JP2001308169A - Box for cassette, automatic transfer device of box and method for controlling such device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new and useful box for cassettes, an automatic transfer device for transferring the box and a method for controlling the transfer device by which increase in costs and decrease in reliability of the system due to the adoption of a closed box is prevented. SOLUTION: The box for cassettes with FFU is substituted with a conventional AGV into which a closed carrier and FFU is integrated. The smart unit 1 in which substrates of glass, plastic and the like of liquid crystal display(LCD) devices to be transferred are housed is placed on an AGV2, is transferred between or in the points of LCD manufacturing operations, and is comprised of a cassette body 10, a cassette cover 11 and an FFU12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cassette box which is transported in a clean room building (including a case where the same floor and a multi-story floor are covered) or between clean room buildings, and an automatic transfer of the box. The present invention relates to a device and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an IC manufacturing process in a semiconductor factory,
Chile, dust, fine particles, microorganisms, and the like are the greatest enemies, and semiconductor circuit elements and the like are manufactured in a clean room environment. Since the largest source of dust in a clean room is humans that emit dandruff and reds, it is necessary to use factory automation (FA) in the clean room to eliminate dust.
Is indispensable. In a semiconductor factory, an AGV (Au
automatic transfer devices such as a tomographic guided vehicle). These transfer devices are used in an IC manufacturing process including about 200 to 300 steps, in which an inter-process transfer for transferring a cassette containing a wafer between each process and the same process. In the process, the cassette is transported.

On the other hand, in order to save energy and reduce costs for construction and maintenance of a clean room, localization of a clean area is progressing. This localization of the clean area maintains the cleanness of the entire clean room, for example, class 100 or class 1000, but increases the cleanness of the cassette and does not achieve class 10, for example. For this reason, a sealed carrier has been devised, and an AGV or the like in which a fan filter unit, a cassette storage unit, and an opening / closing door are integrated has been provided.

[0004] Such FAization in a clean room and localization of a clean area are necessary not only in an IC manufacturing process but also in a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, LCD) manufacturing process. If dust or the like adheres to the substrate of the liquid crystal cell constituting the LCD, disconnection or short circuit is induced at the time of forming the electrodes, and the alignment layer is not formed uniformly and the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules is disturbed. It is because it reduces. Incidentally, the layout of the current LCD factory is shown in FIG. In this figure, K1 indicates an inter-process transport path, and K2 indicates an intra-process transport path.

[0005]

However, even in the above-mentioned semiconductor factories and liquid crystal factories, the following problems still exist toward the next-generation semiconductor factories. First,
Adopting a closed box (carrier) requires a large number of door openers for opening and closing, which leads to an increase in cost and system reliability, and further to an increase in the space of the clean room. When carrying out inter-process transfer or in-process transfer, the loading / unloading of the cassette may be performed by using a transfer device provided therein. In this case, the weight of the cassette increases due to the enlargement of the substrate and the diameter of the wafer. , An eccentric load is applied when the arm of the transfer device expands and contracts,
Third, there is a risk that AGVs may fall over. Third, even if energy saving and cost reduction are achieved by localizing the clean area, the cost of building the clean room itself is higher than the cost of building a normal building. This is expensive, and the problem of running costs for maintaining cleanliness remains even after completion of the clean room.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a new and useful cassette box, an automatic conveying apparatus for conveying the box, and a control method for the conveying apparatus, which can solve the above-mentioned problems at once. With the goal.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a cassette box according to the present invention is provided with a cassette main body for accommodating an object to be conveyed, a cassette cover for covering the main body, and one surface of the cover. And a horizontal laminar flow is formed by the fan filter unit from the one surface of the cassette cover toward the opening surface (the invention according to claim 1).

