Route setting system, route setting method, and software

Abstract

To reduce the burden of settings on an operator in a transport body route setting system used in a substrate transport device that includes a plurality of transport bodies that move by magnetic force.SOLUTION: A path setting system for each of a plurality of transport bodies used in a substrate transfer device including a substrate transfer area, and the plurality of transport bodies each having a support portion for supporting the substrate and each floating by magnetic force from a floor forming the substrate transfer area and moving, includes: a virtual area setting unit that sets a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transfer area; a path generation unit that generates a movement path from the movement start position to the movement end position for each of the transport bodies in the virtual area; and an interference determination unit that makes a determination regarding interference in the movement path.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a route setting system, a route setting method, and software.

Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), which is a substrate, is transported inside a device and processed. Patent Document 1 discloses a substrate processing apparatus including a vacuum transport module (vacuum transport chamber). In this vacuum transport module, a plurality of carriers (transport units) that float by magnetic force from the floor are provided, and wafers are transported by each carrier.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a technique capable of reducing the setting burden on an operator in a route setting system for carriers used in a substrate transport apparatus including a plurality of carriers that move by magnetic force.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The route setting system of the present disclosure is used in a substrate transport apparatus including a substrate transport area and a plurality of carriers that are provided with a support portion for supporting a substrate and float and move by magnetic force from a floor forming the substrate transport area. In the route setting system for each of the carriers, a virtual area setting unit that sets a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area; in the virtual area, move a route generation unit that generates a movement route from a start position to move an end position for each of the carriers. An interference determination unit that determines interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with 、 The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. The path generation unit sets one rectangular prism and the other rectangular prism in the virtual area as the starting position and ending position of movement, respectively, and sets the movement path from the starting position to the ending position in the virtual area as a row of rectangular prisms. The routing system disclosed herein is a routing system for each of the transport bodies used in a substrate transport device, which comprises a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies each levitating and moving from a floor forming the substrate transport area by magnetic force, wherein the transport body is equipped with a support portion for supporting the substrate and each transport body levitates and moves from the floor forming the substrate transport area. A virtual area setting unit sets a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area, Within the aforementioned virtual area, a path generation unit generates a movement path for each transporter from the start position to the end position of movement, An interference determination unit that determines interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with, The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. The system includes a time information acquisition unit that acquires the correspondence between the elapsed time from an arbitrary reference point and the rectangular parallelepiped in which each of the transporters is located. The routing system disclosed herein is a routing system for each of the transport bodies used in a substrate transport device, which comprises a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies each levitating and moving from a floor forming the substrate transport area by magnetic force, wherein the transport body is equipped with a support portion for supporting the substrate and each transport body levitates and moves from the floor forming the substrate transport area. A virtual area setting unit sets a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area, Within the aforementioned virtual area, a path generation unit generates a movement path for each transporter from the start position to the end position of movement, An interference determination unit that determines interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with, The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. The system includes a visualization unit that visualizes the rectangular parallelepipeds from the collection of rectangular parallelepipeds in which the interference occurs. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to this disclosure, in a transporter path setting system used in a substrate transport device equipped with multiple transporters that move by magnetic force, the burden of setting the path for the operator can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus, including a substrate transport device to which a setting by a routing system, which is one embodiment of the present disclosure, is applied. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view of the transport body and floor installed in a substrate transport device. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the aforementioned route setting system. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view showing the virtual substrate transport area set up by the aforementioned route setting system. [Figure 5]It is a perspective view showing a correspondence example between the cube forming the virtual substrate transfer area and the transfer body. [Figure 6] It is a perspective view showing a movement start cube and a movement end cube set in the substrate transfer area. [Figure 7] It is a perspective view schematically showing the movement path of the transfer body 3 set between the movement start cube and the movement end cube. [Figure 8] It is a perspective view showing an interference cube where interference occurs between the transfer bodies. [Figure 9] It is a perspective view of the cube showing an example of interference avoidance when there is a difference in priority between the transfer bodies. [Figure 10] It is a perspective view of the cube showing an example of interference avoidance when there is no difference in priority between the transfer bodies. [Figure 11] It is a schematic diagram for showing an example of interference avoidance by deceleration of the transfer body. [Figure 12] It is a schematic diagram showing the movement of the transfer body after deceleration. [Figure 13] It is a perspective view showing another correspondence example between the cube and the transfer body. [Figure 14] It is a flowchart showing the setting procedure by the path setting system. [Figure 15] It is a perspective view of the transfer body that avoids interference by tilting. [Figure 16] It is a perspective view showing an exclusive cube. [Figure 17] It is a schematic diagram showing an example of the occurrence of an interference cube.

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0008] 〔Description of the Substrate Processing Apparatus〕 Before describing a routing system 4, which is one embodiment of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus 1, which is an example of an apparatus to which the routing system 4 is applied, will be described with reference to the plan view in Figure 1. The substrate processing apparatus 1 comprises a loader module 11, an alignment module 12, load lock modules 13 and 14, a vacuum transport module 2, and processing modules 20A to 20F, in which a circular substrate wafer W is processed in a vacuum atmosphere in the processing modules 20A to 20F.

[0009] The loader module 11 is a module called an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) and is used to load and unload wafers W into and out of a transport container C called a FOUP (Front Open Unified Pod) that stores the wafers W. Multiple container mounting sections 15 for each transport container C are provided on the front side of the loader module 11, arranged on the left and right. A transport mechanism 16, which is a multi-jointed arm, is provided inside the loader module 11.

[0010] An alignment module 12 is connected to the loader module 11 on its left side when viewed from front to rear. The alignment module 12 detects the center of the wafer W. Based on this detection result, the transport mechanism 16 receives the wafer W from the alignment module 12, so that the wafer W is placed in the correct position at the destination of the wafer W after the alignment module 12.

[0011] Load lock modules 13 and 14 are connected to the rear of the loader module 11, and the load lock modules 13 and 14 are located on the left and right sides, separated from each other. The load lock modules 13 and 14 can switch between an atmospheric pressure atmosphere (nitrogen gas atmosphere) and a vacuum atmosphere. A door valve G1 is interposed between the load lock modules 13 and 14 and the loader module 11.

[0012] A vacuum transport module 2 is connected to the rear of the load lock modules 13 and 14 via a gate valve G2. The vacuum transport module 2 is a substrate transport device and is equipped with a rectangular housing 20. The space on the floor 21 provided inside this housing 20 is configured as a rectangular parallelepiped substrate transport area 22. Therefore, the floor 21 forms the bottom of the substrate transport area 22. As shown in the schematic perspective view in Figure 2, numerous coils 23 are embedded in the floor 21, distributed laterally. Power is supplied to each coil 23 individually, and each coil 23 generates a magnetic field around it with an intensity corresponding to the supplied power. That is, each coil 23 acts as an electromagnet.

[0013] Multiple transport bodies 3 are provided in the substrate transport area 22 to support and transport wafers W, and the substrate transport area 22 is the operating area for the transport bodies 3. Due to the magnetic field on the floor 21 described above, these transport bodies 3 levitate and move above the floor 21. As a result, a high level of cleanliness is ensured in the substrate transport area 22. The operation of these transport bodies 3 is controlled independently of each other. In this example, two transport bodies 3 are provided, and they may be distinguished and shown as 3A and 3B.

[0014] The transporter 3 will be described in more detail below. The transporter 3 comprises a mobile body 31 containing a permanent magnet and a support section 32 that supports the wafer W from below. In this example, the support section 32 is connected to the side of the mobile body 31, and with the mobile body 31 positioned on the floor 21, it is possible to enter the load lock modules 13, 14 and processing modules 20A to 20F and transfer the wafer W to these modules. The magnet of the mobile body 31 and the energized coil 23 repel each other by magnetic force, causing the transporter 3A to float above the floor 21. By switching the coil 23 to which power is supplied and adjusting the amount of power supplied, the magnetic field on the floor 21 is controlled, allowing the transporter 3 to remain floating and move in any direction, change its orientation, stop, and change its tilt. The above-mentioned movement in any direction includes not only lateral movement but also vertical movement.

