JP4030672B2 - Cassette storage device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cassette storage device, and in particular, a cassette storage device provided with a storage shelf that is provided over a plurality of floors and that temporarily stores a plurality of cassettes containing a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates or semiconductor wafers in a three-dimensional manner. It is about.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, factories that manufacture liquid crystal and semiconductors often have a single-story building in consideration of the efficiency of transporting cassettes containing liquid crystal glass substrates and semiconductor wafers between manufacturing equipment. It was.
[0003]
In recent years, as the size of liquid crystal glass substrates and semiconductor wafers has increased, the area of the clean room in which the manufacturing apparatus is installed, including the travel path on which the automatic guided vehicle travels, has increased. A request to make it more than a floor came out.
[0004]
In this case, in order to transport the cassette containing the liquid crystal glass substrate and the semiconductor wafer between the floors, a lifter with a transfer device that moves up and down between the plurality of floors is provided.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the factory which manufactures a liquid crystal and a semiconductor, a cassette storage device provided with a storage shelf for temporarily storing a liquid crystal glass substrate and a cassette containing a semiconductor wafer is provided for manufacturing a liquid crystal and a semiconductor through a plurality of manufacturing processes. It is necessary to install, but when the factory building has two or more floors, the cassette storage device was individually installed on each floor.
[0006]
For this reason, as the number of floors of a factory building increases, the number of cassette storage devices increases, and as a result, the number of stacker cranes increases, equipment costs increase, and control becomes complicated. was there.
In addition, a lifter with a transfer device that transports cassettes containing liquid crystal glass substrates and semiconductor wafers between floors is arranged independently of the cassette storage device installed on each floor, so it is installed on each floor. It is difficult to mutually use the cassette storage device on each floor, and there is a problem in that work efficiency decreases if they are used on each floor.
[0007]
In view of the problems of the above-described conventional cassette storage device, the present invention does not increase the number of cassette storage devices installed even if the number of floors of a factory building increases, and can reduce equipment costs and control. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette storage device that is easy and can be used efficiently without reducing work efficiency.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the cassette storage device of the present invention includes a storage shelf that is provided across a plurality of floors and three-dimensionally stores a plurality of cassettes containing a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates or semiconductor wafers, Forms an entrance for receiving and unloading the cassette with the automated guided carriage, and pays the cassette from the storage fork with slide fork and the cassette storage device to the cassette storage device for loading the cassette located at the entrance and exit to the exit entrance. provided with a sLIDE fork unloading stand out on each floor, from the goods receipt stand, or to the goods issue stage, fixed installed lifter with transfer machine for lifting between a plurality floor for transferring the cassette, storing the cassettes stacker crane with transfer machine for lifting between a plurality floor to move horizontally movable between shelves, each arranged on the blow-section of the cassette storage device Stacker crane incorporated in the storage shelves of the cassette, or provided cassette temporary base for paying out to a predetermined floor, that it has to be transferred to the cassette horizontally between the goods receipt stand or unloading platform and the cassette temporary stage Features.
[0009]
This cassette storage device is provided over a plurality of floors, and is provided with a storage shelf for storing a plurality of cassettes containing a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates or semiconductor wafers in a three-dimensional manner, and is a cassette located at a warehouse entrance In order to transfer the cassette from the warehousing table to the warehousing table, as well as to provide a warehousing table with a slide fork and a warehousing table with a slide fork that dispenses the cassette from the cassette storage device to the warehousing entrance. A lifter with a transfer device that moves up and down between multiple floors is fixedly installed, and a stacker crane with a transfer device that moves up and down between multiple floors can be moved horizontally to move cassettes between storage shelves, each cassette stored provided blow-section of the apparatus, the stacker crane incorporated in the storage rack of the cassette, or the cassette temporary base to pay out a predetermined floor Only, since you have so that to transfer the cassettes horizontally between the goods receipt stand or unloading platform and the cassette temporary placement table, even if increased rank of shop built factories, the one cassette storage device with each floor The number of cassette storage devices can be shared, the number of cassette storage devices is not increased, control is easy, and the cassette storage device can be used efficiently without lowering work efficiency.
[0010]
In particular , a stacker crane is provided on a predetermined floor for cassettes to be taken into or out of storage shelves on a predetermined floor, and the cassettes are transferred horizontally between the warehousing table or the warehousing table and the cassette temporary table. By doing so, the transfer operation of the cassette can be performed in parallel, and the cassette storage device can be used more efficiently without lowering the work efficiency.
