JPH0446742A - Method and device for carrying multi-kind of works - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the flow of works flexibly in correspondence with a multi- kind production line by simultaneously carrying a plurality of works from the mutual processing means and causing a carrying means to receive the works confirmed as the specified kind from a transferring means. CONSTITUTION:One of carriers 2 is moved to a charge/takeoff device 80 to which wafer is transferred. The carrier 2 is then moved to a place for an objective process along carrying rails 1. Thus, wafer receiving unit 20 receives the wafer for temporary storage. The wafer receiving unit 20 controls the wafer each kind of group and each process and can suitably charge and wafer in a processing equipment 60. Based on a command from a host computer 110, the wafer receiving unit 20 charges the designated wafer in the processing equipment 60, and after the processing, it identifies the wafer serial number each kind and temporarily stores the wafer for carrying it to the next process again. Thus, the wafer is transferred from the wafer receiving unit 20 to the carrier 2, and is carried to the next process.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a transportation method and its device in semiconductor manufacturing, and is particularly suitable for flexibly adapting to a multi-product production line and controlling the flow of workpieces. The present invention relates to a method and device for transporting a wide variety of semiconductors.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the production line of a semiconductor manufacturing factory was
As seen in Publication No. 9635, there is a work area where processing equipment for processing, transporting and storing wafers is installed, which requires a clean atmosphere, and ancillary equipment and utilities that do not require cleanliness. It was separated into a conservation area. For this reason, an attempt was made to improve the efficiency of the layout by using a structure called the pay system, in which work areas and maintenance areas were alternately placed on the left and right sides of the central passage. The pay system uses a so-called job shop system in which processing devices of the same type are arranged in one bay.

In addition, wafer transportation is carried out, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-2992.
As disclosed in Publication No. 3, wafers were placed in a cassette (sometimes referred to as a carrier), and the cassette was housed in a cassette case.

In the pay system, wafer transport between processing apparatuses consists of intra-pay transport and inter-pay transport, and a stocker for storing the cassettes is provided at the pay entrance/exit which is the connection point.

In other words, intra-pay transport transports cassettes from the cassette stocker provided at the entrance of the pay to the processing device, and inter-pay transport transports cassettes from the stocker of each pay to the stocker of another pay. be. Therefore, generally, wafers are transferred from a processing device to a processing device through a route such as a conveyance vehicle in a pay, a stocker, a conveyance vehicle between bays, a stocker, and a conveyance vehicle within a bay.

And as a trackless transport vehicle, AGV (Auto
There was a conveyance vehicle called a ``matio guided vehicle'', which carried several sets together and conveyed them at low speed. Furthermore, as a track-type transport vehicle, there is one that transports a plurality of cassettes, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-185336.

Inputting the wafer into the processing equipment
As disclosed in Publication No. 8038, a self-propelled robot handled one cassette. That is, when processing wafers, a self-propelled robot takes out a cassette from the stocker, moves to the front of the processing device, sets the cassette in the loader section of the processing device, and loads the wafer. In addition, when all the wafers stored in the cassette have been processed, the self-propelled robot moves to the front of the processing equipment, takes out the cassette from the unloader, moves to the stocker, and stores the cassette in the stocker. Was.

In addition, regarding cleanliness, the maintenance area where incidental equipment and utilities are generally installed and the work area where processing equipment is installed are placed alternately on the left and right sides of the central passage, and furthermore, the processing equipment can be laid out freely. In some cases, incidental equipment and utilities were installed on the first floor, and processing equipment was installed on the second floor.

Another trend is something called the SMIF method. In order to minimize the clean area, this is done by setting the SMIF box containing the cassette in an interface provided in the processing apparatus in advance when wafers are loaded into the processing apparatus. As a result, the wafers can be delivered in a clean state by blocking the atmosphere from the outside.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the conventional production method has many problems as follows.

First, the semiconductor manufacturing process has a large number of steps and the same steps are often repeated, so in the conventional pay method, the transport route between the pays becomes complicated and the transport takes time. Furthermore, since the status of the equipment in the previous process and the equipment in the post process cannot be known, it becomes difficult to synchronize the equipment. For this reason,
The amount of work in progress at each pay increases, and as a result, the construction period becomes longer. Furthermore, even if the production line were to be set up in a flow shop format, the process flow would be different for each product, so it would not be possible to support multi-product production. Moreover, in semiconductor process manufacturing, there are many process changes and product types change frequently, so it is conceivable that layout changes must be made each time.

Furthermore, when loading wafers into the processing equipment, the same self-propelled robot must be used to load the wafers into the processing equipment arranged in one bay.

However, in current semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the height and depth of the cassette loading position and the orientation of the cassette differ depending on the processing equipment. Only processing equipment that can be loaded with can be installed, and there are significant restrictions on the selection and layout of processing equipment. Furthermore, if a new processing device is introduced, there is a possibility that it will not be able to be used due to the limitations of self-propelled robots.

Further, since the processing device and the stocker for storing the cassettes are located apart from each other, it takes a certain amount of time to load the cassettes into the processing device. Furthermore, since there is only one self-propelled robot for each of the plurality of processing devices, it is not possible to load cassettes into the plurality of processing devices at the same time. Therefore, the operating rate of the processing device can be kept low.

Regarding cleanliness, methods such as the pay method that maintain a high level of cleanliness on the entire floor require a huge amount of investment to maintain a high degree of cleanliness because the space that must be cleaned is large, and the operating costs are also very high. becomes expensive. Furthermore, since wafers and workers are in the same working atmosphere, it is very difficult to maintain a high degree of cleanliness within the clean room.

On the other hand, in the SMIF method, the wafers are housed in a cassette and hermetically sealed, making it difficult to handle them one by one. Moreover, since the atmosphere surrounding the wafer is stationary,
- Once dust is generated, it cannot be removed and there is a possibility that the dust will stick to the wafer as it is.

Further, semiconductors, as typified by ASIC, are required to produce a wide variety of products in small quantities, and it is thought that the demand for high-mix, low-volume production will increase in the future as well. For this reason, it is conceivable that the lot size will become smaller and a cassette containing 25 wafers will not contain more than 10 wafers. In addition, since the loft size differs depending on the product type, the number of cassettes to be transported increases compared to the past even though the production volume is the same, and it is necessary to increase the transport capacity compared to the past.

Further, the diameter of semiconductor wafers has been increasing from 4 inches to 5 inches, and even 6 inches, and there is a tendency to move to 8 inches in the future. For this reason, it may become difficult to transport wafers in cassette units.

Furthermore, single-wafer processing, in which wafers are processed one by one, has become mainstream in processing equipment.

In this way, high-mix low-volume production, large-diameter wafers, and
It is predicted that the trend toward single-wafer processing equipment will increase, and under these circumstances, managing 25 wafers in cassette units is the optimal lot size for high-mix, low-volume production. The present invention was made with the aim of solving all of the various problems mentioned above.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above objective is achieved by the following means.

In other words, the wafer is transferred between the processing equipment from the first processing equipment to the second processing equipment, targeting processing equipment for processes that are often processed sequentially in a semiconductor process, such as resist coating → exposure → development, cleaning → diffusion. We will install a device, such as a transfer robot, to unload the processing equipment to other processing equipment, and aim to integrate the processing equipment (
Hereinafter, the equipment connected in this way will be referred to as an integrated processing equipment) and will be converted into a flow shop.

Then, this integrated processing apparatus is arranged around a track-shaped transport path along a large flow of semiconductor manufacturing processes, for example, film formation → photo → etch → film formation → . . . .

