Crown block device and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a crown block device and a control method thereof.The crown block device comprises a crown block body, a side moving device and a grabbing device, the crown block body is provided with at least one buffer carrying platform, the side moving device is connected with the crown block body, the grabbing device is connected with the side moving device, and the buffer carrying platform is connected with the side moving device. The lateral moving device drives the grabbing device to move to the position above the cache carrying table. According to the invention, at least one cache carrying platform for storing the wafer box is additionally arranged on the crown block main body, the lateral moving device drives the grabbing device to move and place the wafer box on the cache carrying platform, and meanwhile, one box of wafer can be carried in the cavity through the grabbing device in the advancing process of the crown block, so that the crown block can carry multiple boxes of wafers at the same time in one trip; the carrying capacity of the crown block is greatly improved, and the productivity of a chip manufacturing factory is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of overhead crane transport equipment, in particular to an overhead crane device and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The main parts of the overhead crane system are the overhead crane and the track. The track is suspended on the ceiling keel of the clean factory, and the overhead crane runs on the track. The built-in motor of the overhead crane drives the belt to drive the grabbing device to grab the wafer box and temporarily store it in the belly of the overhead crane, and move it to the top of the target machine through the track that runs through the entire factory. The built-in motor of the overhead crane drives the belt to rise and fall and drives the grabbing device to put the wafer box on the equipment carrier. Thereby realizing the function of automatic loading and unloading of materials. The overhead crane system replaces traditional manual handling, solves the problem of insufficient manpower in the factory, improves the accuracy and production efficiency of handling, and reduces product losses caused by human factors. Therefore, the automatic handling overhead crane system is favored by high-end manufacturing industries such as chip manufacturing.

[0003] Traditional overhead cranes can only carry one box of wafers per trip. In some special manufacturing processes and steps, two or three boxes of wafers need to be processed at the same time, which means that multiple overhead cranes are needed or one overhead crane needs to carry out multiple times to meet the equipment needs. The traditional approach is to call multiple overhead cranes at the same time, and before the last box of wafers enters the equipment, the equipment has been in a waiting state, which seriously affects production and greatly restricts the production capacity of chip manufacturing plants. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an overhead crane device and a control method thereof, so as to solve the problem that the conventional overhead crane has insufficient carrying capacity and can only carry one box of wafers at a time.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is: an overhead crane device, characterized in that it includes an overhead crane body, a side shifting device and a grabbing device, the overhead crane body is provided with at least one cache platform, the side shifting device is connected to the overhead crane body, the grabbing device is connected to the side shifting device, and the side shifting device drives the grabbing device to move above the cache platform.

[0006] As a further improvement of the present invention: the side shift device includes a transmission member and a driving member, the driving member is installed on the overhead travelling crane body, the transmission member is connected to the grabbing device, and the driving member provides a force that drives the transmission member to drive the grabbing device to perform a linear displacement reciprocating motion.

[0007] As a further improvement of the present invention: the side shift device includes a first-layer main body, a second-layer main body, a first-layer belt mechanism and a second-layer belt mechanism, the first-layer main body is connected to the overhead crane main body through the first-layer belt mechanism, the first-layer belt mechanism is connected to the first driving member, the second-layer main body is connected to the first-layer main body through the second-layer belt mechanism, the second-layer belt mechanism is connected to the second driving member, and the second-layer main body is fixedly connected to the grasping device.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention: a first slider rail structure is provided between the first layer body and the overhead travelling crane body, and a second slider rail structure is provided between the second layer body and the first layer body.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention: at least one buffer platform is respectively provided on the left and right sides of the overhead travelling vehicle body.

[0010] The present invention also provides a control method for an overhead crane device. If an instruction to transport at least two wafers to a first machine is received, a path calculation rule is called to determine a target overhead crane. The path calculation rule specifically includes the following steps:

[0011] Calculate the departure distance from the current crane to each wafer box location respectively, where the current crane is the crane that has not been assigned a transport instruction;

[0012] The wafer box location with the shortest departure distance is used as the first station destination, and then the Nth station destination and the final station destination are determined in sequence based on the principle of shortest transportation distance, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

[0013] Determine the final distance from the final destination to the first machine location;

[0014] The transportation time of the current overhead crane is calculated, a target overhead crane corresponding to the shortest transportation time is determined, and a first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention: if a first instruction for transporting at least two wafer boxes to a first machine is received first, a path calculation rule is called to determine a target overhead crane, a first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane;

[0016] During the process of executing the first transport instruction, the target overhead crane receives a second instruction to transport at least one wafer box to a second machine;

[0017] When any of the following conditions is met, the second instruction is issued to the target crane, otherwise, the target crane only executes the first transport instruction;

[0018] (1) There is no wafer box or second machine in the second instruction between the destination of the first instruction and the position of the first machine;

[0019] (2) There is no wafer cassette or second tool in the first instruction between the destination station in the second instruction and the second tool position.

