Wafer box carrying method, electronic equipment and readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a wafer box carrying method, electronic equipment and a readable storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring current state information of each wafer box; according to the current state information of each wafer box and a first preset wafer box calling rule, determining a first target calling wafer box; obtaining current state information of each machine table in an area where the first target calling wafer box is located; determining a target carrying machine table according to the current state information of each machine table and a preset machine table selection rule; and according to the current position information of the first target calling wafer box and the position information of the target carrying machine, controlling an automatic carrying system to carry the first target calling wafer box to the target carrying machine, and controlling the target carrying machine not to lock the first target calling wafer box. The wafer box can be automatically carried, manpower is effectively saved, the carrying efficiency is improved, and the possibility of human errors is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor processing and manufacturing, and in particular to a wafer box conveying method, electronic equipment and a readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor industry, the processing and manufacturing of integrated circuits cannot be separated from the use of a large number of wafers. The design and processing of all integrated circuits ultimately need to be integrated on wafers. Wafers are very thin, usually only a few tenths of a millimeter, and are very brittle. Any improper operation may directly lead to the damage and scrapping of the wafer. On the other hand, considering the complexity and high price of wafer preparation, the safety and reliability of wafer preparation and transportation have always been the focus of major semiconductor industries. During the preparation process, wafers need to participate in multiple different processes to obtain the final product. When transferring between different processes, wafer boxes are required for their transportation and storage to prevent dust and collision.

[0003] A manual load port is a device that can be used to transport a designated wafer box to this location for manual use. Since too many manual load ports will not only occupy a large amount of factory space, but also have high purchase costs and debugging and installation costs, not all areas in semiconductor factories are currently equipped with manual load ports. If the manual load port is placed far away from the required machine, it will be inconvenient to take the wafer box. In addition, when the wafer box needs to be returned to the storage location after use, it is also necessary to move the wafer box manually or by using an overhead crane. Among them, the method of manually transporting the wafer box (for the case without a manual load port) not only wastes manpower, but also has extremely low work efficiency, resulting in a high risk of taking the wrong wafer box. The method of transporting the wafer box by an overhead crane (for the case with a manual load port) requires manual selection of the wafer box to be transported, so there is also a problem of low work efficiency and a high risk of taking the wrong wafer box.

[0004] In response to the need to bring a designated wafer box to a machine for manual use or inspection of the wafer box or the wafers therein, existing technologies do not support automatic transportation of wafer boxes that do not require movement to a machine. If the wafer box is forcibly moved to the machine, the wafer box will be locked by the machine and cannot be used or moved away.

[0005] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background technology section of the invention is only intended to deepen the understanding of the general background technology of the invention, and should not be regarded as an admission or suggestion in any form that the information constitutes prior art already known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a wafer box transport method, an electronic device and a readable storage medium, which can realize automatic transport of wafer boxes, effectively save manpower, improve transport efficiency and reduce the possibility of human error.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a wafer box transport method, the method comprising: obtaining current status information of each wafer box; determining a first target wafer box according to the current status information of each wafer box and a first preset wafer box retrieval rule; obtaining current status information of each machine in the area where the first target wafer box is located; determining a target transport machine according to the current status information of each machine and a preset machine selection rule; controlling an automatic transport system to transport the first target wafer box to the target transport machine according to the current position information of the first target wafer box and the position information of the target transport machine, and controlling the target transport machine not to lock the first target wafer box.

[0008] Optionally, the first target wafer box is determined based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the first preset wafer box retrieval rule, including: determining all the first retrievable wafer boxes that are in an unusable state based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the first preset retrievable wafer box state definition rule; and using the first retrievable wafer box that meets the first preset condition as the first target wafer box.

[0009] Optionally, the first preset removable wafer box status definition rule includes the following first removable wafer box status definition sub-rule: for any wafer box, if the wafer in the wafer box is marked as abnormal, then the wafer box is determined to be a first removable wafer box; for any wafer box, if the wafer box is marked as abnormal, then the wafer box is determined to be a first removable wafer box.

[0010] Optionally, the first preset condition includes at least one of the wafers in the box being marked as abnormal, the number of wafers in the box being the largest, and being the first to change from a usable state to an unusable state.

[0011] Optionally, the target transport machine is determined based on the current status information of each of the machines and preset machine selection rules, including: determining all transportable machines that are in a non-running state based on the current status information of each of the machines and preset transportable machine state definition rules; and using the transportable machine that meets the second preset condition as the target transport machine.