The cassette box is transported by an automatic transport device. Here, the automatic transport device is a device that carries out a task of transporting an object to be transported, instead of manually. This automatic transfer device can be roughly divided into a conveyor system and an automatic moving vehicle system.The automatic moving vehicle system is also divided into a tracked vehicle and a trackless vehicle. Trackless vehicles are categorized as fixed path, semi-fixed path, or pathless. The fixed path type includes an active transfer apparatus such as an electromagnetic induction type and a passive transfer apparatus of an optical reflection type, and the semi-fixed path type includes a spot mark type transfer apparatus such as a mark tracking mobile robot. The route type includes a self-contained navigation type transport device such as a gyro unmanned vehicle and a ground-assisted transport device such as an ultrasonic lighthouse type, a laser lighthouse type, and a slit code type truck. The present invention includes all of these automatic transfer devices. Here, the transferred object is required to have a predetermined degree of cleanliness during transfer, and is, for example, a wafer in a semiconductor factory, a glass substrate in a liquid crystal factory, a plastic substrate, or the like. The fan filter unit is a device that forms a laminar flow of clean gas. In the embodiment described later, the cassette body and the cassette cover are separate bodies, but the cassette body and the cassette cover may be formed integrally.

In the cassette box according to the present invention, the fan filter unit forms a horizontal laminar flow of clean air or the like from one surface of the cassette cover toward the opening surface. State can be maintained. That is, unlike a closed box, the box has an active character as a box having its own cleaning means. Further, in the cassette box according to the present invention, since only the conveyed object is taken in and out of the opening surface, a door opener for opening and closing is not required, and the cost is reduced accordingly. further,
Since the door opener is not required, maintenance and the like of the door opener is not required, so that the reliability of the system is improved and the space of the clean room is not increased.

In the above invention, the fan filter unit may be configured to be detachable from the cassette cover (the invention according to claim 2). According to this configuration, the fan filter unit can be quickly removed, The cassette body and the cassette cover can be washed. In addition, a drain hole may be provided on the bottom surface of the cassette cover (the invention according to claim 3). According to this configuration, the washing operation is facilitated because the washing water is drained from the drain hole. It is.

In order to achieve the above object, the automatic transfer device is a front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive tricycle (the invention according to claim 4), and instead of the tricycle, a front-rear two-wheel drive, a three-wheel drive or an all-wheel drive. (The invention according to claim 5), and in these three-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicles, the diameter of the drive wheel is larger than the diameter of the driven wheel (the invention according to claim 6).
May be. Here, the drive wheel refers to a wheel to which power is transmitted from a drive device such as a motor, and the driven wheel refers to a wheel to which drive power is not transmitted from the drive device and is driven by a drive wheel. The same applies to the following description. Since the conventional AGV has a wheel arrangement in which the drive wheels are arranged in the center as shown in FIG. 19, according to this wheel configuration, when the front driven wheel enters the elevator cage, The basket sinks under the weight of the AGV, and as a result, there is a possibility that the drive wheels idle.
Therefore, the wheel configuration of the automatic transfer device of the present invention is a three-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle as described above.
The aim is to reduce the cost of building a clean room.

[0012] In order to achieve the above object, the automatic transport device is provided with a front-wheel drive or a full-wheel drive so as to be able to cope with an elevator cage floor which is tapered in a chamfered shape and a floor of an elevator floor facing the cage floor. A three-wheeled vehicle with a wheel drive (the invention according to claim 7), and instead of a three-wheeled vehicle, a four-wheeled vehicle with front-rear two-wheel drive, three-wheel drive or all-wheel drive (the invention according to claim 8), In the four-wheeled vehicle, the diameter of the drive wheel is larger than the diameter of the driven wheel (the invention according to claim 9).
May be. According to each of these inventions, the drive wheels of the automatic transfer device increase the area of the drive wheels of the automatic transfer device which are in contact with the elevator floor and the floor of the elevator floor, so that the elevator of the automatic transfer device can smoothly get on and off. become. Therefore, the object of the present invention can be achieved similarly to the above invention.

In order to achieve the above object, a device for eliminating a gap formed between a cage floor of an elevator tapered in a chamfered shape and a floor of an elevator floor facing the cage floor is installed. In addition, the automatic transfer device is a front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive tricycle (the invention according to claim 10),
Instead of a three-wheeled vehicle, a front-rear two-wheel drive, a three-wheel drive or an all-wheel drive four-wheeled vehicle (the invention according to claim 11), in these three-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicles, It may be larger (the invention according to claim 12). According to each of these inventions, the drive wheels of the automatic transport device can travel without any problem in the gap formed between the elevator floor and the floor of the elevator floor, and the elevator of the automatic transport device can get on and off. Become smooth. Therefore, the object of the present invention can be achieved similarly to the above invention.