[0020] As a further improvement of the present invention: it also includes: if a first instruction for transporting the first wafer box and the second wafer box to the first machine is received first, calling the path calculation rule to determine the target overhead crane, generating a first transport instruction and sending it to the target overhead crane;

[0021] During the process of executing the first transport instruction, the target crane receives the second instruction to transport the third wafer box to the second machine; when any one of the following conditions is met, the second instruction is sent to the target crane, otherwise, the target crane only executes the first transport instruction;

[0022] (1) There is no third wafer box or second tool in the second instruction between the second wafer box and the first tool position; (2) There is no first wafer box or second wafer box or first tool between the third wafer box and the second tool position.

[0023] As a further improvement of the present invention: it also includes:

[0024] If a first instruction to transport a first wafer box to a first machine is received first;

[0025] Calculating the departure distance from the current crane to the first wafer box location, the current crane being a crane that has not been assigned a transfer instruction, and calculating the final distance from the first wafer box location to the first machine;

[0026] Calculate the transportation time of the current overhead crane, determine the target overhead crane with the shortest transportation time, generate a first transport instruction and send it to the target overhead crane;

[0027] During the process of executing the first transport instruction, the target overhead crane receives a second instruction to transport the second wafer box and the third wafer box to the second machine, and calls the path calculation rule to determine the terminal destination of the second instruction;

[0028] When any of the following conditions is met, the second instruction is issued to the target crane, otherwise, the target crane only executes the first transport instruction;

[0029] (1) There is no second wafer box, third wafer box or second machine in the second instruction between the first wafer box location and the first machine position;

[0030] (2) There is no first wafer box or first tool between the destination of the final station in the second instruction and the second tool position.

[0031] As a further improvement of the present invention: it also includes:

[0032] If the target crane receives a second instruction to transport a second wafer box to a second machine while executing a first instruction to transport a first wafer box to a first machine;

[0033] When there is no second wafer box or second machine between the first wafer box and the first machine position, sending a second instruction to the target overhead traveling crane;

[0034] When the target crane executes the first instruction and the second instruction, and also receives the third instruction of transporting the third wafer box to the third machine, and one of the following three scenarios exists, the third instruction is directly issued to the target crane, otherwise the target crane only executes the first instruction and the second instruction;

[0035] (1) There is no wafer box in the third instruction between the first wafer box and the first machine; (2)

[0036] There is no wafer box in the third instruction between the second wafer box and the second machine; (3) there is no wafer box in the first instruction and the second instruction between the third wafer box and the third machine.

[0037] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0038] The present invention provides at least one cache platform on the main body of the overhead crane for temporarily storing wafer boxes, and a side shift device is provided on the main body of the overhead crane to drive a grasping device to move to the top of the cache platform, and the grasping device grasps the wafer box and releases it to the cache platform. During the operation of the overhead crane, the grasping device retains the function of grasping one wafer box, thereby realizing the function of a single overhead crane carrying multiple wafer boxes, and greatly improving the carrying capacity of the overhead crane.

[0039] The overhead crane provided by the present invention can carry more than two wafer boxes at the same time, which improves the carrying capacity of the overhead crane and solves the problem of insufficient carrying capacity of the traditional overhead crane. For some special manufacturing processes and steps that need to process two or three boxes of wafers at the same time, it has a great benefit improvement, increases the upper limit of the factory chip production capacity, and has great economic value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] Figure 1 The figure is a schematic structural diagram of a crown block device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a side shift device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the side shift device and the grasping device cooperating to grasp the wafer box on the buffer stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the overhead crane grabbing three wafer boxes to the first machine.

[0044] Figure 5 The logical flow chart of the overhead crane grabbing three wafer boxes to the first machine.

[0045] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the overhead crane grabbing the first and second wafer boxes to the first machine, and the third wafer box to the second machine.

[0046] Figure 7 The logic flow chart of the overhead crane grabbing the first and second wafer boxes to the first machine, and the third wafer box to the second machine.

[0047] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the overhead crane grabbing the first wafer box to the first machine, and the second and third wafer boxes to the second machine.

[0048] Fig. 9 The logic flow chart of the overhead crane grabbing the first wafer box to the first machine, and the second and third wafer boxes to the second machine.

[0049] Fig.10 Schematic diagram of the overhead crane grabbing three wafer boxes to three different machines.

[0050] Fig.11 The logic flow chart for the overhead crane to grab three wafer boxes and put them into three different tools.

