JP2005276011A - Control method of transport control device, and transport control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the throughput without impairing the operation of a production device by delivering necessary lots in front of the production device performing the processing at a necessary time. <P>SOLUTION: This transport control device comprising a ceiling track traveling rail for automatically transporting the lots composed of a plurality of base plates, a plurality transporting carriages traveling on the ceiling track traveling rail, the plurality of production devices performing the processing on the base plates of the lots, a waiting port for allowing the lot to be processed next to wait, and a plurality of automatic storages 11 for storing the lots to be processed by the production devices from then on, further comprises a delivery period management device 5, a processing termination estimating device 10, a product reserving device 6, a transport time estimating device 9, a production progress management device 4, a transport control processing device 7 and a production device processing control device 8. Whereby the lots of higher priority on delivery period can be successively transported in front of the production device without generating a processing waiting time and a lot waiting time at the production device, to be processed in the production device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a product manufacturing control in a semiconductor manufacturing and liquid crystal manufacturing line, and more particularly to a control method of a transport control device and a transport control device for efficiently transporting a product.

  In recent years, the number of processes of products (hereinafter referred to as lots) has increased with the increase in integration, functionality, and speed of semiconductor integrated circuit devices. As a result, the number of times that lots are transferred between processes has increased, and as a means to shorten the lot lead time and improve the productivity of the production equipment, the production equipment finishes processing and enters the automatic storage warehouse. A transport control method is provided in which a transport instruction is issued in accordance with the order in which the transport is performed, and the automatic storage is further transported from the automatic storage in the order of priority assigned to the lot and transported to the automatic storage associated with the production apparatus in the next process. The technique used is proposed.

  By issuing a transport instruction according to the order in which the goods are stored in the automatic storage, and transporting them from the automatic storage in the order of the priority of the lots, the lots can be transferred to the automatic storage in the next process in a certain priority order.

  However, when a lot is entered into the automatic storage, a conveyance instruction is issued, so that not only the lot to be processed by the production device in the next process is not conveyed, but also the number of conveyance increases and the load on the conveyance facility increases. As a result, the conveyance time is delayed, waiting for a lot occurs in the production apparatus in the next process, and the production output (hereinafter referred to as throughput) is reduced.

  Therefore, a technique using a transport control method for predicting the processing time and the transport time of the production apparatus and selecting a lot to be processed so that a waiting state does not occur in the production apparatus based on the priority of the lot has been proposed.

  Hereinafter, a transport control method for selecting a lot to be processed based on the priority of a lot so as to prevent a production apparatus from waiting will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a transport control processing apparatus having an FA system (system for controlling line physical distribution) according to Conventional Example 1. In the figure, 75 is a computer system for FA control, 76 is a manufacturing apparatus, and 77 is a manufacturing apparatus. A conveying device 78 is a man-machine terminal. Further, FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a model layout of a production line, 79 is a stocker (for lot storage), and 80 is a bay (stocker 79 and production apparatus 76 are grouped as one logical group).

  The basic transport control flow is briefly described below. The lot is processed by the manufacturing apparatus 76 in a certain bay 80 and then stored in the stocker 79 in the bay. Next, the lot determines the bay 80 to which the manufacturing apparatus 76 registered in the next process belongs as a destination, and when the transport device 77 becomes empty, the lot is moved from the stocker 79 to the transport device 77 and transported toward the destination bay 80. Is done. The lot that has arrived at the destination bay 80 is first stored in the stocker 79. Then, when the corresponding manufacturing apparatus 76 in the next process becomes available, the lot is transferred to the manufacturing apparatus 76 and processed on the manufacturing apparatus 76 to be completed. Thereafter, the above process is repeated until all the registered steps are completed. It should be noted that the transfer device 77 can be replaced manually. In performing the above processing, it is assumed that all the progress control of the lot is performed by the FA computer system 75, and the information determined and determined in the FA computer system 75 is displayed on the man-machine terminal 78, so that it is supported even during manual transportation. .

  Next, a case where there is one destination bay 80 will be described. First, allocation of scheduled processing start times will be described. The scheduled processing start time is the time of what lot is to be processed next and when the lot is processed from the viewpoint of the manufacturing apparatus 76 side. Factors for calculating this time include the assumed actual processing time and priority of the lot. In the present invention, this allocation process is performed in units of 80 bays.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of this assignment. In the figure, four devices from device A to device D are installed in the bay 80, exist in other bays, and the devices in this bay are changed to the next process. There are 7 lots to be processed, and the priority of each lot is lot 1>. The lots 1 to 7 can be processed by all the apparatuses A to D. The processing times of the lots 1 to 7 are 2t hours each, the lots a and b are already being processed, the apparatus D is in failure, and 5t hours It is assigned on the assumption that it is expected to return later.

  In the above situation, the scheduled processing start time as a result of assigning each lot is as follows. In other words, lot 1 can be processed by apparatus A after 0 hours lot 2: can be processed by apparatus A after 2 t hours lot 3: can be processed by apparatus C after 2 t hours lot 4: can be processed by apparatus B after 3 t hours lot 5: 4 t Processable lot in apparatus A after 6 hours: Processable in apparatus B after 5t hours Lot: Processable in apparatus D after 7: 5t hours

  Next, collection of performance information will be described. Actual processing time on the manufacturing apparatus 76 is required as information for calculating the scheduled processing start time. About this, information is hold | maintained on FA computer system 75 by making the result of having actually processed with the manufacturing apparatus 76 into a track record. In FIG. 23, the time from when the lot starts processing on the manufacturing apparatus 76 to completion is registered for each process and processing apparatus on the FA computer system 75 every time the lot processing is completed. At the time of registration, the following average calculation is performed considering the weight of the number of registrations.

Registered value = (average value up to the previous time x number of registrations up to the previous time + actual value of this time) / (number of registrations up to the previous time + 1)
As the actual value, in addition to the actual processing time on the manufacturing apparatus 76, the actual value of the actual transport time for each transport route (between all FROM-TO bays 80) is also registered. Further, in order to identify the operational state of each manufacturing apparatus 76, if the manufacturing apparatus 76 is in an unprocessable state, that fact is registered. At the time of registration, the expected return time that can be processed is also registered. As registration means, either a man-machine terminal 78 or a report from the manufacturing apparatus 76 is acceptable.

  Next, the process of assigning the scheduled processing start time will be specifically described. The process of assigning the scheduled processing start time is performed according to the following procedure. First, a lot supply request is generated from the destination stocker 79 (or the man-machine terminal 78), and the scheduled processing start time in the own bay 80 for each bay 80 is assigned. The above processing is performed on the FA computer system 75 whenever a request from the stocker 79 is generated, and the result is used for transport control described below.

  Next, the case where the conveyance control is performed will be described. The lot selected in the case of performing automatic conveyance control from the stocker 79 to the stocker 79 or manual conveyance is the earliest scheduled processing start time of the destination bay 80. As a result, the conveyance of useless lots that cannot be processed due to empty space in the manufacturing apparatus 76 is reduced. In the example illustrated in FIG. 26, the destination bay 80 is composed of four manufacturing apparatuses 76 and a stocker 79, similar to the one described in FIG. 25, and is based on the scheduled processing start time. The allocation result is illustrated.

  That is, there are six lots that exist in the other bay 80 and the manufacturing apparatus 76 in the bay 80 is a target of the next process, and the priority of each lot is lot 1>. , 2 can be processed by apparatus D, lots 3, 4 and 5 can be processed by apparatuses A and B, and lot 6 can be processed by apparatus C. The device D is out of order and the lots a and b are already being treated.

  In the case of the above case, as shown in FIG. 26, the lot selected first is the lot 3 to be processed by the apparatus A. In the conventional method, a lot to be transported is selected by looking only at the priority of the lot, and in this example, lot 1 is selected. However, even if lot 1 is transported, the processing target device is broken, and therefore, the stocker 79 is in a waiting state. In this example, such a problem can be solved and the apparatus operating rate can be increased.

  In Conventional Example 2, a case where there are a plurality of destination bays 80 will be described. The processing up to the conveyance control is the same as in the case of Conventional Example 1. The case where there are two destination bays 80 is illustrated in FIG. There are two destination bays 80, and each bay 80 is assigned a scheduled processing start time under the conditions defined in Conventional Example 1. Add the following conditions.