Furthermore, if a plurality of integrated processing devices of the same type are required from the standpoint of line balance, the integrated processing devices of the same type are gathered and arranged in one place in order to operate the processing devices efficiently.

Each through-processing device is equipped with a device having a function of storing wafers and a function of receiving and passing wafers between the transport vehicle and the processing device. That is, each throughput processing apparatus is provided with a transfer robot corresponding to the wafer loading method and a storage shelf for managing and storing each wafer carried by the carrier.

Then, what is transported between integrated processing devices is limited to only wafers. That is, instead of placing wafers in a cassette, storing them in a cassette case, and transporting them, a mechanism for holding wafers similar to a cassette is attached to a part of the transport vehicle, and only the wafers are transported. A sensor is installed on each shelf to confirm the presence or absence of wafers, and the product type and processing history are stored on each shelf. The transport vehicle also visits all the integrated processing equipment, and when it arrives in front of the integrated processing equipment, it places the wafers that have been processed thereon, and then unloads the wafers to be processed by that processing equipment.

Wafers are managed one by one, and each wafer is marked with a wafer number for each type and type.The wafer processing history is recorded and used for overall progress control by computer. At the same time, automation is achieved by checking whether there are any errors in wafer processing by the processing device or whether there are any defects on the wafers, and identifying the wafer number after the checking process.

In addition, the wafers are completely sealed when they are stored, and when the wafers are loaded from the transport vehicle into the processing equipment, the atmosphere is separated from the surrounding environment in order to maintain a high level of cleanliness. Clean only part of.

For cleanliness, a HEPA filter for dust removal and a fan for blowing air are installed on the top surface, and the floor surface has a grating structure to create a vertical laminar flow state.

[Effect]

As for the structure of the line, wafers with the same product type and process order are grouped together, and for each product group and process, one wafer to be input to the processing equipment or one wafer processed and output from the processing equipment. By installing a storage shelf in front of each processing equipment and connecting the processing equipment with transport equipment for loading and transporting wafers, it is possible to determine which type of wafer and which process to load from the storage shelf to the processing equipment, as well as the process. The flow of wafers can be controlled depending on which wafers are transported.

This controls the flow order between each processing device, and maintains the order and quantity of wafers based on the plan.
By transporting arbitrary wafers each time, it is possible to flow wafers as if the line were dedicated to each product type.

Each wafer is managed by attaching a wafer number, which is a serial number for each wafer type and type, to the wafer itself before processing, and by identifying the wafer with an identification device. You can check which wafer it is by looking at the wafer itself. As a result, it is possible to accurately know to which process the input wafer has progressed, one wafer at a time.

In processing equipment, by connecting several equipment corresponding to the process route that always repeats the same process, when input, multiple processes are processed and output, reducing the number of processes to manage, and reducing the number of processes between processing equipment. The total transport distance and number of transports are reduced.

When transferring wafers between the transfer equipment and processing equipment, a transfer robot is used to transfer the wafers to the processing equipment, or the processed wafers are temporarily stored to be placed on a transport vehicle and transferred to product groups and processes. A wafer transfer unit surrounded by a clean box is equipped with storage shelves to manage each wafer and an identification device to identify which wafers have been processed in the processing equipment. The loading is carried out in a clean state, and the progress of each wafer can be accurately monitored, allowing the flow of wafers to be accurately monitored.

In a clean configuration, wafers are stored one by one on a transport shelf and transported in a sealed manner, and when temporarily stored for processing or transport, the wafers are stored in a clean box that maintains a clean atmosphere, so that they can be stored in a clean area. can be reduced.

Since the transport unit of wafers is managed in units of one wafer, management can be easily performed on a one-wafer basis.

In the transport equipment, the wafers can be transferred to a transport vehicle that circulates on a track-like track at a predetermined station at a weight of one wafer, and the wafers are stored at the same level as a single wafer during transport, making effective use of the transport equipment. can.

In the flow of wafers, the amount of control can be reduced by grouping products with similar process order, controlling the order in which wafers are loaded from storage shelves and the order in which wafers are transported by transport vehicles, and the order in which wafers are transferred between product groups is controlled. By flowing the wafers at a constant flow rate from loading to unloading, wafers can be produced in the required order and quantity.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.

The overall configuration diagram is shown in Figure 1.

A transport rail 1 running in the shape of a track is provided on the ceiling in the center of the processing chamber, and a transport vehicle 2 that runs along the transport rail 1 is installed. A processing device 60 is provided, and the processing device 6
A wafer transfer unit 20 that transfers wafers in a clean atmosphere to and from a transport vehicle 2 that transfers wafers is installed in front of the wafer transfer unit 0, and an equipment module 90 consisting of a processing device 60 and a wafer transfer unit 20 is installed as a basic unit. Configure multiple sets as .

When a wafer is processed in a certain processing device 60, the transport vehicle 2 carries the wafer and transports it to the processing device 60 for the next step, and the processing steps are performed one after another, thereby completing the processing of the wafer in a plurality of steps. In addition to these apparatus configurations, a loading/unloading device 80 is provided near the transport rail 1 for loading wafers to be processed and unloading wafers that have undergone a plurality of processes.

Further, the host controller 110 is connected to the loading/unloading device 80, the transport vehicle 2, the wafer transfer unit 20, and the processing device 60 via a communication cable 117, and controls each of them.

In this configuration, the wafer is initially loaded from the loading/unloading device 80. That is, one of the transport vehicles 2 moves to the loading/unloading device 80 and stops. Then, the wafer is transferred from the loading/unloading device 80 to the transport vehicle 2.
It will be transferred to. At this time, if there are wafers that have already undergone the predetermined processing, the loading/unloading device 8
Transferred to 0.

When the wafer is placed on the transport vehicle 2, the transport vehicle 2 moves along the transport rail 1 to the target process, and the wafer transfer unit 20 picks up the wafer and temporarily stores it. At this time,
When processing is complete and there are wafers to be transferred to the next process,
The wafer is transferred from the wafer transfer unit 20 to the carrier vehicle 2. The wafer transfer unit 20 has a function of managing wafers by type group (a grouping of types having similar processing steps) and each process, and can arbitrarily input any wafer to the processing device 60. Then, based on a command from the host controller 110, the wafer transfer unit 20 loads the designated wafer into the processing device 60. When processing is completed, the wafer number is identified for each type and the wafer is transferred to the next process again. Temporarily stored for future purposes. Then, when the transport vehicle 2 arrives, the wafer transfer unit 2
The wafer is transferred from 0 and transported to the next process. In this way, this operation is repeated until a plurality of predetermined processes are completed, and when the process is completed, the transport vehicle 2 transports the vehicle to the position of the loading/unloading device 80 and transfers it to the loading/unloading device 80. .

Next, the operation of each device will be explained.

A perspective view of the wafer transfer unit 20 is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along arrow A in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the wafer 70, FIG. 7 is a front view (a) and a plan view (b) of the storage shelf 30 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the wafer in the storage shelf 30 in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of the storage section 31. FIG.

The wafer transfer unit 20 picks up wafers 70 of a predetermined type and a predetermined process from a transport vehicle 2 traveling along a transport rail 1 arranged in a track shape, and transfers the wafers 70 to a processing device 60 (
For example, the wafer 70 has a function of loading the wafer 70 into a photolithography apparatus and transferring the processed wafer 70 to the transport vehicle 2 again.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer transfer unit 20 includes a storage shelf 30 for storing wafers, a transfer robot 21 for handling wafers 70, and a wafer number 73 indicating the type and serial number of each type of wafer 70. It consists of an identification device 40 for reading the information, and a clean box 50 (FIG. 3) for keeping these devices and the loader section 61 and unloader section 62 of the processing device 60 in a clean atmosphere. One wafer 70 is stored in the storage shelf 30 as shown in FIG.
A holding section 31 is provided to hold the wafers 70 one by one, and each holding section 31 has a sensor (
For example, a photoelectric switch, etc.) is provided, and a wafer transfer unit controller that manages and controls the wafer transfer unit 20 confirms the presence or absence of a wafer 70.

