JP2020176525A - Pump monitoring device and vacuum pump - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a monitoring device capable of accurately determining abnormality of a vacuum pump by comparison of pump parameters.SOLUTION: A monitoring device 54 includes a communication part 546 for acquiring, from a plurality of vacuum pumps attached to a common exhaust port of a plurality of vacuum devices, a motor current value representing a state of the vacuum pump, and a determination part 541 for determining abnormality of the plurality of the vacuum pumps attached to the common exhaust port by comparing the plurality of motor current values acquired by the communication section 546.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a pump monitoring device and a vacuum pump.

For example, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus such as a film forming apparatus or an etching apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display, a plurality of vacuum pumps may be provided in a vacuum chamber of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus as the size of the substrate increases (for example). See Patent Document 1). In the invention described in Patent Document 1, when a plurality of vacuum pumps of the same type are used in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the physical quantities (for example, vibration amount) of the plurality of vacuum pumps are compared, and the physical quantity changes. For a vacuum pump that is significantly different from the above, it is possible to know that some abnormality has occurred even if the physical quantity does not reach the alarm point.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-283056

However, even in a plurality of vacuum pumps provided in the same chamber of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the exhaust conditions (for example, gas flow rate) of the vacuum pump differ depending on the place where the vacuum pump is attached. Therefore, the exhaust conditions of the vacuum pump affect the value of the physical quantity, and there is a risk of making an erroneous judgment when determining whether or not an abnormality has occurred by comparing the physical quantities of the vacuum pumps installed in different places. there were.

The pump monitoring device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a vacuum pump monitoring device that monitors the state of a vacuum pump mounted on each of one or more exhaust ports of the vacuum device, and is used in the same exhaust port of the plurality of vacuum devices. By comparing the acquisition unit that acquires the pump parameters indicating the state of the vacuum pump from the plurality of installed vacuum pumps with the plurality of pump parameters acquired by the acquisition unit, a plurality of units installed in the same exhaust port. It is provided with a determination unit for determining an abnormality of the vacuum pump.
A vacuum pump according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a pump monitoring device according to the above aspect and a communication unit for exchanging data with another vacuum pump, and the determination unit is acquired via the communication unit. The pump parameters of the vacuum pump of the above are compared with the pump parameters of the vacuum pump provided with the supervising pump viewing device, and an abnormality of a plurality of vacuum pumps mounted on the same exhaust port is determined.
In a more preferred embodiment, an input unit for inputting the master / slave setting condition and a setting unit for setting the pump monitoring device to the master state or the slave state based on the master / slave setting condition are further provided, and the master state is provided. The pump monitoring device acquires the pump parameters of the other vacuum pump by the acquisition unit and makes a determination by the determination unit, and the pump monitoring device in the slave state stops the acquisition by the acquisition unit and the determination of the determination unit. ..
In a more preferred embodiment, when the pump monitoring device is set to the slave state and a pump parameter transmission command is received from the master state pump monitoring device via the communication unit, the pump monitoring in the slave state is performed. The device transmits the pump parameters of the vacuum pump provided with the pump monitoring device in the slave state via the communication unit.
In a more preferred embodiment, when the pump monitoring device is set to the master state, if the vacuum pump provided with the pump monitoring device in the master state is determined to be abnormal by the determination unit, the above-mentioned The pump monitoring device in the master state transmits the master / slave setting condition to be set in the master state to the other vacuum pump via the communication unit, and stops the vacuum pump including the pump monitoring device in the master state. ..

According to the present invention, it is possible to more accurately determine an abnormality in a vacuum pump by comparing pump parameters.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vacuum system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vacuum pump. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing three pump controllers connected by a communication line. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the monitoring operation of the master monitoring device. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing following FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the slave monitoring device. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the waveform of the motor current value. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a vacuum system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing three pump controllers and a monitoring device connected by a communication line. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the monitoring device.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
− First Embodiment −
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vacuum system 1 according to the first embodiment. The vacuum system 1 includes a plurality of vacuum devices having the same configuration (for example, a semiconductor manufacturing device). In the example shown in FIG. 1, three vacuum devices 10A, 10B, and 10C are provided. The vacuum chambers 2 provided in the vacuum devices 10A, 10B, and 10C are provided with a plurality of exhaust ports P1, P2, and P3, and the vacuum pumps 3 are mounted on the exhaust ports P1, P2, and P3, respectively. There is.