  Transport time record from bay C to bay A = 2t time Transfer time record from bay C to bay B = 1t time In the above condition, lot 3 that is processed in the device E of bay B having a shorter transfer time is first selected. Will be selected.

By using the transfer control method as described above, lots are transferred between bays having multiple manufacturing devices by transfer equipment, and there are lots that can be processed for each manufacturing device and lots that cannot be processed. Since the lot to be processed is selected based on the priority of the lot so that the waiting state does not occur and the scheduled processing start time is calculated, the production volume (throughput) can be improved.
JP 2000-313517 A

  However, if the entire processing apparatus is not in failure and at least one of the processing tanks is not operating due to failure or maintenance, etc., it can be processed in another operable processing tank, A lot can be selected by the processing device. In that case, the actual processing time becomes longer in proportion to the number of processing tanks that are out of order, but since the average value until the previous processing and the current processing result value are used for the registered value of the processing time in the processing device, An error occurs in the actual processing time and the registered value. As a result, a lot to be processed next is transferred to a processing apparatus that has not yet completed the processing of the lot, and there is a problem that a waiting time occurs before the apparatus and the lead time of the lot is extended.

  In addition, since the average value of the actual transport time for each transport route is used as the registered transport time value, in a production line that has variable factors such as a constantly changing transport load or trouble in transport equipment, An error occurs in the prediction, and the lot transportation arrival time is greatly delayed or the lot arrives too early with respect to the lot end time in the production apparatus. As a result, there arises a problem that the waiting time for the lot in front of the processing apparatus and the operating rate of the processing apparatus decrease.

  Therefore, in view of the above, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and by delivering a necessary lot before a production apparatus to be processed at a necessary time, A control method and transfer control for a transfer control device that makes it possible to comply with the delivery date of the lot, shorten the production period (lead time) of the lot without lowering the operation of the production apparatus, and improve the production output (throughput). Is to provide a device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a control method of a transfer control device according to claim 1 of the present invention includes means for automatically transferring a lot made of a plurality of substrates, and a plurality of productions for processing the substrates of the lot. A control method of a transport control device comprising a device and a plurality of automatic storages for storing lots to be processed by the production device from the next onward, a delivery time management step, a processing end prediction step, a product allocation step, and a transport It includes a time prediction process, a production progress management process, a transfer control process, and a production apparatus process control process. In the delivery date management step, the delivery date of the lot is managed, and the priority of the lot according to the delivery date of the order is determined every day. In the process end prediction step, the processing time of the production apparatus is managed, the end time of the lot is calculated, and the process end time is predicted. In the product allocation step, a production device capable of processing the optimum lot to be processed next using the priority of the lot determined in the delivery date management step and the processing end time in the production device predicted in the processing end prediction step Assign to. In the production progress management process, the overall production progress is managed, and the transport arrival time for arriving the next lot to be processed by this production apparatus to the automatic storage for this production apparatus immediately before the processing end time in the production apparatus. And the destination automatic vault. In the transfer time prediction step, the required transfer time of the lot is predicted. In the transfer control processing step, the transfer start time is determined from the transfer arrival time specified in the production progress management step and the required transfer time predicted in the transfer time prediction step, and a transfer instruction is issued to the transfer facility. In the production apparatus process control step, process control of the production apparatus is performed.

  The control method of the transfer control device according to claim 2 is the control method of the transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein the processing end prediction step is performed by calculating a lot processing time determined by a current processing recipe of each production device. Including the basic value, correcting the processing time of the lot according to the operation status of a plurality of processing tanks of each production device, and reporting the corrected result to the production device processing control step. .

  The control method for the transfer control device according to claim 3 is the control method for the transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein the product allocation step includes the priority of the lot determined in the delivery date management step, and the production progress management step. Using the operation status of each production device managed in, the processing end time of the lot, and the location information of the current lot, the optimum lot to be processed next is assigned to the production device capable of processing, and the result is Report to the production progress management process.

  The method for controlling a transfer control device according to claim 4 is the control method for the transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer time predicting step is a transfer instruction number of lots issued to the transfer facility by the transfer control processing step. Predictions taking into account the increase / decrease in the number of transport instructions for lots that have not yet been transported (hereinafter referred to as the number of unfinished lots), and the actual number of transport sources, transport destinations, unfinished lots and transport time Recording the value, creating a database, predicting the required transfer time from the predicted value of the number of unfinished lots and the actual value of the transfer time, and the predicted transfer time result as the transfer control processing step Reporting to

  The control method of the conveyance control device according to claim 5 is the control method of the conveyance control device according to claim 1, wherein the production progress management step manages location information of lots stored in the automatic storage. Notifying the product allocation step, notifying the product allocation step and the transfer control processing step of the priority of the lot determined in the delivery date management step, and the production reported from the production device processing control step Notifying the product allocation process of the operating state and abnormal state of the device and the processing end time of each production device lot, and the next lot to be processed by this production device immediately before the processing end time in the production device Specifying the transfer arrival time for arrival at the automatic storage for production equipment and the automatic storage for the transfer destination in the transfer control processing step, and the lock allocated by the product allocation step. The production apparatus processing control process, and instructing the production process from the screen of the operator terminal, determining the hand transport destination of the lot that has been processed by the production apparatus, and determining the result of the production process. Display on the terminal.

  The control method of the transfer control device according to claim 6 is the control method of the transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer control processing step is still in the transfer instruction number of lots issued to the transfer facility. Notifying the transfer time prediction step of the number of transfer instructions for lots that have not been completed (hereinafter referred to as the number of unfinished lots) and predicting the transfer time for the lot and transfer arrival time specified from the production progress management step Based on the estimated transfer time calculated in the process, it is determined whether or not the transfer can be completed within a specified time, the result is returned to the production progress management process, and the transfer arrival time specified in the production progress management process From the production progress management step, determining the transfer start time from the required transfer time predicted in the transfer time prediction step, issuing a transfer instruction including automatic delivery to a transfer facility including an automatic storage, and Notifying the priorities of known lots to the transfer equipment including the automatic storage, managing the location information of the lots stored in the automatic storage, and notifying the production progress management process of the location information Including.

  The control method of the transfer control device according to claim 7 is the control method of the transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein the production device processing control step instructs online processing of a lot to each production device, In response to a report on the processing recipe, the number of processed substrates, the processing time, and the operating state of each processing tank of the production apparatus from each production apparatus, the production progress management of the processing end time of each apparatus calculated in the production apparatus processing control step is performed. Report to the process.

  The control method of the transfer control apparatus according to claim 8 is the control method of the transfer control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lot number and the name of the production apparatus of the destination are displayed near the lot delivery port of the automatic storage.

  The transfer control device according to claim 9, a ceiling track traveling rail for automatically transporting a lot consisting of a plurality of substrates, a plurality of transport carriages that transfer the lot and travel on the ceiling track traveling rail, A plurality of production apparatuses that process the substrate of the lot, a standby port that waits for a lot to be processed next, and a plurality of automatic storages that store lots to be processed by the production apparatus from the next time on It is a conveyance control apparatus, Comprising: A delivery date management apparatus, a process completion prediction apparatus, a product allocation apparatus, a conveyance time prediction apparatus, a production progress management apparatus, a conveyance control processing apparatus, and a production apparatus processing control apparatus are provided. The delivery date management device manages the delivery date of the lot, and determines the priority of the lot according to the delivery date of the order every day. The processing end prediction device manages the processing time of the production device, calculates the processing end time of the lot, and predicts the processing end time. In the product allocation device, a production device capable of processing an optimum lot to be processed next by using the priority of the lot determined by the delivery date management device and the processing end time in the production device predicted by the processing end prediction device Assign to. The production progress management device manages the overall production progress, and the transport arrival time for arriving the next lot to be processed by this production device to the automatic storage for this production device immediately before the processing end time at the production device. And the destination automatic vault. The transfer time prediction apparatus predicts the required transfer time of the lot. The transfer control processing device determines the transfer start time from the transfer arrival time specified by the production progress management device and the transfer required time predicted by the transfer time prediction device, and issues a transfer instruction to the transfer facility. The production apparatus processing control apparatus performs process control of the production apparatus.

