Ceiling-Suspended Shelf Switching for Overhead FOUP Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing overhead transport systems in factories, such as those for semiconductor manufacturing, face challenges in efficiently utilizing ceiling space for article storage as the processing speed increases, requiring additional storage capacity without significant increases in equipment costs or complexity.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a ceiling suspended shelf system that includes an upper shelf with a switching mechanism, allowing articles to be placed at a high position previously unused, with a cost-effective drive system that simplifies the mechanism by using a combination of shafts and linkages or pulleys to switch between open and closed states, enabling efficient use of vertical space without the need for independent drive sources for each shelf.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If articles are stored on shelves supported by poles arranged one above another, then storage capacity is increased, but the use of high space near the ceiling is not fully utilized
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from conventional pole-supported shelves to a ceiling-suspended shelf that utilizes the previously underutilized high space near the ceiling. By suspending the shelf from the ceiling structure rather than using vertical poles, the system effectively adds a new spatial dimension for storage, allowing articles to be stored at higher levels that were previously inaccessible or unused.
2Ease of operation
If a switching mechanism is added to switch between open and closed states, then operational flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The switching mechanism enables the upper shelf to dynamically change its state between open and closed positions. This dynamic capability allows the shelf to adapt its configuration based on operational requirements - open for loading/unloading articles and closed for secure storage - thereby improving operational flexibility without requiring multiple separate shelf structures.
3Ease of manufacture
If an external driving force is used to switch the shelf state, then cost is reduced, but control precision may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The switching mechanism is designed to be actuated by an external driving force from the overhead transport vehicle, eliminating the need for an independent drive system on the shelf itself. The external driving force provides sufficient control precision for switching between open and closed states while significantly reducing manufacturing costs by avoiding duplicate drive components.
Data Source
AI summary
An overhead transport vehicle temporarily places a FOUP at a ceiling suspended shelf while transporting the FOUP to a target position by traveling along a rail on a ceiling of a building from which the ceiling suspended is suspended. The ceiling suspended shelf includes an upper shelf including an upper support surface that supports the FOUP. A level of the upper support surface is the same or substantially the same as a level of the rail.