Article transfer apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in semiconductor manufacturing plants is controlling vibration in transfer robots moving along overhead rails, which affects the transport of goods.
Innovation Solution
The article transfer apparatus features a traveling rail design with first and second rails that include guide parts protruding vertically, and a transfer robot with wheels and guide wheels that adjust vertically to minimize contact with these guide parts, reducing friction and vibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the transfer robot moves along the overhead rail using conventional wheel contact, then the robot can travel along the rail, but friction and vibration occur between the robot and the rail
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces guide parts as intermediary elements protruding from the overhead rail. These guide parts interact with guide wheels on the transfer robot to control movement while reducing direct friction between the robot and the rail structure. The guide parts act as a mediator that enables controlled movement with minimal harmful friction and vibration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a wheel elevator mechanism that dynamically adjusts the vertical position of the traveling wheels. This allows the wheels to move between contacting and non-contacting states with the rail, enabling the robot to travel along the rail while minimizing friction and vibration during movement.
2Ease of operation
If guide parts protrude vertically from the rail to guide the robot, then movement control improves, but contact between guide wheels and guide parts increases friction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the guide parts have specific geometric characteristics - they protrude vertically from the rail and have dimensions that are smaller in the vertical direction. This localized structural feature provides guidance functionality while minimizing the contact area between the guide wheels and guide parts, thereby reducing friction force.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the guide parts, specifically their protrusion height and horizontal width dimensions. By optimizing these parameters, the guide parts provide sufficient guidance control while maintaining minimal contact with the guide wheels, thus reducing the friction force during robot movement.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the traveling wheels are kept in contact with the rail for stable movement, then movement stability improves, but vibration and friction increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the wheel elevator to dynamically adjust the vertical position of the traveling wheels. The wheels can be elevated to a non-contacting position when not needed, and lowered to contact the rail only when movement is required. This dynamic adjustment maintains movement stability when needed while eliminating vibration and friction during stationary periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The traveling wheels periodically contact and separate from the rail during operation. The wheel elevator raises the wheels to a non-contacting state during pauses or transitions, and lowers them to contact the rail during active movement phases. This periodic contact-separation action reduces continuous vibration and friction while maintaining stability during active movement.
Data Source
AI summary
An article transfer apparatus includes a traveling rail including: first rails extending in a first direction and spaced apart from each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and second rails extending in the second direction and spaced apart from each other in the first direction. The article transfer apparatus further includes a transfer robot on the traveling rail, configured to move in the first direction along two neighboring first rails among the first rails, and move in the second direction along two neighboring second rails among the second rails, the transfer robot including traveling wheels, guide wheels, and a wheel elevator, wherein the guide wheels are in contact with at least one from among a first guide part of the first rails and a second guide part of the second rails while the transfer robot moves on the traveling rail.