JPH11327722A - Process editing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily change a process that equipment is made to perform through a programmable controller by providing a means for editing the procedures of the process stored in a storage means through operation by a pointing device for a display of respective elements and the relation between the respective elements. SOLUTION: A pattern file 28 is stored in a pattern file area 26 of a memory 25 and in the pattern file 28, respective elements 31, 34, etc., made to correspond to the procedures of a process are stored by relating them based on the relation between the respective elements. When the pattern file 28, etc., is then read in the case of editting the process procedures, the respective elements stored in the pattern file 28 are displayed on a display screen 21 through a GUI together with the hierarchical relation between the respective elements. Then, an operator is able to move, delete, copy, etc., the respective elements through operating a mouse for the display on the display screen 21 and freely change the relation between the elements.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process editing apparatus for editing a process to be executed by a device via a programmable controller, and more particularly to a process editing apparatus capable of easily changing the process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a process constituted by a series of operations of a device is executed, control is performed via a programmable controller so that the devices operate in a predetermined order.

[0003] The outline of the control of the process via such a programmable controller will be described below with reference to an example of a process executed by a vapor deposition apparatus which is one of apparatuses for performing vacuum film formation.

An evaporation apparatus is an apparatus for forming a film on a substrate by evaporation in a vacuum chamber, and a part of the film forming process is roughly as follows.

First, the vacuum chamber is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum. Then, in a vacuum chamber, the inside of the crucible in which the raw material to be formed is stored is heated by the electron gun while rotating the substrate disposed thereon. By the heating of the electron gun, the raw material that has come out of the crucible is deposited on the substrate. The progress of the vapor deposition is monitored by an optical means or the like, and the fact that a film having a target thickness can be formed is monitored.

[0006] Each device constituting the vapor deposition apparatus is connected to a programmable controller, and the programmable controller controls the order of operation of each device for executing the above-described process, conditions of the operation, and the like.
That is, in the case of the above-described film forming process, the operation of the exhaust pump for exhausting the vacuum chamber is performed first. In the case of heating with an electron gun, the current and the like supplied to the electron gun are controlled.

[0007] The control of procedures such as the order of operation of the above devices and the conditions of operation by the programmable controller is performed in accordance with the contents of a control program for operating the programmable controller.

[0008]

Conventionally, when a process based on the operation of many devices is controlled by a programmable controller, an operator who executes the process cannot easily change the process. That is, how to control the process depends on the contents of the control program for operating the programmable controller. Therefore, in response to an inquiry from the apparatus, the operator can only select, for example, a current value to be supplied to the electron gun, and change the order in which a plurality of devices are operated, or add a new device. I could not change it.

On the other hand, a process controlled through a programmable controller is configured based on the operation of many devices. Therefore, in the case of the above-described film forming process, it is possible to flexibly change the process at the discretion of the operator, such as stopping the execution of a part of the process or changing the order of the process, depending on the type of material to be formed. Is desirable. Here, in order to change the above process, it is conceivable to change the control program itself that operates the programmable controller.

However, when trying to change such a control program, a great deal of time is spent on the change. Further, in order to change the control program, it is necessary to be familiar with the operation procedure of the programmable controller itself, and it is not always suitable for the operator of the process.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a process editing apparatus capable of easily changing a process executed by a device via a programmable controller.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a process editing apparatus for editing a procedure of a process executed by controlling devices in a predetermined order by a programmable controller.
A storage unit for storing the procedure of the process as each element associated with the procedure and a relation between the elements, and a display screen showing the respective elements and the relation between the elements via a graphical user interface (GUI) On the display, via an operation of the pointing device with respect to the display,
Editing means for editing a procedure of a process stored in the storage means (claim 1).

According to the process editing apparatus, each element associated with the procedure of the process stored in the storage means is displayed along with the relationship between the elements based on the order of executing the procedure associated with the element. Displayed on the screen. Thereby, the operator can check the respective elements together with the relation between the elements on the display screen, and can easily grasp the entire procedure of the process on the display screen.

