JPH04268667A - Production management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically indicate supply in accordance with the fluctuation of the number of completed products by gathering production actual result information of each process and using this information for supply indication of parts, materials, or jigs with respect to a production line where the quantity of products is varied in accordance with the advance of processes. CONSTITUTION:An automatic warehouse 60 on a semiconductor production line preserves and supplies masks. An information processor 50 manages stocking and discharging of the automatic warehouse 60. A production actual result information input terminal 31 or the like is installed in each of processes 21, etc., and information processors 30, 31, etc., are connected by a transmission line 11. A form mask DB 41, a process DB 42, a mask DB 43, and a commencement DB 44 are generated on a central information processing unit 30. A worker inputs production actual result information at the time of carrying a wafer from an arbitrary process to the just succeeding process. The central information processing unit 30 refers to the process DB 42 to update the commencement DB 44 based on received information. Thus, mask supply indicating information is generated and is transmitted to an automatic warehouse control terminal 50.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a production management system using an information processing device, and more particularly to a production management system that automatically instructs the supply of parts, etc., and is adapted to a production line in the form of lot production.

0002

[Prior Art] As a production system that automatically arranges the supply of parts, etc. according to the progress of the product process,
A flexible production system described in No. 194002 is known. This is a flexible production system (F
By simultaneously displaying workpiece (workpiece) movement information and work instruction information in a MS), the system's operational efficiency is improved, regardless of the skill level of the operator. First, the overall operation of the conventional technology will be explained. Long-term machining plans for various workpieces and process design details for each workpiece are set in advance as basic information. Based on this information, the information processing device determines the operation schedules for each automated production equipment, including various machine tools, setup devices, cleaning devices, automated warehouses, transport devices, etc., as well as work instructions to be displayed on the work instruction device at the site. Create information, arrangement information, etc. Further, based on event reports (state change reports from equipment and work requests from work instruction devices), the information processing device tracks the position of the workpiece, etc., and creates movement information of the workpiece, etc. Further, in response to the above-mentioned event report, etc., control commands are output to the corresponding production equipment, and work instruction information and movement information of workpieces and the like are output to the work instruction device.

Next, a method for arranging parts and the like will be explained. The basic information set in advance mentioned above includes information such as parts used in each workpiece. When a workpiece is placed on the production line, the information processing device uses data indicating the current workpiece position and processing progress to arrange materials, jigs, tools, etc., and sends the details to the work instruction device. Displayed together with movement information of workpieces, etc.

However, the number of workpieces input into the production line remains unchanged throughout the entire processing process until the end, and no consideration has been given to the case where the number of workpieces changes as the process progresses.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above-mentioned prior art does not take into consideration production lines in lot format, where the quantity of processed products changes as the process progresses, and does not take into account production lines in which the quantity of processed products changes as the process progresses. There was a problem that it was not possible to give instructions for the supply of

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a production management system that automatically instructs the supply of parts, etc. in response to changes in the quantity of products in a production line where the quantity of products changes as the process progresses. .

Another object of the present invention is to use production performance information of each process collected for process control to instruct supply of parts, materials, or jigs and tools, It is an object of the present invention to provide a production management system that economically issues supply instructions for parts, etc., without using a data collection terminal dedicated to instructions.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a production management system having a means for collecting production performance information of each process and performing process control includes a. A means for determining a process that is subject to a supply instruction from production performance information of each process;
b. means for grasping the types of parts, materials, or jigs and tools used in the process targeted for supply instructions from production performance information in any process; c. means for predicting the planned quantity of construction for a process targeted for a supply instruction based on the number of completed products, which is one of the production performance information; d. means for calculating the planned quantity of parts, materials, or jigs and tools to be used from the planned starting quantity; e.
means for specifying the work location of the process for giving supply instructions;
．． means for creating supply instruction information for parts, materials, or jigs and tools based on the information obtained from the above means; g. It is proposed to provide a means for issuing supply instructions (such as displaying supply instruction information for parts, materials, or jigs and tools on a CRT).