[0051] Reference numerals:

[0052] 10. Overhead crane, 101. Cache platform, 20. Grabbing device, 201. Grabbing mechanism, 202. Hoisting mechanism, 203. Hand claw, 204. Hoisting belt, 30. Side shifting device, 301. First layer body, 302. Second layer body, 303. First layer belt mechanism, 304. Second layer belt mechanism, 305. First layer slider, 306. First layer slide rail, 307. Second layer slider, 308. Second layer slide rail,

[0053] 401, a first wafer box, 402, a second wafer box, 403, a third wafer box, 501, a first machine, 502, a second machine, 503, a third machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the specific embodiments of the present invention and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0055] In order to solve the technical problems in the prior art, the present invention is further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments:

[0056] like Figures 1 to 3As shown, an embodiment of the present invention discloses an overhead crane device, including an overhead crane body, a side shift device 30 and a gripping device 20, at least one cache platform 101 is provided on the overhead crane body, the side shift device 30 is connected to the overhead crane body, the gripping device 20 is connected to the side shift device 30, and the side shift device 30 drives the gripping device 20 to move above the cache platform 101.

[0057] The overhead crane device provided in this embodiment has at least one cache platform 101 for temporarily storing wafer boxes, and at the same time, the intra-abdominal grasping device 20 of the overhead crane body can grasp the wafer boxes, eliminating the disadvantage that the traditional overhead crane 10 can only carry one box of wafers per trip. The grasping device 20 provided in this embodiment is below the side shifting device 30, and the side shifting device 30 is connected to the main body of the overhead crane 10. When two or three boxes of wafers need to be processed at the same time, the grasping device 20 grasps one box of wafers or two boxes and then retracts into the abdominal cavity of the overhead crane 10, and then drives the grasping device 20 to move above the cache platform 101 through the side shifting device 30, and the grasping device 20 releases the wafer box on the cache platform 101. The grasping device 20 also grasps a box of wafers and follows the overhead crane 10 to transport it to the destination, which greatly improves the carrying capacity of the overhead crane 10, and multiple wafer boxes can be transported in a single trip.

[0058] Preferably, the cache platform 101 can be located on the left and right sides of the crane body (with the crane 10 traveling direction as the front end), and the cache platform 101 is connected to the crane 10 body. The cache platforms 101 on the left and right sides of the crane body can store wafer boxes.

[0059] Furthermore, it should be understood that a cache platform 101 can be provided on each of the left and right sides of the overhead crane body. Of course, two or more cache platforms 101 can also be provided on each of the left and right sides of the overhead crane 10. The number of cache platforms 101 can be adjusted according to actual needs.

[0060] Furthermore, a single buffer stage 101 is not limited to storing one wafer box, that is, the placement of the wafer boxes on the buffer stage 101 can be arranged in a stacked manner. For example, at least one wafer box is stored along the lateral movement direction of the gripping device 20, or at least one wafer box is stored along the vertical movement direction of the gripping device 20, or at least one wafer box is stored along the lateral and longitudinal movement directions of the gripping device 20, respectively, in a matrix distribution. Correspondingly, a fence structure can be added to the periphery of the buffer stage 101 to prevent the stacked wafer boxes from falling off the buffer stage 101.

[0061] The buffer stage 101 can be formed integrally with the crane body, or the buffer stage 101 can be detachably mounted on the crane body, and the buffer stage 101 can be replaced according to the specifications of different wafer boxes.

[0062] In some embodiments, the side shift device 30 includes a transmission member and a driving member, the driving member is installed on the overhead crane body, the driving member is connected to the transmission member, the transmission member is connected to the grasping device 20, and the driving member provides a force that drives the transmission member to drive the grasping device 20 to perform a linear displacement reciprocating motion, and the linear displacement direction is perpendicular to the travel direction of the overhead crane 10.

[0063] The driving member can be a rodless cylinder, and the transmission member can be a transmission part outside the rodless cylinder or a fixed member connected to the transmission part. The grasping device 20 is connected to the rodless cylinder through the transmission member. The stroke of the rodless cylinder is specifically set according to the cache platform 101 set on the overhead crane body. If the cache platforms 101 are set on the left and right sides of the overhead crane body, the stroke of the moving part of the rodless cylinder is greater than the distance between the cache platforms 101 on both sides, thereby ensuring that the grasping device 20 is driven to move above the cache platforms 101 on both sides.

[0064] like Figure 2 As shown, the driving member can be a motor (not shown in the figure), and the transmission member is a belt. In a specific example, the side shift device 30 includes a first-layer body 301, a second-layer body 302, a first-layer belt mechanism 303 and a second-layer belt mechanism 304. The first-layer body 301 is connected to the overhead crane body through the first-layer belt mechanism 303, and the first-layer belt mechanism 303 is powered by the first driving member to rotate. The second-layer body 302 is connected to the first-layer body 301 through the second-layer belt mechanism 304, and the second-layer belt mechanism 304 is powered by the second driving member to rotate. The second-layer body 302 is fixedly connected to the grasping device 20.

