Manufacturing system for electronic components, manufacturing method for electronic components

Abstract

Provided is a system for manufacturing an electronic component, the system enabling efficient distribution of electronic components according to a processing status of the electronic components.　This system 1 for manufacturing an electronic component 10 by performing a plurality of manufacturing steps comprises: a plurality of manufacturing facilities 20 for executing, on the electronic component 10, different processes corresponding to each of the plurality of manufacturing steps; a distribution mechanism 30 for distributing electronic components 10 to the manufacturing facilities 20; and a control unit 100. The control unit 100 registers a plurality of electronic components 10 as a batch, associates batch identification information pertaining to the registered batch and process information indicating the processes executed by the manufacturing facilities 20 to generate status information pertaining to the batch, and, on the basis of the generated status information pertaining to the batch, outputs, to the distribution mechanism 30, an instruction signal to distribute the registered batch to prescribed manufacturing facilities 20.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing system for electronic components. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, automatic transfer devices are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic transfer device with a built-in barcode reader that can read a barcode while holding a wafer carrier with a barcode attached. Patent Document 1 also discloses that control information for controlling the operation of a stocker and a cleaning device, and wafer carrier tracking information of an AGV, etc. are input in advance into a host computer system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-216216 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] According to the automatic transfer device of Patent Document 1, it is possible to grasp the current position information of the wafer carrier during the transfer. However, although the automatic transfer device of Patent Document 1 can reduce the deviation between the current position information of the wafer carrier and the position based on the tracking information of the wafer carrier, it cannot efficiently deliver the manufacturing objects according to the processing status of the manufacturing objects.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic component manufacturing system capable of efficiently delivering electronic components in accordance with the processing status of the electronic components. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The electronic component manufacturing system of the present invention is an electronic component manufacturing system that manufactures electronic components by carrying out a plurality of manufacturing processes, and includes a plurality of manufacturing equipment that performs different processes on the electronic components corresponding to each of the plurality of manufacturing processes, a delivery mechanism that delivers the electronic components to the manufacturing equipment, and a control unit, wherein the control unit registers a plurality of electronic components as a lot, generates lot status information based on lot identification information of the registered lot, and outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism to deliver the registered lot to a specified manufacturing equipment based on the generated lot status information. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a manufacturing system for electronic components that is capable of efficiently delivering electronic components according to the processing status of the electronic components. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a manufacturing system for electronic components according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view of an external appearance of an electronic component manufactured by the manufacturing system; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a delivery box that contains a plurality of electronic components. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic overview of a production facility. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an automated guided vehicle carrying a delivery box. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control unit in the embodiment. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing a process flow according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an electronic component manufacturing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates a schematic overview of the electronic component manufacturing system 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an electronic component 10 manufactured by the manufacturing system 1. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a delivery box 40 that contains a plurality of electronic components 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram that illustrates a schematic overview of a manufacturing facility 20. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of an automated guided vehicle 31 on which the delivery box 40 is placed.

[0010] The electronic component manufacturing system 1 is a manufacturing system for manufacturing an electronic component 10, such as a multilayer ceramic electronic component. The electronic component 10 may be a chip-type electronic component. For example, the electronic component 10 may be a chip-type multilayer ceramic electronic component having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped or cubic shape as shown in FIG.

[0011] The manufacturing system 1 carries out a plurality of manufacturing processes to manufacture electronic components 10. The manufacturing system 1 includes a plurality of manufacturing facilities 20, a delivery mechanism 30 that delivers electronic components to the manufacturing facilities, and a control unit 100. The manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment also includes a delivery box 40 that contains the plurality of electronic components 10, and a storage shelf 50 that stores the delivery box 40 containing the plurality of electronic components 10.

[0012] First, an electronic component 10 manufactured by the manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment will be described. The electronic component 10 is, for example, a multilayer ceramic electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor as shown in FIG. 2. For example, the multilayer ceramic electronic component of this embodiment includes a plurality of laminated ceramic layers and a plurality of internal conductor layers, and has a laminate 11 having a first main surface TS1 and a second main surface TS2 facing in a height direction T, a first side surface WS1 and a second side surface WS2 facing in a width direction W perpendicular to the height direction T, and a first end surface LS1 and a second end surface LS2 facing in a length direction L perpendicular to the height direction T and the width direction W. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of this embodiment also has a first external electrode 12 arranged on the first end surface LS1 side of the laminate 11 and connected to the internal conductor layer, and a second external electrode 13 arranged on the second end surface LS2 side of the laminate 11 and connected to the internal conductor layer.

[0013] If the dimension in the length direction of the multilayer ceramic electronic component including the laminate 11, the first external electrode 12, and the second external electrode 13 is taken as dimension L, the dimension L may be 0.1 mm or more and 10 mm or less. If the dimension in the height direction of the multilayer ceramic electronic component is taken as dimension T, the dimension T may be 0.05 mm or more and 10 mm or less. If the dimension in the width direction of the multilayer ceramic electronic component is taken as dimension W, the dimension W may be 0.1 mm or more and 10 mm or less. In other words, the maximum dimension of the electronic component 10 may be 10 mm or less. However, this is not limited to this.

[0014] The electronic component 10 is delivered by the delivery mechanism 30 while being accommodated in the delivery box 40. The electronic component 10 is stored in the storage shelf 50 while being accommodated in the delivery box 40.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3, the delivery box 40 has a box body 41 and an identification information holding medium 42 that holds identification information.

[0016] The electronic components 10 housed in the box body 41 of the delivery box 40 are all from the same lot. The number of chip-shaped multilayer ceramic electronic components housed in one delivery box 40 may be 1000 or more. After the cutting process in which the laminated block is cut into laminated chips of a predetermined size, the large number of electronic components 10 are housed in a random state in the delivery box 40. Note that the term "electronic components 10" herein includes the workpieces that will become the electronic components 10, i.e., the workpieces in the manufacturing process. Note that the delivery box 40 may be provided with a lid (not shown) at an opening at the top.

[0017] A plurality of electronic components 10 constituting one lot are accommodated in one or more delivery boxes. That is, a plurality of electronic components 10 constituting one lot may be accommodated in only one delivery box or may be distributed and accommodated in a plurality of delivery boxes depending on the chip size and the quantity. Electronic components 10 in the same lot are electronic components 10 of the same type. Therefore, electronic components 10 in the same lot are manufactured by the same manufacturing process. A plurality of electronic components 10 accommodated in one delivery box are all electronic components of the same lot. Basically, the same process is performed on electronic components 10 of the same lot in each manufacturing facility 20. Therefore, the same process is performed on electronic components 10 accommodated in one delivery box in each manufacturing facility 20.

[0018] The identification information holding medium 42 may be, for example, an RFID tag. The identification information holding medium 42 holds the identification information.

[0019] The identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 may directly include the lot identification information of the electronic component. Alternatively, the identification information may be identification information linked to the lot identification information of the electronic component.

[0020] For example, the identification information may be a delivery box ID assigned to each delivery box 40, which is linked to the lot identification information of the electronic components. In this case, for example, the delivery box ID may be linked to the lot identification information of the electronic components during the storage process of storing the electronic components 10 in the delivery box 40. As a result, in a subsequent process, the lot identification information of the electronic components 10 stored in the delivery box 40 is determined based on the delivery box ID. This task of linking the identification information may be performed, for example, by the control unit 100 described below.

[0021] It should be noted that the identification information bearing medium 42 is not limited to an RFID tag, and may be, for example, a barcode, a two-dimensional code, or an AR marker.

[0022] Each of the manufacturing facilities 20, the delivery mechanism 30, and the storage shelf 50 described below preferably has an identification information acquisition means for reading the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42. The identification information acquisition means is appropriately selected according to the type of the identification information holding medium 42. For example, when the identification information holding medium 42 is an RFID tag, the identification information acquisition means may be an RFID reader such as a handheld RFID reader / writer or a stationary RFID antenna. When the identification information holding medium 42 is a barcode, a two-dimensional code, or an AR marker, a reader corresponding to these is used as the identification information acquisition means. This allows the identification information to be read quickly and accurately.

[0023] The manufacturing system 1 includes a plurality of manufacturing facilities 20. Each of the plurality of manufacturing facilities 20 performs a different process on the electronic components 10.

[0024] For example, when a multilayer ceramic electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor is manufactured as the electronic component 10, a great number of manufacturing processes are performed before completion. The manufacturing system 1 has a plurality of manufacturing equipment 20 corresponding to each of the plurality of manufacturing processes. Each of the plurality of manufacturing equipment 20 performs a different process on the electronic component 10 corresponding to each of the plurality of manufacturing processes.