[0012] Optionally, the preset transportable machine status definition rule includes the following transportable machine status definition sub-rules: for any machine located in the area where the first target wafer box is located, if the machine is in the process testing stage, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine; for any machine located in the area where the first target wafer box is located, if the machine is in the equipment testing stage, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine; for any machine located in the area where the first target wafer box is located, if the machine is in the idle stage, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine.

[0013] Optionally, the wafer box transport method provided by the present invention also includes: for each of the transportable machines, according to the position information of the transportable machine and the current position information of the wafer box retrieved by the first target, calculating the first transport path corresponding to the transportable machine; the second preset condition includes at least one of being in an idle stage, the first transport path being the shortest, and being the first to change from a running state to a non-running state.

[0014] Optionally, after determining the first target wafer box, the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention also includes: setting a first mark for the first target wafer box; after controlling the automatic handling system to transport the first target wafer box to the target handling machine, the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention also includes: clearing the first mark corresponding to the first target wafer box.

[0015] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention also provides a wafer box transport method, the method comprising: obtaining current status information of each wafer box; determining a second target wafer box according to the current status information of each wafer box and a second preset wafer box retrieval rule; judging whether the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state according to a preset transportable machine state definition rule; if the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state, determining a target storage device according to a preset storage device selection rule; and controlling an automatic transport system to transport the second target wafer box to the target storage device according to the current position information of the second target wafer box and the position information of the target storage device.

[0016] Optionally, the target storage device is determined according to a preset storage device selection rule, including: if the user specifies a storage device, the storage device specified by the user is used as the target storage device; if the user does not specify a storage device, for each of the storage devices, based on the location information of the storage device and the current location information of the second target wafer box, the second transport path corresponding to the storage device is calculated, and the storage device with the shortest second transport path is used as the target storage device.

[0017] Optionally, the second target wafer box is determined based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the second preset wafer box retrieval rule, including: determining all second retrievable wafer boxes in a usable state based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the second preset retrievable wafer box state definition rule; and using the second retrievable wafer box that meets the third preset condition as the second target wafer box.

[0018] Optionally, the second preset removable wafer box status definition rule includes the following second removable wafer box status definition sub-rule: for any wafer box, if the wafer in the wafer box is marked as normal, then the wafer box is determined to be a second removable wafer box; for any wafer box, if the wafer box is marked as normal, then the wafer box is determined to be a second removable wafer box.

[0019] Optionally, the third preset condition includes at least one of the following: the wafers in the box are normal, the number of wafers in the box is the largest, and the box is the first to be transformed from an unusable state to a usable state.

[0020] Optionally, after determining the second target wafer box, the wafer box transporting method provided by the present invention also includes: setting a second mark for the second target wafer box; after controlling the automatic transport system to transport the second target wafer box to the target storage device, the method also includes: clearing the second mark corresponding to the second target wafer box.

[0021] To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention further provides an electronic device, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the wafer box transport method described above is implemented.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the wafer box transport method, electronic device and readable storage medium provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0023] A wafer box transport method provided by an embodiment of the present invention first determines a first target wafer box to be retrieved according to a first preset wafer box retrieval rule, then determines a target transport machine in an area near the first target wafer box to be retrieved according to a preset machine selection rule, and then controls an automatic transport system to transport the first target wafer box to the target transport machine, and controls the target transport machine not to lock the first target wafer box, thereby automatically transporting the wafer box to the machine. This not only saves manpower, improves transport efficiency and reduces the possibility of human errors, but also ensures that the machine will not restrict the use of the wafer box after the wafer box arrives, so that the user can use the wafer box or check the wafer box or the wafers therein at will.

[0024] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a wafer box transporting method, which first determines the second target wafer box to be retrieved according to a second preset wafer box retrieval rule, and then determines whether the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state. If it is determined that the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state, then the target storage device is determined according to the preset storage device selection rule, and finally the automatic transport system is controlled to transport the second target wafer box to the target storage device. In this way, the wafer box can be automatically transported from the machine to the storage device, thereby saving manpower, improving transportation efficiency, and reducing the possibility of human errors.