[0011]
Moreover, the unmanned conveyance cart equipment which conveys a cassette between other cassette storage apparatuses can be installed in a ceiling floor.
[0012]
Thereby, the conveyance capability of a cassette can be improved.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the cassette storage apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 show an embodiment of the cassette storage device of the present invention.
[0014]
In this cassette storage device A, each floor 1F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F, 2F A traveling path (not shown) provided with a storage shelf 10 provided three-dimensionally for storing three-dimensionally a plurality of cassettes K containing a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates or semiconductor wafers. An unloading carriage 4 with a slide fork and cassette storage for forming a cassette K located at the loading and unloading slot 2 into the cassette storage device A is formed. An outlet 5 with a slide fork that pays out the cassette K from the device A to the outlet joint 3 is provided on each floor 1F, 2F (in this embodiment, excluding the ceiling floor 3F). Or a transfer with a slide fork that moves up and down between the first floor, the second floor, and the third floor to transfer the cassette K to the delivery platform 5 or to a ceiling transport carriage 13 traveling on a ceiling floor 3F described later. A stacker crane having a transfer machine 11 with a slide fork that lifts and lowers between a plurality of floors 1F, 2F, 3F in order to move the cassette K between the storage shelves 10 in a fixed manner . 12 are provided in the blow-off portions A1 and A2 of the cassette storage device A so as to be horizontally movable.
[0015]
In this case, the stacker crane 12 takes the cassette K into the storage shelf 10 or disposes the cassette temporary storage bases 8 and 9 on a predetermined floor (not particularly limited, but in the present embodiment, the lowest level) Provided on the floor 1F.), The cassette K can be transferred horizontally between the warehousing table 4 or the warehousing table 5 and the cassette temporary placing tables 8 and 9.
Thereby, the transfer operation | movement of the cassette K can be performed in parallel and the cassette storage apparatus A can be used efficiently, without reducing work efficiency.
For example, the temporary cassette holders 8 and 9 can be provided on a plurality of floors, or the incoming cassette temporary holder 8 and the outgoing cassette temporary holder 9 can be provided on different floors.
[0016]
In addition, by placing the warehousing table 4 and the warehousing table 5 on a predetermined floor so as to be horizontally movable, the stacker crane 12 takes the cassette K into the storage shelf 10 or pays it out. Can be placed in position (reference structure) .
As a result, the warehousing table 4 and the warehousing table 5 have the functions of the cassette temporary storage tables 8 and 9 for taking the cassette K into the storage shelf 10 or paying it out, and the cassette temporary setting provided in the present embodiment. The bases 8 and 9 can be omitted, and the equipment cost can be reduced.
[0017]
In the present embodiment, an unmanned transport cart facility including a ceiling transport cart 13 that transports the cassette K to and from another cassette storage device (not shown) can be installed on the ceiling floor 3F.
Thereby, the conveyance capability of the cassette K can be improved.
In the present embodiment, the unmanned transport cart that transports the cassette K is configured by two ceiling transport carts 13 and is configured to run on a straight rail. It can also be configured to circulate on the rail.
[0018]
This cassette storage device A transfers the cassette K loaded on the automatic guided vehicle 1 by the slide fork of the storage platform 4 with a slide fork at the storage entrance 2 and the cassette K loaded on the ceiling transport vehicle 13. It is made to take in in the cassette storage apparatus A with the slide fork of the transfer machine 6 of the lifter 7 with a mounting machine.
The cassette K placed on the warehousing table 4 with slide fork is transferred to the transfer machine 6 by the slide fork of the transfer machine 6 of the lifter 7 with transfer machine, and then moved to the predetermined floor 1F by the lifter 7. It is carried and transferred by the slide fork of the transfer machine 6 to the storage table 4 with a slide fork on the first floor of the floor.
The cassette K transferred to the warehousing table 4 with the slide fork is placed by sliding from the warehousing table 4 with the slide fork to the warehousing side cassette temporary placing table 8, and thereafter, according to an instruction from a management computer (not shown). The stacker crane 12 is carried to a predetermined storage shelf 10 and temporarily stored.
[0019]
On the other hand, in response to an instruction from the management computer, the cassette K that has received a payout instruction from the predetermined storage shelf 10 is carried by the stacker crane 12 to the unloading side cassette temporary placement table 9 on the predetermined floor 1F.
