CONVEYING SYSTEM HAVING ENDLESS DRIVE MEDIUM, METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING CARRIER THEREOF, AND CARRIER

摘要

A plurality of carriers are attached to an endless belt configured to rotate in a circulating manner. The carriers hold articles for transportation. Each of the carriers has an identification target for carrier identification. A plurality of stations are provided, and each of the stations has a hand configured to load articles to or unloading articles from the carriers and a sensor configured to detect the identification target at a predetermined position upstream of the hand along a rotation direction of the belt. The carrier is identified, and appearance of the carrier is recognized based on a signal from the sensor for operating the hand for a desired carrier. The carrier can be identified using the sensor for detecting the position of the carrier.