TRANSPORTATION FACILITY

Abstract

A transport device comprises a track 8 along a travel path 1, a transport vehicle 3, and a guide rail 9 arranged along the travel path 1 separately from the track 8 to guide the transport vehicle 3. The transport vehicle 3 comprises a vehicle body 21, a guided section 24 that can be guided by the guide rail 9, at least one wheel 26 arranged on the vehicle body 21 to roll on a top surface 81a, 82a of the track 8, and at least one climbing limiter 30 arranged on the vehicle body 21. The guide rail 9 is arranged in at least one section 11 intersecting the travel path 1 or in a curved section 12, without being arranged in a straight section 13 of the travel path 1.The at least one ascent limiter 30 is directed from below towards a guide rail underside 91, which is a downwardly directed surface of the guide rail 9 in a section in which the guide rail 9 is arranged and comes into contact with the guide rail underside 91 in response to a ascent of the vehicle body 21 from below.

Description

The present invention relates to a transport device including a travel rail along a travel path, a transport vehicle moving along the travel path, and a guide rail disposed along the travel path separately from the travel rail to guide the transport vehicle.An example of a technique for a transport device is disclosed in JP 2019,080,411 A. The reference numerals in parentheses used hereinafter for describing the background are the reference numerals in Patent JP 2019,080,411 A.A transport device described in JP 2019,080,411 A includes running rails (2) along a running path (1), transport vehicles (article transport vehicles 3) that move along the running path (1), and guide rails (21) that guide the transport vehicles. Each transport vehicle includes a vehicle body (feed car 9), guided portions (19) that can be guided by the guide rails (21), and running wheels (15) supported on the vehicle body to roll on the running rails (2). The guide rails ( 21) are arranged, for example, at branches ( 7) on the travel path ( 1). The transport vehicle travels in, for example, a straight direction or a branch direction at each branch (7), with the guided portions (19) being guided by the guide rails (21).In the above-described transport device, the running rails and the guide rails tend to have more complex shapes in crossing portions or curved portions of the running path than in rectilinear portions of the running path. Therefore, a failure in the installation position of the rails or a failure in the attachment position of the road wheels and the guided portions with respect to the vehicle body can easily result in an ascent of the vehicle body. Such an ascent may apply a large load to the road wheels and the vehicle body supporting the road wheels, and easily damage or affect the components of the transport vehicle including the road wheels and the vehicle body.One or more aspects are directed to a transport device that can adequately reduce an increase in the structure of the transport vehicle.A transport device according to an aspect of the disclosure includes a travel rail along a travel path, a transport vehicle that moves along the travel path, and a guide rail that is disposed along the travel path separately from the travel rail to guide the transport vehicle. The transport vehicle includes a vehicle body, a guided portion that can be guided by the guide rail, at least one running wheel supported on the vehicle body to be rollable on an upper side of the guide rail, and an ascent limiter supported on the vehicle body. The guide rail is disposed in at least one of a crossing portion of the travel path or a curved portion of the travel path without being disposed in a straight line portion of the travel path. At least one ascent limiter faces a guide rail lower side from below, which is a downward surface of the guide rail in a portion in which the guide rail is disposed. At least one ascent limiter comes into contact with the guide rail lower side in response to an ascent of the vehicle body from below.In the portion of the travel path in which the guide rail is disposed, the ascent limiter may come into contact with the guide rail lower side from below when the vehicle body ascends, thereby restraining the vehicle body from ascending. This reduces damage or wear to the components of the transport vehicle, which is caused by the vehicle body rising.In this structure, the guide rail is disposed in at least one of the crossing portions of the travel path or the curved portions of the travel path. Thereby, ascent of the vehicle body of the transport vehicle in a portion where ascent of the vehicle body is likely is reduced accordingly.In this structure, the guide rail is not disposed in the straight line portion of the travel path. The ascent limiter therefore does not come into contact with the guide rail lower side while the transport vehicle is travelling in the straight