As shown in FIG. 3, a transfer robot 21 is arranged at the center of the wafer transfer unit 20, and is arranged between the transfer shelf 5 and the storage shelf 30, between the storage shelf 30 and the loader section 61, and between the unloader section 62
The wafer 70 is transferred between the identification device 40 and the identification device 40 and between the identification device 40 and the storage shelf 30.

The configuration around the transfer robot 21 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The transfer robot 21 is configured such that a gripper 22 for vacuum suctioning one wafer 70, a forearm 23, and an upper arm 24 move up and down via a vertical shaft 25. Transfer robot 2
The controller 1 controls the transfer robot 21 to transfer the wafer 70 based on instructions from the wafer transfer unit controller, and notifies the wafer transfer unit controller that the transfer of the wafer 70 has been completed.

The configuration of the identification device 40 will be explained using FIG. 5.

The identification device 40 includes an illumination light source 42, a television camera 41, and a data processing section 43. Transfer robot 21
The wafer 70 set on the stage section 44 of the identification device 40 is irradiated with light from the illumination light source 42, and the wafer 70 is
The television camera 41 captures the wafer number 73 specified in , and captures it as image data. This image data is analyzed by the data processing section 43 and the wafer number 73 is read.

As shown in FIG. 6, the wafer 70 has a product name 7 indicating the product type.
Wafer number 73 consisting of 1 and serial number 72 by type
is written. The wafer number 73 is then read by the identification device 40. As a result, wafer 1
You can manage each sheet.

The clean box 50 is a box that maintains a clean atmosphere so as not to contaminate the wafers 70 when the wafers 70 are transferred between the transport shelf 5 and the processing device 60. As shown in FIG. Transfer robot 21° identification device 40
, and the loader section 61 and unloader section 62 of the processing device 60
is stored inside.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the inside of the clean box 50 is equipped with an air blowing fan 52 and a blower to remove dust from the air so that the internal air flow becomes a laminar flow on the upper surface.
A filter 53 is provided, and the lower surface has a grating structure so that the air can blow through. Further, a clean box door 51 that opens and closes so that the wafer 7o can be transferred to and from the transport shelf 5 is attached to the side surface. This clean box door 51 is normally closed and opens when the transport shelf 5 of the transport vehicle 2 is set.

A front view of the carrier 2 is shown in FIG. 9, and a side view is shown in FIG. 10. For example, 4th International
Conference on A ssembly
Automation process
Similar examples can be found in G (pp, 303-313).

Guide wheels 6 and a drive device 7 (for example, a linear motor) are attached to the transport vehicle 2, and the transport vehicle 2 is configured to move along the transport rail 1.

It also includes an elevating device 3 and an elevating head 4 for setting the transport shelf 5 in the clean box 5o. The lifting head 4 is moved along the vertical movement guide 9 by the vertical movement drive device 8.
It has a structure that allows it to move up and down using a motor (for example, a motor and a ball screw). Further, the transport shelf 5 is configured to move back and forth along a back and forth movement guide 11 by a back and forth movement drive device 10 (for example, a motor and a ball screw). Second
The operation will be explained using diagrams. The transport vehicle 2 runs suspended from a track-shaped transport rail l installed in advance, and when it stops in front of the wafer transfer unit 20, lowers the lifting head 4 to the position of the clean box door 51, and then lowers the transport shelf 5. Enter the clean box 50. After the clean box door 51 is opened, the transport door 12 is opened. When the transfer of the wafer 70 is completed by the gripper 22 of the transfer robot 21, the transfer shelf boundary 12 is closed, the clean box door 51 is closed, and the forward and backward movement guide 1 is closed.
1, the transport shelf 5 is returned and the elevating head 4 is returned to its original height.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the structure of the loading/unloading device 80, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 11.

In FIG. 11, a loading/unloading device 80 is a wafer 7
It is composed of a transfer robot 81 for handling wafers 70, a storage shelf 82 for storing wafers 70, and a clean box 83 for keeping these devices in a clean atmosphere. In FIG. 12, the clean box 83, like the wafer transfer unit 2o, has a fan 85 for blowing air and a HEPA filter 86 for removing dust from the air on the top surface, and a grating structure on the bottom surface to allow the air to blow through. There is. In addition, a clean box door 84 is installed so that the wafer 7o can be transferred to and from the transport shelf 5 placed on the transport vehicle 2, and the wafer 7o to be processed is placed therein.
A transport shelf 104 that opens and closes to take out the wafer 7o that has been processed is attached to the side surface. The transport shelf lot has a loading/unloading device 80 from the traveling vehicle 100.
In order to load and unload wafers, a traveling vehicle lO
O is equipped with a slide guide 1o2 (for example, a motor and a ball screw) that drives the arm 103 that holds the transport shelf 101 in a straight line. When the traveling vehicle 100 comes to a predetermined position of the loading/unloading device 8o, it stops and the arm 10
3 go straight and transport shelf 101 to clean box 83.
Insert and set. The clean box door 84 and the transport shelf boundary 101 are opened, and the transfer robot 81 takes out the wafer from the transport shelf 101 and sets it on the storage shelf 82. At this time, if there are wafers that have been processed, the operation of transferring the wafers from the storage shelf 82 to the transport shelf 101 is also performed continuously. During this transfer, if the transport vehicle 2 comes as shown in FIG. 11 and the transport shelf 5 is set on the loading/unloading device 80, the transport between the storage shelf 82 and the transport shelf 5 is also performed at the same time.
When the transfer of the transport shelf 101 is completed, the transport shelf boundary 101,
The clean box door 84 is closed, the arm 103 is returned, and the vehicle 100 is transported to the next process.

Next, the configuration of the controller will be explained.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the control system of FIG. 1.

The host controller 110 is an equipment module 9 consisting of a wafer transfer unit 20 and a processing device 6o shown in FIG.
0 as one control system configuration unit, a wafer transfer unit controller 113 that controls the wafer transfer unit 20, an identification device controller 111 that controls the identification device 4o, a robot controller 112 that controls the transfer robot 2I, and a processing device W60. A processing device controller 114 is provided to control the processing device. In addition, the loading/unloading device controller 116 controls the wafer loading/unloading device 8o, and the carrier controller 1 controls the carrier 2.
15 etc. will be provided.

The host controller 110 holds data for managing the progress of the wafer 7o for each product group and process, and performs the above-mentioned
It provides instructions and confirmation while linking with each controller, and controls the wafer 70 so that it flows smoothly.

The wafer transfer unit controller 113 controls the storage shelf 30
The controller manages the types of wafers 70 stored in the controller, communicates with the robot controller 112, and controls the wafer transfer unit 20.

The identification device controller 111 transmits the wafer number 73 of the wafer 70 identified by the identification device 40 to the wafer transfer unit controller 113.

The robot controller 112 controls starting, stopping, and operation of the transfer robot 21.

The processing device controller 114 manages the processing status and cash register of the processing device 60 and controls the processing device 60 .

The carrier controller 115 starts, stops, and controls the carrier 2.
It controls the movement and manages which product group and which process wafers 70 are held with respect to the shelf number of the transport shelf 5.

