Graphical user interface device and substrate processing system

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a user with an easy understanding of the movement of a substrate in a substrate processing system that processes a plurality of substrates in parallel while conveying the substrates, thereby facilitating the discovery of a disorder in the flow of the substrates. The present invention provides a graphical user interface apparatus and a substrate processing system, the graphical user interface apparatus including: an information acquisition unit that acquires, for each substrate, information relating to a time at which the substrate is received and a time at which the substrate is sent out in each of a plurality of accommodating units; an image processing unit that outputs a display image based on the information; and a display unit that displays the display image. The display image includes a graph on a coordinate plane having a first axis and a second axis intersecting the first axis and indicating elapsed time during processing, the first axis being arranged in the order in which the substrate is conveyed, and the second axis being arranged in the order in which the substrate is conveyed and the second axis being arranged in the order in which the substrate is conveyed. Each of the plurality of substrates is divided into a graph of a stay period from the time when each of the accommodating parts receives the substrate to the time when the substrate is sent out.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing system comprising a plurality of accommodating parts for temporarily receiving substrates and processing the substrates, and in particular to a user interface function of the substrate processing system. Background Art

[0002] In a substrate processing system for processing various substrates such as semiconductor substrates or glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices (hereinafter referred to as "substrates"), a plurality of processing units are sometimes configured to perform prescribed processing on the substrates, and the substrates to be processed are transported between these processing units and processed in sequence. Thus, multiple substrates can be processed efficiently. However, the time required for processing in each processing unit may not be the same. Therefore, in order to improve the processing efficiency when processing multiple substrates in sequence, it is necessary to appropriately set the time interval (takt time) for inputting substrates into the substrate processing system.

[0003] In view of the above, for example, in a substrate processing system including a processing unit group and a substrate transport mechanism described in Patent Document 1, the time when a substrate is carried in and out of each processing unit is measured, and the processing time in each processing unit is calculated based on the result, and the calculated result is notified to the operator. Therefore, the operator can grasp the processing time in each processing unit and adjust the tact time accordingly.

[0004] [Prior art literature]

[0005] [Patent Document]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 4566632 Summary of the invention

[0007] [Problems to be solved by the invention]

[0008] In a structure where multiple substrates are sequentially transferred between multiple processing units while each processing unit performs processing on the substrates in parallel as described above, a small change in the timing of transferring the substrates may sometimes affect the operation of the entire system. For example, the deviation of the processing time in each processing unit or the deviation of the movement speed of the movable part in the conveying system may become an inevitable variable factor. In particular, when the cycle time is optimized to improve the processing efficiency, there is little room to absorb such changes, so the impact of small changes will affect the entire system, causing the processing efficiency to decrease.

[0009] Therefore, it is expected that a means of notifying a user (operator) of the flow state of a substrate, such as whether a series of processes in a substrate processing system are performed in a manner that conforms to a set tact time, whether some disturbance has occurred, and where the disturbance has occurred, etc., can be put into practical use. However, such a technology has not been specifically proposed so far.

[0010] Therefore, conventionally, it has required a lot of effort and time to analyze numerical information obtained from each processing unit or, if necessary, to have a technician actually measure the processing time in the processing unit on site to determine the cause of the disturbance.

[0011] The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a technology that can easily show the movement of substrates to the user in an understandable manner and make it easy to find disturbances in the flow of substrates in a substrate processing system that processes multiple substrates in parallel while transporting them.

[0012] [Technical means to solve the problem]

[0013] One form of the present invention is a graphical user interface (GUI) device for a substrate processing system, wherein the substrate processing system processes a plurality of substrates while transporting the substrates between a plurality of receiving sections that respectively receive the substrates, the GUI (graphical user interface) device comprising: an information acquisition section that acquires information related to the time when the substrates are received in the receiving section and the time when they are sent out for each of the plurality of receiving sections and each of the plurality of substrates; an image processing section that outputs a display image based on the information; and a display section that displays the display image.

[0014] Here, the display image includes a graph, which is a graph of the residence time from the time the substrate is received by each of the containers until it is sent out, with respect to each of the plurality of substrates being differentiated from each other on a coordinate plane having a first axis having marks for identifying each of the containers according to the conveying order of the substrates, and a second axis intersecting the first axis and representing the elapsed time in the processing.

[0015] Here, the so-called "accommodation section" is a concept that refers to a structure that may receive a substrate and temporarily store it among various structures constituting the substrate processing system. For example, in addition to components that have an active effect on the substrate, such as a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the received substrate and a conveying mechanism that conveys the substrate, a component that simply receives the substrate for temporary storage may also be included in the accommodation section described here.

[0016] In the invention thus constituted, the flow of a plurality of substrates introduced into the substrate processing system is represented in the form of a graph. Specifically, one axis in the coordinate plane of the graph is set as a time axis, and the other axis intersecting with the time axis is set as an axis in which the symbols representing each of the plurality of receiving sections are arranged in the order in which the substrates are conveyed. Furthermore, the period from when the plurality of substrates are received by each receiving section to when they are conveyed out is displayed as a curve graph in the graph.

[0017] Here, if the processing (including conveying) of each substrate is carried out along the preset tact time, a regular pattern indicating that each substrate is transferred between the receiving parts at a certain time interval should be shown on the graph. On the other hand, if the flow of the substrate is disturbed at a certain position on the conveying path, it will be manifested as a destruction of the regularity of the pattern.

[0018] Human vision is suitable for perceiving such regular disturbances. Therefore, by displaying the flow of multiple substrates in the substrate processing system in the form of a graph as described above, the user can understand whether the processing is being performed properly or where the disturbance occurs if there is any.

[0019] In addition, another aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing system including a plurality of storage sections for temporarily receiving substrates and a GUI device of the above structure. In the invention thus constituted, even in a large-scale and complex system for transporting a plurality of substrates in parallel, the flow of each substrate is displayed in a comprehensive manner on the display section, so that the flow of the substrates can be easily understood.

[0020] [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] As described above, according to the present invention, the movement of a plurality of substrates transferred within a substrate processing system can be collectively represented in one graph, so that when a disturbance occurs in the flow of substrates within the system, the disturbance can be easily detected. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a layout diagram showing a configuration example of a substrate processing system to which the present invention can be applied.

[0023] Figure 2 : is a block diagram showing a substrate processing system according to this embodiment.