[0025] For example, the multiple manufacturing equipment 20 includes cutting equipment 20A that cuts a laminated block containing a dielectric sheet and a conductive paste into laminated chips of a predetermined size, firing equipment 20B that fires the laminated chips to produce a laminate, coating equipment 20C that applies a material for the base electrode layer of the external electrode to a predetermined position of the laminate, baking equipment 20D that bakes the applied material for the base electrode layer, plating equipment 20E that forms a plating layer on the outer surface side of the base electrode layer, characteristic inspection equipment 20F that inspects the characteristics of a laminated ceramic electronic component in which external electrodes including a base electrode layer and a plating layer are formed on a laminate, and appearance sorting inspection equipment 20G that performs appearance sorting inspection of a laminated ceramic electronic component in which external electrodes including a base electrode layer and a plating layer are formed on a laminate.

[0026] The multiple manufacturing facilities 20 may include manufacturing facilities other than those described above. For example, they may include barrel polishing facilities for polishing the surface of the laminate. The manufacturing system 1 may be configured to include at least four or more of the multiple manufacturing facilities 20. Other manufacturing facilities may include facilities for producing dielectric sheets, facilities for producing dielectric slurry for producing the dielectric sheets, facilities for printing conductive paste on dielectric sheets and printing internal electrodes, and facilities for laminating dielectric sheets to produce laminates.

[0027] Here, the process performed by each manufacturing equipment 20 corresponds to one manufacturing process in the entire manufacturing process of the electronic component 10. For example, the process performed by the cutting equipment 20A performing the cutting process is a cutting process in which a laminated block including a dielectric sheet and a conductive paste is cut into laminated chips of a predetermined size. The process performed by the firing equipment 20B performing the firing process is a firing process in which the laminated chips are fired. The process performed by the coating equipment 20C performing the coating process is a coating process in which a material for a base electrode layer of an external electrode is applied to a predetermined position of the laminate. The process performed by the baking equipment 20D performing the baking process is a baking process in which the applied material for the base electrode layer is baked. The process performed by the plating equipment 20E performing the plating process is a plating process in which a plating layer is formed on the outer surface side of the base electrode layer. The process performed by the characteristic inspection equipment 20F performing the characteristic inspection process is a characteristic inspection process in which the characteristics of a laminated ceramic electronic component in which an external electrode including a base electrode layer and a plating layer is formed on a laminate is inspected. The process performed by the appearance screening inspection equipment that performs the appearance screening inspection process is an appearance screening inspection process for a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which external electrodes including a base electrode layer and a plating layer are formed on a laminate. The process performed by the equipment that produces dielectric sheets is a process of producing dielectric sheets. The process performed by the equipment that produces dielectric slurry is a process of producing dielectric slurry. The process performed by the equipment that prints internal electrodes is a process of printing a conductive paste on a dielectric sheet to print the internal electrodes. The process performed by the manufacturing equipment that produces laminates is a process of stacking dielectric sheets to produce a laminate.

[0028] Depending on the type of electronic component 10, some manufacturing steps may be skipped. Also, depending on the type of electronic component 10, additional manufacturing steps may be added to the standard manufacturing steps.

[0029] 1 shows one manufacturing equipment 20 each performing the same type of process, but there may be multiple manufacturing equipment 20 performing the same type of process. For example, there may be one baking equipment 20B performing the baking process, or there may be two or more baking equipment. In this case, the first equipment will be called equipment No. 1 and the second equipment will be called equipment No. 2. The number of manufacturing equipment 20 performing the same type of process is set depending on the scale of production volume of the entire manufacturing system 1, the lead time for each manufacturing equipment 20, etc.

[0030] 4 is a diagram showing a schematic overview of one manufacturing facility 20. Each manufacturing facility 20 has an input unit 21, a processing unit 22, and an output unit 23. Each manufacturing facility 20 also has a first identification information acquisition means 24.

[0031] The carrying-in section 21 is a section where the electronic components 10 delivered by a delivery mechanism 30 described below are carried into the manufacturing equipment 20. The electronic components 10 may be delivered to the carrying-in section 21 after being delivered to an in-process shelf 25 described below. The electronic components 10 are delivered to the carrying-in section 21 in a state where they are accommodated in a delivery box 40.

[0032] The manufacturing facility 20 has a first identification information acquisition means 24. The first identification information acquisition means 24 is preferably provided in the carry-in section 21 or in the vicinity thereof. The first identification information acquisition means 24 acquires lot identification information of the lot of electronic components 10 carried into the manufacturing facility 20, or identification information linked to the lot identification information. The first identification information acquisition means 24 is preferably a reader that reads the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40. For example, when the identification information holding medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40 is an RFID tag, the first identification information acquisition means 24 may be an RFID antenna. If the RFID tag and the RFID antenna are combined, the RFID antenna can automatically acquire the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 when the delivery box 40 containing the electronic components 10 approaches the carry-in section 21 or passes through the carry-in section 21. The first identification information acquiring means 24 may be an input unit capable of inputting the lot identification information or the identification information associated with the lot identification information.

[0033] The processing section 22 is a section that performs a predetermined process on the electronic component 10. For example, the processing section of the firing equipment 20B performs a firing process for firing a laminated chip that includes a dielectric sheet and a conductive paste. In the processing section 22, the electronic component 10 is usually processed in a state where it is removed from the delivery box 40.

[0034] The unloading section 23 is a section where the electronic components 10 processed by the processing section 22 are unloaded. The electronic components 10 processed by the processing section 22 may be accommodated again in the delivery box 40, or may be accommodated in a different delivery box and unloaded. However, it is preferable that the electronic components 10 are accommodated again in the delivery box 40 after being unloaded. At this time, it is preferable that the electronic components 10 are accommodated in the same delivery box 40 as the delivery box 40 at the time of loading, by an electronic component accommodation mechanism (not shown). This allows the correspondence between the delivery box 40 and the lot of the electronic components 10 accommodated in the delivery box 40 to be maintained. This eliminates the need to rewrite the identification information in the identification information retention medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40, re-register the identification information, or the like.

[0035] It is preferable that each manufacturing facility 20 is provided with an in-process shelf 25 and a completed shelf 26. Alternatively, the in-process shelf 25 and the completed shelf 26 may be provided for common use by a plurality of manufacturing facilities performing the same type of processing. The in-process shelf 25 and the completed shelf 26 may be shared shelves. The in-process shelf 25 and the completed shelf 26 temporarily store the electronic components 10 accommodated in the delivery box 40.

[0036] Unprocessed electronic components 10 to be processed in the manufacturing equipment 20 are carried into the in-process shelf 25 by a delivery mechanism 30, which will be described later. The in-process shelf 25 temporarily stores the electronic components 10 to be processed in the manufacturing equipment 20, housed in delivery boxes 40. The unprocessed electronic components 10 temporarily stored in the in-process shelf 25 are then carried into the carry-in section 21. The transport from the in-process shelf 25 to the carry-in section 21 may be performed by a delivery mechanism, such as an automated guided vehicle or an automated guided robot.

[0037] The processed electronic components 10 processed by the manufacturing equipment 20 are carried out from the discharge section 23 of the manufacturing equipment 20 and placed on the completion shelf 26. The transport from the discharge section 23 to the completion shelf 26 may be performed by a delivery mechanism such as an automated guided vehicle or an automated guided robot. The completion shelf 26 temporarily stores the processed electronic components 10 after being processed by the manufacturing equipment 20 in a state accommodated in a delivery box 40. Thereafter, the processed electronic components 10 temporarily stored on the completion shelf are carried out by a delivery mechanism 30 described below.

[0038] The delivery mechanism 30 delivers the electronic components 10 to the manufacturing equipment 20. The delivery mechanism 30 also delivers the electronic components 10 to the storage shelves 50. The delivery mechanism 30 includes, for example, an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle). The AGV may be an automated guided vehicle 31. The delivery mechanism 30 may also include an automated guided robot. It is preferable that the delivery mechanism 30 is an automated delivery mechanism.

[0039] 5 is a perspective view of the exterior of an automated guided vehicle 31 serving as the delivery mechanism 30. The automated guided vehicle 31 automatically travels along a guide line (not shown), such as a traveling magnetic tape, laid on the floor of a factory.

[0040] The automated guided vehicle 31 has a vehicle body 32, a platform 33 provided on the upper part of the vehicle body 32 and capable of carrying electronic components 10, wheels 34 provided on the vehicle body 32, and a second identification information acquisition means 35. Although not shown, the automated guided vehicle 31 also has a magnetic detection sensor that detects the traveling magnetic tape, and a travel control unit. The travel control unit controls travel based on a control signal wirelessly transmitted from the control unit 100 and a detection signal from the magnetic detection sensor.

[0041] The automated guided vehicle 31 serving as the delivery mechanism 30 transports the electronic components 10 to the manufacturing facility 20. More specifically, the automated guided vehicle 31 transports the delivery box 40 containing the electronic components 10 from an outgoing section 53 of a storage shelf 50 (described later) to an incoming section 21 of the manufacturing facility 20 or a work-in-progress shelf 25 provided in the manufacturing facility 20.

[0042] The automated guided vehicle 31 serving as the delivery mechanism 30 transports the electronic components 10 to a storage shelf 50 described below. More specifically, the automated guided vehicle 31 transports the delivery box 40 containing the electronic components 10 from the unloading section 23 of the manufacturing facility 20 or a completion shelf 26 provided in the manufacturing facility 20 to the receiving section 51 of the storage shelf 50.

