Container opening / closing device, conveying device, and conveying system

Abstract

The present invention provides a container opening / closing device, a conveyance device, and a conveyance system, wherein: the height position of a support part provided in a container is accurately detected by the container opening / closing device; the detection result is reflected in control of a conveyance operation of the conveyance device; and the collision of a conveyed object held by a hand with the support part is prevented or the collision of the hand with the conveyed object supported by the support part is prevented. The container opening / closing device detects the height positions in the vertical direction of a first support part and a second support part, and calculates a first positional deviation amount of the first support part and a second positional deviation amount of the second support part. The conveyance device determines whether the height positions of the first support part and the second support part are abnormal on the basis of the detection result of a detection part or a calculation result of a calculation part. In addition, the conveyance device and the conveyance system select one among the first positional deviation amount and the second positional deviation amount as an insertion height correction amount, derive the insertion height of a hand on the basis of the selected insertion height correction amount, raise or lower the hand to the derived insertion height, and insert the hand into the container at the corrected insertion height.

Description

Container opening / closing device and conveying device

[0001] The present invention relates to a container opening / closing device for opening and closing a container capable of accommodating an object to be transported, and a transport device for transporting the object to a container provided in the container opening / closing device.

[0002] In the field of semiconductor manufacturing and the like, there has conventionally been a transfer technology that uses an industrial transfer robot provided in a transfer device to transfer an object between a container opening / closing device (load port) on which a container containing the object, such as a substrate (e.g., a wafer, a glass substrate, etc.), is placed and a processing device or a load lock chamber that processes the object. More specifically, the transfer robot, which serves as a transfer mechanism provided in the transfer device, can remove the object from the container in which the object is stored and transport it to the processing device where the object is processed, while also removing the object from the processing device that processes the object and placing it in a container that can accommodate the object.

[0003] In recent years, in the field of semiconductor devices, device integration has increased while device miniaturization has progressed. Accordingly, a method called panel-level packaging (hereinafter referred to as PLP) has become widespread as a packaging technology for highly integrated devices. PLP is a method for collectively manufacturing multiple semiconductor packages by arranging multiple chips on a rectangular panel. Various industrial robots are used in semiconductor package manufacturing lines using PLP. PLP includes a process for coating (encapsulating) the top surface of a panel on which multiple chips are mounted with resin. Therefore, panels handled in semiconductor package manufacturing lines using PLP are prone to significant warpage in the vertical direction (such as upward and downward warpage, which includes deflection and distortion).

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 61-267623 International Application No. WO2010 / 119846

[0005] A FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod), which is a container for transported objects (hereinafter referred to as substrates), has multiple pairs of first and second support members spaced apart horizontally, and each pair is spaced apart vertically, allowing multiple substrates to be accommodated, with one substrate supported on each pair of first and second support members. The vertical spacing between each pair of support members has been narrowed to improve substrate accommodation efficiency. When transporting substrates to a FOUP using a transport robot, a robot hand provided on the transport robot as a holder for holding the substrate enters the FOUP above a specific pair of support members while holding the substrate, then moves downward to support the substrate on the specific pair of support members before leaving the FOUP. However, because the spacing between the support parts in the vertical direction is narrow, if the container (FOUP) that can hold the substrates is itself in an abnormal state (for example, if the height position of either the first support part or the second support part of a specific pair is deviated from the reference height position), when the robot hand is inserted, the substrate held by the robot hand may collide with the support part of the FOUP, or the robot hand may collide with the substrate supported by the support part of the FOUP.

[0006] For the above reasons, it is necessary to accurately detect the height position of the support portion provided on the container so that the height position can be reflected in the control of the transport operation of the transport device that transports the transported object.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a container opening and closing device for opening and closing a container having a plurality of pairs of first and second support parts spaced apart in a horizontal direction and spaced apart in a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction, the device comprising: a holding part for holding a lid of the container; a drive part for moving the holding part at least in the vertical direction; a detection part provided on the holding part for detecting height positions of the first support part and the second support part in the vertical direction by movement of the holding part; and a calculation part for calculating a first positional deviation amount of the first support part and a second positional deviation amount of the second support part, A container opening and closing device is provided, characterized in that the first positional deviation is the amount of positional deviation between the detected detection height position of the holding part and the predetermined specified height position of the first support part, the second positional deviation is the amount of positional deviation between the detected detection height position of the second support part and the predetermined specified height position of the second support part, the first support part and the second support part each have a main body part that supports the transported object and a measured part provided at the tip of the main body part, and the detection part detects the lower end positions in the vertical direction of the measured parts of the first support part and the second support part as the detection height positions of the first support part and the second support part, respectively.

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided a conveying device that conveys an object to be conveyed to a container provided in the above-mentioned container opening and closing device, characterized in that the conveying device is equipped with a judgment unit that judges whether the height positions of the first support unit and the second support unit in the vertical direction are abnormal based on the detection result of the detection unit or the calculation result of the calculation unit.

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a conveying device is provided that conveys an object to be conveyed to a container provided in the above-mentioned container opening and closing device, comprising: a conveying mechanism having a hand capable of holding the object to be conveyed; a selection unit that selects one of the first positional deviation amount and the second positional deviation amount calculated by the calculation unit of the container opening and closing device as an insertion height correction amount; a derivation unit that derives the insertion height at which the hand is inserted into the container based on the selected insertion height correction amount; a lifting operation execution unit that raises and lowers the hand to the insertion height derived by the derivation unit; and an insertion operation execution unit that inserts the hand into the container at the derived insertion height, wherein the selection unit selects the insertion height correction amount according to the operation type of the conveying mechanism.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a transport system comprising at least a container opening / closing device for opening and closing a container in which a plurality of pairs of first and second support parts are provided at intervals in a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction, a transport device having a transport mechanism having a hand capable of holding an object to be transported and transporting the object to a container provided on the container opening / closing device, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the container opening / closing device and the transport device, wherein the container opening / closing device comprises a holding part that holds a lid of the container, a drive part that moves the holding part at least in the vertical direction, and a detection part that is provided on the holding part and detects the height positions of the first support part and the second support part in the vertical direction by movement of the holding part, and the control unit detects the height positions of the first support part and the second support part in the vertical direction by detecting a predetermined specified height of the first support part. a calculation unit that calculates a first positional deviation amount of the first support unit relative to a height position of the first support unit and a second positional deviation amount of the second support unit relative to a predetermined height position of the second support unit; a selection unit that selects one of the first positional deviation amount and the second positional deviation amount calculated by the calculation unit as an insertion height correction amount; a derivation unit that derives an insertion height at which the hand is inserted into the container based on the selected insertion height correction amount; a lifting operation execution unit that raises and lowers the hand to the insertion height calculated by the derivation unit; and an insertion operation execution unit that inserts the hand into the container at the derived insertion height, wherein the detection unit detects the positions of the lower end portions of the first support unit and the second support unit in the vertical direction as the detection height positions of the first support unit and the second support unit, respectively.

[0011] According to the present invention, a container opening and closing device, a conveying device, and a conveying system can be provided that can accurately detect the height position of a support part provided on a container by a container opening and closing device for opening and closing a container.

[0012] 1. It is a perspective view illustrating an entire conveying system to which a container opening / closing device and a conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention are applied. It is a block diagram of the electrical configuration of the conveying system shown in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a container opening / closing device used in the conveying system shown in FIG. 1. It is a front view illustrating the inside of a container placed on the container opening / closing device shown in FIG. 3. It is a schematic diagram illustrating an abnormal state of a pair of first support parts and second support parts provided on the container shown in FIG. 4. It is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a reference position information table used in the container opening / closing device shown in FIG. 3. It is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detection position information table used in the container opening / closing device shown in FIG. 3. It is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a reference insertion height information table used in the conveying device shown in FIG. 3. It is a flowchart of a process of conveying an object to a container installed in the container opening / closing device by the conveying device shown in FIG. 1. It is a schematic diagram illustrating a hand correction process when the operation type shown in FIG. 9 is a carry-in operation. It is a schematic diagram illustrating a hand correction process when the operation type shown in FIG. 9 is a carry-out operation.