[0015] Processing modules 20A to 20F are connected to different positions on the vacuum transport module 2 via gate valves G3. Each of the processing modules 20A to 20F includes a processing container with a vacuum atmosphere inside, a stage for placing wafers W inside the processing container and for adjusting the temperature of the placed wafers W, and a gas supply unit for supplying processing gas to the wafers W placed on the stage for processing. The stage is provided with lifting pins for transferring wafers W between the transport bodies 3A and 3B. In processing modules 20A to 20F, wafers W are processed according to the processing gas. Examples of these processes include etching, film deposition, or annealing. A plasma formation mechanism may also be provided so that the processing gas is plasma-generated for processing.

[0016] Furthermore, the load lock modules 13 and 14 described above are also provided with stages equipped with lifting pins, similar to the processing modules 20A to 20F, allowing for the transfer of wafers W between the transfer mechanism 16, each transfer body 3, and the stage. Regarding the transfer path of wafers W in the substrate processing apparatus 1, wafers W taken in from the transfer container C to the loader module 11 are transferred in the order of alignment module 12 → loader module 11 → load lock module 13 → vacuum transfer module 2. After being processed in the processing modules 20A to 20F, the wafers W are then transferred in the order of vacuum transfer module 2 → load lock module 14 → loader module 11 → transfer container C. The door valve G1 and gate valves G2 and G3 are closed except when necessary for transferring wafers W between modules, thereby separating the atmosphere between modules.

[0017] To elaborate further on the transport between the vacuum transport module 2 and the processing modules 20A to 20F, the device configuration may involve transporting and processing only one of the six processing modules 20A to 20F, or it may involve transporting and processing multiple of the six processing modules 20A to 20F in sequence. For transport between the vacuum transport module 2, the processing modules 20A to 20F, and the load lock modules 13 and 14, any of the transport bodies 3A and 3B can be used, as determined by the simulation settings described later.

[0018] Furthermore, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10. The control unit 10 is configured as a computer. Therefore, the control unit 10 includes a program, memory, CPU, etc. The program of this control unit 10 is structured with steps that can output control signals to each part of the substrate processing apparatus 1 to control the operation of each part so that the wafer W described above is transported and processed. This program is stored in the control unit 10 in a storage medium such as a hard disk, compact disc, DVD, or memory card.

[0019] [Background regarding the routing of transport vehicles] As described above, multiple transport bodies 3 can be provided in the vacuum transport module 2, and are not limited to just two transport bodies 3A and 3B; more transport bodies may be provided. As previously stated, these multiple transport bodies 3 can move independently of each other. Furthermore, since they can move in both the horizontal and vertical directions, they offer a high degree of freedom of movement.

[0020] Before operating the substrate processing apparatus 1, when setting the movement paths of the transporters 3 between modules, it is necessary to set the movement paths of each transporter 3 so that interference between the transporters 3 is prevented and wafers W are transported quickly between modules. However, as mentioned above, each transporter 3 can move independently and has a high degree of freedom of movement, so setting the movement paths of the transporters in this way may be time-consuming and burdensome for the operator.

[0021] Furthermore, during the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1, the transporter 3 may move along a movement path that is not predetermined in order to transfer a wafer W from an arbitrary position to an arbitrary module. In such cases, it is required that each transporter 3 moves along a movement path that does not cause interference between the transporters 3 and allows for the rapid transfer of the wafer W. This technology has been developed to meet these requirements.

[0022] [Overview of Route Setting System 4] Figure 3 shows a block diagram of a route setting system 4, which is one embodiment of this technology. The route setting system 4 is a computer. To give an overview of the route setting system 4, it performs a simulation to generate the movement paths of the transporter bodies 3A and 3B based on the parameters input by the operator, and determines whether the transporter bodies 3A and 3B will interfere with each other on these movement paths. If interference is determined to occur, it performs a simulation to change the operating settings of the transporter bodies 3A and / or 3B so as to prevent the travel time required for the transporter bodies 3A and 3B to reach the end position from the start position from being too long, while also avoiding interference between the transporter bodies 3A and 3B.

[0023] In this example, the changes to the operation settings involve either changing the travel path or reducing the speed of the transporter 3 along the travel path, and the most appropriate option among these is selected. To prevent the travel time from becoming excessive, when changing the travel path, the most appropriate path is selected from multiple candidates, and when reducing the speed, the system is adjusted to achieve an appropriate deceleration rate.

[0024] The data obtained from such simulations, as well as the data entered by the operator to perform the simulations, are saved and used by the control unit 10 to control the operation of the transporters 3A and 3B. Then, each transporter 3 operates according to the movement path and speed determined by the simulation.

[0025] [Configuration of Route Setting System 4] In this example, the route setting system 4 is described as a separate computer from the control unit 10 of the substrate processing device 1. It also sets the movement path of the transporter 3 before the substrate processing device 1 is put into operation. As mentioned above, there may be three or more transporters, but in the following description, as shown in Figure 1, there are two transporters, 3A and 3B, and the movement paths for these transporters 3A and 3B are generated.

[0026] The route setting system 4 is equipped with software 41 for performing the above-described processing. The software 41 consists of various programs, which will be described later, and is stored in a storage medium 42 and installed in the route setting system 4. The storage medium 42 consists of a storage medium such as a hard disk, which is listed as the storage medium for the program of the control unit 10. In the figure, 43 is a bus, and in addition to the storage medium 42, an input unit 44, an output unit 45, a memory 46, and a CPU 47 are connected to the bus 43.

[0027] The input unit 44 is used to input various parameters necessary for setting the movement path, and is composed of, for example, a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel. The output unit 45 is equipped with, for example, a display. The virtual area, the various cubes that make up the virtual area, and the window for the operator to input various parameters and make settings, which will be described later, are displayed on the screen of this display.

[0028] [Processing by route setting system 4] From here on, the simulation performed by the route setting system 4 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 4 to 13, which schematically show all or part of the virtual area in the simulation. Figures 7 onwards show the movement paths generated by the route setting system 4. These movement paths proceed from the position where the transporter 3 delivers the wafer W to any one module to the position where the transporter 3 delivers the wafer W to any other module. However, for illustrative purposes, the movement paths in Figures 7 onwards are deviated from the movement paths that should be generated from the module arrangement in Figure 1.

[0029] By having the operator input parameters such as size and shape, the virtual area, the substrate transport area 51, is set as shown in Figure 4. The substrate transport area 51 corresponds to the substrate transport area 22 of the vacuum transport module 2, and therefore, in this example, it is set as a rectangular parallelepiped shape, similar to the substrate transport area 22.

[0030] The substrate transport area 51 is then divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, and treated as a rectangular parallelepiped, or more specifically, a collection of cubes 52. It can also be seen that the substrate transport area 51 is formed by multiple cubes 52 being arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction (front-to-back and left-to-right directions) and the vertical direction. These cubes 52 will be described as being large enough to encompass the transport body 3 in the state in which the wafer W is supported, as shown in Figure 5.

[0031] When generating a single movement path, the operator designates one cube 52 in the substrate transport area 51 as the start cube 53 and another cube 52 as the end cube 54. The start cube 53 and end cube 54 correspond to the start and end positions where the movement path is connected, respectively, and are distinguished from other cubes 52 by the use of diagonal lines and mesh patterns in Figure 6 and other figures. Since the start cube 53 and end cube 54 are designated as arbitrary cubes 52 in the substrate transport area 51, the start and end positions are set from arbitrary positions in the horizontal and vertical directions within the substrate transport area 51.

[0032] Once the starting cube 53 and ending cube 54 are specified in this manner, the route setting system 4 automatically generates a travel path 55 from the starting cube 53 to the ending cube 54. As shown in Figure 7, this travel path 55 is a sequence of cubes 52 that minimizes the distance between the starting cube 53 and the ending cube 54. Therefore, the cubes 52 that make up the travel path 55 are connected by their faces or corners to other cubes 52 that make up the travel path 55, the starting cube 53, or the ending cube 54. In the figure, the cubes 52 that make up the travel path 55 are indicated by numerous dots. As mentioned above, for the sake of explanation, the size of one cube 52 is assumed to correspond to the size of the transporter 3. Therefore, the moving cube 53, the ending cube 54, and the interference cube 56 described later are shown as being composed of one cube 52, but as will be described later, this correspondence is not limited to that.

