Transportation facility

Abstract

To realize a transportation facility capable of suitably restricting floating of a vehicle body of a transportation vehicle.SOLUTION: A transportation facility comprises: a travel rail arranged along a travel path; a transportation vehicle; and a guide rail 9 arranged separately from the travel rail along the travel path and guiding the transportation vehicle. The transportation vehicle comprises: a vehicle body; a guided portion guided by the guide rail 9; running wheels supported by the vehicle body and rolling on an upper surface of the travel rail; and a floating restriction portion 30 supported by the vehicle body. The guide rail 9 is arranged in at least one of a section where the travel path intersects and a section where the travel path is curved, and is not arranged in a section where the travel path extends in a straight line. The floating restriction portion 30 is disposed at a position facing a lower surface 91 of the guide rail 9 from below, the lower surface 91 being a surface facing downward in the section where the guide rail 9 is arranged, and is configured to come into contact with the lower surface 91 of the guide rail from below when the vehicle body floats up.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying facility including a traveling rail arranged along a traveling path, a conveying vehicle that travels along the traveling path, and a guide rail that is arranged along the traveling path separately from the traveling rail and guides the conveying vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-080411 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technology related to a conveying facility. In the following description of the background art, the reference numerals in parentheses refer to those in Patent Document 1.

[0003] The conveying facility of Patent Document 1 includes a traveling rail (2) arranged along a traveling path (1), a conveying vehicle (article conveying vehicle 3) that travels along the traveling path (1), and a guide rail (21) that guides the conveying vehicle. The conveying vehicle includes a vehicle body (traveling section 9), a guided section (19) that is guided by the guide rail (21), and a traveling wheel (15) that is supported by the vehicle body and rolls on the traveling rail (2). The guide rail (21) is provided at a branching section (7) where the traveling path (1) branches off, etc. The conveying vehicle is configured to travel, for example, in a straight direction or a branching direction at the branching section (7) while the guided section (19) is guided by the guide rail (21). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-080411 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-mentioned conveying equipment, generally, in sections where the travel routes intersect or curve, the shapes of the travel rails and guide rails tend to be more complex than in sections where the travel routes are straight. Therefore, the car body is likely to lift up due to the influence of errors in the installation position of the rails and errors in the mounting positions of the running wheels and the guided parts relative to the car body. This causes a large load to act on the running wheels and the car body supporting the running wheels, which tends to cause damage and deterioration of various parts of the conveying vehicle, such as the running wheels and the car body.

[0006] Therefore, it is desirable to realize a transport facility that can appropriately suppress the lifting of the transport vehicle body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A conveying facility according to the present disclosure includes a traveling rail arranged along a traveling path, a conveying vehicle that travels along the traveling path, and a guide rail that is arranged along the traveling path separately from the traveling rail and guides the conveying vehicle, the transport vehicle includes a vehicle body, a guided portion guided by the guide rail, running wheels supported by the vehicle body and rolling on an upper surface of the running rail, and a lift-up regulating portion supported by the vehicle body; The guide rail is disposed in at least one of a section where the travel path intersects and a section where the travel path is curved, and is not disposed in a section where the travel path extends linearly, The lift-up regulating portion is arranged in a position facing from below against the guide rail underside, which is the surface facing downward of the guide rail, in the section in which the guide rail is arranged, and is configured to contact the guide rail underside from below when the vehicle body lifts up.

[0008] According to this configuration, in the section of the travel route where the guide rail is arranged, when the vehicle body tries to rise up, the lift-up restricting portion comes into contact with the lower surface of the guide rail from below, thereby restricting the lift-up of the vehicle body. Therefore, damage and deterioration of each part of the transport vehicle caused by the lift-up of the vehicle body can be reduced. In addition, according to this configuration, the guide rail is arranged in at least one of the sections where the traveling paths intersect and the sections where the traveling paths are curved, so that the lifting up of the body of the transport vehicle can be appropriately suppressed in sections where the body is likely to lift up. Furthermore, according to this configuration, the guide rail is not disposed in a section where the travel path extends linearly. Therefore, while the transport vehicle is traveling in this section, the lift-up restricting portion does not come into contact with the lower surface of the guide rail. Therefore, in this section where the possibility of the vehicle body lifting up is low, the travel resistance of the transport vehicle can be reduced.

