JP2010015390A - Production management device, production system, production management method, production management program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a production management device which can prevent the occurrence of delay in delivery in a prescribed production process. <P>SOLUTION: The production management device 40 manages lot-based allotment of products in a plurality of lots to testers 31A to 31D for executing the prescribed production process. The product has product delivery information set beforehand in lot units. The production management device is provided with a traveler information receiving section 41 for acquiring delivery information for respective lots of the product and a lot allotting section 47 for determining the lot of the product to be allotted to the testers 31A to 31D. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a production management device that manages the allocation of products of a plurality of lots in units of lots to a production device that performs a predetermined production process, a production system including the production management device, a production management method, a production management program, And a recording medium for recording the production management program.

  Generally, in a production factory that produces products such as semiconductor chips and liquid crystal display devices, a finished product is shipped through a plurality of production processes such as a manufacturing process for manufacturing a product and an inspection process for inspecting the product. In such a production factory, products are allocated in units of lots to production apparatuses in each production process. As a general product lot assignment method, in a predetermined production process, product lots are assigned to production apparatuses in the order of arrival in the production process.

  In such a production factory, it is important to shorten the lead time from the order of the product to the shipment. Conventionally, the product lot input control is performed between the production processes, in other words, in the predetermined production process. There is known a production management method for managing the allocation of product lots to production equipment and reducing the lead time.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when a plurality of production apparatuses capable of performing the production process in parallel are used in a predetermined production process, the processing start time of the allocation candidate lot in each of the plurality of production apparatuses is estimated. An allocation method for shortening the lead time by allocating the allocation candidate lots to the production apparatus with the shortest processing start time is disclosed.

As another example, Patent Document 2 discloses a method for determining the succeeding product to be processed next from the operation status of the production apparatus in each production process and improving the operation rate of the production apparatus. Yes.
JP 2007-102281 A (published April 19, 2007) JP 2007-324454 A (released on December 13, 2007)

  However, the conventional examples disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are intended to shorten the production lead time and improve the operating rate of the production apparatus in each production process. This does not take into account the delivery date of the product lot. For this reason, a product lot with a short time to delivery may be allocated after a product lot with a long time to delivery for a production device in a given production process. There is a problem that no product can occur.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and has as its object the production management apparatus, production management system, production management method, and production management program capable of preventing the occurrence of a delivery delay in a predetermined production process. And a recording medium for recording the production management program.

In order to solve the above problems, the production management apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A production management device that manages the allocation of a plurality of lots of products in units of lots to a production device that performs a predetermined production process, and for the above products, delivery date information indicating the delivery date of the products is preset in units of lots. A delivery date information acquisition means for acquiring delivery date information for each lot of the product, and an assigned lot determination means for determining a product lot to be assigned to the production apparatus based on the acquired delivery date information. It is characterized by that.

  According to the above configuration, when a product arrives from a previous process in a predetermined production process, the delivery date information acquisition means reads delivery date information set for each product lot (hereinafter referred to as a product lot). Furthermore, the allocation lot determination means selects one product lot from a plurality of product lots based on the delivery date information for each product lot when determining a product lot (referred to as allocation lot) to be allocated to the production device, and allocates the allocation lot. To decide.

  Therefore, the assigned lot determination means can preferentially assign product lots with a short time to delivery to production equipment, and as a result, product lots with a short time to delivery are product lots with a long time to delivery. It is possible to prevent the delay in delivery of the product due to the allocation later.

  As described above, the production management apparatus of the present invention has an effect that it is possible to prevent the delivery delay from occurring in a predetermined production process.

In addition, the production management method according to the present invention, in order to solve the above problems,
A production management method for managing the allocation of products of a plurality of lots in units of lots to a production apparatus that carries out a predetermined production process, wherein delivery date information indicating the delivery date of the products is preset in units of lots in the above products A delivery date information acquisition step for acquiring delivery date information for each lot, and an assigned lot determination step for determining a lot of a product to be allocated to the production apparatus based on the acquired delivery date information. It is characterized by.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect similar to the production management apparatus which concerns on this invention.

The production management device according to the present invention further includes:
The predetermined production process is provided with a plurality of production apparatuses for performing the production process, and each of the plurality of production apparatuses is replaced with a jig used for the production apparatus according to the type of product. Thus, the predetermined production process can be performed on a plurality of types of products, and the production management device indicates the product type to which the jig used in each of the plurality of production devices corresponds. Corresponding product information acquisition means for acquiring corresponding product information from each of the plurality of production apparatuses is further provided, and the assigned lot determination means assigns each of the production apparatuses based on the corresponding product information and the delivery date information. It is preferred to determine the product lot.

  According to the above configuration, each of a plurality of production apparatuses that perform a predetermined production process can produce a plurality of types of products by exchanging jigs according to the type of product to be produced. It becomes possible. However, it takes some time to replace the jig in the production apparatus.

  Here, the assigned lot determination means determines the lot to be assigned to the production device based on the corresponding product information of each production device and the delivery date information for each product lot. Can be assigned to a production apparatus that does not require replacement, and as a result, it is possible to save time required for jig replacement in the production apparatus and improve the operating rate of the production apparatus.

  For example, it is assumed that three types of products, product lot a, product lot b, and product lot c, are produced in a predetermined production process. In this production process, two production apparatuses A and Suppose B is provided.

  Here, both the production apparatuses A and B are on standby, and the production apparatus A includes a jig corresponding to the product type of the product lot a, and the production apparatus B corresponds to the product type of the product lot b. Assuming that a jig is provided, if the product lot a is assigned to the production apparatus A, the production apparatus A does not require jig replacement, but the production apparatus B uses the jig corresponding to the product lot b, The jig corresponding to the product lot a is exchanged.