[0009]

[Operation] Each time production performance information is collected, this system determines the process for which parts supply instructions should be given, and determines the parts to be used.
Confirm the type of materials or jigs, predict the planned quantity for construction based on the number of completed products, and calculate parts, materials, or
Calculate the planned quantity of jigs and tools, and identify parts, materials, or work locations for processes that use jigs and tools.

[0010] Based on the information obtained from the above processing, supply instruction information for parts, materials, or jigs and tools is created, and supply instructions such as displaying the supply instruction information for parts, materials, or jigs and tools on a CRT are issued. Let's do it.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention provides a production control system suitable for a production line that manufactures a wide variety of products in a large quantity and a variety of products in a small quantity in a lot format. An example of such a production line is a semiconductor production line. Semiconductor production lines are divided into pre-process and post-process. The pre-process is a process of fabricating semiconductor elements on a wafer, and the post-process is a process of assembling the completed semiconductor elements into a package. The pre-process has several characteristics.

a. Generally, in a semiconductor production line, a lot is made up of several dozen wafers, and processes are performed in units of lots. In each process, the wafers are inspected at the end of the work, and defective products are sequentially removed. Therefore, the number of wafers per lot varies as the process progresses.

b. In the photo process, which is one of the main steps in the pre-process, a jig called a photomask (hereinafter referred to as a mask) is used. Masks are equivalent to negative film in photography, and must be kept clean at all times. For this reason, they are stored in a dedicated warehouse to prevent dust from adhering to them, and each time they are used, they are taken out of the warehouse and transported, and they are cleaned after each use.

c. In the pre-process, the same processing path including the photo process is repeated more than ten times. At this time, by changing the mask pattern used in the photo process, it is possible to produce a wide variety of products on the same production line. For this reason, there are many types of masks used in semiconductor production lines, and incorrect masks due to mistakes in supply instructions can lead to defects.

For the above reasons, masks are frequently supplied, and in order to improve yields and shorten delivery times, they are required to be accurate and quick. As an embodiment of the present invention, a production control system that performs process control and automatic mask supply instructions in a semiconductor pre-process will be described.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a production management system according to the present invention. Semiconductor pre-process 21
~2N, an automated warehouse 60 for storing masks used in the photo process and supplying them to the photo process, and an information processing device 50 for controlling the entry and exit of the automated warehouse 60, respectively, are installed in each of the processes 21 to 2N. Production performance information input terminals 31 to 3N are installed in the central information processing apparatus 30, and the information processing apparatuses 30 to 3N and 50 are connected by a common bus such as a coaxial cable. A model master database (hereinafter abbreviated as model master DB) 41 is installed on the central information processing unit 30.
, process DB42, mask DB43, work in progress DB44
Create.

The model master DB 41 has manufacturing procedures for each product model, and the field structure consists of a model name and a process code, as shown in FIG.

The process DB 42 has the process flow and name for each manufacturing procedure, and also has information for supply instructions. As shown in Figure 3, the field structure consists of process code, process name, process sequence, work location, number of processes up to the instruction target process (data is available only for processes that issue mask supply instructions for each photo process), and mask name. .

The mask DB 43 has usage standards for each mask, and the field structure consists of a mask name and the number of workable wafers per mask, as shown in FIG.

The in-process DB 44 is created from the type master DB 41 and the process DB 42 at the time of lot input, and is used to register in-process processes and the number of in-process items for each lot, and is updated when production performance information is collected. As shown in FIG. 5, the field structure consists of lot number, number of work in progress, process sequence, process name, and process code.

The production performance information input terminals 31 to 3N have the following functions.

a. Production performance information for any process (lot N
Function for inputting information (e.g., work process name, number of completed wafers, cause of defects, etc.).

b. A function for transmitting input production performance information to the central information processing unit 30.

The central information processing unit 30 has the following functions.

a. A function that updates the in-process DB 44 every time production performance information is received.

b. A function that uses the process DB 42 to check the field for the number of processes up to the specified process.

c. A function that uses the process DB 42 to confirm the type of mask to be used and the work location.

d. A function that uses the mask DB 43 to check the number of wafers that can be used per mask, and calculates the planned number of masks to be used in the specified process.

