Transport device and control method thereof

Abstract

The transport device includes a transport module for transporting materials, a first control module in which a control program for controlling the operation of the transport module is installed, and a second control module in which the control program is installed. The second control module monitors the operation of the first control module and executes the control program to control the operation of the transport module when a fault occurs in the first control module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a transport device and a method for controlling the same. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a transport device for transporting materials in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, and a method for controlling the same. Background Art

[0002] During the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, materials such as semiconductor wafers, printed circuit boards, etc. can be transported by transportation devices such as overhead crane transport (OHT), rail-guided vehicles (RGV), automatic guided vehicles (AGV), tower lifts, etc., and can be stored in a storage device including a plurality of shelves for storing materials and a transfer robot for transferring materials.

[0003] The transportation of materials may be controlled by an upper control module, such as a material control system (MCS). The transportation device may include a transportation module for transporting materials and a control module for controlling the operation of the transportation module, and a control program for controlling the operation of the transportation module may be installed in the control module. The control module may receive a transportation command from the upper control module, and may execute the control program to control the operation of the transportation module according to the transportation command.

[0004] When a control module fails while transporting materials using the transport device, for example, when a network failure, a power failure, etc. occurs, the operation of the transport module may be stopped, and thus the time required for transporting the materials may be increased. Summary of the invention

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention provide a transportation device and a control method thereof that can overcome a control module failure.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a transport device may include a transport module configured to transport materials, a first control module in which a control program for controlling the operation of the transport module is installed, and a second control module in which the control program is installed. In this case, the second control module may monitor the operation of the first control module and may execute the control program to control the operation of the transport module when a failure occurs in the first control module.

[0007] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the first control module may receive material information and a material transportation command from the upper control module.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the first control module may generate an event log file related to the operation of the transport module when transporting materials, and may include a first storage unit for storing information of the material, a transport command of the material, and the event log file.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the second control module may include a second storage unit, and may copy and store the information of the material, the transportation order of the material, and the event log file stored in the first storage unit in the second storage unit.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the second control module may determine whether a fault occurs in the first control module based on an event log file generated by the first control module.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the transport module may include a transport robot including a robot hand for handling materials, a drive unit for moving the transport robot, and a sensor mounted on the robot hand and configured to detect the material.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the second control module may use a sensor to check whether material is transported by the transport module when executing the control program.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present invention, an electronic tag storing information of the material may be attached to the material, and the transport robot may include a reader for identifying the information of the material from the electronic tag.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the first control module can receive material information and material transportation commands from the upper control module, and the second control module can copy and store the material information and material transportation commands from the first control module, and can compare the material information copied from the first control module with the material information recognized by the reader.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the second control module may control the operation of the transport module so as to resume the transport of the material when the information of the material copied from the first control module is identical to the information of the material recognized by the reader.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the transport module may further include a control unit for controlling operations of the transport robot and the driving unit according to an operation command provided from the first control module or the second control module.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the second control module may check whether the control program is executed by the failover function.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, in a control method for a transport device, including a transport module configured to transport materials, a first control module in which a control program for controlling the operation of the transport module is installed, and a second control module in which the control program is installed, the control method may include using the first control module to control the operation of the transport module to transport materials, using the second control module to monitor the operation of the first control module, and executing the control program installed in the second control module when a fault occurs in the first control module.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the first control module may receive material information and a material transportation command from the upper control module.

[0020] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the first control module can generate an event log file related to the operation of the transport module when transporting materials, and the second control module can copy and store the material information, material transportation commands and event log files from the first control module.

[0021] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the second control module may determine whether a fault occurs in the first control module based on an event log file.

[0022] According to some embodiments of the present invention, an electronic tag storing information of a material may be attached to the material, and the transport module may include a transport robot comprising a robot hand for handling the material, a drive unit for moving the transport robot, and a reader for identifying the information of the material from the electronic tag.

[0023] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the control method may further include, after executing a control program installed in a second control module, using a reader to identify information of the material, comparing the information of the material copied from the first control module with the information of the material identified by the reader, and when the information of the material copied from the first control module is the same as the information of the material identified by the reader, using the second control module to control the operation of the transport module to resume the transport of the material.

[0024] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the control method may further include, after executing the control program installed in the second control module, checking whether the control program is executed by the failover function.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present invention, in a control method of a transport device, including a transport module configured to transport materials, a first control module in which a control program for controlling the operation of the transport module is installed, and a second control module in which the control program is installed, the control method may include receiving information of materials and a transport command of the materials from an upper control module using the first control module, controlling the operation of the transport module to transport the materials using the first control module, monitoring the operation of the first control module using the second control module, executing the control program installed in the second control module when a fault occurs in the first control module, checking whether the control program installed in the second control module is executed by a failover function, checking whether the materials transported by the transport module comply with the transport command when the control program installed in the second control module is executed by the failover function, and resuming the transportation of the materials by controlling the operation of the transport module using the second control module when the materials comply with the transport command.