[0013] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following describes the specific structure and transport means of the container opening / closing device 50, the transport device 100, and the transport system 20 to which the container opening / closing device 50 and the transport device 100 are applied, in combination with Figures 1 to 11 . The description will be given using a spatial coordinate system XYZ, with a left-right direction X, a front-back direction Y, and an up-down direction Z. However, this is merely an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0014] First, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a container opening / closing device 50, a conveying device 100, and a conveying system 20 to which the container opening / closing device 50 and the conveying device 100 are applied will be described. The conveying system 20 includes the conveying device 100 for conveying a conveyed object W, a container opening / closing device 50 disposed on one side (e.g., the front side) of the conveying device 100, a processing device 60 disposed on the other side (e.g., the rear side) of the conveying device 100, and a control unit (see later description) for controlling the operation of the container opening / closing device 50 and the conveying device 100. The conveying device 100 is, for example, an Equipment Front End Module (EFEM). The container opening / closing device 50 is a load port device on which a container H (e.g., a FOUP) capable of accommodating the conveyed object W is placed and which opens and closes a lid (not shown) of the container H. The processing device 60 is a device for processing the conveyed object W. The conveying device 100 includes a housing 110, a conveying mechanism 120 provided inside the housing 110 and configured to convey a conveyed object W, a drive unit 130 for driving the movement of the conveying mechanism 120, and a control unit 140 for controlling the conveying operation of the conveying mechanism 120. The housing 110 houses the conveying mechanism 120, the drive unit 130, and the control unit 140, and is connected to the container opening / closing device 50 and the processing device 60. The conveying mechanism 120 is configured to be movable inside the housing 110. The conveying mechanism 120 (e.g., a conveying robot) provided in the conveying device 100 has a hand 122 capable of holding the conveyed object W, and removes the conveyed object W from a container H and transports it to the processing device 60 through the inside of the housing 110 (shown in FIG. 1). The processing device 60 processes the conveyed object W transported by the conveying mechanism 120. Alternatively, the conveying mechanism 120 transports the conveyed object W removed from the processing device 60 to the container H through the inside of the housing 110. The drive unit 130 drives the movement (including lifting and lowering) of the transport mechanism 120. Furthermore, the control unit 140 controls the transport operation of the transport mechanism 120. The control unit 140 further performs the functions of a selection unit 142, a derivation unit 144, a storage unit 146, a determination unit 147, a lifting operation execution unit 148, and an insertion operation execution unit 149, which will be described later.

[0015] In this embodiment, the transported object W is, for example, a glass substrate used in PLP, and is accommodated in a container H. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the container H, which can accommodate the transported object W, such as a glass substrate used in PLP, is placed on a container opening / closing device 50. The container H has a plurality of pairs of first and second support members S1 and S2 spaced apart in a horizontal direction (e.g., the left-right direction X) and spaced apart in a vertical direction Z perpendicular to the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 4 , the pairs of first and second support members S1 and S2 protrude horizontally (e.g., the left-right direction X) from the inner surfaces of opposing sides of the container H, and can support the transported object W on opposing sides of the container H. Furthermore, one side of the container H has a plurality of first support members S1 arranged along the vertical direction Z, and a space G is provided between two adjacent first support members S1 to form a space capable of accommodating the transported object W. Similarly, a plurality of second support members S2 are provided along the vertical direction Z on the other side of the container H, and a space capable of accommodating the transported object W is formed with a gap G between two adjacent second support members S2. As a result, the container H can accommodate a plurality of transported objects W inside (at each gap G) by supporting the transported objects W with multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 lined up at a predetermined gap G in the vertical direction Z. That is, the transported object W is supported by each pair of first support member S1 and second support member S2 (e.g., the second first support member S1 and second support member S2 from the top) and accommodated in the gap G above the first support member S1 and second support member S2 (e.g., the space between the first and second first support member S1 and second support member S2 from the top).

[0016] 2 and 3 , the container opening / closing device 50 includes a holder 51 that holds a lid (not shown) of the container H, a drive unit 52 that moves the holder 51 at least in the vertical direction Z, a detection unit 53 that is provided in the holder 51 and that detects the height positions of the first support unit S1 and the second support unit S2 in the vertical direction Z by moving the holder 51, a control unit 54 that controls the operation of the container opening / closing device 50 (e.g., movement of the holder 51 by driving the drive unit 52), a mounting table 55 on which the container H is placed, and a support body 56 that supports the mounting table 55. The holder 51 is a port door that engages with the lid of the container H. The drive unit 52 is a unit that includes, for example, a motor and a ball screw, and the general structure is housed inside the support body 56, with a portion of the structure protruding into the interior of the housing 110 of the conveying device 100 so as to be connected to the holder 51. When the transport mechanism 120 of the transport device 100 is used to transport the transported object W to a container H or when the transport mechanism 120 of the transport device 100 is used to transport the transported object W from the container H, the control unit 54 controls the driving of the drive unit 52 to move the holding unit 51 in the vertical direction Z. This allows the container opening / closing device 50 to open the lid of the container H. By opening the lid of the container H, the transported object W contained in the container H faces the interior of the casing 110, and the transport mechanism 120 can transport the transported object W from the container H to the interior of the casing 110. Similarly, the transport mechanism 120 can transport the transported object W from the interior of the casing 110 to the container H. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the holding unit 51 moves downward while engaged with the lid of the container H, moving the lid of the container H downward and exposing multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 provided inside the container H so that they directly face the interior of the casing 110, in order from top to bottom. That is, by moving the holding part 51, of the multiple pairs of first support parts S1 and second support parts S2 provided on the container H, the upper pair of first support parts S1 and second support parts S2 is exposed so as to directly face the inside of the housing 110 before the other lower pair of first support parts S1 and second support parts S2. Here, the control part 54 that controls the operation of the container opening / closing device 50 and the control part 140 that controls the operation of the above-mentioned transport device 100 are realized by separate control units, but may also be realized by a single control unit.Furthermore, when the operation of the container opening / closing device 50 is controlled by the control unit 140, which is a control unit provided in the conveying device 100 of the conveying system 20, a control signal must be transmitted from the control unit 140 of the conveying device 100 to the container opening / closing device 50 (the reverse transmission is also possible).

[0017] 2 and 3, the detection unit 53 is, for example, a combination of a reflective sensor 53a and a camera 53b, and is provided on the upper edge of the holder 51, facing the container H toward the rear of the container opening / closing device 50. The detection unit 53 (reflective sensor 53a) detects the height positions of each of the first support members S1 and second support members S2. The detection unit 53 can move in the vertical direction Z together with the holder 51. Therefore, in this embodiment, the container opening / closing device 50 uses two sets of detection units 53 to detect the height positions of the multiple first support members S1 and the multiple second support members S2, respectively, based on the height position of the mounting table 55. As the holding unit 51 moves downward, the lid of the container H is moved downward, exposing the multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 from top to bottom so that they directly face the interior of the housing 110. At the same time, the detection unit 53 moves from top to bottom in the vertical direction Z to detect the height positions of each of the multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 of the container H from top to bottom. That is, as the holding unit 51 moves, the detection unit 53 moves from top to bottom in the vertical direction Z to detect the height positions of the upper pair of first support members S1 and second support members S2, and then detects the height positions of the other lower pair of first support members S1 and second support members S2. This detection process is preferably performed before the conveying device 100 conveys the conveyed object W. The control unit 54 also performs the functions of a calculation unit 54a and a memory unit 54c, which will be described later. The height positions of the multiple pairs of first support portions S1 and second support portions S2 detected here can be transmitted to the control unit 140 of the conveying device 100 as described below, and can be used as a condition for determining whether the multiple pairs of first support portions S1 and second support portions S2 of the container H are in an abnormal state. In addition, the calculation result of the positional deviation amount of the multiple pairs of first support portions S1 and second support portions S2 of the container H of the container opening / closing device 50 is transmitted to the control unit 140 of the conveying device 100, and can be used as a control condition for the conveying means of the conveying device 100 as described below.

