An RFID-based material traceability system and method

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for tracing materials based on RFID, comprising the following steps: The flower basket enters the processing equipment through the loading machine platform, and the reader-writer on the loading machine platform reads and modifies the equipment number recorded in the RFID chip on the flower basket; The material identification module of the processing equipment identifies the materials on the conveyor belt and identifies whether the materials are damaged; If the materials are not damaged, virtual IDs are generated for the corresponding materials in sequence; If damaged materials are detected, the damaged materials are marked in the virtual ID; When the unloading machine platform loads the materials output from the conveyor belt of the processing equipment into the corresponding flower basket on the loading machine platform, the reader-writer on the unloading machine platform reads and modifies the equipment number recorded in the RFID chip on the flower basket, and records the generated virtual ID into the RFID chip; The flower basket output from the unloading machine platform is conveyed to the loading machine platform of the next process; The present invention can simply and quickly trace each process link and related data of the materials during the production process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of management equipment for material rooms, and particularly relates to an RFID-based material traceability system and method. Background Art

[0002] The reasonable allocation of material rooms provides convenient conditions for users, and the rapid sorting of materials can improve the production capacity of enterprises and factories. However, people pay insufficient attention to the management means of material rooms. Currently, the management of material rooms usually adopts relatively strict management systems, job arrangements with dedicated personnel, or "on-duty" management systems that are cumbersome and not intelligent. This directly leads to the situation that even though enterprises invest a large amount of manpower and financial resources in the management of material rooms, there are still problems such as low efficiency of material access and loss of materials during the sorting process.

[0003] The difficulty in managing material rooms lies in the fact that the materials to be used are small in size and large in quantity, and it is inevitable to have omissions through manual paper registration. The currently developed material room management systems focus on the management of personnel rather than the real-time tracking of materials.

[0004] In the silicon wafer production workshop of the photovoltaic industry, silicon wafers are fragile products. The flower baskets are used to load silicon wafers, and the flower baskets are used as carriers for silicon wafer materials and flow through the entire production process of silicon wafer materials. However, in the silicon wafer production workshop, the flower baskets are easily impacted, which may cause damage to the silicon wafers. Therefore, it is necessary to trace the production process of silicon wafers through material tracking to discover the raw material batches and equipment process problems of defective products, so as to accurately locate the problems, improve material procurement and improve production processes, improve product quality, and reduce production costs. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides an RFID-based material traceability system and method. By using the solution of the present invention, the various process links and related data of materials during the production process can be traced simply and quickly.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is: an RFID-based material traceability method, including the following steps:

[0007] S1. The flower basket enters the processing equipment through the loading machine platform, and the reader-writer on the loading machine platform reads and modifies the equipment number recorded in the RFID chip on the flower basket.

[0008] S2. The material identification module of the processing equipment identifies the materials on the conveyor belt and determines whether the materials are damaged. If the materials are not damaged, virtual IDs are generated for the corresponding materials in sequence. If damaged materials are detected, the damaged materials are marked in the virtual ID.

[0009] S3. When the blanking machine loads the materials output from the conveyor belt of the processing equipment into the corresponding flower basket on the loading machine, the reader-writer of the blanking machine reads and modifies the equipment number recorded in the RFID chip on the flower basket, and records the generated virtual ID into the RFID chip.

[0010] S4. Convey the flower basket output from the blanking machine to the loading machine of the next process.

[0011] In the above method, the flower basket is transferred to the loading machine or the blanking machine of any processing equipment according to the process. The loading machine or the blanking machine will modify the machine number information of the RFID chip on the flower basket, so that the RFID chip on the flower basket records the last equipment passed by the flower basket. The flower basket is transferred in this way during the entire silicon wafer processing process, so as to realize real-time tracking at the flower basket level; at the same time, by recording the virtual ID generated on the processing equipment into the RFID chip of the flower basket, the information of the single silicon wafer material in the flower basket can be known by reading the RFID chip, realizing the tracking of the single silicon wafer material.