The cassette K placed on the unloading side cassette temporary placing table 9 is placed by sliding to the unloading table 5 with slide fork, and then moved to the unloading entrance 3 by the slide fork of the unloading table 5 with slide fork. It is unloaded by the automated guided vehicle 1 or transferred to the transfer device 6 by the slide fork of the transfer device 6 of the lifter 7 with transfer device, and then transferred to the predetermined floor 2F by the lifter 7. Whether the slide fork of the transfer machine 6 is placed on the output platform 5 with the slide fork and then transferred to the output connection 3 by the slide fork of the output platform 5 with the slide fork and is unloaded by the automatic guided vehicle 1. Alternatively, it is transported to the ceiling floor 3F by the lifter 7 and is loaded onto the ceiling transport carriage 13 by the slide fork of the transfer machine 6 and is carried out.
[0020]
In this cassette storage device A, the stacker crane 12 enters and exits the cassette K via the storage-side cassette temporary storage table 8 or the storage-side cassette temporary storage table 9 on the predetermined floor 1F. Even when the transfer machine 6 of the lifter 7 with the machine is being transferred at the loading table 4 with the slide fork or the loading table 5 with the slide fork, the loading / unloading is possible, and the loading of the stacker crane 12 with the transfer machine is possible. The delivery capacity can be improved.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
According to the storage device of the present invention, the cassette storage device includes a storage shelf that is provided across a plurality of floors and that stores a plurality of cassettes containing a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates or semiconductor wafers in a three-dimensional manner. In addition to installing a storage fork with a slide fork into the cassette storage device for loading the cassette located at the storage entrance and a delivery fork with a slide fork to pay out the cassette from the cassette storage device to the exit for the entrance, To transfer a cassette, a lifter with a transfer machine that moves up and down between multiple floors is fixedly installed, and a stacker crane with a transfer machine that moves up and down between multiple floors to move the cassette between storage shelves to be moved horizontally, respectively provided in the blow-section of the cassette storage device, you transfer horizontally cassette between the goods receipt stand or unloading platform and the cassette temporary stage Therefore, even if the number of floors of a factory building increases, one cassette storage device can be shared on each floor, the number of cassette storage devices does not increase, control is easy, and work efficiency Thus, the cassette storage device can be used efficiently without lowering.
[0022]
In particular , a stacker crane is provided on a predetermined floor for cassettes to be taken into or out of storage shelves on a predetermined floor, and the cassettes are transferred horizontally between the warehousing or unloading table and the cassette temporary table. By doing so, the transfer operation of the cassette can be performed in parallel, and the cassette storage device can be used more efficiently without lowering the work efficiency.
[0023]
In addition, by installing an unmanned transport cart facility for transporting cassettes to and from other cassette storage devices on the ceiling floor, it is possible to improve the cassette transport capability.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a cassette storage device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.
FIG. 3 is a side view (sectional view taken along line II in FIG. 1).
4A is a front view, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory view showing the automatic guided vehicle equipment installed on the ceiling floor (cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 4A).
[Explanation of symbols]
K cassette A cassette storage device A1, A2 Blowing section 1 Unmanned transport cart 2 Warehousing entrance 3 Exiting entrance 4 Warehousing table with slide fork 5 Unloading table with slide fork 6 Transfer machine 7 Lifter with transfer machine 8 Temporary warehousing side cassette Stand 9 Unloading cassette temporary stand 10 Storage shelf 11 Transfer machine 12 Stacker crane with transfer machine 13 Overhead carriage 14 Manual entry / exit opening 15 Manual exit / exit opening

Claims (2)

A storage shelf is provided over a plurality of floors, and three-dimensionally stores a plurality of cassettes containing a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates or semiconductor wafers, and the cassettes are taken in and out of the unmanned transport cart. A warehousing table with a slide fork for forming a joint and a cassette located at the warehousing joint into the cassette storage device and a warehousing table with a slide fork for delivering the cassette from the cassette storage device to the delivery joint are provided on each floor. Or a lifter with a transfer machine that moves up and down between multiple floors to transfer cassettes to the delivery platform, and moves up and down between multiple floors to move cassettes between storage shelves. in the transfer machine with a stacker crane movable horizontally, respectively provided in the blow-section of the cassette storage device, stacker crane incorporated in the storage rack of the cassette, there Cassette storage device being characterized in that as the provided cassette temporary base paid out to a predetermined floor, horizontally transferring the cassette between the goods receipt stand or unloading platform and the cassette temporary stage.   2. The cassette storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an unmanned transfer cart facility for transferring a cassette to and from another cassette storage apparatus is installed on the ceiling floor.

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