[0018] The processing apparatus 60 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes at least one platform and can support at least one object W during a processing step of the object W. The type of processing apparatus 60 can be selected depending on the process for processing the object W (e.g., a process required for semiconductor manufacturing, such as ion implantation or etching). Furthermore, by opening the door of the processing apparatus 60, the object W inside the processing apparatus 60 faces the interior of the housing 110, allowing the transport mechanism 120 to transport the object W from inside the processing apparatus 60 to inside the housing 110. Similarly, the transport mechanism 120 can also transport the object W from inside the housing 110 to inside the processing apparatus 60. In another embodiment (not shown), a load lock chamber may be further installed between the transport apparatus 100 and the processing apparatus 60.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1 , the housing 110 of the conveying device 100 includes, for example, a frame 112, a wall 114 for covering the frame 112, a moving body 116 for moving the conveying mechanism 120, and a guide structure 118 for guiding the movement of the moving body 116. The frame 112 is installed as a frame of the housing 110. The wall 114 is provided on the frame 112 and forms an internal space of the housing 110. The guide structure 118 is, for example, a slide rail structure, a conveyor drive device, or the like, and is provided in the internal space of the housing 110. The moving body 116 is provided on the guide structure 118 in the internal space of the housing 110 and is installed so as to be freely movable within the housing 110 by the guide structure 118. For example, the moving body 116 is attached to the guide structure 118 for guiding movement in the left-right direction X, and is movable within the housing 110 in the left-right direction X by the guide structure 118. The wall 114 also has an opening OP (shown in FIG. 1 ) for communication with the container opening / closing device 50 and an opening for communication with the processing device 60. The opening OP can communicate with the interior of a container H placed on the mounting table 55. The holder 51 holds the lid of the container H through the opening OP and retracts the lid into the housing 110, thereby communicating the interior of the container H with the internal space of the housing 110. The transport mechanism 120 provided inside the housing 110 can transport the transported object W from the container opening / closing device 50 to the processing device 60 or from the processing device 60 to the container opening / closing device 50 through these openings. That is, the transport mechanism 120 moves by the moving body 116 to the door position of the container opening / closing device 50 (e.g., the position of the holder 51), allowing the transported object W to be transferred between the container H and the interior of the housing 110. Similarly, the transport mechanism 120 moves to the door position of the processing device 60 by the moving body 116, and the transported object W can be transferred between the processing device 60 and the inside of the housing 110. As a result, the transport device 100 can transport the transported object W between the container H placed on the container opening / closing device 50 and the processing device 60 by the transport mechanism 120 inside the housing 110.

[0020] 1 , the transport mechanism 120 is, for example, a transport robot, and includes a base 124, an arm 126 attached to the upper end of the base 124, a hand 122 attached to the tip of the arm 126 and capable of holding a transported object W, and a transport driver 128 that drives the arm 126 to move the hand 122 in horizontal directions (left-right direction X and front-back direction Y) and up-down direction Z. The base 124 is attached to a movable body 116 provided inside the housing 110 and is installed so as to be movable by the movable body 116. For example, the base 124 is movable (slidable) in the left-right direction X by the movable body 116. The arm 126 is attached to the upper end of the base 124 so as to be rotatable within a horizontal plane (a virtual horizontal plane formed by the left-right direction X and the front-back direction Y) relative to the base 124 and so as to be movable up and down in the up-down direction Z. The hand 122 is a robot hand attached to the tip of the arm 126, and can move along with the arm 126's rotation in a horizontal plane and its movement up and down in the vertical direction Z. The transfer drive unit 128 is, for example, a motor or transmission mechanism built into the base 124, and applies a driving force to the arm 126 to move the hand 122. Therefore, the transfer robot serving as the transfer mechanism 120 moves between the container opening / closing device 50 on which the container H is placed and the processing device 60 by the moving body 116, while holding the transfer object W with the hand 122, and the transfer drive unit 128 drives the arm 126 to freely move (up and down, rotate, move back and forth) the hand 122, thereby transferring the transfer object W with the hand 122.

[0021] Referring to Figures 1 to 3, in this embodiment, when the transport mechanism 120 transports the transported object W into the container H, the hand 122 (robot hand) holding the transported object W, while holding the transported object W, enters a gap G defined above a specific pair of first support members S1 and second support members S2 among the multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 of the container H, and then moves downward to support the transported object W on the first support member S1 and second support member S2, and then moves away from the container H. Furthermore, when the transport mechanism 120 transports the transported object W out of the container H, the hand 122 (robot hand) enters the gap G defined below a specific pair of first support portions S1 and second support portions S2 among the multiple pairs of first support portions S1 and second support portions S2 of the container H, then moves upward to lift the transported object W supported by the first support portion S1 and second support portion S2, and then moves away from the container H while holding the transported object W. In this case, as described above, because the spacing (pitch) in the vertical direction Z between the multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 of the container H is narrow, if the container H itself, which can accommodate the transported object W, is in an abnormal state (for example, if the height position of one of the first support members S1 and second support members S2 of a specific pair is deviated from a reference height position), when the hand 122 of the transport device 120 is inserted, the transported object W held by the hand 122 may collide with the first support members S1 and second support members S2 provided on the container H, or the hand 122 may collide with the transported object W supported by the first support members S1 and second support members S2 provided on the container H. For this reason, the container opening / closing device 50 detects the respective height positions of the first support members S1 and second support members S2 provided on the container H. The conveying device 100 that conveys the transported object W is required to reflect the height positions of the first support part S1 and the second support part S2 detected by the container opening / closing device 50 and the results of abnormality determination using the height positions of the first support part S1 and the second support part S2 detected by the container opening / closing device 50 in controlling the conveying operation (for example, by stopping the operation of the conveying device 100 or correcting the insertion height of the hand 122 of the conveying mechanism 120 of the conveying device 100 into the container H).

[0022] Specifically, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , a pair of left and right support members S1 and S2 provided on a container H will be described as an example. In the reference container H, the first support member S1 has a specified height position PL, and the second support member S2 has a specified height position PR (the positions indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. 5 ). The specified height positions PL of the first support member S1 and PR of the second support member S2 may be located at the same horizontal height in the vertical direction Z, or may be located at different horizontal heights. Even if the specified height positions PL and PR of the left and right pair of first support member S1 and second support member S2 are located at different horizontal heights, they still correspond to each other and form the same storage space (gap G). However, in the example shown in FIG. 5 , the first support member S1 is located above the specified height position PL in the vertical direction Z, and the second support member S2 is located below the specified height position PR in the vertical direction Z. Therefore, when the conveying mechanism 120 transports the transported object W into the same storage space (gap G) formed by a pair of first support members S1 and second support members S2 on the left and right sides of the container H, if the hand 122 of the conveying mechanism 120 shown in Figure 1 is inserted into the container H at an insertion height of the hand 122 (for example, a position a predetermined distance above the specified height positions PL, PR) determined by reference to the specified height position PL of the paired first support member S1 and the specified height position PR of the paired second support member S2, there is a risk that the transported object (not shown) held by the hand 122 will collide with the first support member S1, which is located above the specified height position PL. Similarly, when the transport mechanism 120 transports the transported object W from the same storage space (gap G) formed by a pair of first support members S1 and second support members S2 on the left and right sides of the container H, if the hand 122 of the transport mechanism 120 shown in Figure 1 is inserted into the container H at an insertion height of the hand 122 (for example, a position a predetermined distance below the specified height positions PL, PR) determined by reference to the specified height position PL of the paired first support member S1 and the specified height position PR of the paired second support member S2, there is a risk that the hand 122 will collide with the transported object (not shown) supported by the second support member S2, which is located below the specified height position PR.For this reason, the container opening / closing device 50 detects the respective height positions of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 provided on the container H, and calculates the amount of positional deviation between the detected height positions of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 and the specified height positions PL, PR as a first positional deviation amount D1 of the first support member S1 and a second positional deviation amount D2 of the second support member S2. The transport device 100 that transports the transported object W is required to reflect the respective positional deviation amounts of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 calculated by the container opening / closing device 50 and the result of an abnormality determination using the respective positional deviation amounts of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 calculated by the container opening / closing device 50 in controlling the transport operation (for example, by stopping the operation of the transport device 100 or correcting the insertion height of the hand 122 of the transport mechanism 120 of the transport device 100 into the container H).