  Here, when the time until the delivery date of the product lots a and b is shorter than the time until the delivery date of the product lot c, the assigned lot determination means sends the product lot a to the production apparatus A based on the corresponding product information and the delivery date information. And the product lot b can be assigned to the production apparatus B. As a result, the time required for replacing the jigs of the production apparatuses A and B can be saved, and the operating rate of the production apparatuses A and B can be improved. .

In addition, the production system according to the present invention, in order to solve the above problems,
A production system including a production management device according to the present invention, the production device, and a delivery date information reading device that reads delivery date information for each lot of the product in association with identification information for identifying each lot; And a storage device that stores the lot of the product from which the delivery date information has been read in association with the identification information for each lot until the lot is assigned to the production device.

  According to the above configuration, when a product lot arrives from the previous process in a predetermined production process, the delivery date information reading device identifies the delivery date information set for the arrived product lot and identifies the product lot and other product lots. Read in association with the identification information. The product lot whose delivery date information has been read is stored in the storage device in association with its own identification information until it is assigned to the production device by the production management device.

  In this way, since each product lot stored in the storage device is stored in association with its own identification information, the production management device refers to the above identification information and is stored in the storage device. Can manage individual product lots.

  Moreover, since the production system of this invention is provided with the production management apparatus which concerns on this invention, there exists an effect similar to the production management apparatus which concerns on this invention.

The production system according to the present invention further includes:
The predetermined production process is provided with a plurality of the production apparatuses for performing the production process, and the production management apparatus includes operation information indicating whether each of the plurality of production apparatuses is operating, The operation information acquisition means to be acquired from each of the production apparatuses, and the operation status determination means for determining whether there are a plurality of production apparatuses that are not operating based on the operation information, and the determination result of the operation status determination means is When it is true, a lot dividing device is provided that divides the lot of the product determined to be assigned to the production device by the assigned lot determination means into a plurality of lots equal to or less than the number of the production devices that are not in operation. It is preferable.

  According to the above configuration, the production management apparatus can acquire operation information indicating the operation status of a plurality of production management apparatuses, and determine whether there are a plurality of standby production apparatuses that are not operating.

  Here, when the production management device detects that there are a plurality of standby production devices, the product lot determined to be assigned to the production device corresponds to the number of standby production devices by the lot dividing device. Divided into lots.

  As described above, the lot dividing device divides one product lot into a plurality of product lots, and the divided product lots (hereinafter referred to as divided lots) are allocated to the plurality of production devices. That is, one product lot is processed in parallel by a plurality of production apparatuses.

  Since the production management device determines the product lot to be assigned to the production device based on the delivery date information for each product lot, the production lot with a short time to delivery is assigned to the production device preferentially. .

  That is, when there are a plurality of standby production apparatuses, a production system having the above configuration can process a lot of products with a short time to delivery in parallel by a plurality of production apparatuses. In the production process, it is possible to shorten the processing time of a product lot having a short time to delivery.

(Program and recording medium)
The production management device may be realized by a computer. In this case, a production management program for realizing the production management apparatus in the computer by operating the computer as each of the above means and a computer-readable recording medium on which the production management program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the production management device of the present invention is a production management device that manages the allocation of a lot of products in units of lots to a production device that performs a predetermined production process. Delivery date information indicating the delivery date of the product is preset in units of lots. Delivery date information acquisition means for acquiring the delivery date information for each lot of the product, and the lot of the product assigned to the production apparatus based on the acquired delivery date information Allocation lot determining means for determining

  The production system of the present invention is a production system including the production management device, and reads the production device and delivery date information for each lot of the product in association with identification information for identifying each lot. A delivery date information reading device; and a storage device for storing the lot of the product from which the delivery date information is read in association with the identification information for each lot until the lot is assigned to the production device.

  The production management method of the present invention is a production management method for managing the allocation of a plurality of lots of products in units of lots to a production apparatus that performs a predetermined production process. The delivery date information indicating the delivery date information for each lot, and the assigned lot for determining the lot of the product to be assigned to the production apparatus based on the obtained delivery date information. And a determination step.

  Therefore, the production management apparatus, production system, and production management method of the present invention can prevent the delivery delay from occurring in a predetermined production process.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
First, the configuration of the production system 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, a production system of a semiconductor wafer (product) inspection process (predetermined production process) will be described as an example.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a production system 100 that performs a semiconductor wafer inspection process. As shown in the figure, the inspection process performed by the production system 100 is generally divided into three subsystems 10, 20, and 30, and each device provided in each subsystem is assigned to the production management device 40. The inspection process is carried out by managing and controlling. In FIG. 2, physical movement of each device provided in each subsystem is indicated by a solid line, and a transmission path of a signal transmitted and received between each device and the production management device 40 is indicated by a dotted line. Further, in the present embodiment, 250 semiconductor chips are mounted on one semiconductor wafer, and a semiconductor wafer lot is configured with 25 semiconductor wafers as one lot. Therefore, one semiconductor wafer lot includes 25 × 250 = 6250 semiconductor chips.

  The production system 100 according to the present embodiment is an inspection system corresponding to three different types of semiconductor wafer lots 50a, 50b, and 50c. That is, the types of semiconductor chips included in each of the semiconductor wafer lots 50a, 50b, and 50c are different for each wafer lot, and the production system 100 is an inspection system that can inspect three types of semiconductor chips. In the following description, a semiconductor chip included in the wafer lot 50a is referred to as a semiconductor chip a, a semiconductor chip included in the wafer lot 50b is referred to as a semiconductor chip b, and a semiconductor chip included in the wafer lot 50c is referred to as a semiconductor chip c. Furthermore, in the following description, the wafer lots 50a, 50b, and 50c will be collectively referred to as wafer lot 50.

