Abstract: A linear motor driven transport system is assembled from a number of basic operating blocks, each operating block being constituted by an operating block and a dedicated control facility which includes a controller. The basic block is obtained by dividing the entire system route into functional blocks, each block containing the essential operating elements such as tracks, branching standby tracks, carriers, stations and a controller to control these devices. A carrier can be called for a transport duty within one block as well as from any other operating block, and spare carriers are parked in standby tracks and can be called to duty in any operating blocks. When a carrier is available within a block, the movement of the carriers is controlled by a dedicated controller for that block based on the destination of the carrier and the carrier location based on output of position sensors disposed along the tracks.

Abstract: A linear motor driven transport system of an improved design is presented. The conventional roller configuration for holding the transport vehicle on the rail track has been replaced with a spring-loaded design so as to maintain the contact between the roller and the rail surface regardless of the curvatures in the routing track. Weighing device of an improved direct-loading design is adopted to improve the ruggedness of the device. Devices for controlling the positioning of the transport vehicle, including the carrier, have been simplified and the number of component pieces reduced to lower the cost of manufacturing the transport system. The container and track configurations have also been modified to enable efficient track set-up and loading/unloading of goods in complex track routing in a limited space.

Abstract: In a thermal-transfer-type color printer, an ink ribbon and a paper are sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen roller so that a specific image is transferred onto the paper in a specific color. The platen roller is made by a rubber material which has a certain degree of hardness. On the surface of the ink ribbon, plural colors of ink are sequentially and repeatedly painted. Hence, after transferring an image onto the paper in one color, the paper is moved backward; and then, another image is transferred onto the paper in another color. Thus, a multi-color printing is performed. In order to avoid a color shade or an printing error, in which a printing position of one-color image does not accurately match with a printing position of another-color image, the paper should be accurately moved forward and backward. In order to do so, the thermal-transfer-type color printer provides a precise paper-feed mechanism which comprises a pinch roller and a paper-feed roller.

Abstract: An integrated air cargo/container handling system is presented in which the motive power section and the container handling section are integrated. Unlike the conventional system which requires coordination of three handling units (the power section, a transport section and a loading section) and separate operators for loading and unloading of containers, the present handling system has only two sections: the motive power section and the container handling section. The container handling section includes three elevators: a front elevator, a middle elevator and a back elevator. At the cargo terminal, eight containers are loaded onto the handling system using the back elevator and the middle elevator, and the containers are secured on the back and middle elevators. The handling system is driven to a target aircraft at a speed of up to 50 Km/hr, and the front elevator is positioned in place at the cargo bay of the aircraft.

Abstract: A conveyor system that performs a conveyance by using pallets for loading green tires and device for conveying these pallets, installs a storage area for storing pallets as they are on the way to convey, and uses robots for transferring the green tires from a pallet to a tire vulcanizer. Pallets being of such a type as to be able to load two or more green tires for planar placement and a conveyor devise is desired to be able to get under these pallets for lifting up. Furthermore, a visual sensor provided on a robot reads at least one of a mark concerning the specification of a green tire, a mark for its positioning on a pallet, and a mark for its positioning on a tire vulcanizer, identifies a green tire to be conveyed, and automatically performs a positioning in transferring the green tire from the relevant pallet and a positioning in transferring the green tire to a tire vulcanizer in the conveyor system.

Abstract: A conveying system provides a cassette accommodating workpieces; a container containing the cassette; a transferring device for conveying the cassette while supporting it or conveying the container which is empty or contains the cassette while supporting it, the transferring device having a supporting device for supporting the cassette. In the conveying system, a handle is provided on the upper surface of the container so that it is supported by the supporting device.

Abstract: A linear motor driven transport system of an improved design is presented. The conventional roller configuration for holding the transport vehicle on the rail track has been replaced with a spring-loaded design so as to maintain the contact between the roller and the rail surface regardless of the curvatures in the routing track. Weighing device of an improved direct-loading design is adopted to improve the ruggedness of the device. Devices for controlling the positioning of the transport vehicle, including the carrier, have been simplified and the number of component pieces reduced to lower the cost of manufacturing the transport system. The container and track configurations have also been modified to enable efficient track set-up and loading/unloading of goods in complex track routing in a limited space.

Abstract: The present invention provides a transport management method and apparatus for controlling the transport of a plurality of unmanned vehicles traveling over a travel grid formed from a plurality of nodes provided at stationary positions, and connection routes connecting the intervals between these nodes. The transport management apparatus according to the present invention has a first function for searching for a travel route for each unmanned vehicle in which an unmanned vehicle does not travel in the opposite direction over the same connection route as another unmanned vehicle and a second function for solving the progression impossibility of an unmanned vehicle using a node passing sequence change process, detour route search process or passing route search process, in the case when a progression impossibility of any unmanned vehicle is detected following simulation of the timed movements of each unmanned vehicle based on travel routes obtained by means of the aforementioned first function.

Abstract: Disclosed is an electronic substrate processing system comprising a processing equipment for processing electronic substrates including semiconductor wafers and liquid crystal substrates; a cleaning equipment for cleaning said electronic substrate in a predetermined processing step; a portable closed container for accommodating a cassette containing said electronic substrate; a purging station for gas-purging said portable closed containers; and a storage member for storing said portable closed containers, wherein said cassette accommodates said electronic substrates which have been cleaned by said cleaning equipment being set in said portable closed container and purged with an inert gas in said purging station, and said portable closed container or containers is stored in said storing section when necessary.