The loading/unloading device controller 116 manages which shelf 82 of the loading/unloading device 80 stores wafers of which product group and process.
It communicates with the robot controller 112 and controls the loading/unloading device 80.

Between these controllers is an optical L in a token ring configuration.
Each device controller is connected by AN, and two communication cables 117 are used to connect each device controller.
The structure uses switching to avoid system failures in response to system failures, thereby preventing communication failures due to cable breaks and controller failures in each device.

The above configuration allows high-speed communication, and since the transmission and reception time can be calculated from a point-to-point method, data communication can be performed in real time, reducing the consumption of communication time between each controller, making it easy to determine the priority of signals, and therefore controlling is easy.

Next, the structure of the data will be explained.

Based on the control system shown in Figure 13, the necessary data structure is
Shown in FIGS. 4 to 22.

The host controller 110 is of type a shown in FIG.
, t) Process flow data 120 for each...
As shown in FIG. 15, there are varieties aI*a! whose process order and recipe are similar. The product group process flow data 121 is determined by creating product groups A, B, . . . by grouping the items of *.

In addition, in order to control the progress of the wafer 7o, as shown in FIG. 16, in-process data 122 by product group showing the amount of work in progress for each product group and each process, and as shown in FIG. 17, for each product group Standard work-in-process data 123 that describes the standard work-in-process amount for each process is managed. Also,
As shown in FIG. 18, device-specific in-process data 124 indicating the amount of in-process data for each processing device, and as shown in FIG. It also manages conveyance vehicle data 125 shown in FIG.

The wafer transfer unit controller 113 manages the wafers 7o stored in each storage shelf.
As shown in FIG. 0, information on the stored wafers 70 is managed as storage shelf data 126.

In order to manage the wafers 70 stored on each transport shelf, the transport vehicle controller 115 manages information on the wafers on the transport shelves as transport shelf data 127, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 22, the processing device controller 115 has, as recipe data 128, information representing the processing conditions of the processing device corresponding to the recipe number in which the processing conditions (recipe) are coded.

Each data will be explained in detail below.

In the process flow data 120 shown in FIG. 14, recipe numbers representing recipes, which are the process order and processing conditions, are attached according to the processing order for each product type.

The product group process flow data 121 shown in FIG. 15 is created from the process flow data 120, and the product type a□ has the same process order and recipe.

a! , -... are grouped into product groups A, B,...

The in-process data 122 by product group shown in FIG.
It has the number of all wafers as data on the wafer type group and processing history side.

The standard work-in-process data 123 shown in FIG. 17 indicates the standard amount of work-in-process that should be applied to each process for each product group.

The host controller 110 selects the product group and process to be processed based on the product group process flow data 121 , product group-specific work-in-process data 122 , and standard work-in-process data 123 .

The device-specific in-process data 124 shown in FIG. 18 has as data the type group, processing history, and number of wafers 70 stored in the storage shelf 30 for each processing device, and includes:
The host controller 110 instructs the processing device to start construction based on this data.

The carrier data 125 shown in FIG. 19 has the type, processing history, and number of wafers 70 stored in the carrier 2 as data. The host controller 110 is
Based on this data, the transport vehicle 2 is also instructed to be transferred to the storage shelf 30.

The storage shelf data 126 shown in FIG.
The wafer number 73 of the stored wafer 70, the processing history, and the arrival order indicating the order in which the wafer was stored on the storage shelf 30 are made to correspond to the storage shelf number assigned to each holding unit. Wafer transfer unit controller 11
3 identifies the wafer 70 to be processed from among the wafers 70 of the same product group and processing history based on this data.

The transport shelf data 127 shown in the 218th Kl includes the wafer number 73 of the wafer 70 being transported, the processing history, and the transport rack number assigned to each holding part of the transport shelf of each transport vehicle. They are marked with an arrival order indicating the order in which they were loaded. Based on this data, the transport vehicle controller 115 identifies the wafer 70 to be transferred to the storage shelf 30 among wafers of the same type group and processing history.

Next, the operation of the controller will be explained.

First, the processing procedure of the identification device controller 111 will be explained with reference to the data processing flowchart of FIG.

The identification device controller 111 takes in the wafer number 73 of the wafer 70 set in the identification device 4o as image data (step 2), performs data processing (step A3), and determines whether the wafer number 73 can be read (step A4). Then, if the wafer number 73 can be read, the wafer number 73 is read (step A5).
)0 Next, to the wafer transfer unit controller 113,
Sends wafer number 73 as the reading result (
Step A6).

However, if wafer number 73 cannot be read, it is possible to correct the character reading error.
Even if it cannot be read completely, it is possible to read it to some extent and it is determined whether wafer number 73 can be separated into #41 with a high probability (step A7).

If the character reading error can be corrected, the character reading error is corrected (step A8). And that wafer number 7
3 is read (step A9), and the wafer number 73 and the need for re-marking are transmitted as the reading result to the wafer transfer unit controller 113 (step Al0). If it is impossible to correct the 0 character reading error, , the process is restarted from the state where the wafer 70 is set in the identification device 40. If the wafer number 73 cannot be determined even after repeating the process three times, the wafer transfer unit controller 113 is informed as an identification result that reading is impossible (step A12).

The operation of each device and the communication procedure between controllers are shown in Figures 2, 13, 18 to 21, and 24 to 24.
This will be explained with reference to FIG.

The Unihuff 0 transfer operation of the transfer robot 21 is (1) transport shelf 5 → storage shelf 30 (2) storage shelf 30 → loader section 61 (3) of the processing device 60
The unloader section 62 of the processing device 60 → the identification device 4o → the storage shelf 30 (4) the storage shelf 30 → the transport shelf 5.

However, in order to efficiently move the transfer robot 21, the wafer transfer operations from the transport shelf 5 to the storage shelf 30 and from the storage shelf 30 to the transport shelf 5 are performed simultaneously and in parallel.

The processing procedure of each controller when transferring the wafer 70 between the transport shelf 5 and the storage shelf 30 and the communication procedure between the controllers will be explained with reference to FIG.

When the transport vehicle 2 arrives in front of the wafer transfer unit 20 (step B1), the transport vehicle controller 115 transmits the arrival of the transport vehicle 2 to the host controller 110 (step B2). And the host controller 11
0 (step B3), the host controller 110 sends the type group, processing history, and number of wafers to be transferred from the transport [5 to the storage shelf 30 to the transport vehicle controller 115; If there are no wafers 7° to be transferred between the transport shelves 5, the transport vehicle controller 11
5, a transport instruction is sent to the vehicle to continue traveling as is (steps B4 and B5). In addition, the host controller 110 determines the type group, processing history, and number of wafers 70 to be transferred from the storage shelf 30 to the transport shelf 5,
Send to wafer transfer unit controller 113 (
Step B7. B8). Then, the carrier 2 moves to the lifting device 3.
lower the vertical movement guide 9, move the longitudinal movement guide 11 forward, and move the transport shelf 5 containing the wafers to the clean box door 5.
Set to 1. Then, the clean box J%51 opens, and then the transport shelf boundary 12 opens. In this way, the wafers on the transfer shelf 5 are transferred to the transfer robot 2 in the clean box 50.
Step 1 allows you to freely put in and take out (Step B6)
. Therefore, the wafer transfer unit controller 113
Based on the storage shelf data 126 shown in FIG. 20, the wafers 70 to be transferred are determined (step B9). Further, the transport vehicle controller 115 determines the wafer 70 to be transferred based on the transport shelf data 127, and includes the wafer number 73 of the wafer 70, the processing history, the transport shelf number, and the wafer 70.
The transport shelf number of the shelf that does not contain the wafer is transmitted to the wafer transfer unit controller 113 (step B10゜B1
1). Then, the wafer transfer unit controller 113
is the position of the transport shelf which is the transfer light for wafers to be transferred from the storage shelf 30 to the transport shelf 5, the position of the storage shelf 30 which is the transfer light for the wafers 70 to be transferred from the transport shelf 5 to the storage shelf 30, Then, the position of the transfer light for the wafers 70 to be transferred from the transport shelf 5 to the storage shelf 30 is determined for all the wafers 7o to be transferred, and the transfer procedure is determined (step B12). Based on the determined procedure, transfer light and transfer light are transmitted to the robot controller 112 (steps B14 and B15). The transfer robot 21 performs the work based on the instructions (step 816), and when the work is completed, notifies the wafer transfer unit controller 113 of the completion (step B
17.818).