[0033] The generation of the movement path 55 for transporter 3A has been explained, but the movement path 55 for transporter 3B is generated similarly by specifying the movement start cube 53 and the movement end cube 54. Hereafter, for the movement start cube 53, movement end cube 54 and movement path 55, those relating to transporter 3A will be indicated by adding "A" after the number, and those relating to transporter 3B will be indicated by adding "B" after the number. Specifically, for example, the movement paths of transporters 3A and 3B may be shown as 55A and 55B, respectively. When both movement paths 55A and 55B are shown in the figure, they will be distinguished from each other by using densely packed dots for 55B.

[0034] [Explanation of parameters for checking interference between the transport units 3] As described above, in generating the movement paths 55A and 55B, in addition to specifying the movement start cube 53 and movement end cube 54, the operator inputs various parameters. These parameters include speed parameters that enable the calculation of how many seconds after the transporter 3 starts moving from the movement start cube 53 it will be located at which cube 52 on the movement path 55, and how many seconds after it will be located at the movement end cube 54. In other words, the path setting system 4 can calculate the timing of the transporter 3's position after it starts moving for each of the movement end cubes 54 of the cubes 52 that make up the movement path 55, according to the speed parameters.

[0035] The speed-related parameters mentioned above include, for example, the maximum speed of the transporter 3 and the time it takes for the transporter 3 to reach its maximum speed from the start of its movement. These parameters are set for each transporter 3. The maximum speed and the time it takes to reach its maximum speed refer to the maximum speed and the time it takes to reach its maximum speed assuming that the movement path 55 is a straight line. Specifying the maximum speed and the time it takes to reach its maximum speed means specifying the positive acceleration from the start of movement cube 53 until it reaches its maximum speed. However, near the end of movement cube 54, for example, the transporter 3 will decelerate with a negative acceleration that is the same value as this positive acceleration. Therefore, in this example, specifying the maximum speed and the time it takes to reach its maximum speed also specifies this negative acceleration (deceleration).

[0036] Let me add some details regarding the movement of the transporter 3. If there is a bend in the movement path 55, for example, the transporter 3 will move at a speed that is a predetermined ratio of its maximum speed at that bend. In other words, the transporter 3 will move through the bend at a speed that is reduced from its maximum speed according to a predetermined rule. More specifically, the transporter 3 will decelerate with the above-mentioned deceleration so that it reaches such a speed at the bend. That is, the transporter 3, moving at its maximum speed, will begin to decelerate when it reaches the cube 52 before the cube 52 forming the bend, and will move through the bend at a speed that is a predetermined ratio of its maximum speed. After passing through the bend, the transporter 3 will accelerate with the above-mentioned positive acceleration and return to its maximum speed. The transporter 3 will move through the straight sections and bends of the movement path 55 according to the above-mentioned predetermined rule (referred to as the movement rule). Therefore, using this movement rule and the speed parameters mentioned above, the route setting system 4 can calculate the timing at which the transporter 3 is located in each cube 52 that make up the movement path 55 after it starts moving, and the timing at which it arrives at the end cube 54.

[0037] Furthermore, the parameters entered by the operator include the time from an arbitrary reference point until the transporter bodies 3A and 3B each begin moving from the movement start cube 53. This parameter corresponds to the time difference in the timing of when the transporter bodies 3A and 3B begin moving from the movement start cube 53.

[0038] Furthermore, the parameters input by the operator include information (referred to as wafer support information) indicating whether or not the transporter 3 supports the wafer W in the generated movement path 55. As mentioned earlier, parameters related to speed include setting the maximum speed of the transporter 3 and the time to reach the maximum speed in the movement path 55. The maximum speed and time to reach the maximum speed set by the operator in this manner are the maximum speed and time to reach the maximum speed when the wafer W is not supported. For movement paths 55 where the transporter 3 is determined to be supporting the wafer W based on the wafer support information, the speed and time obtained by reducing the maximum speed and time to reach the maximum speed set by the operator in this manner according to a predetermined rule are treated as the actual maximum speed and actual time to reach the maximum speed, respectively.

[0039] For the sake of explanation, the maximum speed and time to reach the maximum speed of the transporter 3 when the wafer W is supported are sometimes referred to as the maximum speed during support and the time to reach the maximum speed during support, while the maximum speed and time to reach the maximum speed of the transporter 3 when the wafer W is not supported are sometimes referred to as the maximum speed before support and the time to reach the maximum speed before support, to distinguish between them. That is, when calculating the timing at which the transporter 3 is located at cube 52 and the end-of-movement cube 54 using the above movement rules, the maximum speed before support and the time to reach the maximum speed before support are used when the transporter 3 does not support the wafer W, and the maximum speed during support and the time to reach the maximum speed during support are used when the transporter 3 supports the wafer W.

[0040] For example, the maximum speed during support is set to a predetermined ratio of the maximum speed before support set by the operator. In other words, if the ratio is 0.8, the maximum speed during support is set to the maximum speed before support multiplied by 0.8. Similarly, for example, the time to reach the maximum speed before support is set to a predetermined ratio of the time to reach the maximum speed before support set by the operator. As described above, the speed of the transporter 3 when supporting the wafer W according to the wafer support information is lower than the speed of the transporter when the wafer W is not supported, preventing the wafer W from falling while the transporter 3 is moving.

[0041] Based on the various parameters related to the movement of the transporter 3 described above, the route setting system 4 can acquire time information on the position of the transporter 3 from an arbitrary reference point for the starting cube 53, each cube 52 that makes up the movement path 55, and the ending cube 54. Specifically, it can acquire information as time information on the position of the transporter 3, indicating how much time has elapsed from the reference point before the transporter 3 is located in which cube 52 of the movement path 55, or in the starting cube 53 or ending cube 54. In other words, it can acquire the correspondence between the elapsed time from an arbitrary reference point and the cube 52 (including the starting cube 53 and ending cube 54) in the substrate transport area 51 where the transporter 3 is located.

[0042] By acquiring the time information of the positions of each of the transporters 3A and 3B as described above, it is determined whether or not interference between the transporters 3A and 3B occurs at any of the cubes 52 along the movement path 55. More specifically, this means determining whether or not there is a cube 52 in which the other transporter 3A or 3B will be located during the period when one of the transporters 3A or 3B is located at that cube 52. In other words, cubes 52 in which interference between the transporters 3A and 3B is estimated to occur are detected. From here on, cubes 52 in which such interference is expected to occur are shown as interference cubes 56, which are interference cuboids, and are marked with horizontal stripes as shown in Figure 8. Note that in the figure, the interference cube 56 represented as the interference location is shown as one, but depending on the movement path 55 that is generated, there may be multiple cubes 52 that become interference cubes 56.

[0043] As described above, the substrate transport area 51, consisting of each cube 52, is displayed on the output unit 45 screen, and the movement start cube 53, movement end cube 54, movement path 55, and interference cube 56 within the substrate transport area 51 are also displayed on the screen. Furthermore, the movement start cube 53, movement end cube 54, the cubes 52 forming the movement path 55, the interference cube 56, and cubes 52 that do not fall into any of these categories can be displayed on the output unit 45 screen, for example, in different colors, so that the operator can distinguish them from one another. Therefore, the operator can see the interference cube 56 and recognize that interference between transport bodies 3A and 3B is expected. If the interference is avoided by the countermeasures described later, the display of the interference cube 56 will be removed.

[0044] [Avoiding interference between transport units] The presence or absence of interference cubes 56 in the generated movement path 55 is determined. If it is determined that there are no interference cubes 56, it is decided that each transporter 3 will move using the movement path 55 at the time of the determination and the speed at each part of the movement path 55 at that time. On the other hand, if interference cubes 56 are generated, as described above, the path setting system 4 performs a simulation to change the operation settings (movement path 55 or speed) of transporters 3A and / or 3B as a countermeasure to avoid interference between transporters 3A and 3B.