section. This reduces the travel resistance of the transport vehicle in a portion where the vehicle body is less likely to rise.The at least one ascent limiter can face the guide rail bottom side over a distance. The distance may be set to be smaller than a smallest gap between the guide rail lower side and a member that is fixed to the vehicle body and faces the guide rail lower side. With this construction, the ascent limiter comes into contact with the guide rail lower side in a portion with the guide rail from below in response to the ascent of the vehicle body. Thus, any member mounted on the vehicle body other than the ascent limiter can avoid contact with the guide rail.The at least one ascent limiter may be a rotator supported so as to be rotatable about at least one axis extending in a width direction perpendicular to the traveling direction when viewed in a vertical direction. The direction of travel may extend along the path of travel. This structure easily reduces the frictional resistance between the ascent limiter and the guide rail lower side when the ascent limiter comes into contact with the guide rail lower side from below. The transport vehicle can thus travel with less resistance, wherein the ascent limiter restricts an ascent of the vehicle body.The travel rail may include a first rail portion and a second rail portion spaced apart in a width direction perpendicular to a travel direction when viewed in a vertical direction. The direction of travel may extend along the path of travel. The guide rail may be located between the first rail portion and the second rail portion in the width direction. The at least one impeller may include a first wheel and a second wheel. The first wheel may be rollable on an upper side of the first rail portion. The second wheel may be rollable on an upper side of the second rail portion. The at least one ascent limiter may be located between the first wheel and the second wheel in the width direction. In this structure, the ascent limiter is located between the first wheel and the second wheel which are spaced in the width direction and stably support the vehicle body when the vehicle body ascends.The vehicle body may include a coupler, a first carrier supported on the coupler in a manner rotatable about a first axis extending in a vertical direction, and a second carrier spaced apart from the first carrier in a traveling direction and supported on the coupler in a manner rotatable about a second axis extending in the vertical direction. The at least one idler wheel may further include a third wheel and a fourth wheel. The third wheel may be rollable on the top side of the first rail. The fourth wheel may be rollable on the top side of the second rail. The at least one ascent limiter may include a first ascent limiter and a second ascent limiter. The first wheel, the second wheel, and the first ascent limiter may be supported on the first carrier. The third wheel, the fourth wheel, and the second ascent limiter may be supported on the second carrier. In this structure, the first carrier and the second carrier, which are spaced apart from each other in the traveling direction, each support a pair of running wheels. The first ascent limiter and the second ascent limiter may both restrict ascent of the vehicle body. This structure can thus more stably restrict an ascent of the vehicle body.A more complete understanding of the invention and many attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an entire travel path in a transport device; FIG. 2 is a plan view of a crossing portion, a straight portion, and a curved portion of the travel path; FIG. 3 is a plan view of a crossing portion of the travel path; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a transport vehicle and a track; FIG. 5 is a front view of the transport vehicle; and FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an ascent limiter showing the main portion thereof.An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding or identical elements throughout the several drawings.As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a transport device 100 includes running rails 8 along a running path 1, transport vehicles 3 running along the running path 1, and guide rails 9 arranged along the running path 1 separately from the running rails 8 to guide the transport vehicles 3. In the present embodiment, the transport device 100 also includes a plurality of processing devices 10. The transport vehicles 3 travel along the travel path 1 to transport articles W (see FIG. 4 ) to the respective processing devices 10. The transport vehicles 3 also travel along the travel path 1 to collect articles W from the respective processing devices 10. In the present example, the articles W are containers containing objects. More specifically, the articles W are each a front opening unified pod (FOUP) including a semiconductor substrate. However, the articles W are not limited