This operation is repeated until all the wafers 70 instructed by the host controller 110 have been transferred.

However, if there is a request to transfer the wafer 7o from the processing device controller 114 during this transfer process, the transfer process is interrupted and the process is resumed after that in response to the request from the processing device controller 114. Upon completion, the wafer transfer unit controller 113 transmits the wafer number 73 of the wafer 7o transferred to the transfer shelf 5, the processing history, and the transfer shelf number to the transfer vehicle controller 115 (
Step 819. B20).

Then, the wafer number 73, processing history, and arrival order that correspond to the shelf number of the storage shelf 3'O in the storage shelf data 126 are updated (step B21). Further, the type group and processing history of the wafers 70 stored in the storage shelf 3o are transmitted to the host controller 110 (steps B22 and B26). The transport vehicle controller 115 also updates the wafer number 73, processing history, and arrival order corresponding to the transport rack number in the transport rack data 126 (step B23). Send the wafer type group and processing history (step B24.
26), Then, the transport vehicle 2 starts the next transport (step B25)'.The host controller 110 also sends the transmitted data to the storage shelf 5 from the wafer transfer unit controller 113 and the transport vehicle controller 115. Receive the type group and processing history of the stored wafers 70, and the type group and processing history of the wafers 70 stored on the transport shelf 3o (step B26);
The host controller 110 then stores in-process data 124 by device, in-process data 122 by product group,
and update the carrier data 125 (step B27)
.

Next, the processing procedure of each controller when transferring the wafer 70 from the storage shelf 30 to the loader section 61 of the processing apparatus and the communication procedure between the controllers are shown in FIG. 25 and will be described.

The host controller 110 is the processing device controller 1
As a construction start instruction to 14, the product group to be processed,
Send the processing history, register number, and number of sheets (steps CI and C2). Then, the processing device controller 114 sets the cash register according to this instruction (step C3).
. Then, the processing device controller 114
When the wafer 70 is ready to process wafers, the wafer transfer unit controller 113 is notified of the wafer 70 to be processed.
Send the product group and processing history (step C4,
C5).

The received wafer transfer unit controller 113 searches the storage shelf data 126 for the wafer 70 that was stored earliest in the storage shelf 30 among the wafers 70 in the corresponding product group and processing history, and selects the wafer 70 (step C6).
). Then, the wafer number 73 is transmitted to the processing equipment controller 114 (step C8), and the position of the storage shelf 30 where the wafer 70 is stored is transmitted to the robot controller 112, and the wafer is transferred from the storage shelf 30 to the loader section 61 of the processing equipment. Instruct wafer transfer (step C9,
Based on this instruction, the transfer robot 21 takes out the wafer from the storage shelf 30 and sets it in the loader section 61 of the processing device 60 (Step C11). When finished,
The robot controller 112 notifies the wafer transfer unit controller 113 that the work has been completed (steps C12 to C13), and the wafer transfer unit controller 113 erases the storage shelf data 126 of the corresponding wafer 70 (step C14). Meanwhile, the processing device 60 starts processing the wafer (step C13).

Next, when the processing by the processing device 60 is completed and the wafer 70 is transferred from the unloader section 62 of the processing device to the identification device 40 and stored in the storage shelf 30, the processing procedure of each controller and the communication procedure between the controllers. will be explained with reference to FIG.

The processing device 60 transports the processed wafer 70 to the unloader section 62 (step Di). Processing device controller 1
14 transmits the wafer number 73 of the wafer 7o in the unloader section 62 to the wafer transfer unit controller 113 to request removal (steps D2 and D3). The wafer transfer unit controller 113 sends the robot controller 112 from the unloader section 62 to the identification device 4.
0 to transfer wafer 7o (step D
4. D5). Based on this instruction, the transfer robot 21 takes out the wafer 7o from the unloader section 62 and sets it on the identification device 4o (step D6). When the work is finished, the robot controller 112 notifies the wafer transfer unit controller 113 that the work has been completed. (Steps D7 and D8) Then, the identification device controller 111 performs the identification process as shown in FIG. 23, and sends the identification result to the wafer transfer unit controller 113 (
Step D9. When the wafer transfer unit controller 113 receives the identification device from the identification device controller 111 (step DIO), it determines the position of the storage shelf 3o that stores the wafer (step D11).
, informs the robot controller 112 of the position and instructs transfer (steps D12 and D13). Then, the transfer robot 21 picks up the wafer 7o from the identification device 40 and stores it in the storage shelf 30 (step D14). Upon completion (Steps D15 and D16), the wafer transfer unit controller 113 stores the wafer number 73 corresponding to the storage shelf number in which the wafer 70 was stored and the processing history as storage shelf data 126 (Step D17).

Furthermore, the wafer number 73 of the processed wafer 70 and the processing history are transmitted to the host controller 110 (
Step D18), the host controller 110 receives the wafer number 73 and the processing history, Step D19),
Update the in-process data 122 by product group and the in-process data 124 by device (step D20) Next, the determination of input order as a production system will be explained. 27th
The figure is a flowchart of a loading plan for determining in what order the wafers 7o are loaded into the production system shown in FIG. For the amount of work, find the required amount of standard schedule that can be achieved (step El), and from this value, level out the amount of work while satisfying the daily required amount and delivery date, and at the same time, level the required amount. is performed (step E2)
. The products corresponding to the required production amount are classified into groups (products with similar processing steps), that is, product groups (step E3). Next, a request order that maintains the request ratio for each group is determined (step E4), and a request order that maintains the ratio of products within the product group is determined (step E4).
5). Based on these request orders, by sequentially applying the request order of each product type to the request order of each product group,
A request order based on sheet weight is determined, and this request order is directly determined as the input order (step E6).

The can processing procedure will be explained in detail below.

Figure 28 is a diagram showing a request leveling method that calculates the standard schedule request amount and attempts to level out the work amount due to changes in equipment recipes. Point E, which indicates a certain amount of work, and the daily required production amount,
A bottle is set up at each part of the cumulative slowest load, which is the cumulative amount of work for the production amount that can be achieved and must be followed, and a rubber cord is placed at the cumulative limit load, which is the amount of work for the production amount that can be achieved, and the deadline is met. There is a tension between the minimum production amount (indicated by the white circle) and the cumulative slowest load, which is also the amount of work, and 0 at both ends.
- When tension is applied to E, the polygonal line created by this rubber string becomes a leveled load that satisfies the required quantity and delivery date. The daily demand is determined from this load curve. At this time, if a fraction occurs in the daily request amount, the leveled request amount is adjusted to match the total request amount within the scheduling period. Also, if the amount of work per day becomes extremely small, the amount of work will be brought forward to match the amount of work. By doing so, it is possible to level out the amount of work that can be achieved without missing the delivery date, and thereby it is possible to level out the required amount of work.