[0045] This change in operation settings is based on the priority parameter set by the operator, which determines which of the transporters 3A and 3B should take priority for the movement paths 55A and 55B where the interference occurred. If the priorities of transporters 3A and 3B are different, the operation setting of the transporter 3 with the higher priority is not changed, and the operation setting of the transporter 3 with the lower priority is changed. If the priorities of transporters 3A and 3B are the same, the operation settings of both transporters 3A and 3B are changed.

[0046] [Addressing the issue by changing the travel route] Specifically, the above changes to the operation settings involve either altering the transporter's movement path 55 to avoid the interference cube 56, or slowing down the transporter's movement path 55 so that it is positioned at a different time than the interference cube 56. As already mentioned, the appropriate action will be selected from these options, but we will explain the case where the movement path 55 is changed first. As mentioned above, the movement path 55 is represented as a row of cubes 52, and the changed movement path 55 is also represented as a row of cubes 52.

[0047] First, let's explain the case where the movement priority differs between transporters 3A and 3B. In this case, as described above, the movement path 55 is modified for the transporter with the lower priority among transporters 3A and 3B. This modification of the movement path 55 is carried out in such a way that the transporter 3 bypasses the interference cube 56 by passing through the cube 52 adjacent to the interference cube 56, and that the movement time of the transporter 3 from the movement start cube 53 to the movement end cube 54 is shortened.

[0048] Figure 9 schematically shows how the movement path 55A is changed due to the lower priority of the transporter 3A. The cubes 52 that make up the movement path 55 before the change are shown with dots, as in Figure 8. There are three possible candidate movement paths 55A after the change, and the parts of these candidate paths that have changed from the original movement path 55A are shown with dotted or solid arrows. More specifically, the three possible movement paths 55A after the change are those that bypass the interference cube 56, moving through the cube 52 adjacent to the upper side of the interference cube 56, moving through the cube 52 adjacent to the side, and moving through the cube 52 adjacent to the lower side.

[0049] The route setting system 4 calculates the travel time required for the transporter 3A to move from the start cube 53A to the end cube 54B for each of these candidate modified travel routes 55A, and compares each travel time. As a result of this comparison, the candidate with the shortest travel time is determined as the modified travel route 55A. For example, among the candidate modified travel routes 55A shown in Figure 9, if the travel time for the transporter 3A from the start cube 53A to the end cube 54B is the shortest for the one that passes to the side of the interference cube 56 (indicated by the dotted arrow), then that candidate is determined as the modified travel route 55A.

[0050] Next, we will explain the case where the priority is the same between transporters 3A and 3B. In this case, for example, both movement paths 55A and 55B are modified. More specifically, each movement path 55 is modified to bypass the interference cube 56 by passing through cube 52 adjacent to the interference cube 56. Furthermore, the total time required for transporter 3A to move from the starting cube 53A to the ending cube 54A, and the total time required for transporter 3B to move from the starting cube 53B to the ending cube 54B are modified to be as short as possible.

[0051] Figure 10 schematically shows how the movement paths 55A and 55B are modified, with dots marking the cube 52 that constitutes the movement path 55 before the modification. For movement path 55A, the route setting system 4 generates multiple candidate movement paths 55A after the modification, as described in Figure 9, and calculates the travel time required for the transporter 3A to move from the start cube 53A to the end cube 54A for each of these candidates. Similarly, for movement path 55B, the system generates multiple candidate movement paths 55B after the modification, and calculates the travel time required for the transporter 3B to move from the start cube 53B to the end cube 54B for each of these candidates.

[0052] Then, from among the multiple candidate modified movement paths 55A and multiple candidate modified movement paths 55B, combinations that do not generate interference cubes 56 are extracted. If there are multiple such combinations, the one with the shortest total travel time of the transporter 3A and the transporter 3B is selected. The extracted candidate combinations, or the combinations of candidates that are further selected after extraction, are determined as the modified movement paths 55A and 55B. In Figure 10, the parts of the determined movement paths 55A and 55B that are changed from the original movement path 55 and adjacent to interference cubes 56 are indicated by solid and dotted arrows, respectively.

[0053] [Measures taken by slowing down the transport vehicle] Next, we will explain how to avoid interference between transporters 3A and 3B by decelerating transporter 3. If both transporters 3A and 3B are decelerated, they may interfere with each other when their deceleration is released. Therefore, this deceleration method is used when there is a difference in priority between transporters 3A and 3B. Accordingly, this deceleration method involves moving the transporter with lower priority, 3, towards the interference cube 56 at a speed lower than the speed set when the interference cube 56 is expected to occur. This staggers the timing of movement to the interference cube 56 between transporters 3A and 3B, preventing interference between transporters 3A and 3B. As mentioned above, transporter 3 is decelerated when passing through the bend in the movement path 55 and just before reaching the movement end cube 54. From now on, unless otherwise specified, when deceleration is mentioned, it refers to deceleration to avoid this interference.

[0054] Figures 11 and 12 will be used to explain the deceleration method in more detail. Figures 11 and 12 show an example where the deceleration method is used when the carrier 3A is set to a lower priority. Carrier 3B moves along each part of the movement path 55B at the speed at which it was determined that the interference cube 56 had occurred. Carrier 3A is decelerated from the speed of the path from the starting cube 53 to the interference cube 56 at the time it was determined that the interference cube 56 had occurred. As a result, carrier 3B passes the interference cube 56 first (Figure 11), and carrier 3A passes the interference cube 56 afterward (Figure 12). Note that although the interference cube 56 in Figures 11 and 12 is no longer actually the interference cube 56 because the interference is avoided by the deceleration, it is shown as still being the interference cube 56 for convenience.

[0055] The deceleration rules described above are predetermined, for example, that deceleration begins at a predetermined deceleration rate from a predetermined distance away from the interference cube 56, and that this deceleration continues for a predetermined period of time. Furthermore, the predetermined deceleration rules also include the recovery of speed after the deceleration ends. For example, after deceleration is performed for a predetermined period as described above, acceleration is started with a predetermined acceleration to return to the original speed that would have been achieved if the interference cube 56 had not been present and deceleration had not occurred.

[0056] For example, in the deceleration rules described above, the period for which deceleration is performed is initially set to a relatively short period. It is then determined whether the interference is resolved within this period, and if it is determined that it is not resolved, the period is extended by a predetermined amount of time and the determination is made again. This extension of the period and the determination of interference are repeated until the length of the deceleration period is determined to be the length of the period during which the interference is determined to be resolved. If the deceleration period is relatively long, the speed of the transporter 3 will become 0 during that period (i.e., it will be in a temporary stop state), but in that case, acceleration of the transporter 3 will start after the deceleration period has elapsed (i.e., it will start moving again). As described above, the degree of deceleration is adjusted as appropriate, and the transporter 3 is temporarily stopped as needed.

[0057] [Selection and decision on how to proceed] As described above, if there is a difference in priority between transporters 3A and 3B, one of the following measures may be taken: changing the travel path 55 as illustrated in Figure 9, or decelerating the transporter 3 as illustrated in Figures 11 and 12. The route setting system 4 determines which measure is taken so that the travel time required for the transporter 3 to move from the start cube 53 to the end cube 54 is shorter. Specifically, let's explain assuming that transporter 3A has a lower priority. In that case, the travel time of transporter 3A from the start cube 53A to the end cube 54B via the changed travel path 55A is compared with the travel time via the original travel path 55A, which is subject to deceleration. As a result of the comparison, it is decided that the measure with the shorter travel time will be taken, and the interference cube 56 will be considered resolved. For example, if it is decided that the travel path 55A will be changed, the new travel path 55A will be displayed on the screen instead of the original travel path 55A, and if deceleration is to be performed, that fact will be displayed on the screen.

