JPH11143522A - Automatic carrier system and automatic control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform maintenance without stopping all of the system even at the time of failure occurrence or function expansion. SOLUTION: A message managing device 1 respectively manages message communication among an external device 4, a main carriage controller 21 and area controllers 22 to 24, and a data storing device 3 performs unitary management of data. Therefor, it is possible to perform failure recovery of the automatic carrier system and maintenance of function expansion, etc., by stopping only a part of an area without stopping all of the production line.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic transfer system for transferring a lot to a next process in a production line or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional automatic transfer system, when a failure occurs in the automatic transfer system or when the function is expanded, the entire automatic transfer system must be stopped and the system must be maintained. Serious damage.

[0003] For this reason, it has been considered to divide the entire system into subsystems for each function. For this purpose, assurance of message transmission between the subsystems and maintenance of data consistency are technical problems. I was

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional automatic transport system, there is a problem that the maintenance must be performed by stopping the entire system when a failure occurs or the function is expanded.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic transport system capable of performing maintenance without stopping the entire system even when a failure occurs or a function is expanded.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic transfer system according to claim 1 includes a main transfer controller for controlling a main transfer path of a production line, and each of the components constituting the production line. A processing device comprising a plurality of area controllers for controlling equipment provided for each area, a data storage device for storing the state of the production line as data, and a plurality of An external device including a device, a message transmitted from each of the external devices is transmitted to the main transport controller or the area controller, and a message transmitted from the main transport controller or each of the area controllers is transmitted to the external device or The main transport controller or the destination of the message or Serial and a message manager for transmission to the area controller.

According to the present invention, a message management device manages transmission of messages between an external device, a main transport controller, and an area controller, and a data storage device manages data so as to unify data, thereby managing each area. It can be controlled independently.

Therefore, when maintenance of the system is performed for the purpose of system recovery from failure or expansion of functions, only the subsystem to be maintained can be stopped and maintenance can be performed without stopping other subsystems. The effect of the maintenance on the production line can be minimized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic transport system, a part of the external device is an automatic guided vehicle.

[0010] In the automatic transport system according to a third aspect, a part of the external device is a storage shelf for storing a lot transported by the main transport path.

The automatic transport system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is configured such that a plurality of automatic transport systems are connected to each other by the message management devices.

According to the present invention, a transportation system in which a plurality of floors or a plurality of factories are linked can be realized by connecting a plurality of automatic transport systems.

An automatic control system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a processing device comprising a plurality of subsystems for controlling a part of the system, a data storage device for storing a status of the system as data, and the system. An external device composed of a plurality of devices provided in, and a message transmitted from each of the external devices is transmitted to each of the subsystems, and a message transmitted from each of the subsystems is transmitted to the external storage device or the message. And a message management device for transmitting the message to each of the subsystems that are the destinations of the message.

According to the present invention, the message management device manages the transmission of a message between an external device and each subsystem, and the data storage device manages the data to unify the data so that each subsystem becomes independent. It is designed to be able to operate.

Therefore, when maintenance of the system is performed for the purpose of system recovery from failure or expansion of functions, only the subsystem to be maintained can be stopped and maintenance can be performed without stopping other subsystems. The effect of maintenance on the system can be minimized.

The automatic control system according to the present invention is configured such that a plurality of automatic control systems are connected to each other by the message management devices.

[0017]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic transport system according to one embodiment of the present invention. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic transport system according to the present embodiment includes a processing device 2, a message management device 1,
It comprises a data storage device 3 and an external device 4.

The processing apparatus 2 includes a main transport controller 21 which is a subsystem, an area controller 22,
3 and 24.

The main transfer controller 21 controls the main transfer path of the production line.

Then, the area controllers 22, 23,
Numeral 34 is for controlling the equipment provided for each area constituting the production line. For example, using a semiconductor diffusion line, a dispatching rule, which is a rule for assigning a priority to take out a lot from a shelf, differs depending on the type of equipment installed in an area such as an exposure area, a diffusion furnace area, and a cleaning area. Therefore, different area controllers 22, 23, and 24 are arranged for each area.