  The conveyance control device according to claim 10 is the conveyance control device according to claim 9, wherein the processing end prediction device uses a lot processing time determined by a current processing recipe of each production device as a basic value, and each production The processing time of the lot is corrected according to the operation status of a plurality of processing tanks included in the apparatus, and the corrected result is reported to the production apparatus processing control apparatus.

  The conveyance control device according to claim 11 is the conveyance control device according to claim 9, wherein the product allocation device manages the priority of the lot determined by the delivery time management device and the production progress management device. Using the operation status of the production equipment, the lot processing end time, and the current lot location information, the optimum lot to be processed next is assigned to the production equipment capable of processing, and the result is reported to the production progress management equipment. To do.

  The transfer control device according to claim 12 is the transfer control device according to claim 9, wherein the transfer time predicting device is still in the transfer instruction number of lots issued to the transfer facility by the transfer control processing device. Make predictions considering the increase / decrease in the number of conveyance instructions for unfinished lots (hereinafter referred to as the number of unfinished lots), record the actual value of the transportation source, destination, number of unfinished lots and transportation time, create a database, The required transport time is predicted from the predicted value of the number of incomplete transport lots and the actual transport time value, and the predicted transport time is reported to the transport control processing device.

  The conveyance control device according to claim 13 is the conveyance control device according to claim 9, wherein the production progress management device manages the location information of the lot stored in the automatic storage, and notifies the lot allocation device. The priority of the lot determined by the delivery date management device is notified to the product allocation device and the transfer control processing device, and the processing end time of the lot of each production device notified from the production device processing control device is Notify the product allocation device, and automatically store the transfer arrival time and the transfer destination for the next lot to be processed by this production device to the automatic storage for this production device immediately before the processing end time at the production device. The warehouse is designated as the transfer control processing device, the lot and the production device allocated by the product allocation device are notified to the production device processing control device, and the production processing instruction is displayed from the screen of the operator terminal. To notify the product allocation device of the operating state and abnormal state of each processing tank of the production device reported from the production device processing control device, determine the transport destination of the lot that has been processed in the production device, and the result It is displayed on the worker terminal.

  The transfer control device according to claim 14 is the transfer control device according to claim 9, wherein the transfer control processing device is configured to determine a lot that has not yet been transferred out of the number of transfer instructions of the lot issued to the transfer facility. The number of conveyance instructions (hereinafter, the number of unfinished lots) is notified to the conveyance time prediction device, and the estimated conveyance time calculated by the conveyance time prediction device for the lot and the conveyance arrival time specified by the production progress management device Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the transfer can be completed within the specified time, the result is returned to the production progress management device, and the transfer arrival time specified by the production progress management device and the transfer required predicted by the transfer time prediction device The transfer start time is determined from the time, a transfer instruction including automatic delivery is issued to the transfer facility including the automatic storage, and the priority of the lot notified from the production progress management device is set to the automatic storage. Notify transport facility comprising, said managing the location information of the lot is stored in the automatic storehouse, and notifies the location information to the production progress management device.

  The conveyance control device according to claim 15 is the conveyance control device according to claim 9, wherein the production device processing control device instructs processing of a lot to each production device through online communication, and a processing recipe is received from each production device. In response to the report of the number of processed substrates, the processing time, and the operating state of each processing tank of the production apparatus, the processing end time of each apparatus calculated by the production apparatus processing control apparatus is reported to the production progress management apparatus.

  A conveyance control device according to a sixteenth aspect is the conveyance control device according to the ninth aspect, further comprising a destination indicator for displaying a lot number and a production device name of the destination near the lot delivery port of the automatic storage.

  According to the control method of the conveyance control apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the delivery time management process, the process completion prediction process, the product allocation process, the conveyance time prediction process, the production progress management process, the conveyance control process process, and the production apparatus process control. Therefore, the next lot to be processed immediately before the processing end time of the current lot in the production device is assigned to the optimal production device to be processed in order from the high priority lot according to the delivery date. Since it will be transported reliably, the adherence rate of lots will be improved and the lead time of lots can be shortened without reducing the operation of production equipment, so that throughput can be improved. It becomes possible.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the control method of the transfer control device according to the first aspect, the processing end prediction step uses a lot processing time determined by a current processing recipe of each production device as a basic value, and each production It is preferable to include correcting the lot processing time and reporting the corrected result to the production apparatus processing control step according to the operation status of the plurality of processing tanks of the apparatus. In this case, in a production apparatus having a plurality of processing tanks, if at least one processing tank cannot be used for failure or maintenance, it takes longer than the normal processing time even for the same processing recipe. For such a case, it is better to correct the relationship between the processing recipe and the operation status of the processing tank and the processing time by creating a database and use a more accurate predicted value of the processing end time before the production equipment. It is possible to reduce the waiting time for lot processing and the operation loss of production equipment.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the control method for the transfer control device according to the first aspect, the product allocation step includes the priority of the lot determined in the delivery time management step and the operation of each production device managed in the production progress management step. It is preferable to allocate the optimum lot to be processed next to a production apparatus capable of processing using the situation, the processing end time of the lot, and the current lot location information, and report the result to the production progress management process. In this case, a lot that is located as close as possible to the currently operating production device in accordance with the time when the processing of the lot currently being processed by the production device finishes, giving priority to the lot with higher priority according to the delivery date. As a result, the delivery time can be shortened, the compliance rate of the lot can be improved, and the lead time of the lot can be shortened without lowering the operation of the production equipment. Therefore, the throughput can be improved.

  According to claim 4, in the control method of the transfer control device according to claim 1, the transfer time prediction step is not yet completed in the transfer instruction number of lots issued to the transfer facility by the transfer control processing step. Predicting the increase / decrease in the number of lot transfer instructions (hereinafter referred to as the number of unfinished lots), recording the actual value of the transfer source, destination, number of unfinished lots and transfer time, and creating a database Preferably, the estimation of the required conveyance time is performed from the predicted value of the number of unfinished lots and the actual value of the conveyance time, and the prediction result of the required conveyance time is reported to the conveyance control processing step. In this case, in the production line where there is a fluctuation factor such as a conveyance load that fluctuates from moment to moment and troubles in the conveyance facility, in the process where the conveyance load is increasing or decreasing, the conveyance time should be predicted considering the increase and decrease Is possible. Further, when the means for transporting a lot fails, the number of unfinished lots to be transported increases in the automatic storage and the transport time is delayed. In such a case as well, the rate of increase in the number of unfinished lots to be transported Therefore, it is possible to accurately predict the conveyance time. As a result, the lot to be processed next can be transported to the automatic storage associated with the production apparatus according to the transport arrival time designated from the production progress management step.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method for controlling the transfer control device according to the first aspect, the production progress management step manages the location information of the lot stored in the automatic storage, notifies the product allocation step, and Notifying the product allocation process and the conveyance control processing process of the priority of the lot determined in the management process, and the operation status and abnormal status of the production equipment reported from the production equipment processing control process and the lot processing of each production equipment Notifying the product allocation process of the end time, and the transport arrival time and transport for arriving the next lot to be processed by this production device immediately before the processing end time at the production device to the automatic storage for this production device Designate the previous automatic storage in the transport control process, notify the production equipment process control process of the lot and production equipment allocated in the product allocation process, and display the production process from the operator terminal screen. And issuing an instruction to determine the hand transport destination processing finished batch production apparatus preferably includes a possible to display the results to the operator terminal.

  In this case, in the production progress management process, the location of the lot, the priority of the lot, the processing start time and processing end time of the lot in each production device, the arrival time of the lot transportation, the operating status and abnormal status of each production device, etc. By centrally managing information related to production progress and notifying the necessary information for each processing step, the production equipment that is located as close as possible and gives priority to the high-priority lots Lots can be allocated and transported to the automatic storage warehouse associated with the production apparatus immediately before the processing end time of the currently processed lot. As a result, the lot delivery time compliance rate can be improved, and the lead time of the lot can be shortened without reducing the operation of the production apparatus, so that the throughput can be improved.