(Inspection process of production system 100)
The basic flow of the inspection process in the production system 100 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. First, the wafer lot 50 manufactured in the previous process of the production system 100 is received by the subsystem 10, and the acceptance is completed in the subsystem 20. The wafer lot 50 is temporarily stored. The wafer lot 50 temporarily stored in the subsystem 20 is controlled by the production management device 40 and is transferred by the transfer machine 81 to four inspection devices 31A to 31B (hereinafter referred to as testers 31A to 31B) provided in the subsystem 30. , They are all assigned to any one of the testers 31). Further, the wafer lot 50 assigned to the tester 31 (production apparatus) is inspected by the tester 31 and transferred to the next process of the production system 100. In the present embodiment, the wafer lot 50 is inspected using four testers 31, but a configuration in which the number of testers 31 is one or more is also included in the scope of the present invention.

(Subsystem 10)
Hereinafter, detailed descriptions of the subsystems 10, 20, and 30 will be described in order from the subsystem 10. First, in the sub-system 10, when the wafer lot 50 arrives on the vehicle 12 which is a transfer machine such as a carriage from the previous process of the production system 100, the information recorded in the lot traveler of the wafer lot 50 is transferred to the traveler reader 11 ( The delivery date reading device) reads. The lot traveler is attached to each wafer lot 50 and is composed of an IC tag, a two-dimensional barcode, and the like. Further, the lot traveler includes a “model name” indicating the type of the semiconductor wafer constituting the attached wafer lot, and a “lot number” that is identification information unique to each wafer lot 50 for identifying the wafer lot 50. A “wafer number” indicating the number of semiconductor wafers constituting the wafer lot 50, a “delivery date (delivery date information)” of the wafer lot 50, and a probe card and a test board used when the tester 31 inspects the wafer lot 50. A “probe card name” and a “test board name” shown, and an “inspection temperature” indicating an environmental temperature when the tester 31 inspects the wafer lot 50 are recorded. In the following description, the above information recorded in the lot traveler is collectively referred to as lot traveler information.

  Here, the traveler reading device 11 transmits the read lot traveler information to the production management device 40. On the other hand, the wafer lot 50 from which the lot traveler information has been read is transferred to the subsystem 20 by the transfer machine 81. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the wafer lot 50 a arrives from the previous process of the production system 100, and the wafer lot 50 a passes in front of the traveler reader 11 while being on the vehicle 12, so that its own lot traveler information is obtained. Is then transferred to the subsystem 20 by the transfer machine 81. The transfer device 81 senses that the vehicle 12 carrying the wafer lot 50a has arrived at a predetermined position after the wafer lot 50a has read the lot traveler information, and transfers the wafer lot 50a to the subsystem 20. It has a function to do.

(Subsystem 20)
Next, in the subsystem 20, the wafer lot 50a transferred by the transfer machine 81 is stored in a lot stocker 21 (storage device) that stores a plurality of wafer lots 50 in units of lots until the production management device 40 assigns the wafer lot 50a to the tester 31. Stored. The lot stocker 21 includes a plurality of storage shelves for storing a plurality of wafer lots 50 in units of lots, and address information indicating the position of each storage shelf is attached to each storage shelf in advance. Here, when the transfer machine 81 stores the transferred wafer lot 50 in an arbitrary storage shelf of the lot stocker 21, the lot stocker 21 uses the lot number of the wafer lot 50 stored in its own storage shelf as the production management device. 40, the acquired lot number and the address information of the storage shelf in which the wafer lot 50 is stored are associated with each other and transmitted to the production management apparatus 40. As a result, the production management apparatus 40 can manage which wafer lot 50 is stored in which storage shelf of the lot stocker 21. In this case, the transfer machine 81 stores the wafer lot 50 in an arbitrary storage shelf, and the lot stocker 21 associates the lot number of the wafer lot 50 and the address information of the storage shelf and transmits it to the production management device 40. However, the production management apparatus 40 instructs the transfer machine 81 of address information of a storage shelf for storing the wafer lot 50, and based on the instruction of the production management apparatus 40, the wafer lot 50 is placed in the storage shelf to which the transfer machine 81 is instructed. May be stored. Even in this case, the production management apparatus 40 can manage the lot number of the wafer lot 50 stored in the lot stocker 21 in association with the storage shelf address information.

  Next, the wafer lot 50 stored in the lot stocker 21 is transferred to the subsystem 30 by the transfer device 82. The transfer machine 82 operates based on an instruction from the production management apparatus 40. Specifically, the production management apparatus 40 transmits address information of a specific storage shelf to the transfer machine 82, and transfers the transfer machine 82. The mounting machine 82 transfers the wafer lot 50 stored in the storage shelf of the transmitted address information to the subsystem 30.

(Subsystem 30)
Next, in the subsystem 30, the wafer lot 50 transferred by the transfer machine 82 is placed on the vehicle 35. The vehicle 35 receives from the production management apparatus 40 an instruction as to which tester 31 of the plurality of testers 31 to which the loaded wafer lot 50 is to be transferred. The vehicle 35 transports the wafer lot 50 placed on itself to the designated tester 31 based on an instruction from the production management device 40. The wafer lot 50 transferred by the vehicle 35 is automatically set on the tester 31 by a transfer device (not shown) attached to the tester 31.

  Here, the tester 31 needs to include a jig corresponding to the model of the wafer lot 50 in order to inspect each of the different types of wafer lots 50a to 50c. For example, in the tester 31, when the wafer lot 50 to be inspected is changed from the wafer lot 50a to the wafer lot 50b, the jig provided in the tester 31 needs to be changed along with the model change of the wafer lot.