Abstract: A thermal sublimation printer is disclosed. A pile of blank paper is inserted into a paper cassette 10, and a donor ribbon 21 coated with sublimation dyes is mounted on a supplying rotational axis 22 and a furl rotational axis 23 on bearings. The heating of a plurality of heating elements 4a, 4a, . . . , 4a of a thermal head 4, the movement of a platen roller 3, etc., are controlled by a control device as sublimation printing is carried out. The printed papers are then placed in the paper cassette 10, and exchanges the donor ribbon 21 for a fade preventive donor ribbon 27 coated with an over coating material. The over coating material is transferred on the printed paper by heat of the thermal head 4.

Abstract: A linear motor driven transport system of an improved design is presented. The conventional roller configuration for holding the transport vehicle on the rail track has been replaced with a spring-loaded design so as to maintain the contact between the roller and the rail surface regardless of the curvatures in the routing track. Weighing device of an improved direct-loading design is adopted to improve the ruggedness of the device. Devices for controlling the positioning of the transport vehicle, including the carrier, have been simplified and the number of component pieces reduced to lower the cost of manufacturing the transport system. The container and track configurations have also been modified to enable efficient track set-up and loading/unloading of goods in complex track routing in a limited space.

Abstract: In the travel control method in the mobile robot system including a plurality of mobile robots and the control station for controlling these mobile robot, the control station directs one of a plurality of mobile robots to the destination robot, responding to the direction, searches the route to the destination directed by the control station and sends the result to the control station. The control station which receives this in formation checks if the travel path searched by the mobile robot is already reserved by other mobile robots or not by the reservation table. If not, the control station informs the reserve completion to said mobile robot. The mobile robot which received the information of the reservation completion travels automatically along the travel path which is already reserved.

Abstract: A vibratory drum machine for treating articles includes a cylindrical drum body supported resiliently by springs; and a circular or elliptic vibratory force generating mechanism fixed on the peripheral wall of the cylindrical drum body above the horizontal line passing perpendicularly through the central axis of the cylindrical drum.

Abstract: A vibration control device for a rotating machine in which a primary yoke is provided within a hollow space of a secondary yoke so that the secondary yoke rotates about a shaft inserted through the primary yoke. A plurality of electromagnet portions are arranged around a peripheral surface of the primary yoke and there are a pair of sensors and a control portion. The electromagnet portions include at least a pair of first and second electromagnet portions and another pair of third and fourth electromagnet portions. The first and second electromagnet portions so arranged opposite to each other with respect to an X-axis direction, while the third and fourth electromagnet portions are arranged opposite to each other with respect to a Y-axis direction. One sensor detects a positional displacement between the primary and secondary yokes with respect to the X-axis direction, while another sensor detects a positional displacement between the primary and secondary yokes with respect to the Y-axis direction.

Abstract: A vibratory parts-feeder apparatus includes a vibratory parts-feeder, a surrounding device for surrounding the vibratory parts-feeder, a sound-wave generator arranged below the vibratory parts-feeder, a noise detector arranged near the vibratory parts-feeder or attached thereto for detecting noise generating from the vibratory parts-feeder, a noise-cancelling signal generator, receiving the detecting output of the noise detector and driving the sound-wave generator; whereby sound-waves generating from the sound-wave generator are transmitted outwards from an annular gap at the upper end of the surrounding device, the surrounding device consists of a first cylindrical body with a bottom, surrounding the vibratory parts-feeder and a second cylindrical body, with a bottom, surrounding the first cylindrical body, the sound-wave generator is arranged at an opening made in the bottom of the second cylindrical body, and sound-waves generating from said sound-wave generator are transmitted outwards from an annular ga

Abstract: A linear motor driven transport system of an improved design is presented. The conventional roller configuration for holding the transport vehicle on the rail track has been replaced with a spring-loaded design so as to maintain the contact between the roller and the rail surface regardless of the curvatures in the routing track. Weighing device of an improved direct-loading design is adopted to improve the ruggedness of the device. Devices for controlling the positioning of the transport vehicle, including the carrier, have been simplified and the number of component pieces reduced to lower the cost of manufacturing the transport system. The container and track configurations have also been modified to enable efficient track set-up and loading/unloading of goods in complex track routing in a limited space.

Abstract: An automatic battery charging apparatus for driverless transport vehicle is presented so as to enable disconnecting the charging source from the batteries when a certain pressure is reached in the interior of at least one battery. A pressure sensor provided inside the battery is set so that the contact of a relay opens when a certain interior pressure which is lower than the activating pressure for a safety valve provided on the battery. This prevents an excessive pressure build up in the battery interior caused, for example, by accidental over-charging, which would release damaging gases and corrosive vapors from the over-charged battery to the outside environment.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to control and damp with as few actuators as possible, vibrations generated in various directions on the bed of an automatic transport vehicle employed in clean rooms and other facilities. The automatic transport vehicle of the present invention comprises a truck (1a) and bed (1b) elastically supported with respect to the truck, a plurality of actuators (36) installed between them with inclined lines of action, sensors (40) which detect acceleration in the direction of the lines of action of these actuators, vibrations being suppressed by controlling the driving force of the actuators in accordance with the acceleration detected by the sensors.