[0058] Each piece of data determined by the above simulation or set for the execution of the simulation is stored in storage that constitutes the route setting system 4, such as the storage medium 42 on which the software 41 is stored, or in storage outside the route setting system 4. Specifically, the parameters mentioned as being input by the operator, the positions of the starting cube 53A and the ending cube 54B, the determined movement paths 55A and 55B, and information regarding the speed of the transporter 3 at each point along the movement paths 55A and 55B are stored in the storage. Therefore, after the simulation is executed, data is stored in the storage that identifies when and at which cube 52 (including the starting cube 53 and the ending cube 54) in the movement area 51 is located relative to an arbitrary reference point, so as to prevent interference between the transporters 3A and 3B. This data can also be said to identify how each transporter 3 changes speed relative to the reference point before reaching the starting cube 53 and the ending cube 54 via the determined movement path 55.

[0059] The control unit 10 utilizes the data stored in the storage in this manner. The data is acquired by the control unit 10 when the storage medium containing the data is connected to the control unit 10 or downloaded from the network. The control unit 10 then outputs control signals based on the data to control the operation of the transport bodies 3A and 3B, and the transport bodies 3A and 3B operate in the same manner as in the simulation. In other words, the transport bodies 3A and 3B move through the substrate transport area 22 along the same movement path 55 and at the same speed as determined in the simulation.

[0060] By the way, in the simulation described above, it was stated that the route setting system 4 automatically decides whether to change the movement path 55 or decelerate the transporter 3. However, it is possible to change the settings so that, for example, the operator makes this decision. If it is set so that the operator makes the decision, information that the operator can use to make a decision will be displayed on the screen, such as the route of the transporter 3 before and after the change, and the time difference between the time the transporter 3 reaches the movement end cube 54 when the route is changed and the time when the transporter 3 reaches the movement end cube 54 when it decelerates. The operator can then decide on the action by looking at the information displayed on the screen.

[0061] [Regarding the size of the cube] To avoid complicating the illustrations and explanations, it has been stated that one cube 52 is sized to encompass the transporter 3 that supports the wafer W. However, the cubes 52 can be set to any size. Figure 13 shows a case where the size of one cube 52 is smaller than the size of the transporter 3, and the transporter 3 that supports the wafer W is enclosed by eight cubes 52.

[0062] In this way, the number of cubes 52 that should be designated as the starting cube 53 and the ending cube 54, and the number of cubes that will be designated as interference cubes 56 will change depending on the size setting of cube 52. In other words, there are cases where multiple cubes 52 form a single cube, which in turn forms the starting cube 53, ending cube 54, and interference cube 56, respectively. In addition, the number of cubes 52 in the vertical width and the number of cubes 52 in the horizontal width of the movement path 55 will also change depending on the size setting of cube 52.

[0063] Based on the above, in the simulation described, the operator will set parameters related to the size of cube 52. These parameters include a parameter that specifies how many cubes 52 will represent the cube that contains the transporter 3 in the simulation. The parameters related to the size of cube 52 are stored in storage, just like the other parameters.

[0064] [Software configuration of route setting system 4] Returning to Figure 3, we will now describe an example of the configuration of the software 41 of the route setting system 4. The software 41 is configured to perform each of the above-mentioned processes and can be broadly divided into a logic section 6A, a GUI (graphical user interface) section 6B, and a DB (database) section 6C.

[0065] The logic unit 6A includes a path generation engine 61 and an interference check engine 62. The path generation engine 61 sets a virtual board transport area 51 and generates the automatic movement path 55 described above. The interference check engine 62 checks whether there is any interference between the transport bodies 3 along the generated movement path 55. In other words, it determines whether there is an interference cube 56.

[0066] The GUI unit 6B includes a route setting / display unit 63 and a parameter setting unit 64. The route setting / display unit 63 displays the cubes 52 that make up the board transport area 51, the start cube 53, the end cube 54, the movement path 55, and the interference cube 56 on the screen. The parameter setting unit 64 displays a screen for the operator to set the parameters described above. Specifically, for example, it displays a window for parameter input, allowing the operator to input parameters from the input unit 44.

[0067] The DB unit 6C includes a parameter database 65 and a route database 66. The parameter database 65 stores the various parameters described above, which are entered and set by the operator. The route database 66 stores various items related to the substrate transport area 51 and various items determined from the various parameters. It stores data related to the substrate transport area 51 other than the parameters stored in the parameter database 65, such as the positions of the designated start cube 53 and end cube 54, the determined transport route 55, and the speed of the transport body 3 at each part of the transport route 55. The data constituting the DB unit 6C will be used by the control unit 10 to control the transport bodies 3A and 3B.

[0068] The software 41 and the CPU 47 that executes various calculations correspond to the time information acquisition unit, virtual area setting unit, path generation unit, interference determination unit, and countermeasure unit. Furthermore, the storage mentioned above, which stores various parameters, corresponds to the support information storage unit and priority storage unit.

[0069] [Procedure for setting up travel routes] Next, an example of the simulation procedure using the route setting system 4 described above will be explained with reference to the flow chart in Figure 14. First, the operator sets the substrate transport area 51 by inputting parameters related to size and shape (Step S1). Next, the operator inputs parameters related to the size of the cube 52 and sets the size (Step S2).

[0070] The operator then specifies the positions of the start cube 53 and end cube 54 for the transporter 3A (step S3) and sets parameters for the transporter 3A (step S4). These parameters include the maximum speed along the movement path 55A (maximum speed before support), the time it takes to reach the maximum speed from the start of movement (time to reach the maximum speed before support), the time from the reference point until the transporter 3A starts moving, and the wafer support information for the movement path 55A to be generated. Based on these parameters, the movement path 55A is generated by the path setting system 4 and displayed on the screen (step S5).

[0071] Next, the operator specifies the positions of the start cube 53 and end cube 54 for the transporter 3B (step S6), and further sets parameters for the transporter 3B (step S7). These parameters include the maximum speed along the movement path 55B (maximum speed before support), the time it takes to reach the maximum speed from the start of movement (time to reach the maximum speed before support), the time from the reference point until the transporter 3B starts moving, and the wafer support information for the movement path 55B to be generated. Based on these parameters, the movement path 55B is generated by the path setting system 4 and displayed on the screen (step S8).

[0072] Time information of the positions of transporters 3A and 3B is acquired, and for each cube 52 that makes up the movement paths 55A and 55B, it is determined whether or not there is a cube 52 that the other transporter 3A or 3B will be positioned in while the other transporter 3A or 3B is positioned (i.e., whether or not there is an interference cube 56) (step S9). If it is determined in step S9 that there is no interference cube 56, it is decided that transporters 3A and 3B will move along the movement paths 55A and 55B at the speed at the time of this determination, and it is also decided that they will move along each part of the movement paths 55A and 55B at the speed at the time of this determination.

[0073] If it is determined in step S9 that an interference cube 56 has occurred, the screen displays the interference cube 56 and a window requesting input on which of the transporter 3A or 3B should be prioritized in the movement paths 55A and 55B that include the interference cube 56. The operator sets the priority (step S10).

[0074] If there is a difference in the input priorities, the route setting system 4 changes the operation settings of the lower-priority transporter 3 as described above (step S11). In other words, for the lower-priority transporter 3, the movement path 55 is changed as illustrated in Figure 9, or deceleration is performed on the movement path 55 as illustrated in Figures 11 and 12. If the priorities are the same, the route setting system 4 changes the operation settings of each transporter 3. Specifically, the movement path of each transporter 3 is changed as illustrated in Figure 10 (step S12). After the operation settings of one or both of the transporters 3A and 3B are changed in steps S11 and S12, it is determined whether or not interference cubes 56 occur as a result of changing these operation settings (i.e., whether or not interference cubes 56 have been resolved) (step S13).

[0075] If it is determined in step S13 that an interference cube 56 has occurred, for example, a message to that effect will be displayed, and a window will appear prompting for priority input so that the priority can be reset. In other words, each step from step S10 onward can be executed again. If it is determined in step S13 that no interference cube 56 has occurred, it is decided that the transporters 3A and 3B will move along the movement paths 55A and 55B at the time of this determination, and that they will move along the respective parts of the movement paths 55A and 55B at the speed at the time of this determination.