  Further, in the production progress management step, a place where an operator should manually convey a lot that has been processed by the production apparatus can be displayed on the manual conveyance display screen. For example, if there is a production processing device that can be processed in the next process only in the immediate vicinity of the production device in the current process, the production device that can be processed in the next process with the manual transport destination in front of the production device in the next process If there are multiple devices near and far from the production device in the current process, out of the production devices that can handle the manual transfer destination in the next process, the production device that is near the production device in the current process If the automatic storage is linked to the automatic storage and the production device that can be processed in the next process exists only in the distance from the production device of the current process, By doing this, not only can the production equipment for the next process be automatically transported, but not only can the load on the transport equipment be reduced, but also the number of automatic transports can be reduced by one, thus reducing the lot transport time, As a result lot lead time Can be further shortened.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the control method for the conveyance control device according to the first aspect, the conveyance control processing step includes the number of conveyance instructions for a lot that has not yet been conveyed among the number of conveyance instructions for a lot issued to the conveyance facility. Notify the transport time prediction process (hereinafter referred to as the number of unfinished lots) and specify the lot and transport arrival time specified from the production progress management process based on the predicted transport time calculated in the transport time prediction process. Judge whether the transfer can be completed within the time, respond the result to the production progress management process, transfer start time from the transfer arrival time specified in the production progress management process and the required transfer time predicted in the transfer time prediction process To issue a transportation instruction including automatic delivery to the transportation equipment including the automatic storage warehouse, and notify the transportation equipment including the automatic storage warehouse of the priority of the lot notified from the production progress management process. It and manages the location information of lots stored in the automatic storehouse, preferably includes a notifying the location information to the production progress management processes.

  In this case, by notifying the transfer time prediction step of the number of incomplete transfer lots known in the transfer control processing step, it is possible to predict transfer time with higher accuracy in the transfer time prediction step. . In addition, it is determined whether the transfer can be completed within the specified time with respect to the specified transfer arrival time, and by responding, a lot that cannot be transferred at the processing end time of the currently processed production device is allocated to the production device. Can be prevented. In addition, since the start time of the transfer is determined so that the lot arrives immediately before the processing end time of the production equipment currently being processed and the goods are automatically delivered, the occurrence of a lot processing waiting time in front of the production equipment and the loss of production equipment operation Occurrence can be prevented. In addition, by notifying the transfer facility of the priority of the lot, it is also possible to give priority to the transfer of a lot having a high priority within the transfer facility. Further, since the location information of the lot can be managed in the production progress management process, it is possible to allocate a lot as close to the production apparatus as possible when the lot is allocated.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method for controlling the transfer control device according to the first aspect, the production device processing control step instructs the processing of the lot to each production device through online communication, and the processing recipe and substrate It is preferable to receive a report on the number of processed sheets, processing time, and operating state of each processing tank of the production apparatus, and report the processing end time of each apparatus calculated in the production apparatus processing control process to the production progress management process. In this case, it is possible to predict the processing time with higher accuracy by accurately grasping the processing time depending on the processing recipe in the production apparatus, the number of processed semiconductor substrates, and the operation status.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the control method for the transfer control device according to the first aspect, it is preferable that a destination indicator for displaying a lot number and a production device name of the destination is provided near the lot delivery port of the automatic storage. In this case, since there is a destination indicator, the operator can surely carry it to the production apparatus for the lot that has been delivered automatically.

  According to the transport control device of the ninth aspect of the present invention, the delivery date management device, the process completion prediction device, the product allocation device, the transport time prediction device, the production progress management device, the transport control processing device, and the production device processing control device are provided. Therefore, it is assigned to the most suitable production equipment to be processed in order from the high priority lot according to the delivery date, and the next lot to be processed is ensured immediately before the processing end time of the current lot in the production equipment. As a result, the lot delivery time compliance rate is improved and the lead time of the lot can be shortened without lowering the operation of the production equipment, so the throughput can be improved. It becomes.

  In claim 10, the processing end prediction device uses a lot processing time determined by the current processing recipe of each production device as a basic value, and processes lots according to the operating statuses of a plurality of processing tanks of each production device. It is preferable to correct the time and report the corrected result to the production apparatus processing control apparatus. In this case, in a production apparatus having a plurality of processing tanks, if at least one processing tank cannot be used for failure or maintenance, it takes longer than the normal processing time even for the same processing recipe. For such a case, it is better to correct the relationship between the processing recipe and the operation status of the processing tank and the processing time by creating a database and use a more accurate predicted value of the processing end time before the production equipment. It is possible to reduce the waiting time for lot processing and the operation loss of production equipment.

  According to claim 11, in the transfer control device according to claim 9, the product allocation device includes the priority of the lot determined by the delivery date management device, the operating status of each production device managed by the production progress management device, It is preferable to allocate the optimum lot to be processed next to a production apparatus capable of processing using the lot processing end time and the current lot location information, and report the result to the production progress management apparatus. In this case, a lot that is located as close as possible to the currently operating production device in accordance with the time when the processing of the lot currently being processed by the production device finishes, giving priority to the lot with higher priority according to the delivery date. As a result, the delivery time can be shortened, the compliance rate of the lot can be improved, and the lead time of the lot can be shortened without lowering the operation of the production equipment. Therefore, the throughput can be improved.

  In a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the conveyance control device according to the ninth aspect, the conveyance time prediction device conveys a lot that has not yet been conveyed among the number of conveyance instructions of the lot issued by the conveyance control processing device to the conveyance facility. Predicts the increase / decrease in the number of instructions (hereinafter referred to as the number of unfinished lots), records the transport source, destination, number of unfinished lots and actual time, and creates a database to predict the number of incomplete lots It is preferable that the required transport time is predicted from the actual value of the value and the transport time, and the predicted result of the transport required time is reported to the transport control processing device.

  In this case, in the production line where there is a fluctuation factor such as a conveyance load that fluctuates from moment to moment and troubles in the conveyance facility, in the process where the conveyance load is increasing or decreasing, the conveyance time should be predicted considering the increase and decrease Is possible. In addition, when the overhead track running rail breaks down and the traveling of the transport carriage stops, the number of uncompleted transport lots that are not transferred to the transport carriage in the automatic storage increases, and the transport time is delayed. Even in such a case, it is possible to accurately predict the transfer time from the rate of increase in the number of uncompleted transfer lots. As a result, the lot to be processed next can be transported to the automatic storage associated with the production apparatus according to the transportation arrival time designated by the production progress management apparatus.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the transfer control device according to the ninth aspect, the production progress management device manages the location information of the lot stored in the automatic storage, notifies the lot allocation device, and is determined by the delivery time management device. The priority of the lot is notified to the product allocation device and the transfer control processing device, the processing end time of the lot of each production device notified from the production device processing control device is notified to the product allocation device, and the processing at the production device is completed. Immediately before the time, specify the transport arrival time for the next lot to be processed by this production device to arrive at the automatic storage for this production device and the automatic storage for the transfer destination in the transfer control processing device. The assigned lot and production device are notified to the production device processing control device, the production processing instruction is issued from the screen of the operator terminal, and each processing tank of the production device reported from the production device processing control device is earned. Notifies the state or abnormal state to the product provision device determines the transport destination processing finished batch production apparatus, it is preferable to display the results to the operator terminal.

  In this case, in the production progress management device, the location of the lot, the priority of the lot, the processing start time and processing end time of the lot in each production device, the arrival time of the lot transportation, the operating status and abnormal status of each production device, etc. By centrally managing information related to production progress and notifying the necessary information to each processing equipment, there is a location as close as possible, and at least one processing tank is operated with priority given to high-priority lots. It is possible to allocate the lot to a production apparatus that is currently being processed and transport it to the automatic storage box associated with the production apparatus immediately before the processing end time of the currently processed lot. As a result, the lot delivery time compliance rate can be improved, and the lead time of the lot can be shortened without reducing the operation of the production apparatus, so that the throughput can be improved.