The operator can freely edit the procedure of the process by operating the pointing device with respect to the display on the display screen. That is, the relationship between each element and each element is displayed on the display screen via a GUI, and the operator can move or copy the element through operation of a pointing device.
In addition, since the relationship between the elements can be changed freely, it is possible to freely edit the procedure of a process configured by associating each element that can be changed and the like freely.
Here, each element associated with the procedure of the process includes a command for controlling the operation of each device, and a wait for a condition to be satisfied that includes confirmation that the operation of the device satisfies a certain condition in response to the command. Is included. The steps of the process are constituted by these elements and the relationship between the respective elements based on the execution order of the elements.

As described above, according to the process editing apparatus of the present invention, the procedure of the process executed by the device controlled by the programmable controller can be freely edited, so that the control program itself for operating the programmable controller is changed. The process can be easily changed without bothering the user.

The storage by the storage means is a hierarchical storage based on the relationship between the respective elements, and the display of the display screen by the editing means is a hierarchical storage based on the relation between the respective elements. In the case of the display (claim 2), the editing of the procedure of the process is easy. That is, since each of the elements is displayed as a hierarchical relation based on the relation between the elements based on the execution order in the procedure of the process, the relation between the elements can be grasped in a systematic order. Thus, it is possible to easily edit the procedure of the process performed through the operation on the display screen.

Further, the element stored in the storage means is:
A node representing a set of certain elements, wherein the hierarchical storage is formed by the nodes and the certain elements arranged in a lower hierarchy, and the editing by the editing means is performed in response to the display of the nodes. If the content of the operation is configured to extend to the certain element located below the node (Claim 3), the content of the operation on the displayed one node is placed below the node. Since all the elements are arranged, it is easy to operate in performing the editing work. That is, when an operation such as moving or copying is performed on the display of one node, all elements arranged below the node are moved or copied in conjunction with each other. Therefore, similar procedures of the process can be edited by an operation such as copying on a node-by-node basis, so that it is easy to operate in editing the process.

Also, the node has a normal process procedure for controlling the operation of the device, a monitoring condition for monitoring an abnormal operation of the device, and a procedure for stopping the device in response to the occurrence of a device error. And the editing unit is configured to be able to individually edit the procedure of the normal process, the monitoring condition, and the procedure of stopping the device,
In a case where the operation in editing the procedure of the normal process is configured so as to cover the monitoring condition and the procedure for stopping the device on a node basis (claim 4), the operation of the device is fixed. In addition to the procedure of the normal process for controlling according to the order described above, the monitoring condition and the procedure for stopping the device can be edited.
Then, since the operation performed in editing the procedure of the process at the time of normal operation extends to the procedure of stopping the monitoring conditions and devices on a node basis, it is easy to edit the monitoring conditions and the like. That is, when an operation such as copying is performed in the unit of the node in editing the procedure of the process in the normal state, the monitoring condition and the procedure of stopping the device are also copied in a linked manner in the unit of the node. On the other hand, if it is not convenient to edit the monitoring conditions and the procedure for stopping the device only by interlocking with the operation of each node in the normal process editing, edit the monitoring condition and the procedure for stopping the device. Can be dealt with individually.

This has the following significance. That is,
In editing the procedure of the process for controlling the operation of the equipment, it is necessary to be able to edit the operation procedure when an unexpected operation occurs in the operation of the equipment in order to ensure the safety and the quality of the product. However, the main purpose of the operator is the procedure of the normal process, and it is necessary that the monitoring condition and the procedure of stopping the device need not be considered as much as possible. This is because if the editing work becomes complicated in exchange for a high degree of freedom with respect to the order and the number of processes, the number of work errors may increase, and the safety of the operation of the device may be lacking. Therefore, it is desirable that the monitoring condition and the procedure for stopping the device are implicitly changed in accordance with the editing operation of the process procedure in the normal state. Can be satisfied.