In the present embodiment, the vacuum devices 10A, 10B, and 10C are devices having the same configuration, and the same model of vacuum pump 3 is mounted on the same exhaust port. For different exhaust ports, different models of vacuum pumps 3 may be installed, or the same model of vacuum pumps 3 may be installed. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a vacuum pump 3 of the same model is mounted on all of the exhaust ports P1, P2, and P3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the vacuum pump 3. The vacuum pump 3 shown in FIG. 2 is a turbo molecular pump, and includes a pump body 3a for performing vacuum exhaust and a pump controller 3b for driving and controlling the pump body. The vacuum pump 3 is a magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump, and a rotating body R is provided on the pump body 3a. The rotating body R includes a pump rotor 30 and a rotor shaft 31 fastened to the pump rotor 30.

The pump rotor 30 has a plurality of stages of rotary blades 32 formed on the upstream side, and a cylindrical portion 33 forming a thread groove pump is formed on the downstream side. Correspondingly, a plurality of fixed wings 34 and a cylindrical screw stator 35 are provided on the fixed side. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a screw groove is formed on the screw stator 35 side, but a screw groove may be formed on the cylindrical portion 33. Each fixed wing 34 is placed on the base 37 via a spacer ring 36.

The rotor shaft 31 is magnetically levitated and supported by the radial magnetic bearings 41A and 41B provided on the base 37 and the axial magnetic bearing 41C, and is rotationally driven by the motor 40. A temperature sensor 47 for detecting the motor temperature is provided in the vicinity of the motor 40. Each of the magnetic bearings 41A to 41C includes an electromagnet and a displacement sensor, and the displacement sensor detects the floating position of the rotor shaft 31. The rotation speed of the rotor shaft 31 is detected by the rotation speed sensor 42. When the magnetic bearings 41A to 41C are not operating, the rotor shaft 31 is supported by emergency mechanical bearings 43a, 43b.

The pump casing 38 in which the intake port 38a is formed is bolted to the base 37. An exhaust port 39 is provided in the base 37, and a back pump is connected to the exhaust port 39. When the rotor shaft 31 to which the pump rotor 30 is fastened is rotated at high speed by the motor 40, the gas molecules on the intake port 38a side are exhausted to the exhaust port 39 side.

The base 37 is provided with a heater 44 and a refrigerant pipe 45 through which a refrigerant such as cooling water flows. When exhausting a gas in which reaction products are likely to accumulate, the heater 44 is turned on and off and the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 45 is turned on and off in order to suppress the accumulation of products on the thread groove pump portion and the rotary blade 32 on the downstream side. By performing the above, for example, the temperature is adjusted so that the base temperature in the vicinity of the screw stator fixing portion measured by the temperature sensor 46 becomes a predetermined temperature. Although not shown, the refrigerant pipe 45 is provided with a solenoid valve for turning the refrigerant on and off.

The pump controller 3b includes a motor control unit 51, a bearing control unit 52, a communication unit 53, and a monitoring device 54. The motor control unit 51 drives and controls the motor 40. The bearing control unit 52 drives and controls the magnetic bearings 41A to 41C. Information can be exchanged with other devices via the pump controller 3b and the communication unit 53. As will be described later, the monitoring device 54 monitors the state of its own pump body 3a and other vacuum pumps 3 connected via the communication unit 53.

Although the pump body 3a and the pump controller 3b are integrated in FIG. 1, they may be separated as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the pump controllers 3b of the three vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the exhaust ports P1 of the vacuum devices 10A to 10C are connected to each other by the communication line L1 and mounted on the exhaust port P2. The pump controllers 3b of the three vacuum pumps 3 are connected to each other by the communication line L2, and the pump controllers 3b of the three vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the exhaust port P3 are connected to each other by the communication line L3.

The nine vacuum pumps 3 provided in the vacuum devices 10A to 10C are a group for identifying which of the device ID1 for identifying the semiconductor manufacturing device to be mounted and the exhaust ports P1 to P3. It is identified by ID2. For example, the device IDs 1 of the vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the vacuum devices 10A to 10C are set to 1, 2, and 3 in order, and the group IDs 2 of the vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the exhaust ports P1 to P3 are sequentially 1, 2, and 3. Is set. The communication line L1 is connected between the vacuum pumps 3 of group ID 2 = 1, the communication line L2 is connected between the vacuum pumps 3 of group ID 2 = 2, and the communication line L3 is connected between the vacuum pumps 3 of group ID 2 = 3. Connected to.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing three pump controllers 3b connected by the communication line L1. In FIG. 3, the pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on the exhaust port P1 of the vacuum device 10A is represented by reference numeral 3bA1, and similarly, the pump controller of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on the exhaust port P1 of the vacuum device 10B. 3b is represented by reference numeral 3bB1, and the pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on the exhaust port P1 of the vacuum device 10C is represented by reference numeral 3bC1. The communication unit 53 of each pump controller 3bA1, 3bB1, 3bC1 is connected by a communication line L1.