[0026] According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, when the first control module fails when transporting materials using the transport module, the control program installed in the second control module can be executed. The second control module can check whether the material being transported by the transport module complies with the transport order, and then the transportation of the material can be resumed. Therefore, even when the first control module fails, the second control module can easily overcome the failure. Therefore, the interruption of the transportation of the material can be prevented, and the time required for the transportation of the material can be shortened.

[0027] The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The following detailed description and claims more particularly exemplify these embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The embodiments of the present invention may be understood in more detail from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0029] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 Is the description Figure 1 A flow chart of a control method of a transport device shown;

[0031] Figure 3 Is the description Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the transport module shown; and

[0032] Figure 4 Is the description Figure 1 A block diagram of the operation of the second control module and the transport module is shown;

[0033] Although various embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific details thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. However, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the claimed invention to the specific embodiments described. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the subject matter defined by the claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Below, embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but can be implemented in various other forms. The following embodiments are not provided to fully complete the present invention, but to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0035] In the specification, when a component is referred to as being on or connected to another component or layer, it can be directly on or connected to the other component or layer, or an intermediate component or layer may also exist. Different from this, when a component is referred to as being directly on or directly connected to another component or layer, it means that no intermediate components exist. In addition, although terms such as first, second, and third are used to describe various regions and layers in various embodiments of the present invention, these regions and layers are not limited to these terms.

[0036] The terms used below are only used to describe specific embodiments, but are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, unless otherwise defined herein, all terms, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meanings as generally understood by those skilled in the art.

[0037] Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to schematic diagrams of idealized embodiments. Therefore, variations in the manufacturing methods and / or allowable errors can be expected from the form of the drawings. Therefore, the description of the embodiments of the present invention is not limited to the specific forms or regions in the drawings, and includes deviations in form. These regions may be entirely schematic, their form may not describe or depict the exact form or structure of any particular region, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 Is the description Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for controlling a transport device is shown.

[0039] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transport device 100 and the control method thereof can be used to transport material 10 (refer to Figure 3). For example, the transport device 100 can be used to transport containers such as a front opening transfer box (FOUP) and a front opening shipping box (FOSB) containing semiconductor wafers. As another example, the transport device 100 can be used to transport a container containing a photoresist composition. In addition, for example, the transport device 100 can be a tower lift for transporting the material 10 in a vertical direction. As another example, the transport device 100 can be a crane for transporting the material 10 in a storage device including a plurality of racks.

[0040] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transport device 100 may include a transport module 140 for transporting a material 10, a first control module 120 having a control program for controlling the operation of the transport module 140 installed therein, and a second control module 130 having the control program installed therein. The control program may provide an operation command to control the operation of the transport module 140, and the transport module 140 may transport the material 10 according to the operation command.

[0041] Figure 3 Is the description Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the transport module shown.

[0042] Reference Figure 3 , the transport module 140 may include a transport robot 160 for transporting the material 10 and a driving unit 170 for moving the transport robot 160 in vertical and horizontal directions. The transport robot 160 may have a robot hand 162 for handling the material 10. For example, the robot hand 162 may support the material 10, and an alignment pin (not shown) for aligning the material 10 may be provided on the robot hand 162. In addition, a sensor 164 for detecting the material 10 may be installed on the robot hand 162, and the first control module 120 may check whether the material 10 is present on the robot hand 162 using the sensor 164.

[0043] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first control module 120 may be used as a master module for controlling the operation of the transport module 140, and the second control module 130 may be used as a slave module. Specifically, the second control module 130 may be used to overcome a failure of the first control module 120. For example, a failover program may be installed in the second control module 130, and the second control module 130 may monitor the operation of the first control module 120 using the failover program.

[0044] For example, when a fault such as a network fault or a power fault occurs in the first control module 120, thereby stopping the operation of the first control module 120, the second control module 130 may execute a control program installed in the second control module 130 to control the operation of the transport module 140. As another example, when the second control module 130 is used as a master module to control the operation of the transport module 140 and the first control module 120 is used as a slave module, a failover program for monitoring the operation of the second control module 130 and executing the control program when a fault occurs in the second control module 130 may be installed in the first control module 120.