[0043] The automated guided vehicle 31 serving as the delivery mechanism 30 may be configured to be able to transport the delivery box 40 containing the electronic components 10 from one manufacturing facility 20 to another manufacturing facility 20. In other words, the automated guided vehicle 31 may be configured to be able to transport the delivery box 40 containing the electronic components 10 from the unloading section 23 of the manufacturing facility 20 or a completed shelf 26 provided in the manufacturing facility 20 to the loading section 21 of the other manufacturing facility 20 or a work-in-progress shelf 25 provided in the other manufacturing facility 20.

[0044] In addition, the delivery mechanism 30 may be configured to transport goods again from the discharge section 23 of the manufacturing equipment 20 or the completed shelf 26 provided in the manufacturing equipment 20 to the discharge section 21 of the same manufacturing equipment 20 or the work-in-progress shelf 25 provided in the same manufacturing equipment 20.

[0045] The second identification information acquisition means 35 acquires lot identification information of the lot of electronic components 10 contained in the delivery box 40 loaded on the automated guided vehicle 31, or identification information linked to the lot identification information. The second identification information acquisition means 35 is preferably disposed at a position where it can read the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 provided on the delivery box 40 when the delivery box 40 is loaded on the loading platform 33 of the automated guided vehicle 31. The second identification information acquisition means 35 is preferably a reader that reads the information held in the identification information holding medium 42 provided on the delivery box 40. For example, when the identification information holding medium 42 provided on the delivery box 40 is an RFID tag, the second identification information acquisition means 35 may be an RFID antenna. In the case of a combination of an RFID tag and an RFID antenna, the RFID antenna can automatically acquire the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 when the delivery box 40 containing the electronic components 10 is loaded on the loading platform 33 of the automated guided vehicle 31.

[0046] Preferably, one automated guided vehicle 31 delivers one delivery box 40. That is, the automated guided vehicle 31 may be provided with a loading platform 33 capable of carrying only one delivery box 40 at most. Note that one delivery box 40 may be capable of housing 1000 or more electronic components. This allows a very large number of electronic components 10 to be delivered efficiently in the smallest delivery unit. In addition, since there is a one-to-one relationship between one delivery box 40 and one automated guided vehicle 31, the complexity of control is reduced. In addition, since there is also a one-to-one relationship between the identification information holding medium 42 of the delivery box 40 and the second identification information acquisition means 35 of the automated guided vehicle 31, the second identification information acquisition means 35 is less likely to make an error in reading the identification information.

[0047] The storage shelf 50 stores a plurality of lots of electronic components 10 housed in delivery boxes 40. The storage shelf 50 is, for example, an automated warehouse.

[0048] The storage shelf 50 includes a receiving section 51, a storage area 52, and a shipping section 53. The storage shelf 50 also includes a third identification information acquiring means 54 and a fourth identification information acquiring means 55.

[0049] The receiving section 51 is a section where the electronic components 10 delivered by the delivery mechanism 30 are stored. The electronic components 10 are stored from the receiving section 51 in a state where they are accommodated in a delivery box 40. The receiving section 51 is equipped with a conveyor for storing, not shown, and the like. The conveyor transports the delivery box 40 received from the receiving section 51 to a storage area 52.

[0050] The storage area 52 stores a plurality of lots of electronic components 10 housed in delivery boxes 40. The storage area 52 is composed of a plurality of shelves. The storage area 52 is equipped with an automatic transport mechanism such as a conveyor, a stacker crane, and a pick crane (not shown). Locations within the storage area are managed by address information. The delivery box 40, whose identification information has been acquired at the time of storage, is transported to a specified location to which address information has been assigned, based on a control signal from the control unit 100. The transported delivery box 40 is stored at the specified location. On the other hand, when the delivery box 40 is to be shipped out, information linked to the identification information at the time of storage, for example, the lot number of the electronic components, is specified, thereby specifying the delivery box 40 to be shipped out. The specified delivery box 40 is carried out from the specified location based on the address information.

[0051] The unloading section 53 is a section that unloads the electronic components 10 from the storage shelf 50. The electronic components 10 stored in the storage area 52 are carried out and unloaded while still contained in the delivery boxes 40. The unloading section 53 is equipped with an unillustrated conveyor for unloading and the like. The conveyor transports the delivery boxes 40 from the storage area 52 to outside the storage shelf 50.

[0052] The storage shelf 50 has a third identification information acquisition means 54. The third identification information acquisition means 54 is preferably provided near the receiving section 51. The third identification information acquisition means 54 acquires lot identification information of the lot of electronic components 10 carried into the storage shelf 50, or identification information linked to the lot identification information. The third identification information acquisition means 54 is preferably a reader that reads information stored in an identification information holding medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40. For example, when the identification information holding medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40 is an RFID tag, the third identification information acquisition means 54 may be an RFID antenna. In the case of a combination of an RFID tag and an RFID antenna, the RFID antenna can automatically acquire the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 when the delivery box 40 containing the electronic components 10 approaches the receiving section 51 or passes through the receiving section 51. The third identification information acquisition means 54 may be an input unit capable of inputting lot identification information or identification information linked to the lot identification information.

[0053] The storage shelf 50 has a fourth identification information acquisition means 55. The fourth identification information acquisition means 55 is preferably provided near the delivery section 53. The fourth identification information acquisition means 55 acquires lot identification information of the lot of electronic components 10 to be carried out from the storage shelf 50, or identification information linked to the lot identification information. The fourth identification information acquisition means 55 is preferably a reader that reads information stored in the identification information holding medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40. For example, when the identification information holding medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40 is an RFID tag, the fourth identification information acquisition means 55 may be an RFID antenna. In the case of a combination of an RFID tag and an RFID antenna, the RFID antenna can automatically acquire the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 when the delivery box 40 containing the electronic components 10 approaches the delivery section 53 or passes through the delivery section 53. The fourth identification information acquisition means 55 may be an input unit capable of inputting lot identification information or identification information linked to the lot identification information.

[0054] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control unit 100 of the present embodiment.

[0055] The control unit 100 has a lot registration unit 110, a lot discrimination unit 120, a processing information acquisition unit 130, a lot status information generation unit 140, an equipment information acquisition unit 150, a location information acquisition unit 160, an evaluation information acquisition unit 170, a delivery destination determination unit 180, a lot selection unit 190, an instruction signal output unit 200, and a memory unit 210.

[0056] The control unit 100 may be a server. The control unit 100 is configured with a plurality of functional blocks as described above, but the functional blocks do not necessarily need to be physically separated, and one CPU may realize the functions of a plurality of functional blocks. The control unit 100 may be arranged in two or more locations in consideration of the arrangement of the controlled parts. For example, the lot registration unit 110 and the lot status information generation unit 140 may be provided in a server, while the lot discrimination unit 120 may be provided in a control unit of each manufacturing facility 20 or a storage shelf 50. One functional block may be divided into two or more locations and controlled in a distributed manner. The storage unit 210 is configured with a recording medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a SSD (Solid State Drive), or a removable memory card. Examples of the recording medium include non-transitory tangible media. The control unit 100 includes an arithmetic processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The various functions of the control unit 100 are realized by executing a program (application) stored in the storage unit 210, for example. The program (application) may be provided via a network, or may be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable storage medium such as a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) or a digital versatile disc (DVD). The functions of the control unit 100 may be realized by a combination of hardware and software, or may be realized only by hardware (electronic circuits).

[0057] The lot registration unit 110 registers a plurality of electronic components as a predetermined lot. For example, the lot registration unit 110 registers a first lot of electronic components manufactured in the same manufacturing process in a previous process among electronic components of the same type A as a lot with lot number A001. Also, the lot registration unit 110 registers a second lot of electronic components manufactured in the same manufacturing process in a previous process among electronic components of the same type A as a lot with lot number A002. Here, the lot number A001 and the lot number A002 are lot identification information of the registered lot. This registration operation may be performed by an operator's input or by control of a higher-level system. Note that a plurality of electronic components 10 registered as a lot with one lot number, for example, lot number A001, are accommodated in one or more shipping boxes 40.

[0058] After the lot registration unit 110 registers the lot, the lot number serving as lot identification information may be set as a primary key, to which various information may be linked. That is, a database may be formed in which the lot identification information serves as a primary key. However, information other than the lot identification information may also be set as the primary key. Such information of the database, etc. is stored in the storage unit 210.

[0059] In response to the lot registration work in the lot registration unit 110, work may be performed to retain lot identification information in the identification information retaining medium 42 of the delivery box 40. For example, if the identification information retaining medium 42 is an RFID tag, identification information directly including the lot identification information may be written to the RFID tag using an RFID reader / writer. For example, if the identification information retaining medium 42 is a barcode, a barcode having identification information directly including the lot identification information may be affixed to the delivery box 40.