[0023] More specifically, when the lid of the container H is opened by the holding unit 51 of the container opening / closing device 50 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the detection unit 53 of the container opening / closing device 50 moves downward in the vertical direction Z together with the movement of the holding unit 51, and can detect the respective height positions of the pair of first support members S1 and second support members S2 exposed from the container H. In the example shown in FIG. 5 , the first support member S1 is positioned higher than the second support member S2 in the vertical direction Z, so the detection unit 53 first detects the detection height position P1 of the first support member S1 and then detects the detection height position P2 of the second support member S2. As an example, the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 each have a main body member 210 that supports the transported object W (shown in FIG. 4 ) and a measurement target member 212 that is provided at the tip of the main body member 210 and has a larger diameter than the main body member 210. The measurement target member 212 is a member that is installed on the main body member 210 and that limits the movement of the transported object W in the forward / backward direction Y. The measurement target portion 212 further includes a measurement target surface 2121 whose lower portion in the up-down direction Z is horizontally chamfered. The detection target portion 212 has a generally D-shaped configuration when viewed from the front-rear direction Y. Specifically, the detection unit 53 detects the lower end positions in the up-down direction Z of the measurement target portion 212 of each of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 as the respective detection height positions of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2. The lower end positions can be treated as the detection height positions P1 and P2 of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2, respectively. In a more preferred embodiment, the detection unit 53 detects the measurement target surface 2121 of each of the measurement target portion 212 of each of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 as the lower end positions. The positions of the measurement target surface 2121 can be treated as the detection height positions P1 and P2 of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2, respectively. Due to vertical warping that occurs during processing, the transported object W may have a portion thereof protruding from the upper end of the measurement portion 212 of at least one of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2. When detecting the upper ends of the measurement portions 212 of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2, the protruding portion of the transported object W may be erroneously detected as the measurement portion 212 of the first support portion S1 and / or the second support portion S2, which may prevent accurate detection height positions P1 and P2 of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 from being obtained.On the other hand, when detecting the lower end positions of the measured parts 212 of the first support part S1 and the second support part S2, the detection height positions P1 and P2 of the first support part S1 and the second support part S2 can be obtained accurately because they are not affected by the vertical warping that occurs in the transported object W.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2 , the control unit 54 also functions as a calculation unit 54a. The calculation unit 54a calculates a first positional deviation D1 of the first support member S1 and a second positional deviation D2 (shown in FIG. 5 ) of the second support member S2. Here, the first positional deviation D1 is the positional deviation between the detected detection height position P1 of the first support member S1 and a predetermined specified height position PL of the first support member S1, and the second positional deviation D2 is the positional deviation between the detected detection height position P2 of the second support member S2 and a predetermined specified height position PR of the second support member S2. The conveyance device 100 also includes a determination unit 147 that determines whether the height positions of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 in the vertical direction Z are abnormal based on the detection result of the detection unit 53 or the calculation result of the calculation unit 54a. Here, the determination unit 147 determines the height position of the first support part S1 in the vertical direction Z and the height position of the second support part S2 in the vertical direction Z as the state of the first support part S1 and the second support part S2 (as described below), but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0025] 2 and 6 , in this embodiment, the control unit 54 also functions as a memory unit 54c. The memory unit 54c stores, in a reference position information table 54c1, predetermined specified height positions PL, PR of multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 of a container H placed on the container opening / closing device 50. Specifically, the memory unit 54c stores, in the reference position information table 54c1, the specified height positions PL1, PL2, ... of each of the multiple pairs of first support members S1 and the specified height positions PR1, PR2, ... of each of the multiple pairs of second support members S2 provided on the container H, in association with the numbers of the first support members S1 and the second support members S2 from top to bottom. The predetermined specified height positions of the multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 stored in the reference position information table 54c1 may be obtained by the detection unit 53 or may be obtained from the provider of the container H. Ideally, the specified height positions of a pair of left and right first and second support portions S1 and S2 are the same height position. That is, the specified height position PL1 of the first support portion S1 and the specified height position PR1 of the second support portion S2, which are located from top to bottom, are the same height position, and the specified height position PL2 of the second support portion S1 and the specified height position PR2 of the second support portion S2 are the same height position.

[0026] 2 and 7, the memory unit 54c stores in the detection position information table 54c2 the detected detection height positions P1, P2 of the multiple pairs of first support portions S1 and second support portions S2 of the container H placed on the container opening / closing device 50. In detail, as described above, the container opening / closing device 50 opens the lid of the container H using the holder 51 and simultaneously detects the respective height positions of the multiple pairs of first support portions S1 and second support portions S2 exposed from the container H using the detector 53. Therefore, the memory unit 54c stores in the detection position information table 54c2 the respective detection height positions P11, P12, ... of the multiple pairs of first support portions S1 provided on the container H and the respective detection height positions P21, P22, ... of the multiple pairs of second support portions S2 provided on the container H in association with the numbers of the first support portions S1 and second support portions S2 from top to bottom. The storage unit 54c can also store the first positional deviation amounts D11, D12, ... of the first support member S1 and the second positional deviation amounts D21, D22, ... of the second support member S2 calculated by the calculation unit 54a in the detected position information table 54c2 in association with the numbers of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 from top to bottom. Based on the calculation results of the calculation unit 54a, the determination unit 147 determines whether the height positions of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 are abnormal (e.g., whether the height positions of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 are misaligned). If the control unit 140, which realizes the function of the determination unit 147, is provided in the transport device 100, the determination result can also be stored in the storage unit 146 of the transport device 100 in association with the numbers of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 from top to bottom. However, in other embodiments not shown, the function of the above-mentioned determination unit 147 can also be realized by the control unit 54 of the container opening / closing device 50. In this case, the results of the presence or absence of an abnormality may be first stored together in the detection position information table 54c2 of the memory unit 54c of the container opening / closing device 50.

[0027] 2 and 5, an explanation will be given of the determination of an abnormality by the determination unit 147 in the vertical height positions of multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 of the container H. In a first example of abnormality determination, the calculation unit 54a calculates the distance between the detection height position P1 of the first support member S1 or the detection height position P2 of the second support member S2 and the specified height positions PL, PR in the vertical direction Z as the first positional deviation amount D1 or the second positional deviation amount D2. In particular, the calculation unit 54a calculates the first positional deviation amount D1 or the second positional deviation amount D2 as a positive value when the detection height position P1 of the first support member S1 or the detection height position P2 of the second support member S2 is higher than the specified height positions PL, PR in the vertical direction Z, and calculates the first positional deviation amount D1 or the second positional deviation amount D2 as a negative value when the detection height position P1 of the first support member S1 or the detection height position P2 of the second support member S2 is lower than the specified height positions PL, PR in the vertical direction Z. Furthermore, the determination unit 147 determines that the height position of the first support member S1 or the height position of the second support member S2 is abnormal when the absolute value of the first positional deviation amount D1 or the absolute value of the second positional deviation amount D2 is greater than a first threshold value (e.g., 1.5 mm). As a modification of the first example, the determination unit 147 may determine that the height position of the first support portion S1 or the height position of the second support portion S2 is abnormal if the first positional deviation amount D1 or the second positional deviation amount D2 is greater than a first threshold value (e.g., +1.5 mm) or less than the first threshold value (e.g., −1.5 mm). In a second example of abnormality determination, the calculation unit 54a calculates the difference between the detection height position P1 of the first support portion S1 or the detection height position P2 of the second support portion S2, and the determination unit 147 determines that the height position of the first support portion S1 or the height position of the second support portion S2 is abnormal if the absolute value of the difference between the detection height position P1 of the first support portion S1 and the detection height position P2 of the second support portion S2 is greater than a second threshold value (e.g., 3 mm). The first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 may be stored in the detection position information table 54c2 (shown in Figure 7) as positive values ​​when they are above the specified height positions PL and PR, and as negative values ​​when they are below the specified height positions PL and PR, or the numerical values ​​(distances shifted from the specified height positions PL and PR) may be stored in the detection position information table 54c2.The determination results (whether there is an abnormality or not) are stored in the storage unit 146 in association with the numbers from top to bottom.