[0024] Figure 3 (a) Figure 3 (b) is a diagram showing an example of a displayed image.

[0025] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an example of a sub-graph.

[0026] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing another example of a sub-graph.

[0027] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing another example of a sub-graph.

[0028] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing another example of a sub-graph.

[0029] Figure 8 This is a flowchart showing the operation of the GUI device according to this embodiment.

[0030] Fig. 9 It is a diagram showing an example of a display image in this embodiment.

[0031] Fig.10 It is a diagram showing an example of a display image in this embodiment.

[0032] Fig.11 It is a diagram showing an example of a display image in this embodiment.

[0033] [Explanation of Symbols]

[0034] 1: Substrate processing system

[0035] 2: Processing Unit

[0036] 2A: Cleaning unit (processing unit)

[0037] 2B: Dehydration and baking unit (processing unit)

[0038] 2C: Coating unit (processing unit)

[0039] 2D: Drying unit (processing unit)

[0040] 2E: Pre-baking unit (processing unit)

[0041] 2F: Interface unit (processing unit)

[0042] 2G: Exposure unit (processing unit)

[0043] 2H: Subtitler unit (processing unit)

[0044] 2I: Development unit (processing unit)

[0045] 2J: Post-baking unit (processing unit)

[0046] 2K: Output buffer unit (processing unit)

[0047] 3: Centralized control device (control unit)

[0048] 4: GUI device

[0049] 21: Processing unit (accommodating unit)

[0050] 23: Buffer

[0051] 25: Conveying section (accommodating section)

[0052] 27: Controller

[0053] 31: CPU

[0054] 32, 42: Memory

[0055] 33, 43: Storage

[0056] 34: Interface

[0057] 41: Image processing unit

[0058] 44: Interface unit (information acquisition unit)

[0059] 45: Input

[0060] 46: Display unit

[0061] A, B: Arrow

[0062] Cm: Main chart

[0063] Cs1~Cs4:Sub-chart

[0064] P1, P2, P3: Workstations

[0065] S1, S2, S3: substrate

[0066] S101~S109: Steps

[0067] t11~t16、t21~t26:time

[0068] T4: Table

[0069] W: Window DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the substrate processing system of the present invention will be described. The substrate processing system is a processing system that receives various flat substrates such as semiconductor substrates, glass substrates, printed wiring substrates, etc., and sends them out after performing predetermined prescribed processing on the substrates. Here, as an example, a processing system is listed for illustrating a series of processing such as coating a resist liquid on a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device or an organic electroluminescent (EL) display device, exposing it, and performing development, cleaning, and drying. However, the present embodiment is characterized in that a GUI (Graphical User Interface) device that displays the overall status of the system to a user (operator) is provided, and the processing content of the substrate and the device structure for executing the processing content are not limited to the exemplified structure, but are arbitrary.

[0071] Figure 1 1 is a layout diagram showing a configuration example of a substrate processing system to which the present invention can be applied. The substrate processing system 1 has a layout in which a plurality of processing units 2 (2A to 2K) are arranged along a substantially U-shaped substrate transport path. Figure 1 A cleaning unit 2A, a dehydration and baking unit 2B, a coating unit 2C, a drying unit 2D, a pre-baking unit 2E and an interface unit 2F are arranged in sequence from the lower left portion toward the right.

[0072] The untreated substrate is first Figure 1 The lower left part is put into the cleaning unit 2A, and is transferred between the processing units 2 in the order of the dehydration and baking unit 2B, the coating unit 2C, the drying unit 2D, the pre-baking unit 2E and the interface unit 2F, and receives the specified processing in each processing unit 2.

[0073] Then, the exposure unit 2G is arranged adjacent to the interface unit 2F. Figure 1 In FIG. 2 , the exposure unit 2G is depicted above the interface unit 2F, but in reality, they are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction. Therefore, when the interface unit 2F is transferred to the exposure unit 2G, the conveying direction of the substrate changes by 90 degrees.

[0074] exist Figure 1 On the upper side of the exposure unit 2G, the captioning unit 2H is arranged on the left side of the exposure unit 2G. In addition, on the left side of the captioning unit 2H, the developing unit 2I, the post-baking unit 2J and the output buffer unit 2K are arranged in sequence. Therefore, in the handover from the exposure unit 2G to the captioning unit 2H, the conveying direction of the substrate is further changed by 90 degrees, and thereafter, the substrate is handed over from the captioning unit 2H in the order of the developing unit 2I, the post-baking unit 2J and the output buffer unit 2K.

[0075] Therefore, the substrate is conveyed along a roughly U-shaped path. Figure 1 The substrate is conveyed counterclockwise in the path and receives a predetermined process in each processing unit provided on the path. The processed substrate is conveyed to the outside from the output buffer unit 2K.

[0076] Each processing unit 2 (2A to 2K) constituting the substrate processing system 1 can use the same structure as the processing unit in the known substrate processing system that applies a resist solution to a glass substrate and exposes and develops it as described above. Therefore, here, the outline of the function of each processing unit 2A to 2K is described, but the description of each detailed structure is omitted.

[0077] The cleaning unit 2A performs wet cleaning on the substrate to clean it. The dehydration and baking unit 2B dries the cleaned substrate by heating it at a relatively low temperature. The coating unit 2C evenly coats the surface of the substrate with a resist liquid. The drying unit 2D forms a resist film by placing the coated substrate under reduced pressure to volatilize the solvent component of the resist liquid, and the pre-baking unit 2E cures the resist film by heating the substrate. The interface unit 2F temporarily stores the substrate with the resist film formed.

[0078] The exposure unit 2G irradiates light to the substrate formed with the resist film, and exposes the resist film to a specified pattern. The caption unit 2H writes the serial number used to identify each substrate or information related to the processing conditions to the substrate. The developing unit 2I develops the exposed substrate with a developer, and then rinses it with a rinse liquid. The post-baking unit 2J removes the residual liquid component by heating the substrate after the rinse treatment, and solidifies the pattern formed by the development. The output buffer unit 2K temporarily stores all processed substrates and sends them to the outside as needed.

[0079] Figure 2 1 is a block diagram showing a substrate processing system according to the present embodiment. The substrate processing system 1 includes: at least one group of processing units 2 (2A to 2K) as the main body of substrate processing, a centralized control device 3 that uniformly controls each processing unit 2 to perform a series of processing, and a GUI device 4 that displays the operating status of each processing unit 2 and informs the operator.