[0012] Further, the virtual ID is 1 to X, and X is the maximum loading capacity of the flower basket for the materials.

[0013] Further, step S2 further includes: S21. If the material recognition module recognizes that the material does not match the preset material image, it is determined as a damaged material, the conveyor belt stops conveying, and the material is pushed out of the conveyor belt through the pusher mechanism, and then the conveyor belt continues to convey.

[0014] Further, the material recognition module includes a light sensor, a camera and a control module, and the light sensor and the camera are electrically connected to the control module respectively.

[0015] Further, the processing equipment includes a conveyor belt and a pusher device for pushing out the damaged silicon wafers on the conveyor belt. The pusher device is arranged on one side of the conveyor belt; with the above settings, the materials processed by the conveyor belt are pushed out of the damaged materials on the conveyor belt through the pusher device.

[0016] The present invention also provides an RFID-based material traceability system, including a plurality of flower baskets for loading silicon wafers, a plurality of processing equipment for processing silicon wafers, a plurality of loading machines arranged on the front side in the process direction of the processing equipment, and a plurality of blanking machines arranged on the rear side in the process direction of the processing equipment; readers for identifying RFID chips are respectively arranged on the loading machines and the blanking machines, and RFID chips are arranged in the flower baskets; the silicon wafers in the flower baskets are conveyed into the processing equipment through the loading machines, and the silicon wafers after completing the current processing process return to the flower baskets through the blanking machines.

[0017] With the above settings, the flower basket is transferred to the loading station or unloading station of any processing equipment according to the process. The loading station or unloading station will modify the station number information of the RFID chip on the flower basket, so that the RFID chip on the flower basket records the last equipment that the flower basket has passed through. In this way, the flower basket can be transferred throughout the silicon wafer processing process, enabling real-time tracking at the flower basket level. At the same time, by recording the virtual ID generated on the processing equipment onto the RFID chip of the flower basket, the information of the single silicon wafer material in the flower basket can be obtained by reading the RFID chip, realizing the tracking of the single silicon wafer material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 is a flowchart of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the equipment between different processes in the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the loading station, processing equipment, flower basket conveying mechanism, and unloading station in one process of the present invention.

[0021] Reference numerals: 1, loading station; 2, processing equipment; 21, conveyor belt; 22, pushing device; 3, unloading station; 4, flower basket conveying mechanism; 5, material identification module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0022] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0023] As Figures 1-3 shown, a method for material traceability based on RFID includes the following steps:

[0024] S1. The flower basket enters the processing equipment through the loading station, and the reader-writer on the loading station reads and modifies the equipment number recorded in the RFID chip on the flower basket.

[0025] S2. The material identification module of the processing equipment identifies the material on the conveyor belt and determines whether the material is damaged. If the material is not damaged, virtual IDs are generated for the corresponding materials in sequence. If a damaged material is detected, the damaged material is marked in the virtual ID. The virtual ID ranges from 1 to X, where X is the maximum loading capacity of the flower basket for the material. In this embodiment, X is 100. The damaged material is marked as empty.

[0026] S3. The unloading station loads the material output from the conveyor belt of the processing equipment into the corresponding flower basket on the loading station. The reader-writer on the unloading station reads and modifies the equipment number recorded in the RFID chip on the flower basket, and records the generated virtual ID into the RFID chip.

[0027] S4. Convey the carrier to the loading machine of the next process output from the blanking machine; among them, the carriers between different processes are conveyed by AGV; among them, AGV is a prior art and will not be elaborated here.