Further, in order to ensure the quality of a product when an abnormality occurs in a device, a device to be stopped according to the generated abnormality is different. For example, in the case of a film forming process, if an abnormality occurs in the electron gun with respect to the heater and the electron gun for keeping the substrate at a constant temperature, the electron gun is stopped, but the heater is not stopped to guarantee the quality. However, if an abnormality occurs in the heater, the quality cannot be guaranteed in any case, so that both the electron gun and the heater are stopped to ensure safety. According to the process editing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to freely edit the procedure for stopping the operation based on such circumstances.

In the case where the display of each element by the editing means is an identification display corresponding to the attribute of the element (claim 5), when editing the procedure of the process, each element is displayed. The relationship between them can be grasped more easily.

[0022] When the edited procedure of the process is executed, each element corresponding to the procedure of the process executed by the device is displayed (claim 6). Among the elements displayed based on the procedure of the performed process, it is possible to confirm the element being executed. Thereby, the progress of the process executed by each device can be clearly grasped on the display screen, and the management of the progress of the process is easy.

Further, when the device is a device used for vacuum film formation and the process is a vacuum film formation process (claim 7), the following significance is provided.

The vacuum film formation process is performed by operating various types of equipment under a wide range of operating conditions. Therefore, the conditions for controlling the vacuum film forming process are various and complicated, and it is desired that the conditions can be flexibly changed over a wide range according to the type of the film to be formed.

According to the process editing apparatus of the present invention, since the process can be freely edited as described above, even a vacuum film forming process can be easily changed over a wide range.

Further, the running process can be confirmed by the process display means based on the edited process, so that the progress of the vacuum film forming process can be easily managed.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this embodiment, as a process in which the procedure is edited by the process editing apparatus of the present invention, a vacuum film forming process will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 shows components constituting a vapor deposition apparatus which is one of the vacuum deposition apparatuses. The vacuum deposition process is executed by each component of the vapor deposition apparatus 1 shown in FIG. The formation of the vapor deposition film by each device in FIG. 1 is performed on a substrate disposed on the upper part in a vacuum chamber not particularly illustrated in FIG.

The evacuation pump 2 evacuates the vacuum chamber to bring the vacuum chamber to a predetermined vacuum level. The rotating dome 3 is provided above the vacuum chamber, and supports the substrate and rotates it at a predetermined rotation speed. The heater 4 heats the substrate to a predetermined temperature so that a deposited film can be easily formed. The crucible 5 is a container for storing a raw material for a vapor deposition film inside the crucible 5 and is arranged below the vacuum chamber. The electron gun 6 is a heating device for irradiating the material in the crucible 5 with an electron beam to evaporate the material. The film thickness compensating plate 7 is for enabling uniform film formation on the substrate when the evaporation of the raw material in the crucible 5 is not uniform.

The optical monitor 8 detects the thickness of the deposited film with an optical film thickness meter and monitors the progress of the film formation. The crystal monitor 9 detects the thickness of the deposited film by using a crystal oscillator and monitors the progress of the film formation. For example, the two monitors 8 and 9 can be used so that the final completion of film formation is detected by the optical monitor 8 and the film formation speed is controlled by the film thickness detected by the crystal monitor 9.

The ion gun 10 is used to clean the substrate by supplying plasma to the vicinity of the surface of the substrate, for example, so that the substrate can easily be formed with a deposited film.

The operation of each device of the vapor deposition apparatus 1 is controlled by a sequencer 11, which is a kind of a programmable controller to which these devices are connected, according to a predetermined order and conditions. Further, a patrol light (not shown) that can blink in each color is also connected to the sequencer 11.

The control of each device of the vapor deposition apparatus 1 by the sequencer 11 is performed according to a control program installed in the sequencer 11. Various conditions for executing the control program of the sequencer 11 are set according to the contents of a target program of the personal computer 20 described later.

Various measuring instruments (not shown) are connected to the components of the vapor deposition apparatus 1. Output signals of the measuring instruments are input to the sequencer 11, and The operation status of each device is
Is monitored by a control program.
The operation status of each device of the vapor deposition apparatus 1 is also monitored by an execution module of the personal computer 20 described later via a control program of the sequencer 11. Transmission and reception between the personal computer 20 and the sequencer 11 are performed via the communication line 12.