[0080] As described above, the structure of each processing unit 2 is different depending on the purpose of the processing unit. Typical components include a processing unit 21 as a main body that performs some processing on a substrate, a buffer unit 23 that temporarily stores the substrate, a transport unit 25 such as a transport robot or a conveyor that transports the substrate between them, and a controller 27 that controls their operations. However, depending on the processing unit, there may be a state in which a part of these structures is included in a plurality of them, or conversely, a state in which a part of these structures is omitted.

[0081] The processing unit 21 is a main body that performs some modification on the substrate. For example, in the cleaning unit 2A, it is a cleaning device that performs cleaning treatment on the substrate. In addition, in the coating unit 2C, it is a coating device that coats the processing liquid on the substrate. In addition, in the dehydration baking unit 2B, the drying unit 2D, the pre-baking unit 2E, and the post-baking unit 2J, it is a drying device that dries the substrate by heating or reducing pressure. The processing unit 21 sometimes has a chamber for accommodating the substrate.

[0082] Sometimes, a plurality of processing units 21 having the same structure and the same function are provided in one processing unit 2. For example, a plurality of processing units 21 having the same structure are sometimes provided in the processing unit 2 in a state of being stacked in multiple layers to form an aggregate. In this specification, an aggregate of the same processing units 21 in such a processing unit 2 is sometimes referred to as a "module". In a broad sense, a single processing unit 21 can also be regarded as a module. One processing unit 2 can include a plurality of such modules. There can be either a case where the structures of the processing units 21 between the modules are the same or different.

[0083] Regarding the buffer section 23, sometimes a plurality of components of the same structure form a module, and sometimes a plurality of modules are provided in a single processing unit 2. For example, sometimes an input buffer for storing substrates before processing and an output buffer for storing substrates after processing are provided separately. In addition, there may be a situation where the buffer section 23 is not provided in the processing unit 2.

[0084] The conveying unit 25 for conveying substrates between them may be provided in one or more units in the processing unit 2, or may not be provided. In addition, the controller 27 for controlling the operation of the processing unit 2 is usually provided in one group, but when the structure of the processing unit 2 is complicated, it may be provided in multiple units, or it may be omitted in order to enable direct control by the centralized control device 3.

[0085] The controller 27 transmits the states of the processing units 21 , the buffer unit 23 , the conveying unit 25 and the substrates held therein, which are grasped from the outputs of various sensors provided in the processing unit 2 , to the centralized control device 3 as state information.

[0086] At least one set of such processing units 2 is provided. One processing unit 2 receives a substrate before processing from the outside, performs a predetermined process on the substrate, and then sends the substrate out. By combining a plurality of processing units 2 with different processing contents, various processes can be performed on the substrate. In addition, by making a plurality of processing units 21 with the same processing contents operate in parallel within the processing unit 2, productivity can be improved.

[0087] The centralized control device 3 controls these processing units 2 in a unified manner. That is, the centralized control device 3 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 31, a memory 32, a storage 33, an interface unit 34, etc. The CPU 31 executes a control program pre-stored in a storage 33 such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) (semiconductor disk device), gives control instructions to each processing unit 2, and manages their operations. The memory 32 temporarily stores data used in the calculation of the CPU 31.

[0088] The interface unit 34 is responsible for data communication with each processing unit 2 and the GUI device 4. The status information of each processing unit 21 or the substrate, which changes moment by moment with the operation of each processing unit 2, is sent from each processing unit 2 to the centralized control device 3 via the interface unit 34. An input unit for receiving operation instructions from an operator may also be provided.

[0089] As described above, the GUI device 4 displays a GUI screen reflecting the status information output from each processing unit 2 to inform the operator of the progress of the processing. For this purpose, the GUI device 4 includes an image processing unit 41, a memory 42, a storage 43, an interface unit 44, an input unit 45, and a display unit 46.

[0090] The image processing unit 41 performs various image processing for producing display images described later. The memory 42 temporarily stores data used in calculations in the image processing unit 41. The storage 43 stores various image data such as control programs to be executed by the image processing unit 41 or layout data for producing display images. The interface unit 44 is responsible for data communication with the centralized control device 3.

[0091] Furthermore, the image processing unit 41 includes an input unit 45 for receiving operation input from an operator, and a display unit 46 for displaying images for notifying the operator of various information. The input unit 45 includes, for example, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, and the display unit 46 includes, for example, an output device such as a liquid crystal display panel. The input unit 45 and the display unit 46 may also be configured as an integrated touch screen.

[0092] At least one GUI device 4 is provided in the substrate processing system 1, but two or more GUI devices may be provided. For example, in a substrate processing system 1 having a large number of processing units 2 and a large occupied space, it is preferred that the system status can be confirmed at multiple locations. In addition, multiple connection points may be provided in advance in the substrate processing system 1 so that the location of the GUI device 4 can be changed.

[0093] Computers having a general hardware configuration such as a personal computer or a workstation can be used as the centralized control device 3 and the GUI device 4. In particular, a tablet-type computer can be preferably used as the GUI device 4.

[0094] Next, the concept of "station" used in the following description is explained. In the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above, a plurality of substrates are sequentially input and processed at a predetermined tact time, so a plurality of substrates may exist in the system. In order to manage where each substrate is located in the system, the concept of "station" is introduced. In addition, each station is given a station name for identifying the station.

[0095] "Station" is a concept used to uniformly process the processing unit 21, the buffer unit 23, the conveying unit 25, etc., and refers to the smallest unit partition occupied by a substrate in the system. That is, the position of a substrate put into the system at a certain moment can be determined by any station. In addition, in principle, each station can hold substrates one by one, but there are also situations where more than two substrates exist in one station at the same time. For example, for the processing unit 21 that is configured to correspond to a large substrate, a plurality of small substrates are put in by changing production. In addition, regardless of whether the substrate is actively processed, in a series of processing of the substrate, within a certain period of time, the main body that receives the substrate and holds the substrate can become a "station". In this sense, "station" is a concept corresponding to the smallest unit of the "accommodation unit" in the present invention.