(Monitoring device 54)
The monitoring operation of the vacuum pump 3 is performed by the monitoring device 54 provided in the pump controller 3b. The state of the vacuum pump 3 is monitored by monitoring pump parameters such as the motor current value and the motor temperature. The monitoring device 54 includes a determination unit 541, a notification unit 542, a storage unit 543, an input unit 544, and a setting unit 545. The state determination of the vacuum pump 3 is performed by the determination unit 541, and when there is an abnormality, the notification unit 542 notifies the abnormality. The threshold value for determining whether or not the pump parameter indicates an abnormal state is stored in the storage unit 543. The details of the threshold value will be described later.

The three vacuum pumps 3 of the same group ID 2 connected by the communication line L1 are provided with monitoring devices 54, one of which is set as the master and the other of which is set as the slave. Then, the abnormality determination of the three vacuum pumps 3 of the same group ID 2 is performed by the monitoring device 54 of the master. The master / slave setting is performed by the master / slave setting ID 3 stored in the storage unit 543. For example, when ID3 = 1, it is set to the master, and when ID3 = 0, it is set to the slave.

The device ID1, group ID2, and master / slave setting ID3 are input from the input unit 544 of the monitoring device 54 and set by the setting unit 545. In the present embodiment, the setting information is input to the monitoring device 54 by the operator manually operating the input unit 544, but it is input by communication from the controller (not shown) of the semiconductor manufacturing device. It may be configured as such.

In the following, it is assumed that the monitoring device 54 of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on the vacuum device 10A is set as the master, and the monitoring device 54 of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on the vacuum devices 10B and 10C is set as the slave. explain. When the settings of the monitoring devices 54 provided in the pump controllers 3bA1, 3bB1, and 3bC1 of FIG. 3 are expressed as (ID1 setting, ID2 setting, ID3 setting), (ID1 = 1, ID2 = 1, ID3), respectively. = 1), (ID1 = 2, ID2 = 1, ID3 = 0), (ID1 = 3, ID2 = 1, ID3 = 0).

When the device ID1, group ID2 and master / slave setting ID3 are input to the input unit 544 of each monitoring device 54 of the pump controllers 3bA1, 3bB1 and 3bC1, the setting unit 545 sets the monitoring device 54 according to the master / slave setting ID3. Set as master or slave. In FIG. 3, the monitoring device 54 of the pump controller 3bA1 set as (D1 = 1, D2 = 1, ID3 = 1) operates as a master, and (D1 = 2, D2 = 1, ID3 = 0) ,. Each monitoring device 54 of the pump controllers 3bB1 and 3bC1 set as (D1 = 3, D2 = 1, ID3 = 0) operates as a slave. The monitoring device 54 of the pump controllers 3bB1 and 3bC1 operating as slaves stops the function of the determination unit 541 and transfers the pump parameter value to the pump controller 3bA1 based on the request of the master monitoring device 54 provided in the pump controller 3bA1. Send.

(Monitoring operation of master monitoring device 54)
4 and 5 are flowcharts illustrating an example of the monitoring operation of the master monitoring device 54. Here, a case of monitoring an excess of product accumulation based on a motor current value, which is one of the pump parameters, will be described. In step S1 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, a setting process is executed with respect to the sampling timing for acquiring the motor current value of the pump main body 3a from the pump controllers 3bA1, 3bB1, 3bC1.

In a vacuum pump used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs a process such as etching, it is known that products tend to accumulate in the pump. In particular, in the case of the turbo molecular pump shown in FIG. 2, it is easy to deposit on the screw stator 35 of the thread groove pump on the downstream side where the degree of vacuum is relatively low. As the product volume of the screw groove pump increases, the motor load increases and the motor current value rises. Therefore, by detecting the change in the motor current value, the deposits in the pump can be detected and the deposit thickness can be estimated. It is known (eg, International Publication No. 2011/145444).