[0029] e. A function that creates mask supply instruction information based on the information obtained from the above functions and sends the mask supply instruction information to the automatic warehouse control terminal 50.

The automatic warehouse control terminal 50 has the following functions.

a. A function to receive mask supply instruction information transmitted by the central information processing unit 30.

b. A function that displays the received mask supply instruction information and sends information for shipping the mask to the automated warehouse by specifying the displayed mask name.

[0033] As described above, in a production line where a plurality of lots are flowing, the worker in each process inputs production performance information from the production performance information input terminal at the end of the work.
It is possible to build a production management system that collects production performance information in real time and uses that information to perform process control and automatic mask supply instructions.

Next, the operation of this system will be explained. A feature of the present invention is that mask supply instructions are automatically issued using production performance information for each process. Therefore,
Regarding process control, only the outline will be explained. At the time of lot input, the lot number and model name are input into a lot input information processing device (not shown). The lot input information processing device sends a record with the input lot number to the in-process DB 44 on the central information processing device 30, and stores it in the model master DB 4.
1 and the process DB 42. Every time the central information processing unit 30 receives production performance information for a given lot, it updates the corresponding record in the in-process DB 44 using the process DB 42. As a result, in-process DB4
4. In-process information for all lots within the line can be saved. The central information processing unit 30
By using B44, the current position of each lot can be accurately grasped and process progress can be checked.

Next, the operation when this system automatically issues a mask supply instruction will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system from the end of a given process 2n1 until the wafer is transferred to the immediately following process 2n2. In step 100, process 2n
After completing work 1, the worker inputs the production results information input terminal 3n.
1 (any of the production record information input terminals 31 to 3N), the production record information (work process name, lot number, and process 2n)
Input the number of completed wafers (1). In step 101, the production record information input terminal 3n1 transmits the input production record information to the central information processing device 30. Step 102
Then, the central information processing unit 30 searches the process DB 42 using the process code and process sequence as keys, based on the received production record information, and updates the in-process DB 44. In step 103, the central information processing unit 30 checks whether a numerical value (1 or more) is registered in the field for the number of processes up to the instruction target process in the process DB 42 searched in step 102.

First, in step 103, in the field of the number of processes up to the specified process in the process DB 42,
A case where 2 is temporarily registered as a numerical value will be explained. In this case, mask supply instruction processing from step 104 to step 106 is performed. In step 104, the central information processing unit 30 searches the process DB 42 using the process code and the process sequence plus 2 as a key, and searches for the mask name to be used in process 2n3 two processes later,
Check your work area. Mask DB using the mask name as a key
43 and check the number of workable wafers per mask. Process 2 using the sent number of completed wafers as is.
The planned quantity of masks to be used is calculated by dividing the planned starting quantity by the number of workable wafers per mask and rounding up to the nearest whole number. In step 105, the central information processing unit 30 creates mask supply instruction information based on the previously obtained work location, mask name, and planned quantity of masks, and transmits the mask supply instruction information to the automated warehouse control terminal 50. . In step 106, the automated warehouse control terminal 50 converts the received mask supply instruction information into a CR.
Display on T. When the warehouse worker specifies the mask name displayed on the CRT of the automated warehouse control terminal 50, the automated warehouse control terminal 50 sends a mask retrieval instruction to the automated warehouse 60, and the automated warehouse 60 receives the specified mask name. The masks are taken out of the warehouse, and a worker transports the left-out masks to the work location of process 2n3. In step 107, the wafer is transferred to process 2n1.

Next, in step 103, the field for the number of processes up to the specified process in the process DB 42 is set to
Explain what would happen if it was a space. In this case, the mask supply instruction processing from step 104 to step 106 is not performed, and the process proceeds to step 107. In step 107, the wafer is transferred to process 2n2.

