A fixing device that fixes a lower end portion of a suspension belt to a holding portion is provided with a shaft-like portion with an axial direction aligned with a horizontal direction; a fixing portion where the lower end portion of the suspension belt is fixed is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the shaft-like portion; a region of the outer circumferential surface on one side of a virtual vertical surface that runs through an axial center of the shaft-like portion is defined as a first region and a region of the outer circumferential surface on the other side of the virtual vertical surface is defined as a second region; the fixing portion is provided in the first region; and the suspension belt extending from the fixing portion is disposed running through a lowest portion of the outer circumferential surface and running along the second region and upward.

An embodiment of the present disclosure aims to provide a logistics system capable of preventing congestion of transport vehicles in a specific section of a fabrication facility. According to the present disclosure, a logistics system in a fabrication facility includes a stocker equipment that is located near a central passage and stores an article, and a rail that provides a travel path of a transport vehicle that loads and unloads the article to the stocker equipment. The stocker equipment includes a load port disposed on a side opposite to the central passage and a rack that provides a space for storing the article. The rail includes a central rail formed along the central passage and a branch rail that is branched from the central passage and formed along the periphery of the load port.

Disclosed is an article transferring apparatus, including: a vehicle traveling along a travel rail installed on a ceiling; a hoist module connected to the vehicle and transferring an article; a step difference measurement unit which is installed in the vehicle, and measures a step difference of the travel rail by measuring distances values to a traveling surface of the travel rail by a first displacement sensor and a second displacement sensor arranged at a predetermined interval along a travel direction; and a controller for determining whether there is a step difference of the travel rail by correcting an error between a first measurement value of the first displacement sensor and a second measurement value of the second displacement sensor according to an inclination of the vehicle.

Provided are an alignment jig, a side track buffer system including the same, and an alignment method using the same. The alignment jig includes a horizontal jig fixed to a bottom plate of a side track buffer to extend in a horizontal direction to a lower portion of the transfer rail, and a vertical jig fixed to the transfer rail to extend downward in a vertical direction so as to be adjacent to a top surface in the horizontal direction. A separation distance between an intersection point of the vertical jig and the horizontal jig and a central portion of the bottom plate is detected as a buffer separation distance, and a buffer frame is horizontally moved automatically or manually to allow the buffer separation distance to match a reference separation distance, so that the side track buffer is installed in an accurate position.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an article transport vehicle capable of speeding up and reducing vibration in a manufacturing plant, a rail assembly, and an article transport system including the same. The article transport vehicle that conveys an article between manufacturing facilities along a rail of an article transport system in a manufacturing plant includes an article holder, a vehicle body, a magnetic levitation actuator, and a linear motor coil.

A system and an operating method for automated wafer carrier handling are provided. The system includes a storage rack including a standby position and a storage position separated from each other, a first and second moving mechanism, and a controller operatively coupled to the first and second moving mechanism to control operations of the first and second moving mechanism. The storage position is for buffering a wafer carrier awaiting transfer to a load port. The first moving mechanism is movably coupled to the storage rack and provides at least one degree of freedom of movement to transfer the wafer carrier from the storage position to the standby position. The second moving mechanism is disposed over the storage rack, operatively coupled the storage rack to the load port, and provides at least one degree of freedom of movement to transfer the wafer carrier from the standby position to the load port.

An overhead transport vehicle includes a conveyor to travel along a track, a holder to hold an object to be conveyed, and a lifting driver to lift and lower the holder. The holder includes a base, a holder including a body and a pair of grippers connected to the body in an openable/closable manner, the holder being attached to the base so as to be movable along an opening/closing direction of the pair of grippers, and a first elastic member to restrict, between the base and the body, movement of the holder along the opening/closing direction.

An overhead transport vehicle includes an elevator including a base on which a holding device is provided, a plurality of suspension attaching portions to which each of the plurality of belts are attached and supporting the base to be vertically movable from below in a vertical direction via a vibration isolator, and a lock mechanism that fixes a relative positional relation between each of the plurality of suspension attaching portions and the base. The overhead transport vehicle further includes a controller that controls so that the lock mechanism is locked to fix a relative position relation at least partially during elevating operation of the elevator and also controls so that the lock mechanism is unlocked by releasing the lock at least partially during traveling operation of a body unit.

An overhead transport vehicle includes: a winding drum configured to be driven by one driving motor, and to cause a holding unit to be lifted and lowered by winding and paying out a plurality of belts; at least one second idler roller around which the belt paid out from the winding drum is wound; a base provided on a traveling unit, and configured to support the winding drum and the second idler roller; and a linear motion mechanism configured to move a position of the at least one second idler roller so that a connecting portion of the belt to the holding unit moves in a lifting direction.

An automated material handling system (AMHS) and a method of operating the AMHS are disclosed. In one aspect, the AMHS includes a network of rails and a vehicle configured to hold a sample carrier that stores one or more samples, wherein the vehicle is configured to move within the FAB via the network of rails. The AMHS also includes a turn table connected to the network of rails and configured to rotate about an axis substantially perpendicular to a surface of the turn table. The AMHS further includes a hash rail connected to and overlapping the turn table. The hash rail is configured to rotate about the axis with the turn table.