[0096] For example, each processing unit 21 that processes one substrate is equivalent to one "station". Therefore, in a module having multiple processing units 21 with the same structure, there are stations equal to the number of processing units 21. In other words, multiple stations provided by multiple processing units 21 with the same structure can be combined into one module. Since they have the same functions, a common station name is used for each station in one module. In other words, it is sufficient to consider it as a "modular station".

[0097] In addition, although the buffer section 23 itself does not play a specific role in the substrate, it can be occupied by the substrate during a part of the series of processing, so it becomes a management object. That is, the buffer section 23 that accommodates one substrate is equivalent to one work station. In addition, when multiple buffer sections 23 constitute a module, each of these buffer sections 23 is processed as a "work station".

[0098] Regarding the transport robot in the transport unit 25, a transport robot that processes only one substrate at a time is equivalent to one station. However, in a multi-hand transport robot (Mechanical Handling Unit (MHU)), each hand can process substrates one by one, so each hand is equivalent to one station. Therefore, the multi-hand transport robot is regarded as a module including a plurality of stations.

[0099] In addition, a conveyor belt in the conveying section 25 that processes only one substrate at a time also corresponds to one station. However, a conveyor belt having a long conveying path and multiple sections that can carry substrates has stations corresponding to the number of substrates that can be carried.

[0100] In the definition of this embodiment, any one of a station, a module, and a processing unit can be a "housing section" in a broad sense in the present invention. Hereinafter, when the station, module, and processing unit are collectively expressed without distinguishing between them in the meaning of such a broad housing section, they are sometimes referred to as "stations, etc." As described above, a processing unit may include more than one module or station, and another module may include more than one station. Therefore, as a general concept, among these, the processing unit has the largest scale, and the scale becomes smaller in the order of modules and stations.

[0101] In the later-described diagramming based on the action information of each part, it can be said that in order to generally express the state of the entire system, it is preferable to illustrate the diagram in units of relatively large-scale structures (such as each processing unit), and on the other hand, in order to express a part of the system in more detail, it is preferable to illustrate the diagram in units of smaller-scale structures (such as each station). Therefore, with respect to the units of structures (stations, etc.) shown in the diagram, it is preferable to appropriately scale the scale according to the purpose.

[0102] That is, regarding the scale of the structure represented by the "station, etc." in the diagram, it can be used separately in processing unit units, module units, station units, etc. (or they can be appropriately combined) as needed, but as the basic concept of the diagram display, they can be handled equally. Therefore, in the following description, as a typical example, even if the coordinate axis of the diagram is allocated in units of "stations", it is equivalent to change it to allocation in units of "modules" or "processing units" according to the width of the display range as a technical concept.

[0103] In the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above, a plurality of substrates are introduced at predetermined time intervals (takt time), and the substrates are processed sequentially while being transferred between the processing units 2. The shorter the takt time, the higher the operating efficiency of the substrate processing system 1 can be, but once the flow of substrates stagnates, the impact will affect the entire system.

[0104] In order to detect such disorder as early as possible and to easily identify the cause thereof, in the present embodiment, the movement of the plurality of substrates in the system is visualized as a two-dimensional graph and displayed on the display unit 46 of the GUI device 4. Specifically, the centralized control device 3 obtains information indicating the operation state of the processing unit 2 output from each processing unit 2 and sends it to the GUI device 4. The information obtained by the centralized control device 3 from each processing unit 2 includes information indicating the time when the substrate is received at each station and the time when the substrate is sent out from the station.

[0105] In the GUI device 4, the image processing unit 41 performs image processing based on the given information to create a desired display image. The created display image is displayed on the display unit 46 and notified to the user (operator).

[0106] Figure 3 (a) Figure 3 (b) is a diagram showing an example of a displayed image. More specifically, Figure 3 (a) is a diagram showing the entire main graph Cm as an example of an image displayed on the display unit 46. Figure 3 (b) is a diagram for explaining the contents of the main graph Cm, and is equivalent to a diagram that partially enlarges and schematically shows a portion of the main graph Cm. Figure 3 Although it may not be clearly expressed in (a), in an actual image, data corresponding to each of the plurality of substrates is illustrated in a different color, so that each substrate on the screen can be identified.

[0107] In the main chart Cm, the horizontal axis is the time axis, specifically, it represents the time elapsed since the operation of the substrate processing system 1 started. In addition, on the vertical axis, the character strings corresponding to the station names defined in the substrate processing system 1 as described above are arranged in the order of substrate transportation. In addition, the meaning of each station name is not directly related to the present invention, so the description is omitted. In the following, as the imaginary station names for explanation, P1, P2, ..., etc. are sometimes used.

[0108] In the actual substrate processing system 1, a plurality of workstations are provided, and it may be inappropriate to display all the workstations in a single screen. Therefore, several workstations may be displayed as one on the vertical axis. For example, a module including a plurality of workstations may be recorded on the vertical axis as a module. In addition, it may be recorded as a processing unit.

[0109] Thus, even if several stations are displayed collectively in the main chart Cm, each station can be expanded and displayed in the sub-chart described later. Therefore, it is not necessary to display all stations that can be defined in the substrate processing system 1 in the main chart Cm, and stations that are considered to be omitable for management or to improve the visibility of the screen may not be displayed.

[0110] like Figure 3 As schematically shown in (b), in the main chart Cm, a bar chart is displayed for the period during which a plurality of substrates S1, S2, ... stay at each of the stations P1, P2, .... Specifically, for example, the period during which the substrate S1 stays at the station P1 from time t11 to time t12 is represented by a bar parallel to the time axis (horizontal axis). Based on the information (timestamp information) collected by the centralized control device 3 from each processing unit 2, the time t11 can be determined as the time when the substrate S1 is received at the station P1, and the time t12 can be determined as the time when the substrate S1 is sent out from the station P1.

[0111] Thereafter, the main graph Cm shows that the substrate S1 is received by the station P2 at time t13 and is sent out from the station P2 at time t14 , and is received by the station P3 at time t15 and is sent out from the station P3 at time t16 .

[0112] Similarly, it is shown that another substrate S2 stays at the station P1 from time t21 to time t22, stays at the station P2 from time t23 to time t24, and stays at the station P3 from time t25 to time t26. Furthermore, for another substrate S3, the main graph Cm also shows the time when it is received by each station and the time when it is sent out, and the stay period at the station determined by these.