[0038] Through the above procedure, the central information processing unit 30 performs the following based on the production performance information transmitted by the production performance information input terminal.
Automatically issues mask supply instructions for specified processes. In addition, as mentioned above, this system collects production performance information for all processes in real time and performs the processing shown in Figure 4 each time, so mask supply instructions are automatically issued for all photo processes. be able to.

As explained above, according to this embodiment,
It is possible to provide a production control system that performs process control and automatically instructs mask supply on a production line that manufactures semiconductors in lot form.

[0040] In the above embodiment, the second work completion step
Although the mask supply instruction was given for the process after the process, it does not matter how many processes have passed.

[0041] In the above embodiment, the number of completed wafers was directly used as the planned number of starts for subsequent processes, but the average yield may be registered in advance in the information processing device and calculated using that. .

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, by specifying the mask name on the screen of the automated warehouse control terminal, the warehouse worker can
Masks have been delivered, but a mask delivery instruction may be sent directly to the automated warehouse to carry out the delivery. Alternatively, an information processing device dedicated to issuing work instructions may be installed, and an exit instruction may be displayed on the screen of the information processing device to instruct a worker to exit the warehouse.

Further, in the above embodiment, the mask was transported to each process by the operator, but a transport vehicle may also be used.

[0044] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the central information processing unit is
Although the mask supply instruction has been given, the production record information input terminal to which the production record information has been input may also carry out the instruction. At that time D
B may be located on any information processing device as long as it is an information processing device connected via a network.

[0045] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the central information processing unit is
We performed two processes: process control and mask supply instructions, but
In order to reduce the burden placed on one information processing device, an information processing device dedicated to process management and an information processing device dedicated to mask supply instructions may be installed, respectively.

[0046]

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

[0047] In a production line with multiple processes,
Based on the production performance information in each process, it automatically instructs the supply of parts, etc. used in subsequent processes. It is also possible to issue instructions for automatically supplying parts, etc. in response to changes in the number of completed products.

[0048] Furthermore, the collected production performance information for each process is
Since it is used for process control as well as automatic supply instructions for parts, etc., the collected data can be effectively utilized. In addition, in terms of hardware, the same data collection terminal serves as two devices, one for process management and one for issuing supply instructions for parts, etc., which is economical.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a production management system according to the present invention.

2 is a field configuration diagram of a model master DB 41 created on the central information processing unit 30 of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a field configuration diagram of a process DB 42 created on the central information processing unit 30 of FIG. 1. FIG.

4 is a field configuration diagram of a mask DB 43 created on the central information processing unit 30 of FIG. 1. FIG.

5 is a field configuration diagram of an in-process DB 44 created on the central information processing unit 30 of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation when the system of FIG. 1 automatically issues a mask supply instruction.

[Explanation of symbols]

11...Transmission line, 21-2N...Each process of semiconductor pre-process, 3
0... Information processing device (central information processing device), 31-3N...
Information processing device (production record information input terminal), 41...model master database, 42...process database,
43... Mask database, 44... In-process database, 50... Information processing device (automated warehouse control terminal), 60
...Automated warehouse for mask storage.

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: Multiple information processing units connected via a network installed in a production line consisting of multiple processes and a warehouse for storing parts, materials, or jigs and tools used in each process and supplying each process. In a production management system that consists of equipment and has a means of collecting production performance information for each process, the system uses the production performance information collected in a certain process to predict the planned quantity of construction for processes after that process. A means for understanding the types of parts, materials, or jigs and tools to be used and calculating their quantities, and based on this, creating supply instruction information for parts, materials, or jigs and tools, and issuing supply instructions to the warehouse. A production management system characterized by the provision of means. 2. A production management system comprising a plurality of information processing devices connected via a network installed in a semiconductor production line having a mask storage warehouse, and having means for collecting production performance information for each process, the system Next, from the production performance information of any process prior to the photo process, we predict the planned quantity of construction for the photo process, calculate the quantity of masks to be used in the photo process, and based on this, determine the type and quantity of masks to be used in the photo process. A semiconductor production management system that creates mask supply instruction information and issues supply instructions to a warehouse.