[0014] In order to achieve the above object, communication when the automatic transport device gets on and off the elevator is as follows.
A method for controlling an automatic transport device, wherein the control method is performed by a CIM system via an automatic transport device, an elevator cage, or an infrared transmitting / receiving device installed in a building body (the invention according to claim 13). Here, the CIM system is a Computer Integrated Man.
This is a computer system for distributed processing, for example, which is constructed for the purpose of improving yield, improving quality, promptly responding to multi-product production, and improving safety such as release from heavy labor. According to the invention,
It is possible to smoothly get on and off the elevator of the automatic transport device, and to achieve the object of the present invention in the same manner as in the above invention.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A configuration example of a cassette box (hereinafter, referred to as a smart unit) according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the smart unit and A as an automatic transfer device for transferring the smart unit.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the smart unit, FIG.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the smart unit, and FIGS. 4A to 4C are configuration examples of a fan filter unit (hereinafter, referred to as FFU) constituting the smart unit. Regarding the smart unit, a configuration used in a liquid crystal production line will be described. This smart unit is also useful for transferring wafers on a semiconductor production line. In each of the above drawings and each of the drawings described later, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

The feature of the smart unit is that, instead of the conventional AGV in which a sealed carrier and an FFU are integrated, FIG.
2, as shown in FIG. 2, a cassette box with an FFU.

The smart unit 1 accommodates a substrate such as LCD glass or plastic as an object to be conveyed, is mounted on the AGV 2, and is conveyed during or during a liquid crystal manufacturing process. 10, a cassette cover 11 and an FFU 12.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cassette main body 10 is arranged so that, for example, about 20 substrates are vertically stacked at predetermined intervals so that the weight can be reduced as much as possible. Columnar material 100,100,100
.. Are combined. This cassette body 10
Uses a commercially available cassette or a cassette manufactured according to the glass size.

The cassette cover 11 has an opening 110
Except for the opposing surface 111 as one surface, it covers four surfaces of the cassette main body 10 and is made of a metal plate such as resin or AL, and these plate materials are detachable or fixed using the columnar material 100. It is configured with screws. As will be described later in detail, the facing surface 111 of the cassette cover 11 is
, The FFU 12 is attached, and a horizontal laminar flow is formed from the FFU 12 toward the opening surface 110.

The length L of the cover 11 is adjusted based on the relationship between the horizontal laminar flow (hereinafter, also referred to as horizontal flow) and the flow rate and the wind speed so that air is not entrained on the opening surface 110. The opening surface 110 serves as a port for the substrate and also serves as an exhaust port for the horizontal flow. The cover 11
The bottom surface 112 has one or more drain holes 11 necessary for cleaning the cassette body 10 and the cover 11.
3 are provided. Due to the formation of the horizontal flow, in the cassette cover 11, the sealing property for preventing intrusion of dust does not matter, and the opening surface 110 and the drain hole 113 where no door is present can be provided.

The FFU 12 forms a horizontal laminar flow toward the opening surface 110. For example, an HEPA, ULPA or chemical filter, a small air flow, In addition, a small fan with high static pressure is incorporated. The vertical and horizontal widths of the housing 120 are formed so as to fit the facing surface 111.

The manner in which the filter and the fan are assembled is as shown in FIG.
1 is provided with an air inlet 122, a blower filter 124 is provided on a blowing surface 123, and a fan 125 is mounted between them. As shown in FIG.
25 in which a plurality of units 25 are installed, as shown in FIG.
A suction filter 121 and a fan 125 are provided in the upper part of the upper surface 20 and a punching metal 126 is provided on the blowing surface to allow air from the filter 124 to flow through the air guide 1.
27, etc., to the outlet surface 123.

The power supplied to the fan and the like of the FFU 12 is A
It is supplied from the GV2 side.
An electrode 129 is provided on the bottom surface 128 of the housing, and an electrode is also provided on the AGV 2 side so as to correspond to the electrode 129. In this case, after the smart unit 1 is mounted on the AGV 2, it is controlled by a timer or the like so as to be energized several seconds later to protect the electrode 129.

