Patent ID: 7736118

Claim:
A transfer apparatus comprising: a stationary base; a swivel supported by the stationary base and rotatable about a vertical axis, the swivel including a cylindrical shaft and a housing provided above and detachably connected with the cylindrical shaft; a guide member mounted on the swivel; a linear movement mechanism supported by one of the swivel and the guide member; a hand supported by the linear movement mechanism and moved by the linear movement mechanism for carrying a work along a straight and horizontal travel stroke; a drive source disposed inside the stationary base; a transmission shaft disposed along the vertical axis for transmission of drive power from the drive source to the linear movement mechanism; a connecting member connected to the linear movement mechanism and accommodated by the housing and being rotatable about the vertical axis; and an engagement member brought into engagement with the transmission shaft from above and detachably connected with the connecting member; wherein: the hand includes a first hand and a second hand movable along the travel stroke without interfering with each other; the linear movement mechanism includes a first drive mechanism and a second drive mechanism for driving the first and the second hands respectively; the connecting member is constituted by a first connecting member and a second connecting member disposed concentrically to each other in correspondence to the first and the second drive mechanisms; the transmission shaft is constituted by a first transmission shaft and a second transmission shall disposed concentrically to each other in correspondence to the first and the second drive mechanism; and the engagement member includes a first engagement member engageable with the first transmission shaft and detachable from the first connecting member, and a second engagement member engageable with the second transmission shaft and detachable from the second connecting member.