The data storage device 3 is a single database that stores various states of the production line as data.

The external device 4 is composed of a plurality of devices provided on a production line, such as transport equipment, facilities, and storage shelves.

The message management device 1 transmits a message transmitted from the external device 4 to the processing device 2 composed of a plurality of subsystems. In addition, the main transport controller 21, the area controllers 22,
The messages transmitted from the devices 3 and 24 are transmitted to the external device 4 or the main transport controller 21 and the area controllers 22, 23 and 24 which are the destinations of the messages.

Next, the operation of the automatic transport system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the message management device 1, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the processing device 2, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data storage device 3.

First, the operation of the message management device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The message management device 1 waits until a message transmitted from the external device 4 or the processing device 2 is received (step 11), and upon receiving the message (step 12), terminates the processing of the message management device 1. (Step 1)
3). If it is a message to end the processing, the processing is ended. If the message does not end the processing, the contents of the message are decoded (step 14), and the external device 4, the main transport controller 21, the area controller 22,
The destination of the message is selected from 3, 24 (step 15). Then, the message is transmitted to the destination main transport controller 21, the area controllers 22, 23, 24 or the external device 4 (step 16), and the process returns to the original message waiting state (step 11).

Next, the operation of the processing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

The processing device 2 waits until a message transmitted from the message management device 1 is received (step 31), and upon receiving the message (step 32),
It is determined whether or not the message terminates the processing of the processing device 2 (step 33). If it is a message to end the processing, the processing is ended. If the message is not a message to end the processing, the contents of the message are decrypted (step 3).
4) To send an inquiry / update request message to the data storage device 3 to search / update the data storage device 3 (step 35). When a response message is received from the data storage device 3, a transport process is performed according to the content of the received message (step 36). The contents of the database search / update request and the transport process differ for each device (this operation will be described later). Then, a process completion message is transmitted to the message management device 1 (step 37), and the process returns to the original message waiting state (step 3).
1).

Finally, the operation of the data storage device 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

The data storage device 3 waits until a message transmitted from the processing device 2 is received (step 4).
1) When a message is received (step 42), it is determined whether the message is a message to end the processing of the data storage device 3 (step 43). If it is a message to end the processing, the processing is ended. If the message is not a message to end the processing, the contents of the message are decrypted (step 4).
4) Perform database search / update processing (step 45).

Then, the result of the search / update processing is transmitted to the processing device 2 as a response message to the processing device 2 (step 46), and the process returns to the original message waiting state (step 41).

The differences between the processing apparatus 2 in the database search / update request (step 35) and the transport processing (step 36) will be described below. Here, an explanation will be given using an operation when the main transfer processing device 21 performs a process of transferring a lot from one shelf to another shelf through the main transfer path.

In the initial processing (step 35), it is determined whether or not the transport destination is in a state in which transport is impossible, such as a full or stopped shelf. If the transfer is not possible, the transfer destination is shifted to a preset transfer shelf, and the same check is repeated. If all the transfer shelves cannot be transported, store them in the currently stored shelves.
When performing the above initial processing, a search / update request message is transmitted to the data storage device 3, and the search / update result is received as a response message. In the transport process (step 36), a message is generated so that the lot is transported to the determined destination shelf, and transmitted to the transport device of the external device 4 via the message management device 1.

The area controller 22 is connected to the AGV (Au
Using a guided guided vehicle (automated guided vehicle), a process of transferring a lot from a certain storage shelf to a certain facility is performed. In the initial processing (step 35),
The area controller 22 receives the load request transmitted from the equipment of the external device 4 via the message management device 1.