to this example. In the example in FIG. 1, the processing devices 10 perform predetermined processing on the objects (semiconductor substrates in this example) included in the articles W.As shown in FIG. 1, the travel path 1 includes a primary loop-shaped path 4, a plurality of secondary loop-shaped paths 5 extending through the plurality of processing devices 10, and connection paths 6 connecting the primary path 4 to the secondary paths 5. The transport vehicles 3 travel along the primary path 4 and the plurality of secondary paths 5 in the same direction (counterclockwise in the example in FIG. 1 ). In FIG. 1, the arrows indicate the direction in which the transport vehicles 3 move. The travel path 1 includes straight paths 1A that are straight and curved paths 1B that are curved. The straight paths 1A and the curved paths 1B are disposed on the main path 4 and each of the sub paths 5. As described above, the travel path 1 is a combination of the rectilinear paths 1A and the curved paths 1B. The transport vehicles 3 thus travel along the rectilinear paths 1A and the curved paths 1B to the respective processing apparatuses 10.Hereinafter, the direction along the travel path 1 is referred to as a travel direction X, and the direction perpendicular to the travel direction X when viewed in the vertical direction is referred to as a width direction Y. The first side in the width direction Y is referred to as a first side Y 1 in the width direction, and the second side in the width direction Y is referred to as a second side Y 2 in the width direction.The tracks 8 extend over the entire travel path 1 of the transport vehicles 3. In the present embodiment, each track 8 includes a first track portion 81 and a second track portion 82 spaced apart from each other in the width direction Y. The first rail portion 81 and the second rail portion 82 are at the same height in the vertical direction. The first rail portion 81 and the second rail portion 82 (hereinafter also referred to as a pair of rails) support the transport vehicles 3. In this example, the first rail portion 81 is located on the first side Y 1 in the width direction relative to the second rail portion 82. The travel path 1 is defined along the ceiling. In other words, the transport vehicles 3 in the present embodiment are ceiling-suspended transport vehicles. The transport vehicles 3 can also be transport vehicles other than the overhead transport vehicles.As illustrated in FIG. 5, the guide rail 9 is located between the first rail portion 81 and the second rail portion 82 in the width direction Y. In this example, the guide rail 9 is a single rail member. The guide rail 9 is located at the center between the first rail portion 81 and the second rail portion 82 in the width direction Y. The guide rail 9 is located at a higher level than the pair of rails. The guide rail 9 may be located on the same plane as the pair of rails in the vertical direction.As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide rails 9 are disposed in at least a portion 11 (hereinafter referred to as a crossing portion 11) of the travel path 1 having an intersection or a portion 12 (hereinafter referred to as a curved portion 12) of the travel path 1 having a curve. The guide rails 9 are not disposed in a portion 13 (hereinafter referred to as a straight portion 13) of the travel path 1 in which the travel path 1 extends in a straight line. As described above, the guide rails 9 are arranged in parts of the travel path 1 without being arranged in the entire travel path 1.In the present embodiment, the guide rails 9 are arranged in both the crossing portion 11 and the curved portion 12 of the travel path 1 without being arranged in the straight line portion 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the crossing portion 11 is defined by a portion of the travel path 1 in which the travel rails 8 branch or converge.The crossing portion 11 is also defined by the part of the travel path 1 having an intersection to connect two different travel rails 8 in addition to the above-described part of the travel path 1. The curved portion 12 is defined as the portion where a single track 8 on the track 1 describes a curve. Figs. 2 and 3 show such examples.FIG. 2 shows an example of the crossing portion 11 and the curved portion 12. The guide rails 9 are arranged in these sections. In the straight sections 13, on the other hand, no guide rails 9 are arranged except in the crossing section 11 and in the curved section 12. FIG. 3 shows, as the curved portion 11, a portion where the running rails 8 are branched from the straight line portion 13 and a portion (hereinafter referred to as an N-shaped crossing portion 11 b) where the branched running rails 8 are joined to other running rails 8. The guide rails 9 are arranged in these sections. In the straight sections 13, on the other hand, no guide rails 9 are arranged except in the crossing section 11. The