The determination unit 541 of the monitoring device 54 of the master determines that the accumulated amount is excessive when the motor current value exceeds the preset current threshold value Ith1. Further, even if the motor current value does not reach the current threshold Ith1, if the deviation of the motor current value becomes remarkable among the vacuum pumps 3 of the same group ID 2, the determination unit 541 deviates from the vacuum pump 3 It is determined that some abnormality has occurred in, and the notification unit 542 outputs a warning of the occurrence of the abnormality.

By the way, since the amount of increase in the motor current value depends on the gas flow rate, it is necessary to compare the motor current values at the timing when the gas flow rate in the process is substantially constant when determining the motor current value. The monitoring device 54 of the master of the pump controller 3bA1 shown in FIG. 3 determines the sampling timing of the motor current value from the motor current waveform in the initial state after the start-up of the vacuum device 10A is started.

For example, in the case of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which two types of processes are alternately repeated, the motor current value waveform is as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 7. In this case, the monitoring device 54 can extract two types of current waveforms A and B, and the current waveform A having a larger current value in a constant current state is used for sampling. For example, the time t2 at which Δt has elapsed from the rise time t1 of the current waveform A is set as the sampling timing of the motor current value.

When the pump mounting timing and maintenance timing of the three vacuum pumps 3 are different, the total operating time of each vacuum pump 3 is different as ta, tb = ta + Δtb, tk = ta + Δtc. As a method of determining the sampling timing in such a case, a method of setting the timing as the sampling timing so that the time from the start of operation is the same (referred to as method 1) and a method of simply setting the timing of the same time as the sampling timing. A method (called method 2) can be considered. It is necessary that the time information set in each vacuum pump matches. Therefore, for example, the master monitoring device 54 transmits the time information held by the master monitoring device 54 to each of the slave monitoring devices 54, and each of the slave monitoring devices 54 receives the time information based on the received time information. It should be configured to make corrections.

In the case of the method 1, for example, the sampling timing ts is set based on the vacuum pump 3 (total operating time = ta) having the shortest total operating time, and the vacuum pump 3 having the total operating time tb sets ts-Δtb to the total operating time. The vacuum pump 3 of tk uses ts−Δtc as each sampling timing, and compares the pump parameters at the same operating time. When determining the amount of product deposited at the present time (determination in step S4 described later), the sampling timing of method 2 is preferable, and when determining the deviation of the accumulated amount (step S5 described later), method 1 is preferable. In the following, for the sake of simplicity, a case where the total operating times of the three vacuum pumps 3 are equal will be described as an example.

In step S2 of FIG. 4, the master monitoring device 54 samples the motor current value of the pump body 3a connected to the pump controller 3bA1 at the sampling timing when Δt has elapsed from the rising edge of the current waveform A. In step S3, the master monitoring device 54 requests the transmission of the motor current value at the same sampling timing, that is, the motor current value at the time when Δt elapses from the rise of the current waveform A (hereinafter, the current value request command). Is transmitted to the pump controllers 3bB1 and 3bC1 provided with the slave monitoring device 54 via the communication unit 53.

In step S4, the master monitoring device 54 determines in the determination unit 541 whether or not all the motor current values of the three vacuum pumps 3 are equal to or less than the current threshold value Ith1. If it is determined that the motor current value ≤ Ith1 is satisfied for all the vacuum pumps 3, the process proceeds to step S5, and if the motor current value> Is1 for at least one vacuum pump 3, the process proceeds to step S6.

When the process proceeds from step S4 to step S6, the notification unit 542 issues an alarm prompting maintenance of the vacuum pump 3 in which the motor current value> Is1. For example, the information of the motor current value> Is1 and the device ID1 and the group ID2 for identifying the vacuum pump 3 are transmitted as alarm information. Further, a display device (not shown) may be provided on the master monitoring device 54, and the display device may display the abnormality information and the device ID 1 and the group ID 2.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step S4 to step S5, the determination unit 541 of the master monitoring device 54 compares the motor current values between the three vacuum pumps 3, and a dissociation occurs between the motor current values. Judge whether or not. If it is determined in step S5 that a dissociation has occurred, the process proceeds to step S7, and if it is determined that no dissociation has occurred, the process returns from step S5 to step S2. When the divergence occurs, it is estimated that the diverging vacuum pump 3 has some kind of abnormal tendency. Therefore, when the process proceeds from step S5 to step S7, the abnormality information and the device ID 1 of the vacuum pump 3 estimated to be abnormal and The group ID 2 is transmitted from the notification unit 542 as alarm information. After performing the process of step S7, the process returns to step S2. By providing the process of step S5 as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to send an alarm to the vacuum pump 3 presumed to be abnormal before the motor current value becomes larger than the current threshold value Ith1.