[0045] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transport device 100 may include an upper control module 110 for providing a transport command for the material 10. For example, the transport device 100 may include an upper control module 110, such as a material control system (MCS), and the upper control module 110 may provide information about the material 10 to be transported and a transport command for the material 10 to the first control module 120. The first control module 120 may provide an operation command to the transport module 140 according to the transport command. For example, when moving the material 10 placed on the loading port of the storage device to one of the shelves, the first control module 120 may sequentially provide the transport module 140 with a first command for moving the transport robot 160 to a position adjacent to the loading port, a second command for picking up the material 10 from the loading port, a third command for moving the transport robot 160 to a position adjacent to one of the shelves, and a fourth command for placing the material 10 on one of the shelves.

[0046] The transport module 140 may transport the material 10 according to the operation command provided from the first control module 120. The transport module 140 may include a control unit 150 for controlling the operation of the transport robot 160 and the drive unit 170 according to the operation command. For example, the transport robot 160 and the drive unit 170 may include a drive motor for providing a driving force. The control unit 150 may include a motion controller for controlling the operation of the drive motor and a servo driver for providing a driving current to the drive motor, and may be connected to the first control module 120 and the second control module 130 through wireless communication.

[0047] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first control module 120 may generate an event log file related to the operation of the transport module 140 when transporting the material 10. In addition, the first control module 120 may include a first storage unit (not shown) for storing information of the material 10 received from the upper control module 110, a transport command of the material 10, and an event log file.

[0048] The second control module 130 may include a second storage unit (not shown), and may copy and store the information of the material 10, the transportation order of the material 10, and the event log file stored in the first storage unit in the second storage unit. Specifically, the second control module 130 may determine whether a fault has occurred in the first control module 120 based on the event log file generated by the first control module 120. For example, when a new event log file is not generated within a predetermined time, the second control module 130 may determine that a fault has occurred in the first control module 120.

[0049] When it is determined that a fault has occurred in the first control module 120, the second control module 130 may execute a control program and may be connected to the transport module 140. When a fault has occurred in the first control module 120, the operation of the transport module 140 may be stopped. For example, when a fault has occurred in the first control module 120 and the transport module 140 executes one of the operation commands, the operation of the transport module 140 may be stopped after executing one of the operation commands.

[0050] After the control program installed in the second control module 130 is executed, the second control module 130 may check whether there is a material 10 transported by the transport module 140. For example, the second control module 130 may check whether the material 10 exists on the robot hand 162 using the sensor 164.

[0051] Further, the second control module 130 may check whether the control program is executed by a failover function to prevent the control program of the second control module 130 from being repeatedly executed even if no fault occurs in the first control module 120, that is, even if the first control module 120 operates normally. For example, when the control program of the second control module 130 is mistakenly executed by the operator, the second control module 130 may check whether the control program is executed by a failover function, and if it is not executed by the failover function, the control program may be forcibly terminated.

[0052] For example, the second control module 130 may determine whether the execution of the control program is due to the failover function by checking the event log file of the first control module 120. As another example, a failover program installed in the second control module 130 may generate a failover event log file when executing the control program to overcome a failure of the first control module 120, and the second control module 130 may determine whether the execution of the control program is due to the failover function from the failover event log file.

[0053] Refer again Figure 3, an electronic tag 20 in which information of the material 10 is stored may be attached to the material 10, and the transport robot 160 may include a reader 166 for identifying the information of the material 10 from the electronic tag 20. For example, an electronic tag 20 such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or a bar code may be attached to the material 10, and the transport robot 160 may include an RFID reader or a bar code reader.

[0054] The second control module 130 can compare the information of the material 10 copied from the first control module 120 with the information of the material 10 recognized by the reader 166, and when the information of the material 10 copied from the first control module 120 is the same as the information of the material 10 recognized by the reader 166, the second control module 130 can control the operation of the transport module 140 to resume the transport of the material 10.

[0055] Figure 4 Is the description Figure 1 A block diagram of the operation of the second control module and the transport module is shown.

[0056] Reference Figure 4 When the operation of the first control module 120 stops due to a fault, the second control module 130 can serve as a master module. Further, when the operation of the transport module 140 is controlled by the second control module 130, the second control module 130 can receive information on subsequent materials and a transport command for subsequent materials from the upper control module 110 after the transport of the material 10 is completed.

[0057] At the same time, the first control module 120 can be restarted or resolved by the operator and can then be used as a slave module. Specifically, after the fault is resolved, the first control module 120 can monitor the operation of the second control module 130, and when a fault occurs in the second control module 130, the first control module 120 can overcome the fault of the second control module 130 by using the failover function.

[0058] Hereinafter, a method of controlling the transportation device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0059] Reference Figure 2 In step S102, the first control module 120 may receive a transport command for transporting the material 10 from the upper control module 110. Specifically, the first control module 120 may receive information of the material 10 and a transport command of the material 10 from the upper control module 110. In step S104, the transport module 140 may transport the material 10 according to the transport command. Specifically, the first control module 120 may control the operation of the transport module 140 to transport the material 10.