[0060] The identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 of the delivery box 40 may be identification information linked to the lot identification information of the electronic components. For example, when a delivery box ID is held in the identification information holding medium 42 of each delivery box 40, the delivery box ID may be linked to the lot identification information of the electronic components during the storage step of storing the electronic components 10 in the delivery box 40. As a result, in the subsequent step, the lot identification information of the electronic components stored in the delivery box 40 is determined based on the delivery box ID.

[0061] The lots registered by the lot registration unit 110 are basically input to each piece of manufacturing equipment 20 based on an input operation table. The input operation table is optimized at an initial stage according to the type of electronic components 10 flowing through the production process, the quantity of electronic components 10, the number of each piece of manufacturing equipment 20, etc. The input operation table is rewritten as necessary according to the overall situation of the manufacturing system 1. The input operation table is stored in the memory unit 210. The next process to be performed on the lot is determined based on the input operation table and the status.

[0062] The lot discrimination unit 120 discriminates the lot number of the lot of electronic components 10 contained in the delivery box 40 based on the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition means. For example, the first identification information acquisition means 24 of each manufacturing facility 20 acquires the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 of the delivery box 40 when the lot of electronic components 10 is carried in. Then, the lot discrimination unit 120 discriminates the lot number of the lot of electronic components 10 contained in the delivery box 40 based on the identification information read by the first identification information acquisition means 24. The lot discrimination unit 120 discriminates the lot number of the lot of electronic components 10 contained in the delivery box 40 based on the identification information of the delivery box 40 acquired by the second identification information acquisition means 35, the third identification information acquisition means 54, and the fourth identification information acquisition means 55, respectively.

[0063] The processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating the processing performed by each manufacturing equipment 20 on the lot carried into the manufacturing equipment 20. For example, when the cutting equipment 20A performs a cutting process on the lot with the lot number A001, the processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating that the cutting process has been performed on the lot with the lot number A001. When the firing equipment 20B performs a firing process on the lot with the lot number A001, the processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating that the firing process has been performed on the lot with the lot number A001. When the coating equipment 20C performs a coating process on the lot with the lot number A001, the processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating that a coating process has been performed on the lot with the lot number A001. The lot number of the lot carried into the manufacturing equipment 20 is identified by the lot identification unit 120 described above. The lot number of the lot brought into each manufacturing equipment 20 and information indicating that each manufacturing equipment 20 has performed processing may be linked by a control unit within each manufacturing equipment 20 and generated as processing information within each manufacturing equipment 20.

[0064] The lot status information generating unit 140 generates lot status information by linking the lot identification information of the registered lot with processing information indicating the processing performed on the registered lot. For example, the status information generating unit 140 links the lot number A001 of the registered lot with the processing information performed on the lot with the lot number A001.

[0065] For example, a case will be described in which a lot with lot number A001 is registered by the lot registration unit 110, and the processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating that the lot with lot number A001 has been subjected to a cutting process by the cutting equipment 20A, processing information indicating that the lot with lot number A001 has been subjected to a baking process by the baking equipment 20B, and processing information indicating that the lot with lot number A001 has been subjected to a coating process by the coating equipment 20C. In this case, the status information generation unit 140 generates, as the status information of the lot, information indicating that the lot with lot number A001 has been subjected to a cutting process by the cutting equipment 20A, a baking process by the baking equipment 20B, and a coating process by the coating equipment 20C, that is, information indicating that the cutting process, the baking process, and the coating process have been completed. In this way, the status information of the lot includes information indicating which manufacturing process has been completed for the lot registered by the lot registration unit 110, that is, information indicating which manufacturing equipment 20 has been used to perform the processing. The lot status information includes the processing history information of the lot.

[0066] In addition, this lot status information can also be said to be information indicating which manufacturing process a specific registered lot should be input to next, i.e., information indicating which manufacturing equipment 20 it should be input to.

[0067] For example, consider a case where information is generated as lot status information indicating that the cutting process, baking process, and coating process have been completed for the lot with lot number A001 registered by lot registration unit 110. In this case, the lot status information is information indicating that the lot with lot number A001 should be input into baking equipment 20D. In other words, the lot status information is information indicating that the lot with lot number A001 is in a state where it can be input into baking equipment 20D.

[0068] Based on the generated lot status information, the instruction signal output section 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20. For example, when the lot status information indicates that the firing process and the coating process have been completed for the lot with the lot number A001, the instruction signal output section 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot with the lot number A001 to the baking facility 20D. This process may be performed at the planned timing of the lot input or at any arbitrary timing.

[0069] As described above, the lots registered by the lot registration unit 110 are basically input to each manufacturing facility 20 based on the input operation table. However, there are cases where the lot is not properly processed as planned due to the occurrence of a problem or the like. According to this embodiment, the registered lot can be delivered to the appropriate manufacturing facility 20 based on the input operation table information and the lot status information.

[0070] When the electronic components 10 constituting one lot are distributed and stored in a plurality of delivery boxes 40, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the electronic components 10 constituting one lot to the same manufacturing equipment 20. As a result, even when the electronic components 10 constituting one lot are distributed and stored in a plurality of delivery boxes 40, the electronic components 10 constituting one lot are processed by the same manufacturing equipment 20. This makes it possible to align the processing history within the lot. In this case, a sub-number may be added to the lot number, such as A001-1, A001-2, etc.

[0071] In this case, the instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the number of automated guided vehicles 31 according to the quantity of delivery boxes 40 that make up one lot. For example, if the quantity of delivery boxes 40 that make up one lot is two, an instruction signal is output to two automated guided vehicles 31 to deliver the corresponding delivery boxes 40 to the same manufacturing facility 20.

[0072] The control unit 100 of this embodiment may further include an equipment information acquisition unit 150. The equipment information acquisition unit 150 acquires manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of each manufacturing equipment 20. Here, the manufacturing equipment information may include trouble information of the manufacturing equipment. The manufacturing equipment information may also include information indicating that the manufacturing equipment 20 is processing a lot, information indicating that the manufacturing equipment 20 has completed processing a lot, information indicating that the manufacturing equipment 20 is in an equipment standby state waiting for a lot, and the like. The manufacturing equipment information may also include information indicating whether the manufacturing equipment is available or not.

[0073] The instruction signal output section 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20 based on the lot status information and the manufacturing facility information.

[0074] For example, a case will be described in which two coating equipment 20C, No. 1 and No. 2, exist. As an example, it is assumed that the status information generating unit 140 generates information indicating that the cutting process and the baking process have been completed for the lot with lot number A001. Furthermore, it is assumed that the equipment information acquiring unit 150 acquires, as the manufacturing equipment information, for example, trouble information indicating that the No. 1 coating equipment 20C is in an abnormal state. In this case, the instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot with lot number A001 to the No. 2 coating equipment 20C, which is in an available state. This allows for efficient delivery.

[0075] In this way, the control unit 100 manages the status information of the lot in association with the manufacturing equipment information. More specifically, the control unit 100 links the manufacturing equipment 20 in an available state with the lot in an input-ready state, and outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the linked lot to the linked manufacturing equipment 20.

[0076] The control unit 100 of this embodiment may further include a location information acquisition unit 160. The location information acquisition unit 160 acquires location information of a lot as position information of the lot based on read information of the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 of the delivery box 40. Specifically, the location information acquisition unit 160 acquires the location information of a lot based on the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 of the delivery box 40 that is read by an acquisition unit arranged in the manufacturing system 1, such as the first identification information acquisition unit 24, the second identification information acquisition unit 35, the third identification information acquisition unit 54, the fourth identification information acquisition unit 55, etc.

[0077] First identification information acquisition means 24 provided in each manufacturing facility 20 reads the identification information held in an identification information holding medium 42 provided in a delivery box 40. Location information acquisition unit 160 acquires location information of the lot based on the read identification information. Specifically, lot discrimination unit 120 discriminates the lot number of the lot of electronic components 10 contained in a delivery box 40 based on the identification information acquired by first identification information acquisition means 24. Then, location information acquisition unit 160 acquires information that the discriminated lot is present at the manufacturing facility 20 that read the identification information, as location information of the lot.

[0078] For example, first identification information acquisition means 24 provided in coating equipment No. 2 reads the identification information stored in identification information storage medium 42 provided in delivery box 40. From this read identification information, it is determined that the lot of electronic components 10 contained in delivery box 40 is, for example, the lot with lot number A001. In this case, location information acquisition unit 160 acquires information that the lot with lot number A001 is present at coating equipment No. 2, as lot location information.

[0079] The second identification information acquisition means 35 provided in the automated guided vehicle 31 serving as the delivery mechanism 30 reads the identification information held in the identification information holding medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40 when the delivery box 40 is loaded onto the loading platform 33 of the automated guided vehicle 31. The location information acquisition unit 160 acquires location information of the lot based on the read information of the identification information. Specifically, the lot discrimination unit 120 discriminates the lot of the electronic components 10 contained in the delivery box 40 based on the identification information acquired by the second identification information acquisition means 35. Then, the location information acquisition unit 160 acquires information that the discriminated lot is loaded onto the automated guided vehicle 31 as location information of the lot.