  Therefore, in the subsystem 30, probe cards 60a to 60c (hereinafter collectively referred to as probe cards 60), which are jigs corresponding to the wafer lots 50a to 50c, and test boards 70a to 70c (hereinafter referred to as the probe cards 60). A probe card stocker 36 and a test board stocker 37 are provided for storing a test board 70 in a collective manner. Furthermore, the transfer machine 83 synchronizes with the conveyance of the wafer lot 50 by the vehicle 35 and, based on the instruction from the production management device 40, the probe card 60 and the test board 70 corresponding to the model of the wafer lot 50 conveyed by the vehicle 35. Are taken out from the probe card stocker 36 and the test board stocker 37 and set in the tester 31.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, in parallel with the wafer 35 being transported to the tester 31 </ b> C by the vehicle 35, the production management device 40 uses a jig corresponding to the wafer lot 50 a to the transfer machine 83. An instruction to set a certain probe card 60a and test board 70a on the tester 31C is output. The transfer machine 83 takes out the probe card 60a and the test board 70a from the probe card stocker 36 and the test board stocker 37 based on an instruction from the production management device 40, and sets it on the tester 31C.

  Next, when the tester 31C detects that the wafer lot 50a is set and that the probe card 60a and the test board 70a corresponding to the wafer lot 50a are set, the tester 31C starts inspection of the wafer lot 50a. Further, the tester 31C outputs operation information indicating that its operation status is “under test” to the production management device 40 simultaneously with the start of the inspection. Thereafter, when the tester 31 completes the inspection of the wafer lot 50 set in itself, the tester 31 outputs a signal indicating the completion of the inspection to the vehicle 35 and provides operation information indicating that its own operation status is “waiting for test”. , Output to the production management device 40, and wait until the next wafer lot 50 is set. On the other hand, the vehicle 35 that has output a signal indicating the completion of inspection moves to the tester 31 that has output the signal, and transports the wafer lot 50 set in the tester 31 that has output the signal to the next process of the production system 100. To do.

(Configuration of tester 31)
Next, the inspection operation of the wafer lot 50 in the tester 31 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the tester 31 in which the wafer lot 50 is set.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a probe card 60 and a test board 70 corresponding to the model of the set wafer lot 50 are attached to the tester 31. Before inspecting the wafer lot 50, the tester 31 acquires a test program for performing the inspection from the production management device 40 in advance, for example, while the wafer lot 50 is being transported by the vehicle 35. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the tester 31 is connected to the production management device 40 via Ethernet (registered trademark).

  The tester 31 inspects a plurality of semiconductor wafers constituting the wafer lot 50 one by one through the probe card 60 and the test board 70 based on the test program acquired from the production management device 40.

  In the present embodiment, each device (traveler reading device 11, transfer machines 81, 82, and 83, lot stocker 21, vehicles 12 and 35, tester 31) provided in the production system 100, and a production management device The communication means with 40 may be any communication means such as wireless communication using infrared rays or wired communication using Ethernet (registered trademark).

(Configuration of production management device 40)
Next, the configuration and operation processing of the production management device 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, and 5.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the production management device 40. As shown in FIG. 1, the production management device 40 includes a traveler information receiving unit 41 (delivery date information acquisition means) that receives a signal including lot traveler information (hereinafter referred to as a traveler information signal) from the traveler reading device 11, and a lot stocker. 21, a stocker communication unit 42 that communicates with the tester 31, a tester communication unit 43 (operation information acquisition unit) that communicates with each of the testers 31 </ b> A to 31 </ b> D, and conveyance that indicates conveyance instructions for the wafer lot 50, probe card 60, and test board 70 A conveyance instruction transmission unit 44 that transmits an instruction signal to the transfer machines 81 to 83 and the vehicle 35, and an operation information management unit 45 that stores operation information indicating the operation status of each tester 31 acquired via the tester communication unit 43. And the lot number of the wafer lot 50 stored in the lot stocker 21 via the stocker communication unit 42 And a lot allocation unit 47 (allocation lot determination means) for determining a wafer lot 50 to be allocated to each tester 31 out of the wafer lots 50 stored in the lot stocker 21. And a production management unit 48.

(Operation of the production management device 40)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation process in the production management apparatus 40. The operation process in the production management apparatus 40 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the lot allocation unit 47 acquires information indicating the number of semiconductor wafers that need to be allocated to the tester 31 for each type of wafer lot 50 from the production management unit 48 (step 1: hereinafter, abbreviated as S1). Here, in any type of wafer lot 50, when the assignment to the tester 31 is not necessary, the lot assignment unit 47 ends its operation processing. On the other hand, when there is a wafer lot 50 that needs to be allocated to the tester 31, the lot allocation unit 47 shifts the process to S2. A detailed description of the processing in S1 will be given later.

  Next, the lot allocation unit 47 detects whether or not a wafer lot 50 (hereinafter referred to as a new lot 50) has arrived from the previous process of the production system 100 (S2). More specifically, when a new wafer lot 50 arrives from the previous process of the production system 100, the traveler reader 11 reads the lot traveler information from the lot traveler of the new lot 50 and transmits it to the traveler information receiver 41. The traveler information receiving unit 41 outputs the received lot traveler information to the lot assigning unit 47 so that the lot assigning unit 47 detects that a new lot 50 has arrived from the previous process of the production system 100. When the lot allocation unit 47 detects the arrival of the new lot 50, it records the lot traveler information of the new lot 50 in its own internal memory, and also assigns the lot number of the new lot 50 via the stocker communication unit 42. To 21. The lot stocker 21 associates the address information of the storage shelf in which the new lot 50 is stored by the transfer machine 81 with the lot number of the new lot 50 transmitted from the stocker communication unit 42, and transmits it to the stocker communication unit 42. . The storage lot management unit 46 acquires the lot number and address information of the new lot 50 associated with each other via the stocker communication unit 42 and records them in its internal memory. Thus, the storage lot management unit 46 stores the lot number of the new lot 50 and the address information of the storage shelf of the lot stocker 21 in association with each other every time a new lot 50 arrives from the previous process. The lot management unit 46 can record the lot number and the storage shelf address information in association with each other for all the wafer lots 50 stored in the lot stocker 21. In the following description, the wafer lot 50 stored in the lot stocker 21 is abbreviated as a storage lot 50.