In general, when a plurality of vacuum pumps 3 are used in the same environment, the amount of products deposited in them is about the same. However, for example, when the temperature control temperature is lower than the appropriate temperature due to a malfunction of the temperature control device, the progress rate of product deposition becomes high. In such a case, the motor current value becomes larger than that of the other vacuum pumps 3, and the motor current value deviates. Therefore, as a method of determining the occurrence of deviation, for example, when the difference between the motor current value of one vacuum pump 3 and the motor current value of the other two vacuum pumps 3 is equal to or more than a predetermined value, or other When the degree of change of the motor current value at each sampling timing is equal to or greater than a predetermined value as compared with the two vacuum pumps 3 of the above, it is determined that the deviation has occurred. When the degree of change in the motor current value for each sampling timing is large, it is estimated that the degree of increase in the accumulated amount is large.

Further, when the deviation from the motor current value is large and the degree of change in the motor current value is large, it may be determined that the deviation has occurred. When the sampling timing of the above method 2 is adopted when the total operating times of the three vacuum pumps 3 are different, even if the three vacuum pumps 3 are in a normal state, the vacuum pumps 3 having a large total operating time are deposited. The amount increases. In such a case, it is possible to appropriately determine the occurrence of an abnormality by comparing the degree of increase in the accumulated amount instead of comparing the accumulated amount.

When the process of step S6 is completed, the process proceeds to step S8 to determine whether or not the motor current value of each vacuum pump 3 is larger than the pump stop threshold value Ith2. The pump stop threshold value Ith2 is a threshold value for determining the pump stop, and is set to a value larger than the above-mentioned current threshold value Ith1. If the motor current value becomes larger than the current threshold value Ith1, there is a risk that the pump rotor will come into contact with the stator due to an increase in product accumulation. Therefore, when the motor current value> Ith2, the vacuum pump 3 is forcibly stopped. To do.

If it is determined in step S8 that the motor current value ≤ Ith2, the process proceeds to step S2, and if it is determined in step S8 that the motor current value> Is2, the process proceeds to step S9 in FIG. In step S9, it is determined whether or not the pump to be stopped is the vacuum pump 3 provided with the master monitoring device 54, and in the case of the vacuum pump 3 provided with the master monitoring device 54, the process proceeds to step S10. In the case of the vacuum pump 3 provided with the slave monitoring device 54, the process proceeds to step S13. When the process proceeds from step S9 to step S13, a pump stop signal is transmitted to the pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 to be stopped, and then the process proceeds to step S2 of FIG.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step S9 to step S10, in step S10, the master setting signal and the sampling timing information set in step S1 of FIG. 4 are transmitted to the pump controller 3b provided with the slave monitoring device 54 (in FIG. 3). In the configuration shown, transmission is performed to the pump controllers 3bB1, 3bC1). The master setting signal includes a master / slave setting ID 3 = 1 and a device ID 1 to be set in the next master, and a monitoring device 54 having a device ID 1 equal to the device ID 1 is set in the master.

As the device ID 1 included in the master setting signal, for example, a value next to the value of the device ID 1 (= 1) of the monitoring device 54 that transmits the master setting signal (2 in this case) can be used. Alternatively, the total operating time may be stored in the memory of the pump main body 3a or the pump controller 3b, and the monitoring device 54 provided in the vacuum pump 3 having the longer operating time may be set as the next master.

In step S11, the notification unit 542 transmits information for notifying the stop of the vacuum pump 3 provided with the master monitoring device 54. For example, the device ID 1 and the group ID 2 of the master monitoring device 54 are transmitted. In step S12, the vacuum pump 3 provided with the master monitoring device 54 is stopped.

(Monitoring operation of slave monitoring device 54)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the monitoring operation of the slave monitoring device 54. In step S101, it is determined whether or not the pump stop signal from the master monitoring device 54 has been received. If it is determined that the signal has been received, the process proceeds to step S102, and if it is determined that the signal has not been received, the process proceeds to step S111. move on. In step S102, the notification unit 542 transmits information for notifying the stop of the vacuum pump 3 provided with the slave monitoring device 54. For example, it transmits its own device ID 1 and group ID 2 to the host controller. After that, the process proceeds to step S103 to stop the pump.