[0028] 2 and 4, a third example of the abnormality determination will be described. In the third example of the abnormality determination, the determination unit 147 determines that the height position of the first support portion S1 as the state of the first support portion S1 or the height position of the second support portion S2 as the state of the second support portion S2 is abnormal when the distance G between the first support portion S1 (e.g., the first first support portion S1 from top to bottom) and another first support portion S1 (e.g., the second first support portion S1 from top to bottom) arranged next to each other in the up-down direction Z exceeds a first set value (a preset pitch), or when the distance G between the second support portion S2 (e.g., the first second support portion S2 from top to bottom) and another second support portion S2 (e.g., the second second support portion S2 from top to bottom) arranged next to each other in the up-down direction Z exceeds the first set value (a preset pitch). That is, it is also possible to determine whether the height position of the first support portion S1 is abnormal based on the distance G between the two first support portions S1 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction Z, and to determine whether the height position of the second support portion S2 is abnormal based on the distance G between the two second support portions S2 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction Z. The determination results (whether there is an abnormality or not) are stored in the memory unit 146 in association with numbers from top to bottom.

[0029] As can be seen from this, in this embodiment, the container opening / closing device 50 for opening and closing the container H moves the holder 51 that holds the lid of the container H. The detector 53 provided on the holder 51 detects the height positions of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 in the vertical direction Z (the lower end positions of the measurement portions of each support member in the vertical direction), and the calculator 54a calculates the positional deviation amounts (first positional deviation amount D1 and second positional deviation amount D2) between the detected height positions P1 and P2 of the support members (the first support member S1 and the second support member S2) and the predetermined specified height positions PL and PR. This allows the container opening / closing device 50 for opening and closing the container H to accurately detect the height positions of the support members provided on the container H. Furthermore, the determiner 147 of the conveying device 100 determines whether the height positions of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 in the vertical direction Z are abnormal based on the detection result of the detector 53 or the calculation result of the calculator 54a. This allows the control of the transport operation of the transport device 100 that transports the transported object W to the container H placed on the container opening / closing device 50 to be reflected (for example, by stopping the operation of the transport device 100 or correcting the insertion height of the hand 122 of the transport mechanism 120 of the transport device 100 into the container H), preventing the transported object W held by the hand 122 of the transport mechanism 120 of the transport device 100 from colliding with the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 provided on the container H, or preventing the hand 122 from colliding with the transported object W supported by the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 provided on the container H. Specifically, if the determination unit 147 determines that there is an abnormality, the transport device 100 stops the transport operation of the transport device 100 to transport the transported object W, and if the determination unit 147 determines that there is no abnormality, corrects the insertion height of the hand 122 into the container H.

[0030] Next, correction of the transport operation of the transport device 100 for the transport object W will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. When the hand 122 of the transport mechanism 120 transports the transport object W into the container H, the hand 122 is inserted into the container H above the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 of the specific pair. At this time, if either the first support portion S1 or the second support portion S2 of the specific pair of the hand 122 is positioned above the specified height positions PL and PR, the transport object W held by the hand 122 may collide with the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2, so it is necessary to correct the insertion height at which the hand 122 is inserted into the container H. On the other hand, when the hand 122 of the transport mechanism 120 transports the transport object W out of the container H, the hand 122 is inserted into the container H below the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 of the specific pair. At this time, if either the first support portion S1 or the second support portion S2 of the specific pair of the hand 122 is positioned below the specified height positions PL, PR, there is a risk that the hand 122 will collide with the transported object W supported by the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2, and therefore it is necessary to correct the insertion height at which the hand 122 is inserted into the container H. Furthermore, as described above, the insertion height at which the hand 122 is inserted into the container H differs (above or below the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2) depending on the operation type of the transport mechanism 120 (a loading operation for loading the transported object W into the container H, or a loading operation for unloading the transported object W from the container H). Therefore, when correcting the insertion height at which the hand 122 is inserted into the container H, it is necessary to select the insertion height correction amount depending on the operation type of the transport mechanism 120.

[0031] 2 , the transport device 100 that transports the transported object W to the container H placed on the container opening / closing device 50 includes a selection unit 142 that selects one of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 calculated by the calculation unit 54a of the container opening / closing device 50 as an insertion height correction amount, a deriving unit 144 that derives the insertion height at which the hand 122 is inserted into the container H based on the insertion height correction amount selected by the selection unit 142, a lifting operation execution unit 148 that lifts and lowers the hand 122 to the insertion height calculated by the deriving unit 144, and an insertion operation execution unit 149 that inserts the hand 122 into the container H at the insertion height calculated by the deriving unit 144. The insertion operation execution unit 149 may be configured to be able to perform an operation to remove the hand 122 from the container H. In addition, the selection unit 142 selects the insertion height correction amount depending on the operation type of the transport mechanism 120. 8, the storage unit 146 of the transport device 100 may store in advance in a reference insertion height information table 146a the insertion height of the hand 122 that serves as a reference for multiple pairs of first support members S1 and second support members S2 of the container H. For example, for each pair of first support members S1 and second support members S2 from top to bottom, the reference insertion height when the hand 122 carries the transported object W into the container H is the insertion height IN1, IN2, ... above each pair of the first support member S1 and second support member S2, and the reference insertion height when the hand 122 carries the transported object W out of the container H is the insertion height OUT1, OUT2, ... below each pair of the first support member S1 and second support member S2. The reference insertion heights acquired in advance are stored in the reference insertion height information table 146a in association with numbers from top to bottom. In addition, when the conveying device 100 conveys the object W to be conveyed to the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 of a specific pair of containers H, it determines whether or not the insertion height needs to be corrected based on the state (whether abnormal) of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 of the specific pair of containers H determined by the aforementioned determination unit 147.

[0032] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9 , correction of the transport operation of the transported object W by the transport device 100 includes the following steps. First, in a transport operation type determination step ST0, the operation type of the transport mechanism 120 is determined. The determination of the operation type of the transport mechanism 120 may be performed by the control unit 140 of the transport device 100. Next, if the transport operation type determination step ST0 determines that the operation is a carry-in operation, in a correction value selection step ST11, one of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 calculated by the calculation unit 54a is selected as the insertion height correction amount. The selection of the insertion height correction amount may be performed by the selection unit 142. Next, in a hand insertion position correction step ST12, the insertion height of the hand 122 into the container H is derived based on the selected insertion height correction amount, and the hand 122 is raised or lowered to the derived insertion height. The derivation of the insertion height may be performed by the derivation unit 144. The raising or lowering of the hand 122 may be performed by the raising or lowering operation execution unit 148. Next, in a transfer start step ST13, the hand 122 positioned at the calculated insertion height is inserted into the container H (for example, by moving the arm 126 in the front-rear direction Y). The insertion of the hand 122 into the container H may be performed by the insertion operation execution unit 148. Furthermore, in the transfer start step ST13, the hand 122 inserted into the container H is lowered below the specific pair of first support portion S1 and second support portion S2, and the transported object W held by the hand 122 is supported by the specific pair of first support portion S1 and second support portion S2. The lowering of the hand 122 may be performed by the lifting operation execution unit 148. Thereafter, in a transfer completion step ST14, the hand 122 is removed from the container H, and the transport of the transported object W to the specific pair of first support portion S1 and second support portion S2 of the container H is completed. The removal of the hand 122 from the container H may be performed by the insertion operation execution unit 148.