[0009] Further characteristics and advantages of the transport installation will become apparent from the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments which are given with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic diagram of the entire travel path of the transport facility; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an intersection section, a straight section, and a curved section in a travel route; [Diagram 3] A plan view showing an intersection section in a travel route. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transport vehicle and a running rail; [Diagram 5] Front view of the transport vehicle [Figure 6] Enlarged view of the main part showing the floating restriction part DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An embodiment of the conveying equipment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, the conveying equipment 100 includes a traveling rail 8 arranged along a traveling path 1, a conveying vehicle 3 that travels along the traveling path 1, and a guide rail 9 that is arranged along the traveling path 1 separately from the traveling rail 8 and guides the conveying vehicle 3. In this embodiment, the conveying equipment 100 further includes a plurality of processing devices 10. Each of the plurality of processing devices 10 is arranged along the traveling path 1. The conveying vehicle 3 travels along the traveling path 1 to convey an article W (see FIG. 4) to each processing device 10. The conveying vehicle 3 also travels along the traveling path 1 to collect the article W from each processing device 10. In this example, the article W is a container that contains an object. More specifically, the article W is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) that contains a semiconductor substrate, but is not limited thereto. In the example of FIG. 1, the processing device 10 is an apparatus that performs a predetermined process on the object (here, a semiconductor substrate) contained in the article W.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the travel path 1 includes one circular main path 4, a circular sub-path 5 that passes through multiple processing devices 10, and a connection path 6 that connects the main path 4 and the sub-path 5. A plurality of sub-paths 5 are arranged on the travel path 1. The transport vehicle 3 travels in the same circumferential direction (counterclockwise in the example of FIG. 1) on both the main path 4 and the multiple sub-paths 5. In FIG. 1, the direction in which the transport vehicle 3 travels is indicated by an arrow.

[0014] The travel path 1 includes a straight path 1A set in a straight line and a curved path 1B set in a curved line. The straight path 1A and the curved path 1B are arranged on the main path 4 and the sub path 5, respectively. In this manner, the travel path 1 is set by combining the straight path 1A and the curved path 1B. Therefore, the transport vehicle 3 travels on the straight path 1A and the curved path 1B toward each processing device 10.

[0015] In the following, the direction along the travel path 1 is referred to as the travel direction X, and the direction perpendicular to the travel direction X when viewed from the top-bottom direction is referred to as the width direction Y. Moreover, one side of the width direction Y is referred to as a width direction first side Y1, and the opposite side is referred to as a width direction second side Y2.

[0016] The traveling rail 8 is provided over the entire traveling path 1 of the transport vehicle 3. In this embodiment, the traveling rail 8 includes a first rail portion 81 and a second rail portion 82 that are spaced apart from each other in the width direction Y. The first rail portion 81 and the second rail portion 82 are arranged at the same position in the up-down direction. The first rail portion 81 and the second rail portion 82 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a pair of rail portions) support the transport vehicle 3. Here, the first rail portion 81 is arranged on the first side Y1 in the width direction relative to the second rail portion 82. In this embodiment, the pair of rail portions are suspended and supported from the ceiling, and the traveling path 1 is formed along the ceiling. That is, in this embodiment, the transport vehicle 3 is a ceiling transport vehicle. The transport vehicle 3 may be a transport vehicle other than a ceiling transport vehicle.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 5, the guide rail 9 is disposed between the position where the first rail portion 81 is disposed and the position where the second rail portion 82 is disposed in the width direction Y. Here, the guide rail 9 is formed of a single rail member. The guide rail 9 is disposed in a central position between the position where the first rail portion 81 is disposed and the position where the second rail portion 82 is disposed in the width direction Y. The guide rail 9 is also disposed above the pair of rail portions. Note that the guide rail 9 may be positioned at the same vertical position as the pair of rail portions.

[0018] 2 and 3, the guide rail 9 is disposed in at least one of a section 11 where the travel path 1 intersects (hereinafter referred to as the "intersecting section 11") and a section 12 where the travel path 1 is curved (hereinafter referred to as the "curved section 12"), but is not disposed in a section 13 where the travel path 1 extends linearly (hereinafter referred to as the "straight section 13"). In this way, the guide rail 9 is not disposed over the entire travel path 1, but is disposed only in a part of it.

