Vertical carrying apparatus
AssigneeAsyst Technologies Japan, Inc.
InventorMunekuni Oshima
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An elevation conveyor 5 includes a turntable 17 and a roller conveyor 18. The roller conveyor 18 is supported onto the turntable 17. A turntable controller 7 turns the turntable 17 so that the roller conveyor 18 matches with a carrying direction of a conveyor rail for receiving or delivering a load and then drives the conveyor rail and the roller conveyor 18 to receive or deliver an FOUP 8. An elevation conveyor 5 is held in a cable 20a installed in an elevation space 9 through a coupling member 20b of a cableveyor 20, and can freely elevate and stop at a port 21 installed on each floor while being interlocked with motion of the cableveyor 20 caused by reciprocating circulation of the cableveyor 20 in a vertical direction by an elevation conveyor controller 4.
Claims4
1:
- A vertical carrying apparatus which is connected to a plurality of carrying paths provided on a plurality of floors so as to vertically carry an object to be carried, the vertical carrying apparatus comprising:
- a carrying direction setting unit including a carrying conveyor which places the object carried from one of the carrying paths thereon and carries the object to one of the carrying paths and a rotation unit which turns the carrying conveyor so as to match with the carrying direction of the carrying path;
- an elevator unit which vertically elevates the carrying direction setting unit between the plurality of carrying paths provided on the plurality of floors;
- and
- a vertical carrying control unit which controls the carrying direction setting unit and the elevator unit on the basis of a carrying operation instruction of the object.
2:
- The vertical carrying apparatus according to claim 1,
- wherein upon receiving the object, the vertical carrying control unit controls the elevator unit so that the carrying direction setting unit is elevated up to a floor provided with a carrying conveyor for receiving the object and controls the rotation unit so that the carrying conveyor matches with the carrying direction of the carrying conveyor for receiving the object, and
- wherein upon delivering the object, the vertical carrying control unit controls the elevator unit so that the carrying direction setting unit is elevated up to a floor provided with a carrying conveyor for delivering the object and controls the rotation unit so that the carrying conveyor matches with the carrying direction of the carrying conveyor for delivering the object.
3:
- The vertical carrying apparatus according to claim 1,
- wherein the elevator unit includes an elevation path which is vertically installed along the plurality of floors provided with the carrying paths and a hold member which holds the carrying direction setting unit in the elevation path, and
- wherein one of the elevation path and the hold member is driven so as to elevate the carrying direction setting unit.
4:
- The vertical carrying apparatus according to claim 1,
- wherein the carrying paths are provided in a production plant having a plurality of floors, and
- wherein the carrying paths and the carrying conveyor are configured as a roller conveyor.