[0025] Since the electronic device and the readable storage medium provided by the present invention belong to the same inventive concept as the wafer box transporting method provided by the present invention, the electronic device and the readable storage medium provided by the present invention at least have all the beneficial effects of the wafer box transporting method provided by the present invention. For details, please refer to the relevant description above, so the beneficial effects of the electronic device and the readable storage medium provided by the present invention will not be described one by one here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 A flow chart of a wafer box transport method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 A flow chart of a wafer box transport method provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the block structure of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The wafer box handling method, electronic device and readable storage medium proposed in the present invention are further described in detail below in combination with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. According to the following description, the advantages and features of the present invention will be clearer. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, which are only used to conveniently and clearly assist in explaining the purpose of the present invention. In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, please refer to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the structure, proportion, size, etc. illustrated in the drawings of this specification are only used to match the content disclosed in the specification for people familiar with this technology to understand and read, and are not used to limit the implementation of the present invention. The conditions, any modification of the structure, change of the proportional relationship or adjustment of the size, under the condition of being the same or similar to the effect that can be produced by the present invention and the purpose that can be achieved, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed by the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that the process, method, article or equipment including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or equipment. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the statement "comprise one..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or equipment including the elements. The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural objects, the term "or" is generally used in a sense including "and / or", the term "several" is generally used in a sense including "at least one", and the term "at least two" is generally used in a sense including "two or more". In addition, the terms "first", "second" and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or suggesting relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features.

[0031] The core idea of ​​the present invention is to provide a wafer box transport method, electronic equipment and readable storage medium, which can realize automatic transport of wafer boxes, effectively save manpower, improve transport efficiency and reduce the possibility of human errors.

[0032] It should be noted that the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention can be applied to the electronic device provided by the present invention, wherein the electronic device can be a personal computer, a mobile terminal, etc., and the mobile terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, and other hardware devices with various operating systems.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1 , which is a flow chart of a wafer box transport method provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The wafer box transport method provided by this embodiment is used to transport wafers to a machine platform, such as Figure 1 As shown, the wafer box transport method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0034] Step S110: Acquire current status information of each wafer box.

[0035] Step S120: determining a first target wafer box to be retrieved according to the current status information of each wafer box and a first preset wafer box retrieval rule.

[0036] Step S130: obtaining the current status information of each machine in the area where the first target wafer box is located.

[0037] Step S140: determining a target transport machine according to the current status information of each of the machines and a preset machine selection rule.

[0038] Step S150: According to the current position information of the first target wafer box and the position information of the target transport machine, control the automatic transport system to transport the first target wafer box to the target transport machine, and control the target transport machine not to lock the first target wafer box.

[0039] It can be seen that the wafer box transporting method provided in this embodiment can automatically transport the wafer box to the machine, which can not only save manpower, improve transport efficiency and reduce the possibility of human errors, but also ensure that the machine will not restrict the use of the wafer box after the wafer box arrives, so that the user can use the wafer box at will or check the wafer box or the wafers therein.

[0040] It should be noted that, as those skilled in the art can understand, the present invention does not limit the specific type of the automatic handling system, and the automatic handling system can be, but not limited to, an overhead crane system. The specific structure and working principle of the overhead crane system can be adaptively understood by referring to the relevant contents known to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in detail here. It should also be noted that, as those skilled in the art can understand, the present invention does not limit the specific type of the machine, and the machine can be, but not limited to, a measuring machine, a process machine, etc. having a loading port for carrying a wafer box. It should also be noted that, as those skilled in the art can understand, by repeatedly executing the above steps S110 to S150, each wafer box in an unusable state can be transported to the corresponding target handling machine in a non-running state for the user to check. In addition, it should be noted that, as those skilled in the art can understand, the designated first target wafer box cannot be reserved for other uses by others to prevent conflicts of use.

[0041] In some exemplary embodiments, the first target wafer box is determined based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the first preset wafer box retrieval rule, including: determining all the first retrievable wafer boxes that are in an unusable state based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the first preset retrievable wafer box state definition rule; and using the first retrievable wafer box that meets the first preset condition as the first target wafer box.

[0042] Therefore, by first determining all the first accessible wafer boxes that are in an unusable state based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the first preset accessible wafer box status definition rule, and then taking the first accessible wafer boxes that meet the first preset conditions as the first target accessible wafer boxes, sequential transportation of wafer boxes in an unusable state can be achieved, effectively avoiding misoperation.