The air volume and speed of the horizontal flow by the FFU 12 can be freely controlled, and can be adjusted according to the state of the clean room, the running speed of the AGV 2, and the like. Then, the AGV 2 is connected to a loader / unloader station 8 serving as an interface between or within processes.
(See FIG. 15), when the fan 125
Is stopped. Usually, in the loader / unloader station 8, a down laminar flow is formed from the upper part to the lower part (see FIG. 15), and the rotation of the fan 125 stops, and the laminar flow with the horizontal laminar flow of the smart unit 1 is stopped. Conflict is avoided and turbulence can be prevented. When the smart unit 1 is transferred to the loader / unloader station 8, power is supplied from the loader / unloader station 8 and the fan 1
The rotation may be stopped after the rotation of 25 has been continued. The rotation time of the fan 125 after the transfer to the loader / unloader station 8 can be freely set according to the environment of the loader / unloader station 8. Note that a power supply such as a battery may be incorporated in the smart unit 1 itself so as to support various AGVs.

The FFU 12 configured as described above is detachably attached to the cassette cover 11,
When cleaning the cover 11 and the cassette body 10,
The FU 12 can be easily attached to and detached from the cassette cover 11. In this embodiment, a slide drop-in type is adopted, and as shown in FIG. 3, convex locking portions 120a, 120a are formed on the outer periphery of both sides of the blowing surface 123 of the housing 120. ing. On the other hand, both left and right sides 111 of the facing surface 111 of the cassette cover 11
a, 111a are formed with grooves into which the locking portions 120a, 120a can be dropped.
A support piece is formed on 1b. Therefore, the FFU
12 can be pulled out from the groove of the cover 11 and washed as it is, and the washing water is drained from the drain hole 113 of the cover 11 as described above.

In addition, as a detachable method, a clamp method, a screw fixing method, or a magnet catch method shown in FIG. 5 may be used.

According to the smart unit 1 having the above configuration,
Due to the horizontal flow of the FFU 12, the inside of the cover 11 is always at a positive pressure.
Thus, the degree of cleanness in the cassette body 10 can be maintained even if it is not sealed. Therefore, since the degree of sealing between the cassette body 10, the cover 11, and the FFU 12 does not need to be perfect, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. That is, if a closed box is adopted, a large number of door openers for opening and closing are required, which leads to an increase in cost and reliability of the system and an increase in space in a clean room.

As shown in FIG. 6, a horizontal flow sweeps dust on the substrate surface on which electrode patterns and the like are formed, with respect to the substrates C, C, C,... Arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. As a result, the inside of the cassette body 10 can be maintained at a high degree of cleanliness. Therefore, class 10,000
It is possible to provide a smart unit 1 that can achieve a class 10 or higher cleanness in a −0.5 μm clean room and is also suitable for localization of the clean room.

The smart unit 1 is effective not only in a clean room, but also in transferring a substrate or the like from a clean room to another clean room. Further, the present invention can be used not only in a liquid crystal factory but also in a semiconductor factory and a place where it is necessary to transport goods in a clean state.

In the above embodiment, the cassette body 1
The cassette cover 11 and the cassette cover 11 are separate bodies. However, if the columnar portions 100, 100, 100... Are formed on the inner wall of the cassette cover 11, they can be integrally formed.

The AGV 2 may be of any configuration. For example, an electromagnetic induction type unmanned transporter that performs automatic steering by catching a magnetic field generated by a magnet tape attached to the floor of a clean room with a coil. Use a car.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the AGV 2 is miniaturized so that it can be sunk into the loader / unloader station 8, and then the table 20 on which the smart unit 1 is placed and the smart unit 1
An electrode (not shown) corresponding to the electrode 129 is provided. Since the AGV 2 can sneak into the loader / unloader station 8, it is possible to reduce the width of the inter-process transfer passage and the intra-process transfer passage where the AGV 2 travels. Therefore, the construction area of the entire clean room can be reduced, and in this respect, the construction cost and running cost of the clean room can be reduced. In addition, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to use a separate AGV for each size of the cassette main body 10, and one AGV 2
Thus, various smart units can be transported.
Further, in the AGV 2, since it is only necessary to unload the smart unit 1 in the loader / unloader station 8, the transfer time can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional AGV in which the FFU is integrated. Therefore, AG
By improving the operation rate of V2, the number of AGVs themselves can be reduced.