[0076] [Summary of the effects of the routing system 4] According to the route setting system 4 described above, by setting the start position (start cube 53) and end position (end cube 54) in the virtual substrate transport area 51, the movement path 55 for each transport body 3 is automatically generated as a row of cubes 52. For each cube 52 that makes up this movement path 55, the presence or absence of interference between transport bodies 3A and 3B is determined based on the time information of the position of the transport body 3, and the result of this determination is expressed as the presence or absence of an interference cube 56. Therefore, the operator can easily grasp whether or not there is interference between the transport bodies 3. Furthermore, if such interference is determined to occur, the route setting system 4 automatically decides on the countermeasures or presents the operator with a screen display that allows the operator to select, so the operator can easily set the movement path 55.

[0077] As described above, interference between transport bodies 3A and 3B is determined, so even if there is an overlap in the movement paths 55A and 55B, if the timing of the positions of transport bodies 3A and 3B in the overlapping cube 52 is different, it is determined that there is no interference. Therefore, various countermeasures such as unnecessary changes to the movement path 55 or deceleration of the transport body 3 are not required, thus preventing a decrease in the wafer transport efficiency of the substrate processing apparatus 1.

[0078] Furthermore, as described above, the route setting system 4 can obtain the correspondence between the elapsed time from an arbitrary reference point and the cube 52 in which each transporter 3 is located. The other transporter 3 only needs to be positioned so as to be away from the cube 52 in which the other transporter 3 is located. In other words, obtaining the above correspondence means detecting a cube 52 in the substrate transport area 51 in which the other transporter 3 can be positioned. By detecting this cube 52, multiple movement patterns that avoid interference can be obtained for the other transporter 3. Therefore, in order to avoid interference and suppress delays in the arrival of the transporter 3 at the end-of-movement cube 54, it is possible to appropriately determine which action to take from among multiple actions such as route changes and deceleration. Moreover, as previously described, when changing the route, the appropriate one is selected from the candidates, and when decelerating, the degree of deceleration is appropriately adjusted, so that delays in arrival at the end-of-movement cube 54 are suppressed more reliably. As described above, the route setting system 4 allows for the setting of the travel path 55 and the speed of the transporter 3 along the travel path 55, in order to prevent a decrease in the wafer transport efficiency of each transporter 3, by obtaining the correspondence between the elapsed time from an arbitrary reference point and the cube 52 in which each transporter 3 is located. The cube 52 in which the transporter 3 is located at any given point in time is determined based on wafer support information. Therefore, stable support of the wafer W is ensured while preventing a decrease in the wafer transport efficiency of the wafer W.

[0079] Furthermore, the ability to detect whether the transporter 3 is located in cube 52 at any given time and to acquire multiple movement patterns for the transporter 3 that avoid interference is also effective when an operator is choosing a course of action. Specifically, as described above, the system can display the arrival time at the end-of-movement cube 54 on the screen for each course of action, providing the operator with information to help them make their selection, thus contributing to making route setting easier for the operator.

[0080] [Flowchart and supplementary information on how to handle the situation] The order of the steps in the above flow may be changed as appropriate, as long as it does not hinder the generation of the movement path and the detection of interference. For example, priority may be set together when setting parameters such as the maximum speed for transporters 3A and 3B.

[0081] Furthermore, based on the wafer support information, the maximum speed (maximum speed during support) for the movement path 55 in which the transporter 3 supports the wafer W is set to be automatically reduced from the maximum speed (maximum speed before support) set by the operator according to a predetermined rule. The maximum support speed is not limited to being determined automatically in this way; the operator may also set it when setting parameters such as the maximum speed for the transporters 3A and 3B. In the case where the operator sets it themselves, the upper limit of the maximum speed that can be set as the maximum speed during support should be lower than the upper limit of the maximum speed before support that can be set. In other words, the upper limit of the maximum speed that the operator can set may change depending on the wafer support information, which is a parameter indicating whether or not the transporter 3 is supporting the wafer W.

[0082] The countermeasures described above are merely examples, and different countermeasures may be taken. For example, while both movement paths 55A and 55B are changed when the priority is the same, only one of them may be changed. More specifically, as mentioned above, the decision to change is based on the sum of the movement times of transporters 3A and 3B to the movement end cubes 54A and 55B. However, if the total time when only one of the movement paths 55 is changed is shorter than the total time when both movement paths 55 are changed, then only one of the movement paths 55 needs to be changed. Also, while it was shown that deceleration is not performed on both transporters 3A and 3B when the priority is the same, this may be done by changing the degree of deceleration between transporters 3A and 3B to stagger the arrival time at the interference cube 56. In other words, this does not prohibit deceleration on both transporters 3A and 3B. Note that the movement path changes and deceleration methods shown as countermeasures are very simple examples given to describe the overview and effects of the path setting system 4, but any method can be set.

[0083] [Avoiding interference due to the tilt of the transporter] Interference avoidance actions are not limited to changing the movement path 55 or decelerating along the movement path 55; other actions are described below. As previously mentioned, the transport body 3 can be tilted. More specifically, although the support surface of the wafer W of the support part 32 of the transport body 3 is horizontal, the orientation of the transport body 3 can be changed so that this support surface is tilted with respect to the horizontal plane. By tilting each transport body 3, as shown in Figure 15, it is possible to reduce the area occupied by each of the transport bodies 3A and 3B in the interference cube 56 in a plan view, and as a result, interference in the interference cube 56 can be avoided.

[0084] The measure of tilting each transporter 3 to prevent the wafer W from falling from transporters 3A and 3B is taken when, in each of the movement paths 55A and 55B where interference cubes 56 occur, neither transporter 3A nor 3B is supporting the wafer W. Therefore, whether or not to tilt transporters 3A and 3B is determined based on wafer support information.

[0085] By tilting both transport bodies 3A and 3B in this manner, it is possible to reach the end cube 54 more quickly than by changing the movement path 55 or slowing down. Therefore, if it is possible to tilt transport bodies 3A and 3B in this manner, the system may automatically decide to tilt them. However, the operator may choose and decide from among tilting transport body 3, changing the movement path, or slowing down. If it is decided to tilt the transport body in this manner, information about that decision will be stored in, for example, the path database 66, and the operation of transport body 3 will be controlled in the substrate processing device 1 according to the decision.

[0086] [Expansion of interference avoidance area] Incidentally, while one transporter 3 is located in any cube 52, the other transporter 3 does not need to be located in that cube 52, but may be located in a cube 52 adjacent to the cube 52 where the other transporter 3 is located. However, the operation of each transporter 3 can be set so that it is not possible to be located in such an adjacent cube 52.

[0087] Let us explain this in detail with reference to Figure 16. A transporter 3 moving along a movement path 55 is represented as a moving cube 57. This moving cube 57 is composed of either one cube 52 or a cube formed by the assembly of multiple cubes 52. As mentioned above, the size of the cubes 52 can be set arbitrarily, and the number of cubes 52 that are large enough to enclose the transporter 3 is specified by a parameter. The moving cube 57 is composed of the number of cubes 52 specified by that parameter. Therefore, this moving cube 57 corresponds to the size of the transporter 3 and is a cube that encloses the transporter 3, and in Figure 16 it is shown to be composed of eight cubes 52. An exclusive cube 58 is set to enclose this moving cube 57, and the centers of the moving cube 57 and the exclusive cube 58 coincide with each other. In the simulation, the exclusive cube 58, which is an exclusive rectangular parallelepiped, moves along with the movement of the transporter 3 (i.e., along with the movement of the moving cube 57).

[0088] When this exclusive cube 58 is set, in determining whether or not there is interference between the transporters 3A and 3B, it is determined whether or not the other transporter 3 is located in each cube 52 that overlaps with the exclusive cube 58 of one transporter 3. If it is determined that the other transporter 3 is not located there, it is assumed that there is no risk of interference, and the movement path 55 of each transporter 3 and the speed along the movement path 55 are determined. If it is determined that the other transporter 3 is located there, it is assumed that there is a risk of interference between the transporters 3, and the cube 52 that overlaps with the exclusive cube 58 and is located in the other transporter is designated as the interference cube 56.