[0043] Specifically, the first preset retrievable wafer box state definition rule can be set by the user based on production requirements. For example, in some exemplary embodiments, the first preset retrievable wafer box state definition rule includes the following first retrievable wafer box state definition sub-rule: for any wafer box, if the wafer in the wafer box is marked as abnormal, then the wafer box is determined to be a first retrievable wafer box (that is, the state of the wafer box is unusable / retrievable); for any wafer box, if the wafer box is marked as abnormal, then the wafer box is determined to be a first retrievable wafer box (that is, the state of the wafer box is unusable / retrievable).

[0044] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the first preset accessible wafer box status definition rule may include, in addition to the two first accessible wafer box status definition sub-rules listed above, other first accessible wafer box status definition sub-rules that can screen out wafer boxes in unusable status / accessible status.

[0045] In some exemplary embodiments, the first preset condition includes at least one of the wafers in the box being marked as abnormal, the number of wafers in the box being the largest, and the first to be changed from a usable state to an unusable state.

[0046] Therefore, when there are multiple first retrievable wafer boxes that meet different first retrievable wafer box status definition sub-rules, the wafer box with wafers marked as abnormal in the box is preferentially selected as the first target wafer box for retrieval, which can facilitate timely transport of the wafer box loaded with wafers marked as abnormal to the machine table, so that the user can check the wafers in the wafer box in time. When there are multiple first retrievable wafer boxes that meet the same first retrievable wafer box status definition sub-rule, the first retrievable wafer box with the largest number of wafers loaded is preferentially selected as the first target wafer box for retrieval, which can facilitate timely transport of the first retrievable wafer box loaded with the largest number of wafers to the machine table, so that the user can promptly check whether the wafer box and the wafers in the wafer box are abnormal. When the number of loaded wafers is the same (the number of wafers can be zero, that is, an empty wafer box), the first retrievable wafer box that first changes from a usable state to an unusable state is preferentially selected as the first target retrievable wafer box. This can facilitate the timely transport of the wafer box that first changes to an unusable state to the machine, so that the user can promptly check whether there are any abnormalities with the wafer box and the wafers in the wafer box.

[0047] In some exemplary embodiments, the target transport machine is determined based on the current status information of each of the machines and preset machine selection rules, including: determining all transportable machines that are in a non-running state based on the current status information of each of the machines and preset transportable machine state definition rules; and using the transportable machine that meets the second preset condition as the target transport machine.

[0048] Therefore, by first determining all the transportable machines that are in a non-carrying state based on the current state information of each of the machines and the preset transportable machine state definition rules, and then taking the transportable machines that meet the second preset condition as the target transport machine, the non-carrying state period of each transportable machine can be fully utilized.

[0049] Specifically, the preset transportable machine state definition rule can be set by the user based on production requirements. For example, in some exemplary embodiments, the preset transportable machine state definition rule includes the following transportable machine state definition sub-rules: for any machine located in the area where the first target wafer box is retrieved, if the machine is in the process testing stage, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine (that is, the state of the machine is a non-running state / portable state); for any machine located in the area where the first target wafer box is retrieved, if the machine is in the equipment testing stage, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine (that is, the state of the machine is a non-running state / portable state); for any machine located in the area where the first target wafer box is retrieved, if the machine is in the idle stage, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine (that is, the state of the machine is a non-running state / portable state).

[0050] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the preset transportable machine state definition rule may include, in addition to the three transportable machine state definition sub-rules listed above, other transportable machine state definition sub-rules that can screen out machines in a non-carrying state / carrying state. It should also be noted that the "idle stage" referred to herein may be an idle stage under the control of the manufacturing department, an idle stage under the control of the production department, or an idle stage before the cargo is transported.

[0051] In some exemplary implementations, the wafer box transport method provided in this embodiment further includes: for each of the transportable machines, calculating a first transport path corresponding to the transportable machine according to the position information of the transportable machine and the current position information of the wafer box retrieved by the first target.

[0052] The second preset condition includes at least one of being in an idle stage, the first transport path being the shortest, and being the first to be transformed from a running state to a non-running state.

[0053] Therefore, when there are multiple transportable machines that meet different transportable machine state definition sub-rules, the transportable machine in the idle stage is preferentially selected as the target transportable machine, so that the idle period (non-running state period) of the transportable machine can be fully utilized; when there are multiple transportable machines that meet the same transportable machine state definition sub-rule, the transportable machine with the shortest first transport path is preferentially selected as the target transportable machine, which can effectively shorten the transport path and thus effectively improve the wafer box transport efficiency. When the first transport paths are the same, by selecting the transportable machine that first changes from the running state to the non-running state as the target transporter, the non-running state period of the transportable machine can be fully utilized, so that users can retrieve more wafer boxes that are in an unusable state for inspection.