The personal computer 20 corresponds to the process editing device of the present invention. The personal computer 20 supports a window system which is a graphical user interface (GUI). In the personal computer 20, a mouse 22 is provided as a pointing device.
Then, the operator can edit a process described later by an interactive operation on the display screen 21 by operating the mouse 22. As a preferred example of the window system, there is a window system supported by Windows which is an OS of a personal computer provided by Microsoft Corporation.

The personal computer 20 has a floppy disk (FD) drive 23, and can read a template file 28 described later from the FD into the memory 25. Also, a CD-ROM drive (not shown) can be provided, and the template file 28
Can be read into the memory 25.

The personal computer 20 has a storage unit and an editing unit. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the means implemented by the personal computer 20.

In the memory 25, a template file area 26 and a target file area 27 are formed. In the template file area 26, when editing the process procedure,
A template file 28 serving as the template is stored.
The template file 28 stores the elements 31 and 34 associated with the process procedure in association with each other based on the relationship between the elements. In particular,
The node 31 and the like, which are elements representing a set of certain elements, and the elements 34 and the like each representing a unit item relating to each of a series of operations of each device constituting a procedure included in each node are included in the node 3.
They are arranged so as to form a hierarchical relationship with 1 and the like being higher. Also, for example, one node 31 and the node 3
Nodes 32, 33, and the like, which are elements that constitute 1, are also arranged so as to form a hierarchical relationship with node 31 as a higher order.

The unit items related to the operation of each device include one operation command for the device, a wait for satisfaction of a condition for confirming that the operation of the device in response to the command satisfies a certain condition, an operation stop command for the device, There is a monitoring condition that is a condition for emergency stop of an abnormal operation of a device. And
Each node includes a normal process procedure for controlling the operation of the device, a monitoring condition for abnormal operation, and a procedure for stopping the operation of the device when an abnormality occurs. In storing each of the above elements, a different identification symbol may be attached according to the attribute of the element such as whether it corresponds to a node or a unit item related to the operation of the device. Can be. Thereby, G to be described later
In displaying each element via the UI, identification display using an identification symbol can be made possible.

When the process procedure is edited, when the template file 28 or the like is read, the respective elements stored in the template file are displayed on the display screen via the GUI together with the hierarchical relation between the respective elements. 21 is displayed. Then, the operator can move, delete, copy, etc. each element through the operation of the mouse 22 with respect to the display on the display screen 21, and can freely change the relationship between the elements.

That is, element icons representing each of the elements are displayed on the display screen 21. And the operator
Such an element icon can be freely operated by the mouse 22. For example, a specific element icon can be selected by clicking the mouse 22, or a drag and drop operation can be performed. Further, the selected element icon can be deleted by a combination of operations of the mouse 22. In addition, a specific click pattern is set on the mouse 22, and by the specific click on an element icon, an operation condition of the device corresponding to the element, for example, a condition such as a current value for operating the electron gun is set. You can also set it.

The content of the operation on the element icon is reflected on the element represented by the element icon, and the operation of the element is moved or deleted through the operation of the mouse 22 on the display of the display screen 21, and the like. The relationship between the elements can be changed freely. In addition, in response to an operation on an element icon representing a node, all elements arranged below the node are arranged. That is, when an operation such as deletion or copying is performed for one node, all the elements of the nodes and the elements of the unit item arranged below the node are deleted or copied in units of the operated node. It is configured to:

In this way, the procedure of the process can be edited freely.

The procedure edited based on the template file 28 is stored as one target file 29. The target file 29 is stored in the target file area 2
7 is generated. In the memory 25, an execution module 30 generated based on the target file 29 is arranged. The execution module 30 performs transmission and reception with the control program of the sequencer 11.