[0033] 9 , before the transport device 100 performs the transport operation type determination step ST0, the determination unit 147 determines whether there is an abnormality in the container H. If the determination unit 147 determines that there is no abnormality in the container H, the transport operation type determination step ST0 is performed. The memory unit 146 also stores the first positional deviation amount D1 of each first support portion S1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 of each second support portion S2, and the control unit 140 acquires information necessary for correcting the transport operation from the memory unit 146 when the transport device 100 performs transport. As an example, the calculator 54a calculates the first positional deviation amount D1 or the second positional deviation amount D2 as a positive value when the detection height position P1 of the first support member S1 or the detection height position P2 of the second support member S2 is higher than the specified height positions PL, PR in the vertical direction Z, and calculates the first positional deviation amount D1 or the second positional deviation amount D2 as a negative value when the detection height position P1 of the first support member S1 or the detection height position P2 of the second support member S2 is lower than the specified height positions PL, PR in the vertical direction Z. That is, when the calculator 54a calculates the first positional deviation amounts D11, D12, ... of the multiple pairs of first support members S1 and the second positional deviation amounts D21, D22, ... of the second support members S2, each of the first positional deviation amounts D11, D12, ... and the second positional deviation amounts D21, D22, ... may be assigned a positive or negative value and stored in the detection position information table 54c2 (shown in FIG. 7 ). As a result, the selector 142 selects the insertion height correction amount based on the positive or negative value of the first positional deviation amounts D11, D12, . . . and the second positional deviation amounts D21, D22, .

[0034] More specifically, if the operation type of the transport mechanism 120 is determined to be a carry-in operation in the transport operation type determination process ST0, the transport device 100 inserts the hand 122 above the specific pair of first support member S1 and second support member S2. In the correction value selection process ST11, the selector 142 selects the insertion height correction amount. Specifically, when the transport mechanism 120 transports the transported object W into the container H, if either the first positional deviation amount D1 or the second positional deviation amount D2 is a positive value, the selector 142 preferably selects the larger of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 as the insertion height correction amount. In FIG. 10A, the first positional deviation amount D1 is a positive value and the second positional deviation amount D2 is a negative value, so the selector 142 selects the first positional deviation amount D1 as the insertion height correction amount. Thereafter, in a hand insertion position correction step ST12, the deriving unit 144 derives the insertion height at which the hand 122 is inserted into the container H based on the selected insertion height correction amount (first positional deviation amount D1). Specifically, the insertion height derived by the deriving unit 144 is calculated as the sum of a reference insertion height (e.g., the insertion height IN1 of the hand 122 corresponding to the first first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 shown in FIG. 8 ) and the insertion height correction amount (e.g., the first positional deviation amount D11 of the first first support portion S1 shown in FIG. 7 ). In this way, even if either the first support portion S1 or the second support portion S2 of the specific pair is positioned above the specified height positions PL and PR (in this case, the first support portion S1), there is no risk of the transported object W held by the hand 122 being inserted into the container H colliding with the first support portion S1 or the second support portion S2 of the specific pair.

[0035] In another example not shown, when the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 are both positive values ​​during the process in which the transport mechanism 120 transports the transported object W into the container H, the selector 142 selects the larger of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 (the positional deviation amount of the support part located higher) as the insertion height correction amount. Also, when the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 are both negative values, the selector 142 may select the larger of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 (the positional deviation amount of the support part located higher) as the insertion height correction amount, but may not correct the insertion height of the hand 122 into the container H. When the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 are both negative values, the first support part S1 and the second support part S2 are both positioned below the specified height positions PL, PR, so even if the hand 122 is inserted above the first support part S1 and the second support part S2 at the reference insertion height (for example, insertion height IN1) shown in Figure 8, there is no risk of the transported object W held by the hand 122 colliding with the first support part S1 and the second support part S2.

[0036] Furthermore, in the transfer start step ST13, after the hand 122 is inserted into the container H above the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 of the specific pair, the lifting operation execution unit 148 lowers the hand 122 below the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 of the specific pair, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 10( b), and the transferred object W held by the hand 122 is supported by the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 of the specific pair. At this time, the hand 122 must be lowered below the lower one of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 (in this case, the second support member S2) because the transferred object W held by the hand 122 moves out of the container H after being supported by the first support member S1 and the second support member S2. Therefore, the descent amount H1 of the hand 122 after transfer is the sum of the absolute value of the first displacement amount D1 of the first support member S1 and the absolute value of the second displacement amount D2 of the second support member S2. In another example not shown, when the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 are both positive or both negative values ​​during the process in which the transport mechanism 120 transports the transported object W into the container H, the selector 142 selects the larger of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 (the positional deviation amount of the support part located higher) as the insertion height correction amount. In this case, the lowering amount H1 of the hand 122 after transport may be set to a level lower than the lowermost support part of the first support part S1 and the second support part S2.

[0037] On the other hand, if the transport operation type determination process ST0 determines that the operation is a carry-out operation, then in a correction value selection process ST21, one of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 calculated by the calculation unit 54a is selected as the insertion height correction amount. The selection of the insertion height correction amount may be performed by the selection unit 142. Subsequently, in a hand insertion position correction process ST22, the insertion height of the hand 122 into the container H is calculated based on the selected insertion height correction amount, and the hand 122 is raised or lowered to the calculated insertion height. The calculation of the insertion height may be performed by the deriving unit 144. The raising and lowering of the hand 122 may be performed by the raising and lowering operation execution unit 148. Subsequently, in a transport start process ST23, the hand 122 positioned at the calculated insertion height is inserted into the container H (e.g., by moving the arm unit 126 in the forward / backward direction Y). The insertion of the hand 122 into the container H may be performed by the insertion operation execution unit 148. Furthermore, in the transfer start step ST13, the hand 122 inserted into the container H is raised above the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 of the specific pair, and the transfer target W supported by the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 of the specific pair is held by the hand 122. The raising of the hand 122 may be performed by the lifting operation execution unit 148. Thereafter, in the transfer end step ST24, the hand 122 is removed from the container H, and the transfer of the transfer target W to the specific pair of the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 of the container H is completed. The removal of the hand 122 from the container H may be performed by the insertion operation execution unit 148.

[0038] 9, when the operation type of the transport mechanism 120 is determined to be a carry-out operation in the transport operation type determination step ST0, the transport device 100 inserts the hand 122 below the specific pair of first support member S1 and second support member S2. In the correction value selection step ST21, the selector 142 selects the insertion height correction amount. Specifically, when the transport mechanism 120 is carrying out the transported object W from the container H, if either the first positional deviation amount D1 or the second positional deviation amount D2 is a negative value, the selector 142 preferably selects the smaller of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 as the insertion height correction amount. In FIG. 11(a), the first positional deviation amount D1 is a positive value and the second positional deviation amount D2 is a negative value, so the selector 142 selects the second positional deviation amount D2 as the insertion height correction amount. Thereafter, in a hand insertion position correction step ST22, the lead-out unit 144 derives the insertion height at which the hand 122 is inserted into the container H based on the selected insertion height correction amount (second positional deviation amount D2). Specifically, the insertion height derived by the lead-out unit 144 is calculated as the sum of a reference insertion height (e.g., the insertion height OUT1 of the hand 122 corresponding to the first first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 shown in FIG. 8 ) and the insertion height correction amount (e.g., the second positional deviation amount D21 of the first second support portion S2 shown in FIG. 7 ). In this way, even if either the first support portion S1 or the second support portion S2 of the specific pair is positioned below the specified height positions PL and PR (in this case, the second support portion S2), there is no risk of the hand 122 being inserted into the container H colliding with the transported object W supported by the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 of the specific pair.