[0054] Specifically, for any transportable machine, the first transport path corresponding to the transportable machine refers to the transport path for an automatic transport system (such as an overhead crane system) to transport the first target wafer box from a current position to the transportable machine.

[0055] In some exemplary implementations, after determining the first target wafer box to be retrieved, the wafer box transporting method provided in this embodiment further includes: setting a first mark for the first target wafer box to be retrieved.

[0056] After controlling the automatic transport system to transport the first target retrieval wafer box to the target transport machine, the wafer box transport method provided in this embodiment further includes: clearing the first mark corresponding to the first target retrieval wafer box.

[0057] Thus, by setting a first mark for the first target retrieval wafer box, the wafer box to be transported can be automatically marked, so that the corresponding wafer box can be accurately transported to the corresponding machine based on the first mark, thereby effectively preventing misoperation. By clearing the first mark corresponding to the first target retrieval wafer box after transporting the first target retrieval wafer box to the target transport machine, repeated transport of the first target retrieval wafer box can be prevented, further preventing misoperation.

[0058] In some exemplary implementations, the wafer box transport method provided in this embodiment further includes: recording relevant information of the first target wafer box and the target transport machine.

[0059] Therefore, by recording the relevant information of the first target wafer box and the target transport machine, the historical record of the transport process of the wafer box can be realized, so that the user can query the trace.

[0060] Please continue to refer to Figure 2 , which is a flow chart of a wafer box transport method provided by another embodiment of the present invention. The wafer box transport method provided in this embodiment is used to transport the wafer box on the machine table to the storage device. Figure 2 As shown, the wafer box transport method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0061] Step S210: Acquire current status information of each wafer box.

[0062] Step S220: determining a second target wafer box to be retrieved according to the current status information of each wafer box and a second preset wafer box retrieval rule.

[0063] Step S230: determining whether the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state according to a preset transportable machine state definition rule.

[0064] If the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state, step S240 and step S250 are executed.

[0065] Step S240: Determine the target storage device according to the preset storage device selection rule.

[0066] Step S250: According to the current position information of the second target wafer box and the position information of the target storage device, the automatic transport system is controlled to transport the second target wafer box to the target storage device.

[0067] It can be seen that the wafer box transporting method provided in this embodiment can automatically transport the wafer box from the machine to the storage device, thereby saving manpower, improving transport efficiency, and reducing the possibility of human errors.

[0068] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, by repeatedly executing the above steps S210 to S250, each wafer box that is in a usable state and does not need to be transported to the corresponding target storage device for storage. It should also be noted that the specific content of the preset transportable machine state definition rules can be adaptively understood by referring to the relevant content above, and will not be repeated here. In addition, it should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the designated second target wafer box cannot be reserved by others for other uses to prevent conflicts of use.

[0069] In some exemplary embodiments, the target storage device is determined according to a preset storage device selection rule, including: if the user specifies a storage device, the storage device specified by the user is used as the target storage device; if the user does not specify a storage device, for each of the storage devices, the second transport path corresponding to the storage device is calculated according to the location information of the storage device and the current location information of the second target wafer box, and the storage device with the shortest second transport path is used as the target storage device.

[0070] Therefore, by using the storage device specified by the user as the target storage device when the user specifies the storage device, the second target wafer box can be transported to the location specified by the user; by selecting the storage device with the shortest transport path (second transport path) as the target storage device when the user does not specify the storage device, the transport path can be effectively shortened, thereby effectively improving the wafer box transport efficiency.

[0071] Specifically, for any storage device, the second transport path corresponding to the storage device refers to the transport path for an automatic transport system (such as an overhead crane system) to transport the second target wafer box from a current position to the storage device.

[0072] In some exemplary embodiments, the second target wafer box is determined based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the second preset wafer box retrieval rule, including: determining all second retrievable wafer boxes in a usable state based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the second preset retrievable wafer box state definition rule; and using the second retrievable wafer box that meets the third preset condition as the second target wafer box.

