JP5391882B2 - Conveying apparatus and conveying apparatus control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus that is installed in a clean room such as a semiconductor factory and transports a transported object by a conveyor, and a transport apparatus control method for controlling the transport apparatus.

  Conventionally, in a production line such as a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of identical circuit patterns are formed on a large substrate, the substrate is diced (cut) to obtain a desired circuit substrate, and sent to the next bonding step, etc. Through a plurality of processing steps.

  In such a production line that passes through a plurality of processing steps, a plurality of processing devices are arranged for each processing step, and semiconductor hoops that are conveyed items are sequentially transferred to the processing devices. In such a production line, each conveyed product (semiconductor hoop) is individually managed by the control device, and is conveyed to the processing device by a carriage, a conveyor, or the like in the order in which the conveyance instructions are generated.

  For example, Patent Document 1 stores information when a predetermined manufacturing operation is completed by a plurality of sequencers in a product manufacturing process line, and reads information stored by each sequencer as needed by a manufacturing line control device. When the completion of work is confirmed by the read information, the work completion information is sent to the process management system, and the process management system branches to the next process of the product that has completed the predetermined manufacturing work by the received work completion information. The manufacturing line control method is described in which the branching instruction to the next process is instructed to the exit port sequencer before the product reaches the exit port sequencer.

  Also, Patent Document 2 automatically loads various products that are randomly placed in the delivery destination and order, and automatically sorts each product according to the delivery destination, etc., and also loads the product to a loading place such as a pallet. A mounting system is described.

JP-A-8-118209 Japanese Patent No. 3532507

  By the way, if each conveyed product is conveyed to the processing device in the order in which the conveyance instructions are generated, if the conveyance is performed by a conveyor, a traffic jam occurs on the downstream side, and the conveyance efficiency decreases. End up. That is, when there is a transported object to be transported to the processing apparatus while the processing apparatus is processing, the transported object is not transported to the transport port of the processing apparatus until the processing in the processing apparatus is completed. I have to stop it.

  In such a case, there is a waiting time until the processing is started after the conveyed product is conveyed to the loading port of the designated processing apparatus. When the waiting time occurs, the conveyor must be stopped, so that the conveyance efficiency is lowered.

  Then, this invention is proposed in view of the above-mentioned actual condition, Comprising: In the manufacturing line in which the some processing apparatus was arranged for every some process process, the conveying apparatus which conveys a conveyed product to each processing apparatus, respectively. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a transport device and a transport device control method that do not reduce transport efficiency even when transport is performed by a conveyor.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention has any one of the following configurations.

[Configuration 1]
A transfer device according to the present invention includes a transfer conveyor that transports a transported object composed of empty hoops and processing components to a port portion of a plurality of processing devices arranged in the order of a row of processes, and an arm that moves along the transfer conveyor. A first transfer operation that allows a transported material on the transport conveyor before processing to move to the carry-in port of the processing device, and a second transport operation to move the processed transported material from the carry-out port of the processing device onto the transport conveyor. And a transport carriage that performs a third transport operation for moving the empty hoop left in the carry-in port to the carry-out port, and receives a transport request signal from each processing device, and performs the operation of the transport cart based on the transport request signal. Control means for controlling, and the control means is configured to perform at least one of the first to third transfer operations for an unprocessed transfer request generated simultaneously from a plurality of processing apparatuses. Or the priority in consideration of the position in the process order of the processing apparatus which has requested the transfer and the waiting time after the transfer request is made, and the order of the transfer operation is determined according to this priority. It is characterized by this.

[Configuration 2]
The transport apparatus control method according to the present invention uses the transport apparatus having the configuration 1 and at least determines whether it is any of the first to third transport operations or in the order of steps of the processing apparatus that requests transport. A priority is calculated in consideration of the position and the waiting time after the transfer request is made, and the order of the transfer operation is determined according to the priority.

  In the transport apparatus according to the present invention having the configuration 1, the control means is at least one of the first to third transport operations for the unprocessed transport requests generated simultaneously from the plurality of processing apparatuses. Or, the priority in consideration of the position in the process order of the processing apparatus that has requested the transfer and the waiting time after the transfer request is made is calculated, and the order of the transfer operation is determined according to this priority. In addition, it is possible to prevent traffic jams on the transport conveyor and to improve transport efficiency.

  In the transport apparatus control method according to the present invention having the configuration 2, at least any of the first to third transport operations is an unprocessed transport request generated simultaneously from a plurality of processing apparatuses. The priority in consideration of the position in the process order of the processing device making the transfer request and the waiting time after the transfer request is made is calculated, and the order of the transfer operation is determined according to this priority. It is possible to prevent traffic jams on the conveyor and improve the conveyance efficiency.

  That is, the present invention is a production line in which a plurality of processing devices are arranged for each of a plurality of processing steps, in a transport device that transports a transported object to each processing device, even when transport is performed by a conveyor, It is possible to provide a transport apparatus and a transport apparatus control method that do not reduce the transport efficiency.

