Patent ID: 8382417

Claim:
An article transport facility comprising: an article transporting mobile body configured to move along a path and having an article holder; an article support for storing an article, the article support being configured to be moved between an article transfer position for receiving an article from or delivering an article to the article holder of said article transporting mobile body that is at an article transfer location corresponding to said article support and an article storage position; operating means provided to said article transporting mobile body for moving said article support between said article storage position and said article transfer position, said operating means having an operating member, said operating means executing a projecting operation for projecting said operating member away from said article transporting mobile body at said article transfer location along a far-near direction that is transverse to the path, and a retracting operation for retracting said operating member toward said article transporting mobile body along the far-near direction, and said operating member being supported to be movable in a forward-rearward direction of said article transporting mobile body at said article transfer location that is parallel to the path; an operated element supported to be movable in said far-near direction between a proximate position closer to said article transporting mobile body at said article transfer location and a remote position further away from said article transporting mobile body at said article transfer location, said operated element being operable, in said proximate position, to cause said article support to be in said article storage position, and in said remote position, to cause said article support to be in said article transfer position; guide means for guiding said operating member in said forward-rearward direction to an operative position relative to said operated element when said operating means executes said projecting operation; and return biasing means for biasing said operating member in said forward-rearward direction toward a neutral position, in a state in which a guiding action of the guide means on the operating member is cancelled, wherein said operating means is configured to execute, when said article transporting mobile body is at said article transfer location, said projecting operation for causing said operating member to move said operated element from said proximate position to said remote position, and said retracting operation for causing, said operating member to move said operated element from said remote position to said proximate position.