[0073] Therefore, by first determining all the second accessible wafer boxes in a usable state based on the current status information of each of the wafer boxes and the second preset retrievable wafer box status definition rule, and then using the second retrievable wafer box that meets the third preset condition as the second target retrievable wafer box, sequential transportation of wafer boxes that are in a usable state and do not require machine movement can be achieved, effectively avoiding misoperation.

[0074] Specifically, the second preset retrievable wafer box state definition rule can be set by the user based on production requirements. For example, in some exemplary embodiments, the second preset retrievable wafer box state definition rule includes the following second retrievable wafer box state definition sub-rule: for any wafer box, if the wafer in the wafer box is marked as normal, then the wafer box is determined to be a second retrievable wafer box (that is, the state of the wafer box is usable state / retrievable state); for any wafer box, if the wafer box is marked as normal, then the wafer box is determined to be a second retrievable wafer box (that is, the state of the wafer box is usable state / retrievable state).

[0075] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the second preset accessible wafer box status definition rule may include, in addition to the two second accessible wafer box status definition sub-rules listed above, other second accessible wafer box status definition sub-rules that can screen out wafer boxes in a usable state.

[0076] In some exemplary embodiments, the third preset condition includes at least one of the following: the wafers in the box are normal, the number of wafers in the box is the largest, and the box is the first to be transformed from an unusable state to a usable state.

[0077] Thus, when there are multiple second retrievable wafer boxes that meet different second retrievable wafer box state definition sub-rules, the wafer box in which the wafers are marked as normal is preferentially selected as the second target wafer box to be retrieved, so that the wafer box loaded with the wafers marked as normal can be moved from the machine in the non-running state to the target storage device in a timely manner. When there are multiple second retrievable wafer boxes that meet the same second retrievable wafer box state definition sub-rule, the second retrievable wafer box with the largest number of loaded wafers is preferentially selected as the second target wafer box to be retrieved, so that the second retrievable wafer box loaded with the largest number of wafers can be moved from the machine in the non-running state to the target storage device in a timely manner. When the number of loaded wafers is the same (the number of wafers can be zero, that is, an empty wafer box), the second retrievable wafer box that first changes from an unusable state to a usable state is preferentially selected as the second target wafer box to be retrieved, so that the wafer box that first changes to a usable state can be moved from the machine in the non-running state to the target storage device for storage in a timely manner.

[0078] In some exemplary implementations, after determining the second target wafer box, the wafer box transporting method provided in this embodiment further includes: setting a second mark for the second target wafer box.

[0079] After controlling the automatic transport system to transport the second target retrieval wafer box to the target storage device, the wafer box transport method provided in this embodiment further includes: clearing the second mark corresponding to the second target retrieval wafer box.

[0080] Thus, by setting a second mark for the second target retrieval wafer box, the wafer box to be transported can be automatically marked, so that the corresponding wafer box can be accurately transported to the corresponding target storage device based on the second mark, thereby effectively preventing misoperation. By clearing the second mark corresponding to the second target retrieval wafer box after transporting the second target retrieval wafer box to the target storage device, repeated transport of the second target retrieval wafer box can be prevented, further preventing misoperation.

[0081] In some exemplary implementations, the wafer box transporting method provided in this embodiment further includes: recording relevant information of the second target wafer box and the target storage device.

[0082] Therefore, by recording the relevant information of the second target wafer box and the target storage device, the historical record of the wafer box transportation process can be achieved, so that users can query the traces.

[0083] Based on the same inventive concept, the present invention also provides an electronic device, please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of a block structure of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, the electronic device includes a processor 101 and a memory 103, and a computer program is stored in the memory 103. When the computer program is executed by the processor 101, the wafer box handling method described above is implemented. Since the electronic device provided by the present invention and the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention belong to the same inventive concept, the electronic device provided by the present invention at least has all the beneficial effects of the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention. Therefore, the beneficial effects of the electronic device provided by the present invention can refer to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention in the above text, and will not be repeated here one by one.

[0084] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 ,like Figure 3 As shown, the electronic device also includes a communication interface 102 and a communication bus 104, wherein the processor 101, the communication interface 102, and the memory 103 complete mutual communication through the communication bus 104. The communication bus 104 can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The communication bus 104 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus. The communication interface 102 is used for communication between the above-mentioned electronic device and other devices.

[0085] It should be noted that the processor 101 referred to in the present invention may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The processor 101 is the control center of the electronic device, and various interfaces and lines are used to connect various parts of the entire electronic device.