[0019] In this embodiment, the guide rails 9 are arranged in both the intersecting sections 11 and the curved sections 12 in the travel path 1, but are not arranged in the straight section 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the intersecting sections 11 are formed in paths where the travel rails 8 in the travel path 1 branch off or merge. In addition to these paths, the intersecting sections 11 are also formed in paths where the travel path 1 intersects in order to connect two different travel rails 8. The curved sections 12 are defined as sections in the travel path 1 where one travel rail 8 curves (curves). FIGS. 2 and 3 show such examples.

[0020] FIG. 2 shows an example of a junction section 11a where two traveling rails 8 join as the intersecting section 11, and a curved section 12. A guide rail 9 is arranged in these sections. Meanwhile, a straight section 13 other than the intersecting section 11 and the curved section 12 does not have a guide rail 9 arranged therein. FIG. 3 shows, as the intersecting section 11, a section branching from the straight section 13 and a section where the branched traveling rails 8 join (here, referred to as an "N-shaped branch junction section 11b"). A guide rail 9 is arranged in these sections. Meanwhile, a guide rail 9 is not arranged in the straight section 13 other than the intersecting section 11. Note that the N-shaped branch junction section 11b shown in FIG. 3 is used not only in a route where the traveling route 1 intersects as shown in FIG. 1 (for example, a branch route, a junction route), but also in a section where two different traveling rails 8 are simply connected to each other. In this way, the intersection section 11, the curved section 12, and the straight section 13 are sections formed by a specific arrangement relationship of the traveling rails 8 (here, a pair of traveling rail portions), so there are cases where an N-shaped branching and merging section 11b as shown in Fig. 3 is formed in part of the straight path in Fig. 1. In addition, although not shown, the intersection section 11 also includes a section where the traveling rails 8 intersect in a cross or X shape.

[0021] 4 and 5, the transport vehicle 3 includes a vehicle body 21, a guided portion 24 guided by the guide rail 9, running wheels 26 supported by the vehicle body 21 and rolling on the upper surface of the traveling rail 8, and a floating restriction portion 30 supported by the vehicle body 21. The transport vehicle 3 further includes guide auxiliary wheels 101 supported by the vehicle body 21. In this example, the guided portion 24 is supported by the vehicle body 21.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the vehicle body 21 includes a connecting body 74, a first support 41 supported rotatably around a first axis Q1 along the vertical direction with respect to the connecting body 74, and a second support 42 arranged apart from the first support 41 in the running direction X and supported rotatably around a second axis Q2 along the vertical direction with respect to the connecting body 74. The vehicle body 21 also includes a plurality of (here, two) connecting shafts 71 corresponding to the first support 41 and the second support 42, respectively. The first support 41 and the second support 42 are arranged to be aligned in the running direction X. In this example, the first support 41 is arranged forward of the second support 42 in the running direction X. Here, the first support 41 supports the connecting body 74 from above via the connecting shaft 71 along the vertical direction. Similarly, the second support 42 supports the connector 74 from above via a connecting shaft 71 (different from the connecting shaft 71 corresponding to the first support 41) extending along the vertical direction. The corresponding connecting shaft 71 rotates about an axis extending along the vertical direction, so that the first support 41 can rotate about a first axis Q1 and the second support 42 can rotate about a second axis Q2. In this example, the first support 41 and the second support 42 are disposed above the traveling rail 8, and the connector 74 is disposed below the traveling rail 8.

[0023] In this example, the connector 74 is the ceiling of the storage section 76 that stores the item W. The storage section 76 has the function of holding the item W and raising and lowering the item W. When the transport vehicle 3 stops at a position corresponding to the processing device 10 to which the item W is to be transported, the storage section 76 lowers the item W from the storage position and transfers it onto the port of the processing device 10. The storage section 76 can also hold the item W placed on the port of the processing device 10 and raise it to the storage position. The storage position is a position where the item W is held while the transport vehicle 3 is traveling. In the example of FIG. 3, the item W at the storage position is covered by a cover provided in the storage section 76. Thus, in this example, the transport vehicle 3 further includes the storage section 76. The storage section 76 is supported by being suspended from the vehicle body 21.

