Abstract: Regarding a transfer system that includes a plurality of transfer vehicles that transfer articles, the present invention realizes technology that can alleviate congestion that is caused due to the travel speed of a specific vehicle that performs a specific task being lower than that of the transfer vehicles. The transfer system includes a plurality of transfer vehicles that travel on a transfer path to transfer articles, and the transfer system further includes: a specific vehicle that performs a specific task while travelling on the transfer path at a speed lower than that of the transfer vehicles; and a congestion determination unit that determines whether or not there is congestion behind the specific vehicle. Upon the congestion determination unit determining that there is congestion, the specific vehicle suspends the task and performs evacuation travel to evacuate from a task point at which the specific vehicle was performing the task.

Abstract: A travelling path includes a first path and a second path that branches off from or merges with the first path at a connection position of the first path. A management area and a check area are provided for the first path. The management area includes a section from the connection position to a position that is at a first preset distance upstream of the connection position, and a section from the connection position to a position that is at a second preset distance downstream of the connection position. The check area includes a section from a preset position to a position that is at a fourth preset distance upstream of the preset position. In a state where an article transport vehicle that includes a control unit is located in the check area, the control unit determines whether or not the article transport vehicle is in a leading state where no other article transport vehicle is present forward of the article transport vehicle in the check area.

Abstract: A control system for controlling transport devices includes a first server that has a first storage unit and a first instruction unit, and a second server that has a second storage unit and a second instruction unit. In a first state, the first storage unit transmits first transport information to the first instruction unit, the first instruction unit transmits second transport information to a target transport device, and instruction unit information is stored in common in the first instruction unit and the second instruction unit. If the first instruction unit stops operating normally in the first state, the control state is switched to a second state, and in the second state, the first storage unit transmits the first transport information to the second instruction unit, and the second instruction unit transmits the second transport information to the target transport device based on the instruction unit information.

Abstract: Regarding a transfer system that includes a plurality of transfer vehicles that transfer articles, the present invention realizes technology that can alleviate congestion that is caused due to the travel speed of a specific vehicle that performs a specific task being lower than that of the transfer vehicles. The transfer system includes a plurality of transfer vehicles that travel on a transfer path to transfer articles, and the transfer system further includes: a specific vehicle that performs a specific task while travelling on the transfer path at a speed lower than that of the transfer vehicles; and a congestion determination unit that determines whether or not there is congestion behind the specific vehicle. Upon the congestion determination unit determining that there is congestion, the specific vehicle suspends the task and performs evacuation travel to evacuate from a task point at which the specific vehicle was performing the task.

Abstract: An inactive gas introducing facility for a storage rack is provided in which supply of inactive gas to a container is stopped if an open state of an inspection door is detected while in a normal stop state in which a stop nullifying command is not issued and in which the supply of the inactive gas based on the immediately preceding supply pattern is continued and any changes, through manual operation, to a parameter that defines the immediately preceding supply pattern are prohibited, if an open state of an inspection door is detected while in a stop nullifying state in which the stop nullifying command is issued.

Abstract: A control system for controlling transport devices includes a first server that has a first storage unit and a first instruction unit, and a second server that has a second storage unit and a second instruction unit. In a first state, the first storage unit transmits first transport information to the first instruction unit, the first instruction unit transmits second transport information to a target transport device, and instruction unit information is stored in common in the first instruction unit and the second instruction unit. If the first instruction unit stops operating normally in the first state, the control state is switched to a second state, and in the second state, the first storage unit transmits the first transport information to the second instruction unit, and the second instruction unit transmits the second transport information to the target transport device based on the instruction unit information.

Abstract: A travelling path includes a first path and a second path that branches off from or merges with the first path at a connection position of the first path. A management area and a check area are provided for the first path. The management area includes a section from the connection position to a position that is at a first preset distance upstream of the connection position, and a section from the connection position to a position that is at a second preset distance downstream of the connection position. The check area includes a section from a preset position to a position that is at a fourth preset distance upstream of the preset position. In a state where an article transport vehicle that includes a control unit is located in the check area, the control unit determines whether or not the article transport vehicle is in a leading state where no other article transport vehicle is present forward of the article transport vehicle in the check area.

Abstract: A first control device executes, if it is determined that a second control device has become unable to output an operation instruction, continued operation processing for operating an inactive gas supply portion based on the operation instruction that was last output by the second control device. The first control device further executes, if it is determined during execution of continued operation processing that a stop condition is satisfied, operation stop processing for stopping the inactive gas supply portion by suspending the continued operation processing.

Abstract: A storage facility includes a controller for monitoring a supply state of the inactive gas for the plurality of storage sections and for controlling the plurality of supply amount adjusting devices. The controller is configured to monitor the supply state of the inactive gas for the plurality of storage sections by dividing the plurality of storage sections into a plurality of monitoring areas, and to control a plurality of supply amount adjusting devices such that the supply state of the inactive gas supplied to the storage sections belonging to each of the plurality of monitoring areas satisfies a set restricting condition defined in advance.

Abstract: An inactive gas introducing facility includes an introducing device disposed in a support portion supporting a container accommodating a substrate and configured for introducing inactive gas to the inside of the container through a gas feed opening of the container with discharging gas present inside the container to the outside through a gas discharge opening of the container and a controller for controlling operation of the introducing device. The introducing device is capable of varying the feed rate of the inactive gas. The controller is configured to control the operation of the introducing device such that in the feeding of the inactive gas to the container supported to the support portion, the feed rate is increased progressively to a target feed rate.