Then, a lot responding to the load request is determined. Lots stored on shelves belonging to the area where the equipment controlled by the area controller 22 is provided are classified in advance into queues for each equipment group in the next process, and the equipment to which the equipment that has transmitted the load request belongs After the group is acquired, the lot with the earliest work date and time (date and time when the device entered the queue) in the queue of the corresponding equipment group is selected. In the transport process (step 36), the message management device 1 is used as a response message to the load request so that the selected lot is transported from the shelf where the lot is currently stored to the facility that transmitted the load request using the AGV. Mediation is transmitted to the AGV of the external device 4.

The area controller 22 has an AGV
Is used to transfer a lot from a certain facility to a certain storage shelf. In the initial process (step 35), the area controller 22 receives the unload request transmitted from the equipment of the external device 4 via the message management device 1. In the transfer process (step 36), the corresponding lot is unloaded from the facility that transmitted the unload request to the storage shelf belonging to the area provided with the facility controlled by the area controller 22 using the AGV. The response message to the request is transmitted to the AGV of the external device 4 via the message management device 1.

In the automatic transport system of the present embodiment, since the message management device 1 manages the transmission of messages between subsystems such as the external device 4, the main transport controller 21, the area controllers 22, 23, 24, etc. Message transmission between systems is guaranteed. Then, the data storage device 3 manages all the data in a unified manner, instead of holding the data independently by the subsystems, thereby facilitating the maintenance of data consistency.

Therefore, the automatic transport system according to the present embodiment only needs to stop a part of the area without stopping the entire production line when performing maintenance for failure recovery and function expansion of the automatic transport system. In addition, the effect of system maintenance on the production line can be minimized.

Accordingly, it is possible to minimize a decrease in the operation rate of the production line, and to maintain the throughput of the production line.

In the present embodiment, the processing device 2 of FIG. 1 is composed of four subsystems, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the processing device 2 can be configured by any N subsystems. The present invention can also be applied to the case where it is configured.

Further, by connecting the automatic transport system as in the present embodiment as an external device, a transport system in which a plurality of floors or a plurality of factories are linked can be realized.

Further, in this embodiment, the case of the automatic transport system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the automatic transport system. Is also applicable. For example, if the present invention is applied to a financial institution online system, when there is a change in the content of one business, it is easy to switch to a new business without affecting other businesses.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, when performing maintenance of a system for recovery from a failure and expansion of functions of an automatic transport system, only a part of an area is stopped without stopping the entire production line. This can minimize the effect of system maintenance on the production line. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the decrease in the operation rate of the production line, and to maintain the throughput of the production line.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an automatic transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the message management device 1 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the processing device 2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the data storage device 3 in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Message management device 2 Processing system 3 Data storage device 4 External device 11-16 step 21 Main transport controller 22-24 Area controller 31-37 step 41-46 step

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A main transfer controller for controlling a main transfer path of a production line, and a plurality of area controllers for controlling equipment provided for each area constituting the production line. A processing device; a data storage device that stores the status of the production line as data; an external device including a plurality of devices provided on the production line; and a main transporter that transmits a message transmitted from each of the external devices. A message management device for transmitting a message transmitted from the main transport controller or each area controller to the external device or the main transport controller or each area controller to which the message is transmitted, to the controller or the area controller. Automatic transfer with system. 2. The automatic transport system according to claim 1, wherein a part of the external device is an automatic guided vehicle. 3. The automatic transport system according to claim 1, wherein a part of the external device is a storage shelf for storing a lot transported by the main transport path. 4. An automatic transport system comprising a plurality of automatic transport systems according to claim 1, wherein said message management devices are connected to each other. 5. A processing device comprising a plurality of subsystems for controlling a part of a system, a data storage device for storing a status of the system as data, and a plurality of devices provided in the system. An external device that transmits a message transmitted from each external device to each subsystem, and transmits a message transmitted from each subsystem to the external storage device or each subsystem that is a transmission destination of the message. An automatic control system comprising a message management device for transmitting. 6. An automatic control system comprising a plurality of automatic control systems according to claim 5, wherein said message management devices are connected to each other.