  Further, the production progress management apparatus can display on the manual conveyance display screen a place where an operator should manually convey a lot that has been processed by the production apparatus. For example, if there is a production processing device that can be processed by the next device only in the immediate vicinity of the production device of the current device, the hand transport destination is a standby port in front of the production device of the next device, and processing is performed by the next device. If there are multiple possible production devices near and far from the production device of the current device, the production device that can handle the next destination by the next device is the one near the production device of the current device. If there is a production device that can be processed by the next device only at a distance from the production device of the current device, the manual transport destination is linked to the production device of the current device. By using automatic storage, automatic transfer only when the production device of the next device is far away not only reduces the load on the transfer equipment, but also reduces the number of automatic transfers once, so the lot transfer time As a result, Lead time can be further reduced.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the conveyance control device according to the ninth aspect, the conveyance control processing device includes a conveyance instruction number of lots for which conveyance has not yet been completed (hereinafter referred to as conveyance). The number of unfinished lots) is notified to the transfer time prediction device, and the transfer is completed within the specified time based on the predicted transfer time calculated by the transfer time prediction device for the lot and transfer arrival time specified by the production progress management device. Judge whether it can be done, respond the result to the production progress management device, determine the transfer start time from the transfer arrival time specified by the production progress management device and the required transfer time predicted by the transfer time prediction device, and automatic storage A transfer instruction including automatic delivery is issued to the transfer facility including the product, and the priority of the lot notified from the production progress management device is notified to the transfer facility including the automatic storage and stored in the automatic storage. Manage bets location information, it is preferable to notify the location information to the production progress management device.

  In this case, by notifying the transfer time prediction device of the number of incomplete transfer lots known by the transfer control processing device, the transfer time prediction device can predict transfer time with higher accuracy. . In addition, it is determined whether the transfer can be completed within the specified time with respect to the specified transfer arrival time, and by responding, a lot that cannot be transferred at the processing end time of the currently processed production device is allocated to the production device. Can be prevented. In addition, since the start time of the transfer is determined so that the lot arrives immediately before the processing end time of the production equipment currently being processed and the goods are automatically delivered, the occurrence of a lot processing waiting time in front of the production equipment and the loss of production equipment operation Occurrence can be prevented. In addition, by notifying the transfer facility of the priority of the lot, it is also possible to give priority to the transfer of a lot having a high priority within the transfer facility. In addition, since the location information of the lot can be managed by the production progress management device, it is possible to allocate a lot as close to the production device as possible when the lot is allocated.

  In Claim 15, The conveyance control apparatus of Claim 9 WHEREIN: The said production apparatus process control apparatus instruct | indicates the process of the lot to each production apparatus by online communication, a processing recipe and the number of processed board | substrates from each production apparatus It is preferable to receive the processing time and the operating status of each processing tank of the production apparatus, and report the processing end time of each apparatus calculated by the production apparatus processing control apparatus to the production progress management apparatus. In this case, it is possible to predict the processing time with higher accuracy by accurately grasping the processing time depending on the processing recipe in the production apparatus, the number of processed semiconductor substrates, and the operation status of the processing tank.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the conveyance control device according to the ninth aspect, it is preferable that a destination indicator for displaying a lot number and a destination production device name is provided near the lot delivery port of the automatic storage. In this case, since there is a destination indicator, the operator can surely carry it to the production apparatus for the lot that has been delivered automatically.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a transport control apparatus having each control processing step in the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 4 is a production progress management device, 5 is a delivery time management device, 6 is a product allocation device, 7 is a transport control processing device, 8 is a production device processing control device, 9 is a transport time prediction device, and 10 is a processing end prediction. An apparatus, 11 is an automatic storage, 17 is a production apparatus, and 23 is an operator terminal. Among these, the automatic storage 11 is controlled by the transport control processing device 7. The production device 17 is controlled by the production device processing control device 8. The delivery date management device 5 manages the delivery date of the lot, and determines the priority of the lot according to the delivery date of the order every day. The processing end prediction device 10 manages the processing time of the production device 17, calculates the lot processing end time, and predicts the processing end time. The product allocation device 6 can process the optimum lot to be processed next by using the priority of the lot determined by the delivery date management device 5 and the processing end time in the production device 17 predicted by the processing end prediction device 10. Allocate to the production device 17. The production progress management device 4 manages the overall production progress, and causes the next lot to be processed by the production device 17 to arrive at the automatic storage 11 for the production device immediately before the processing end time at the production device 17. The transfer arrival time and the automatic storage 11 of the transfer destination are designated. The transport time prediction device 9 predicts the required transport time for the lot. The transfer control processing device 7 determines the transfer start time from the transfer arrival time specified by the production progress management device 4 and the transfer required time predicted by the transfer prediction time device 9, and issues a transfer instruction to the transfer facility.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a model layout of a production line in the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 14 is a ceiling track running rail, 15 is a transport carriage, 3 is a storage container in which a semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor substrate carrier are stored, and is hereinafter referred to as a lot. 12 is a storage port equipped in the automatic storage, 13 is a delivery port equipped in the automatic storage, 22 is a standby port for waiting the next lot 3 to be processed before the production apparatus, and 24 is a bay (automatic 25 is an area (a logical group in which a plurality of bays are combined), and the definition information of the bay 24 and the area 25 is stored in the production progress management device. It is registered.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a part of the bay 24 in the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, 16 is a destination indicator installed in the vicinity of the delivery port of the automatic storage 11, and 23 is used when issuing a production instruction to the production apparatus, and also displays the manual transport destination of the processed lot 3 It is a worker terminal.

  FIG. 4 is a top view showing the production apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, 18 is a load port for receiving the semiconductor substrate carrier 2 storing the semiconductor substrate 1, 19a and 19b are transfer robots for transferring the semiconductor substrate 1, 20 is a load lock chamber as a standby port, and 21a, 21b and 21c. , 21d are a plurality of processing tanks.

  Hereinafter, basic transport operations will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. The lot 3 that has been processed by the production apparatus 17 is stored in the automatic storage 11 in the same bay 24 as the production apparatus by the worker according to the manual transfer destination displayed on the worker terminal 23, or It is manually transported to the warehousing port 12 equipped in the automatic storage 11 in the same bay as the production apparatus 17 in the next process or to the standby port 22 in front of the production apparatus 17 in the next process. The transfer destination of the next process is determined by the installation position of the production apparatus of the next process, and details will be described later. Hereinafter, the description will be continued for the case where the lot 3 is received in the storage port 12 provided in the automatic storage 11 in the same bay 24 as the production apparatus. The lot 3 received in the warehousing port 12 is temporarily stored in the automatic storage 11, started to be transferred by a transfer instruction from the transfer control processing device 7, and transferred to the transfer carriage 15. The transport carriage 15 loaded with the lot 3 travels on the overhead track running rail 14 and stops in front of the automatic storage 11 of the transport destination received the instruction from the transport control processing device 7, and the lot 3 is stored in the automatic storage 11. Stored and automatically delivered to the exit port 13.

  The lot 3 that has been automatically delivered is manually conveyed by the operator to the standby port 22 in front of the production apparatus 17 displayed on the destination indicator 16. The lot 3 waiting at the standby port 22 is immediately transferred to the load port 18 in the state of the semiconductor substrate carrier 2 as soon as the processing of the semiconductor substrate 1 currently being processed by the production apparatus 17 is completed, and the processing is performed. Be started. Next, the semiconductor substrate 1 is transferred to the load lock chamber 20 by the transfer robot 19a, transferred to one of the processing tanks 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d by the transfer robot 19b, and subjected to actual processing. The semiconductor substrate 1 that has been processed is transferred and stored in the semiconductor substrate carrier 2 by the transfer robot 19a. The semiconductor substrate 1 for which all the processes have been completed is stored in a storage container and is manually transported as a lot 3 to the transport destination of the next process according to the hand transport destination displayed on the operator terminal 23. Thereafter, the above-described transfer operation is repeated until all the steps registered in the production progress management device 4 are completed.