The table 20 is configured to be able to move up and down and rotate, so that the transfer operation at the loader / unloader station is facilitated. Further, since only the elevation control of the table 20 is performed, the positioning is simple.

The AGV 2 is used to enter the elevator /
There is also a feature in that the wheels are arranged to facilitate getting on and off, and that it is possible to cope with the adoption of FA across multiple floors. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the wheels of the AGV 2 are one-wheel drive wheels (in this case, 22 and 23 are driven wheels) or three-wheel drive wheels 21 and 21 of the front wheel 21 in the traveling direction as a tricycle.
2, 23. This is one means for achieving a reduction in the construction cost of a clean room, which is an object of the present invention, and is used when constructing a liquid crystal production line or a semiconductor production line over a multilayer floor using an elevator. An AGV suitable for getting on and off an elevator is provided.

Since the AGV 2 according to this embodiment is a three-wheeled vehicle, the driving wheels (hatched wheels) shown in FIG. 19 of the conventional AGV as described above do not run idle, and the vehicle can smoothly enter and exit the elevator. Will be
In the four-wheeled vehicle as shown in FIG. 8, two front and rear drive wheels 24 and 27 (in this case, 25 and 26 are driven wheels), three wheels 24 to 27 or four wheels 24 to 27 are drive wheels. Can obtain the same effect. 7 and 8 described above.
In the wheel configuration described above, the diameter of the driving wheel may be larger than that of the driven wheel, or may be larger than that of the conventional machine shown in FIG. According to the AGV 2 as described above, it becomes an effective means for constructing a production line that is converted to FA over a multi-story floor, and leads to a reduction in the construction cost of a clean room.

In order to make the AGV 2 get on and off smoothly, it is effective to process the basket floor 30 of the elevator 3 and the floor 4 on the getting on and off floor as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (c), the taper 31, 40 facing the chamfered shape is attached to the end of the basket floor 30 of the elevator 3 and the end of the floor 4, respectively. . Basket bed 3
0 stops on the same plane as the floor 4 (FIG. 9)
(A)), when the basket floor 30 stops at a position higher than the floor 4 (FIG. 9 (B)), conversely, when the basket floor 30 stops at a position lower than the floor 4 (FIG. 9 (C)), or Even if the basket 30 sinks when the AGV 2 gets on, the taper 31 and 40 can secure a wide contact area of the drive wheels, which helps the AGV 2 get on and off smoothly.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, a device for eliminating the gap between the cage floor 30 of the elevator and the floor 4 is provided with a spacer 5 which is mounted on the floor 4 so as to be able to protrude and retract and which is biased by a spring. It may be configured by a stopper or the like, and when the elevator 3 is stopped, the spacer 5 may jump out so as to fill the gap between the basket floor 30 and the floor 4. In this case, the elevator floor 30 is provided with a chamfer 31 similar to the taper.
Further, after the elevator 3 stops, a device that moves the elevator to the floor 4 side so as to reduce the gap may be provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, a rotatable crossing plate 6 is provided on the floor 4 side, and after the elevator stops, the crossing plate 6 is rotated.
May be rotated to pass through the gap to make it easier for the AGV 2 to get on.

Next, a control method for the AGV 2 will be described. The AGV2 is a CIM as shown in FIG.
(Computer Integrated Manu
facting) system. The CIM system includes a production control device 70 connected to the host computer 7, an inter-process transfer control device 71 connected to the production control device 70 by a run, and a transparent electrode film deposition control device for processing each process. 72, an exposure processing control device 73, an etching processing control device 74, a liquid crystal cell assembly control device 75, and a clean stocker control device 71A, 71 connected to the inter-process transfer control device 71 by a run.
B, an automatic transfer device control device 71C, an in-process transfer control device 76 connected in a run by each of the control devices 72 to 75 of each process, a vacuum evaporation device control device 77, a cleaning device control device 78, and the like. Become.

With this CIM system, the AGV2
To the production control device 70 for managing the production plan.
To the inter-process transfer control device 71 and the in-process transfer control device 76. The inter-process transfer control device 71 controls an automatic transfer device such as a tracked space traveling vehicle, a clean stocker, a substrate transfer robot, and the like. Further, the in-process transfer control device 76 receives the AG based on transfer instructions from the control devices 72 to 75 or the like in each process.
V2 is controlled.