[0113] Thus, in the main chart Cm, based on the information indicating the time when each substrate S1, S2, ... is received and sent out by each station P1, P2, ..., the period during which each substrate stays at each station is indicated in a form that allows each substrate to be identified. Figure 3 As shown by the dotted arrow in (b), if one focuses on one substrate and tracks the change of the bar, it is possible to know at which time the substrate passes through each station. On the other hand, if one focuses on one station assigned to the vertical axis, it is possible to know at which time each of the multiple substrates passes through the station.

[0114] In addition, if Figure 3 As shown in the form of window W in (a), more detailed status information or time stamp information can also be additionally displayed for a part of the substrate. Specifically, when the user uses the input unit 45, such as a mouse, to specify any line in the screen, information related to the substrate corresponding to the line is displayed through a tool tip, which can realize this function.

[0115] By displaying such a graph, the user (operator) can be informed in general terms of how each of the plurality of substrates put into the substrate processing system 1 including the plurality of stations moves within the system. Here, if all substrates pass through the stations at a predetermined timing, the position change pattern of the bars representing the movement of each substrate between stations is roughly the same on any substrate, that is, if they move parallel to the time axis direction, they should roughly overlap with each other.

[0116] On the other hand, if there is turbulence in the flow of the substrate, the position change of the bar has deviations. This turbulence is manifested as a disruption of the regularity of the position change pattern displayed in the graph on the chart, and is therefore easy to notice. Therefore, the user can know whether the flow of the substrate is proper or turbulent based on the regularity of the displayed chart. In more detail, through the expression of irregularity, it is also possible to distinguish whether turbulence has occurred on a specific substrate or at a specific station.

[0117] Next, a display mode for supporting the identification of the cause of the disorder is described. By displaying the main graph Cm, the user can know that the disorder has occurred and the approximate location of the disorder. On the other hand, in order to identify the more detailed location of the disorder and its cause, it is ideal to display more detailed information about the surroundings of the location where the disorder has occurred. For this purpose, in this embodiment, in addition to the main graph Cm, several sub-graphs can be displayed according to user operations.

[0118] That is, when the main graph Cm is displayed on the display unit 46, if the user specifies the range in which detailed information is desired to be displayed and the display mode at that time via the input unit 45, a sub-graph in which more detailed information is added to a part of the range shown in the main graph Cm is displayed according to the specified content. The input form specified by the user is arbitrary. In addition, the sub-graph may be displayed instead of the main graph Cm, or the main graph Cm may be retained in the background and displayed in an overlapping manner.

[0119] Figure 4: is a diagram showing an example of a sub-chart. In the sub-chart Cs1, the display is performed with a focus on the conveying unit 25 of a specific processing unit 2. As one of the main causes of the flow disturbance of the substrates in the substrate processing system 1, there is a problem of contention (competition) of the conveying unit 25. That is, when there is a slight shift in the timing of action in any of the processing units including the conveying unit 25 or the processing units before and after it, competition for multiple substrates occurs in the conveying unit 25, and thus the shift sometimes expands. For example, when the hand of the conveying robot should receive a new substrate, the hand is already holding other substrates, and the movement of the substrate will be greatly stagnant. In addition, the conveying unit 25 must include a movable part of the machinery, so there is also a side that is prone to malfunction. Therefore, in order to determine the cause of the disturbance as early as possible, it is reasonable to first verify the movement of the conveying unit 25.

[0120] exist Figure 4 The flow of substrates in a portion of the stations designated by the user among the stations shown in the main chart Cm is displayed in the upper part of the sub-chart Cs1 with the time axis enlarged. At this time, a plurality of stations that are collectively displayed but not clearly shown in the main chart Cm may be displayed individually.

[0121] In addition, the movement of a transport robot not shown in the main graph Cm is shown in detail at the bottom of the sub-graph Cs1, with the time axis aligned with the upper graph. Here, the movement of the hand of the transport robot is decomposed into "MOVE (rotation)", "FORWARD (forward)", "BACKWORD (backward)", "UP (rise)", and "DOWN (fall)". Thus, the movement of the transport robot in the process of sequentially processing multiple substrates is shown together with the state changes of other stations.

[0122] The user can compare the location where the disturbance occurs with the movement of the transport robot to determine whether the disturbance is caused by the movement of the transport robot. Specifically, for example, it is possible to distinguish between a situation where the disturbance is caused by the movement disorder of the movable part of the transport robot itself and a situation where an unnecessary waiting time is generated in the transport robot due to an abnormality in the front and rear processing units 21, etc.

[0123] Figure 5It is a diagram showing another example of a sub-chart. In the sub-chart Cs2, unlike the main chart Cm, each processing unit 2 (2A~2K) is assigned to the horizontal axis according to the conveying order of the substrate, and the vertical axis is the time axis. Moreover, the time when each of the multiple substrates passes through each processing unit 2A~2K (or the elapsed time from the reference time) is displayed in the form of a line graph. Here, regarding "passing", it can be considered to refer to the state when the substrate arrives at the processing unit and the state when it is sent out from the processing unit, but as long as it is unified among all processing units, it can be either one. In addition, in the following description, it is set to the former.

[0124] In this display form, the time interval between substrates that move the processing units 2A to 2K in the system in sequence is shown. It can be seen that the substrates originally move at a certain interval, but if the interval between the front and rear substrates becomes shorter or longer, confusion will occur. In this way, by displaying the viewpoint changed compared to the main chart Cm, the ease of finding the occurrence of confusion can be improved. In addition, here, the horizontal axis is set to the processing unit unit, but it can also be set to the module unit or the station unit as needed.

[0125] Figure 6 This is another example of a sub-chart. In the sub-chart Cs3, the horizontal axis is each station (or module, processing unit), and the vertical axis is the length of the substrate's stay period at the station, etc., and a bar chart in a direction parallel to the vertical axis is used to show how long a plurality of substrates stay at each station, etc., for comparison. A plurality of substrates should be processed equally at each station, etc., so it is assumed that the length of the stay period will not be significantly different for each substrate.

[0126] Thus, it can be judged that if a significant deviation is found in the residence time of each substrate in a specific station (or module, processing unit), there is a high possibility that some disturbance occurs in the station, etc. For example, if the residence time of several substrates successively input into the system is compared, the disturbance occurring in a specific substrate can be detected. In addition, for example, in order to provide more useful information to the user, the result of statistical processing of the length of the residence time of each substrate can also be displayed.