[0065] The first layer belt mechanism 303 and the second layer belt mechanism 304 have basic structures such as pulleys and belts, and the first driving member and the second driving member are the connection between the motor and the pulley, which are all prior art, and this application does not elaborate on them. The first driving member and the pulley of the first layer belt mechanism 303 are fixedly installed on the crane body, and the second driving member and the pulley of the second layer belt mechanism 304 are fixedly installed on the first layer body 301.

[0066] Furthermore, the middle position of the second layer body 302 is fixedly connected to the middle position of the second belt of the second layer belt mechanism 304 , and the middle position of the first layer body 301 is fixedly connected to the middle position of the first belt of the first layer belt mechanism 303 .

[0067] The grasping device 20 includes a hoisting mechanism 202, a hoisting belt 204 and a grasping mechanism 201. The structure and connection of the hoisting mechanism 202 and the hoisting belt 204 are existing technologies. The grasping mechanism 201 is fixedly connected to the hoisting belt 204. A gripper 203 and a driving source (not shown in the figure) are provided on the grasping mechanism 201. The wafer box is grasped and released by the gripper 203. The grasping mechanism 201 can adopt the existing structure and will not be described in detail in this application.

[0068] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the side shift device 30 can drive the grasping device 20 to move left and right, and the moving direction is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the overhead crane 10. Specifically, the grasping device 20 is driven to move left and right by the first layer belt mechanism 303 and the second layer belt mechanism 304. In addition, the side shift device 30 is connected to the grasping device 20 through the hoisting mechanism 202, and the hoisting belt 204 can be vertically lifted and lowered by the built-in motor of the overhead crane 10, so that the grasping device 20 of the overhead crane 10 can be vertically lifted and lowered to the wafer box position to grasp the wafer box. After the grasping device 20 of the general overhead crane 10 grasps the wafer box, it will retract into the abdominal cavity of the overhead crane 10, and will keep grasping the wafer box, and then transport it to the destination. On this basis, the overhead crane 10 of the present invention can place the wafer box on the cache carrier 101 located on the left and right sides of the overhead crane 10 through the side shift device 30. Therefore, when wafer boxes are placed on the buffer platforms 101 on the left and right sides of the overhead crane 10, the gripping device 20 of the overhead crane 10 can still grip the wafer boxes, so that a larger carrying capacity of at least three wafer boxes can be carried simultaneously, and the carrying capacity of the overhead crane 10 is greatly improved.

[0069] Furthermore, the side shift device 30 is also configured with a slider rail structure. Specifically, a first slider rail structure is provided between the first layer main body 301 and the overhead crane main body, and a second slider rail structure is provided between the second layer main body 302 and the first layer main body 301, so as to improve the stability and reliability of the grasping device 20 during the round-trip process between the cache platform 101 and the abdominal cavity of the overhead crane main body.

[0070] In a specific example, a first-layer slider 305 is provided on the first-layer body 301, and correspondingly, a first-layer slide rail 306 is provided on the crane body, and the first-layer body 301 is connected to the first-layer slide rail 306 of the crane body through the first-layer slider 305. Alternatively, the first-layer slider 305 is provided on the crane body, and the first-layer slide rail 306 is provided on the first-layer body 301. The installation positions of the first-layer slider 305 and the first-layer slide rail 306 are not limited, and the length direction of the first-layer slide rail 306 is arranged perpendicular to the travel direction of the crane 10. The length direction of the first-layer slide rail 306 is consistent with the transmission direction of the first-layer belt mechanism 303, and it only needs to have the function of realizing the smooth operation of the grabbing device 20 driven by the first-layer belt mechanism 303.

[0071] Similarly, a second-layer slider 307 is provided on the second-layer body 302, and correspondingly, a second-layer slide rail 308 is provided on the crane body, and the second-layer body 302 is connected to the second-layer slide rail 308 of the crane body through the second-layer slider 307. Alternatively, the second-layer slider 307 is provided on the crane body, and the second-layer slide rail 308 is provided on the second-layer body 302, and the installation positions of the second-layer slider 307 and the second-layer slide rail 308 are not limited. The length direction of the second-layer slide rail 308 is arranged perpendicular to the travel direction of the crane 10, and the length direction of the second-layer slide rail 308 is consistent with the transmission direction of the second-layer belt mechanism 304, and it only needs to have the function of realizing the stable operation of the grabbing device 20 driven by the second-layer belt mechanism 304.