[0080] For example, the second identification information acquisition means 35 of the automated guided vehicle 31 reads the identification information stored in the identification information storage medium 42 provided in the delivery box 40. From this read identification information, it is determined that the lot of electronic components 10 contained in the delivery box 40 is, for example, the lot with lot number A001. In this case, the location information acquisition unit 160 acquires information that the lot with lot number A001 is loaded on this automated guided vehicle 31 as the location information of the lot.

[0081] When movement information of the automated guided vehicle 31 is acquired in association with the movement of the automated guided vehicle 31, the movement information of the lot can be acquired as location information of the lot. While the second identification information acquisition means 35 determines that a specific lot, for example, the lot with lot number A001, is loaded on the automated guided vehicle 31, the movement information of the lot with lot number A001 matches the movement information of the automated guided vehicle 31. This makes it possible to acquire more detailed location information of the lot, including real-time position information of the lot during movement and movement trajectory information of the lot.

[0082] Third identification information acquisition means 54 provided in receiving section 51 of storage shelf 50 reads the identification information held in identification information holding medium 42 provided in delivery box 40 when delivery box 40 is received. Location information acquisition unit 160 acquires location information of the lot based on the read identification information. Specifically, lot discrimination unit 120 discriminates the lot of electronic components 10 contained in delivery box 40 based on the identification information acquired by third identification information acquisition means 54. Then, location information acquisition unit 160 acquires information that the discriminated lot is currently present in receiving section 51 of storage shelf 50 and will be placed in storage area 52 thereafter as location information of the lot.

[0083] For example, third identification information acquisition means 54 reads the identification information stored in identification information storage medium 42 provided in delivery box 40. From this read identification information, it is determined that the lot of electronic components 10 contained in delivery box 40 is, for example, the lot with lot number A001. In this case, location information acquisition unit 160 acquires information that the lot with lot number A001 is currently present in receiving section 51 of storage shelf 50 and will be placed in storage area 52 later, as lot location information.

[0084] Fourth identification information acquisition means 55 provided in output section 53 of storage shelf 50 reads the identification information held in identification information holding medium 42 provided in delivery box 40 when delivery box 40 is released from storage. Location information acquisition unit 160 acquires location information of the lot based on the read identification information. Specifically, lot discrimination unit 120 discriminates the lot of electronic components 10 contained in delivery box 40 based on the identification information acquired by fourth identification information acquisition means 55. Then, location information acquisition unit 160 acquires information that the discriminated lot is currently present at output section 53 of storage shelf 50 and will later move out of storage area 52 as lot location information.

[0085] For example, fourth identification information acquisition means 55 reads the identification information stored in identification information storage medium 42 provided in delivery box 40. From this read identification information, it is determined that the lot of electronic components 10 contained in delivery box 40 is, for example, the lot with lot number A001. In this case, location information acquisition unit 160 acquires information that the lot with lot number A001 is currently located at delivery section 53 of storage shelf 50 and will later move out of storage area 52, as lot location information.

[0086] The identification information acquisition means may be disposed at another position in the manufacturing system 1. In this case, the location information acquisition unit 160 acquires, as location information of the lot, information that a lot recognized based on the identification information read by the identification information acquisition means is present at a position corresponding to the arrangement position of the identification information acquisition means.

[0087] The instruction signal output section 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20 based on the lot status information and lot location information.

[0088] For example, a case will be described in which information indicating that the cutting process, baking process, and coating process have been completed for the lot with lot number A001 and the lot with lot number A002 is generated as the lot status information. At this time, it is assumed that information indicating that the lot with lot number A001 is still remaining in coating equipment 20C is acquired as the lot location information. Meanwhile, it is assumed that information indicating that the lot with lot number A002 is placed in storage area 52 of storage shelf 50 is acquired as the lot location information. In this case, instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism to deliver the lot with lot number A002, which is waiting for delivery in storage shelf 50, to baking equipment 20D. This allows for efficient delivery.

[0089] In addition, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a specified manufacturing facility 20 based on the lot status information, the lot location information, and the manufacturing facility information.

[0090] For example, it is assumed that information indicating that the cutting process, the baking process, and the coating process have been completed for the lot with the lot number A001 and the lot with the lot number A002, respectively, is generated as the lot status information. At this time, it is assumed that information indicating that the lot with the lot number A001 is still staying in the coating equipment 20C is acquired as the lot location information. Meanwhile, it is assumed that information indicating that the lot with the lot number A002 is to be placed in the storage area 52 of the storage shelf 50 is acquired as the lot location information. Furthermore, it is assumed that trouble information indicating that the first baking equipment 20D, out of the two baking equipments 20D, the first and second baking equipments, is in an abnormal state is acquired as the manufacturing equipment information. In this case, the instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot with the lot number A002, which is waiting for delivery in the storage shelf 50, to the second baking equipment 20D, which is in an available state. This allows for efficient delivery.

[0091] In outputting the instruction signal, the delivery destination determination unit 180 determines the delivery destination of the registered lot based on lot status information, and further based on manufacturing equipment information and lot location information, if necessary.

[0092] The delivery destination determination unit 180 may determine, based on the lot status information and the manufacturing facility information, whether to deliver the registered lot from a specified manufacturing facility 20 to the storage shelf 50, or from the specified manufacturing facility 20 to another manufacturing facility 20. In this case, the instruction signal output unit 200 outputs, based on the determined content, an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to the storage shelf 50 or to another manufacturing facility 20. This control can be adopted when the automated guided vehicle 31 can travel directly between manufacturing facilities without going through the storage shelf 50.

[0093] For example, when the status information generation unit 140 acquires processing information indicating that a coating process has been performed by coating equipment 20C on a lot with lot number A001 as lot status information, the equipment information acquisition unit 150 acquires manufacturing equipment information of the baking equipment 20D.

[0094] At this time, it is assumed that equipment information acquisition unit 150 acquires, as manufacturing equipment information, information indicating that baking equipment 20D is processing a lot. In this case, delivery destination determination unit 180 determines to deliver the lot with lot number A001 from coating equipment 20C to storage shelf 50. In this case, instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot with lot number A001 from coating equipment 20C to storage shelf 50.

[0095] On the other hand, suppose that equipment information acquisition unit 150 acquires, as manufacturing equipment information, information indicating that baking equipment 20D is in an equipment standby state waiting for a lot. In this case, delivery destination determination unit 180 decides to directly deliver the lot with lot number A001 from coating equipment 20C to baking equipment 20D. In this case, instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to delivery mechanism 30 to directly deliver the lot with lot number A001 from coating equipment 20C to baking equipment 20D.

[0096] It is assumed that equipment information acquisition unit 150 acquires, as manufacturing equipment information, trouble information indicating that baking equipment 20D is in an abnormal state. In this case, delivery destination determination unit 180 decides to deliver the lot with lot number A001 from coating equipment 20C to storage shelf 50. In this case, instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot with lot number A001 from coating equipment 20C to storage shelf 50. This allows for efficient delivery.

[0097] The lot selection unit 190 selects a predetermined lot from among the multiple lots stored in the storage shelf 50 based on the lot status information. The instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot selected by the lot selection unit 190 from the storage shelf 50 to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20.

[0098] For example, it is assumed that a lot with lot number A001 and a lot with lot number A002 are stored in the storage shelf 50. It is assumed that information indicating that the cutting process and the baking process have been completed for the lot with lot number A001 but the coating process has not been completed is generated as the lot status information. On the other hand, it is assumed that information indicating that the cutting process, the baking process and the coating process have been completed for the lot with lot number A002 is generated as the lot status information. In this situation, when a lot of type A is to be input into the baking equipment 20D based on the input operation table, the lot selection unit 190 selects the lot with lot number A002, which is in a state that can be input into the baking process, from among the multiple lots stored in the storage shelf 50. The instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot with lot number A002 selected by the lot selection unit 190 from the storage shelf 50 to the baking equipment 20D. This allows for efficient delivery.

[0099] The lot selection unit 190 may select a predetermined lot from among a plurality of lots stored in the storage shelf 50 based on the lot status information and the manufacturing equipment information.

[0100] For example, it is assumed that a lot with a lot number A001 and a lot with a lot number A002 are stored in the storage shelf 50. Then, it is assumed that information is generated as the status information of the lot indicating that the lot with the lot number A001 has completed the cutting process and the baking process but has not completed the coating process. Meanwhile, it is assumed that information is generated as the status information of the lot indicating that the lot with the lot number A002 has completed the cutting process, the baking process and the coating process. Then, it is assumed that the equipment information acquisition unit 150 has acquired, as the manufacturing equipment information, trouble information indicating that the coating equipment 20C is in an abnormal state. Meanwhile, it is assumed that the equipment information acquisition unit 150 has acquired, as the manufacturing equipment information, information indicating that the baking equipment 20D is in an equipment standby state waiting for a lot. In this case, the lot selection unit 190 selects the lot with the lot number A002, which is in a state that can be input to the baking process, from among the multiple lots stored in the storage shelf 50. The instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot with the lot number A002 selected by the lot selection unit 190 from the storage shelf 50 to the printing equipment 20D. This allows for efficient delivery.