[0127] Figure 7 This is another example of a sub-chart. In the sub-chart Cs4, each station (or module, processing unit) is assigned to the horizontal axis, and the interval time of the substrate passing through each station is shown on the time axis as the vertical axis. The interval time represents the difference in time when two consecutive substrates arrive at the same station, etc., which is equivalent to Figure 5 The distance in the vertical axis direction between two adjacent broken lines in the sub-graph Cs2 of FIG. It means the time from when a certain station receives a substrate to when the next substrate is received.

[0128] When multiple substrates flow appropriately at a predetermined tact time, it can be assumed that the interval time of each station is also approximately constant. Therefore, whether there is a deviation in the interval time can also be information indicating the flow disturbance of the substrate. For example, if the deviation in the interval time at a specific station is large, it can be inferred that the disturbance occurred at the stage before the substrate was moved to the station. In addition, when there is a deviation only between specific substrates at multiple stations, it can be inferred that there is a problem on the substrate side.

[0129] Regarding the deviation of such interval time, it is sometimes effective to perform statistical processing. Therefore, in the screen display in this case, below the sub-chart Cs4, the values ​​obtained by performing statistical processing on the values ​​of the interval time of each station, etc. calculated for a plurality of substrates, i.e., the maximum value, the minimum value, their difference, the median value, the average value, etc., are displayed in the form of table T4.

[0130] Figure 8 : is a flowchart showing the operation of the GUI device of this embodiment. More specifically, Figure 8 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing system 1 including image display by the GUI device 4. The operation is realized by the CPU 31 provided in the centralized control device 3 executing a control program prepared in advance to cause each unit in the system to perform a predetermined operation.

[0131] In the substrate processing system 1, each processing unit 2 (2A to 2K) performs a predetermined processing operation to sequentially process a plurality of substrates brought in from the outside at a certain tact time (step S101). During this period, the CPU 31 obtains various information generated by the operation of each processing unit 2A to 2K from the controller 27 of each processing unit, collects and stores them in the storage 33 (step S102).

[0132] The operation information may include information related to control signals including control commands outputted from the CPU 31 to the processing units 2A to 2K, response signals returned from the processing units 2 in response thereto, control signals given from the controller 27 of each processing unit 2 to the processing unit 21, etc., signals outputted from sensors, etc. provided in various parts of the processing unit 2, and information related to the time when these signals are generated or acquired, etc. The signal sent from each processing unit 2 to the centralized control device 3 may also include the result of processing by the controller 27 in the processing unit 2 of signals outputted from the processing unit 21, the conveying unit 25, etc.

[0133] When the GUI device 4 receives an instruction input for graph display from the user via the input unit 45 (step S103), it creates a main graph Cm as the initial display image. Specifically, the GUI device 4 acquires the operation information accumulated in the centralized control device 3 via the interface unit 44 and stores it in the storage 43 (step S104). Then, the image processing unit 41 creates image data of a display image including the main graph Cm based on the acquired information (step S105). The creation of a graph based on numerical data can be performed using various known software, so the description is omitted.

[0134] The created display image is displayed on the display unit 46 (step S106). When the user receives an input indicating the end of the display (step S107), the process ends. In addition, when the user receives an input indicating a display change (step S108), the display image in which a tool tip display is added to the main chart Cm or image data corresponding to the display image of the sub-charts Cs1 to Cs4 corresponding to the content of the instruction is created accordingly (step S109). Then, the process returns to step S106, and the newly created display image is displayed on the display unit 46.

[0135] Thus, in this embodiment, in a substrate processing system 1 having a plurality of processing units and thus provided with a plurality of stations for temporarily receiving substrates, the timing at which each of the plurality of substrates sequentially transferred in the system is received and sent out by each station is displayed in the form of a two-dimensional graph (main graph Cm). Thus, by comprehensively displaying the movement of each substrate in the system, the user can determine whether these substrates flow regularly or whether the regularity is disturbed.

[0136] On the other hand, by simply observing the entire system in a general manner as described above, it is sometimes impossible to know the more detailed location of the disorder and its cause. In order to address this problem, in this embodiment, with respect to a portion of the area specified by the user in the coordinate plane shown in the main chart Cm, the area can be expanded, and multiple sub-charts with a different relationship between the horizontal axis and the vertical axis from the main chart Cm can be switched and displayed according to user operations.

[0137] Thus, it is possible to present a more detailed status of the location where the flow of the substrate occurs to the user in various display forms in various aspects. The user can use an image that generally represents the flow of the substrate in the entire system and information that more specifically represents the status of a part of the substrate to confirm the status of the system. In this way, the present embodiment can effectively support the user's work of identifying the location where the flow disturbance of the substrate may occur in the substrate processing system 1 and its cause.

[0138] In order to improve the above effect, it is ideal to obtain as much operation information as possible from each processing unit 2. However, due to the constraints of device size or cost, it may be impossible to configure sufficient sensors and the like required for information acquisition in the processing unit 2. Even in this case, at least the control signal sent from the centralized control device 3 to the processing unit 2, the response signal from the processing unit 2 to the control signal, and the time when they are sent are information that can be reliably obtained in the centralized control device 3.

[0139] In this embodiment, the display image is mainly produced using information related to such time, and the detection value of the sensor is not used. In other words, even without using such detection value, by presenting the user with information related to the time in an appropriate display form, it is possible to detect the disturbance of the flow of the substrate in the system and determine the cause to a certain extent. Of course, it is considered that if other information is used in combination, the cause of the disturbance can be determined with better accuracy.

[0140] Next, a specific flow until a disturbance in the flow of a substrate is detected and its cause is identified in the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to an actual screen display example. As a premise, the main graph Cm is displayed in advance and it is found that the flow of the substrate is disturbed.

[0141] Figures 9 to 11 It is a diagram showing an example of a display image in this embodiment. Fig. 9 The horizontal axis is configured with each processing unit 2A to 2K, and the vertical axis is used as the time axis, and the passing time of each processing unit of each substrate is represented by a line graph, which is equivalent to Figure 5 Sub-chart Cs2 shown.