For example, if a conveyed object is generated at the station 79A between the steps as shown in FIG. 14, the AGV2 passing by an empty load is called by the optical transmission device 710 of the automatic conveyance device control device 71C. The AGV 2 can be loaded with a conveyed object such as the smart unit 1 or the like. The AGV 2 memorizes the destination, automatically travels, and delivers the goods to the target station 79B. At the same time, the optical transmission device 710 controls the production through the automatic transport device control device 71C and the inter-process transport control device 71. The transfer completion signal is transmitted to the device 70.

In the in-process transfer, the control devices 72 to
75, the in-process transfer control device 76
The smart unit 1 is mounted on the V and the smart unit 1 is transported toward the requested load / unload station 8.

In this case, with respect to the traveling direction of AGV2,
It is desirable that the vehicle travels with the FFU 12 positioned forward and the opening surface 110 positioned rearward. This is to ensure the effectiveness of the horizontal flow.

The AGV 2 arriving in front of the load / unload station 8 in each of the target steps directs the opening surface 110 of the smart unit 1 toward the station and raises the table 20 as shown in FIG. Then, for example, the AGV 2 is sunk and parked between the two recesses provided on the table 20 and the bottom surface of the smart unit 1 while inserting the fork provided in the station 8. Then, based on the command of the in-process transfer control device 76, the table 20 is lowered to place the smart unit 1 on the station side. Thereafter, based on the command of the in-process transfer control device 76, the transfer robot 80 transfers the substrates one by one to the process device side, and the single wafer processing is started.

The control for moving the AGV 2 on and off the elevator includes a drive control means for the drive wheels and is connected to the control means.
Infrared communication device (infrared transmitting / receiving device) 9 mounted on 2
And the infrared communication device 9 installed in the building body or the elevator 3 and connected to the inter-process transfer control device 71 or the in-process transfer control device 76.
Performed by the M system.

Finally, the smart unit 1, the AGV
2 will be described based on Table 1. Table 1 is created using the liquid crystal factory shown in FIG. 17 as a current model. Further, the reduction rate of the AGV passage width in the table is based on the passage width required for the current factory shown in FIG. 18A and the AGV that can be sunk into the loader / unloader station 8 shown in FIG. This is based on the comparison of the width of the passage when there is a collision.

[Table 1]

As is apparent from Table 1, the cost reduction rate calculated using the smart unit 1 and the AGV 2 was about 57%.

[0048]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the fan filter unit forms a horizontal laminar flow of clean air or the like from one surface of the cassette cover toward the opening surface. It can be maintained in a dust-free state.
Further, in the cassette box according to the present invention, the conveyed object is taken in and out of the opening surface, so that a door opener for opening and closing is unnecessary, and the cost is reduced accordingly. Further, since a door opener is not required, maintenance and the like of the door opener are not required, so that the reliability of the system is improved and the space of the clean room is not increased.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to quickly remove the fan filter unit and clean the cassette body and the cassette cover.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the washing water is drained from the drain hole, the washing operation is easy.

According to the invention as set forth in claims 4 to 6, an automatic transfer device capable of smoothly moving in and out of an elevator is provided, and an FA which can cope with a multilayered clean room is achieved. Construction costs can be reduced.

According to the invention as set forth in claims 7 to 9, the area of the drive wheels of the automatic transfer device in contact with the elevator car floor and the floor of the elevator floor is increased, so that the lift of the elevator of the automatic transfer device is increased. Becomes smoother. Therefore, the object of the present invention can be achieved similarly to the above invention.