It is a top view which shows the structure of the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Conveyor configuration]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a transport apparatus according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transport apparatus according to the present invention includes a transport conveyor 1 that transports a transported object 101 made of an empty hoop and a processing component such as a semiconductor hoop. This conveyance conveyor 1 conveys the loaded conveyance object 101 so that it may pass through the vicinity of the port part 4 of several processing apparatus 3a, 3b, 3c, ... arranged in order of 1 row of processes.

  The plurality of processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,... Have a plurality of first processing devices 3a, 3a,. .., And a plurality of first processing devices 3c, 3c,... That execute the third processing step, a plurality of units are installed for each processing step. . The number of these processing steps and the number of processing devices in each processing step are arbitrarily set according to the contents of the steps.

  Each of the processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,... Has a carry-in port 4a and a carry-out port 4b in each port section 4. These processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,... Carry in the processing parts of the conveyed product 101 from the carry-in port 4a, perform a predetermined process on the loaded processing parts, and carry them out to the carry-out port 4b. It is configured. While the processing component is being processed, the empty hoop is not carried into the processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,... From the carry-in port 4a, is left in the carry-in port 4a, and is moved to the carry-out port 4b. . Then, the processing components that have been processed and are carried out to the carry-out port 4b are placed on the empty hoop moved to the carry-out port 4b.

  When the transported object 101 is a semiconductor hoop, the transport port 4a is transported with a semiconductor substrate as a processing component placed on an empty hoop, and only the semiconductor substrate is processed by the processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,. It is carried in and processed. The empty hoop is moved from the carry-in port 4a to the carry-out port 4b while the semiconductor substrate is being processed. Then, the semiconductor substrate which has been processed and carried out to the carry-out port 4b is placed on the empty hoop moved to the carry-out port 4b.

  FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the transport apparatus according to the present invention.

  And the conveyance trolley | bogie 2 is installed above the conveyance conveyor 1, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. The transport carriage 2 can be moved along the transport conveyor 1 and includes an arm 5. The arm 5 performs a first transport operation (hereinafter referred to as “job (1)”) for moving the unprocessed transport object 101 on the transport conveyor 1 to the carry-in port 4a, and a processed transport object that has been processed in the unloading port 4b. A second transport operation (hereinafter referred to as “job (2)”) for moving 101 to the transport conveyor 1 and a third transport operation (hereinafter referred to as “job (2)”) for moving the empty hoop of the carry-in port 4a to the carry-out port 4b. "Job (3)") is possible.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the transport apparatus according to the present invention.

  In this transport apparatus, the transport carriage 2 operates under the control of the transport carriage driver 11 by the transport carriage control apparatus 6 serving as control means, as shown in FIG. The transport cart control device 6 includes a job management unit 7, a device management unit 8, a transport order determination unit 9, and a transport instruction execution unit 10.

  The job management unit 7 receives a transport request signal from the control unit included in each of the processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,..., And receives “transport request generation position”, “transport request generation time”, and “ Manage transport jobs (job types). The device management unit 8 manages the status of the port unit 4 of each processing device 3a, 3b, 3c,... And the processing status in each processing device 3a, 3b, 3c,. Based on information from the job management unit 7 and the device management unit 8, the conveyance order determination unit 9 grasps the status of the conveyance request, the status of the conveyance conveyor 1 and the conveyance carriage 2, calculates the priority of the conveyance instruction, Determine “conveyance job”. The conveyance instruction execution unit 10 sends a signal indicating a “conveyance job” to the conveyance carriage 2 and manages the completion of the conveyance job.

[Operation of transfer device]
In this transport apparatus, the control method of the transport apparatus according to the present invention is implemented by the control by the transport cart control apparatus 6, and the following operations are executed. That is, the transport carriage 2 transports the transported object 101 from the transport conveyor 1 to the carry-in port 4a of the predetermined processing device by the arm 5 with respect to each processing device 3a, 3b, 3c,. (1) "). The conveyed product conveyed to the carry-in port 4a is subjected to predetermined processing in the processing device. During this time, the arm 5 of the transport carriage 2 moves the empty hoop of the carry-in port 4a to the carry-out port 4b (“job (3)”).

  After the completion of the predetermined processing in the processing apparatus, the arm 5 of the transport carriage 2 transports the transported object 101 that has been processed from the unloading port 4b onto the transport conveyor 1 ("Job (2)"). At this time, a necessary empty area is secured on the transport conveyor 1 before transporting the transported object 101 onto the transport conveyor 1. That is, when another transported object 101 exists on the transport conveyor 1, the transport from the carry-out port 4 b to the transport conveyor 1 is not performed until a necessary empty area is generated on the transport conveyor 1. When a necessary empty area is formed on the transfer conveyor 1, the transfer from the carry-out port 4b to the transfer conveyor 1 is performed.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the transport apparatus according to the present invention.