  5 to 21 are flowcharts showing processing for each processing step according to the first aspect of the present invention, and are continuous processing in order of steps. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the delivery date management process in the delivery date management process in the embodiment of the present invention. In the delivery date management process, the delivery date of lot 3 is compared with the production progress at a fixed time every day (step 27), and the process of determining the priority of lot 3 (step 28) is performed. The priority determination method compares the delivery date of lot 3 with the production progress of lot 3, and determines the priority based on the degree of delay in production progress relative to the delivery date. Next, a process of notifying the determined priority of the lot 3 to the production progress management process and the product allocation process is performed (step 29). If the priorities of all the lots 3 existing in the factory are determined, the process is finished (step 30). FIG. 6 is an example showing the delivery date, the degree of delay in production progress, and the priority of lot 3.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process end time prediction process in the process end prediction process according to the embodiment of the present invention. The process end time predicting process in the process end predicting process starts when the production apparatus 17 starts the processing of the lot 3 (step 31). First, processing (step 32) is performed to inquire the operation status and processing recipe of each processing tank of the production apparatus currently being processed to the production apparatus processing control process, and then processing is performed from the current processing tank operation status and processing recipe. A process (step 33) for searching the operation status of the processing tank recorded in the database in the end prediction apparatus 10 and the past processing actual time for each processing recipe is performed, and the result is integrated with the processing start time, and the process ends. A process for calculating time (step 34) is performed, a process for notifying the result to the production apparatus process control step (step 35) is performed, and the process end time prediction process is terminated (step 36). FIG. 8 is an example of the processing tank operation status of the production apparatus having four processing tanks shown in FIG. 4 to be searched in step 34 and the processing performance time data in each production apparatus according to the processing recipe. The average of actual values is used. By using this method, it is possible to improve the prediction accuracy of the processing end time in a production apparatus having a plurality of processing tanks as shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the product allocation process in the product allocation process according to the embodiment of the present invention. The product allocation process starts at a settable time period (step 37). First, a process for searching for priorities of processable lots 3 is performed (step 38). Next, the order of the lots 3 to be processed is changed. Processing to determine is performed (step 39). At this time, a list of lots 3 arranged in order of priority for each processing recipe shown in FIG. 10 is created. Next, a process (step 40) for retrieving the operation status of the production apparatus, the in-process status of lot 3, the predicted process end time of the currently processing apparatus, the installation location (bay No), and a processable recipe is performed. Create a production equipment information list. Next, a process of searching for the location of lot 3 (step 41) is performed, and a lot location information list shown in FIG. 12 is created. Next, processing for determining the next lot 3 to be processed by the production apparatus (step 42) is performed. The determination method is performed by searching the list created in steps 38 to 41 for a condition for processing a lot 3 having a higher priority earlier and processed by a production apparatus closer thereto. In FIGS. 10 to 12, the lot A1 whose priority order is 1, whose location is bay 1 and whose processing recipe is recipe A is currently in operation, has no in-process lot, and whose installation location is bay 1 and whose recipe can be processed is recipe A. It is determined to be processed in A1. This determination method is expressed as follows.
Q = AX + BY
Here, Q is a score representing the ranking of the lot 3 allocated to a certain production device, which is determined by the priority and location of the lot 3, and the higher the score, the higher the ranking. X is a score determined by the priority of lot 3, and the higher the priority, the larger the score. Y is a score determined by the relationship between the location of the lot 3 (bay) and the installation location of the production device (bay). The closer to the device, the higher the score. A is a weighting factor for the priority order of lot 3, and B is a weighting factor for the location of lot 3 and can be arbitrarily set. FIG. 13 shows an example of the priority order of lot 3 and its score (X). FIG. 14 is an example of the score (Y) determined by the relationship between the location (bay) of the lot 3 and the installation location (bay) of the production apparatus in the layout of FIG. 2, and the score is higher as the transport distance is shorter.

For example, in the case of the lot 3 and the production apparatus shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, when the weighting factor X = 1 and Y = 0.5 and the lot 3 is allocated to the apparatus A2 in the bay 2, the lot A1 and the lot The points for A2, lot A3, lot A4, and lot A5 are as follows.
Q (A1) = 1 * 10 + 0.5 * 2.5 = 11.25
Q (A2) = 1 * 8 + 0.5 * 10 = 13
Q (A3) = 1 * 6 + 0.5 * 5 = 8.5
Q (A4) = 1 * 4 + 0.5 * 2.5 = 5.25
Q (A5) = 1 * 4 + 0.5 * 2.5 = 5.25
Based on the above results, the lot 3 assigned to the device A2 is the lot 3A2, which is located as close as possible to the production device in which at least one treatment tank is operating in preference to the lot 3 with a high priority. The lot 3 can be allocated and transported to the automatic storage 11 associated with the production apparatus immediately before the processing end time of the currently processed lot 3.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the conveyance time prediction process in the conveyance time prediction step according to the embodiment of the present invention. The transport time predicting process is started by a transport time inquiry from the transport control process (step 45). Next, processing for inquiring the conveyance control processing step about the conveyance source, conveyance destination, and current number of unfinished lots for the lot 3 that has been inquired is performed (step 46). Next, a process of predicting an increase / decrease in the number of unfinished lots from the transition data of the number of unfinished lots (step 47) is performed. This process is for correcting the estimated transport time in consideration of the effect of the increase or decrease in the transport load on the transport device on the transport time, and the unfinished transport lot existing in the automatic storage at the transport source shown in FIG. 17 and the transition data of the number of incomplete lots transported including the lot 3 currently being transported by the transport cart 15 traveling on the above-described automatic track storage rail 11 or on the overhead track traveling rail 14 shown in FIG. Then, the correction value considering the increase / decrease is calculated. The following formula is used to calculate the correction value.
Y = a1X
a1 = (Y1-Y0) / ΔX
Z = a2X
a2 = (Z1-Z0) / ΔX
here,
Y: Predicted increase / decrease in the number of unfinished lots in the automatic vault 11 of the transfer source (pieces)
a1: Rate of increase / decrease in the number of unfinished lots in the automatic storage 11 as a transfer source per unit time (units / minute)
X: Elapsed time (minutes)
Y0: Number of unfinished lots (in pieces) in the automatic storage 11 as the transfer source before ΔX minutes
Y1: Number of unfinished lots in the automatic vault 11 of the current transfer source (pieces)
ΔX: Y1 (Z1) data acquisition time−Y0 (Z0) data acquisition time (minutes)
Z: Predicted increase / decrease in the number of all unfinished lots (pieces)
a2: Increase / decrease rate of the number of unfinished lots per unit time (pieces / minute)
Z0: Number of lots that have not been transported before ΔX minutes (pieces)
Z1: Current number of unfinished lots (pieces)
The result of substituting specific numerical values into the above formula is shown below.
When Y1 = 20, Y0 = 10, and ΔX = 10,
When a1 = (20−10) / 10 = 2 pieces / minute X = 1,
When Y = 2 * 1 = 2 Z1 = 100, Z0 = 70, ΔX = 10 a2 = (200−100) / 10 = 10 / min Z = 10 * 1 = 10 From the above calculation result, 1 The predicted value of the number of unfinished lots after minutes is as follows.
Predicted number of unfinished lots in the automatic storage 11 that is one minute after the present = 20 + 2 = 22 Predicted number of all unfinished lots one minute after the present = 200 + 10 = 210, one minute from the present The number of unfinished lots can be predicted later.

  Next, in order to correct the current predicted transport time, the past record of the same combination is used by using the transport source, the transport destination, the predicted number of unfinished lots in the automatic storage 11 and the predicted number of all unfinished transports. A value is searched in the transport time actual value database 51, an average value thereof is calculated, and processing for obtaining a transport predicted time is performed (step 48). Next, a process of notifying the result to the conveyance control process (step 49) is performed, and the process ends. FIG. 18 shows an example of the estimated transport time calculated in step 48.

  In this way, it is possible to increase the prediction accuracy by considering the increase / decrease in the transport load and using the average value of the past actual values in the transport load state after consideration as the transport predicted time.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the conveyance control process in the production progress management process in the embodiment of the present invention. Since the production progress management process controls all processes related to production, they are not necessarily processed in the order of the flowchart shown in FIG. 19, but will be described below as an example. The conveyance control process in the production progress management process starts when the lot 3 is received in the automatic storage 11 and the location information of the lot 3 is notified from the conveyance control process (step 52). Next, the location information of the lot 3 is managed and a process of notifying the product allocation process is performed (step 53). Next, the process (step 54) of notifying the priority of the lot 3 determined in the delivery date management process to the product allocation process and the transport control process is performed. Next, a process (step 55) of notifying the product allocation process of the operating state and abnormal state of each processing tank of the production apparatus reported from the production apparatus process control process is performed. Next, a process (step 56) of notifying the product allocation process of the predicted process end time of lot 3 of each production apparatus reported from the production apparatus process control process is performed. Next, immediately before the processing end time at the production device, the next lot 3 to be processed by the production device arrives at the automatic storage 11 for the production device and is transported through the automatic storage 11 at the transfer destination. A process (step 57) for notifying the control process is performed. Next, a process (step 58) of notifying the production apparatus process control process of the lot 3 and the production apparatus allocated in the product allocation process is performed. Next, a process (step 60) of giving a production instruction for the lot 3 to the production apparatus to the production apparatus control processing step is performed. Next, the hand conveyance destination of the lot 3 that has been processed by the production apparatus is determined, and the process of displaying the result on the worker terminal (step 61) is performed, and the process ends (step 62). Of these, the processing of step 61 will be described in detail below.