An example of a specific configuration of the process editing apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 shows an initial screen. From the initial screen shown in FIG. 3, "deposition processing" 41, which is one of the template files, is read by operating the mouse 22. In the “evaporation process” 41, each element associated with a procedure of a film forming process which is a part of the entire process executed by each device of the above-described evaporation apparatus 1 is stored together with a relationship between the elements. .

FIG. 4 shows an example of the first screen displayed on the display screen 21 after reading the "deposition process" 41. This first screen is a screen for editing the procedure of a normal process for controlling the operation of each device of the vapor deposition apparatus 1, and is an element on which an element icon representing an element corresponding to the procedure of the process is displayed. An icon display area 61 is provided. The element icon display area 61 will be described later in detail. The first screen also includes a screen operation icon area 51 and a control icon area 58 which are also displayed on a second screen and a third screen described later.

In the screen operation icon area 51, icons 52 to 57 are displayed. In this example, when the screen operation icon 52 is clicked by the mouse 22, the element already selected by the operation of the mouse 22 is deleted. In addition, mouse 22
By operating the screen operation icons 53 and 54, the already selected element can be copied. That is, copying can be performed by selecting an element by operating the mouse 22, clicking an icon 53 representing copying, and clicking an icon 54 representing pasting of the element to a region to be copied.

The icon 55 is an icon for changing the screen display to the first screen when the second screen or the third screen described later is displayed. The first screen is displayed immediately after reading the template file, but when the display is changed to the second screen or the third screen, the first screen can be displayed by clicking the icon 55. When the icon 56 is clicked, a second screen for editing a monitoring condition described later is displayed. When the icon 57 is clicked, a procedure for stopping the operation of the device when an abnormality occurs described later is edited. A third screen is displayed for performing

In the control icon display area 58, control icons 59, 60 and the like are displayed. In this example, when the control icon 59 (“drive”) is clicked with the mouse 22, the automatic operation of each device of the vapor deposition apparatus 1 can be performed based on the contents of the edited target file. It is configured. The control icon 60
When ("end") is clicked, the editing operation is terminated after the edited content is saved as a target file.

Then, in the element icon display area 61,
An element icon representing each element associated with the process procedure is displayed. Each of the element icons 62, 63, etc. is provided with a different type of identification symbol according to the attribute of the element represented by the icon. That is, an element icon representing a node representing a set of certain elements is represented by the first symbol 8
1, a second icon 82 is attached to an element icon representing a command for the operation of the device, and a condition that contains confirmation that the operation satisfies a certain condition with respect to the command to the device. A third symbol 83 is attached to an element icon indicating waiting for establishment. It should be noted that elements having the same attribute but having special properties are different but approximate to each other so that a special first symbol 81a is added to a part of an element icon representing a node in FIG. 5 described later. It can also be displayed so that it can be distinguished by attaching an identification symbol. A fourth symbol 84 is attached to an element icon representing a monitoring condition described later.
As described above, when the identification and display are performed by the identification symbols according to the attributes of the respective elements, the relationship between these elements can be grasped at a glance, and the operation of the element icons representing the elements can be easily performed.

In the following description, when it is not necessary to particularly distinguish each element associated with a process procedure from an element icon representing the element, the element icon is also referred to as an element.

Elements representing nodes are displayed on the left screen 61a of the area 61. That is, the “film forming process” 62 stored as the highest node in the “evaporation process” 41 which is a template file, and the “rotation of the rotating dome Heating "6
3 are displayed according to the order in the process procedure. On the right screen 61b of the display area 61, certain elements arranged in a lower hierarchy than the element 63 selected in the left screen 61a are displayed in the order of execution. That is, when an element representing a node displayed on the left screen 61a is selected by the mouse 22,
It is possible to confirm each element which is arranged below the selected node and constitutes a procedure included in the node.