[0028] In the above method, the carrier is transferred to the loading machine or blanking machine of any processing equipment according to the process. The loading machine or blanking machine will modify the machine number information of the RFID chip on the carrier, so that the RFID chip on the carrier records the last equipment passed by the carrier. The carrier is transferred in this way during the entire silicon wafer processing process, so that real-time tracking at the carrier level can be achieved; at the same time, by recording the virtual ID generated on the processing equipment on the RFID chip of the carrier, the information of the single silicon wafer material in the carrier can be obtained by reading the RFID chip, realizing the tracking of the single silicon wafer material.

[0029] In step S2, it further includes: S21. If the material identification module identifies that the material does not match the preset material image, it is determined as a damaged material. The conveyor belt stops conveying, and the material is pushed out of the conveyor belt by the pusher mechanism, and then the conveyor belt continues to convey.

[0030] The material identification module includes a light sensor, a camera and a control module. The light sensor and the camera are electrically connected to the control module respectively; with the above settings, the material on the conveyor belt is identified by the light sensor, and the material is identified with the preset by the camera.

[0031] The processing equipment 2 includes a conveyor belt 21 and a pusher device 22 for pushing out the damaged silicon wafers on the conveyor belt. The pusher device 22 is arranged on one side of the conveyor belt 21; with the above settings, the material to be processed is conveyed by the conveyor belt 21, and the damaged material on the conveyor belt is pushed out by the pusher device 22; among them, the processing equipment 2, the loading machine 1 and the blanking machine 3 are all prior arts and will not be elaborated here.

[0032] The pusher device 22 includes a cylinder, a pusher, a base and a recycling box. The base is arranged on one side of the conveyor belt 21, the cylinder is arranged on the base, the pusher is connected to the output end of the cylinder, and the recycling box is arranged on the other side of the base opposite to the conveyor belt; when the cylinder drives the pusher, the pusher pushes the material on the conveyor belt away from the conveyor belt and into the recycling box.

[0033] A carrier conveying mechanism is arranged between the loading machine and the blanking machine on one side of the processing equipment. After the carrier is loaded at the loading machine, it is conveyed to the blanking machine through the carrier conveying mechanism to load the material.

[0034] The material traceability system includes a cassette for loading wafers, several processing devices 2 for processing wafers, several loading machine stations 1 arranged on the front side of the processing devices 2, and several unloading machine stations 3 arranged on the rear side of the processing devices 2; a reader / writer for identifying RFID chips is respectively provided on the loading machine station and the unloading machine station, and an RFID chip is arranged in the cassette; the wafers in the cassette are conveyed into the processing device through the loading machine station, and the wafers after completing the current processing operation return to the cassette through the unloading machine station.

[0035] With the above settings, when the cassette is transferred to the loading machine station or the unloading machine station of any processing device according to the process, the machine station number information of the RFID chip on the cassette will be modified, so that the RFID chip on the cassette records the last device passed by the cassette. Through this way of transfer of the cassette during the entire wafer processing process, real-time tracking at the cassette level can be achieved; at the same time, by recording the virtual ID generated on the processing device onto the RFID chip of the cassette, the information of the single wafer material in the cassette can be known by reading the RFID chip, realizing the tracking of the single wafer material.

[0036] As Figure 2 shown, in this embodiment, after the cassette is respectively output from the unloading machine station A in process 1, the cassette is conveyed to the loading machine station in process 2 through the AGV, and the loading machine station A conveys the wafer material loaded in the cassette into the processing device; the reader / writer on the loading machine station B modifies the machine station number information of the RFID chip on the cassette and conveys the cassette to the cassette conveying mechanism; the processing device processes the wafer material and simultaneously generates a virtual ID, and conveys the wafer material to the unloading machine station B through the conveyor belt; at the same time, the cassette conveying mechanism conveys the cassette to the unloading machine station B; the unloading machine station B receives the cassette, loads the wafer material into the corresponding cassette loaded on the loading machine station B, the reader / writer of the unloading machine station B modifies the machine station number information of the RFID chip on the cassette, and records the virtual ID information in the RFID chip; subsequently, the unloading machine station B outputs the cassette with the modified information and conveys it into the loading machine station C of process 3 through the AGV, and so on. Since the cassette, as a carrier for loading wafer materials, circulates in the entire production process of the wafer materials, the RFID chip of the cassette is updated and modified in real time in the above manner, and thus cassette-level tracking and wafer-level tracking can be achieved.