N-shaped crossing portion 11 billustrated in FIG. 3 may also be used in a portion where two different travel rails 8 are connected to each other, except for the paths (e.g., branch paths or convergent paths) illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, in which the travel path 1 has intersections. As described above, the crossing portion 11, the curved portion 12, and the rectilinear portion 13 are defined by the specific positional relationship between the travel rails 8 (a pair of rails in this example). The straight paths in FIG. 1 may therefore each partially include the N-shaped intersection portion 11 billustrated in FIG. 3. Although not illustrated, the crossing portion 11 also includes a portion where the tracks 8 cross each other in a cross shape or an X shape.As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the transport vehicle 3 includes a vehicle body 21, guided portions 24 that can be guided by the guide rails 9, running wheels 26 disposed on the vehicle body 21 to roll on the upper surfaces of the running rails 8, and ascent restrictors 30 disposed on the vehicle body 21. The transport vehicle 3 also includes guide assist wheels 101 disposed on the vehicle body 21. In the present example, the guided portions 24 are disposed on the vehicle body 21.As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the vehicle body 21 includes a coupler 74, a first bracket 41 disposed on the coupler 74 in a manner rotatable about a first axis Q 1 extending in the vertical direction, and a second bracket 42 spaced apart from the first bracket 41 in the traveling direction X and disposed on the coupler 74 in a manner rotatable about a second axis Q 2 extending in the vertical direction. The vehicle body 21 includes a plurality of (in this example, two) connection shafts 71 respectively corresponding to the first carrier 41 or the second carrier 42. The first carrier 41 and the second carrier 42 are arranged in the direction of travel X. In the present example, the first carrier 41 is located in front of the second carrier 42 in the traveling direction X. The first carrier 41 supports the coupler 74 from above with the corresponding connecting shaft 71 extending in the vertical direction. Similarly, the second carrier 42 supports the coupler 74 from above, with the corresponding connecting shaft 71 (a connecting shaft 71 different from the connecting shaft 71 corresponding to the first carrier 41) extending in the vertical direction. Each connecting shaft 71 rotates about the corresponding axis extending in the vertical direction, so that the first carrier 41 is rotatable about the first axis Q 1 and the second carrier 42 is rotatable about the second axis Q 2. In the present example, the first carrier 41 and the second carrier 42 are arranged above the tracks 8, and the coupler 74 is arranged below the tracks 8.In the present example, the coupler 74 serves as a ceiling of a tray 76 that receives the article W. The tray 76 can receive the article W and raise and lower the article W. When the transport vehicle 3 stops at a position corresponding to the processing device 10 that is the destination of the article W, the tray 76 lowers the article W from the tray position and delivers the article W to the terminal of the processing device 10. The bin position is the position in which the article W is held during the travel of the transport vehicle 3. In the example in FIG. 4, the article W in the bin position is covered with a cover contained in the bin 76. As described above, the transport vehicle 3 in this example also includes the compartment 76. the compartment 76 is attached to the vehicle body 21 so as to hang on the vehicle body 21.The first carrier 41 and the second carrier 42 respectively support the multiple running wheels 26. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the transport vehicle 3 includes, as running wheels 26, a first wheel 26 athat rolls on an upper surface 81 aof the first rail portion 81 and a second wheel 26 bthat rolls on an upper surface 82 aof the second rail portion 82. The transport vehicle 3, like the running wheels 26, includes, in addition to the first wheel 26 aand the second wheel 26 b, a third wheel 26 cthat rolls on the upper side 81 aof the first rail portion 81 and a fourth wheel 26 dthat rolls on the upper side 82 aof the second rail portion 82. The vehicle body 21 includes an impeller drive M (impeller drive motor) that drives at least one of the first wheel 26 ato the fourth wheel 26 d.In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the first carrier 41 supports the first wheel 26 aand the second wheel 26 b. The second carrier 42 supports the third wheel 26 cand the fourth wheel 26 d. In the present example, the first carrier 41 supports a pair of guide auxiliary wheels 101 spaced apart in the width direction Y. Similarly, the second carrier 42 supports another pair of guide auxiliary wheels 101 spaced in the width