Article conveyance apparatus

An article conveyance apparatus including a plurality of carriers each provided with a permanent magnet and each configured to hold an article at a required position and to be moved, a conveyance rail configured to move the plurality of carriers along a circulation conveyance path, a plurality of electromagnetic coils disposed along the circulation conveyance path, and a control apparatus configured to excite the electromagnetic coils to move the carriers along the circulation conveyance path, and configured to convey the articles held by the carriers,

• the conveyance rail includes a first conveyance rail having a linear shape and serving as a forward path to move the carriers along the circulation conveyance path, and a second conveyance rail having a linear shape, disposed in parallel to and separately from the first conveyance rail, and serving as a return path to move the carriers along the circulation conveyance path,
• a first delivery unit configured to rotate after receiving the plurality of carriers from a downstream end of the first conveyance rail, and to deliver the carriers to an upstream end of the second conveyance rail, and a second delivery unit configured to rotate after receiving the plurality of carriers from a downstream end of the second conveyance rail, and to deliver the carriers to an upstream end of the first conveyance rail are provided,
• the circulation conveyance path is configured by the first conveyance rail, the first delivery unit, the second conveyance rail, and the second delivery unit, and
• each of the first delivery unit and the second delivery unit includes a linear rail provided with a plurality of electromagnetic coils in a longitudinal direction and configured to receive the plurality of carriers, and a rotation unit configured to rotate the linear rail.