  In FIG. 2, for example, the display of the hand conveyance destination of the lot 3 which has been processed by the production apparatus in the bay 1 has the following rules.

  When the production apparatus to be processed in the next process exists in the same bay (bay 1) as the production apparatus completed in the current process, and the lot 3 to be processed next in the production apparatus in the next process is not in the standby port 22 The hand conveyance destination displayed on the operator terminal 23 becomes a standby port of the production apparatus for the next process to be processed next. Further, when there is no vacancy in the standby ports of all the production devices in the next process, it becomes the warehousing port of the automatic storage 11-1 in the same bay (bay 1) as the finished production device. In this case, since the probability that the lot 3 is not once stored in the automatic storage 11-1 increases as in the conventional case, the residence time in the automatic storage 11 and the lot waiting time before the production apparatus are reduced. Further, when the production apparatus to be processed in the next process is in the same area (area 1) as the production apparatus completed in the current process and in a different bay (bay 2), the hand conveyance destination displayed on the worker terminal 23 is the next process. And the warehousing port of the automatic storage 11-2 in the bay 2. In this case, since the number of times of conveyance is reduced by one as compared with the case where it has conventionally been received in the warehousing port of the automatic storage 11-1 in the same bay (bay 1) as the production apparatus that has been processed, the conveying device Can reduce the load. Further, when the production apparatus to be processed in the next process is in an area (area 2) different from the production apparatus that has been processed in the current process, the hand transport destination displayed on the operator terminal 23 is the production apparatus that has been processed. It becomes the warehousing port of the automatic storage 11-1 in the same bay (bay 1). Note that the processing in steps 52 to 62 in FIG. 19 notifies all the information necessary for each processing process centering on the production management process, and as a result, the production to process the required lot at the required time. It becomes possible to deliver before the apparatus, and it becomes possible to comply with the delivery date of all the lots, to shorten the lead time and to improve the throughput without deteriorating the operation of the production apparatus.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the conveyance control process in the conveyance control process in the embodiment of the present invention. The conveyance control process starts from acquiring the location information of the lot 3 received in the automatic storage 11 from the automatic storage 11 (step 63). Next, a process of notifying location information of lot 3 to the production progress management process (step 64) is performed. Next, a process of notifying the number of unfinished lots to the transport time prediction step (step 65) is performed. Next, based on the predicted transport time calculated in the transport time prediction process for the lot and transport arrival time specified from the production progress management process, it is determined whether the transport can be completed within the specified time, and the result is the production progress. A process (step 66) responding to the management process is performed. In this case, the lot determined to be unable to be completed within the specified time is re-searched in the product allocation process and allocated to another production apparatus 17. Next, a process of determining a transport start time from the transport arrival time specified in the production progress management process and the transport required time predicted in the transport prediction process (step 67) is performed. Next, processing (step 68) for giving a notification of the priority of the lot and a transport instruction including automatic delivery to the transport equipment including the automatic storage 11 is completed (step 69). By the processing of steps 64 to 69, the lot to be processed next is transferred to the standby port in front of the apparatus immediately before the processing of the lot currently being processed in the production apparatus 17 is completed.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the conveyance control process in the production apparatus process control process in the embodiment of the present invention. The control process in the production device process control process is started by a production instruction from the production progress management process (step 70). Next, a process (step 71) for instructing the production apparatus 17 by online communication is performed. Next, a process recipe, a processing number of semiconductor substrates, a processing time, an operating state of each processing tank, and the like are received from the production apparatus 17 and a result is reported to the production progress management process (step 72). Next, a process (step 73) for reporting the estimated process completion time of each apparatus calculated in the production apparatus process control process to the production progress management process is performed, and a process completion report in the production apparatus 17 is performed in the production progress management process. End (step 74). By the processing of Steps 70 to 73, it is possible to perform processing end prediction in consideration of the operating state of the processing tank of the production apparatus 17.

  FIG. 22 shows an example of the display contents of the destination indicator 16 installed near the delivery port of the automatic storage 11 in FIG. 3, and the lot ID and carrier ID of the lot automatically delivered from the automatic storage 11 Information about the processing device is displayed. According to this display, the worker can surely carry it manually to the standby port 22 of the production apparatus 17 to process the lot.

  As described above, in the lot transfer control device in the semiconductor and liquid crystal production line according to the present embodiment, the processing waiting time in front of the production device and the lot waiting time in the production device are ordered in descending order of delivery priority. It can be transported without being generated and processed by the production equipment, so that the compliance rate for all lots can be improved and the lead time of the lot can be shortened without reducing the operation of the production equipment. Therefore, the throughput can be improved.

  The control method and the transfer control device of the transfer control device according to the present invention have a transfer time prediction step and a process end prediction step in a semiconductor or liquid crystal production line, and are useful as means for realizing efficient transfer.

It is a block block diagram which shows the conveyance control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a model layout figure of the manufacturing line which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective schematic diagram which shows a part of bay 24 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the production apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the delivery date management process in the delivery date management process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the example which showed the delivery date, the delay degree of production progress, and the priority of a lot which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the process end time prediction process in the delivery date process end prediction process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the process performance time data in the production apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the product allocation process in the product allocation process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the list | wrist list arranged in order of priority according to the process recipe which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the information list of the production apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the lot location information list which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the example of the priority of the lot 3 which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and its score (X). It is explanatory drawing of the example of the score (Y) determined by the relationship between the location (bay) of the lot 3 which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and the installation place (bay) of a production apparatus. It is the flowchart which showed the conveyance time prediction process in the conveyance time prediction process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a graph of transition of the number of incomplete conveyance lots existing in the automatic storage of the conveyance source according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph of transition of the number of all incomplete lots concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the calculation result of the conveyance estimated time which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the conveyance control process in the production progress management process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the conveyance control process in the conveyance control process process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the conveyance control process in the production apparatus process control process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the display content of the destination indicator 16 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the conveyance control processing apparatus in background art. It is a model layout figure of the manufacturing line in background art. It is explanatory drawing of the example 1 of the allocation process of the process start scheduled time in background art. It is explanatory drawing of Example 2 of the allocation process of the process start scheduled time in background art. It is explanatory drawing of the allocation process in case there are two destination bays 80 in background art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Semiconductor substrate 2 Semiconductor substrate carrier 3 Lot 4 Production progress management device 5 Delivery date management device 6 Product allocation device 7 Transport control processing device 8 Production device processing control device 9 Transport time prediction device 10 Processing end prediction device 11 Automatic storage 12 Automatic storage Warehousing port 13 equipped in the warehouse 13 Warehousing port 14 equipped in the automatic storage warehouse Ceiling track running rail 15 Transport carriage 16 Destination indicator 17 Production device 18 Load port 19a, 19b Transport robot 20 Load lock chambers 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d Processing tank 22 Standby port 23 Worker terminal 24 Bay 25 Area 26-30 Steps 31-36 of the flowchart Steps 37-44 of the flowchart Steps 45-50 of the flowchart Step 51 of the flow time actual value database 52-62 Steps 63 to 69 Steps 70 to 74 of the flowchart Step 75 of the flowchart 75 Computer system 76 for FA control Manufacturing device 77 Transport device 78 Man-machine terminal 79 Stocker 80 Bay

Claims (16)