direction. Each auxiliary guide wheel 101 is rotatable about an axis extending in the vertical direction and rolls on an inward side surface (one of the facing surfaces of the pair of rails) of the first rail portion 81 or the second rail portion 82.As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each guided portion 24 comes into contact with the side surface of the guide rail 9 facing in the width direction Y. When the transport vehicle 3 travels in the crossing portion 11 and the curved portion 12, the guided portions 24 come into contact with one of the surfaces of the guide rail 9 facing the first side Y 1 in the width direction (a first side surface 92 in the width direction) or the second side Y 2 in the width direction (a second side surface 93 in the width direction).In the present embodiment, the guided portions 24 include a first guided portion 24 adisposed on the first support 41 and a second guided portion 24 bdisposed on the second support 42. The first guided portion 24 aand the second guided portion 24 bare each disposed on the upper surface of the corresponding carrier (the first carrier 41 or the second carrier 42) with a linear guide unit 36 between the guided portions and the carriers.The first guided portion 24 aand the second guided portion 24 bare movable in the width direction Y. More specifically, the first guided portion 24 aand the second guided portion 24 bare movable between a first position P 1 and a second position P 2. The second position P 2 is located on the second side Y 2 in the width direction relative to the first position P 1. The first position P 1 is the position at which the first guided portion 24 aand the second guided portion 24 bcontact the first side surface 92 of the guide rail 9 in the width direction. The second position P 2 is the position at which the first guided portion 24 aand the second guided portion 24 bcontact the second side surface 93 of the guide rail 9 in the width direction. The first guided portion 24 aand the second guided portion 24 bhave the same structure. Therefore, the structure of the first guided portion 24 awill be described in detail without describing the structure of the second guided portion 24 b.The first guided portion 24 ais guided by the linear guide unit 36 to move between the first position P 1 and the second position P 2 in the width direction Y. In the present example, the first guided portion 24 aincludes a plurality of (in this example, two) guide wheels that rotate about an axis extending in the vertical direction. In the illustrated example, the linear guide unit 36 is a linear guide. The plurality of guide wheels are fixed to a slider 36a in the linear guide. The linear guide rails are fixed to the upper surface of the first bracket 41. The first carrier 41 includes a guide wheel drive 29 that drives the guide wheels. The guide wheel drive 29 drives the first guided portion 24 ato move in the width direction Y. The first guided portion 24 aand the second guided portion 24 bmay be sliding members other than such guide wheels.As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the transport vehicle enters the crossing portion 11 or the curved portion 12, the transport vehicle 3 moves the guided portions 24 to an appropriate position (the first position P 1 or the second position P 2) corresponding to the traveling direction. In the converging portion 11 aand the curved portion 12 in FIG. 2, the guided portions 24 in the transport vehicle 3 that has entered such portions are in contact with the first side surface 92 in the width direction. In the N-shaped intersection portion 11 bin FIG. 3, the transport vehicle 3 changes the position of the guided portions 24 from the first position P 1 to the second position P 2 during its travel. In the example in FIG. 3, two guide rails 9 are arranged substantially in series in the N-shaped crossing portion 11 b. However, the N-shaped intersecting portion 11 bincludes an overlapping portion 14 in which the two guide rails 9 overlap in the traveling direction X. The overlapping portion 14 is located at a middle portion of the branched travel path in the traveling direction X in the N-shaped crossing portion 11 b. In the illustrated example, the transport vehicle 3 changes the position of the guided portions 24 from the first position P 1 to the second position P 2 in the overlapping portion 14, and thereby the contact area of the guided portions 24 changes from the first side surface 92 in the width direction to the second side surface 93 in the width direction.As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, each ascent limiter 30 faces a guide rail lower surface 91 from below in a portion where the guide rail 9 is disposed. The guide rail lower surface 91 is a downward surface of the guide rail 9. the ascent limiter 30 comes into contact with the guide rail lower surface 91 in response to an ascent of the vehicle body 21 from