[0024] The first support 41 and the second support 42 each support a plurality of running wheels 26. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the transport vehicle 3 includes, as the running wheels 26, a first wheel 26a that rolls on the upper surface 81a of the first rail portion 81 and a second wheel 26b that rolls on the upper surface 82a of the second rail portion 82. The transport vehicle 3 also includes, as the running wheels 26, a third wheel 26c that rolls on the upper surface 81a of the first rail portion 81 and a fourth wheel 26d that rolls on the upper surface 82a of the second rail portion 82 in addition to the first wheel 26a and the second wheel 26b. The vehicle body 21 is provided with a running wheel drive unit M (running wheel drive motor) that drives at least one of the first wheel 26a to the fourth wheel 26d.

[0025] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the first support 41 supports the first wheel 26a and the second wheel 26b. The second support 42 supports the third wheel 26c and the fourth wheel 26d. In this example, the first support 41 supports a pair of guide auxiliary wheels 101 arranged separately in the width direction Y. Similarly, the second support 42 supports a pair of guide auxiliary wheels 101 arranged separately in the width direction. The guide auxiliary wheels 101 are configured to rotate around an axis along the up-down direction, and are arranged to roll on the side surface (the surface where the pair of running rail parts face each other) facing the inside of the first rail part 81 or the second rail part 82. These guide auxiliary wheels 101 are arranged corresponding to each of the first wheel 26a to the fourth wheel 26d.

[0026] As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the guided portion 24 is configured to abut against a side surface of the guide rail 9 facing the width direction Y. As the transport vehicle 3 travels, the guided portion 24 is in a state of abutting against either a surface facing the first width direction side Y1 of the guide rail 9 (first width direction side surface 92) or a surface facing the second width direction side Y2 (second width direction side surface 93) in the crossing section 11 and the curved section 12. In this embodiment, the guided portion 24 includes a first guided portion 24a supported by the first support 41 and a second guided portion 24b supported by the second support 42. The first guided portion 24a and the second guided portion 24b are each provided on the upper surface of the corresponding support portion (first support 41, second support 42) via a linear motion guide mechanism 36.

[0027] Each of the first guided portion 24a and the second guided portion 24b is configured to be movable in the width direction Y. Specifically, the first guided portion 24a and the second guided portion 24b can move between a first position P1 and a second position P2 on a second width direction side Y2 relative to the first position P1. The first position P1 is a position where the first guided portion 24a and the second guided portion 24b abut against a first width direction side surface 92 of the guide rail 9. The second position P2 is a position where the first guided portion 24a and the second guided portion 24b abut against a second width direction side surface 93 of the guide rail 9. Since the first guided portion 24a and the second guided portion 24b have the same configuration, the configuration of the first guided portion 24a will be specifically described here, and the description of the configuration of the second guided portion 24b will be omitted.

[0028] The first guided portion 24a is guided by the linear guide mechanism 36 and moves between a first position P1 and a second position P2 along the width direction Y. In this example, the first guided portion 24a has a plurality of guide wheels (here, two) that rotate around an axis along the up-down direction. In the illustrated example, the linear guide mechanism 36 is a linear guide. The plurality of guide wheels are fixed to a slider portion 36a of the linear guide. A rail portion of the linear guide is fixed to an upper surface of the first support 41. A guide wheel drive portion 29 that drives the guide wheels is provided on the first support 41. The first guided portion 24a moves in the width direction Y by being driven by the guide wheel drive portion 29. The first guided portion 24a and the second guided portion 24b may be sliding members other than such guide wheels.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, when the transport vehicle 3 enters the intersection section 11 and the curved section 12, the transport vehicle 3 places the guided part 24 at a position (first position P1 or second position P2) corresponding to the appropriate traveling direction. In the junction section 11a and the curved section 12 in FIG. 2, the guided part 24 of the transport vehicle 3 that has entered each section abuts against the first side surface 92 in the width direction. In the N-shaped branching junction section 11b in FIG. 3, the transport vehicle 3 switches the position of the guided part 24 from the first position P1 to the second position P2 during traveling. In the example of FIG. 3, two guide rails 9 are arranged in series in the N-shaped branching junction section 11b. Meanwhile, in the N-shaped branching junction section 11b, an overlapping section 14 is formed in which the positions of the two guide rails 9 in the traveling direction X overlap. The overlapping section 14 is formed in the central region of the branching route portion in the traveling direction X in the N-shaped branching junction section 11b. In the illustrated example, the transport vehicle 3 switches the position of the guided portion 24 from the first position P1 to the second position P2 in the overlapping section 14. As a result, the contact surface of the guided portion 24 is changed from the first widthwise side surface 92 to the second widthwise side surface 93.