[0037] Among them, Figure 2 only the unloading machine station A in process 1 and the loading machine station C in process 3 are shown, and the loading machine station and the processing device in process 1 are not shown in Figure 2 ; the processing device and the unloading machine station in process 3 are not shown in Figure 2 either.

Claims

1. An RFID-based method for material traceability, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: S1. The flower basket enters the processing equipment through the feeding machine table, and the reader-writer on the feeding machine table reads and modifies the equipment number recorded in the RFID chip on the flower basket. S2. The material identification module of the processing equipment identifies the materials on the conveyor belt and checks whether the materials are damaged. If the materials are not damaged, virtual IDs are generated for the corresponding materials in sequence. If damaged materials are detected, the damaged materials are marked in the virtual ID. S3. When the unloading machine table loads the materials output from the conveyor belt of the processing equipment into the corresponding flower basket on the feeding machine table, the reader-writer on the unloading machine table reads and modifies the equipment number recorded in the RFID chip on the flower basket, and records the generated virtual ID into the RFID chip. S4. The flower basket output from the unloading machine table is conveyed to the feeding machine table of the next process. After the flower baskets are respectively output from the unloading machine table in Process 1, the flower baskets are conveyed to the feeding machine table in Process 2 by the AGV. The feeding machine table conveys the silicon wafer materials loaded in the flower basket into the processing equipment. The reader-writer on the feeding machine table modifies the machine table number information of the RFID chip on the flower basket and conveys the flower basket to the flower basket conveying mechanism. The processing equipment processes the silicon wafer materials, generates virtual IDs at the same time, and conveys the silicon wafer materials to the unloading machine table through the conveyor belt. At the same time, the flower basket conveying mechanism conveys the flower basket to the unloading machine table. The unloading machine table receives the flower basket, loads the silicon wafer materials into the corresponding flower basket loaded on the feeding machine table, the reader-writer on the unloading machine table modifies the machine table number information of the RFID chip on the flower basket, and records the virtual ID information in the RFID chip. Subsequently, the unloading machine table outputs the flower basket with modified information and conveys it to the feeding machine table in Process 3 through the AGV, and so on.

2. The method for tracing materials based on RFID according to claim 1, wherein: The virtual ID ranges from 1 to X, where X is the maximum loading capacity of the flower basket for the materials.

3. A method for tracing materials based on RFID according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, it further includes: S21. If the material identification module identifies that the material does not match the preset material image, it is determined as a damaged material, the conveyor belt stops conveying, and the material is pushed out of the conveyor belt by the pusher mechanism, and then the conveyor belt continues to convey.

4. The method for material traceability based on RFID according to claim 3, wherein: The material identification module includes a light sensor, a camera and a control module, and the light sensor and the camera are electrically connected to the control module respectively.

5. A method for tracing materials based on RFID according to claim 1, characterized in that: The processing equipment includes a conveyor belt and a pusher device for pushing out the damaged silicon wafers on the conveyor belt, and the pusher device is arranged on one side of the conveyor belt.

6. An RFID-based material traceability system, characterized in that: It includes several flower baskets for loading silicon wafers, several processing equipments for processing silicon wafers, several feeding machine tables arranged on the front side in the process direction of the processing equipment, and several unloading machine tables arranged on the rear side in the process direction of the processing equipment; reader-writers for identifying RFID chips are respectively arranged on the feeding machine table and the unloading machine table, and RFID chips are arranged in the flower baskets; the silicon wafers in the flower baskets are conveyed into the processing equipment through the feeding machine table, and the silicon wafers after completing the current processing process return to the flower baskets through the unloading machine table.

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