Next, a method for calculating the order of insertion will be described. First, terms are defined as shown in FIG. 29. When the number of target product groups on day k is M, the number of products in the product group is N, and the leveled required amount is P,1, the total required production amount X is: X=ΣΣp,, (,+- 1, 2, -...; i=1.
2.・−・), which is the distance standard for variety group j! loJ is ΣP.

becomes.

Distance standard Q for variety i in variety group j. 4. is ΣP.

2゜++” (j=1.2...;i=
1.2. ...) P.

Then, the distance standard for each variety group and each variety is determined.

This distance standard Q. , and the normalized distance ZoJ is calculated from the distance Q4. Next, the normalized distance Z is calculated for each product group. ,
Similarly, for each product group, the normalized distance Z for each product is ordered in descending order of . J
and order them by variety. By doing this, you can know the order in which each product is requested, and by inputting based on this order, the ratio of each product group and each product to the requested amount is always maintained, and the demand is met. production.

The method of determining the input order shown in FIGS. 27 to 29 will be specifically illustrated using examples in FIGS. 30 to 35.

Figure 30 shows the amount of requests with the scheduling period set to 6 days. Figure 31 shows the cumulative load graph created based on this amount of requests. From the leveled load of this graph, the leveled daily The required amount is shown in Fig. 32.

Next, we will explain the request order calculation method based on this request amount.When we calculate the first request order for each 0 product group, we get the distance standard Q. J is variety group A9. . A=-=2.4 Variety Group B Flood. B=-=2.4 Variety Group C
Q,C=-=6, and the distances Q are all 1, so the normalized distance Z
. , , ■ Variety) jJv-B ZoB = -= 0.41
2.4 Product Groups When the normalized distances are the same, such as CZoC==0.16, product group A is calculated as request order 1, assuming that product groups are to be introduced in ascending order. FIG. 33 shows the results of determining the order of requests between product groups in this way.

FIG. 34 shows the required amount before leveling, and FIG. 35 shows the required amount after leveling. As can be seen from these figures, it can be seen that the overall load amount is leveled out, and that it is also leveled out between product groups.

Next, a method for determining the request order for each product type within a product group will be described.

Intra-group distance standard Q for variety group A. , 1 is Type a, g, oAa, =++: 2.
5 products Type ax g, oAaz= =5
Variety m QoA &, ”' ++: 5 Variety QoAa, =-=5, and the distances LQ are all 1, so the normalized distance 2゜2. Variety a, ZoAa, =-= 0.2 Variety a
s Z o A a, =□ 0, 2 items
Species a, ZoAa, =-= 0.2, and variety a1 is calculated as request order 1.

In this way, the order of requests for each product type is determined. FIG. 36 shows the result of determining the input order by applying the request order for each product type to the request order for each product group. A smooth flow of wafers 70 can be created by loading the wafers 70 based on this requested order.

The circle line method will be explained.

In the apparatus configuration shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 37 shows how the wafer is flowed, that is, how the progress is controlled.

By configuring several equipment modules 90, grouping products that have the same processing order in a certain process flow, and managing each product group and each process, it is possible to ensure synchronization of production and improve equipment operation rate. A stream of wafers 70 is formed.

Wafers 70 of various types and undergoing various processing steps are placed in front of the storage shelf 30, and the flow can be controlled by selecting which wafers 70 to put in. Therefore, a standard amount of work-in-progress, which is the optimum amount of work-in-progress, is set for each product group process, and the wafers 70 are fed in an orderly manner by checking the increase or decrease.

Next, referring to FIG. 37, the data necessary for controlling the progress of wafers of various types and processes, which shows a method for smoothly advancing the wafer 70 as if it were a dedicated line for each product group, is obtained from FIG. The progress control method will be explained with reference to FIG.

From the process flow data 120 for each product type a, b, . . . shown in FIG. 14, as shown in FIG.・・・・・・
・Variety groups A, B, etc. that were later grouped
... to create product group process flow data 12
Determine 1. FIG. 16 shows in-process data 122 by product group, which stores the amount of products that are physically actually in progress. Fig. 17 shows standard in-process data 123 that calculates the standard in-process amount for each process for each product group, and Fig. 18 shows equipment-specific in-process data 124 that stores the actual in-process amount for each device. It is.

Next, how to control the progress will be explained.

For each sampling time, standard work-in-process data 123
The wafers 70 of the product group and process order with the smallest amount of work in progress in the product group data 122 are extracted with respect to the standard amount of work in process for each process shown in FIG. At this time, if there are some wafers 70 corresponding to the smallest product group process order, extract a process with a small product group and a small process order, select its previous process from the product group process flow data 121, For example, in the standard work-in-process data 123, process order 3 for product group B has the highest actual work-in-progress amount of 2 compared to the standard work-in-process amount. If it is less, the shortfall 3 is requested to the previous process. Therefore, from the product group process flow data 121, product group B
Process sequence 2, which is the previous process of process sequence 3, is extracted, and the product group and the processing apparatus 60 in which the wafer 70 of the process is being processed are searched for using the apparatus-specific in-process data 124, and the process is started.

Hereafter, in this way, the shortage is extracted for each sampling, and the progress of the wafer is controlled.

Next, the flow of wafers and the operation of each device will be explained.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the flow of wafers is
This will be explained with reference to the conceptual diagram shown in the figure and the flowchart shown in FIG. When the wafer 70 is loaded (step G1),
The material is transported by the transport vehicle to the processing device 60 corresponding to the first process (step G2), temporarily stored in the storage shelf 30 (step G3), and when an input request is received from the processing device 60, the material is input to the processing device 60 for processing in step G4. ), after the processing is completed, the wafer number 73 having data such as product type is identified by the identification device 40 (Step G5), and after confirming that this process is completed, the wafer is temporarily stored in the storage shelf 30 again (Step G6). , is further transported by the transport vehicle 2 (step G7), and checks whether a plurality of series of processes have been completed (step G8). If not, it is transported to the next process, and this process continues until these processes are completed. The loop is repeated, and when the loop is completed, it is carried out (step G9).

In the apparatus configuration shown in FIG. 1, a flowchart showing in detail a series of operations of the apparatus from loading the wafer 70 to unloading the wafer 70 is shown in FIG.

When the wafer 70 is introduced into the production system shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG.
The wafer 70 to be introduced is set in step H
1), determine whether the vehicle 100 has arrived (step H2)
) If the vehicle 100 does not come, the process proceeds to step H1l, and if the vehicle 100 does come, it travels on the floor to a predetermined location of the loading/unloading device 80 (step H3). It stops at a predetermined position, and the arm 103 carrying the transport shelf 101 moves forward to bring the clean box door 84 and the transport shelf boundary 104 into close contact (step H4).