Means for automatically transporting a lot consisting of a plurality of substrates, a plurality of production apparatuses for processing the substrates of the lot, and a plurality of automatic storages for storing lots to be processed by the production apparatus from the next time on A control method for the transport control apparatus,
A delivery date management process for managing the delivery date of the lot and determining the priority of the lot according to the delivery date of the order every day;
A process end prediction step for managing a processing time of the production apparatus, calculating an end time of the lot, and predicting a process end time;
A product allocation step for assigning the optimum lot to be processed next to a production device that can be processed using the priority of the lot determined in the delivery date management step and the processing end time in the production device predicted in the processing end prediction step When,
Control of overall production progress, and automatic storage of transport arrival time and transport destination for the next lot to be processed by this production device to arrive at the automatic storage for this production device immediately before the processing end time in the production device Production progress management process to specify the warehouse,
A transport time prediction step for predicting the transport time of the lot;
A transfer control processing step of determining a transfer start time from a transfer arrival time specified in the production progress management step and a transfer required time predicted in the transfer time prediction step, and issuing a transfer instruction to transfer equipment;
A control method for a conveyance control device, including a production device process control step for performing process control of the production device.   The processing end prediction step uses the lot processing time determined by the current processing recipe of each production apparatus as a basic value and the processing time of the lot based on the operating status of a plurality of processing tanks of each production apparatus. The method for controlling a transfer control device according to claim 1, further comprising: correcting the correction and reporting the corrected result to the production device processing control step.   The product allocation process includes the priority of the lot determined in the delivery date management process, the operating status of each production device managed in the production progress management process, the processing end time of the lot, and the current lot location information. The control method of the conveyance control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an optimum lot to be processed next is assigned to a production apparatus capable of processing, and a result is reported to the production progress management step.   The transfer time prediction step increases or decreases the number of transfer instructions for lots that have not yet been transferred (hereinafter referred to as the number of unfinished transfer lots) among the transfer instructions for lots issued to the transfer facility by the transfer control processing step. Make a prediction that takes into account, record the transfer source, transfer destination, the number of unfinished lots and the actual transfer time, create a database, predict the predicted number of uncompleted lots and the actual transfer time The method of controlling a transfer control device according to claim 1, comprising: predicting a required transfer time from a value; and reporting a prediction result of the required transfer time to the transfer control processing step.   The production progress management step manages the location information of the lot stored in the automatic storage, notifies the product allocation step, and assigns the priority of the lot determined in the delivery date management step to the product allocation step. Notifying the process and the transfer control processing step, and notifying the product allocation step of the operation state and abnormal state of the production device and the processing end time of each production device lot reported from the production device processing control step And the transport control for the transport arrival time and the transport destination automatic storage for the next lot to be processed by the production device to arrive at the automatic storage for the production device immediately before the processing end time at the production device. Notifying the production device processing control step that the lot and the production equipment allocated by the product allocation step are designated, and issuing the production processing instruction from the screen of the operator terminal It and determines the hand transport destination processing finished batch production apparatus, a control method of the transport controller according to claim 1, further comprising a possible to display the results to the operator terminal.   The transfer control processing step notifies the transfer time prediction step of the transfer instruction number of lots that have not yet been transferred (hereinafter referred to as the transfer incomplete lot number) among the transfer instruction numbers of lots issued to the transfer facility. And, based on the predicted transport time calculated in the transport time predicting process for the lot and transport arrival time specified from the production progress management process, it is determined whether the transport can be completed within the specified time. A transfer facility that responds to the production progress management step, determines the transfer start time from the transfer arrival time specified in the production progress management step and the transfer required time predicted in the transfer time prediction step, and includes an automatic storage Issuing a transport instruction including automatic delivery, notifying the priority of the lot notified from the production progress management process to the transport facility including the automatic storage, and the automatic storage Control method for conveying control apparatus according to claim 1 comprising a that manages the location information of the lot is stored, and notifies the location information to the production progress management processes.   The production device processing control step instructs online processing of lots to each production device, and from each production device, the processing recipe, the number of substrates processed, the processing time, and the operating state of each processing tank of the production device The method of controlling a transfer control device according to claim 1, which receives the report and reports the processing end time of each device calculated in the production device processing control step to the production progress management step.   The control method of the conveyance control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lot number and a destination production apparatus name are displayed near a lot delivery port of the automatic storage. A ceiling track traveling rail for automatically transporting a lot consisting of a plurality of substrates, a plurality of transport carts that transfer the lot and travel on the ceiling track traveling rail, and a plurality that process the substrates of the lot A transport control device comprising: a production port; a standby port for waiting for a lot to be processed next; and a plurality of automatic storages for storing lots to be processed in the production device after the next,
A delivery date management device that performs delivery date management of the lot and determines the priority of the lot according to the delivery date of the order every day;
A processing end prediction device that manages the processing time of the production apparatus, calculates the processing end time of the lot, and predicts the processing end time;
A product allocation device that allocates an optimal lot to be processed next to a production device capable of processing using the priority of the lot determined by the delivery date management device and the processing end time in the production device predicted by the processing end prediction device When,
Control of overall production progress, and automatic storage of transport arrival time and transport destination for the next lot to be processed by this production device to arrive at the automatic storage for this production device immediately before the processing end time in the production device A production progress management device for designating a warehouse;
A transport time prediction device for predicting the transport time of the lot;
A transfer control processing device that determines a transfer start time from a transfer arrival time specified by the production progress management device and a transfer required time predicted by the transfer time prediction device, and issues a transfer instruction to transfer equipment;
A conveyance control device comprising a production device processing control device for performing processing control of the production device.   The processing end prediction device uses the lot processing time determined by the current processing recipe of each production device as a basic value, and corrects the processing time of the lot according to the operating status of each processing tank of each production device. The conveyance control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the corrected result is reported to the production apparatus processing control apparatus.   The product allocation device includes: the priority of the lot determined by the delivery date management device; the operating status of each production device managed by the production progress management device; the lot processing end time; and the current lot location information. The transfer control device according to claim 9, wherein an optimum lot to be processed next is assigned to a production device capable of processing, and the result is reported to the production progress management device.   The transfer time predicting device increases or decreases the transfer instruction number of lots that have not yet been transferred (hereinafter referred to as the untransferred lot number) among the transfer instruction numbers of the lots that the transfer control processing device has issued to the transfer facility. Make a prediction that takes into account, record the actual value of the transfer source, transfer destination, number of unfinished lots and transfer time, create a database, and calculate the required transfer time from the predicted value of the untransferred lot number and the actual value of the transfer time The transport control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the transport control apparatus reports the predicted transport time to the transport control processing apparatus.   The production progress management device manages the location information of lots stored in the automatic storage, notifies the lot allocation device, and sets the priority of the lot determined by the delivery date management device as the product allocation device. Notifying the transfer control processing device, notifying the product allocation device of the processing end time of the lot of each production device notified from the production device processing control device, and immediately before the processing end time in the production device Specify the transfer arrival time and the transfer destination automatic storage to arrive at the automatic storage for this production device to the automatic storage for this production device, specify the transfer control processing device, and the lot allocated by the product allocation device The production apparatus processing control apparatus is notified to the production apparatus processing control apparatus, a production process instruction is issued from the screen of the worker terminal, and the production tanks of the production apparatus reported from the production apparatus processing control apparatus are earned. The status and the abnormal state product provision device to notify, to determine the conveying destination of the treated finished batch production apparatus, the transfer control device of the result according to claim 9 to be displayed on the operator terminal.   The transfer control processing device notifies the transfer time prediction device of the transfer instruction number of lots that have not yet been transferred (hereinafter referred to as the transfer incomplete lot number) among the transfer instruction numbers of lots issued to the transfer facility. Then, based on the predicted transport time calculated by the transport time prediction device for the lot and transport arrival time specified by the production progress management device, it is determined whether or not the transport can be completed within the specified time, and the result is In response to the progress management device, the transport start time is determined from the transport arrival time specified by the production progress management device and the transport required time predicted by the transport time prediction device, and automatic delivery to the transport equipment including the automatic storage The lot order notified from the production progress management device is notified to the transfer facility including the automatic storage, and the location information of the lot stored in the automatic storage Manage, conveyance control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the notifying the location information to the production progress management device.   The production device processing control device instructs online processing of the lot to each production device, and from each production device, the processing recipe, the number of processed substrates, the processing time, and the operating state of each processing tank of the production device The conveyance control device according to claim 9, which receives the report and reports the processing end time of each device calculated by the production device processing control device to the production progress management device.   The conveyance control device according to claim 9, further comprising a destination indicator for displaying a lot number and a destination production device name in the vicinity of the lot delivery port of the automatic storage.

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