[0142] like Fig. 9 As shown by arrow A in the middle, a difference temporarily occurs in the curves between the substrates in the exposure unit 2G, but the difference is quickly eliminated, so it can be said that it does not have a great influence on the movement of the entire system. On the other hand, as shown by arrow B, an opening occurs in the curve between the substrate Sa conveyed first and the substrate Sb conveyed immediately thereafter, mainly after the captioner unit 2H. Therefore, it can be considered that a delay occurs in the captioner unit 2H or any of the processing units immediately before it (for example, the exposure unit 2G, the interface unit 2F).

[0143] In addition, here, the reason why the object of investigation includes not only the exposure unit 2G but also the interface unit 2F immediately preceding it is as follows. In the actual substrate processing system 1, the substrate sent out from the exposure unit 2G is not directly carried into the captioning unit 2H. That is, the exposed substrate is temporarily returned to the interface unit 2F and transferred from the interface unit 2F to the captioning unit 2H. Therefore, the delay in the captioning unit 2H may be caused by the interface unit 2F.

[0144] Therefore, next, an image showing the movement of the substrate between the interface unit 2F and the captioner unit 2H in more detail is displayed on the display unit 46. Fig.10 This is an example of a display image at this time, which is equivalent to changing the main chart Cm ( Figure 3 The part of the part (a)) containing the part of interest is enlarged. However, in order to verify the operation of each part in detail, the vertical axis is compared with the horizontal axis. Figure 3 The work station names shown in (a) are divided into more detailed work station names.

[0145] Among these station names, the meanings of the names related to the following verification are explained. Here, the station related to the titler unit 2H and its periphery, especially the transportation of the substrate, which should be paid attention to at present, is adopted, and "Titler_Interface" represents the titler device as the processing unit 21 set on the titler unit 2H. In addition, "TT_CV_Interface" represents the turntable conveyor as the transportation unit 25 set in the interface unit 2F. In addition, "MHU_U_HAND_Interface" and "MHU_L_HAND_Interface" respectively represent the upper and lower hands of the multi-handed transportation robot as the transportation unit 25 set in the interface unit 2F. In addition, "EXP_a_Interface" and "EXP_b_Interface" respectively represent the two exposure machines as the processing unit 21 set in the exposure unit 2G, namely, exposure machine A and exposure machine B.

[0146] In the actual graph, each substrate is color-coded, but Fig.10 In the figure, only the group of bars representing the movement of the substrate Sb is surrounded by a dotted line to distinguish it from the others. The length of the bar represents the period of stay of the substrate at each station. Thus, after the substrate Sb is sent out from the exposure machine B, it is transported to the turntable conveyor using the lower hand of the multi-hand transport robot of the interface unit 2F, and then transported to the captioning device. Here, it can be seen that the substrate Sb is obviously held by the turntable conveyor for a longer time than other substrates. Therefore, it is presumed that a problem occurred in the handover from the turntable conveyor to the captioning device.

[0147] Fig.11 is Fig.10A graph showing the operation period of the turntable conveyor is attached to the graph of Figure 4 The sub-chart Cs1 shown in the figure. In addition, the dotted line in the figure is added for explanation and is not included in the actual chart. Therefore, it is shown that during the period when the substrate Sb is left on the turntable conveyor, the turntable conveyor stops after initially running a specified amount. This means that although the turntable conveyor has completed the conveyance, the substrate Sb is not sent to the captioning device and remains on the turntable conveyor. Therefore, it is estimated that the cause of the delay is not a problem in the operation of the turntable conveyor, but that the captioning device is in a state where it cannot receive the substrate.

[0148] In the above example, the operation status of each part is indicated only by information indicating the moment or time, and no signal indicating the detailed operation status of the captioning device itself is used. Nevertheless, it can be determined that the cause of the disorder is likely to be the captioning device. In this way, by combining various graphs of the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively support the user's work of determining the cause of the disorder based on the operation disorder of the entire system.

[0149] As described above, in the present embodiment, the stations, modules, and processing units included in the "stations, etc." correspond to the "accommodation section" of the present invention. In addition, in the substrate processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the centralized control device 3, especially the CPU 31, which collects operation information from each part in the system, functions as the "information acquisition section" of the present invention, but when the GUI device 4 is considered to be the "GUI device" of the present invention alone, the interface section 34 that obtains the operation information from the centralized control device 3 functions as the "information acquisition section" of the present invention.

[0150] In the above-described embodiment, the CPU 31 of the centralized control device 3 functions as the "control unit" of the present invention in cooperation with the controller 27 of each processing unit 2. However, when the built-in controller 27 issues control instructions to each unit in the processing unit 2 and substantially controls the operation of the units, the controller 27 corresponds to the "control unit" of the present invention. On the other hand, when, for example, the controller 27 is omitted and each unit in the processing unit 2 is directly controlled by a control instruction from the CPU 31, the CPU 31 corresponds to the "control unit" of the present invention.

[0151] In the above embodiment, the main graph Cm and the sub-graphs Cs1 to Cs4 constitute the “display image” of the present invention. In the main graph Cm, the vertical axis corresponds to the “first axis” of the present invention, and the horizontal axis corresponds to the “second axis” of the present invention.

[0152] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than the above-described embodiment are possible without departing from the main purpose. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a plurality of sub-charts are processed in parallel, but in order to support the analysis work from the whole system to the details, the main chart and the sub-chart may also have a hierarchical structure according to the analysis process.

[0153] In addition, for example, regarding the screen switching between the main chart and the sub-chart and the screen switching between the sub-charts, the previous chart may be erased from the screen to display a new chart, or the new chart may be displayed in a manner partially overlapping the previous chart. In addition, a plurality of sub-charts may be displayed on the same screen.

[0154] In addition, the display form of the graph in the above-mentioned embodiment (bar display, line display, etc.) is an example, and the display form of the present invention is not limited to this. As a method of graphing numerical data, various methods are designed, and in the implementation of the present invention, various display methods with visibility consistent with the purpose of identifying the location of the disorder and its cause can also be applied.

[0155] In addition, for example, the substrate processing system 1 of the embodiment includes a plurality of processing units 2, and a conveying unit 25 for transferring substrates between the processing units 2 is included in each processing unit 2. However, at least a portion of the substrate conveyance may be performed by a conveying mechanism independent of the processing unit 2. That is, the "processing unit" and the "conveying unit" of the present invention may constitute one processing unit, or may be units that are independent of each other in structure.