[0039] In another example (not shown), when the transport mechanism 120 is transporting the transported object W out of the container H, if both the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 are negative, the selector 142 selects the smaller of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 (the positional deviation amount of the support member located lower) as the insertion height correction amount. Alternatively, if both the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 are positive, the selector 142 may select the smaller of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 (the positional deviation amount of the support member located lower) as the insertion height correction amount, but may not correct the insertion height of the hand 122 into the container H. If both the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 are positive, both the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 are positioned above the specified height positions PL and PR. In this case, even if the hand 122 is inserted below the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 at the reference insertion height (for example, insertion height OUT1) shown in Figure 8, there is no risk of the hand 122 colliding with the transported object W supported by the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2.

[0040] In the transfer start step ST23, the hand 122 is inserted into the container H below the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 of the specific pair, and then the lifting operation unit 148 lifts the hand 122 above the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 of the specific pair, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 11B, causing the hand 122 to hold the transferred object W supported by the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 of the specific pair. At this time, the hand 122 must be lifted above the upper one of the first support member S1 and the second support member S2 (in this case, the first support member S1) because the hand 122 moves out of the container H after holding the transferred object W supported by the first support member S1 and the second support member S2. Therefore, the lift amount H2 of the hand 122 after transfer is the sum of the absolute value of the first displacement amount D1 of the first support member S1 and the absolute value of the second displacement amount D2 of the second support member S2. In another example not shown, when the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 are both positive or both negative values ​​during the process in which the transport mechanism 120 transports the transported object W from the container H, the selector 142 selects the smaller of the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2 (the positional deviation amount of the support part located lower) as the insertion height correction amount. In this case, the lift amount H2 of the hand 122 after transport may be set to a level higher than the support part located higher of the first support part S1 and the second support part S2.

[0041] As can be seen from this, in this embodiment, the conveying device 100 can reflect the result of the abnormality determination made by the determination unit 147 in the control of the conveying operation of the conveyed object W (for example, by stopping the operation of the conveying device 100 or correcting the insertion height of the hand 122 of the conveying mechanism 120 of the conveying device 100 into the container H). Furthermore, the conveying device 100 can select one of the positional deviation amounts (the first positional deviation amount D1 and the second positional deviation amount D2) calculated by the calculation unit 54a as the insertion height correction amount (for example, by selecting one depending on the carry-in operation or the carry-out operation of the hand 122), and correct the insertion height at which the hand 122 is inserted into the container H based on the selected insertion height correction amount, thereby preventing the conveyed object W held by the hand 122 from colliding with the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 provided on the container H, or preventing the hand 122 from colliding with the conveyed object W supported by the first support portion S1 and the second support portion S2 provided on the container H.

[0042] In summary, in the container opening / closing device for opening and closing a container of the present invention, a detector provided on the holder detects the vertical height positions of the first support member and the second support member (the vertical lower end positions of the measurement target portions of each support member) as the holder for holding the container lid moves, and a calculator calculates the amount of positional deviation between the detected height positions of the support members and a predetermined specified height position. This allows the container opening / closing device to accurately detect the height positions of the support members provided on the container. Furthermore, a determiner of the transport device determines whether the vertical height positions of the first support member and the second support member are abnormal based on the detection results of the detector or the calculation results of the calculator. This allows the control of the transport operation of a transport device that transports an object to a container provided in the container opening / closing device described above to be reflected (for example, by stopping the operation of the transport device or correcting the insertion height of the hand of the transport mechanism of the transport device into the container), preventing the object held by the hand of the transport mechanism of the transport device from colliding with the first and second support parts provided on the container, or the hand from colliding with the object supported by the first and second support parts provided on the container. Furthermore, the transport device that transports an object to a container provided in the container opening / closing device of the present invention can correct the transport operation of the object according to the result of the abnormality determination made by the determination unit. The conveying device selects one of the positional deviation amounts calculated by the calculation unit of the container opening / closing device as an insertion height correction amount (for example, selected by the hand's loading or unloading operation), and corrects the insertion height at which the hand is inserted into the container from the selected insertion height correction amount, thereby preventing the transported object held by the hand of the conveying mechanism of the conveying device from colliding with the first support portion and second support portion provided on the container, or the hand from colliding with the transported object supported by the first support portion and second support portion provided on the container.

[0043] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to explain the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that the technical solutions described in the above embodiments can still be modified or some or all of the technical features can be replaced with equivalents, provided that such modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0044] The present invention provides a container opening / closing device and a conveying device that detects the state of a support part provided on a container by a container opening / closing device for opening and closing a container and performs an abnormality judgment, thereby preventing a transported object held by a hand from colliding with a support part provided on the container, or preventing the hand from colliding with a transported object supported by a support part provided on the container.

[0045] 20 Conveying system, 50 Container opening / closing device, 51 Holding unit, 52 Driving unit, 53 Detection unit, 53a Reflection type sensor, 53b Camera, 54 Control unit, 54a Calculation unit, 54c Memory unit, 54c1 Reference position information table, 54c2 Detection position information table, 55 Placement table, 56 Support, 60 Processing device, 100 Conveying device, 110 Housing, 112 Frame unit, 114 Wall unit, 116 Moving body, 118 Guide structure, 120 Conveying mechanism, 122 Hand, 124 Base unit, 126 Arm unit, 128 Conveying driving unit, 130 Driving unit, 140 Control unit, 142 Selection unit, 144 Derivation unit, 146 Memory unit, 146a Reference insertion height information table, 147 Determination unit, 148 Lifting operation execution unit, 149 Insertion operation execution unit, 210 main body unit, 212 measured unit, 2121 measured surface, D1; D11; D12 first positional deviation amount, D2; D21; D22 second positional deviation amount, G interval, H container, H1 lowering amount, H2 rising amount, IN1; IN2; OUT1; OUT2 insertion height, PL; PL1; PL2; PR; PR1; PR2 specified height position, P1; P11; P12; P2; P21; P22 detection height position, OP opening, S1 first support unit, S2 second support unit, ST0 transport operation type determination step, ST11; ST21 correction value selection step, ST12; ST22 hand insertion position correction step, ST13; ST23 transport start step, ST14; ST24 transport end step, W transported object, X left / right direction, Y Fore / aft direction, Z up / down direction

Claims

1. A container opening and closing device for opening and closing a container, wherein a pair of first support parts and second support parts are provided at intervals in the horizontal direction, and multiple pairs of these support parts are provided at intervals in the vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction, A retaining part for holding the lid of the container, A drive unit that moves the holding portion at least in the vertical direction, A detection unit is provided in the holding portion and detects the vertical height positions of the first support portion and the second support portion, respectively, by the movement of the holding portion. A calculation unit for calculating the first positional displacement amount of the first support portion and the second positional displacement amount of the second support portion, Equipped with, The first positional displacement is the amount of positional displacement between the detected height position of the first support and the predetermined height position of the first support. The second positional displacement is the amount of positional displacement between the detected height position of the second support and the predetermined height position of the second support, The first support section and the second support section each have a main body section that supports the object to be transported and a section to be measured provided at the tip of the main body section. The detection unit detects the lower end position in the vertical direction of the part to be measured of the first support and the second support as the detection height position of the first support and the second support, respectively. A container opening and closing device characterized by the following features.

2. A conveying device for conveying an object to be conveyed to a container provided in the container opening and closing device described in claim 1, The transport device includes a determination unit that determines whether the vertical height position of the first support unit and the second support unit is abnormal, based on the detection result of the detection unit or the calculation result of the calculation unit. A conveying device characterized by the following features.