below.As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the ascent limiter 30 is located between the first wheel 26 aand the second wheel 26 bin the width direction Y. In the present example, the ascent limiter 30 overlaps the guide rail 9 as viewed in the vertical direction. In other words, the ascent limiter 30 is disposed at the center in the width direction Y between the first wheel 26 aand the second wheel 26 b. The ascent limiter 30 and these wheels are located on different planes in the vertical direction. In this example, the ascent limiter 30 is located at a higher level than the wheels. The ascent limiter 30 and the wheels may be located on the same plane in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, the ascent limiter 30 is located in an upper portion of the vehicle body 21.In the present embodiment, the ascent limiter 30 is a rotator disposed to be rotatable about at least an axis P extending in the width direction Y. In this example, the ascent limiter 30 is an ascent limiter wheel 33 (FIG. 6 ) rotatable about the axis P extending in the width direction Y. The ascent limiting wheel 33 rolls on the guide rail lower surface 91 while being in contact with the guide rail lower surface 91. As shown in FIG. 4, the transport vehicle 3 includes a first ascent limiter 31 and a second ascent limiter 32, each as the ascent limiter 30. The third wheel 26 c, the fourth wheel 26 d, and the second ascent limiter 32 are disposed on the second carrier 42. In addition, as described above, the plurality of auxiliary guide wheels 101 respectively corresponding to the first wheel 26 aor the second wheel 26 bare disposed on the first carrier 41, and the plurality of auxiliary guide wheels 101 respectively corresponding to the third wheel 26 cor the fourth wheel 26 dare disposed on the second carrier 42. In the example in FIG. 6, the ascent limiter 30 (the first ascent limiter 31 or the second ascent limiter 32) is located at the upper side of the carrier (the first carrier 41 or the second carrier 42) with a carrier member 34 that carries the ascent limiting wheel 33 between the ascent limiter 30 and the carrier. The first ascent limiter 31 and the second ascent limiter 32 are disposed between (inside) the first guided portion 24 aand the second guided portion 24 bin the traveling direction X.In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the ascent limiter 30 faces the guide rail lower surface 91 over a distance S. The distance S is set to be smaller than a smallest gap E between the guide rail lower surface 91 and a member that is attached to the vehicle body 21 and faces the guide rail lower surface 91. In this example, the member facing the guide rail lower surface 91 is the linear guide unit 36 that supports the guided portion 24. In other words, the distance S has a vertical dimension smaller than the gap E between the guide rail lower surface 91 and the linear guide unit 36 (more specifically, the slider 36 a). Thus, when the vehicle body 21 ascends, the ascent limiter 30 comes into contact with the guide rail lower surface 91. The other members of the vehicle body 21, such as the linear guide unit 36, can thus avoid contact with the guide rail 9. The positions (the first position P 1 and the second position P 2) of the guided portions 24 may be changed by a unit other than the linear guide unit 36. In this case, the member facing the guide rail lower surface 91 may be another position switching unit. The element facing the guide rail bottom side 91 may be the idler drive M. In the present embodiment, the transport vehicle 3 includes a control device (not illustrated) for controlling the idler drive M and the guide drive 29 (FIG. 4 ). The control device controls the drive wheel drive M and the guide wheel drive 29 on the basis of commands from a master controller that centrally manages the transport device. The control device also controls each compartment 76 so that the transport vehicle 3 can properly transport the article W to the delivery destination.In the crossing portion 11 (the converging portion 11 aor the N-shaped crossing portion 11 bin the illustrated example) and the curved portion 12 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, errors in the installation position of the running rails 8 or the guide rail 9 may cause the vehicle body 21 to rise relative to its horizontal orientation. When the vehicle body 21 ascends, a member (in this example, the linear guide unit 36 supporting the guided portions 24) of the vehicle body 21 may come into contact with the guide rail 9. When the traveling vehicle body 21 comes into contact with the guide rail 9, the vehicle body 21 may be damaged or the transport vehicle 3 may be impaired earlier than expected. The ascent of the vehicle body 21 or the vibration caused by the contact of the vehicle body 21 with the guide rail 9 may also damage the object contained in the article W (container).In the example in FIG. 5, the transport