  Next, when the storage lot management unit 46 records the lot number and storage shelf address information of the new lot 50, the lot allocation unit 47 receives the lot numbers and addresses of all the storage lots 50 from the storage lot management unit 46. Read information. Furthermore, the lot allocation unit 47 refers to the lot numbers of all the read storage lots 50 and reads the delivery dates of all the storage lots 50 from the lot traveler information recorded in its internal memory. Here, the lot allocation unit 47 calculates the time until the delivery date for each storage lot 50 from the difference between the read delivery date and the current time, and assigns priorities in order from the storage lot 50 with the shortest time until the delivery date. The allocation to the tester 31 is performed in order from the storage lot 50 having the highest priority. Therefore, the storage lot 50 having the highest priority is preferentially inspected by the tester 31. The lot assigning unit 47 names the storage lot 50 having the highest priority as a frontier lot (hereinafter referred to as F lot) and records the lot number of the F lot in its own internal memory (S3).

  Next, the lot allocation unit 47 detects whether or not the F lot has been selected, that is, whether or not the lot number of the F lot has been recorded in its own internal memory (S4). Here, the situation where the lot number of the F lot is not recorded indicates that the storage lot 50 does not exist in the lot stocker 21. That is, if the storage lot 50 exists in the lot stocker 21, in other words, if there is a wafer lot 50 waiting for inspection, the F lot is selected. Here, when the F lot has not been selected in S4, the operation process of the production management apparatus 40 proceeds to the process of S2.

  Next, when the F lot has been selected in S4, the lot allocation unit 47 determines whether the testers 31A to 31D are in the “testing” or “waiting test” state from the operation information management unit 45. Is determined, and it is determined whether or not there is a waiting tester 31 (S5). Here, the operation information management unit 45 monitors the operation state of each tester 31 via the tester communication unit 43 in real time, and stores “operation information” indicating the operation state of each tester 31 in its own internal memory. To record. The operation information management unit 45 corresponds not only to the operation state of each tester 31 but also to which type of wafer lot 50 the probe card 60 and the test board 70 which are jigs used in each tester 31 correspond. “Jig information (corresponding product information)” indicating whether or not, and “corresponding type information (corresponding product information) indicating to which type of wafer lot 50 the test program installed in each tester 31 corresponds. ) "And" environment temperature information "indicating the environment temperature in each tester 31 are recorded in its own internal memory. The “operation information”, “jig information”, “corresponding type information”, and “environment temperature information” are transmitted to the tester communication unit 43 by each tester 31 whenever they are changed in each tester 31. The

  In S5, when the lot allocation unit 47 detects that there is at least one waiting tester 31, the lot allocation unit 47 performs allocation processing to allocate the already selected F lot to the waiting tester 31 (S6). After the process of S6, the lot allocation unit 47 proceeds to the process of S1. The allocation process in S6 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

(Operation in S1)
Hereinafter, an operation process of the production management apparatus 40 in S1 will be described. First, the production management unit 48 acquires information on a production plan planned in advance based on an order received from a customer. For example, when an order for 50,000 semiconductor chips a is received, production of 50,000 semiconductor chips a is recorded in the production plan information as the production plan. Here, in the production of semiconductor chips, there is a problem of “yield” as to how many good semiconductor chips are obtained from one wafer lot. Therefore, the production management unit 48 acquires the inspection result in each tester 31 from each tester 31 via the tester communication unit 43, and detects how many semiconductor chips that are non-defective products are obtained from the inspection result. When applied to the example in which the order of 50,000 semiconductor chips a is received, the production management unit 48 detects how many non-defective semiconductor chips a are obtained from the inspection results from the testers 31. Furthermore, from the number of semiconductor chips a recorded in the production plan (50,000), the number of semiconductor chips a determined to be non-defective by each tester 31a (in this case, 27,750 non-defective products are given as an example). It is detected that it is necessary to obtain the remaining 22,250 semiconductor chips a. Further, the production management unit 48 has obtained the expected yield of the semiconductor chip a (hereinafter referred to as the set yield. Here, as an example, the set yield is 223 / semiconductor wafer), and the remaining The required number of semiconductor chips a, 22,250, is divided by the set yield of “223 / semiconductor wafer”, and the remaining 100 wafer lots 50a are calculated to be allocated to the tester 31. The production management unit 48 notifies the lot allocation unit 47 that it is necessary to allocate the remaining 100 wafer lots 50a to the tester 31, and the lot allocation unit 47 notifies the notified contents from the production management unit 48. Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the wafer lot 50a needs to be allocated to the tester 31. In the above description, the semiconductor chip a has been described as an example. However, the production management unit 48 calculates the number of semiconductor wafers that need to be allocated for each type of all semiconductor chips recorded in the production plan, and assigns lots. Notification to the unit 47. Furthermore, every time the tester 31 completes the inspection of the semiconductor wafer, the production management unit 48 calculates the number of remaining semiconductor wafers that need to be allocated for each type of semiconductor chip and notifies the lot allocation unit 47 of the number.

  As described above, the lot allocation unit 47 allocates the wafer lot 50 based on the information notified from the production management unit 48, so that the number of non-defective products recorded in the production plan for a predetermined type of semiconductor chip. Is obtained, even if this predetermined type of wafer lot arrives from the previous process, it is not assigned to the tester 31. That is, the production system 100 according to the present embodiment inspects the minimum number of semiconductor wafers based on the production plan, and as a result, reduces the inspection of useless semiconductor wafers. Will improve the operating efficiency.