[0101] The lot selection unit 190 may select a predetermined lot from among the multiple lots stored on the storage shelf 50 based on the lot status information and the lot location information. In other words, the lot selection unit 190 may determine the lot stored on the storage shelf 50 based on the lot location information, and then select a predetermined lot from among the multiple lots stored on the storage shelf 50.

[0102] As described above, the lots registered by the lot registration unit 110 are basically input to each manufacturing facility 20 based on the input operation schedule. However, there are cases where the lot cannot be delivered as scheduled due to the occurrence of a problem or the like. In addition, there are cases where a more efficient lot delivery can be achieved depending on the overall condition of the manufacturing system 1. According to this embodiment, an appropriate lot can be selected based on the input operation schedule information and lot status information, and further based on manufacturing facility information and lot location information as necessary, and the selected lot can be efficiently delivered to an appropriate delivery destination.

[0103] The control unit 100 of this embodiment may further include an evaluation information acquisition unit 170 .

[0104] The evaluation information acquiring unit 170 acquires evaluation information indicating the evaluation result of a lot processed by the manufacturing equipment 20. Specifically, the evaluation information acquiring unit 170 acquires information such as the number of processing defects in a lot as evaluation information indicating the evaluation result of the processed lot based on the detection results of various sensors and the like provided in each manufacturing equipment 20. For example, information on the number of cutting defects occurring in a lot in the cutting equipment 20A is acquired.

[0105] The delivery destination determination unit 180 determines the manufacturing facility 20 to which the lot should be delivered based on the evaluation information of the lot acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 170. For example, when the number of cutting defects in the lot in the cutting facility 20A is greater than a predetermined number, the delivery destination determination unit 180 determines to repeatedly transport the lot to the appearance screening inspection facility 20G multiple times. Alternatively, the delivery destination determination unit 180 may determine to repeatedly transport the lot to the characteristic inspection facility 20F multiple times.

[0106] The instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot to the manufacturing facility 20 determined by the delivery destination determination unit 180 based on the evaluation information of the lot. For example, when the number of cut defects in the lot in the cutting facility 20A is greater than a predetermined value, the instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to repeatedly transport the lot to the appearance screening inspection facility 20G multiple times. Alternatively, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to repeatedly transport the lot to the characteristic inspection facility 20F multiple times. Note that, in the manufacturing process up to the appearance screening inspection facility 20G or the characteristic inspection facility 20F, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 so that the lot is transported in the order of the normal manufacturing process.

[0107] In this way, based on the evaluation information of a lot, the instruction signal output section 200 can output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to repeatedly deliver the lot to the same manufacturing facility 20. This allows a more thorough inspection to be carried out on lots that are determined to require caution.

[0108] In addition, the delivery destination determination unit 180 may determine the number of repeated transports so that the greater the number of defects in a lot detected by the manufacturing equipment 20, the more times the lot will be transported to inspection equipment such as characteristic inspection equipment 20F or appearance sorting inspection equipment 20G.

[0109] The flow of this embodiment will be described below. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in this embodiment.

[0110] In the registration process of step S11, the lot registration unit 110 registers a plurality of electronic components as a predetermined lot. For example, the lot registration unit 110 registers a first lot of electronic components manufactured in the same manufacturing process in the previous process among electronic components of the same type A as a lot with lot number A001.

[0111] In the processing information acquisition step of step S12, the lot discrimination unit 120 determines the lot number of the lot of electronic components 10 contained in the delivery box 40 based on the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition means when the lot of electronic components 10 is carried into the manufacturing equipment 20. Then, the processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating the processing performed by each manufacturing equipment 20 on the lot carried into the manufacturing equipment 20. For example, when the cutting equipment 20A performs a cutting process on the lot with lot number A001, the processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating that the cutting process has been performed on the lot with lot number A001. Also, when the firing equipment 20B performs a firing process on the lot with lot number A001, the processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating that the firing process has been performed on the lot with lot number A001. Furthermore, when the coating equipment 20C performs a coating process on the lot with the lot number A001, the processing information acquisition unit 130 acquires processing information indicating that a coating process has been performed on the lot with the lot number A001.

[0112] In the generating process of step S13, the status information generating unit 140 generates status information of the lot by linking the lot identification information of the registered lot with the processing information indicating the processing performed on the registered lot. For example, a case will be described in which the lot with the lot number A001 is registered by the lot registration unit 110, and the processing information acquiring unit 130 acquires processing information indicating that the lot with the lot number A001 has been subjected to a cutting process by the cutting equipment 20A, processing information indicating that the lot with the lot number A001 has been subjected to a baking process by the baking equipment 20B, and processing information indicating that the lot with the lot number A001 has been subjected to a coating process by the coating equipment 20C. In this case, the status information generating unit 140 generates information indicating that the lot with the lot number A001 has been subjected to the cutting process, the baking process, and the coating process as the status information of the lot.

[0113] In the instruction signal output process of step S14, the instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20 based on the generated lot status information. For example, if the lot status information indicates that the cutting process, baking process, and coating process have been completed for the lot with lot number A001, the instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot with lot number A001 to the baking facility 20D. This process is performed at the planned timing of lot input or at any arbitrary timing.

[0114] The predetermined lot to be delivered may be selected by the lot selection unit 190. In this case, the lot selection unit 190 selects the predetermined lot from among the multiple lots stored in the storage shelf 50 based on the lot status information and the like. The lot selection unit 190 may select the predetermined lot from among the multiple lots stored in the storage shelf 50 based on the lot status information and manufacturing equipment information. The instruction signal output unit 200 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot selected by the lot selection unit 190 from the storage shelf 50 to the predetermined manufacturing equipment 20.

[0115] In the delivery process of step S15, the delivery mechanism 30 receives the instruction signal output from the instruction signal output unit 200, and based on this instruction signal, delivers the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20. For example, the delivery mechanism 30 delivers the lot with lot number A001 stored in the storage shelf 50 to the baking facility 20D.

[0116] In addition, if the control unit 100 has an equipment information acquisition unit 150, in step S14, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a specified manufacturing equipment 20 based on the lot status information generated in step S13 and the manufacturing equipment information acquired by the equipment information acquisition unit 150.

[0117] In addition, if the control unit 100 has a location information acquisition unit 160, in step S14, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a specified manufacturing facility 20 based on the lot status information generated in step S13 and the lot location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 160.

[0118] In addition, in step S14, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a specified manufacturing equipment 20 based on the lot status information, manufacturing equipment information, and lot location information.

[0119] When issuing a delivery instruction to a lot located in a manufacturing facility 20, in step S14, the delivery destination determination unit 180 may determine, based on the lot status information and the manufacturing facility information, whether to deliver the registered lot from a specified manufacturing facility 20 to the storage shelf 50, or from the specified manufacturing facility 20 to another manufacturing facility 20. Then, based on the content of that determination, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to the storage shelf 50 or to another manufacturing facility 20.

[0120] If the control unit 100 has the evaluation information acquisition unit 170, in step S14, the delivery destination determination unit 180 may determine the manufacturing equipment 20 to which the lot should be delivered, based on the evaluation information of the lot acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 170. Then, the instruction signal output unit 200 may output an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot to the delivery destination determined by the delivery destination determination unit 180.

[0121] Thus, the manufacturing method for electronic component 10 in this embodiment is a manufacturing method for electronic component 10 in which electronic component 10 is manufactured using a plurality of manufacturing equipment 20 that performs a plurality of different manufacturing processes, and includes a registration process for registering a plurality of electronic components 10 as a lot, a generation process for linking information on the registered lot with processing information indicating the processing performed in the manufacturing equipment 20 to generate status information for the lot, and a delivery process for delivering the registered lot to a specified manufacturing equipment 20 based on the status information of the lot.

[0122] The present disclosure is particularly effective in a manufacturing system for multilayer ceramic electronic components. In the case of such a manufacturing system 1, a great number of manufacturing processes are performed until the electronic component 10 is completed. Therefore, a large number of manufacturing facilities 20 exist. In addition, a large number of manufacturing facilities 20 are often located far from each other. In addition, since there are many types of electronic components 10 to be manufactured, preparations may be made for the manufacturing facilities 20 to handle each type. In this case, the manufacturing facilities 20 are temporarily stopped. In addition, there may be many lots waiting for instructions. Therefore, there are many cases where the lot cannot be delivered as scheduled depending on the overall situation of the lot, the manufacturing facilities 20, etc. In addition, there may be a situation where the lot can be delivered more efficiently depending on the overall situation of the lot, the manufacturing facilities 20, etc. According to the manufacturing system 1 of the present embodiment, the electronic component 10 can be delivered efficiently according to the processing status of the electronic component 10. In addition, the electronic component 10 can be delivered efficiently according to the overall situation of the lot, the manufacturing facilities 20, etc. Furthermore, in a system for handling small multilayer ceramic electronic components, a shipping box 40 can accommodate a large number of electronic components 10 from the same lot, allowing efficient delivery on a shipping box basis according to the overall system status.

