A transfer system and a transfer method are provided. The transfer system includes trolley member and a control device. The trolley member moves on a transport rail. The control device is configured to send a first control signal to the trolley member when the trolley member moves to a first preset site. The trolley member grabs a first-type carrier according to the first control signal. The control device is further configured to send a second control signal to the trolley member when the trolley member moves to a second preset site. The trolley member grabs a second-type carrier according to the second control signal. The first-type carrier is configured to carry a semiconductor material, and the second-type carrier is configured to carry a semiconductor material different from the semiconductor material carried by the first-type carrier.

An inter-floor transport facility in which a raising and lowering transport device is provided for each of the raising and lowering paths that are adjacent to each other. Receiving platforms include a carry in article receiving platform for supporting an article that is being carried in to the floor, a carry out article receiving platform for supporting an article that is being carried out from the floor, and a storage-purpose receiving platform for storing a transported article. On each floor, the carry in article receiving platform and the carry out article receiving platform are so located that the article can be transferred between one transfer device and both of the carry in article receiving platform and the carry out article receiving platform, and the storage-purpose receiving platform is so located that all of the transfer devices can transfer the article to or from the storage-purpose receiving platform.

A transport device is capable of reliably determining a presence or absence of a lid provided on a container and/or determining detachment of the lid, with a simple configuration. The transport device transports a container that includes a lid on a side surface. The transport device includes a lid fall preventive member disposed so as to face an upper end of the lid of the container located in a transport position, and a lid detector that is disposed in the lid fall preventive member and detects the presence or absence of the upper end of the lid.

A substrate treating apparatus, a carrier transporting method, and a carrier buffer device. A carrier transport mechanism transports a carrier between platforms of two openers and carrier storage shelves. The carrier storage shelves and the carrier transport mechanism are each mounted on a first treating block. Accordingly, the carrier storage shelves and the carrier transport mechanism are not extended horizontally from the indexer block, achieving a compact footprint of a substrate treating apparatus.

A wafer sorting and stoking system provides automated storage and retrieval of wafer frames carrying semiconductor wafers. A wafer frame cassette is received at a transfer port from a transfer system. A robot arm retrieves the wafer frames from the cassette and stores each wafer frame in a respective storage slot in one of a plurality of storage towers. The storage location of each wafer frame is recorded. Each wafer frame can be selectively retrieved and loaded into a wafer frame cassette by the robot arm for further processing.

The article transport vehicles are equipped with wireless tags that transmit tag information, and an article transport facility includes: a transport control apparatus that controls the entrance of the vehicles into the control area such that the number of vehicles that are present in one control area is no greater than a control number; a plurality of access points; and a position detection apparatus that detects the respective positions of the vehicles with an accuracy with which a plurality of positions in the control area are distinguishable, based on the same tag information that has been received by the access points. The transport control apparatus permits a number of vehicles, the number being greater than the control number, to enter the control area if a predetermined permission condition is satisfied, based on the positional information that indicates the position of each vehicle.

A traveling vehicle system includes a determiner to determine, upon receiving from a traveling vehicle an entry permission request for an area under control, whether or not a remaining number of vehicles to a maximum number of vehicles allowed to enter the area is equal to or less than a threshold value, and an entry permitter to temporarily hold the entry permission request from the traveling vehicle if the determiner determines the threshold value has not been exceeded and upon arrival of the traveling vehicle at an entry region for the area, grant the traveling vehicle permission to enter the area if a sum of a number of traveling vehicles within the area and a number of traveling vehicles already permitted to enter the area is less than a maximum number of vehicles, but does not grant entry permission if the sum has reached the maximum number of vehicles.

There is provided a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, including: a storage part provided on an uppermost portion of the substrate processing apparatus and on which a substrate accommodation container for accommodating the substrate is placed; and a first transfer device configured to directly or indirectly deliver the substrate accommodation container between the storage part and a loading/unloading part, wherein the loading/unloading part is configured to place the substrate accommodation container thereon in the substrate processing apparatus and to load and unload the substrate into and from a processing part of the substrate processing apparatus, and the first transfer device is configured to deliver the substrate accommodation container with respect to an overhead hoist transport that moves above the substrate processing apparatus.

An overhead transport vehicle travels along a rail on a ceiling of a building to transport a FOUP. The overhead transport vehicle includes a holding base and an upper shelf transfer device. The holding base holds at least one of a side surface and a bottom surface of the FOUP. The upper shelf transfer device moves the holding base at least upwardly while holding the FOUP. The upper shelf transfer device moves the holding base from the holding position in which the holding base holds and transfers the FOUP to the upper transfer position to transfer the FOUP, which is a different position from the holding position in a plan view and higher than the holding position.

A wafer coating device and a face-down type wafer carrying assembly thereof are provided. The face-down type wafer carrying assembly includes a magnetic force generating module, a temperature control module, and a magnetizable module. The temperature control module is adjacent to the magnetic force generating module. The magnetizable module is disposed on the temperature control module. The magnetizable module includes a high-temperature magnetizable metal plate disposed on the temperature control module. When at least one wafer is temporarily adhered to the adhesive bottom surface of the high-temperature adhesive layer, a prepared surface of the at least one wafer can face downwardly by adhering of the adhesive bottom surface of the high-temperature adhesive layer, so that the face-down type wafer carrying assembly can be applied to solve the problem that the prepared surface of the wafer would be dirtied by falling particles due to gravity.