The display of the elements arranged further below the elements displayed on the screen of FIG. 4 is configured as follows. That is, the first symbol 8 attached to the element 63
By clicking once with the mouse 22 in the immediate vicinity of the left side of 1, the “film formation on the substrate” 66 representing the element of the node arranged below the node 63 is left as shown in FIG. It is developed below the above-mentioned 63 on the screen 61a. In addition, the display of the elements representing the nodes arranged at lower levels on the left screen 61a is also configured to be sequentially expanded to the lower side by the above operation. Then, when the element 66 is selected with the mouse 22, each element included in the procedure for configuring the element 66 can be confirmed on the right screen 61b as shown in FIG. Thus, by operating the mouse 22 on the elements displayed on the left screen 61a of the area 61, all the elements stored in the template file 41 can be confirmed together with the relationship based on the order in which they are executed.

Further, the operation of deleting, moving, and copying each element displayed in the area 61 can be freely performed by the mouse 22. Specifically, it is configured as follows.

Deletion of an unnecessary element among the displayed elements is constituted by selecting the element by clicking the mouse 22 once and then clicking the icon 52. For example, on the screen shown in FIG. 4, by clicking the mouse 22 once, the “notify → patlite-yellow” 65 is selected, and when the icon 52 is clicked, the “notify → patlite-yellow” 65 is deleted. You. As a result, it is possible to edit the process so that the patrol light is not turned on in yellow.

The movement of the displayed element is performed by the mouse 2
2 by dragging and dropping the element. For example, on the screen shown in FIG. 4, “notify → patlite-yellow” 65 is selected by the mouse 22 and then dragged, and “deposition on substrate” 66 is performed.
Is dropped on the lower side 90 of the area where is displayed, so that “notify → patrol light-yellow” 65 can be moved to the area 90. As a result, "film formation on the substrate"
After completing the procedures involved in the 66 nodes, the process can be edited to turn the patrol lights yellow.

When the displayed element is to be copied, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the operation of the mouse 22 is used to select the element 67 to be copied, and then the icon 53 is clicked, and then the icon 53 is copied. Click the area 91 you want. And when you click on the icon 54,
As shown in FIG. 7, an element 67 can be attached to the area 91.

The copy of the element 67 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is a copy of the element 67 representing a node, and all the elements arranged below the element 67 are automatically copied. You. That is, an element representing a command for the operation of the device included in the procedure constituting the element 67, an element representing the condition waiting, and the like are also copied. Also, when the operation of moving or deleting the element is performed on a node basis, similarly to the case of the copying, all the elements arranged under the operated node are automatically moved or deleted. Is done.

Further, it is configured so that specific conditions for operating the device can be set. For example, “rotation start of rotating dome” 64 shown in FIG.
By clicking two times three times, a table (not shown) for setting the operating conditions of the rotating dome 3 is called up, and the rotation speed of the rotating dome 3 can be set by the table.

Further, in editing the process, two or more windows are opened on the display screen 21 so that the process can be performed. Such an example will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 shows the first window 2 of the display screen 21.
An example of a first screen displayed in 1a is shown. That is,
One template file is read into the first window 21a, and some of the elements included in the template file are displayed on the first screen. Next, as shown in FIG. 9, a different template file is read into the second window 21b opened on the display screen 21. Then, one of the elements displayed in the second window 21b, “Emission →
The "electron gun 1" 68 is selected and dragged with the mouse 22, and dropped on the area 92 of the first window 21a.
When the second screen 21b is closed, the screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed in the first window 21a, and the procedure of the process including the element 68 is edited.

Next, the second screen will be described. FIG.
Is an example of a second screen. The second screen is displayed by clicking the icon 56 on the display of the first screen or the third screen described later. On the second screen, among the elements included in the “evaporation process” 41 which is the template file read in advance, elements relating to monitoring conditions for monitoring an abnormal operation of the device are displayed. In the second screen, as in the first screen, an element icon display area 100 for displaying each of the monitoring conditions is provided. Further, similarly to the first screen, element icons representing nodes are displayed on the left screen 100a. Then, on the right screen 100b, elements arranged below the node selected from the left screen 100a are displayed. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 11, it can be confirmed that the monitoring condition indicated by “confirmation of alarm of crystal monitor” 69 is set to the node indicated by “film formation on substrate” 66. The 69 is provided with a fourth symbol 84 representing a monitoring condition.