The clean box door 84 is opened (step H5), and the transport shelf boundary 104 is opened (step H6). It is determined whether there are any wafers to be set on the storage shelf 82 of the loading/unloading device 80 (step H7), and if there are, the wafer 70 is set on the storage shelf 82 from the transport shelf 101 by the transfer robot 81 (step H8). If there is no wafer 70, proceed to step H9). There is a wafer 70 to be set next on the transfer shelf 101, but it cannot be determined (step H9); if there is, the transfer robot 8
1, set the storage shelf 82 on the transport shelf 101 (step HIO) L. If not, proceed to step H1l. 9 Next, determine whether the transport vehicle 2 has arrived (step H11)
, if the wafer has not arrived, the process proceeds to step H20; if the wafer has arrived, it is determined whether there is any wafer 70 to be unloaded from the transport vehicle 2 to the loading/unloading device 8o (step H12).
L. If there is no wafer 70 to be unloaded, step H18
If there is a wafer 70 to be unloaded, the vertical movement guide 9
is lowered (Step H13), and the longitudinal movement guide 11 is advanced (Step H14) to set the transport shelf boundary 12 in close contact with the clean box door 51. Then, the clean box door 51 is opened (step H15), the transport shelf boundary 12 is opened (step H16), and the transfer robot 81 sets the transport shelf 5 to the storage shelf 82 (step H1).
17) Do. Furthermore, it is determined whether there is any wafer 70 to be placed on the transport vehicle 2 (step H18).
If there is a wafer to be loaded, the transfer robot 81 sets the wafer from the storage shelf 82 to the transport shelf 5 (Step H19), and determines whether there is a wafer to be transferred in the loading/unloading device 80 (Step H20). ), if any,
Return to step H2 again, and step H2 to step H2
0 is repeated, and if there is none, the transport shelf 10 of the traveling vehicle 100
Determine whether the wafer is set in 1 (step H21) L
If not set, proceed to step H27; if set, on the traveling vehicle 100 side, close the transport shelf boundary 104 of the traveling vehicle 100 (step H22), close the clean box door 84 (step H24), and close the traveling vehicle 100. When the arm o3 of
(Step H27), and close the clean box door 84.
is closed (step H28), the longitudinal movement guide 11 is moved backward (step H29), and the vertical movement guide is raised (step H30) to return to the conveying state. Next, wait until a request for transportation to the next process comes (step H31), and when the request comes, move to the next process as shown in Figure 2 (step H32).
When the transport vehicle 2 arrives (step H33), the location of the loading/unloading device 8o is determined. If it is at that location, the process returns to step H2; if it is not at that location, the vertical movement guide 9 is moved. The moving guide 11 is lowered (step H35) and moved forward (step H36) to set it in close contact with the transport shelf 12 and the clean box door 84. The clean box door 84 is opened (step H37), and the transport shelf boundary 12 is opened (step H38). It is determined that there is a wafer 7o to be unloaded from the transport shelf 5 (step H39) t...
If there is not, the process proceeds to step H41, and if there is, the transfer robot 21 sets it from the transport shelf 5 to the storage shelf 30 (
Step H40) Determine whether there is a wafer 70 to be input into the processing device 60 next (Step H41) L.
If there is not, the process proceeds to step H43, and if there is, the transfer robot 21 loads it from the storage shelf 30 into the loader section 6I of the processing device W60 (step H42). Next, it is determined whether there is a wafer 70 to be transferred from the unloader section 62 of the processing device 60 to the identification device 40 (step H43).
If there is no L, the process proceeds to step H45, and if there is, the process is transported from the unloader section 62 of the processing device to the identification device 40 (step H44). Next, it is determined whether or not there is a wafer 70 to be returned from the identification device 40 to the storage shelf 30 (step H45). 30 (step H46). Whether the wafer 70 is transferred between the transport vehicle 2 and the storage shelf 30, between the storage shelf 30 and the processing device 60, between the processing device 60 and the identification device 40, and between the identification device 40 and the storage shelf 30 in the wafer transfer unit 20. If there is, return to step H39 and repeat steps H39 to step 47. If not, close the transport shelf boundary 12 (step H27), close the clean box door 51 (step H28), and close the forward/backward movement guide. 11 retreats step H29) L, vertical movement guide 9
rises (step H30) and returns to the transport state. Then, the conveyance vehicle 2 is advanced to the next process.

In this way, processing of the wafer 7o is proceeded while the wafer 7o is being transported by the transport vehicle 2.

FIG. 41 is an overall configuration diagram of a multi-product transport system using a combination of distributed and dedicated buffers. A processing equipment group 203 such as the following is arranged. Furthermore, a dedicated buffer unit 204 is arranged to control the processing equipment group 203 while considering the work progress status and the overall progress. A dedicated wafer transfer unit 202 is provided in front of the processing equipment group 203, and supplies wafers or transports them to the next process depending on the processing capacity of the processing equipment. Processing equipment group 2
The wafer transfer unit 202 in front of 03 and the buffer dedicated unit 204 of the line are provided with a standardized transfer system pull-in guide 201 via the multi-product transfer system 200 to transfer products or transfer vehicles. According to this embodiment, when applied to a large-scale manufacturing line, the storage capacity of the wafer transfer units distributed in front of each processing equipment group can also be standardized to an appropriate size.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The line structure consists of a transport vehicle that carries wafers between processing equipment using track-like transport rails, a transfer robot that transfers wafers between the transport vehicle and the processing equipment, and a transfer robot that transfers wafers between processing equipment.
A storage shelf that temporarily stores each piece for each product group and process,
The wafer transfer unit, which is comprised of an identification device that identifies the wafer number of each wafer, enables the management of individual wafers, making it possible to simultaneously produce a wide variety of products.
You can control the flow of wafers in the storage shelves and increase the operating rate of the processing equipment. It also has the effect of reducing the amount of work in progress and allowing production to meet requirements in a short delivery time.

By writing the wafer number on the wafer itself and identifying the wafer that comes out of the processing equipment with an identification device, the progress of each wafer can be confirmed, making it easy to manage the progress of the wafer. , a wide variety of wafers can be produced in the order that meets the requirements.

In the configuration of the processing device, by connecting the processing devices for several processes in terms of hardware and making it an integrated processing device, the amount of management data for input and processing completion is reduced, so the amount of control is reduced. Further, since the number of transport steps of the processing device is reduced, the effect of shortening the production period by reducing the transport distance and number of times can be obtained.

By storing wafers that should be input into the processing equipment for each wafer by product group and process, it is possible to input wafers that meet the requirements, increasing the operating rate of the processing equipment. Can be managed in units of sheets. Since the identification device can grasp the actual progress of wafers in real time, it is possible to shorten the construction period and reduce the amount of work in progress.

In the clean configuration, during transportation, the materials are placed in a transportation rack and sealed, and when they are temporarily stored in order to be loaded into the processing equipment or loaded onto a transportation vehicle after processing, they are placed inside the clean box. Yields are improved because the atmosphere around the wafer and the other people can be isolated from each other. Furthermore, since the clean area can be minimized, costs are reduced and maintenance work becomes easier. Furthermore, since a work area for the worker can be secured, there is an effect that maintenance of the processing device becomes easier.

In the transport unit, when wafers are transported, and when wafers are put into the processing equipment or processed and placed on the transport vehicle, they are stored in units of wafers, so it is possible to always know where each wafer is located. Therefore, it is possible to perform single wafer management faithfully in real time, and it is easy to implement high-mix, low-volume production.

In addition, while circulating on a track-shaped orbit, wafers are placed on the transport vehicle when necessary using a predetermined wafer transfer unit and unloaded from the transport vehicle when necessary, reducing the total transport distance and making it easier to control the transport vehicle. Since the wafers are managed and transported on a one-by-one basis, it has many remarkable effects, such as being able to flexibly respond to changes in product types.