When the process proceeds from step S101 to step S111 without receiving the pump stop signal, it is determined whether or not the master setting signal and sampling timing information have been received from the master monitoring device 54. If it is determined in step S111 that the signal has been received, the process proceeds to step S112, and if it is determined that the signal has not been received, the process proceeds to step S121. In step S112, it is determined whether or not the device ID 1 included in the received master setting signal matches the own device ID 1, and if they match, the process proceeds to step S113, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S121.

When the device ID1s match and the process proceeds from step S112 to step S113, the master / slave setting ID3 is changed to the same value as the master / slave setting ID3 = 1 included in the master setting signal. When the device ID1 included in the master setting signal is D1 = 2, the master / slave setting ID3 of the pump controller 3bB1 (see FIG. 3) provided with the monitoring device 54 of the device ID1 = 2 changes from 0 to 1. The setting of the monitoring device 54 is changed from the slave to the master, and the determination unit 541 that has stopped functioning is restored.

In step S114, the monitoring device 54 provided in the pump controller 3bB1 stores the sampling timing information received from the pump controller 3bA1 in the storage unit 543. Then, the process proceeds to step S115 to execute the master operation process, specifically, the processes from step S2 in FIG. 4 to step S13 in FIG.

On the other hand, if NO is determined in step S111 or step S112 and the process proceeds to step S121, it is determined whether or not the current value request command (see step S3 in FIG. 4) transmitted from the master monitoring device 54 has been received. judge. If it is determined in step S121 that the signal has not been received, the process returns to step S101, and if it is determined that the signal has been received, the process proceeds to step S122, and the motor current value at the requested sampling timing is transmitted to the master monitoring device 54.

As described above, the abnormal tendency of the vacuum pump 3 can be determined in step S5 before the motor current value ≤Ith1 is determined in step S4 with respect to the current threshold value Ith1 which is the determination threshold value of the excess deposit amount. As a result, it is possible to detect an abnormality in the vacuum pump 3 at an earlier stage before the product accumulation becomes excessive, and it is possible to perform more appropriate maintenance such as replacing only the vacuum pump 3 at an appropriate timing. it can.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the pump parameters of the same model vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the same exhaust port of a plurality of the same semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, that is, the pump parameters of the same model vacuum pumps 3 in the same exhaust environment ( The abnormality of the vacuum pump 3 is judged by comparing the motor current value). Conventionally, since vacuum pumps mounted on different exhaust ports of the same semiconductor device are compared, the exhaust environment differs between the vacuum pumps, and there is a risk of making a erroneous judgment. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the pump parameters of the vacuum pumps 3 in the same exhaust environment are compared, it is possible to perform a more reliable abnormality determination and prevent an erroneous determination.

Further, when the vacuum pump 3 equipped with the master monitoring device 54 is determined to be abnormal and stopped in step S12, a master setting signal including the master / slave setting ID 3 = 1 is transmitted to the slave monitoring device 54. Since the setting of the slave monitoring device 54 is changed to the master, the monitoring operation can be continued without any trouble.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the pump parameter used for monitoring is the motor current value and an abnormality determination regarding product deposition is performed according to the magnitude of the motor current value has been described. However, the pump parameters are not limited to the motor current value, and other pump parameters such as the base temperature and the motor temperature detected by the temperature sensors 46 and 47 and the rotation speed of the rotor shaft 31 detected by the rotation speed sensor 42 are used. The physical quantity may be used as a pump parameter for monitoring abnormalities of the vacuum pump 3 (excessive accumulation amount, motor abnormality, temperature control function abnormality, etc.).

-Second embodiment-
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a vacuum system 100 according to the second embodiment. In the first embodiment described above, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a monitoring device 54 is provided in each of the pump controllers 3b of each vacuum pump 3, and a plurality of vacuums are provided by the monitoring device 54 set in the master. The abnormality of the three vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the same exhaust port of the devices 10A to 10C was determined. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, one monitoring device 54 is provided independently of the vacuum pump 3, and the monitoring device 54 is attached to the same exhaust port of the plurality of vacuum devices 10A to 10C. The abnormality of the three vacuum pumps 3 is determined.

The pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on each exhaust port P1 of the vacuum devices 10A to 10C is connected to the monitoring device 54 by the communication line L1. The pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on each exhaust port P2 of the vacuum devices 10A to 10C is connected to the monitoring device 54 by the communication line L2. The pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on each exhaust port P3 of the vacuum devices 10A to 10C is connected to the monitoring device 54 by the communication line L3. The monitoring device 54 determines the abnormality of the three vacuum pumps 3 connected to the communication line L1, determines the abnormality of the three vacuum pumps 3 connected to the communication line L2, and determines the abnormality of the three vacuum pumps 3 connected to the communication line L3. The abnormality determination of the vacuum pump 3 of the above is performed independently.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing pump controllers 3bA1, 3bB1, and 3bC1 connected to the monitoring device 54 by the communication line L1. Similar to the case of FIG. 3, the pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on each exhaust port P1 of the vacuum devices 10A, 10B, 10C is represented by reference numerals 3bA1, 3bB1, 3bC1. The pump controllers 3bA1, 3bB1, and 3bC1 are provided with a motor control unit 51, a bearing control unit 52, and a communication unit 53. Each communication unit 53 of the pump controllers 3bA1, 3bB1, and 3bC1 is connected to the monitoring device 54 via the communication line L1.

In the second embodiment, the monitoring device 54 is provided with a determination unit 541, a notification unit 542, a storage unit 543, and a communication unit 546, and communication lines L1, L2, and L3 are connected to the communication unit 546. .. Although not shown, the monitoring device 54 is connected to the pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on the exhaust ports P2 of the vacuum devices 10A to 10C via the communication line L2, and each vacuum is connected via the communication line L3. It is connected to the pump controller 3b of the vacuum pump 3 mounted on the exhaust port P3 of the devices 10A to 10C. The determination unit 541, the notification unit 542, and the storage unit 543 have the same functions as those shown in FIG. 3 described above.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the monitoring operation of the monitoring device 54 according to the second embodiment. Although the description is omitted, in steps S1 and S3 to S8, the same processing as the steps having the same reference numerals in FIG. 4 is performed. When it is determined in step S8 that the motor current value> Is2, the process proceeds to step S201, and a pump stop signal for instructing the stop of the vacuum pump 3 determined to have the motor current value> Is2 is transmitted. Upon receiving the pump stop signal, the pump controller 3b stops the vacuum pump 3. In step S202, information on the stopped vacuum pump 3, for example, device ID 1 and group ID 2 of the vacuum pump 3 is transmitted from the notification unit 542 to the host controller. When the process of step S202 is completed, the process proceeds to step S3.

In the second embodiment, the monitoring device 54 is provided independently, and the determination unit 541 of the monitoring device 54 is the same as the determination unit 541 provided in the monitoring device 54 of the master of the first embodiment. Judgment processing is performed. As a result, as in the case of the first embodiment, the pump parameters (motor current values) of the vacuum pumps 3 in the same exhaust environment are compared to determine the abnormality of the vacuum pump 3, so that the reliability is higher. It is possible to make a high abnormality judgment and prevent erroneous judgment. Further, by providing the process of step S5, it is possible to detect an abnormality of the vacuum pump 3 at an earlier stage before the product accumulation becomes excessive, and only the vacuum pump 3 is replaced at an appropriate timing. , More appropriate maintenance can be performed.

The effects of the embodiments described above can be summarized as follows.
(1) As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the monitoring devices 54 for monitoring the state of the vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the exhaust ports P1 to P3 of the vacuum devices 10A, 10B, and 10C are a plurality of vacuum devices 10A to 10A. Communication unit 546 and communication unit 546 that acquire the motor current value, which is a pump parameter indicating the state of the vacuum pump 3, from a plurality of vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the same exhaust port (for example, exhaust port P1) of 10C. It is provided with a determination unit 541 for determining an abnormality of a plurality of vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the same exhaust port P1 by comparing a plurality of pump parameters. As a result, since the pump parameters of the vacuum pumps 3 in the same exhaust environment are compared to determine the abnormality of the vacuum pump, more reliable abnormality determination can be performed and erroneous determination can be prevented. ..

(2) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the vacuum pump 3 is provided with a communication unit 53 for exchanging data with another vacuum pump 3, and the determination unit 541 of the master monitoring device 54 sets the communication unit 53. By comparing the pump parameters of the other vacuum pumps 3 acquired through the pump parameters with the pump parameters of the vacuum pump 3 provided with the master monitoring device 54, the abnormalities of the plurality of vacuum pumps 3 mounted on the same exhaust port P1 are detected. It may be judged. In this case, it is not necessary to prepare the monitoring device 54 separately from the vacuum pump 3.