Operations such as deletion and copying for each element displayed on the second screen, and confirmation of elements arranged at each layer of the node can be performed in the same manner as described for the first screen. The monitoring conditions can be freely edited. Further, in the process editing apparatus, the monitoring condition set for a certain node is configured to effectively act on all nodes arranged below the node for which the monitoring condition is set. I have. On the other hand, the configuration is such that the monitoring condition does not act on a node arranged higher than the node for which the monitoring condition is set.

Next, the third screen will be described. FIG.
Is an example of a third screen. The third screen is displayed by clicking the icon 57 in the display of the first screen or the second screen. On the third screen, among the elements included in the template file “evaporation processing” 41 read in advance, the elements associated with the procedure for stopping the operation of the device when an abnormality occurs are displayed. Also on this third screen, an element icon display area 101 is provided as in the first screen and the second screen. And left screen 1
01a displays an element representing a node.
In b, elements arranged below the selected node are displayed.

Operations such as deletion and copying for each element displayed on the third screen, and confirmation of elements arranged at each layer of the node can be performed in the same manner as described for the first screen. It is possible to freely edit the procedure for stopping the operation of the device.

In this process editing apparatus, when the process is edited on the first screen, the monitoring conditions displayed on the second screen and the procedure for stopping the devices displayed on the third screen are as follows. , Is automatically performed for each node. That is, in performing the operation of editing the normal process procedure on the first screen, when an operation such as copying or deleting is performed on a node basis, a second screen arranged below the operated node is displayed. The operation on the first screen is also linked to the monitoring condition to be displayed and the procedure for stopping the device displayed on the third screen. For example, when the operation of copying the node 66 is performed on the first screen shown in FIG. 4, all of the elements constituting the normal process sequence arranged below the node 66 are copied on the first screen. In addition, the monitoring condition element 69 disposed below the node 66 shown in FIG. 11 and the elements constituting the procedure for stopping the operation of the equipment disposed below the node 66 shown in FIG. Will also be automatically copied.

As a result, the operator can edit the procedure of the process in the normal state, thereby automatically editing the monitoring condition and the stop procedure for the abnormality of the device, and simply copy and modify the similar process. In addition, it is possible to automatically incorporate a monitoring condition for an appropriate abnormality and a procedure for stopping the abnormality. Therefore, the operator can perform the editing work centering on the procedure of the normal process, which is the main purpose, and does not need to specially consider the monitoring condition and the stop procedure for the abnormal operation of the device. Thereby, even when the order and the number of processes become high, it is possible to prevent the editing work of the process from becoming complicated.

On the other hand, when there is a situation in which the monitoring conditions and the stop procedure for the abnormality of the device are not only linked to the editing of the process procedure in the normal state but are to be edited individually, the second screen or the third screen is required. By editing based on the display on the screen, such circumstances can be dealt with.

As described above, according to the process editing apparatus of the present invention, the procedure of the process executed by controlling the operations of the devices in a predetermined order can be freely edited as described above, so that the process can be easily changed. I can do it. That is, when it is desired to change the process, the process can be easily changed by the process editing apparatus of the present invention without bothering to modify the control program of the programmable controller such as the sequencer 11 itself. Also,
Even in the case where a newly-installed device is incorporated in the vapor deposition device 1, the process editing device of the present invention can edit the procedure of a process to be executed including the newly-installed device. It is easy to change the process when a new device is installed.

According to the process editing apparatus of the present invention, when a process is executed based on the edited target file, each element corresponding to the process executed by each device constituting the vapor deposition apparatus 1 is displayed. can do. FIG. 13 is an example in which an element icon representing an element being executed in the procedure of the edited process is displayed on the display screen 21. In the example illustrated in FIG. 13, it is displayed that the highlighted “film formation process” 70 is the node being executed. In addition, since “Emission → Electron gun 1” 71 is displayed in an emphasized manner, it is indicated that “Electron gun 1” is operating to irradiate the inside of the crucible.