[0030] As shown in Figures 4 to 6, in the section in which the guide rail 9 is arranged, the lift-up regulating section 30 is arranged in a position facing from below against the guide rail underside 91, which is the surface facing the downward side of the guide rail 9, and is configured to contact the guide rail underside 91 from below when the car body 21 lifts up.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the floating restriction part 30 is disposed between the position where the first wheel 26a is disposed and the position where the second wheel 26b is disposed in the width direction Y. In this example, the floating restriction part 30 is disposed at a position where it overlaps with the guide rail 9 when viewed in the up-down direction. In other words, the floating restriction part 30 is disposed at the center in the width direction Y between the position where the first wheel 26a is disposed and the position where the second wheel 26b is disposed. In addition, the floating restriction part 30 and these wheels are located at different positions in the up-down direction. Here, the floating restriction part 30 is provided above these wheels. Note that the floating restriction part 30 and these wheels may be located at the same positions in the up-down direction. In this embodiment, the floating restriction part 30 is provided on the upper part of the vehicle body 21.

[0032] In this embodiment, the floating regulating part 30 is a rotating body supported so as to be rotatable at least around an axis P along the width direction Y. Here, the floating regulating part 30 is a floating regulating wheel 33 (FIG. 6) that rotates around an axis P along the width direction Y. The floating regulating wheel 33 is configured to roll on the guide rail lower surface 91 when it comes into contact with the guide rail lower surface 91. As shown in FIG. 4, the transport vehicle 3 includes a second floating regulating part 32 in addition to a first floating regulating part 31 as the floating regulating part 30. The first wheel 26a, the second wheel 26b, and the first floating regulating part 31 are supported by a first support 41, and the third wheel 26c, the fourth wheel 26d, and the second floating regulating part 32 are supported by a second support 42. In addition, as described above, a plurality of guide auxiliary wheels 101 corresponding to the first wheel 26a and the second wheel 26b are supported by the first support 41, and a plurality of guide auxiliary wheels 101 corresponding to the third wheel 26c and the fourth wheel 26d are supported by the second support 42. In the example of Fig. 6, the floating restriction part 30 (the first floating restriction part 31, the second floating restriction part 32) is provided on the upper surface of the support (the first support 41, the second support 42) via a support member 34 that supports the floating restriction wheel 33. The first floating restriction part 31 and the second floating restriction part 32 are disposed between (inside) the first guided part 24a and the second guided part 24b in the running direction X.

[0033] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the floating-up regulating unit 30 faces the guide rail lower surface 91 with a gap S therebetween. The gap S is set to be smaller than the narrowest interval E between the guide rail lower surface 91 and a member attached to the car body 21 and disposed at a position facing the guide rail lower surface 91. Here, the member disposed at a position facing the guide rail lower surface 91 is the linear guide mechanism 36 that supports the guided portion 24. That is, the vertical dimension of the gap S is set to be smaller than the interval E between the guide rail lower surface 91 and the linear guide mechanism 36 (specifically, the slider portion 36a). As a result, when the car body 21 floats up, the floating-up regulating unit 30 comes into contact with the guide rail lower surface 91, so that it is possible to prevent other members provided on the car body 21, such as the linear guide mechanism 36, from interfering with the guide rail 9. The mechanism for switching the position (first position P1, second position P2) of the guided portion 24 may be other than the linear guide mechanism 36. In that case, the member disposed at a position facing the guide rail lower surface 91 may be another position switching mechanism. Also, the member disposed at a position facing the guide rail lower surface 91 may be the running wheel drive unit M. In this embodiment, the transport vehicle 3 is equipped with a control device (not shown) that controls the running wheel drive unit M and the guide wheel drive unit 29. The control device controls the running wheel drive unit M and the guide wheel drive unit 29 according to commands from a higher-level controller that manages the entire transport facility. Also, the control device controls the storage unit 76 so that the transport vehicle 3 appropriately transfers the article W at the target location for transferring the article W.