In the flow of wafers, products with the same process order are grouped, and a standard amount of work-in-progress is calculated for each product group and process for wafers placed on storage shelves. The order in which the wafers are fed can be easily controlled by loading the wafers from the storage shelf into the processing equipment so that the amount of wafers match, and by transporting the target wafers to the next process using a transport vehicle. Production is possible. In addition, since the flow of each wafer can be controlled, it is easy to manage a wide variety of products, even products that require many repeated steps and have a complicated flow, allowing simultaneous production of a wide variety of products. Furthermore, since the progress between processes can be controlled in real time, the amount of work in progress can be reduced by setting the minimum amount of work in progress, taking into account the amount of deviation between processes.

In addition, by determining the input order for each sheet based on the required quantity and controlling the order to maintain this order, production can be performed in the requested order, eliminating the need to revise the production plan. Easy to conduct, cost, quality,
This has many effects, such as being able to meet delivery deadlines.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1: Overall configuration diagram. Figure 2: Wafer transfer unit configuration diagram. Figure 3: A view taken from arrow A in Figure 2. Figure 4: sectional view taken along the line B-B in Figure 2. Figure 5: A sectional view taken along the line C-C in Figure 2. Figure 6: Wafer plan view. Figure 7: Structure of the storage shelf. Figure 8: Detailed view of the wafer holding part of the storage shelf. Figure 9...
Front view showing the structure of the transport vehicle FIG. 10...Side view showing the structure of the transport vehicle FIG. 11...Configuration diagram of the loading/unloading device FIG. 12...Cross section taken along line D-D in FIG. 10 Figure 13・
...Controller configuration diagram Fig. 14...Process flow data Fig. 15...Product group process flow data Fig. 16...In-process data by product group Fig. 17...Standard in-process data Fig. 18 ...In-progress data by device Fig. 19...Carrier data Fig. 20...Storage shelf data Fig. 21...Transportation shelf data Fig. 22...Recipe data Inter-controller communication procedure diagram Fig. 25 Fig. 26: Processing device, identification device, inter-controller communication procedure during wafer transfer during storage period Fig. 27: Processing device, identification device, controller communication procedure during wafer transfer during storage period Fig. 27 ...Input planning flowchart Figure 28...
Leveled load graph Figure 29... Definition table of input order determining terms Figure 30...
・Table of standard schedule requirements for example Figure 31: Leveled load graph for example Figure 32: Table of leveled demand for example Figure 33: Table of input order by product group for example 34th
Figure...Example required amount graph before leveling Figure 35...
Figure 36: Graph of the required amount after leveling in the example problem. Figure 37: Input order by product type in the example problem. Figure 38: Conceptual diagram of the progress control system. Figure 4.・・Dispersion・ Explanation of symbols 1 ・・・Transport rail 3 ・・Elevating device 5 ・・Transport shelf 7 ・・・Drive device 9 ・・Vertical guide 11 ・・Back and forth movement guide 20 ・・Wafer transfer Unit 21...Transfer robot 23...Forearm 25...Vertical axis dedicated buffer combined conveyance diagram Conveyance vehicle Lifting head guide Wheel Vertical movement drive device Back and forth movement drive device Transport shelf door gripper Upper arm storage shelf 31...・ 41 ... 43 ... 50 ... 51 ... 52 ... 53 ... 60 ... 62 ... 71 ... 73 ... 80 ... 81 ... 83 ... 84 ... 85 ... 86 ... 90 ... 101 ... 103 ... Holding section 40 ... Identification device television camera 42 ... Illumination light source data processing section 44 ... Stage section clean box Clean box door fan HEPA filter processing device 61...Loader section Unrotor section 70...Wafer type name 72...Serial number by type Wafer number Loading/unloading device Transfer robot 82...Storage shelf clean Box clean box door fan HEPA filter equipment module 100... Traveling vehicle transfer shelf 102... Transfer device arm
104... Transport shelf door host controller identification device controller robot controller wafer transfer unit controller processing device controller conveyance vehicle controller loading/unloading device controller communication cable process flow data product type group process flow data product group data in progress data standard in progress data device Separate in-process data Transport vehicle data 126... Storage shelf data Transport shelf data 128... Recipe data Multi-product transport system Transport system Retraction guide Wafer transfer unit Processing equipment group Buffer dedicated unit Game 5 Figure 4/1 Figure 5 Child 6 Figure 7 Helmet δ Figure n 〒Figure 6-ff Jiyou Zakuten 7 = - Park #jJ 辰! 6-Main Recommendation 3L Initial Calibration 10-About Rhythm Canter Table 1 Yu 10 Figure δ 45 Battle D Hot δ 5--~Fan 6G-)-I E PA Filter 00-11-Hi 1 car 〒12 Figure Closed 1j Figure 14 Figure 415 Figure 1? 1--: rJ Saito Zuruae Ritsu L1rJ-day Child 16 Figure Te 17 Figure 12.3-4! f, half-earth #about chi y〒1δ figure closed 10 figure 125--one hL car theta 420 figure child 21 power? 2 Kasumi'r24-Z Figure 〒25 Base A 26 Figure 27 Figure 126 Figure 23 A, B, C, +2 ;+Jly Rou1'-(1+
4+, b+++, Q-Cslj rank, V t
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Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A wide variety of production systems comprising a plurality of processing means for processing a plurality of types of workpieces, a conveyance means for conveying a plurality of types of workpieces, and a transfer means for transferring workpieces between the conveyance means. In the conveying method, the conveying means simultaneously conveys a plurality of types of workpieces from between the processing means, stopping at a predetermined position of the transfer means, and the conveying means transfers a desired amount of workpieces between the transfer means and the transfer means. A multi-product transportation method characterized by recognizing and transferring different types of workpieces. 2. In a multi-product transportation method for a production system comprising a plurality of processing means for processing a plurality of types of workpieces, a transporting means for simultaneously transporting a plurality of types of workpieces, and a transfer means for transferring and receiving the workpieces between the transporting means, the method includes: A storage means for storing the workpieces between the processing means for processing the workpieces adjusts and controls the progress order and progressing speed of the workpiece processing, and the transfer means is used to transfer the workpieces between the transporting means and the storage means and between the storage means and the processing means. A method for transporting a wide variety of products, characterized in that the position of the moved work is confirmed based on the transport and movement instructions between the storage means. 3. A multi-product transportation method comprising a means for transporting the workpiece between a plurality of processing means for processing a plurality of types of workpieces, comprising: a workpiece transfer means provided corresponding to the processing means; A transport means that loads a work and travels between the processing means and stops at a predetermined position of the transfer means, and the transfer means recognizes a desired type of work and transfers it to and from the transport means. A multi-product conveying device characterized by being configured to. 4. In a multi-product transfer device having means for transporting the workpiece between a plurality of processing means for processing a plurality of types of workpieces, confirming the position of the workpiece that has been moved based on a movement instruction from the movement source to the movement destination. and a transfer means for storing and transferring works as necessary between the transport means, between the transport means and the processing means, and between the processing means, the transport means . A multi-product transfer device, characterized in that the transfer means stops while a desired work is being transferred, and transports a wide variety of work at the same time. 5. In a multi-product transport device having means for transporting the workpiece between a plurality of processing means for processing a plurality of types of workpieces, a transfer means for loading the plurality of types of workpieces into the processing means; and the transfer means. 1. A multi-product transfer device, comprising: a transfer device for supplying a plurality of types of workpieces from another transfer device, so that the processing device instructed to process the workpieces processes a wide variety of workpieces. 6. In a multi-product transfer device having a means for transporting the workpiece between a plurality of processing means for processing a plurality of types of workpieces, a transfer means provided in the plurality of processing means and having a workpiece storage function; 6. A multi-item conveying device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized by having a transfer means for storing the workpieces and controlling the advancing order and speed of the workpieces.