[0072] The first layer body 301 can be moved left and right relative to the crane body along the first layer slide rail 306 (perpendicular to the travel direction of the crane 10) driven by the first layer belt mechanism 303, and the second layer body 302 can be moved left and right relative to the first layer body 301 along the second layer slide rail 308 (perpendicular to the travel direction of the crane 10) driven by the second layer belt mechanism 304. Since the second layer body 302 is fixed to the upper end of the hoisting mechanism 202 of the grasping device 20, and the lower end of the belt of the hoisting mechanism 202 is connected to the grasping mechanism 201 body, the grasping mechanism 201 can be moved left and right relative to the crane body under the drive of the side shift device 30, and the grasping mechanism 201 can be moved up and down relative to the crane body under the drive of the side shift mechanism and the hoisting mechanism 202.

[0073] like Figure 1 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the side shift device 30 driving the gripping device 20 to move above the buffer stage 101. The buffer stage 101 is arranged on the left and right sides of the crane body, and the left and right sides of the crane body are hollow structures. When the claws 203 of the gripping device 20 descend to grab the wafer box, the side shift device 30 is built into the abdominal cavity of the crane body. When the wafer box needs to be stored on the buffer stage 101, the side shift device 30 and the gripping device 20 can be moved from the abdominal cavity of the crane body to the left and right sides of the crane body.

[0074] Furthermore, when the abdominal cavity space of the crane body is large enough, the buffer platform 101 can also be arranged in the abdominal cavity of the crane body, and the side shift device 30 is also built into the abdominal cavity.

[0075] This embodiment also provides a control method for the overhead crane device, which combines the storage conditions of the buffer platforms 101 on the left and right sides of the overhead crane body to form a combined transport instruction according to actual transport requirements to improve transport efficiency. According to the actual transport scenario, it can be divided into the following three scenarios: the first scenario is to transport three boxes of wafers to the same machine; the second scenario is to transport two boxes of wafers to the same machine and the third box of wafers to another machine; the third scenario is to transport three boxes of wafers to three different machines.

[0076] In some implementations, if an instruction to transport at least two wafers to the first machine 501 is received, a path calculation rule is called to determine the target overhead traveling vehicle 10, and the path calculation rule specifically includes the following steps:

[0077] Calculate the departure distance from the current crane 10 to each wafer box location respectively, where the current crane 10 is the crane 10 to which no transport instruction is assigned;

[0078] The wafer box location with the shortest departure distance is used as the first station destination, and then the Nth station destination and the final station destination are determined in sequence based on the principle of shortest transportation distance, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

[0079] Determine the final distance from the terminal destination to the first machine 501 position;

[0080] Generate a first operation path according to the first station destination, the Nth station destination, the terminal station destination and the position of the first machine 501;

[0081] Calculate the transportation time of the current overhead crane 10 corresponding to the first operation path, and determine the target overhead crane 10 with the shortest transportation time from the current overhead cranes 10;

[0082] A first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead travelling vehicle 10 , wherein the first transport instruction includes a first operating path.

[0083] Determining the Nth station destination and the final station destination in sequence based on the principle of shortest transportation distance specifically includes: calculating the transfer distance from the first station destination to other wafer boxes, determining the wafer box location with the shortest transfer distance as the second station destination, then calculating the transfer distance from the second station destination to other wafer boxes, and taking the wafer box location with the shortest transfer distance as the third station destination, and so on, until the last wafer box location is determined as the final station destination.

[0084] For example, Figure 4 As shown, the control system of the overhead crane 10 receives the transport instruction of the first scenario: transport three boxes of wafers to the same machine. The logical flow is as follows Figure 5 The control system of the overhead crane 10 will form these transport instructions into a combined transport instruction and intelligently plan the path.

[0085] Specifically, the control system of the overhead crane 10 will respectively calculate the distances from the current overhead crane 10 to the three wafer box picking locations, and select the nearest first wafer box 401 location as the first station destination, and then respectively calculate the distances from the first station destination to the other two wafer boxes, select the nearest second wafer box 402 location as the second station, and the last third wafer box 403 as the third station, combined with the distance from the third station to the first machine 501 of the cargo placement equipment, select the overhead crane 10 with the shortest time through measurement, and issue this combined instruction to the overhead crane 10.

[0086] After receiving the combined transport instruction, the overhead crane 10 goes to the first station destination to grab the first wafer box 401, the second station destination to grab the second wafer box 402, and the third station destination to grab the third wafer box 403, and puts the first wafer box 401 and the second wafer box 402 taken from the first station destination and the second station destination on the cache carrier 101, and grabs the wafer box grabbing device 20 taken from the third station destination and retracts it into the abdominal cavity of the overhead crane 10. After arriving at the first machine 501 of the cargo delivery equipment, first put down the third wafer box 403 taken from the third station destination to the target first machine 501, and then put down the first wafer box 401 and the second wafer box 402 stored on the cache carrier 101 in turn. At this point, the task of simultaneously transporting three wafer boxes to the equipment is completed.