  In the present embodiment, the production management unit 48 is configured to use a predetermined set yield when calculating the number of semiconductor wafers that need to be allocated. The production management unit 48 itself may determine the set yield.

(Operation in S5)
Hereinafter, the operation process of the production management apparatus 40 in S5 (see FIG. 4) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the lot assignment process in the lot assignment unit 47.

  First, in S5 (see FIG. 4), when the waiting tester 31 is detected, the lot allocation unit 47 determines whether there are a plurality of waiting testers from the operation information from the operation information management unit 45 (see FIG. 4). S11).

  In S11, when the lot allocation unit 47 detects that there are a plurality of waiting testers 31, the lot allocation unit 47 refers to the lot number of the F lot that has been selected in S4 (see FIG. 4). Then, the lot traveler information of the F lot recorded in its own internal memory is read, and the “model name”, “probe card name” and “test board name”, and “inspection temperature” of the F lot are obtained. get. Further, the lot allocation unit 47 acquires “jig information”, “corresponding type information”, and “environment temperature information” of each tester 31 that is on standby from the operation information management unit 45.

  Here, in order to inspect the semiconductor wafer of F lot, the tester 31 installs a test program according to the type of F lot, and further, the probe card 60 and the test board 70 according to the type of F lot. In addition, it is necessary to set the environmental temperature corresponding to the “inspection temperature” of the F lot. In general, the test program is changed for several minutes, the probe card 60 and the test board 70 are changed for several tens of minutes, and the environmental temperature is changed for several tens to one including the time until the environmental temperature becomes stable It takes about an hour. That is, if a test program corresponding to the F lot has already been installed in the waiting tester 31, the time required for changing the test program becomes unnecessary, and the probe card 60 and the test board 70 can be changed and the environmental temperature can be changed. It is the same.

  Therefore, the lot assigning unit 47 sets the “model name”, “probe card name”, “test board name”, and “inspection temperature” of the F lot, “jig information” for each tester 31 in standby, and “correspondence”. “Type information” and “environment temperature information” are compared, and the time required for changing the test program, the time required for replacing the jig, and the time required for changing the environment temperature are added together for each tester 31 in standby. (Hereinafter referred to as setup time) is calculated, and the setup time for each waiting tester 31 is compared (S12).

  Next, the lot assignment unit 47 sets the waiting tester 31 having the shortest setup time as the assignment destination of the F lot (S13). In the present embodiment, when calculating the setup time for each tester 31 that is on standby, three pieces of time information, that is, the time required for changing the test program, the time required for replacing the jig, and the time required for changing the environmental temperature are used. However, one or two of the three pieces of time information may be used.

  On the other hand, in S11, when the lot allocation unit 47 detects that there is only one waiting tester 31, the detected waiting tester 31 is set as the allocation destination of the F lot (S14).

  Next, in S13 or S14, when the tester 31 (hereinafter, abbreviated as the allocation destination tester 31) that is the allocation destination of the F lot is determined, the lot allocation unit 47 sends the transfer machine 82 (see FIG. 2). On the other hand, the address information of the storage shelf in which the F lot is stored and the instruction to load the F lot on the vehicle 35 (see FIG. 2) are transmitted. Further, the lot assignment unit 47 transmits an instruction to convey the F lot loaded by the transfer device 82 to the assignment destination tester 31 to the vehicle 35.

  Next, the lot assignment unit 47 compares the “model name” of the F lot with the “corresponding type information” of the assignment destination tester 31 to determine whether the test program of the assignment destination tester 31 needs to be changed. (S15).

  In S15, when the lot allocation unit 47 determines that the test program of the allocation destination tester 31 needs to be changed, the lot allocation unit 47 transmits a test program corresponding to the type of the F lot to the allocation destination tester 31, and the allocation destination tester 31 The transmitted test program is installed (S16).

  Next, the lot assignment unit 47 compares the “probe card name” and “test board name” of the F lot with the “jig information” of the assignment destination tester 31, and the probe card 60 and the test of the assignment destination tester 31. It is determined whether or not the board 70 needs to be changed (S17).

  In S17, when the lot assignment unit 47 determines that the probe card 60 and the test board 70 of the assignment destination tester 31 need to be changed, the lot assignment unit 47 sends the “probe card name” and “test board name” of the F lot to the transfer machine 83. And an instruction to replace the probe card 60 and the test board 70 of the assignment destination tester 31 are transmitted. The transfer machine 83 takes out the probe card 60 and the test board 70 corresponding to the F lot from the probe card stocker 36 and the test board stocker 37 based on the instruction from the lot assigning unit 47, and the probe card 60 and the test board 31 of the assignment destination tester 31. The test board 70 is replaced with the probe card 60 and the test board 70 corresponding to the F lot (S18).

  Next, the lot allocation unit 47 compares the “inspection temperature” of the F lot with the “environment temperature information” of the allocation destination tester 31 and detects whether or not the environmental temperature of the allocation destination tester 31 needs to be changed. (S19).

  In S <b> 19, when the lot assignment unit 47 determines that the environmental temperature of the assignment destination tester 31 needs to be changed, the lot assignment unit 47 transmits the “inspection temperature” of the F lot to the assignment destination tester 31. The assignment destination tester 31 changes its own environmental temperature based on the transmitted “inspection temperature” (S20).

  When the process of S20 is completed, the production management apparatus 40 proceeds to the process of S1 (see FIG. 4), while the assignment destination tester 31 starts the inspection of the semiconductor wafer of the F lot.

  In the present embodiment, one lot is composed of 25 semiconductor wafers, but the number of semiconductor wafers constituting one lot is not limited to the above number. Further, although one semiconductor wafer includes 250 semiconductor chips, the number of semiconductor chips included in one semiconductor wafer is not limited to this.

