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US 10,882,697 B2Granted
Storage apparatus and storage method
AssigneeMurata Machinery, Ltd.
InventorsMasanao Murata, Tadamasa Tominaga
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A storage apparatus includes a storage shelf that stores a container, a purge device that is provided to the storage shelf and is able to perform a purge process on the container, and a purge determiner that determines at least one of a necessity of the purge process and a condition of the purge process in accordance with at least one of a transport source of the container to the storage shelf and a transport destination of the container from the storage shelf.
Claims8
A storage apparatus comprising:
- a storage shelf that stores a container;
- a loading and unloading port at which the container is received from and transferred to outside of the storage apparatus;
- a load port at which the container is received from and transferred to a processing device that processes an article contained in the container;
- a purge device that is provided to the storage shelf and is able to perform a purge process on the container;
- a storage that stores reference information that includes:
- first information in which each of a plurality of transport source locations of the container to the storage shelf is associated with a necessity of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf and a condition of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf, and
- second information in which each of a plurality of transport destination locations of the container from the storage shelf is associated with the necessity of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf and the condition of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf;
- and
- a controller that defines and functions as a purge determiner that determines the necessity of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf and the condition of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf by collating the reference information stored in the storage with a specified transport source location of the container to the storage shelf included in the plurality of transport source locations and a specified transport destination location of the container from the storage shelf included in the plurality of transport destination locations;
- wherein
- the plurality of transport source locations include at least the loading and unloading port;
- and
- the plurality of transport destination locations include at least the load port.
10 more elements
A storage method comprising:
- storing a container on a storage shelf provided inside a storage apparatus;
- receiving and transferring, through a loading and unloading port, the container from and to outside of the storage apparatus;
- receiving and transferring, through a load port, the container from and to a processing device that processes an article contained in the container;
- performing a purge process on the container by a purge device provided to the storage shelf;
- storing reference information that includes:
- first information in which each of a plurality of transport source locations of the container to the storage shelf is associated with a necessity of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf and a condition of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf, and
- second information in which each of a plurality of transport destination locations of the container from the storage shelf is associated with the necessity of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf and the condition of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf;
- and
- determining the necessity of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf and the condition of the purge process on the container at the storage shelf by collating the reference information with a specified transport source location of the container to the storage shelf included in the plurality of transport source locations and a specified transport destination location of the container from the storage shelf included in the plurality of transport destination locations;
- wherein
- the plurality of transport source locations include at least the loading and unloading port;
- and
- the plurality of transport destination locations include at least the load port.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.