[0087] In some embodiments, if a first instruction to transport at least two wafer boxes to the first machine 501 is received, a path calculation rule is called to determine the target overhead crane 10, and a first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane 10;

[0088] Specifically, according to the first instruction, the position of the first machine 501, the location of the first wafer box 401, the location of the second wafer box 402...the location of the nth wafer box are obtained, and the departure distance from the current crane 10 to each wafer box location is calculated respectively, and the wafer box location with the shortest departure distance is taken as the first station destination; then the Nth station destination and the terminal station destination are determined in sequence according to the principle of shortest transportation distance, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, and the determination of the Nth station destination and the terminal station destination is as described above; the final distance from the terminal station destination to the position of the first machine 501 is determined, and a first operation path is generated according to the first station destination, the Nth station destination, the terminal station destination and the position of the first machine 501, so that the current crane 10 is taken as the starting point of the first operation path, and the next destination is determined in sequence, and a unique first operation path is generated for each current crane 10, and the number of first operation paths is equal to the number of current cranes 10.

[0089] Finally, the first transport time of the first operation path corresponding to the current overhead crane 10 is calculated, and the target overhead crane 10 with the shortest first transport time is determined from the current overhead crane 10; a first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane 10, and the first transport instruction includes the first operation path.

[0090] That is, after receiving the first instruction, the overhead crane 10 system determines the target overhead crane 10 according to the first scenario, and generates a first transport instruction to send to the target overhead crane 10 .

[0091] When the target crane 10 issues a second instruction to transport at least one wafer box to the second machine 502 during the execution of the first transport instruction, the second instruction is issued to the target crane 10 when any of the following conditions are met, otherwise, the target crane 10 only executes the first transport instruction;

[0092] (1) There is no wafer box or second machine 502 in the second instruction between the destination of the first instruction and the position of the first machine 501; (2) There is no wafer box or second machine 502 in the first instruction between the destination of the second instruction and the position of the second machine 502.

[0093] Furthermore, before the second instruction is assigned to the target overhead crane 10, the target overhead crane 10 is used as the starting point. When the second instruction has multiple wafer boxes that need to be transported at the same time, the path calculation rule is then called to determine the Nth station destination and the terminal station destination in sequence based on the principle of shortest transportation distance. If there is only one wafer box that needs to be transported in the second instruction, the location of the wafer box is the terminal station destination.

[0094] For example, the transport instruction for the second scenario is to transport two boxes of wafers to the first machine 501 and the third box of wafers to the second machine 502. This scenario is divided into two cases: the first case is that the overhead crane 10 first receives a first instruction to transport two boxes of wafers to the first machine 501, and then receives a second instruction to transport the third box of wafers to the second machine 502.

[0095] like Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, for the first case: when the control system of the overhead crane 10 receives the first transport task of transporting two boxes of wafers to the first machine 501, the control system of the overhead crane 10 will respectively calculate the distances from the current overhead crane 10 to the locations of the first and second wafer boxes 402, and select the location of the first wafer box 401 closest to the overhead crane 10 as the first station destination, and then respectively calculate the distances from the first station destination to the second wafer box 402, select the location of the second wafer box 402 as the second station, and measure the distance from the second station to the first machine 501 of the cargo release equipment. The overhead crane 10 with the shortest time is selected through the measurement. And issue a first transport instruction to the overhead crane 10. When there is a second instruction to transport the third wafer to the second machine 502 in the operation path of the overhead crane 10 and one of the following two scenarios exists, the control system of the overhead crane 10 will issue the second instruction to transport the third wafer to the second machine 502 to the overhead crane 10: (1) there is no third wafer box 403 or second machine 502 in the instruction between the second wafer box 402 and the first machine 501; (2) there is no first wafer box 401 or second wafer box 402 or first machine 501 between the third wafer box 403 and the second machine 502.

[0096] In some embodiments, if a first instruction to transport at least one wafer box to the first machine 501 is received first, and then a second instruction to transport at least two wafer boxes to the second machine 502 is received, the following steps are included:

[0097] After receiving the first instruction, the path calculation rule is called to determine the target overhead crane 10 and the terminal destination, and the first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane 10. For details, see the processing of the first instruction above, which will not be repeated here;

[0098] When the target crane 10 receives a second instruction to transport at least two wafer boxes to the second machine 502 during the execution of the first transport instruction, the second instruction is issued to the target crane 10 if any of the following conditions is met; otherwise, the target crane 10 only executes the first transport instruction;

[0099] (1) There is no wafer box or second machine 502 in the second instruction between the destination of the first instruction and the position of the first machine 501; (2) There is no wafer box or first machine 501 in the first instruction between the destination of the second instruction and the position of the second machine 502.

[0100] It should be noted that, when the target overhead travelling crane 10 executes the first transport instruction and receives the second instruction to transport at least two wafer boxes to the second machine 502, the path calculation rule is called to determine the terminal destination of the second instruction, which will not be elaborated here.