[0060] In step S106, the second control module 130 may monitor the operation of the first control module 120. In step S108, when a fault occurs in the first control module 120, a control program installed in the second control module 130 may be executed. Specifically, the second control module 130 may copy and store an event log file related to the operation of the transport module 140 from the first control module 120, and may determine whether a fault has occurred in the first control module 120 based on the event log file. In addition, the second control module 130 may copy and store information on the material 10 and a transport command for the material 10 stored in the first control module 120.

[0061] In step S110, the second control module 130 may determine whether the execution of the control program is performed by the failover function. For example, the second control module 130 may analyze the event log file to determine whether the execution of the control program is due to the failover function. In addition, although not shown, the second control module 130 may use the sensor 162 to check whether the material 10 transported by the transport module 140 is present on the robot hand 162.

[0062] In step S112, when the execution of the control program is performed by the failover function, the second control module 130 may check whether the material 10 transported by the transport module 140 complies with the transport order. Specifically, the second control module 130 may check the information of the material 10 transported by the transport module 140 using the reader 166, and compare it with the information of the material 10 copied from the first control module 120. In step S114, when the material 10 complies with the transport order, the second control module 130 may control the operation of the transport module 140 to resume the transport of the material 10.

[0063] According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, when the first control module 120 fails while transporting the material 10 using the transport module 140, the control program installed in the second control module 130 may be executed. The second control module 130 may check whether the material 10 transported by the transport module 140 complies with the transport order, and then may resume the transport of the material 10. Therefore, even if a failure occurs in the first control module 120, the failure may be easily overcome by the second control module 130. Therefore, the interruption of the transport of the material 10 may be prevented, and the time required for the transport of the material 10 may be shortened.

[0064] Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to specific embodiments, they are not limited thereto. Therefore, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A transport device comprising: a transport module configured to transport material; a first control module having installed therein a control program for controlling the operation of the transport module; and A second control module in which the control program is installed, wherein the second control module monitors the operation of the first control module and executes the control program to control the operation of the transport module when a fault occurs in the first control module; The transport module comprises: a transport robot having a robot hand for handling the material; a drive unit for moving the transport robot; and a sensor mounted on the robot hand and configured to detect the material; wherein the second control module uses the sensor to check whether there is material being transported by the transport module when executing the control program; wherein an electronic tag storing material information is attached to the material, and the transport robot comprises a reader for identifying the information of the material from the electronic tag; wherein the first control module receives the information of the material and the transportation command of the material from the upper control module, and the second control module copies and stores the information of the material and the transportation command of the material from the first control module, and compares the information of the material copied from the first control module with the information of the material recognized by the reader; The second control module controls the operation of the transport module so as to resume the transport of the material when the information of the material copied from the first control module is identical to the information of the material recognized by the reader.

2. The transport device of claim 1, wherein the first control module generates an event log file related to the operation of the transport module when transporting the material, and includes a first storage unit for storing information of the material, a transport command of the material, and the event log file.

3. The transport device according to claim 2, wherein the second control module includes a second storage unit, and the information of the material, the transport command of the material, and the event log file stored in the first storage unit are copied and stored in the second storage unit. 4 . The transportation device of claim 2 , wherein the second control module determines whether a fault occurs in the first control module based on the event log file generated by the first control module.

5. The transport device of claim 1, wherein the transport module further comprises a control unit for controlling an operation of transporting the robot and the driving unit according to an operation command provided from the first control module or the second control module.

6. A control method for a transport device, the transport device comprising a transport module configured to transport materials, a first control module in which a control program for controlling the operation of the transport module is installed, and a second control module in which the control program is installed, the control method comprising: controlling the operation of the transport module using the first control module to transport the material; monitoring operation of the first control module using the second control module; When a fault occurs in the first control module, a control program installed in the second control module is executed; wherein the first control module receives information about the material and a transportation command for the material from an upper control module; wherein the first control module generates an event log file related to the operation of the transport module when transporting the material, and the second control module copies and stores the information of the material, the transport command of the material and the event log file from the first control module; wherein an electronic tag storing information of the material is attached to the material, and the transport module comprises a transport robot having a robot hand for handling the material, a driving unit for moving the transport robot, and a reader for identifying information of the material from the electronic tag; The control method further comprises: After executing the control program installed in the second control module, the information of the material is identified using the reader; the information of the material copied from the first control module is compared with the information of the material identified by the reader; and when the information of the material copied from the first control module is the same as the information of the material identified by the reader, the operation of the transport module is controlled using the second control module to resume the transport of the material. 7 . The control method of claim 6 , wherein the second control module determines whether a fault occurs in the first control module according to the event log file.

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