[0034] Here, in the intersection section 11 (in the illustrated example, the merging section 11a and the N-shaped branch merging section 11b) and the curved section 12 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the car body 21 may rise up from the horizontal position due to the influence of an error in the installation position of the traveling rail 8 and the guide rail 9. If the car body 21 rises up, a member constituting the car body 21 (here, the linear guide mechanism 36 supporting the guided part 24) may come into contact with the guide rail 9. In this way, the contact between the car body 21 and the guide rail 9 during travel may damage the car body 21 or accelerate deterioration of the transport vehicle 3. In addition, the lifting of the car body 21 and vibration caused by the contact between the car body 21 and the guide rail 9 may damage the contents contained in the article W (container).

[0035] FIG. 5 shows an example in which the transport vehicle 3 travels in a section in the intersecting section 11 where the second rail portion 82 of the pair of rail portions is not arranged. In the illustrated example, since the second rail portion 82 is not arranged, the second wheel 26b is in a derailed state. Even in such a case, the guide auxiliary wheel 101 abuts against the inner side surface of the first rail portion 81, and the guided portion 24 (here, the guide wheel) abuts against the first side surface 92 in the width direction of the guide rail 9, so that the movement of the vehicle body 21 in the width direction Y is restricted, and since the first wheel 26a is supported by the upper surface 81a of the first rail portion 81, the movement of the vehicle body 21 in the vertical direction is also restricted. Therefore, the vehicle body 21 can maintain a horizontal posture (solid line portion in FIG. 5). On the other hand, if there is an error in the installation positions of the traveling rail 8 and the guide rail 9, the vehicle body 21 is likely to be raised from the horizontal posture (two-dot chain line portion in FIG. 5). In the illustrated example, the vehicle body 21 (specifically, the first support 41) is in a position inclined in the width direction Y. In addition, as a mode of the lifting of the vehicle body 21, for example, when the transport vehicle 3 travels in a section where one of the pair of rail parts is not continuously arranged as described above, or in the overlapping section 14 in the N-shaped branching and merging section 11b, the first support 41 may lift up relative to the second support 42. In this embodiment, when the vehicle body 21 lifts up in this way, the lifting regulating part 30 (here, the first lifting regulating part 31) abuts against the guide rail lower surface 91. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vehicle body 21 from contacting the guide rail 9. On the other hand, in the straight section 13 where an error in the installation position of the traveling rail 8 is relatively unlikely to occur, the guide rail 9 is not provided. Therefore, the lifting regulating part 30 does not contact the guide rail 9. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the running resistance of the transport vehicle 3 traveling in the straight section 13, and as a result, it is possible to improve the transport efficiency of the article W in the entire facility.

[0036] Other embodiments (1) In the above embodiment, the lift-up regulating unit 30 is configured to come into contact with the guide rail lower surface 91 from below when the car body 21 is lifted up, but the present invention is not limited to this. The lift-up regulating unit 30 may be configured to always come into contact with the guide rail lower surface 91 regardless of whether the car body 21 is lifted up.

[0037] (2) In the above embodiment, the gap S is set to be less than the narrowest gap E between the guide rail underside 91 and a member attached to the car body 21 and disposed in a position facing the guide rail underside 91. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The gap S may be set to be approximately the same as the narrowest gap E between the guide rail underside 91 and a member attached to the car body 21 and disposed in a position facing the guide rail underside 91.

[0038] (3) In the above embodiment, the floating restriction unit 30 is described as a rotating body that rotates about the axis P along the width direction Y, but is not limited to this. The floating restriction unit 30 can also be a ball caster or the like that can rotate about an axis in any direction.

[0039] (4) In the above embodiment, the floating restriction unit 30 is disposed between the position where the first wheel 26a is disposed and the position where the second wheel 26b is disposed in the width direction Y. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The floating restriction unit 30 may be disposed outside the first wheel 26a and the second wheel 26b in the width direction Y. In this way, the position where the floating restriction unit 30 is disposed can be changed as appropriate.

[0040] (5) In the above embodiment, the vehicle body 21 is described as having the first support body 41 and the second support body 42 as an example, but is not limited thereto. The vehicle body 21 may be configured to have only the first support body 41. The vehicle body 21 may also be configured to have a third support body in addition to the first support body 41 and the second support body 42. In this way, the number of supports provided to the vehicle body 21 can be changed as appropriate.