(3) Further, the configuration as shown in FIG. 3 may be used. That is, the input unit 544 for inputting the master / slave setting condition and the setting unit 545 for setting the monitoring device 54 to the master state or the slave state based on the master / slave setting condition are provided, and the monitoring device 54 in the master state is provided. Acquires the pump parameters of the other vacuum pump 3 by the communication unit 53 and makes a determination by the determination unit 541. The slave state monitoring device 54 acquires the pump parameters of the other vacuum pump 3 by the communication unit 53 and makes a determination. The determination by 541 is stopped.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the vacuum devices 10A, 10B, and 10C are provided with a plurality of exhaust ports P1 to P3, but the vacuum devices 10A, 10B, and 10C are provided with only one exhaust port. The present invention is applicable even if the configuration is not provided. Even in that case, since the exhaust environment of each vacuum pump 3 is the same, it is possible to perform a highly reliable abnormality determination as well, and it is possible to prevent an erroneous determination.

(4) In the configuration as shown in FIG. 3, when the monitoring device 54 is set to the slave state and a pump parameter transmission command is received from the master state monitoring device 54 via the communication unit 53, the slave state The monitoring device 54 of the above transmits the pump parameters of the vacuum pump 3 provided with the monitoring device 54 via the communication unit 53.

(5) Further, when the monitoring device 54 is set to the master state, if the vacuum pump 3 provided with the monitoring device in the master state is determined to be abnormal by the determination unit 541, the master state is set. The monitoring device 54 transmits the master / slave setting condition D3 = 1 to be set in the master state to another vacuum pump 3 via the communication unit 53, and stops the vacuum pump 3 including the monitoring device 54 in the master state. .. In this way, since the master setting signal including the master / slave setting ID3 = 1 is transmitted to the slave monitoring device 54 and the slave monitoring device 54 is set to the master state, the master state monitoring device 54 is provided. Even when the vacuum pump 3 is stopped, the monitoring operation can be continued without any trouble.

Although various embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these contents. Other aspects conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention are also included within the scope of the present invention. For example, the case where the vacuum pump 3 is a turbo molecular pump has been described as an example, but in the present invention, the vacuum pump 3 is not limited to the turbo molecular pump.

1,100 ... Vacuum system, 3 ... Vacuum pump, 10A-10C ... Vacuum device, 53 ... Communication unit, 54 ... Monitoring device, 541 ... Judgment unit, 542 ... Notification unit, 543 ... Storage unit, 544 ... Input unit, 545 … Setting unit, P1 to P3… Exhaust port

Claims (5)

A vacuum pump monitoring device that monitors the condition of a vacuum pump mounted on each of one or more exhaust ports of a vacuum device.
An acquisition unit that acquires pump parameters indicating the state of the vacuum pumps from a plurality of vacuum pumps mounted on the same exhaust port of the plurality of vacuum devices.
A pump monitoring device including a determination unit for determining an abnormality of a plurality of vacuum pumps mounted on the same exhaust port by comparing a plurality of pump parameters acquired by the acquisition unit. The pump monitoring device according to claim 1 and
Equipped with a communication unit for exchanging data with other vacuum pumps
The determination unit compares the pump parameters of another vacuum pump acquired via the communication unit with the pump parameters of the vacuum pump provided with the pump monitoring device, and compares a plurality of vacuums mounted on the same exhaust port. A vacuum pump that determines pump abnormalities. An input unit in which master / slave setting conditions are input in the vacuum pump according to claim 2 and
Further, a setting unit for setting the pump monitoring device to the master state or the slave state based on the master / slave setting condition is provided.
The pump monitoring device in the master state acquires the pump parameters of the other vacuum pump by the acquisition unit and makes a determination by the determination unit.
The pump monitoring device in the slave state is a vacuum pump that stops acquisition by the acquisition unit and determination by the determination unit. In the vacuum pump according to claim 3,
When the pump monitoring device is set to the slave state and a pump parameter transmission command is received from the pump monitoring device in the master state via the communication unit,
The slave state pump monitoring device is a vacuum pump that transmits the pump parameters of a vacuum pump provided with the slave state pump monitoring device via the communication unit. In the vacuum pump according to claim 3 or 4.
When the pump monitoring device is set to the master state, if the vacuum pump provided with the pump monitoring device in the master state is determined to be abnormal by the determination unit,
The pump monitoring device in the master state transmits the master / slave setting condition to be set in the master state to the other vacuum pump via the communication unit, and stops the vacuum pump including the pump monitoring device in the master state. Vacuum pump.

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