vehicle 3 travels in the crossing portion 11 without the second rail portion 82, which is one of the pair of rails. In the example shown, the second wheel 26 bis derailed without the second rail section 82. Also in this case, the guide auxiliary wheel 101 is in contact with the inner side surface of the first rail portion 81, and the guided portion 24 (guide wheels in this example) is in contact with the first side surface 92 of the guide rail 9 in the width direction. This restricts the movement of the vehicle body 21 in the width direction Y. In addition, the first wheel 26 ais supported on the upper surface 81 aof the first rail portion 81, thereby restraining the movement of the vehicle body 21 in the vertical direction. The vehicle body 21 can thus remain in the horizontal orientation (as illustrated by solid lines in FIG. 5 ). In contrast, any error in the installation position of the running rail 8 or the guide rail 9 can easily cause the vehicle body 21 to rise relative to its horizontal orientation (as shown by the dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 5 ). In the illustrated example, the vehicle body 21 (more specifically, the first bracket 41) is inclined in the width direction Y. The vehicle body 21 may have another climbing state, for example, when the first carrier 41 ascends relative to the second carrier 42 when the transport vehicle 3 travels, for example, in a portion where one of the pair of rails is not continuously arranged as described above, or in the overlapping portion 14 of the N-shaped intersection portion 11 b. In the present embodiment, the ascent limiter 30 (in this example, the first ascent limiter 31) comes into contact with the guide rail lower surface 91 in response to such ascent of the vehicle body 21. The vehicle body 21 can thus avoid contact with the guide rail 9. In contrast, the guide rail 9 is not disposed in the linear portion 13 in which the installation position of the running rails 8 has relatively less errors. Therefore, the ascent limiter 30 does not come into contact with the guide rail 9. This reduces the travel resistance of the transport vehicle 3 traveling in the straight line section 13, and thus increases the transport efficiency of the articles W in the entire facility. (1) In the above embodiment, the ascent limiter 30 comes into contact with the guide rail lower surface 91 from below when the vehicle body 21 ascends. However, the structure is not limited to this example. The ascent limiter 30 may be constantly in contact with the guide rail lower surface 91 regardless of the ascent of the vehicle body 21. (2) In the above embodiment, the distance S is set to be smaller than the smallest gap E between the guide rail lower surface 91 and a member that is attached to the vehicle body 21 and faces the guide rail lower surface 91. However, the structure is not limited to this example. The distance S can be set substantially equal to the smallest gap E between the guide rail lower surface 91 and the member that is attached to the vehicle body 21 and faces the guide rail lower surface 91. (3) In the above embodiment, the ascent limiter 30 is a rotator that is rotatable about the axis P extending in the width direction Y. However, the structure is not limited to this example. The ascent limiter 30 may be, for example, a ball joint that is rotatable about an axis extending in any direction. (4) In the above embodiment, the ascent limiter 30 is located between the first wheel 26 aand the second wheel 26 bin the width direction Y. However, the structure is not limited to this example. The ascent limiter 30 may be disposed outside the first wheel 26 aor the second wheel 26 bin the width direction Y. The position of the ascent limiter 30 may be changed as needed. (5) In the above embodiment, the vehicle body 21 includes the first carrier 41 and the second carrier 42. The vehicle body 21 may include only the first carrier 41. The vehicle body 21 may include a third carrier in addition to the first carrier 41 and the second carrier 42. In this way, the number of the carriers included in the vehicle body 21 can be changed as needed. (6) The structure described in each of the above-mentioned embodiments may be combined with any other structure described in the other embodiments (embodiments described as other embodiments may also be combined) unless contradiction arises. The embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only in all aspects and may be modified in various ways as desired without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments described herein may be modified in various ways as desired without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.REFERENCE CHARACTER1 Travel path 1A Straight path 1B Curved path 3 Transport vehicle 4 Primary path 5 Secondary path 6 Connection path 8 Travel rail 9 Guide rail 11 Crossing portion (portion where the travel path has an intersection) 11 a Zusammen portion 