A laser irradiation apparatus includes a laser generation device, a levitation unit to levitate an object to which the laser light is applied, and a conveyance unit to convey the levitated object. The conveyance unit includes a holding mechanism for holding the object by absorption, and a moving mechanism for moving the holding mechanism in a conveyance direction. The holding mechanism includes a base including a plurality of through holes, a plurality of pipes respectively connected to the through holes, a vacuum generation device configured to evacuate air from the f pipes, and a plurality of absorption assistance valves each disposed in the middle of a respective one of the pipes, each of the plurality of absorption assistance valves being configured to be closed when a flow rate of a gas flowing into the pipe through the through hole becomes equal to or higher than a threshold.

An apparatus for routing a carrier in a processing system is described. The apparatus includes a first holding assembly attached to a vacuum chamber for transportation of the carrier along a first direction, a second holding assembly attached to the vacuum chamber for transportation of the carrier along a second direction different from the first direction, and a rotatable support for rotating the carrier from the first direction to the second direction.

Article transport vehicles have, as operation states, a first state of traveling toward a transport destination that is a destination set for receiving an article or delivering an article, and a second state in which a transport destination has not been set. A controller divides the entirety of a travelable route into a plurality of set areas and executes imbalance reduction control to arrange standby transport vehicles such that imbalance of the densities of standby transport vehicles present in the areas is within a predetermined range, the standby transport vehicles being article transport vehicles in the second state.

An apparatus in an overhead transport system is provided. The apparatus includes a hanger feature configured to be hung from a ceiling, a plate-like structure having a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface being rotatably coupled to the hanger feature, and at least one pair of rail members mechanically coupled to the bottom surface of the plate-like structure by way of a plurality of yoke members.

An apparatus and an operating method for automated wafer carrier handling are provided. The operation method includes bring a base frame and an engaging mechanism of an automated wafer carrier handling apparatus into abutting contact with a top flange mounted on a wafer carrier to limit at least one degree of freedom of movement of the top flange, where the engaging mechanism is disposed on the base frame; transporting the wafer carrier to a destination location by the automated wafer carrier handling apparatus; and releasing the top flange mounted on the wafer carrier from the automated wafer carrier handling apparatus at the destination location.

A reference cost and a variable cost are included in a link cost for setting a set route for causing a setting vehicle to travel to a destination on a travelable route. A controller obtains an adjusted variable cost by adjusting a variable cost using a priority adjustment value set higher as a priority for arriving more quickly at a destination decreases, determines a link cost for each link in a candidate route, which is a candidate for a set route for a setting vehicle, based on the adjusted variable cost and the reference cost, obtains a route cost for each candidate route based on the link costs, and sets the set route based on the route costs of the candidate routes.

A transfer system according to the present invention comprises a first travel rail including a first merging section; a second travel rail merging the first travel rail at a merging point and including a second merging section corresponding to the first merging section; a transfer/loading area defined in the second merging section and located upstream of the merging point; and a controller (OCS) for controlling an operation of at least one transfer vehicle moving along the first travel rail and the second travel rail, wherein a second transfer vehicle moves along the second travel rail and enters the transfer/loading area, the second transfer vehicle starts a transfer/loading operation in the transfer/loading area, the first transfer vehicle moves along the first travel rail and enters the first merging section, and the first transfer vehicle passes through the merging point before the second transfer vehicle.

A traveling vehicle travels along a traveling path and includes a main body, a traveler to allow a main body to travel along the traveling path, an LED array provided at the main body to switch a display manner according to a state of the traveling vehicle, an imager to capture an image of the LED array at a traveling vehicle located ahead of the traveling vehicle, and a controller configured or programmed to acquire a state of the traveling vehicle ahead based on the display manner captured by the imager, and to control the traveler of the traveling vehicle based on the acquired state.

An article transport vehicle that travels along a traveling path is provided with an obstacle sensor that detects an obstacle that exists in a detection area, and a control unit that controls the traveling speed of the article transport vehicle based on detection information of the obstacle sensor. A non-detection area where detection of the obstacle by the obstacle sensor is not performed is set within the detectable area of the obstacle sensor, and a situation in which the non-detection area exists on a detection line that joins a part of the detection area and the obstacle sensor is defined as a specific situation. The control unit, in the specific situation, and a situation where an undetectable area in which it is not possible to detect the obstacle exists in the detection area because a shield exists in the non-detection area, reduces the speed of the article transport vehicle to a second traveling speed slower than the first traveling speed.

Embodiments herein relate to a transport system and a substrate processing and transfer (SPT) system. The SPT system includes a transport system that connects two processing tools. The transport system includes a vacuum tunnel that is configured to transport substrates between the processing tools. The vacuum tunnel includes a substrate transport carriage to move the substrate through the vacuum tunnel. The SPT system has a variety of configurations that allow the user to add or remove processing chambers, depending on the process chambers required for a desired substrate processing procedure.