Patent ID: 7364028

Claim:
A glass substrate transporting facility, comprising: a plurality of processing devices for processing glass substrates; a transporting apparatus for directly transporting glass substrates such that glass substrates pass by the plurality of processing devices; storage shelves adapted to store glass substrates, each of the storage shelves being provided separately from the transporting apparatus and having a plurality of groups of glass substrate support portions, the groups being vertically spaced apart for storing a plurality of glass substrates; and transfer devices each adapted to directly support and transfer glass substrates between the transporting apparatus and associated one of the processing devices, between the transporting apparatus and associated one of the storage shelves, and between the associated one of the processing device and the associated one of the storage shelves, each of the transfer devices having a loading portion with a member having an upper surface for directly contacting a glass substrate to support the glass substrate, the member of the loading portion comprising at least: a) a first finger that has an upper surface arranged to directly contact a glass substrate to support the glass substrate, and that has a sufficient length to support the glass substrate, b) a second finger that is horizontally spaced apart from the first finger, that has an upper surface arranged to directly contact the glass substrate to support the glass substrate, and that has a sufficient length to support the glass substrate, c) a third finger that is horizontally spaced apart from and located between the first and second fingers, that has an upper surface arranged to directly contact the glass substrate to support the glass substrate, and that has a sufficient length to support the glass substrate; and each of said groups of glass substrate support portions comprising at least: a) a first support portion configured to support a region adjacent one of two lateral edges of the glass substrate, b) a second support portion configured to support a region adjacent the other of the two lateral edges of the glass substrate, c) a third support portion positioned between the first and the second support member; wherein the first, second, and third fingers are arranged at positions and are moved so as not to interfere with the first, second, and third support portions, wherein each of said groups of glass substrate support portions is positioned vertically such that the loading portion of the corresponding one of the transfer devices is capable of removing a glass substrate from and of storing a glass substrate on any one of said groups of glass substrate support portions of the corresponding one of the storage shelves; and wherein at least one each of the transfer device and the storage shelf is provided to each of some of the plurality of processing devices.