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.

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.

Provided are an interface apparatus for resolving congestion through a non-stop interface between a transporting device and a logistics automation storage device, and a container transporting system having the same. The interface apparatus includes a saddle for receiving a container from a container transporting device; and a circulating path for providing a route for transporting the container seated on the saddle to a container storage device, wherein the saddle receives the container while moving together with the container transporting device.

Provided are a container transporting apparatus for storing items such as FOUPs and reticle pods by utilizing the dead zone space located in an upper portion of the semiconductor manufacturing facility built in the FAB, and a container storage system having the same. The container storage system may include a first storage unit installed on a side of a movement path of a transporting device for transporting a container accommodating a substrate and for storing the container; a second storage unit installed on a side of the first storage unit and for storing the container; and a transporting unit moving between the first storage unit and the second storage unit and for transporting the container stored in the first storage unit to the second storage unit.

A method includes transferring a tool monitoring device to a load port of a tool. An environmental parameter of the load port is monitored by the tool monitoring device. The tool monitoring device is removed from the load port after the environmental parameter of the load port is monitored. A door of the tool in front of the load port is closed. The door of the tool is kept closed during a period from a time of transferring the tool monitoring device to the load port to a time of removing the tool monitoring device from the load port.

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.

An apparatus for controlling driving of a transport vehicle in a goods transport system includes a processing unit providing information on a movement path of the transport vehicle, a motion controller generating a drive signal including front- and rear-wheel torque signals for driving front and rear wheels, respectively, of the transport vehicle, a front-wheel torque controller controlling rotation torque of the front wheel on the basis of the front-wheel torque signal, and a rear-wheel torque controller controlling rotation torque of the rear wheel on the basis of the rear-wheel torque signal. The motion controller includes a position controller generating a positional signal determining a position of the transport vehicle, a speed controller generating a speed signal determining a speed of the transport vehicle, and a torque distributor generating the front- and rear-wheel torque signals.

An article transport facility includes article transport vehicles that travel along a specified travelable path, and a control device that controls the article transport vehicles. The travelable path includes nodes and links each connecting a pair of the nodes. The control device sets a setting path based on a link cost that is set for each of the links. The link cost includes a reference cost and a variable cost. The reference cost is a value that is set based on a reference passage time that is required for a target vehicle to pass through a target link in a state in which another vehicle is not present in the target link. The variable cost is a value that is set based on a vehicle count-related increased time by which an actual passage time is increased relative to the reference passage time according to the number of the other vehicles present in the target link, the actual passage time being a time required for the target vehicle to pass through the target link.

A traveling vehicle system includes a traveling path including a branching portion, a traveling vehicle to travel on the traveling path, and a controller. A specific area through which the traveling vehicle is allowed to pass on one of the traveling paths from an upstream side to a downstream side of the branching portion is in a portion within a blocking area including the branching portion. The controller is configured or programmed to transmit a passage permission for the blocking area to the traveling vehicle that issued the passage request for the blocking area if no other traveling vehicle is present in the blocking area, and to transmit a passage permission for the specific area SA to the traveling vehicle that issued the passage request for the specific area if no other traveling vehicle is present in the specific area. The traveling vehicle enters the blocking area or the specific area for which a passage permission has been acquired.

A semiconductor wafer cassette warehouse transportation structure system includes a wafer cassette lift transportation structure body, a wafer cassette frame structure body, an arm structure body, an arm gripping wafer cassette structure body, and a wafer cassette warehouse structure body. The suspension support rods are suspended on a ceiling. The wafer cassette lift transportation structure body lifts the wafer cassettes to the inlet and outlet. The arm structure body grips the wafer cassettes and puts same on the tracks so that the wafer cassettes can be transported to the wafer cassette warehouse structure body to be precisely accessed. The system saves space and facilitates the access of the wafer cassettes because the wafer cassettes are stored on the wafer cassette warehouse structure body suspended on the ceiling.