[0086] It should also be noted that the memory 103 can be used to store the computer program, and the processor 101 implements various functions of the electronic device by running or executing the computer program stored in the memory 103 and calling the data stored in the memory 103. The memory 103 may include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), programmable memory (PROM), electrically programmable memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable memory (EEPROM) or flash memory. Volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, random access memory is available in a variety of forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link (Synchlink) dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), memory bus (Rambus) direct random access memory (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic random access memory (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic random access memory (RDRAM), etc.

[0087] The present invention also provides a readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored in the readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the wafer box handling method described above can be implemented. Since the readable storage medium provided by the present invention and the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention belong to the same inventive concept, the readable storage medium provided by the present invention at least has all the beneficial effects of the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention, so the beneficial effects of the readable storage medium provided by the present invention can refer to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the wafer box handling method provided by the present invention in the above text, and will not be repeated here one by one.

[0088] The readable storage medium provided by the present invention can adopt any combination of one or more computer-readable media. The readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, a system, device or component of electricity, magnetism, light, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (non-exhaustive enumeration) of computer-readable storage media include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In this article, a computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, which can be used by an instruction execution system, a device or a device or used in combination with it.

[0089] Further, a computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in a baseband or as part of a carrier wave, wherein a computer-readable program code is carried. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. A computer-readable signal medium may also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The program code contained on the computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wire, optical cable, etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

[0090] In summary, compared with the prior art, the wafer box transport method, electronic device and readable storage medium provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0091] (1) The present invention first determines a first target wafer box to be retrieved according to a first preset wafer box retrieval rule, then determines a target transport machine in an area near the first target wafer box to be retrieved according to a preset machine selection rule, and then controls an automatic transport system to transport the first target wafer box to the target transport machine, and controls the target transport machine not to lock the first target wafer box, thereby automatically transporting the wafer box to the machine. This not only saves manpower, improves transport efficiency, and reduces the possibility of human error, but also ensures that the machine will not restrict the use of the wafer box after the wafer box arrives, so that the user can use the wafer box or check the wafer box or the wafers therein at will.

[0092] (2) The present invention first determines the second target wafer box to be retrieved according to the second preset wafer box retrieval rule, and then determines whether the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state. If it is determined that the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state, the target storage device is determined according to the preset storage device selection rule, and finally the automatic transport system is controlled to transport the second target wafer box to the target storage device. In this way, the wafer box can be automatically transported from the machine to the storage device, thereby saving manpower, improving transportation efficiency, and reducing the possibility of human errors.

[0093] (3) The present invention can also realize the historical record of the wafer box transportation process, so that users can check the traces.

[0094] It should be noted that the computer program code for performing the operation of the present invention can be written in one or more programming languages ​​or a combination thereof, including object-oriented programming languages-such as Java, Smalltalk, C++, and also conventional procedural programming languages-such as "C" language or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as an independent software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the case of a remote computer, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer through any type of network-including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or can be connected to an external computer (for example, using an Internet service provider to connect through the Internet).

[0095] It should be noted that the devices and methods disclosed in the embodiments of this article can also be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings show the possible architecture, functions and operations of the devices, methods and computer program products according to the multiple embodiments of this article. In this regard, each box in the flowchart or block diagram can represent a module, a part of a program or a code, and the module, a part of a program segment or a code contains one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the box can also occur in a different order from the order marked in the accompanying drawings. For example, two consecutive boxes can actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they can sometimes be executed in the opposite order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each box in the block diagram and / or the flowchart, and the combination of boxes in the block diagram and / or the flowchart, can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system for performing a specified function or action, or can be implemented by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0096] It should also be noted that the above description is only a description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not any limitation on the scope of the present invention. Any changes and modifications made by a person skilled in the art in the field of the present invention based on the above disclosure are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Obviously, a person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the present invention and its equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A wafer box transport method, characterized in that: include: Get the current status information of each wafer box; Determine a first target wafer box to be retrieved according to the current status information of each wafer box and a first preset wafer box retrieval rule; Obtaining current status information of each machine in the area where the first target wafer box is located; Determine the target transport machine according to the current status information of each of the machines and the preset machine selection rules; According to the current position information of the first target wafer box and the position information of the target transport machine, the automatic transport system is controlled to transport the first target wafer box to the target transport machine, and the target transport machine is controlled not to lock the first target wafer box.