  In the present embodiment described above, the semiconductor wafer inspection process has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, the semiconductor wafer manufacturing process, the manufacturing process and the inspection process of electrical equipment such as a liquid crystal display device, Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a manufacturing process or an inspection process of components constituting the electric device, for example, a liquid crystal panel alone or a liquid crystal panel module in which a liquid crystal driving circuit or a backlight device is incorporated in the liquid crystal panel.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a production system 100 ′ according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the production system 100 ′. The basic configuration of the production system 100 ′ according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the production system 100 shown in the first embodiment, and therefore, in the second embodiment, portions different from the production system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described. And about the member which shows the same function and effect | action, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  First, the production system 100 ′ according to the present embodiment is different from the production system 100 of the first embodiment in that a lot dividing device 90 is provided and a production management device 40 ′ is provided instead of the production management device 40. .

  Here, a basic operation in the production system 100 ′ will be described. First, in the production system 100 ′, a wafer lot 50 called an express lot that has a very short time to delivery may arrive from the previous process. When the production management device 40 ′ assigns this express lot as F lot to the tester 31, if there are a plurality of standby testers 31, the lot dividing device 90 determines the number of lots corresponding to the number of testers 31 waiting. The production management device 40 ′ assigns each of the divided express lots to each of the waiting testers 31. In this way, by dividing the express lot into a plurality of lots and inspecting by the plurality of testers 31, the express lot inspection process can be completed in a short time.

  Below, with reference to FIG. 6, the detailed operation | movement of each apparatus in production system 100 'is demonstrated. First, in the production system 100 ′, the transfer machine 82 transfers the F lot stored in the lot stocker 21 to either the lot dividing device 90 or the vehicle 35 based on the instruction of the production management device 40 ′. . The subsequent operation process of the production system 100 ′ when the F lot is transferred to the vehicle 35 is the same as that of the production system 100 of the first embodiment, but when the F lot is transferred to the lot dividing device 90, the lot dividing device. 90 divides the transferred F lot into a plurality of wafer lots based on an instruction from the production management device 40 ′. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the lot dividing apparatus 90 receives an instruction to divide the F lot into two lots from the production management apparatus 40 ′, and determines the F lot constituted by 25 semiconductor wafers as 12 lots. The wafer lot is divided into two wafer lots: a wafer lot composed of one semiconductor wafer and a wafer lot composed of thirteen semiconductor wafers. As another example, when the lot dividing device 90 receives an instruction to divide the F lot into three lots from the production management device 40 ′, the lot dividing device 90 converts the F lot constituted by 25 semiconductor wafers to 8 lots. The wafer lot is divided into three wafer lots: two wafer lots composed of one semiconductor wafer and one wafer lot composed of nine semiconductor wafers.

  Next, the transfer device 82 loads each F lot (hereinafter referred to as a divided lot) divided by the lot dividing device 90 on the vehicle 35 based on an instruction from the production management device 40 ′. The vehicle 35 conveys each divided lot to each of the waiting testers 31 based on an instruction from the production management device 40 ′. The divided lots inspected by the plurality of testers 31 are conveyed to the next process of the production system 100 ′ by the vehicle 35.

(Configuration of production management device 40 ')
Next, the configuration of the production management device 40 ′ will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the production management device 40 ′. In addition, since the production management apparatus 40 ′ of the present embodiment is a modification of the production management apparatus 40 of the first embodiment, members having the same functions and actions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. .

  As shown in FIG. 7, the production management device 40 ′ of this embodiment further includes a dividing device communication unit 49 for communicating with the lot dividing device 90, compared to the production management device 40 of the first embodiment.

(Operation of production management device 40 ')
Here, the operation of the production management device 40 'will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 explains S6 in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment in detail, and the operation process of the production management device 40 ′ in S1 to S5 in FIG. Since it is the same as that of the management apparatus 40, the description is abbreviate | omitted here.

  First, in S5 (see FIG. 4), when the waiting tester 31 is detected, the lot assignment unit 47 determines whether there are a plurality of waiting testers 31 from the operation information from the operation information management unit 45. (S21).

  In S21, when the lot allocation unit 47 (operation status determination means) of the production management device 40 ′ detects that there are a plurality of testers 31 on standby, the lot allocation unit 47 determines the current time from the delivery date of the F lot. The difference is calculated and the time until the delivery date of the F lot is calculated. Furthermore, the lot allocation unit 47 compares the preset threshold value with the calculated time until the delivery date of the F lot, and if the calculated time is smaller than the above threshold value, determines the F lot as an express lot, If the calculated time is larger than the above threshold, it is determined that the F lot is not an express lot (S31).

  In S31, when the lot allocation unit 47 determines that the F lot is an express lot, the lot information is divided into lots for the transfer device 82 (see FIG. 6) and the storage shelf address information in which the F lot is stored. An instruction to transfer to the device 90 is transmitted. Further, the lot assigning unit 47 divides the F lot transferred by the transfer device 82 to the lot dividing device 90 via the dividing device communication unit 49 into the same number of lots as the number of testers 31 on standby. Send instructions. When the lot dividing device 90 detects that the F lot has been transferred by the transfer device 82, the lot dividing device 90 divides the F lot based on an instruction from the lot assigning unit 47 (S32). When the division of the F lot is completed, the lot dividing apparatus 90 transmits a signal indicating that the division is completed to the transfer machine 82, and the transfer machine 82 transfers the divided divided lots to the lot dividing apparatus 90. To the vehicle 35.

  The lot assigning unit 47 transmits an instruction to divide the F lot to the lot dividing device 90 and then conveys each of the divided lots transferred by the transfer device 82 to the vehicle 35 to each of the waiting testers 31. And all the waiting testers 31 are assigned to the F lot assignment destination testers 31 determined to be express lots (S33).

