A transport system includes a controller that controls a vehicle, wherein the controller assigns a first transport instruction instead of a transport instruction, to cause the vehicle to pick up an article at a pickup port and travel to a specified location on a downstream side of the pickup port in a traveling direction of the vehicle at which a route can be secured on the track when a route for the vehicle from a pickup port to an unloading port designated by the transport instruction cannot be secured, and the controller assigns a second transport instruction to cause the vehicle to travel from the specified location to the unloading port and unload the article at the unloading port when a route from the specified location to the unloading port can be secured at a point in time at which the vehicle approaches or reaches the specified location.

A travelling vehicle system includes travelling vehicles and a controller. The controller includes a storage that stores a last permitted travelling vehicle, to which a passage permission is transmitted lastly and the passage permission for which is not canceled, for each direction in a branching section or a merging section included in a blocking area, stores a last canceled travelling vehicle, the passage permission for which is canceled lastly, for each direction in the blocking area, and stores the travelling vehicle, to which the passage permission in a same direction in the blocking area is transmitted lastly, as a forward travelling vehicle of a travelling vehicle waiting for the permission to pass through the blocking area at the time of transmission of the passage permission to the passage-permission waiting travelling vehicle, and a determiner that determines whether to give passage permission to the travelling vehicle waiting for the permission.

Disclosed herein are a wafer purging-type shelf assembly and a buffer module having the same. The wafer purging-type shelf assembly includes: a shelf formed to support a wafer receiving container; a supply nozzle configured to be connected to an injection port of the wafer receiving container; and a gas supply line configured to supply an inert gas discharged from a factory gas facility to the wafer receiving container through the supply nozzle, wherein the gas supply line includes a proportional pressure control valve unit that adjusts a supply flow rate of the inert gas to the wafer receiving container by an area control method.

Apparatus and methods for determining wafer characters are disclosed. In one example, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes: a processing tool configured to process a semiconductor wafer; a device configured to read an optical character disposed on the semiconductor wafer while the semiconductor wafer is located at the apparatus for wafer fabrication; and a controller configured to determine whether the optical character matches a predetermined character corresponding to the semiconductor wafer based on the optical character read in real-time at the apparatus.

A substrate warehouse stores a container housing a substrate, and includes a transfer-in part which allows the container to be mounted thereon when the container is transferred-in from an outside; a transfer-out part which allows the container to be mounted thereon when the container is transferred-out to the outside; and a standby part which allows the container standing by for transfer-out to the outside to be mounted thereon. Also included is a functional part including an inspection that performs processing of inspecting the substrate; a delivery part which allows the container to be mounted thereon when delivering the substrate between the functional part and the container; a container transfer mechanism which transfers the container in the substrate warehouse; and a substrate transfer mechanism which transfers the substrate between the functional part and the container mounted on the delivery part.

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.

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 transfer system includes: a transfer chamber having a side wall provided thereon with a plurality of processing chambers in which a processing is performed on a substrate under a decompressed atmosphere, and configured such that the substrate is transferred in the decompressed atmosphere; a plurality of robots fixed in the transfer chamber and configured to transfer the substrate; and a movable buffer configured to hold the substrate and move in a horizontal direction along the side wall between the side wall and the robots in the transfer chamber. The robots exchange the substrate between the movable buffer and the processing chambers in cooperation with a movement of the movable buffer.

A transfer system includes a ceiling carrier, a ceiling storage shelf, and a purging device. The ceiling carrier transfers a foup along a running rail. The ceiling storage shelf is provided along the running rail. The ceiling storage shelf stores the foup transferred by the ceiling carrier. The purging device purges the foup stored in the ceiling storage shelf. The ceiling storage shelf includes placement portions and for placing the foup thereon. The placement portions and can be moved with respect to a storage shelf body of the ceiling storage shelf by a driving gas supplied to the purging device.

A deviation amount is a difference between a first error that occurs when an article is placed on a first transfer destination by a first transport vehicle and a second error that occurs when the article is placed on a second transfer destination by the first transport vehicle. An nth error that occurs when the article is placed on an nth transfer destination other than the first transfer destination and the second transfer destination is acquired. In an mth transport vehicle other than the first transport vehicle, a stop position of an mth traveling body is corrected by the nth error and an mth-1 error occurring when the article is placed on the first reference platform, or by the nth error and an mth-2 error as well as the deviation amount, the mth-2 error occurring when the article is placed on the second reference platform.