3. The calculation unit calculates the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount as a positive value when the detection height position of the first support portion or the detection height position of the second support portion is above the specified height position in the vertical direction, and calculates the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount as a negative value when the detection height position of the first support portion or the detection height position of the second support portion is below the specified height position in the vertical direction. The determination unit determines that the height position of the first support or the height position of the second support is abnormal if the absolute value of the first positional displacement or the absolute value of the second positional displacement is greater than the first threshold. The conveying device according to feature 2.

4. The calculation unit calculates the difference between the detected height position of the first support and the detected height position of the second support. The determination unit determines that at least one of the height positions of the first support and the second support is abnormal if the absolute value of the difference between the detected height position of the first support and the detected height position of the second support is greater than the second threshold. The conveying device according to feature 2.

5. A conveying device for conveying an object to be conveyed to a container provided in the container opening and closing device described in claim 1, A conveying mechanism having a handle capable of holding the object to be conveyed, A selection unit that selects one of the first positional displacement amount and the second positional displacement amount calculated by the calculation unit of the container opening and closing device as the insertion height correction amount, A guide unit that derives the insertion height to be inserted into the container of the hand based on the selected insertion height correction amount, A lifting and lowering operation unit that raises and lowers the hand to the insertion height that was led out by the lead-out unit, An insertion operation unit that inserts the hand into the container at the derived insertion height, Equipped with, The selection unit selects the insertion height correction amount according to the operation type of the transport mechanism. A conveying device characterized by the following features.

6. The calculation unit calculates the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount as a positive value when the detection height position of the first support portion or the detection height position of the second support portion is above the specified height position in the vertical direction, and calculates the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount as a negative value when the detection height position of the first support portion or the detection height position of the second support portion is below the specified height position in the vertical direction. The selection unit selects the insertion height correction amount based on the sign of the first positional displacement amount and the second positional displacement amount, according to the operation type of the transport mechanism. The conveying device according to feature 5.

7. In the process by which the conveying mechanism loads the object to be conveyed into the container, if either the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount is a positive value, the selection unit selects the larger of the first positional displacement amount and the second positional displacement amount as the insertion height correction amount. In the process of the transport mechanism unloading the object from the container, if either the first positional displacement or the second positional displacement is a negative value, the selection unit selects the smaller of the first and second positional displacements as the insertion height correction amount. The conveying device according to feature 6.

8. In the process of the transport mechanism loading the object to be transported into the container, if both the first positional displacement and the second positional displacement are positive or both are negative, the selection unit selects the larger of the first positional displacement and the second positional displacement as the insertion height correction amount. In the process of the transport mechanism unloading the object from the container, if both the first positional displacement and the second positional displacement are positive or negative, the selection unit selects the smaller of the first and second positional displacements as the insertion height correction amount. The conveying device according to feature 6.

9. A transport system comprising at least a container opening and closing device for opening and closing a container having a pair of first support parts and a second support part provided at intervals in the horizontal direction, with multiple pairs of these support parts provided at intervals in the vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction; a transport device for transporting an object to be transported to a container provided on the container opening and closing device, which has a transport mechanism having a hand capable of holding the object to be transported; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the container opening and closing device and the transport device, The container opening and closing device is A retaining part for holding the lid of the container, A drive unit that moves the holding portion at least in the vertical direction, The holding portion is provided with a detection unit that detects the vertical height positions of the first support portion and the second support portion by the movement of the holding portion, The control unit, A calculation unit that calculates a first positional displacement amount of the first support portion relative to a predetermined height position of the first support portion and a second positional displacement amount of the second support portion relative to a predetermined height position of the second support portion, A selection unit selects one of the first positional displacement amount and the second positional displacement amount calculated by the calculation unit as the insertion height correction amount. A guide unit that derives the insertion height to be inserted into the container of the hand based on the selected insertion height correction amount, A lifting and lowering operation unit that raises and lowers the hand to the insertion height that was led out by the lead-out unit, It comprises an insertion operation unit that inserts the hand into the container at the derived insertion height, The detection unit detects the position of the lower end of each of the first support and the second support in the vertical direction as the detection height position of each of the first support and the second support. A transport system characterized by the following features.

10. The control unit further includes a determination unit that determines whether the vertical height position of the first support unit and the second support unit is abnormal, based on the detection result of the detection unit or the calculation result of the calculation unit. The transport system according to feature 9.

11. The calculation unit calculates the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount as a positive value when the detection height position of the first support portion or the detection height position of the second support portion is above the specified height position in the vertical direction, and calculates the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount as a negative value when the detection height position of the first support portion or the detection height position of the second support portion is below the specified height position in the vertical direction. The determination unit determines that the height position of the first support or the height position of the second support is abnormal if the absolute value of the first positional displacement or the absolute value of the second positional displacement is greater than the first threshold. The transport system according to feature 10.

12. The calculation unit calculates the difference between the detected height position of the first support and the detected height position of the second support. The determination unit determines that at least one of the height positions of the first support and the second support is abnormal if the absolute value of the difference between the detected height position of the first support and the detected height position of the second support is greater than the second threshold. The transport system according to feature 10.

13. The calculation unit calculates the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount as a positive value when the detection height position of the first support portion or the detection height position of the second support portion is above the specified height position in the vertical direction, and calculates the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount as a negative value when the detection height position of the first support portion or the detection height position of the second support portion is below the specified height position in the vertical direction. The selection unit selects the insertion height correction amount based on the sign of the first positional displacement amount and the second positional displacement amount, according to the operation type of the transport mechanism. The transport system according to feature 9.

14. In the process by which the conveying mechanism loads the object to be conveyed into the container, if either the first positional displacement amount or the second positional displacement amount is a positive value, the selection unit selects the larger of the first positional displacement amount and the second positional displacement amount as the insertion height correction amount. In the process of the transport mechanism unloading the object from the container, if either the first positional displacement or the second positional displacement is a negative value, the selection unit selects the smaller of the first and second positional displacements as the insertion height correction amount. The transport system according to feature 13.

15. In the process of the transport mechanism loading the object to be transported into the container, if both the first positional displacement and the second positional displacement are positive or both are negative, the selection unit selects the larger of the first positional displacement and the second positional displacement as the insertion height correction amount. In the process of the transport mechanism unloading the object from the container, if both the first positional displacement and the second positional displacement are positive or negative, the selection unit selects the smaller of the first and second positional displacements as the insertion height correction amount. The transport system according to feature 13.

16. A container opening and closing device for opening and closing the lid of a container having a plurality of support parts for supporting a substrate arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, The retaining part for holding the lid, A drive unit for moving the holding unit in the vertical direction, A detection unit detects the height position of the support unit as the holding unit moves, Equipped with, The detection unit detects the lower end position of the support portion. A container opening and closing device characterized by the following features.

17. The support portion comprises a main body portion that supports the substrate, and a portion to be measured that is larger than the main body portion and is provided at the tip of the main body portion, The detection unit detects the lower end position of the part to be measured. The container opening and closing device according to feature 16.

18. The plurality of support members comprises a pair of first support members and second support members provided at intervals in the horizontal direction, The detection unit detects the vertical positions of the lower end of the first support and the lower end of the second support, respectively, by the movement of the holding unit. The detected position of the lower end of the first support is defined as the detected height position of the first support. The detected position of the lower end of the second support is defined as the detected height position of the second support. The container opening and closing device according to feature 16.

19. The plurality of support parts comprises a pair of first support parts and second support parts provided at intervals in the horizontal direction, The detection unit detects the vertical height positions of the first support unit and the second support unit by the movement of the holding unit, The system further includes a calculation unit for calculating a first positional displacement amount of the first support portion and a second positional displacement amount of the second support portion. The calculation unit calculates the lower end positions of the first support and the second support in the vertical direction as the detected height positions of the first support and the second support, respectively. The container opening and closing device according to feature 16.

20. The first positional displacement amount is the positional displacement amount between the detected height position of the first support and the predetermined height position of the first support, The second positional displacement is the amount of positional displacement between the detected height position of the second support and the predetermined height position of the second support, which has been set in advance. The container opening and closing device according to feature 19.