[0101] In a specific example, there is one wafer box in the first instruction and two wafer boxes in the second instruction: when only the first wafer box 401 needs to be transported in the first instruction, the departure distance from the current overhead crane 10 to the location of the first wafer box 401 is calculated, the current overhead crane 10 is the overhead crane 10 that has not been assigned a transport instruction, and the final distance from the location of the first wafer box 401 to the first machine 501 is calculated; the transportation time of the current overhead crane 10 is measured, the target overhead crane 10 corresponding to the shortest transportation time is determined, and the first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane 10;

[0102] During the process of executing the first transport instruction, the target overhead crane 10 receives a second instruction to transport the second wafer box 402 and the third wafer box 403 to the second machine 502, and calls the path calculation rule to determine the terminal destination of the second instruction;

[0103] When any one of the following conditions is met, the second instruction is issued to the target overhead crane 10, otherwise, the target overhead crane 10 only executes the first transport instruction;

[0104] (1) There is no second wafer box 402 or third wafer box 403 or second machine 502 in the second instruction between the first wafer box 401 location and the first machine 501 position;

[0105] (2) There is no first wafer box 401 or first tool 501 between the destination of the final station in the second instruction and the position of the second tool 502 .

[0106] For example, in the second case of the second scenario, the overhead crane 10 first receives a first instruction to transport a first box of wafers to the first machine 501 , and then receives a second instruction to transport two boxes of wafers to the second machine 502 .

[0107] like Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, for the second case: when the control system of the overhead crane 10 receives the first transport task of transporting the first box of wafers to the first platform 501, the control system of the overhead crane 10 calculates the distance between the current overhead crane 10 and the location of the first box of wafers, and the distance between the first wafer box 401 and the first platform 501, selects the overhead crane 10 with the shortest time through measurement, and issues the first transport instruction to the overhead crane 10. When there is an instruction to transport two boxes of wafers to the second platform 502 in the operation path of the overhead crane 10, and one of the following two scenarios exists, the control system of the overhead crane 10 issues the second transport instruction to the overhead crane 10 for transporting the second and third wafer boxes to the second platform 502: (1) there is no second wafer box 402 or third wafer box 403 or second platform 502 in the instruction between the first wafer box 401 and the first platform 501; (2) there is no first wafer box 401 or first platform 501 between the third wafer box 403 and the second platform 502.

[0108] In some embodiments, Fig.10 and Fig.11 As shown, for the third scenario, three boxes of wafers are transported to three different machines.

[0109] When the control system of the overhead crane 10 issues an instruction to the overhead crane 10 to transport the first wafer box 401 to the first platform 501. After receiving the first instruction, if there is a second instruction on the transport path of the overhead crane 10, that is, an instruction to transport the second wafer box 402 to the second platform 502, the control system of the overhead crane 10 will directly issue the second instruction to the overhead crane 10.

[0110] If at this time there is a third instruction on the transport path of the overhead crane 10, i.e., an instruction to transport the third wafer box 403 to the third machine 503, and one of the following three scenarios exists, the control system of the overhead crane 10 will directly issue the third instruction to the overhead crane 10: (1) There are no other wafer boxes in the instruction between the first wafer box 401 and the first machine 501; (2) There are no other wafer boxes in the instruction between the second wafer box 402 and the second machine 502; (3) There are no other wafer boxes in the instruction between the third wafer box 403 and the third machine 503. At this time, the overhead crane 10 has the instruction to transport three boxes of wafers to three different machines, and it can be executed smoothly.

[0111] The main functions of the present invention are:

[0112] 1. The present invention adds at least one buffer platform on the main body of the overhead crane to store wafer boxes, and drives the side shift device to move the wafer box to the buffer platform. At the same time, the abdominal cavity of the overhead crane can also carry a box of wafers through the grabbing device during the movement of the overhead crane. Therefore, the overhead crane can transport at least two wafer boxes at the same time in a single trip, which greatly improves the carrying capacity of the overhead crane and solves the problem of insufficient carrying capacity of traditional overhead cranes. For some special manufacturing processes and steps that need to process two or three boxes of wafers at the same time, it has a great benefit improvement, increases the upper limit of the production capacity of factory chips, and has great economic value.

[0113] 2. The overhead crane of the present invention can carry more than two wafer boxes at the same time, which improves the carrying capacity of the overhead crane and solves the problem of insufficient carrying capacity of traditional overhead cranes. For some special manufacturing processes and steps that require processing two or three boxes of wafers at the same time, it has a great benefit improvement, increases the upper limit of the factory chip production capacity, and has great economic value.

[0114] In summary, after reading the present invention document, ordinary technicians in this field can make various other corresponding transformation schemes based on the technical scheme and technical concept of the present invention without creative mental work, which all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A crane device, characterized in that: It includes a crane body, a side shift device and a grabbing device. The crane body is provided with at least one cache platform. The side shift device is connected to the crane body. The grabbing device is connected to the side shift device. The side shift device drives the grabbing device to move above the cache platform.