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, when the lot allocation unit 47 detects one tester 31 that is waiting in the process of S21, the production management device 40 ′ proceeds to the process of S24. Further, in the process of S31, when the lot allocation unit 47 determines that the F lot is not the express lot, the production management device 40 ′ proceeds to the process of S22.

  Note that the processing of S22 to S30 shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the processing of S12 to S20 shown in FIG. 5 of the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here. In S33, when the lot allocation unit 47 determines the plurality of waiting testers 31 as the F lot allocation destination testers 31, the processing of S25 to S30 is performed for each of the plurality of allocation destination testers 31. It goes without saying that it is done.

  In this embodiment, in S31, the lot allocation unit 47 determines whether or not the F lot is an express lot based on the time until the delivery date of the F lot. However, the present invention is not limited to this, Information that becomes a flag indicating whether or not it is an express lot is recorded in the lot traveler information of the F lot, and the lot allocation unit determines whether or not the F lot is an express lot from the information that becomes the flag. There may be.

  In the present embodiment, the F lot is divided into a plurality of lots only when the F lot is determined to be an express lot in S31. However, the process of S31 is not performed, and there are a plurality of testers 31 on standby. In this case, the F lot may be divided into a plurality of lots.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  In addition, you may comprise the production system of this invention as follows.

(First configuration)
In a production factory where multiple products are input to multiple manufacturing facilities in units of lots, the load status of the manufacturing equipment and the product allocation are determined based on the production status that changes sequentially. Production system.

(Second configuration)
The production method according to claim 1, wherein when allocating the manufacturing equipment, the time until the delivery date is calculated, the priority order focusing on the delivery date is determined, and the product lot is assigned to the manufacturing equipment according to the order. system.

(Third configuration)
In the above claim 1, the product lot throughput time from arrival at the process to shipment is determined by dividing the lot for the express lot that has a rapid delivery date and processing one product lot by a plurality of devices. Production system characterized by shortening.

(Fourth configuration)
2. The production system according to claim 1, wherein the setup time of the apparatus is minimized, thereby improving the delivery time and improving the operation rate of the apparatus.

  The present invention provides a production management device, a production system, a production management method, a production management program, and a recording medium for recording the program, which can prevent a delay in delivery of a product in a predetermined production process. It can be used in a manufacturing process and an inspection process of semiconductor components such as chips, and in a manufacturing process and an inspection process of products such as a single liquid crystal panel, a liquid crystal panel module, or a liquid crystal display device.

It is a mimetic diagram showing composition of a production system concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the production apparatus based on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the production management apparatus based on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation processing of the production management apparatus based on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement process for allocating the product lot to a production apparatus in the production management apparatus based on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the production system based on other embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the production management apparatus based on the other implementation place of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement process for allocating the lot of a product to a production apparatus in the production management apparatus based on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Traveler reader (delivery date reader)
21 Lot stocker (storage device)
31A tester (production equipment)
31B tester (production equipment)
31C tester (production equipment)
31D tester (production equipment)
35 Vehicle 40 Production Management Device 41 Traveler Information Receiving Unit (Delivery Information Acquisition Means)
42 Stocker communication unit 43 Tester communication unit (supported product information acquisition means, operation information acquisition means)
44 Transport instruction transmission unit 45 Operation information management unit 46 Storage lot management unit 47 Lot allocation unit (allocation lot determination means, operation status determination means)
48 Production management section 49 Dividing device communication section 60a Probe card (jig)
60b Probe card (jig)
60c Probe card (jig)
70a Test board (jig)
70b Test board (jig)
70c Test board (jig)
81 Transfer Machine 82 Transfer Machine 83 Transfer Machine 90 Lot Dividing Device 100 Production System

Claims (7)

A production management device that manages the allocation of a plurality of lots of products in units of lots to a production device that performs a predetermined production process,
For the above products, the delivery date information indicating the delivery date of the product is preset in lot units,
A delivery date information acquisition means for acquiring delivery date information for each lot of the product;
A production management device comprising: an assigned lot determination means for determining a lot of a product to be assigned to the production device based on the acquired delivery date information. The predetermined production process is provided with a plurality of the production devices for performing the production process,
Each of the plurality of production devices can perform the predetermined production process for a plurality of types of products by exchanging jigs used in the production device according to the type of the product,
The production management device further includes corresponding product information acquisition means for acquiring corresponding product information indicating a product type corresponding to a jig used in each of the plurality of production devices from each of the plurality of production devices, Prepared,
2. The production management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the allocated lot determination means determines a product lot to be allocated to each of the production apparatuses based on the corresponding product information and the delivery date information. A production system comprising the production management device according to claim 1 or 2,
The above production equipment;
A delivery date information reader for reading the delivery date information for each lot of the product in association with identification information for identifying each lot;
A production system comprising: a storage device that stores the product lot from which the delivery date information has been read in association with the identification information for each lot until the lot is assigned to the production device. The predetermined production process is provided with a plurality of the production devices for performing the production process,
The production management device is
Operation information acquisition means for acquiring operation information indicating whether or not each of the plurality of production apparatuses is operating from each of the production apparatuses;
An operation status determination means for determining whether there are a plurality of production devices that are not operating from the operation information,
When the determination result of the operation status determination means is true, a lot of products determined to be allocated to the production apparatus by the allocation lot determination means is a plurality of lots equal to or less than the number of non-operating production apparatuses. The production system according to claim 3, further comprising a lot dividing device for dividing the lot. A production management method for managing the allocation of products of a plurality of lots in units of lots to a production apparatus that performs a predetermined production process,
For the above products, the delivery date information indicating the delivery date of the product is preset in lot units,
Delivery date information acquisition process for acquiring delivery date information for each lot,
An assigned lot determining step for determining a lot of a product to be assigned to the production apparatus based on the acquired delivery date information.   A production management program for operating the production management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 for causing a computer to function as each of the means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the production management program according to claim 6 is recorded.

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