure Object 15 Clean air supply mechanism 17 Rotating unit support plate 18 Support shaft 18 'Revolving center 19 Cross roller bearing 20 Rotating member 21 Warm wheel 22 Worm 23 Bracket 25 Support member 26 Rotating plate 27 Support shaft 28 Gripping piece W1 Workpiece top handle W2 Lid CL Center line SL Outer line

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A work comprising: a lateral moving unit for moving an elevating unit in a direction orthogonal to a traveling direction of an overhead traveling carrier; a rotating unit suspended from the elevating unit; and a hand unit supported by the rotating unit. In a method of turning a work in an overhead traveling conveyance vehicle provided on a bogie main body, a holding mechanism holds a work in a state in which a rotation center of a rotation unit is deviated from a work center position by a hand unit of the work holding mechanism. After shifting from one side of the traveling direction of the overhead traveling carrier to the other side on the left and right sides and moving the turning center to be located on the other side from the center line of the traveling path, the rotating unit is used to move the approximately 90 ° hand unit. The turning unit is then shifted from the other side to the one side so that the turning center of the turning unit is located on the roadway section. The ceiling is characterized in that the work unit is turned by approximately 90 ° by turning the hand unit by approximately 90 ° by the rotating unit, and then the work is turned by approximately 180 ° to change the direction of the work. Work turning method in a traveling carrier.