[0041] (6) Note that the configurations disclosed in each of the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments (including combinations of the embodiments described as other embodiments) as long as no contradiction occurs. Regarding other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0042] Summary of the above embodiment The above-described transport equipment will be summarized below.

[0043] A conveying facility according to the present disclosure includes a traveling rail arranged along a traveling path, a conveying vehicle that travels along the traveling path, and a guide rail that is arranged along the traveling path separately from the traveling rail and guides the conveying vehicle, the transport vehicle includes a vehicle body, a guided portion guided by the guide rail, running wheels supported by the vehicle body and rolling on an upper surface of the running rail, and a lift-up regulating portion supported by the vehicle body; The guide rail is disposed in at least one of a section where the travel path intersects and a section where the travel path is curved, and is not disposed in a section where the travel path extends linearly, The lift-up regulating portion is arranged in a position facing from below against the guide rail underside, which is the surface facing downward of the guide rail, in the section in which the guide rail is arranged, and is configured to contact the guide rail underside from below when the vehicle body lifts up.

[0044] According to this configuration, in the section of the travel route where the guide rail is arranged, when the vehicle body tries to rise up, the lift-up restricting portion comes into contact with the lower surface of the guide rail from below, thereby restricting the lift-up of the vehicle body. Therefore, damage and deterioration of each part of the transport vehicle caused by the lift-up of the vehicle body can be reduced. In addition, according to this configuration, the guide rail is arranged in at least one of the sections where the traveling paths intersect and the sections where the traveling paths are curved, so that the lifting up of the body of the transport vehicle can be appropriately suppressed in sections where the body is likely to lift up. Furthermore, according to this configuration, the guide rail is not disposed in a section where the travel path extends linearly. Therefore, while the transport vehicle is traveling in this section, the lift-up restricting portion does not come into contact with the lower surface of the guide rail. Therefore, in this section where the possibility of the vehicle body lifting up is low, the travel resistance of the transport vehicle can be reduced.

[0045] Here, the lift-up regulating portion faces the lower surface of the guide rail with a gap therebetween, It is preferable that the gap be set to be less than the narrowest distance between the lower surface of the guide rail and a member that is attached to the vehicle body and disposed at a position facing the lower surface of the guide rail.

[0046] According to this configuration, even if the car body rises up in the section where the guide rail is arranged, the lift-up regulating portion contacts the underside of the guide rail from below, thereby preventing components other than the lift-up regulating portion attached to the car body from coming into contact with the guide rail.

[0047] In addition, the direction along the travel path is defined as the travel direction, and the direction perpendicular to the travel direction when viewed in the up-down direction is defined as the width direction, The floating restriction portion is preferably a rotor supported so as to be rotatable at least about an axis extending along the width direction.

[0048] According to this configuration, when the lift-up restricting portion comes into contact with the lower surface of the guide rail from below, it is easy to keep the frictional resistance between the lift-up restricting portion and the lower surface of the guide rail small, and therefore it is easy to keep the running resistance small when the lift-up restricting portion restricts the lift-up of the car body.

[0049] In addition, the direction along the travel path is defined as the travel direction, and the direction perpendicular to the travel direction when viewed in the up-down direction is defined as the width direction, The traveling rail includes a first rail portion and a second rail portion spaced apart from each other in the width direction, the guide rail is disposed between a position where the first rail portion is disposed and a position where the second rail portion is disposed in the width direction, The transport vehicle includes, as the running wheels, a first wheel that rolls on an upper surface of the first rail portion and a second wheel that rolls on an upper surface of the second rail portion, It is preferable that the floating restriction portion be disposed between a position where the first wheel is disposed and a position where the second wheel is disposed in the width direction.

[0050] According to this configuration, since the lift-up restricting portion is disposed between the first wheel and the second wheel that are disposed apart from each other in the width direction, it is possible to stably prevent the vehicle body from lifting up.