2. The wafer box transport method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of determining a first target wafer box to be retrieved according to the current status information of each wafer box and a first preset wafer box retrieval rule comprises: According to the current status information of each wafer box and the first preset retrievable wafer box status definition rule, all the first retrievable wafer boxes that are in an unusable state are determined; The first retrievable wafer box that meets the first preset condition is used as the first target retrievable wafer box.

3. The wafer box transport method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first preset retrievable wafer box status definition rule includes the following first retrievable wafer box status definition sub-rules: For any wafer box, if the wafers in the wafer box are marked as abnormal, the wafer box is determined to be a first accessible wafer box; For any wafer box, if the wafer box is marked as abnormal, the wafer box is determined to be a first accessible wafer box; The first preset condition includes at least one of the following: the wafers in the box are marked as abnormal, the number of wafers in the box is the largest, and the box is the first to change from a usable state to an unusable state.

4. The wafer box transport method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of determining the target transport machine according to the current status information of each of the machines and the preset machine selection rules includes: According to the current status information of each of the machines and the preset transportable machine status definition rules, all transportable machines in a non-running state are determined; The transportable machine that meets the second preset condition is used as the target transport machine.

5. The wafer box transport method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The preset transportable machine status definition rule includes the following transportable machine status definition sub-rules: For any machine located in the area where the first target wafer cassette is located, if the machine is in a process testing stage, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine; For any machine located in the area where the first target wafer cassette is located, if the machine is in the equipment testing phase, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine; For any machine located in the area where the first target wafer box is retrieved, if the machine is in an idle stage, the machine is determined to be a transportable machine; The method further comprises: For each of the transportable machines, a first transport path corresponding to the transportable machine is calculated according to the position information of the transportable machine and the current position information of the first target wafer box; The second preset condition includes at least one of being in an idle stage, the first transport path being the shortest, and being the first to be transformed from a running state to a non-running state.

6. The wafer box transport method according to claim 1, characterized in that: After determining the first target wafer box to be retrieved, the method further includes: Setting a first mark for the first target retrieval wafer box; After controlling the automatic transport system to transport the first target retrieval wafer box to the target transport machine, the method further includes: The first mark corresponding to the first target wafer box is cleared.

7. A wafer box transport method, characterized in that: include: Get the current status information of each wafer box; Determine a second target wafer box to be retrieved according to the current status information of each wafer box and a second preset wafer box retrieval rule; According to the preset transportable machine state definition rule, determining whether the machine where the second target wafer box is retrieved is currently in a transportable state; If the machine where the second target wafer box is located is currently in a transportable state, determining the target storage device according to a preset storage device selection rule; According to the current position information of the second target wafer box and the position information of the target storage device, the automatic transport system is controlled to transport the second target wafer box to the target storage device.

8. The wafer box transporting method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The step of determining the target storage device according to the preset storage device selection rule includes: If the user specifies a storage device, the storage device specified by the user is used as the target storage device; If the user does not specify a storage device, for each storage device, the second transport path corresponding to the storage device is calculated based on the location information of the storage device and the current location information of the second target wafer box, and the storage device with the shortest second transport path is used as the target storage device.

9. The wafer box transporting method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The step of determining a second target wafer box to be retrieved according to the current status information of each wafer box and a second preset wafer box retrieval rule includes: According to the current status information of each wafer box and the second preset retrievable wafer box status definition rule, all the second retrievable wafer boxes in a usable state are determined; The second retrievable wafer box that meets the third preset condition is used as the second target retrievable wafer box.

10. The wafer box transporting method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The second preset retrievable wafer box status definition rule includes the following second retrievable wafer box status definition sub-rules: For any wafer box, if the wafers in the wafer box are marked as normal, the wafer box is determined to be a second accessible wafer box; For any wafer box, if the wafer box is marked as normal, the wafer box is determined to be a second accessible wafer box; The third preset condition includes at least one of the following: the wafers in the box are normal, the number of wafers in the box is the largest, and the box is the first to be transformed from an unusable state to a usable state.

11. The wafer box transporting method according to claim 7, characterized in that: After determining the second target wafer box to be retrieved, the method further includes: Setting a second mark for the second target retrieval wafer box; After controlling the automatic transport system to transport the second target retrieval wafer box to the target storage device, the method further includes: The second mark corresponding to the second target wafer box is cleared.

12. An electronic device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the wafer box transporting method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is implemented.

13. A readable storage medium, characterized in that: The readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the wafer box transport method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is implemented.

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