# US 10,502,605 B2 · Flow rate measurement system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,502,605 B2 - Document ID: US10502605B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/891,635 - Filed: 2018-02-08 - Published: 2018-08-09 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2017-02-08 - Assignees: Daifuku Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Daifuku Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Toshihito Ueda; Jun Tanaka; Shinsuke Kawamura - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10502605B2 ## CPC - G01F 7/005: {by measuring pressure or differential pressure, created by the use of flow constriction} - G01F 9/008: {where the other variable is the flight or running time} - H10P 72/0402: {Apparatus for fluid treatment (H10P72/0441, H10P72/0448 take precedence)} - H10P 72/0604: {Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring} - H10P 72/1926: {characterised by the presence of atmosphere modifying elements inside or attached to the closed carrier} - H10P 72/3404: {Storage means} - G01F 15/005: {Valves (valves in general F16K)} - G01F: MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 ## Abstract A flow rate measurement system measures, by using a flow rate measurement device, a flow rate of cleaning gas in a container storage facility including: a storage rack including supporting portions; a transport device that transports a container to the supporting portions; and a gas supply device that supplies the cleaning gas to the container supported by the supporting portions. The transport device and the flow rate measurement device are connected via a power line communicatively by wire or wireless. The flow rate measurement device measures the flow rate of the cleaning gas in a state in which the transport device has transported the flow rate measurement device and the flow rate measurement device is placed on a target supporting portion. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A flow rate measurement system that measures, by using a flow rate measurement device, a flow rate of cleaning gas supplied from a gas supply device in a container storage facility comprising: a storage rack including a plurality of supporting portions; a transport device that transports a container to a target supporting portion selected from the plurality of supporting portions; and the gas supply device that supplies the cleaning gas to the container supported by each of the plurality of supporting portions, wherein: the transport device and the flow rate measurement device are connected via a power line, and are connected communicatively by wire or wireless, and the flow rate measurement device measures the flow rate of the cleaning gas in a state in which the transport device has transported the flow rate measurement device in place of the container and the flow rate measurement device is placed on the target supporting portion. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The flow rate measurement system according to claim 1, wherein: the container storage facility further comprises: a control portion that controls operations of the transport device and the gas supply device; and a display portion, measured data obtained by the flow rate measurement device is transmitted in real-time to the control portion, and the control portion displays the received measured data on the display portion. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The flow rate measurement system according to claim 2, wherein the control portion prohibits a transport operation of the transport device during measurement of the flow rate of the cleaning gas performed by the flow rate measurement device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The flow rate measurement system according to claim 1, wherein: the container storage facility further comprises a control portion that controls operations of the transport device and the gas supply device, measured data obtained by the flow rate measurement device is transmitted in real-time to the control portion, and, if the obtained measured data falls outside a predetermined normal value range, the control portion remeasures the flow rate of the cleaning gas after replacing the flow rate measurement device on the target supporting portion for a predetermined set number of times, and, if the measured data falls within the normal value range, the control portion selects a new one of the supporting portion as the target supporting portion, transfers the flow rate measurement device to the target supporting portion, and measures the flow rate of the cleaning gas. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The flow rate measurement system according to claim 1, wherein: the container storage facility further comprises a control portion that controls operations of the transport device and the gas supply device, measured data obtained by the flow rate measurement device is transmitted to the control portion, and the control portion extracts, from among all the supporting portions in which the flow rate of the cleaning gas has been measured as the target supporting portions, the supporting portions for which the obtained measured data falls outside a predetermined normal value range, sequentially transfers the flow rate measurement device to the extracted supporting portions, and sequentially measures the flow rate of the cleaning gas in the supporting portions. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The flow rate measurement system according to claim 1, wherein: the storage rack is divided into a plurality of storage compartments each including the plurality of supporting portions, the gas supply device is configured to supply, in parallel, the cleaning gas whose flow rate has been adjusted by a flow rate adjustment device used in common for the plurality of supporting portions included in each one of the storage compartments, the container storage facility further comprises a control portion that controls operations of the transport device and the gas supply device, measured data obtained by the flow rate measurement device is transmitted in real-time to the control portion, and, for each of the storage compartments, if the obtained measured data falls outside a predetermined normal value range in a number of the supporting portions within the storage compartment that is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference ratio, the control portion restarts the flow rate adjustment device assigned to the storage compartment, and remeasures the flow rate of the cleaning gas in the supporting portions included in the storage compartment. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The flow rate measurement system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a length of the power line, a thickness of the power line, and a position at which the power line is fixed is set such that a load acting on the target supporting portion is equivalent to a load applied by the self weight of the flow rate measurement device.