[0123] In this embodiment, the electronic component 10 to be processed is not limited to a multilayer ceramic capacitor, but may be, for example, a chip-like electronic component such as a piezoelectric component, a thermistor, an inductor, or a resistor, or other electronic component.

[0124] The electronic component manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment provides the following advantages.

[0125] (1) The electronic component manufacturing system 1 of the present embodiment is an electronic component manufacturing system 1 that manufactures electronic components 10 by performing a plurality of manufacturing processes, and includes a plurality of manufacturing facilities 20 that perform different processes on the electronic components 10 corresponding to each of the plurality of manufacturing processes, a delivery mechanism 30 that delivers the electronic components 10 to the manufacturing facilities 20, and a control unit 100. The control unit 100 registers the plurality of electronic components 10 as a lot, generates status information for the lot based on lot identification information for the registered lot, and outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20 based on the generated status information for the lot. This allows efficient delivery of the lot according to the processing status of the electronic components 10. In addition, it is preferable that the control unit 100 generates the status information for the lot by linking the lot identification information for the registered lot with processing information indicating the processing performed in the manufacturing facilities 20. This allows more efficient delivery of the lot according to the processing status of the electronic components 10.

[0126] (2) The control unit 100 of this embodiment acquires manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of the manufacturing equipment 20, and based on the lot status information and the manufacturing equipment information, outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a specific manufacturing equipment 20. This allows the lot to be delivered more efficiently, taking into account the status of the manufacturing equipment.

[0127] (3) In the electronic device manufacturing system 1 of the present embodiment, the manufacturing equipment information includes trouble information about the manufacturing equipment 20. This allows the lot to be delivered more efficiently by taking into account the trouble information about the manufacturing equipment 20.

[0128] (4) The control unit 100 of this embodiment acquires evaluation information indicating the evaluation results of a lot processed by the manufacturing equipment 20, determines the manufacturing equipment 20 to which the lot should be delivered based on the evaluation information, and outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot to the determined manufacturing equipment 20. This allows the lot to be delivered more appropriately in accordance with the evaluation results of the lot.

[0129] (5) Based on the evaluation information, the control unit 100 of this embodiment outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to repeatedly deliver the lot to the same manufacturing facility 20. This allows for more appropriate delivery of the lot in accordance with the evaluation results of the lot.

[0130] (6) The delivery mechanism 30 of the present embodiment is an AGV, which allows for more efficient delivery of lots.

[0131] (7) The manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment further includes a delivery box 40 that contains multiple electronic components 10, and multiple electronic components 10 registered as one lot are contained in one or more delivery boxes 40, and the multiple electronic components 10 contained in one delivery box 40 are electronic components 10 from the same lot, and the delivery box 40 has an identification information holding medium 42 that holds identification information, and the identification information includes lot identification information or is linked to the lot identification information. This allows the delivery of lots to be more efficiently performed using the delivery box 40.

[0132] (8) In the manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment, multiple electronic components 10 registered as one lot are distributed and stored in multiple delivery boxes 40, and the control unit 100 outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the electronic components 10 constituting one lot that are distributed and stored in the multiple delivery boxes 40 to the same manufacturing equipment 20. This makes it possible to efficiently deliver the lot while aligning the processing histories of the electronic components 10 within the lot.

[0133] (9) The delivery mechanism in this embodiment is an AGV, and one AGV delivers one delivery box 40. This allows electronic components to be delivered efficiently in the smallest delivery unit. In addition, since there is a one-to-one relationship between one delivery box 40 and one AGV, the complexity of control is reduced.

[0134] (10) In electronic component manufacturing system 1 of the present embodiment, electronic components 10 are chip-type multilayer ceramic electronic components, and the number of chip-type multilayer ceramic electronic components accommodated in one shipping box 40 is 1,000 or more. This allows a very large number of electronic components 10 to be efficiently shipped in the smallest shipping unit.

[0135] (11) In this embodiment, the identification information storage medium 42 is an RFID tag, which makes it easy to obtain the identification information.

[0136] (12) The control unit 100 of this embodiment acquires location information of the lot based on the read information of the identification information, and based on the lot status information and the lot location information, outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20. This makes it possible to more efficiently deliver the lot, taking into account the lot location information.

[0137] (13) The control unit 100 of this embodiment acquires manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of the manufacturing equipment 20, and outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the registered lot to a specific manufacturing equipment 20 based on the lot status information, lot location information, and manufacturing equipment information. This enables more efficient delivery of the lot, taking into account the lot location information and manufacturing equipment information.

[0138] (14) The electronic component manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment further includes a storage shelf 50 that stores multiple lots of electronic components 10 housed in delivery boxes 40, and the control unit 100 selects a specific lot from the multiple lots stored in the storage shelf 50 based on lot status information, and outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the selected lot from the storage shelf 50 to a specific manufacturing facility 20. This allows the appropriate lot to be selected, making it possible to deliver the lot more efficiently.

[0139] (15) The control unit 100 of this embodiment acquires manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of the manufacturing equipment 20, selects a predetermined lot from among the multiple lots stored on the storage shelf 50 based on the lot status information and the manufacturing equipment information, and outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the selected lot from the storage shelf 50 to the predetermined manufacturing equipment 20. This allows a more appropriate lot to be selected based on the manufacturing equipment information, and the lot can be delivered more efficiently.

[0140] (16) The control unit 100 of this embodiment acquires location information of the lot based on the read information of the identification information, selects a specific lot from among the multiple lots stored on the storage shelf 50 based on the lot status information and the lot location information, and outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the selected lot from the storage shelf 50 to a specific manufacturing facility 20. This allows a more appropriate lot to be selected based on the lot location information, and the lot can be delivered more efficiently.

[0141] (17) The electronic component manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment further includes a storage shelf 50 for storing multiple lots of electronic components 10 housed in delivery boxes 40, and the control unit 100 acquires manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of the manufacturing equipment 20, and determines, based on the lot status information and the manufacturing equipment information, whether to deliver the registered lot from a specific manufacturing equipment 20 to the storage shelf 50, or from the specific manufacturing equipment 20 to another manufacturing equipment 20. This allows for more efficient delivery of the lot, taking into account the manufacturing equipment information.

[0142] (18) In the electronic component manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment, the electronic component 10 is a multilayer ceramic electronic component, and the multiple manufacturing equipment 20 includes a cutting equipment 20A that cuts a laminated block composed of a dielectric sheet and a conductive paste into a laminated chip of a predetermined size, a firing equipment 20B that fires the laminated chip to produce a laminate, a coating equipment 20C that applies a material for a base electrode layer of an external electrode to a predetermined position of the laminate, a baking equipment 20D that bakes the applied material for the base electrode layer, a plating equipment 20E that forms a plating layer on the outer surface side of the base electrode layer, a characteristic inspection equipment 20F that inspects the characteristics of a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which an external electrode including a base electrode layer and a plating layer is formed on a laminate, and an appearance screening inspection equipment 20G that performs an appearance screening inspection of a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which an external electrode including a base electrode layer and a plating layer is formed on a laminate, and includes at least four or more manufacturing equipment 20. In this way, the effect of this embodiment can be obtained even in a manufacturing system for a multilayer ceramic electronic component having multiple manufacturing equipment 20.

[0143] (19) The control unit 100 of this embodiment acquires evaluation information indicating the evaluation results of the lot processed by the manufacturing equipment 20, and based on the evaluation information, outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism 30 to deliver the lot to the characteristic inspection equipment 20F or the appearance sorting inspection equipment 20G multiple times. This allows careful inspection of the lot.

[0144] (20) The method for manufacturing an electronic component according to the present embodiment is a method for manufacturing electronic components 10 using a plurality of manufacturing facilities 20 that perform a plurality of different manufacturing processes, and includes a registration step of registering a plurality of electronic components 10 as a lot, a generation step of linking information on the registered lot with processing information indicating processing performed in the manufacturing facilities 20 to generate status information for the lot, and a delivery step of delivering the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility 20 based on the status information for the lot. This allows efficient delivery of the lot according to the processing status of the electronic components 10.

[0145] The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and applied within the scope of the present invention. Note that the present invention also includes a combination of two or more of the individual desirable configurations described in the above-mentioned embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0146] 1. Electronic component manufacturing system 10. Electronic Components 20 Manufacturing equipment 20A Cutting Equipment 20B Firing equipment 20C coating equipment 20D baking equipment 20E Plating Equipment 20F Characteristics inspection equipment 20G appearance selection inspection equipment 24 First identification information acquisition means 30 Delivery mechanism 31 Automated Guided Vehicle 35 Second identification information acquisition means 40 shipping box 42 Identification information storage medium 50 Storage Shelves 54 Third identification information acquisition means 55 Fourth identification information acquisition means 100 Control section 110 Lot Registration Department 120 Lot Identification Department 130 Processing information acquisition unit 140 Status information generator 150 Equipment information acquisition department 160 Location information acquisition unit 170 Evaluation Information Acquisition Department 180 Delivery destination determination department 190 Lot Selection Section 200 Indication signal output unit 210 Storage section

Claims

1. An electronic component manufacturing system that manufactures electronic components by performing a plurality of manufacturing processes, a plurality of manufacturing facilities for performing different processes on the electronic components, each of which corresponds to one of the plurality of manufacturing processes; a delivery mechanism for delivering the electronic components to the manufacturing facility; A control unit, The control unit is Register multiple electronic components as a lot, acquiring evaluation information indicating an evaluation result of the lot processed by the manufacturing facility; determining a manufacturing facility to which the lot should be delivered based on the evaluation information; and outputting to the delivery mechanism an instruction signal for delivering the lot to the determined manufacturing facility.