According to the tenth to twelfth aspects of the present invention, the drive wheels of the automatic transport device can travel without any problem in the gap formed between the elevator car floor and the floor of the elevator floor. As a result, getting on and off the elevator of the automatic transfer device becomes smooth. Therefore, the object of the present invention can be achieved similarly to the above invention.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to smoothly get on and off the elevator of the automatic transport apparatus, and to achieve the object of the present invention in the same manner as the above-mentioned invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a cassette box and an AGV according to an embodiment.
Perspective view of the

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cassette box according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cassette box according to the embodiment,

FIGS. 4A to 4C are configuration diagrams of a fan filter unit constituting the cassette box; FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another example of the cassette box according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an essential part cross-sectional view of the cassette box according to the embodiment,

FIG. 7 is a wheel layout diagram of the AGV according to the embodiment,

FIG. 8 is a wheel layout diagram of the AGV according to the embodiment,

9 (a) to 9 (c) are illustrations of getting into the elevator of the AGV,

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of getting into the elevator of the AGV,

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of getting into the elevator of the AGV,

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of getting into the elevator of the AGV,

FIG. 13 is a configuration example diagram of a CIM system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a configuration example diagram of a CIM system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a configuration example of a CIM system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a configuration example diagram of a CIM system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a layout diagram of a current liquid crystal factory,

18A is a layout diagram of a passage in a conventional liquid crystal factory, FIG. 18B is a layout diagram of a passage in a liquid crystal factory according to the present invention,

FIG. 19 is a wheel configuration diagram of a conventional AGV.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Smart unit 2 AGV 10 Cassette main body 11 Cassette cover 12 FFU 100 Column-shaped material 110 Opening surface 111 Opposite surface 112 Bottom surface 113 Drain hole 120 Housing 121 Suction surface 122 Air suction port 123 Blow-off surface 124 To pass filter 125 Fan 126 Punching metal 127 Air guide 128 Housing bottom 129 Electrode 120a, 1
20a Locking portions 111a, 111a Left and right sides 111b Bottom 20 Tables 21 to 27 Wheels 3 Elevator 30 Basket floor 4 Floor 4 31, 40
Taper 5 Spacer 6 Crossing board 70 Production control device 71 Inter-process transfer control device 72 Transparent electrode film deposition control device 73 Exposure process control device 74 Etching process control device 75 Liquid crystal cell assembly control device 71A, 71B Clean stocker control device 71C Automatic transfer Device control device 76 In-process transfer control device 77 Vacuum evaporation device control device 78 Washing machine control device 79A Station 710 Optical transmission device 8 Load / unload station 80 Transfer robot 9 Infrared communication device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G05D 1/02 G05D 1/02 T

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A cassette box conveyed by an automatic conveying device, comprising: a cassette main body for accommodating an object to be conveyed; a cassette cover for covering the main body; and a fan filter unit mounted on one surface of the cover. A cassette box, wherein the fan filter unit forms a horizontal laminar flow from the one surface of the cassette cover toward the opening surface. 2. The cassette box according to claim 1, wherein the fan filter unit is configured to be detachable from a cassette cover. 3. The cassette box according to claim 2, wherein a drain hole is provided in a bottom surface of the cassette cover. 4. The automatic transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic transfer device is a front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive tricycle. 5. The automatic transport apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the three-wheeled vehicle is replaced with a front-rear two-wheel drive, three-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive four-wheeled vehicle. 6. The automatic transfer device according to claim 4, wherein a diameter of the driving wheel is larger than a diameter of the driven wheel. 7. The automatic transport device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic transport device according to claim 1 is capable of coping with an elevator cage floor provided with a taper in a chamfered shape and a floor of an elevator floor facing the cage floor. An automatic transfer device characterized by using an all-wheel drive tricycle. 8. The automatic transport apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the three-wheeled vehicle is replaced with a front-rear two-wheel drive, three-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive four-wheeled vehicle. 9. The automatic transfer device according to claim 7, wherein the diameter of the driving wheel is larger than the diameter of the driven wheel. 10. A device for eliminating a gap formed between a cage floor of an elevator tapered in a chamfered shape and a floor of an elevator floor facing the cage floor, and An automatic transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic transfer device is a front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive tricycle. 11. The automatic transport apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the three-wheeled vehicle is replaced with a front-rear two-wheel drive, three-wheel drive or all-wheel drive four-wheeled vehicle. 12. The automatic transfer device according to claim 10, wherein a diameter of the driving wheel is larger than a diameter of the driven wheel. 13. The communication when the automatic transport device according to claim 1 gets on and off the elevator is performed by the CIM system via the automatic transport device, the elevator cage or the infrared transmitting / receiving device installed in the building body. Characteristic method of controlling an automatic transfer device.