Abstract: An inactive gas introducing facility for a storage rack is provided in which supply of inactive gas to a container is stopped if an open state of an inspection door is detected while in a normal stop state in which a stop nullifying command is not issued and in which the supply of the inactive gas based on the immediately preceding supply pattern is continued and any changes, through manual operation, to a parameter that defines the immediately preceding supply pattern are prohibited, if an open state of an inspection door is detected while in a stop nullifying state in which the stop nullifying command is issued.

Abstract: An inactive gas introducing facility for a storage rack is provided in which supply of inactive gas to a container is stopped if an open state of an inspection door is detected while in a normal stop state in which a stop nullifying command is not issued and in which the supply of the inactive gas based on the immediately preceding supply pattern is continued and any changes, through manual operation, to a parameter that defines the immediately preceding supply pattern are prohibited, if an open state of an inspection door is detected while in a stop nullifying state in which the stop nullifying command is issued.

Abstract: Proper article storage management is made possible in the article storage facility which stores articles in containers and in an inactive gas environment. The article storage facility includes a storage rack having storage sections, a transport portion which transports containers to the storage sections, gas supplying portions each of which supplies inactive gas to the container stored in the storage section, and a display. The display displays display sections such that the arrangement of the display sections corresponds to the arrangement of the storage sections in the storage rack and displays a supply state of inactive gas in each of the display sections.

Abstract: When a controller determines that the maximum simultaneous feed number is exceeded by a total target number which is the total number of inactive gas feeding section determined to be controlled to the first feed state at one time, of the inactive gas feeding sections determined to be controlled to the first feed state at one time, the controller controls some of them not more than the maximum simultaneous feed number to the first feed state and executes a start delaying process for the others in which process starting of the first control state is delayed by a set delay period.

Abstract: An article storage facility includes a transport device for transporting containers to a plurality of storage sections, an inactive gas feed section which supplies inactive gas to the interior of the container stored in the storage section, and a controller for controlling operation of the device and operation of the flow rate adjusting device of the inactive gas feed section. The controller is configured to cause a state of the inactive gas feed section associated with the storage section to be both a storage feed state and an unfeeding state depending on if the carrier is stored or not stored be. The controller is also configured to store the transporting container in the storage section after changing the state of the inactive gas feed section associated with the storage section in which the container is to be stored to a pre-storage feed state from the unfeeding state.

Abstract: An article storage facility comprises a plurality of storage units for storing transporting containers for substrates and inactive gas feed passages for supplying inactive gas to each of the plurality of said storage units. The plurality of storage units are divided into a plurality of sections. The inactive gas feed passages include section feeding portions which supply the inactive gas to the sections, and storage unit feeding portions which divert and supply the inactive gas, that is supplied to a respective section by an associated one of the section feeding portions, to the plurality of storage units in the respective section. The article storage facility includes a bypass portion which allows communication between two or more storage unit feeding portions, and a bypass switching valve that can be switched between an open state in which the inactive gas can be communicated through the bypass portion and a closed state in which the inactive gas cannot be communicated through the bypass portion.

Abstract: A storage system comprises a storage structure having storage sections and a carry-in-and-out portion, one or more environment adjusters for adjusting storage environment individually for each of the storage sections, an environment managing portion for collecting information about storage environment and controls operation of the one or more environment adjusters, a storage transport device for performing a transport operation, and a carry-in-and-out managing device for managing the locations of storage sections.

Abstract: An article storage facility includes a controller for controlling operations of flow rate adjusting devices of inactive gas feeding sections and a specified feeding section selecting section for selecting one or some or all of a plurality of inactive gas feeding sections as specified feeding sections. For the inactive gas feeding sections of the storage sections storing the transport containers therein, the controller causes the flow rate adjusting devices to be operated according to a container storage mode in which mode the inactive gas is fed to the transport container in a predetermined feed manner. For the specified feeding sections selected by the specified feeding section selecting section, the controller causes the flow rate adjusting devices to be operated according to a specified feeding section feed mode in which mode the inactive gas is fed through the discharge openings thereof in a specified feeding section feed manner.

Abstract: An inactive gas introducing facility includes an introducing device for introducing inactive gas to the inside of a container stored in a storage section of a storage shelf with discharging gas present inside the container to the inside of a storage space partitioned from the outside and a controller for controlling operation of the introducing device. In a normal stop mode, the controller controls the operation of the introducing device to stop feeding of inactive gas to the container in response to detection of an opened state of an inspection door. And, in a stop nullification mode, the controller controls the operation of the introducing device to continue feeding of inactive gas to the container even in response to detection of the opened state of the inspection door.

Abstract: An article storage facility includes a transport device for transporting the transporting containers to the plurality of storage units, a controller, and a supply state detecting device for detecting a supply state of the inactive gas to the plurality of storage units. The controller makes a determination based on detected information from the supply state detecting device as to whether the inactive gas is properly supplied, and manages the plurality of storage units by distinguishing the disallowed storage units for which it is determined that the inactive gas is not properly supplied from the allowed storage units that are the storage units that are not the disallowed storage units. The controller performs a retreating transport operation in which a transporting container, that is stored in the storage unit that is changed from the allowed storage unit to the disallowed storage unit, is transported to an allowed storage unit.