2. The control unit:

2. The electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a signal outputting to said delivery mechanism an instruction for repeatedly delivering said lot to the same manufacturing facility based on said evaluation information.

3. The electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the delivery mechanism is an AGV.

4. The control unit: generating lot status information based on the registered lot identification information of the lot; The electronic component manufacturing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a delivery mechanism that outputs an instruction signal to deliver the registered lot to a specified manufacturing facility based on the generated status information of the lot.

5. A shipping box containing a plurality of electronic components, A plurality of electronic components registered as one lot are contained in one or more of the shipping boxes, The plurality of electronic components contained in one delivery box are electronic components from the same lot, The delivery box has an identification information storage medium that stores identification information, The electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 4 , wherein the identification information includes the lot identification information or is linked to the lot identification information.

6. A plurality of electronic components registered as one lot are distributed and housed in a plurality of the delivery boxes, 6. The electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 5, wherein the control unit outputs an instruction signal to the delivery mechanism to deliver electronic components constituting one lot, which are distributed and contained in a plurality of delivery boxes, to the same manufacturing facility.

7. 7. The electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 5, wherein the delivery mechanism is an AGV, and one AGV delivers one delivery box.

8. the electronic component is a chip-type multilayer ceramic electronic component, 8. The system for manufacturing electronic components according to claim 5, wherein the number of chip-like multilayer ceramic electronic components contained in one of said shipping boxes is 1000 or more.

9. 9. The electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 5, wherein the identification information holding medium is an RFID tag.

10. The control unit: Acquire manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of the manufacturing equipment; The electronic component manufacturing system according to any one of claims 5 to 9, further comprising: an instruction signal for delivering the registered lot to a specified manufacturing facility, based on the lot status information and the manufacturing facility information, outputting to the delivery mechanism.

11. An electronic component manufacturing system as described in claim 10, wherein the manufacturing equipment information includes trouble information for the manufacturing equipment.

12. The control unit is obtaining location information of the lot based on the read information of the identification information; The electronic component manufacturing system according to any one of claims 5 to 11, further comprising: an instruction signal for delivering the registered lot to a specified manufacturing facility to the delivery mechanism based on the lot status information and the lot location information.

13. The control unit is Acquire manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of the manufacturing equipment; The electronic component manufacturing system of claim 12, further comprising: an instruction signal for delivering the registered lot to a specified manufacturing facility outputted to the delivery mechanism based on the lot status information, the lot location information, and the manufacturing facility information.

14. The electronic device further includes a storage shelf for storing a plurality of lots of electronic components in a state where the electronic components are accommodated in the delivery boxes, The control unit is selecting a predetermined lot from among the plurality of lots stored on the storage shelf based on the status information of the lot; 14. The system for manufacturing electronic components according to claim 5, further comprising: a signal for instructing said delivery mechanism to deliver the selected lot from said storage shelf to a predetermined manufacturing facility.

15. The control unit is Acquire manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of the manufacturing equipment; selecting a predetermined lot from among the multiple lots stored on the storage shelf based on the lot status information and the manufacturing equipment information; 15. The system for manufacturing electronic components according to claim 14, further comprising: a signal outputting an instruction for delivering the selected lot from the storage shelf to a predetermined manufacturing facility to the delivery mechanism.

16. The control unit is obtaining location information of the lot based on the read information of the identification information; selecting a predetermined lot from among a plurality of lots stored on the storage shelf based on the status information of the lot and the location information of the lot; 16. The system for manufacturing electronic components according to claim 14, further comprising: a signal outputting an instruction for delivering the selected lot from the storage shelf to a predetermined manufacturing facility to the delivery mechanism.

17. The electronic device further includes a storage shelf for storing a plurality of lots of electronic components in a state where the electronic components are accommodated in the delivery boxes, The control unit is Acquire manufacturing equipment information indicating the status of the manufacturing equipment; The electronic component manufacturing system according to any one of claims 5 to 14, further comprising: determining whether to deliver the registered lot from a specified manufacturing facility to the storage shelf, or from the specified manufacturing facility to another manufacturing facility, based on the lot status information and the manufacturing facility information.

18. the electronic component is a multilayer ceramic electronic component, 18. The system for manufacturing electronic components according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of manufacturing facilities include at least four or more of the manufacturing facilities: a cutting facility that cuts a laminated block containing a dielectric sheet and a conductive paste into laminated chips of a predetermined size; a firing facility that fires the laminated chips to produce a laminate; a coating facility that applies a material for a base electrode layer of an external electrode to a predetermined position of the laminate; a baking facility that bakes the applied material for the base electrode layer; a plating facility that forms a plating layer on the outer surface side of the base electrode layer; a characteristic inspection facility that inspects characteristics of a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which external electrodes including the base electrode layer and the plating layer are formed on the laminate; and an appearance sorting inspection facility that performs an appearance sorting inspection of a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which external electrodes including the base electrode layer and the plating layer are formed on the laminate.

19. An electronic component manufacturing system for manufacturing electronic components by carrying out a plurality of manufacturing processes, comprising: a plurality of manufacturing facilities for performing different processes on the electronic components, each of which corresponds to one of the plurality of manufacturing processes; a delivery mechanism for delivering the electronic components to the manufacturing facility; A control unit, the electronic component is a multilayer ceramic electronic component, the plurality of manufacturing facilities include four or more manufacturing facilities including at least a characteristic inspection facility or an appearance screening inspection facility among a cutting facility that cuts a laminated block containing a dielectric sheet and a conductive paste into laminated chips of a predetermined size, a firing facility that fires the laminated chips to produce a laminate, a coating facility that coats a material for a base electrode layer of an external electrode at a predetermined position of the laminate, a baking facility that bakes the coated material for the base electrode layer, a plating facility that forms a plating layer on the outer surface side of the base electrode layer, a characteristic inspection facility that inspects characteristics of a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which an external electrode including the base electrode layer and the plating layer is formed on the laminate, and an appearance screening inspection facility that performs an appearance screening inspection of a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which an external electrode including the base electrode layer and the plating layer is formed on the laminate, The control unit is Register multiple electronic components as a lot, acquiring evaluation information indicating an evaluation result of the lot processed by the manufacturing facility; a delivery mechanism that delivers the lot to the characteristic inspection facility or the appearance sorting inspection facility a plurality of times based on the evaluation information;

20. The control unit: generating lot status information based on the registered lot identification information of the lot; 20. The electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 19, further comprising: a signal for instructing the delivery mechanism to deliver the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility based on the generated status information of the lot.

21. A method for manufacturing electronic components using a plurality of manufacturing facilities that perform a plurality of different manufacturing processes, comprising: a registration step of registering a plurality of electronic components as a lot; an evaluation information acquisition step of acquiring evaluation information indicating an evaluation result of the lot processed by the manufacturing facility; determining a manufacturing facility to which the lot should be delivered based on the evaluation information, and delivering the lot to the determined manufacturing facility.

22. A method for manufacturing electronic components using a plurality of manufacturing facilities performing a plurality of different manufacturing processes, comprising: the electronic component is a multilayer ceramic electronic component, the plurality of manufacturing facilities include four or more manufacturing facilities including at least a characteristic inspection facility or an appearance screening inspection facility among a cutting facility that cuts a laminated block containing a dielectric sheet and a conductive paste into laminated chips of a predetermined size, a firing facility that fires the laminated chips to produce a laminate, a coating facility that coats a material for a base electrode layer of an external electrode at a predetermined position of the laminate, a baking facility that bakes the coated material for the base electrode layer, a plating facility that forms a plating layer on the outer surface side of the base electrode layer, a characteristic inspection facility that inspects characteristics of a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which an external electrode including the base electrode layer and the plating layer is formed on the laminate, and an appearance screening inspection facility that performs an appearance screening inspection of a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which an external electrode including the base electrode layer and the plating layer is formed on the laminate, a registration step of registering a plurality of electronic components as a lot; an evaluation information acquisition step of acquiring evaluation information indicating an evaluation result of the lot processed by the manufacturing facility; and a delivery step of delivering the lot to the characteristic inspection facility or the appearance sorting inspection facility a plurality of times based on the evaluation information.

23. A generating step of linking the registered information of the lot with processing information indicating a process performed in the manufacturing equipment to generate status information of the lot; 23. The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 21, further comprising: a delivery step of delivering the registered lot to a predetermined manufacturing facility based on the status information of the lot.

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