Transport Controller Overwrites Instructions for Continuous Vehicle Movement
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Solution Overview
Problem
In semiconductor manufacturing transport systems, when the destination of a load needs to be changed, existing methods require transport vehicles to temporarily stop and delete their instructions, leading to reduced efficiency due to the stoppage and subsequent re-routing processes.
Innovation Solution
The transport controller overwrites the existing transport instruction with a move instruction that allows the vehicle to travel to a predetermined position without unloading, enabling the vehicle to continue moving without stopping, and transmits a cancellation completion report to the host controller, allowing for immediate reassignment of a new transport instruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the transport vehicle stops to delete the transport instruction before transmitting the cancellation completion report, then the host controller can receive the report and issue a new transport instruction, but the transport efficiency is reduced due to the temporary stoppage
Solution Approach 1:
The transport controller performs the instruction deletion operation in advance before the transport vehicle completes its current task. The controller deletes the transport instruction from the vehicle's memory immediately upon receiving the cancellation request, rather than waiting for the vehicle to stop and report completion. This preliminary action allows the system to proceed with reassignment without requiring the vehicle to halt its movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The transport vehicle continues its movement and operational actions without interruption during the cancellation process. The vehicle maintains its trajectory and operational state while the controller handles the instruction deletion and cancellation reporting independently. This continuity ensures that the vehicle's useful action (transporting articles) is not interrupted by administrative cancellation procedures.
2Loss of information
If the transport vehicle stops temporarily to transmit the cancellation completion report, then the host controller can process the cancellation and issue new instructions, but the overall transport time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller deletes the transport instruction from the vehicle's memory in advance, before the vehicle completes its current operation. This preliminary deletion ensures that when the cancellation completion report is transmitted later, the vehicle is already ready to receive new instructions without requiring additional stopping time to clear old instructions.
Solution Approach 2:
The transport controller acts as an intermediary that manages the cancellation process independently of the vehicle's operational state. The controller handles the instruction deletion, manages the cancellation reporting timeline, and coordinates with both the vehicle and the host controller, thereby decoupling the information transmission requirement from the vehicle's movement and eliminating the need for the vehicle to stop.
Data Source
AI summary
A transport system includes a transport vehicle that transports an article, and a transport controller that controls the transport vehicle based on a host transport instruction received from a host controller. The transport controller includes a transport instructor which, in accordance with a host transport instruction, provides the transport vehicle with a transport instruction to transport an article at a pickup point to an unloading point, an overwriting processor which, in accordance with a host cancellation instruction to cancel the host transport instruction received from the host controller, overwrites the transport instruction provided to the transport vehicle with a move instruction which instructs to travel to a predetermined position and not to unload at the predetermined position, and provides the overwritten instruction to the transport vehicle, and a completion reporter which, upon the overwriting processor completing the overwriting, transmits to the host controller a cancellation completion report indicating the completion of the host cancellation instruction.