11 bN-shaped crossing portion 12 Curved portion (portion where the travel path has a curve) 13 Straight portion (portion, in which the travel path is rectilinear) 14 Overlapping portion 21 Vehicle body 24 Guided portion 24 aFirst guided portion 24 bSecond guided portion 26 Running wheel 26 aFirst wheel 26 bSecond wheel 26 cThird wheel 26 d Viertes wheel 29 Guide wheel drive 30 Ascent limiter 31 First ascent limiter 32 Second ascent limiter 33 Ascent limiter wheel 34 Support member 36 Guide unit 36 a, 36 b: slider 41: first carrier 42: second carrier 71: connecting shaft 74: coupler 76: compartment 81: first rail 81 a: upper side of first rail 82: second rail 82 a: upper side of second rail 91: guide rail lower side 92: first side surface 93: second side surface 100: transport device 101: guide auxiliary wheel E: gap M: drive wheel P: axis in width direction Y: P 1: first position P 2: second position Q 1: first axis Q 2: second axis S: distance W: article X: traveling direction Y: width direction Y 1: first side Y 2: second sideReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedJP 2019,080,411 A [0002,0003]

Claims

A transport device comprising: a travel rail (8) along a travel path (1); a transport vehicle (3) configured to move along the travel path (1); and a guide rail (9) disposed along the travel path (1) separately from the travel rail (8), the guide rail (9) configured to guide the transport vehicle (3), the transport vehicle (3) including: a vehicle body (21); a guided portion (24) guidable by the guide rail (9); at least one running wheel (26) disposed on the vehicle body (21), the at least one running wheel (26) rollable on an upper side of the travel rail (8); and at least one ascent limiter (30) supported on the vehicle body (21); wherein the guide rail (9) is disposed in at least one of a crossing portion (11) of the travel path (1) or a curved portion (12) of the travel path (1) without being disposed in a straight portion (13) of the travel path (1); wherein the at least one ascent limiter (30) is configured to face a guide rail lower surface (91) that is a downward surface of the guide rail (9) in a portion where the guide rail (9) is disposed, wherein the at least one ascent limiter (30) is configured to come into contact with the guide rail lower surface (91) in response to an ascent of the vehicle body (21) from below.The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one ascent limiter (30) faces the guide rail lower side (91) over a distance (S); and the distance (S) is set smaller than a smallest gap (E) between the guide rail lower side (91) and a member (36) attached to the vehicle body (21) and facing the guide rail lower side (91).The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one ascent limiter (30) is a rotator that is disposed to be rotatable at least about an axis extending in a width direction (Y) perpendicular to a traveling direction (X) when viewed in a vertical direction, and the traveling direction (X) extends along the traveling path (1).The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the track rail (8) includes a first rail portion (81) and a second rail portion (82) spaced apart from each other in a width direction (Y) perpendicular to a travel direction (X) when viewed in a vertical direction, and the travel direction (X) runs along the travel path (1); the guide rail (9) is located between the first rail portion (81) and the second rail portion (82) in the width direction (Y); the at least one running wheel (26) includes a first wheel (26a) rollable on an upper side of the first rail portion (81) and a second wheel (26b) rollable on an upper side of the second rail portion (82); and the at least one ascent limiter (30) is located between the first wheel (26a) and the second wheel (26b) in the width direction (Y).The transport device according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle body (21) includes: a coupler (74); a first carrier (41) disposed on the coupler (74) in a manner rotatable about a first axis (Q1) extending in a vertical direction; and a second carrier (42) spaced apart from the first carrier (41) in the traveling direction (X) and disposed on the coupler (74) in a manner rotatable about a second axis (Q2) extending in the vertical direction; wherein the at least one running wheel (26) further includes a third wheel (26c) rollable on the upper side of the first rail portion (81) and a fourth wheel (26d) rollable on the upper side of the second rail portion (82); wherein the at least one ascent limiter (30) includes a first ascent limiter (31) and a second ascent limiter (32); wherein the first wheel (26a), the second wheel (26b) and the first ascent limiter (31) are supported on the first carrier (41); and wherein the third wheel (26c), the fourth wheel (26d) and the second ascent limiter (32) are supported on the second carrier (42).

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