  That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, when the transported object 101 is transported before a predetermined processing apparatus in step st <b> 1, the transport cart control apparatus 6 proceeds to step st <b> 2 and the transport cart 2 performs the transported object 101. Is transferred to the carry-in port (IN port) 4a ("job (1)"), and the process proceeds to step st3.

  In step st <b> 3, predetermined processing is performed on the processing components of the conveyed product 101 by the processing apparatus. At this time, only the processing component is carried into the processing apparatus, and the empty hoop is left in the carry-in port 4a.

  In the next step st4, the transport carriage control device 6 moves the empty hoop left in the carry-in port 4a to the carry-out port 4b of the processing device, and proceeds to step st5.

  In step st5, the transport cart control device 6 determines whether or not the processing by the processing device has been completed. If the process is completed, the process proceeds to step st6. If the process is not completed, the process stays at step st5.

  In step st6, it is determined whether or not there is an empty area on the conveyor 1 in front of the carry-out port (OUT port) 4b of the processing apparatus. If there is an empty area on the transfer conveyor 1, the process proceeds to step st7. If there is no empty area on the transfer conveyor 1, the process stays at step st6.

  In step st7, the transport carriage control device 6 transports the transported object 101 that has been processed by the transport carriage 2 from the carry-out port 4b onto the transport conveyor 1 ("job (2)"), and proceeds to step st8. In step st8, the conveyed product 101 conveyed on the conveyance conveyor 1 is conveyed to the processing apparatus which performs the next process.

  Although this operation is described as an operation for one processing device, since there are a plurality of processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,..., The transport carriage control device 6 is provided with each processing device 3a, 3b. , 3c,..., 3c,... Are determined, and according to the priority, the transport carriage 2 is moved in front of any of the processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,. The aforementioned operations are performed in parallel for the processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,.

  The transport cart controller 6 determines the priority of the transport order as shown in [Table 1] below. First, for each of the processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,..., The unprocessed transport request from the processing devices 3a, 3b, 3c,. “Job (1)” is higher than “Job (2)”, and “Job (2)” is higher than “Job (3)” ((1)> (2)> (3)). Moreover, the conveyance trolley controller 6 confirms the waiting time after the conveyance request is made, and considers the waiting time element in the priority.

  Moreover, about the position (process number) in process order, the priority of the process of the downstream of the conveyance conveyor 1 shall be higher than the priority of the process of an upstream.

  Further, the transport carriage control device 6 confirms the status of the transport device, and “job (3)” (transport of empty hoops from the carry-in port to the carry-out port) is performed only under the following conditions. That is, the “job (3)” is performed when there is a conveyance object being processed in the processing apparatus and there is no conveyance object before the processing at another carry-in port. When this condition is satisfied, the priority of “job (3)” is increased.

More specifically, each item for determining the priority is weighted, and the priority is calculated according to the following equation.
[Priority] = W1 * [Job Type] + W2 * [Wait Time] + W3 * [Process Number] + W4 * [Priority of “Job (3)”)
In this way, it is possible to prevent the congestion of the conveyor 1 by determining the priority for the conveyance request transmitted from each processing step and performing the conveyance by the conveyance carriage 2 according to the order of the priority.

  The present invention is applied to, for example, a transport apparatus that is installed in a clean room such as a semiconductor factory and transports a transported object by a conveyor, and is applied to a transport apparatus control method for controlling the transport apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer conveyor 2 Transfer cart 3a 1st processing apparatus 3b 2nd processing apparatus 3c 3rd processing apparatus 4 Port part 4a Carry-in port 4b Carry-out port 5 Arm

Claims (2)

A transport conveyor for transporting a transported object composed of empty hoops and processing parts to the port portions of a plurality of processing devices arranged in a row of process steps,
A first transport operation that includes an arm and can be moved along the transport conveyor and moves a transported material on the transport conveyor to a loading port of the processing apparatus; A transport carriage for performing a second transport operation for moving an object on the transport conveyor, and a third transport operation for moving an empty hoop left in the carry-in port to the carry-out port;
Control means for receiving a transport request signal from each processing device and controlling the operation of the transport carriage based on the transport request signal;
The control means has at least one of the first to third transfer operations regarding an unprocessed transfer request generated simultaneously from a plurality of processing apparatuses, and a process of the processing apparatus that requests transfer. A transport apparatus that calculates a priority in consideration of a position in order and a waiting time after the transport request is made, and determines a transport operation order according to the priority. Using the transfer apparatus according to claim 1, at least the position in the process order of the processing apparatus which requests the transfer, and whether the transfer request is made, is one of the first to third transfer operations. A transport apparatus control method, comprising: calculating a priority in consideration of a waiting time after the operation, and determining a transport operation order according to the priority.

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