A warning is issued about an irregularity concerning a wafer stored in a cassette if a difference between a value of an apparent thickness of the wafer and the previously obtained value of an actual thickness of the wafer exceeds a threshold value, the value of the apparent thickness of the wafer being obtained by a non-contact-type sensor for detecting a front portion of the wafer laterally of the wafer. Consequently, the wafer is prevented from being damaged when it is taken out of the cassette.

A gripper device includes a holding portion that is attached to an elevating section capable of lifting and lowering above a transfer section to hold an article, a first positioning section that is attached to the elevating section and that positions the holding portion in a horizontal direction with respect to the article by contacting the article at two first contact positions in an upper portion of the article, and a second positioning section that is attached to the elevating section and that positions the holding portion in a height direction with respect to the article by contacting the article at three second contact positions that are not located on a straight line in the upper portion of the article.

A gripper device includes a pair of engaging portions attached to an elevating section capable of lifting and lowering above an article and respectively engageable with the pair of held portions, and a driver to move the pair of engaging portions from a standby position where a distance between the pair of engaging portions is shorter than an interval between the pair of held portions, to an engaging position where the pair of engaging portions is capable of engaging with the pair of held portions, such that the pair of engaging portions separate from one another.

A first transfer device and a second transfer device are configured to transfer a first substrate and a second substrate in a normal pressure atmosphere. A third transfer device is configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate in a decompressed atmosphere. A load lock chamber has accommodation sections allowed to accommodate therein the first substrate and the second substrate, and is allowed to switch an inside of the accommodation sections between the normal pressure atmosphere and the decompressed atmosphere. Multiple gates are respectively disposed on three different sides of the load lock chamber, and allowed to open or close the load lock chamber. The first transfer device, the second transfer device, and the third transfer device carry the first substrate and the second substrate into/out of the load lock chamber through different gates among the multiple gates.

A liquid crystal polymer resin composition is provided containing a component (A) liquid crystal polymer, a component (B′) carbon fiber having a weight-average fiber length of less than 150 μm, and a component (C) carbon precursor having a volume resistivity of 10.sup.2 to 10.sup.10 Ω.Math.cm, in which a content of the component (B′) is 10 to 30 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the component (A), a content of the component (C) is 5 to 35 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the component (A), and a content of a total of the component (B) and the component (C) is 25 to 60 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the component (A).

An overhead transport vehicle includes a gripping unit to grip an article, an suspension unit by which the gripping unit is suspended, a drive unit that reels up the suspension unit to thereby raise the gripping unit, a detection unit to detect swing of the gripping unit, and a controller that controls the drive unit to reel up the suspension unit and store the gripping unit into the transport vehicle body. In reel-up control to reel up the suspension unit, when swing of the gripping unit exceeds a predetermined width, the controller stops reeling up the suspension unit, maintains the gripping unit at a standby position lower than a storage position, and then, reels up the suspension unit when the swing of the gripping unit becomes equal to or less than the predetermined width.

A wafer pod transfer assembly includes a wafer pod port to receive a wafer pod, a transfer axle coupled to the wafer pod port, a shaft receiver, a shaft coupled to the transfer axle and to the shaft receiver, a pin through the shaft receiver and through the shaft, wherein the pin comprises a first end and a second end, opposite the first end, and a pin buckle including a first loop and a second loop. The pin buckle is coupled to the pin, the first loop encircles the first end of the pin, and the second loop encircles the second end of the pin.

An inter-floor transport apparatus and a logistics transport system including the inter-floor transport apparatus are provided. The logistics transport system includes: a stage module installed in space where semiconductor devices are fabricated, the stage module including a plurality of stages, which are installed on different floors; a frame module installed to have a direction intersecting the plurality of stages as a length direction; and an inter-floor transport apparatus moving along the frame module and transporting conveyed articles to each of the stages, wherein the inter-floor transport apparatus includes a first load unit, which transports the conveyed articles, a second load unit, which is disposed below the first load unit and transports the conveyed articles, a driving unit, which moves the first and second load units, and a control unit, which controls an operation of the driving unit, and transports a plurality of conveyed articles at the same time.

Disclosed is an article transfer apparatus. The article transfer apparatus includes a vehicle that travels along a driving rail installed on a ceiling, a hoist module that picks up an article-to-be-transferred, a vehicle body, on which the hoist module is mounted and which is connected to the vehicle, a drop preventing member provided in the vehicle body, and that prevents the article-to-be-transferred from dropping while the vehicle travels, and a controller that receives loading/unloading information of the article-to-be transferred to determine a size of the article-to-be-transferred, and to drive the drop preventing member according to a size of the article-to-be transferred.

Embodiments of equipment front end modules (EFEMs) are provided herein. In some embodiments, an EFEM includes: two or more loadports for receiving two or more types of substrates; an overhead storage unit having a plurality of storage shelves disposed above the two or more loadports and configured to hold two or more types of front opening unified pods (FOUPs) of different sizes that store the two or more types of substrates, respectively, wherein a horizontal alley is disposed between the plurality of storage shelves and the two or more loadports to provide a horizontal passageway for the FOUPs during transport to the two or more loadports; and an overhead transport system having a pair of vertical actuators disposed on opposite sides of the overhead storage unit and configured to transport FOUPs from the overhead storage unit to the two or more loadports.