2. The overhead travelling crane device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The side shift device comprises a transmission member and a driving member, wherein the driving member is mounted on the main body of the overhead travelling vehicle and connected to the grabbing device, and the driving member provides a force to drive the transmission member to drive the grabbing device to perform a linear reciprocating motion.

3. The overhead travelling crane device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The side shift device includes a first layer body, a second layer body, a first layer belt mechanism and a second layer belt mechanism, the first layer body is connected to the overhead crane body through the first layer belt mechanism, the first layer belt mechanism is connected to a first driving member, the second layer body is connected to the first layer body through the second layer belt mechanism, the second layer belt mechanism is connected to a second driving member, and the second layer body is fixedly connected to a grasping device.

4. A crane device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: A first slider and rail structure is provided between the first layer body and the overhead travelling crane body, and a second slider and rail structure is provided between the second layer body and the first layer body.

5. The overhead travelling crane device according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least one buffer platform is respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the overhead travelling vehicle body.

6. A method for controlling an overhead crane device, characterized in that: If an instruction to transport at least two wafers to the first machine is received, a path calculation rule is called to determine a target overhead traveling crane. The path calculation rule specifically includes the following steps: Calculate the departure distance from the current crane to each wafer box location respectively, where the current crane is the crane that has not been assigned a transport instruction; The wafer box location with the shortest departure distance is used as the first station destination, and then the Nth station destination and the final station destination are determined in sequence based on the principle of shortest transportation distance, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; Determine the final distance from the final destination to the first machine location; The transportation time of the current overhead crane is calculated, a target overhead crane corresponding to the shortest transportation time is determined, and a first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane.

7. A method for controlling an overhead travelling crane according to claim 6, characterized in that: If a first instruction for transporting at least two wafer boxes to a first machine is received first, a path calculation rule is called to determine a target overhead crane, and a first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane; During the process of executing the first transport instruction, the target overhead crane receives a second instruction to transport at least one wafer box to a second machine; When any of the following conditions is met, the second instruction is issued to the target crane, otherwise, the target crane only executes the first transport instruction; (1) There is no wafer box or second machine in the second instruction between the destination of the first instruction and the position of the first machine; (2) There is no wafer cassette or second tool in the first instruction between the destination station in the second instruction and the second tool position.

8. A method for controlling an overhead travelling crane according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: If a first instruction for transporting the first wafer box and the second wafer box to the first machine is received first, a path calculation rule is called to determine a target overhead crane, and a first transport instruction is generated and sent to the target overhead crane; During the process of executing the first transport instruction, the target overhead crane receives a second instruction to transport a third wafer box to the second machine; When any of the following conditions is met, the second instruction is issued to the target crane, otherwise, the target crane only executes the first transport instruction; (1) There is no third wafer box or second tool in the second instruction between the second wafer box and the first tool position; (2) There is no first wafer box, second wafer box or first tool between the third wafer box and the second tool.

9. A method for controlling an overhead travelling crane according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: If a first instruction to transport a first wafer box to a first machine is received first; Calculating the departure distance from the current crane to the first wafer box location, the current crane being a crane that has not been assigned a transfer instruction, and calculating the final distance from the first wafer box location to the first machine; Calculate the transportation time of the current overhead crane, determine the target overhead crane with the shortest transportation time, generate a first transport instruction and send it to the target overhead crane; During the process of executing the first transport instruction, the target overhead crane receives a second instruction to transport the second wafer box and the third wafer box to the second machine, and calls the path calculation rule to determine the terminal destination of the second instruction; When any of the following conditions is met, the second instruction is issued to the target crane, otherwise, the target crane only executes the first transport instruction; (1) There is no second wafer box, third wafer box or second machine in the second instruction between the first wafer box location and the first machine position; (2) There is no first wafer box or first tool between the destination of the final station in the second instruction and the second tool position.

10. A method for controlling an overhead travelling crane according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: If the target crane receives a second instruction to transport a second wafer box to a second machine while executing a first instruction to transport a first wafer box to a first machine; When there is no second wafer box or second machine between the first wafer box and the first machine position, sending a second instruction to the target overhead traveling crane; When the target crane executes the first instruction and the second instruction, and also receives the third instruction of transporting the third wafer box to the third machine, and one of the following three scenarios exists, the third instruction is directly issued to the target crane, otherwise the target crane only executes the first instruction and the second instruction; (1) There is no wafer box in the third instruction between the first wafer box and the first machine; (2) There is no wafer box in the third instruction between the second wafer box and the second machine; (3) There is no wafer cassette in the first instruction and the second instruction between the third wafer cassette and the third machine.

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