[0156] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the centralized control device 3 and the GUI device 4 that collectively control the operation of the entire system are configured as independent devices, but a configuration in which, for example, one computer device has both functions may be adopted. In addition, when a plurality of main panels MP are configured in one system, it is not necessarily necessary to provide independent GUI devices 4 for each, and a plurality of display units 46 that share the image processing unit 41 and the like may be configured in various locations.

[0157] The substrate processing system 1 of the embodiment is shown as an example of a substrate processing system equipped with the GUI device of the present invention, and the system configuration is not limited to the above but is arbitrary. In addition, the present invention can also be implemented as an external GUI device added to an existing substrate processing system.

[0158] Furthermore, the substrate is not limited to the glass substrate for liquid crystal display devices. The "substrate" of the present invention includes substrates for flat panel displays (FPD), such as glass substrates for organic EL display devices and glass substrates for plasma display panels (PDP), semiconductor chips, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for color filters, substrates for recording disks, substrates for solar cells, substrates for electronic paper, and other precision electronic devices.

[0159] As described above with reference to the specific embodiments, the GUI device of the present invention can display a graph showing the dwell time by bars parallel to the second axis. This structure clearly shows how the multiple substrates move between the respective storage sections and to what extent they stay in the respective storage sections.

[0160] In addition, for example, it can also be configured to also include an input unit that accepts operation input from a user, and the image processing unit switches the display image including a main chart as a chart produced based on a part of the information and the display image including a sub-chart as a chart produced based on information not represented in the main chart according to the operation input and displays them on the display unit.

[0161] In the invention thus constituted, the main graph showing a part of the acquired information and the sub-graph containing more detailed information are switched according to the user's instruction. Therefore, it is not necessary to include all the information in the main graph, so for example, only information suitable for verifying the entire system in a general way can be used for display. Moreover, in the sub-graph, information not shown in the main graph can be shown in detail. In this way, the work of the user who wants to identify the location or cause of the disorder can be effectively supported.

[0162] In this case, the sub-graph may be, for example, a graph obtained by enlarging a portion of the main graph designated by the operation input, adding information not shown in the main graph, and graphing the enlarged portion. According to this structure, the state of a specific portion of the entire system can be shown in detail. Therefore, the user can understand the status of the entire system from the main graph, and can observe a portion of the system in more detail when necessary.

[0163] In addition, for example, the sub-chart may be a curve chart based on information related to the receiving part in the receiving part related to the transport of the substrate. The structure responsible for the transport of the substrate must include mechanically movable components, and such mechanical components are inevitably prone to disharmony compared to non-movable components. That is, compared to other components, they are more likely to cause disturbances in the flow of the substrate. Therefore, it is extremely reasonable to focus on the information of the receiving part related to the transport of the substrate.

[0164] In addition, for example, the sub-chart may be a graph showing the time from the start of processing to the time when each receiving section receives or sends out a substrate. Such a graph is suitable for visually judging the state in which the substrate is transferred between the receiving sections with correct regularity and the state in which the regularity is broken.

[0165] In addition, for example, the sub-chart may be a curve chart showing the length of the residence time of the substrate in each receiving section. Such a curve chart clearly shows whether each receiving section delivers the received substrate at a specified timing. In particular, if the residence time of each of a plurality of substrates can be displayed comparatively, for example, when the residence time of some substrates is different from that of other substrates, this situation can be easily found.

[0166] In addition, for example, the sub-chart may be a curve chart showing the length of the interval time from when one receiving section sends out one substrate to when the next substrate is sent out. This curve chart can easily detect the situation when there is irregular movement in the substrates transferred between receiving sections at a certain interval.

[0167] [Industrial Applicability]

[0168] The present invention can be applied to various substrate processing systems, and the processing contents thereof are not limited. In particular, the present invention is preferably applied to a system including a plurality of processing units and having a relatively large scale.

Claims

1. A graphical user interface device for a substrate processing system, wherein the substrate processing system processes a plurality of substrates while transporting the substrates between a plurality of receiving portions for receiving the substrates respectively, the graphical user interface device comprising: An information acquisition unit that acquires information related to a time when the substrate is received and sent out by the storage unit for each of the plurality of storage units and each of the plurality of substrates; an image processing unit that outputs a display image based on the information; as well as A display unit displays the display image. The display image includes a chart, The graph is formed on a coordinate plane having a first axis and a second axis, and is a graph of the residence time from the time the substrate is received in each of the receiving sections to the time the substrate is sent out, for each of the plurality of substrates, in a manner that distinguishes the substrates from each other. The first axis is provided with marks for identifying each of the receiving sections according to the conveying order of the substrates, and the second axis intersects with the first axis and represents the elapsed time in the processing.

2. The graphical user interface device according to claim 1, wherein: In the graph, the dwell period is represented by a bar parallel to the second axis.

3. The graphical user interface device according to claim 1, comprising an input unit for accepting operation input from a user, The image processing unit switches the display image including a main chart and the display image including a sub-chart according to the operation input and displays them on the display unit. The main chart is the chart made based on a part of the information, and the sub-chart is the chart made based on the information not shown in the main chart.

4. The graphical user interface device according to claim 3, wherein: The sub-graph is a graph obtained by enlarging a portion of the area designated by the operation input in the main graph, adding the information not shown in the main graph, and graphing the enlarged area.

5. The graphical user interface device according to claim 3, wherein: The sub-graph is a graph based on the information related to the storage section related to the conveyance of the substrate among the storage sections.

6. The graphical user interface device according to claim 3, wherein: The sub-graph is a graph showing the time from the start of processing to the time when each of the storage sections receives or sends out the substrate.

7. The graphical user interface device according to claim 3, wherein: The sub-graph is a graph showing the length of the residence time of the substrate in each of the receiving portions.

8. The graphical user interface device according to claim 3, wherein: The sub-graph is a graph showing the length of the interval time from when one of the accommodating sections sends out one of the substrates to when the accommodating section sends out the next of the substrates.

9. A substrate processing system, comprising: A plurality of receiving portions for temporarily receiving the substrate; as well as A graphical user interface device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The substrate processing system according to claim 9, comprising a control unit that gives control instructions to the housing unit and performs motion control, The information acquisition section acquires the information based on the control command given from the control section to each of the storage sections.

11. The substrate processing system according to claim 9, comprising: A plurality of processing units for performing predetermined processing on the substrate; as well as a transporting unit for transporting the substrate between the processing units; The processing section and the conveying section each include at least one of the accommodating sections.

Images