[0051] The vehicle body further includes a connecting body, a first support supported rotatably about a first axis along the vertical direction with respect to the connecting body, and a second support disposed apart from the first support in the traveling direction and supported rotatably about a second axis along the vertical direction with respect to the connecting body, the transport vehicle includes, as the running wheels, a third wheel that rolls on the upper surface of the first rail portion and a fourth wheel that rolls on the upper surface of the second rail portion in addition to the first wheel and the second wheel, and includes, as the floating regulation part, a second floating regulation part in addition to a first floating regulation part; the first wheel, the second wheel, and the first lift-up regulating portion are supported by the first support; It is preferable that the third wheel, the fourth wheel, and the second lift-up restricting portion are supported by the second support body.

[0052] According to this configuration, in a configuration in which a pair of running wheels are supported by each of a first support and a second support that are disposed apart from each other in the running direction, the lift-up of the vehicle body can be restricted by both the first lift-up restricting portion and the second lift-up restricting portion, and therefore the lift-up of the vehicle body can be restricted more stably.

[0053] It is sufficient for the transport facility according to the present disclosure to achieve at least one of the above-mentioned effects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1: Route 3: Transport vehicle 8: Running rail 9: Guide rail 11: Intersection (section where driving routes intersect) 12: Curved section (section where the driving route is curved) 13: Straight section (section where the driving route extends in a straight line) 21: Body 24:Guided part 26: Running wheel 26a: 1st wheel 26b: 2nd wheel 26c: 3rd wheel 26d: 4th wheel 30: Floating control section 31: First lift control section 32: Second lift control section 36: Materials 41: 1st support 42:Second support 74: Concatenation 81: First rail section 82: Second rail section 91: Guide rail bottom E: Spacing P: Axis along the width direction Y Q1: 1st axis center Q2: 2nd axis center S: Gap X: Traveling direction Y: Width direction

Claims

1. A conveying facility including a traveling rail arranged along a travel path, a conveying vehicle that travels along the travel path, and a guide rail that is arranged along the travel path separately from the traveling rail and guides the conveying vehicle, the transport vehicle includes a vehicle body, a guided portion guided by the guide rail, running wheels supported by the vehicle body and rolling on an upper surface of the running rail, and a lift-up regulating portion supported by the vehicle body; The guide rail is disposed in at least one of a section where the travel path intersects and a section where the travel path is curved, and is not disposed in a section where the travel path extends linearly, The lift-up regulating unit is arranged in a position facing from below against the guide rail underside, which is the surface facing downward of the guide rail, in the section in which the guide rail is arranged, and is configured to contact the guide rail underside from below when the car body lifts up.

2. the lift-up regulating portion faces a lower surface of the guide rail with a gap therebetween, The conveying facility according to claim 1 , wherein the gap is set to be less than the narrowest distance between the lower surface of the guide rail and a member attached to the car body and positioned opposite the lower surface of the guide rail.

3. The direction along the travel path is the travel direction, and the direction perpendicular to the travel direction when viewed in the up-down direction is the width direction, The transport facility according to claim 1 , wherein the lift-up regulating portion is a rotating body supported so as to be rotatable at least about an axis extending along the width direction.

4. The direction along the travel path is the travel direction, and the direction perpendicular to the travel direction when viewed in the up-down direction is the width direction, The traveling rail includes a first rail portion and a second rail portion spaced apart from each other in the width direction, the guide rail is disposed between a position where the first rail portion is disposed and a position where the second rail portion is disposed in the width direction, The transport vehicle includes, as the running wheels, a first wheel that rolls on an upper surface of the first rail portion and a second wheel that rolls on an upper surface of the second rail portion; The conveying facility according to claim 1 , wherein the floatation regulating portion is disposed between a position where the first wheel is disposed and a position where the second wheel is disposed in the width direction.

5. the vehicle body includes a connecting body, a first support supported rotatably about a first axis along a vertical direction with respect to the connecting body, and a second support disposed apart from the first support in the traveling direction and supported rotatably about a second axis along the vertical direction with respect to the connecting body, the transport vehicle includes, as the running wheels, a third wheel that rolls on an upper surface of the first rail portion and a fourth wheel that rolls on an upper surface of the second rail portion in addition to the first wheel and the second wheel, and includes, as the floatation regulating portion, a second floatation regulating portion in addition to a first floatation regulating portion; the first wheel, the second wheel, and the first lift-up regulating portion are supported by the first support; The conveying facility according to claim 4 , wherein the third wheel, the fourth wheel, and the second lift-up regulating portion are supported by the second support body.

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