[0089] From the above, even if the cube 52 in which the transport bodies 3A and 3B are located together is not the same cube 52, if the cubes 52 in which the transport bodies 3A and 3B are located are close together, that cube 52 may become an interference cube 56. In other words, by providing an exclusive cube 58, the area that can become an interference cube 56 is expanded. When an interference cube 56 occurs after setting an exclusive cube 58 in this way, the same measures as described above can be taken to change the movement path 55, decelerate, or adjust the tilt of each transport body 3. By setting the exclusive cube 58 described above, interference between the transport bodies 3 can be prevented more reliably. The size of the exclusive cube 58 can be arbitrarily set by the operator, for example, and parameters related to the exclusive cube 58, such as this size, are also stored in a parameter database 65, for example.

[0090] [Integration of software into the control unit of the circuit board processing device] Although the software 41 has been shown as being integrated into a computer separate from the control unit 10 of the substrate processing device 1, it may also be integrated into the control unit 10. Therefore, the control unit 10 may be configured as a route setting system. Furthermore, it has been described so far that the movement path 55 to avoid interference between transport bodies 3 is set before the operation of the substrate processing device 1. If the software 41 is integrated into the control unit 10, in addition to the setting before operation, it is possible to set the same setting during the operation of the substrate processing device 1 and control the operation of the transport bodies 3 based on this setting.

[0091] The following is a specific example. During operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1, the control unit 10 issues a movement instruction for transporter 3A to move from an arbitrary position to in front of a module in order to transfer wafer W using transporter 3A in one module. Subsequently, a movement instruction is issued for transporter 3B to move from an arbitrary position to in front of another module in order to transfer wafer W using transporter 3B in another module. The settings for each movement path 55 in this case will be explained below.

[0092] First, when a movement instruction is issued to transporter 3A, the position of transporter 3A at the time the instruction is issued is designated as the start cube 53A, and the position in front of one module is designated as the end cube 54A, and a movement path 55A is generated, and transporter 3A moves along this movement path 55A. Next, when a movement instruction is issued to transporter 3B, the position of transporter 3B at the time the instruction is issued is designated as the start cube 53B, and the position in front of another module is designated as the end cube 54B, and a movement path 55B is generated. Then, as before operation of the substrate processing device 1, it is determined whether or not an interference cube 56 will be generated using various parameters.

[0093] In determining whether or not interference cubes 56 occur before operation of the substrate processing device 1, the timing at which transport bodies 3A and 3B begin moving from an arbitrary reference point is input as a parameter and used as the time difference between the start of movement cubes 53 and the start of movement between transport bodies 3A and 3B. In the determination during operation of the substrate processing device 1, the time difference between the time when a movement instruction is given for transport body 3A and the time when a movement instruction is given for transport body 3B is used as the time difference between the start of movement cubes 53 and the start of movement between transport bodies 3A and 3B to determine whether or not interference cubes 56 occur.

[0094] If it is determined that an interference cube 56 will occur, the system will either change the movement path 55A or decelerate the transporter 3A, as described above, and then the transporter 3A will start moving, thereby avoiding interference between transporters 3A and 3B. Therefore, in this example, the operation control will be performed to reflect the settings for generating the path of one of the transporters 3 and avoiding interference between the transporters 3 immediately after the simulation. In addition, various calculations and decisions by the control unit 10 will be executed promptly, and the transporters 3A and 3B will start moving approximately simultaneously with the timing of the movement instruction.

[0095] As described above, the control unit 10 incorporating the software 41 allows the transport bodies 3A and 3B to be moved in a manner that prevents interference between them and prevents the transport body 3A from being delayed unnecessarily in reaching the module (movement end cube 54A). As is clear from the above example, when setting the movement path 55, the movement start cube 53 and movement end cube 54 are not limited to being set by the operator.

[0096] [Additional information] It has been stated that even if there is an overlap between the generated movement paths 55A and 55B, the movement paths 55A and 55B will not be changed as long as there is no interference between the transport bodies 3A and 3B. However, in order to more reliably prevent interference between the transport bodies 3A and 3B, if there is an overlap between the movement paths 55A and 55B, the overlapping cube 52 may be treated as an interference cube 56, and the movement paths 55A and / or 55B may be changed.

[0097] Furthermore, the system can determine whether there is any overlap between the trajectory of the exclusive cube 58 set for one transporter 3 and the trajectory of the other transporter 3. If an overlap occurs, the overlapping cube 52 is treated as an interference cube 56, and the movement paths 55A and / or 55B may be modified. In other words, even if the other transporter 3 is not positioned relative to the cube 52 that overlaps with the exclusive cube 58 set for one transporter 3, as explained using Figure 16, if there is an overlap between the trajectories, it can be assumed that interference will occur and countermeasures can be taken. Thus, the determination regarding interference of the movement paths 55 is not limited to the determination of interference between transporters 3, but may also be the determination of overlap between movement paths 55, or the determination of overlap between one movement path 55 and its surrounding area and the other movement path 55.

[0098] Furthermore, even if interference is only detected along the movement path 55 and the result is displayed on the screen, it reduces the effort required for the worker to make the determination, thus lowering the burden on the worker. Therefore, although it has been stated that the results of the interference detection will automatically determine the appropriate action or present the action to the worker, such a determination or presentation is not required.

[0099] Although the substrate transport area 51 has been described as being divided into a number of cubes 52, it may also be divided into rectangular prisms other than cubes. Furthermore, although the starting position, ending position, and positions where transport bodies 3 move, as well as the positions where transport bodies interfere with each other, have been described as being represented by a single cube 52 or a cube that is a collection of multiple cubes, they may also be represented by rectangular prisms other than cubes.

[0100] As described above, the number of transporters 3 is not limited to two; three or more transporters may be provided. Even when three or more transporters 3 are provided, interference between the transporters 3 can be prevented using the same method. For example, suppose a transporter 3C is provided in addition to transporters 3A and 3B. In that case, looking at transporter 3A, as previously described, it is determined whether or not an interference cube 56 occurs between it and transporter 3B, and the movement path and speed are determined by taking the measures described above. Next, assuming that it moves along that movement path and speed, it is determined whether or not an interference cube 56 occurs between it and transporter 3C, and if it is determined that an interference cube 56 will occur, the determined movement path and speed can be further modified by taking the measures described above. By the way, regarding the interference cube 56, it should be noted that the size of the cube 52 can be set arbitrarily, so as shown in Figure 13, the size of one cube 52 may be set so that one transporter 3 spans multiple cubes 52. In other words, only a part of one transporter 3 exists in one cube 52, and the transporter 3 may be represented as a collection of cubes 52. In the case where it is represented as a collection of cubes 52, Figure 13 shows it as a cube consisting of eight cubes 52, but as shown in Figure 17, it can be set to be represented as an arbitrary shape corresponding to the shape of a non-cube transporter 3. When the transporter 3 is represented as a collection of cubes 52, only a part of the transporter 3 exists in one of the cubes 52 that make up that collection. If another transporter 3 enters a cube 52 that contains a part of the transporter 3, that cube 52 becomes an interference cube 56. For example, let's assume that it is set to be represented as a collection of cubes 52 as shown in Figure 17. As this collection of cubes 52 moves along the movement path 55, if another transporter 3 enters one of the cubes 52 in the collection, as shown in Figure 17, that cube 52 becomes an interference cube 56, and the aforementioned interference avoidance measures are taken.

[0101] Furthermore, the starting cube 53 and ending cube 54 of the transporter 3 are not limited to being selected from any position in the horizontal and vertical directions within the substrate transport area 51; they may be selected only from positions in the horizontal direction. In other words, when generating the movement path 55, the vertical position of the movement path 55 may be fixed.

[0102] This technology is not limited to the transport of substrates in a vacuum atmosphere, but can also be applied to the transport of substrates in an atmospheric atmosphere. Furthermore, the shape of the substrate transport area 22 is arbitrary and is not limited to the rectangular parallelepiped shape described above. The virtual substrate transport area 51 can be set to match the shape of the substrate transport area 22, and is therefore not limited to the rectangular parallelepiped shape described above.