As described above, when the elements of the process being executed can be displayed, the status of the process execution and the status of the operation of the device being operated can be confirmed. Thereby, the progress of the film forming process performed by each device of the vapor deposition apparatus 1 can be clearly grasped, and the progress of the process can be easily managed.

[0074]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the procedure of the process controlled by the programmable controller can be freely edited, it is troublesome to change the control program itself of the programmable controller. There is an effect that the process can be easily changed without any problem.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in editing the process procedure, the relation between the elements to be operated can be systematically grasped in order, and the process procedure can be easily edited. It has the effect of being able to do it.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to edit a process procedure by performing an operation for each procedure in a unit of a node, and there is an effect that the operation is easy in the editing.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, by editing the procedure of the normal process, which is the main purpose of the operator, the editing of the monitoring condition and the procedure for stopping the equipment can be performed in conjunction with each other in units of nodes. Thus, there is an effect that the operation is easy in editing the process procedure.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily understand the relationship between the respective elements to be operated in editing the process procedure.

The invention described in claim 6 has an effect that it is easy to grasp the progress of the process executed by each device, and it is easy to manage the progress of the process.

The invention described in claim 7 has an effect that the process of vacuum film formation performed by another type of equipment can be easily changed. Also, there is an effect that the progress of the vacuum film forming process can be easily managed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a device of a vapor deposition apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a process editing device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a process editing device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a second screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a third screen of the process editing apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a running process is displayed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vapor deposition apparatus 2 ... Exhaust pump 3 ... Rotating dome 4 ... Heater 5 ... Crucible 6 ... Electron gun 7 ... Film thickness correction plate 8 ... Optical monitor 9. ..Crystal monitor 10 ... Ion gun 11 ... Sequencer 12 ... Communication line 20 ... PC 21 ... Display screen 21a ... First window 21b ... Second window 22 ... Mouse 23 ... FD drive 25 ... Memory 26 ... Model file area 27 ... Target file area 28 ... Model file 29 ... Target file 30 ... Execution module 31 ... Node 32 , 33... Nodes 34 and 35... Elements related to device operation 41... Template file 51... Screen operation icon display area 58... Control icon display area 61. Icon display area 61a Left screen 61b Right screen 81 First symbol 81a Special first symbol 82 Second symbol 83 Third symbol 84 Fourth Symbol 90: Element drop area 91: Element drop area 92: Element drop area 100: Element icon display area 101: Element icon display area

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A process editing apparatus for editing a procedure of a process executed by controlling operation of a device according to a predetermined order by a programmable controller, wherein the procedure of the process is associated with the procedure of the process. A storage unit for storing each element as a relation between each element, and a relation between each element and each element on a display screen via a graphical user interface (GUI), and performing an operation on the display by a pointing device. And an editing unit for editing a procedure of a process stored in the storage unit via the storage unit. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storage by the storage unit is a hierarchical storage based on the relationship between the elements, and the display on the display screen by the editing unit is a hierarchical storage based on the relationship between the elements. 2. The process editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is a display. 3. The element stored in the storage unit includes a node representing a set of certain elements, and the hierarchical storage is performed by the node and the certain elements arranged in a lower hierarchy below the node. 3. The process editing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the editing unit is formed so that the content of the operation on the display of the node reaches the certain element disposed below the node. apparatus. 4. A normal process procedure in which the node controls the operation of a device, a monitoring condition that is a condition for monitoring an abnormal operation of the device, and a procedure of stopping the device in response to occurrence of a device error. Wherein the editing means is configured to be capable of individually editing the procedure of the normal process, the monitoring condition, and the procedure of stopping the device. The process editing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the operation is configured to cover a monitoring condition and a procedure for stopping a device on a node-by-node basis. 5. The process editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display of each element by the editing means is an identification display corresponding to an attribute of the element. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the edited procedure of the process is executed, each element corresponding to the procedure of the process executed by the device is displayed.
The process editing device according to claim 5. 7. The process editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device is a device used for vacuum film formation, and the process is a vacuum film formation process.