[0103] Furthermore, the substrate transport area 22 may be configured such that, for example, a structure such as a support column that the transporter 3 cannot pass over is provided. In that case, for example, when setting the size of the virtual substrate transport area 51 and cube 52 in steps S1 and S2 of the above-described flow, the cube 52 at the position corresponding to that structure in the substrate transport area 51 is designated as the structure cube. When generating or modifying the subsequent movement path 55, the structure cube is treated as something that the transporter 3 cannot pass over. Therefore, although it was stated that the movement path 55 is generated to minimize the movement distance by specifying the movement start cube 53 and movement end cube 54, if a structure cube is set, the movement path 55 is generated to minimize the distance while avoiding this structure cube. Note that the structure cube is displayed on the screen in a different color from other cubes, for example.

[0104] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The above embodiments may be omitted, replaced, modified and / or combined in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0105] W wafer 2 Vacuum transport module 3A, 3B conveyor 4. Route Setting System 41 Software 53 Starting Cube 54 Movement End Cube 55 Travel Route

Claims

1. In a substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies each levitating and moving from a floor forming the substrate transport area by magnetic force, the system for setting the paths of each transport body is used in the substrate transport device. A virtual area setting unit sets a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area, Within the aforementioned virtual area, a path generation unit generates a movement path for each transporter from the start position to the end position of movement, An interference determination unit that determines interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with, The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. The path generation unit sets one rectangular prism and the other rectangular prism in the virtual area as the starting position and ending position of movement, respectively, and sets the movement path from the starting position to the ending position in the virtual area as a row of the rectangular prisms.

2. A time information acquisition unit acquires time information of the position of the transporter in each rectangular parallelepiped that makes up the aforementioned movement path, Depending on the determination result of the interference determination unit, a countermeasure unit for avoiding interference between the transport bodies is provided, A system was established, Based on the time information, the interference determination unit detects interference cuboids that are estimated to be caused by the carriers interfering with each of the movement paths, Modifying at least one of the movement paths to avoid the aforementioned interfering rectangular parallelepiped, The timing of movement to the aforementioned interfering rectangular parallelepiped is staggered between each of the transport bodies. and tilting each of the transporters in the interference cuboid, A route setting system according to claim 1, which is configured or presented to take one of the following actions.

3. The path setting system according to claim 2, wherein the handling unit defines the interfering rectangular parallelepiped as one of the rectangular parallelepipeds that overlaps with an exclusive rectangular parallelepiped set to be larger than the size corresponding to one of the transporters moving along the movement path, and the rectangular parallelepiped where the other transporter is located.

4. A time information acquisition unit is provided that acquires time information indicating the position of the transporter at different locations along the aforementioned movement path. The route setting system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the interference determination unit determines, based on the time information, the interference between the transported objects as a determination regarding interference in the movement path.

5. A support information storage unit is provided in which support information is stored regarding whether or not the transport body supports the substrate in the aforementioned movement path. The route setting system according to claim 4, wherein the interference determination unit determines the interference between the transport bodies based on the support information.

6. The route setting system according to claim 5, wherein a countermeasure unit is provided to avoid interference between the transport bodies according to the determination result of the interference determination unit.

7. The aforementioned handling unit is, Modify at least one of the movement paths to avoid interference locations where interference between the transporters is presumed to occur. The timing of movement to the interference occurrence position is staggered among the transport bodies. Furthermore, tilting each of the transporters at the interference occurrence location, A route setting system according to claim 6, which is configured or presented to take one of the following actions.

8. A priority storage unit is provided in which the priority of movement of the transporter is stored. The aforementioned handling unit, based on the priority, The movement path is changed to avoid interference locations where interference between the transporters is presumed to occur. Furthermore, the timing of movement to the interference occurrence position is staggered between each of the transport bodies. A route setting system according to claim 7, which is configured or presented to take one of the following actions.

9. The handling unit changes at least one of the movement paths when the priority is the same among the transporters. The route setting system according to claim 8, wherein the change is made based on the total travel time from the starting position to the ending position of each transporter where interference is estimated to occur.

10. In a substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies each levitating and moving from a floor forming the substrate transport area by magnetic force, the system for setting the paths of each transport body is used in the substrate transport device. A virtual area setting unit sets a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area, Within the aforementioned virtual area, a path generation unit generates a movement path for each transporter from the start position to the end position of movement, An interference determination unit that determines interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with, The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. A route setting system comprising a time information acquisition unit that acquires the correspondence between the elapsed time from an arbitrary reference point and the rectangular parallelepiped in which each of the transporters is located.

11. In a substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies each levitating and moving from a floor forming the substrate transport area by magnetic force, the system for setting the paths of each transport body is used in the substrate transport device. A virtual area setting unit sets a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area, Within the aforementioned virtual area, a path generation unit generates a movement path for each transporter from the start position to the end position of movement, An interference determination unit that determines interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with, The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. A route setting system comprising a visualization unit that visualizes the rectangular parallelepipeds from the set of rectangular parallelepipeds in which the interference occurs.

12. A method for setting the paths of each transport body used in a substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies, each of which is provided with a support portion for supporting the substrate and which moves by levitation from the floor forming the substrate transport area by magnetic force, The process involves setting a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area using a virtual area setting unit, The process of setting a movement path from the start position to the end position of movement for each transporter in the virtual area using the path generation unit, A step of determining interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with, The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. The path generation unit sets one rectangular prism and the other rectangular prism in the virtual area as the starting position and ending position of movement, respectively, and sets the movement path from the starting position to the ending position in the virtual area as a row of the rectangular prisms.

13. A method for setting the paths of each transport body used in a substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies, each of which is provided with a support portion for supporting the substrate and which moves by levitation from the floor forming the substrate transport area by magnetic force, The process involves setting a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area using a virtual area setting unit, The process of setting a movement path from the start position to the end position of movement for each transporter in the virtual area using the path generation unit, A step of determining interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with, The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. A route setting method comprising a step of acquiring the correspondence between the elapsed time from an arbitrary reference point and the rectangular parallelepiped in which each transported object is located.

14. A method for setting the paths of each transport body used in a substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies, each of which is provided with a support portion for supporting the substrate and which moves by levitation from the floor forming the substrate transport area by magnetic force, The process involves setting a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area using a virtual area setting unit, The process of setting a movement path from the start position to the end position of movement for each transporter in the virtual area using the path generation unit, A step of determining interference with the aforementioned movement path, Equipped with, The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. A path setting method comprising the step of visualizing the rectangular parallelepipeds from the set of rectangular parallelepipeds in which the interference occurs.

15. A substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies, each equipped with a support for the substrate and moving by magnetic force, levitating from the floor forming the substrate transport area, wherein in a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area, the settings for the movement path from the start position to the end position of movement are set for each of the transport bodies, Determination regarding interference in the aforementioned movement path, The steps are arranged so that this can be done. The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. Software that defines one rectangular prism and another rectangular prism in the virtual area as the starting position and ending position of movement, respectively, and sets the movement path from the starting position to the ending position in the virtual area as a row of the rectangular prisms.

16. A substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies, each equipped with a support for the substrate and moving by magnetic force, levitating from the floor forming the substrate transport area, wherein in a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area, the settings for the movement path from the start position to the end position of movement are set for each of the transport bodies, Determination regarding interference in the aforementioned movement path, The steps are arranged so that this can be done. The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. Software for acquiring the correspondence between the elapsed time from an arbitrary reference point and the rectangular parallelepiped in which each of the transported objects is located.

17. A substrate transport device comprising a substrate transport area and a plurality of transport bodies, each equipped with a support for the substrate and moving by magnetic force, levitating from the floor forming the substrate transport area, wherein in a virtual area corresponding to the substrate transport area, the settings for the movement path from the start position to the end position of movement are set for each of the transport bodies, Determination regarding interference in the aforementioned movement path, The steps are arranged so that this can be done. The aforementioned virtual region is set up as a collection of rectangular parallelepipeds by considering that the substrate transport region is divided in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, respectively. Software for visualizing the rectangular prisms from the aforementioned set of rectangular prisms where the interference occurs.

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